Here is the fortieth-second chapter in this story released in accordance with the release schedule. The Black Bulls have reached the Undersea Temple but they've only gotten past the barrier to the area that it is in. Now it is time to cross that area and enter the Temple itself to retrieve the Magic Stone and deal with anything that may be waiting for them there. That is all that I have for the administrative stuff I have for y'all and there are no guest reviews that need a response, though I thank you for your support of my work, or questions to answer so I will end this here. Do keep them coming as your support is the best motivation for me to keep producing chapters at this kind of rate. That is it for this pre-chapter note so it is time to sit back and enjoy the forty-second chapter in Akame ga Clover.

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to these two great animes.

Chapter 42: Temple

The trip from the coral cliff thing to the large structure that they all presumed to be the Underwater Temple was uneventful especially after dealing with the currents that they'd had to navigate through on the way down. In fact it was downright peaceful as they flew over the corals on a cloud of cotton that Charmy had created while Charmy continued to munch on her cupcake before splitting it with Grey who was still transformed into Charmy. It was a nice, relaxing moment for them all, well most of them.

"Aw man, this is no fun." Luck complained as they flew over the coral spikes noting that they shared a similar, if smaller, design to the Temple with what looked like glass-less windows carved into them in the oval sections near the top of the spikes. "We haven't been attacked yet. I was hoping to fight something strong by this point."

"Luck's right." Noelle mused though she did not share his annoyance at not engaging in combat. "We haven't set off any trap spells or other kinds of defensive magic. I expected something to at least challenge us but all we've had to deal with are those currents. Even the barrier wasn't an issue thanks to Asta."

"Yeah this is getting tedious." Vanessa said with a theatrical yawn. "Plus I'm almost out of booze so do you think there's any lying around her?"

"We could at least have caught some fish and had a fry up before leaving that cliff." Akame complained. "There were so many new types that looked delicious and a quick meal would replenish our strength in case we do have to fight."

"You just want to eat my love." Tatsumi pointed out.

"True but it would have helped." Akame admitted.

"Hey, you lot had better not be getting complacent." Magna said. "Don't go letting your guard down when we're in an unfamiliar location that we have no knowledge of. There's nothing safe about a Strong Magic Region. Just because this looks peaceful doesn't mean that it is."

"Yes sir!" Asta said though he was the only one who took that seriously.

"It's fine Magna, it's not like we aren't on guard." Tatsumi said his tone neutral as he looked out as they flew. "My senses are alert, Akame's are likewise and they're better than mine."

"True, I am prepared for battle." Akame said her own tone shifting and reminding them all that even though she was a glutton when it came to good meat with a desire to try anything new she was arguably the most deadly member of the Squad and always alert for danger. "And I do agree, there isn't anything safe about a Strong Magic Region. Even if this area is protected by that barrier, all that means is that people have managed to erect a barrier and thrive and that implies that they're strong to do so. Plus, given all the mana around here there's no way that their bodies haven't adapted somewhat to it."

"I hope so." Luck said happily. "I really want to fight someone strong."

"See Akame's ready and Luck's always itching for a fight so you know he's alert." Tatsumi said. "And his mana sense is the best in the Squad."

"Tatsumi's right, we're all ready and alert." Yami said calmly as they neared what looked like the center of the settlement here. "Just because you can't see it doesn't mean that it's not there."

"Yes sir." The Squad said trusting their Captain's assessment of the situation.

Yami just nodded at that as they continued to fly in silence towards the center of the settlement or town or whatever it was. It was certainly strange and alien to all of them as none of them had expected there to be something like this down here, and Julius hadn't described it either.

Tatsumi and Akame could sense the ki of living beings in the area, which meant that Yami could as well, though it wasn't malicious and they couldn't say how many were here and as none of them had yet to emerge as they descended into the center of the settlement. Once they got there Asta was the first to step off the cloud.

"Woah." Asta said looking around amazed at the sights that greeted him as the others walked off and the cloud of cotton vanished. "This is amazing. It's beyond what I could have imagined. What is this place?"

"So are these houses or something?" Noelle asked looking at them as they walked. "I can't tell. They sorta look like them but their too crude to be houses."

"Probably." Tatsumi said. "Not exactly a place where you can get building material so they made them from the natural formations and without weather like wind or rain you don't need things like glass though I suppose magic might rectify that. Not what you'd expect if you grew up in a city but in remote areas you make do with what you got."

"Well that definitely means that there are oceanfolk here." Luck said happily as the lightning crackled between his fingers at the thought of that. "I hope that they're strong, scary, and super powerful. I can't wait to fight them."

"Given that they've survived down here for what has to have been decades if not centuries I'd say so as whoever set this place up had to have been strong and these are likely their descendants." Akame said looking around. "You don't set up something like this and survive in a Strong Magic Region without strength."

"Oh goody I can't wait then." Luck said happily.

"Well at least one of us is excited for that." Finral said. "I'd rather not fight anyone and especially not anyone strong."

"Personally I want to try their food." Akame said while Charmy and Grey-Charmy nodded with her. "I bet they have stuff here that you can't get in the Clover Kingdom."

"Same with their booze." Vanessa added.

"You always do." Finral said as Yami suddenly came to a stop causing the whole Squad to do so and as he did he turned his gaze to the side to where he'd sense two ki signatures that were in the open. "Huh, why'd you…oh."

Right there, between two corrals were a man and a woman standing before another corral. The man wore a simple white vest with a scale pattern on the shoulders and a sash tying it around his waist with green shorts and sandals while the woman, who's back was to them, wore a white sleeveless dress with a maroon hem and gold chains on it. She was carrying a basket though none of them had any clue what she was putting in it.

"Hey, look, people." Asta said pointing out the obvious. "So there are people down here. I thought I felt ki that wasn't outs."

"Yeah oceanfolk!" Magna said a little too loudly. "Just like Luck said. Though, um, they're not going to attack us, are they?"

"Can they?" Luck asked excitedly.

"Shut up they're hear you, moron." Noelle shushed.

"I agree with Noelle." Finral said. "That girl may be cute but…"

"Woah, hey, look over there!" The woman said suddenly turning to them and proving that she had, in fact, heard them. "Is that what I think it is? It must be."

"Hey it is." The man said as he glanced over as well.

"Yup they heard you." Vanessa said though the fact that the Black Bulls were standing in the open and well within earshot of the oceanfolk didn't help matters at all. "And it looks like this has broken whatever was holding them back."

Vanessa was right because almost as soon as the two they'd seen had seen them in return and offered the Black Bulls a greeting the whole town seemed to come out to greet them. The styles were the same, a lot of whites and blues of various shades with some other colors thrown in for good measure which likely showed the scarcity of dyes down here.

The women for the most part seemed to favor dresses, often without sleeves, while the men favored vests and tunics, also without sleeves, and all in styles that weren't common in the Clover Kingdom. Otherwise the denizens of the Underwater Temple were human and they seemed friendly and curious as they all but mobbed the Black Bulls.

"Well you don't see this every day, or every year for that matter." One man said. "I can't remember the last time I saw something like this."

"Yeah we've got real live visitors, been a long time since we've had even one visitor." Another man said. "I can't even recall how long it's been."

"Plus if their robes are what I think they are Magic Knights from the Clover Kingdom." A third man said getting close to Magna and surprising them with his knowledge. "That should be expected though, only a Magic Knight Squad could get here."

"Cute ones too!" A woman said blushing as she also got close to Magna.

"Looks like that style actually works for some." Tatsumi said with a chuckle as Akame took his arm and pressed herself close while eyeing the women who were getting interested to make it clear who Tatsumi belonged to while also ensuring that no man tried to hit on her. "And yet Finral is still ignored."

"Magna? Seriously?" Finral asked crying. "How is that more appealing than me?"

"Please tell us about the outside world! We don't get much news down here." Another woman asked as a whole group had surrounded Charmy and Grey-Charmy both of whom where playing up to the situation. "Has anything major happened up there?"

"So have you lot had any dangerous or interesting missions?" A man asked the Charmies. "Come on tell us, we'd love to know."

"You don't know the half of it." Akame said quietly though only Tatsumi could hear. "But yeah it's been interesting."

"If my memory serves it's been about 10 years since we had a visit down here from some surface dwellers." An older man said. "What brings you to our humble part of the ocean? Few dare to venture here because of the currents and even then there's not much down here to interest folks like yourself."

"Hey, I was imagining something a whole lot scarier than this." Asta said with stars in his eyes as he took everything in. "You know, like that dungeon with booby traps and tricky magic. Akame made it out that Strong Magic Regions were hell."

"Well the one I was thrown into was hell, though the beasts were tasty." Akame said. "But this is clearly different. It might have something to do with the location, I'm not sure."

"Hard to deal with things in a place humans can't live." Tatsumi said. "So this is likely some kind of oasis in it due to the barrier."

"I hate to break it to ya." Yami said as he exhaled his latest drag and in a tone that implied he didn't actually hate it. "But imagination doesn't really tend to match reality. I expected the boss of the Eye of the Midnight Sun to be some super buff dude who ate cows whole, not that scrawny weirdo."

"That's just you, Captain." Finral pointed out. "Expecting a Strong Magic Region to be dangerous is normal even if you get some details wrong."

"Well, seeing as this is a lot more pleasant and helpful than we were expecting we ought to ask around here and see if there's someone who knows about that Magic Stone, or just as importantly where the good booze is." Vanessa said deliberately moving her upper body into several poses while a whole group of men had gathered around her blushing as they admired her. "Isn't that right, Captain?"

"Yeah good point Vanessa, I'm on it." Yami said as he turned and walked up to the bulk of the crown before coming to a halt before them. "Alright listen up oceanfolk, I want to talk to whoever's the boss of the Temple down here, 'kay?"

"Maybe try asking a little more nicely." Asta said a little worried given Yami's tone and attitude. "We don't want to intimidate them when they've been nothing but nice to us."

"Asta's got a point Captain." Tatsumi added. "We shouldn't provoke…"

"Yeah no problem, if that's what you're looking for then we know just the person." A blond man responded without any fear or intimidation. "You'd want the Hight Priest, he's the boss of the Temple so he runs this place. That good enough for you. 'kay?"

"Yeah just climb these stairs, he's all the way at the top." Another man, who was sitting on said stairs, said as he jerked his thumb up the stairs. "It's a hike though so I hope you don't mind that, 'kay?"

"If you'd like I can take you there." A woman a few steps up, and one of the few not wearing a dress, added and like the other two her tone was similar to Yami's when he'd addressed the oceanfolk. "'kay?"

"And now it's a thing down here." Tatsumi said. "I didn't see that coming."

"I'm just surprised they didn't mind the attitude." Akame said.

"He's started a trend." Asta said with a minor sweat drop.

"Alright thanks." Yami said as he grabbed Charmy by her robe and shirt before she could get distracted by some sea creatures nearby and began to climb the stairs with he Black Bulls in toe. "See all it takes to ask."

"Still could have been more polite." Tatsumi noted as they began to ascend with a good portion of the citizens climbing with them. "No point in upsetting relations when we were greeted so friendly."

"It works and who knows it may help in the end." Akame said taking his hand and they interlocked fingers as they climbed. "Just so long as we can get the Magic Stone and some food I'm good with how things go."

"Speaking of food, how about you lovely ladies join us for a beach barbeque later." Finral said turning as he climbed to flirt with a few of the girls nearby. "We've got a great huntress and cook; it will be a grand old time. What do you say?"

"Er…" One of the girls said.

"If you're offering a barbeque, I don't care about the reason I'll get the food for it." Akame called out. "Been a while since I had a waterside barbeque."

"And may I say you are such a cutie." Finral said ignoring Akame as he continued to try and flirt with the girls. "Back me up Gauche."

"Please, Marie's a billion times cuter than anyone." Gauche said looking at the photo he always kept of Marie his nose, as expected, bleeding. "No one can compare to her."

"Should have expected that." Finral said with a sigh before he looked around. "Hey Grey, transform into me and we can try to get some twin action going again. That might work down here."

"I must say, I've never seen any girls as beautiful as you two up on the surface." Grey said in a soft voice to two blushing, swooning, girls having transformed into Gordon for the climb up as Charmy's body wasn't practical and she felt like having some fun as Gordon rather than using Akame's, Tatsumi's, or Asta's body which would have been fitter for the climb. "There must be something in the water down here to produce such exquisite beauty in the Clover Kingdom."

"What the hell!" Finral yelled angrily. "You're hitting on girls while transformed into Gordon? Why him of all people? And why is it working? Whenever I do something like that I get rejected or ignored. Seriously, what are the standards down here if I can't get a look but Magna and Gordon can?"

"Some things are best left unanswered Finral." Tatsumi said with a pat on the shoulder. "And one is a woman's taste in men, or other women if they swing that way. You'll find yours one day."

"Thanks Tatsumi." Finral said crying. "I know I will."

"But one answer that I want is how good the food is down here." Akame said drooling a little as she saw a cast of crabs nearby. "I'm feeling like a little crab leg right now paired with some crab meat."

"Mhm, crab, they all look so yummy." Charmy said as she looked at the crabs while Yami continued to carry her. "I can make crab boil, crab cakes, crab claws, crab rangoon, crab gumbo, crab empanadas, spicy crab bisque, the list is endless."

"Keep all that in mind Charmy." Akame said salivating at Charmy's ideas. "We'll have them all before we return, I know it."

"I'll admit, so far this has been a lot easier than I expected it to be." Asta said. "The Wizard King made it out that this would be a lot harder and way more dangerous."

"Well I for one am not complaining about that." Noelle said as she walked next to Asta. "But I'm worried about you Asta. How will you cope without your regularly scheduled near death experience?"

"Hey, it's not like I go around asking lunatics to try and kill me, or dissect me before killing me for that matter." Asta said. "They just often do. Also I was actually relatively unharmed when the Eye of the Midnight Sun attacked the Capitol other than some minor cursing that I fixed and a little blood loss."

"That was because Tatsumi and Akame came to our rescue." Noelle pointed. "If they hadn't who knows what would have happened if they'd gotten past my spell, which, I might add, they were about to do. You and Leo could have ended up with several holes in you and captured without them for all we know and that could have been bad."

"True, that chick would have no doubt wanted to experiment on me like she tried to do in the cave." Asta conceded. "But still, I don't go around trying to find these people, they just find me!"

"Well calling this easy is tempting fate, Asta." Tatsumi called out. "Best not to because no doubt we'll now end up with a really tough fight that will take all of us working together to win."

"And then you'll get that near death experience." Akame said. "And Noelle will get her regularly scheduled near heart attack in the process."

"What are you implying Akame?" Noelle asked glaring at the older girl who just gave her a small smile.

"Oh nothing Noelle." Akame said. "I'm sure you're always cool and not worried when Asta's in danger."

"I…" Noelle said her face flushing red at how she'd reacted whenever Asta had been in danger, and how worried she'd been, before she turned her head. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You will." Akame said turning back as they neared the top of the stairs. "In time I'm sure you will realize it."

"Alright quiet down, we're here." Yami said to the Squad as he crested the top of the stairs and stood on the landing looking at the impressive double doors that were carved out of the coral before him though no one noted that these were the first doors that they'd seen. "This is the Underwater Temple."

The rest of the Black Bulls stopped on the stairs the moment their Captain did and took in the sight before them. It was impressive, the Temple before them was taller than anything else in the settlement and that was just from the top of the stairs up, and clearly was of great importance to the people here given the care that had gone into it and so far all they'd seen were the steps up and the doors.

Said doors were large with seashells in them and two small towers framed the doorway which added to the imposing nature of it. Then, just as the rest of the Black Bulls reached the top and lined up behind Yami, the doors silently opened inwards to reveal a cracked coral floor and darkness beyond the entryway.

Without hesitation Yami walked forward and into the Temple with the Squad following behind him. This was what they were here for after all and so it was time to execute the mission. As they entered they got some final parting words from the citizens who'd climbed the stairs with them.

"Make sure and tell the High Priest hello for us, 'kay?" One woman said waving at them.

"We'll talk more about the outside world when you come back!" A man said. "'kay."

"Sounds good and thank you!" Asta called out looking over his shoulder and smalling as the Black Bulls walked deeper into the darkness.

"Well if you do come back." The man said. "Good luck."

"Yeah best not to thank us just yet." The woman said still smiling at them as the doors closed behind them cutting off the light.

That was certainly a bit ominous but it wasn't like the Black Bulls could, or would, turn back now as they continued to walk into the Temple after the doors had closed behind them. The darkness wasn't total, however, because as they grew accustomed to it they noted that there was some kind of light ahead of them that gave the path a dim look as they walked. It was like they were in a cave only this was made from the coral down here and not stone, though none of them really paused to examine it as they pressed on until they exited the passageway into a large cavern that had more light in it.

They didn't look for the source of the light, though, because notably a man was standing in the middle of the cavern waiting for them. He was clearly very old with long white hair that flowed up and back from his head in a wavy pattern that defied gravity with a matching, crooked, beard that came down to his waist as is meaning that it would be longer than that when it was straight. To add to his impressive hair, the man had a long mustache that flowed out to the sides and even longer, and damned impressive, eyebrows that also flowed to the side of his head and didn't droop at all.

It wasn't just his hair that was impressive, his clothes were as well. He wore a long, white robe with black hems and cuffs and an elaborate golden, raised, collar, over a royal purple shirt with a round red collar around his neck and a light blue dress thing that fell to the ground obscuring his feet and held up by a red belt with black diamond designs around the middled and gold edging. It was painfully obvious who he was.

"Look there's someone waiting for us." Magna said as they came to a stop looking at the old man. "Who do you think he is?"

"Do you reckon that that's the High Priest guy we're supposed to find here?" Asta asked pointing out said painfully obvious thing before he raised his arm. "Hey! Are you the High Priest of the…"

Asta didn't finish as he felt a dripping near him and turned around, Noelle who was still next to him doing the same thing, and looked up to see the smiling face of a long, clearly aquatic, monster looking down on them with a mouth full of sharp teeth and drooling as it looked at them. Naturally Asta and Noelle did the only reasonable thing in such a situation, they screamed in terror.

"It's a huge fish with big, sharp teeth!" Asta yelled.

"Asta do something!" Noelle yelled looking at him. "Poke it with your sword!"

"Maybe it's actually a Temple Guardian and harmless but only looks ugly and terrifying to avoid people from attacking." Asta said still in terror unaware that a poke from his sword would destroy it instantly. "We should wait until it attacks. Plus my swords aren't sharp so I doubt they'd do anything to it."

"But ours are." Tatsumi yelled as he leapt over Asta and Noelle having already moved the moment they screamed and drawing his sword in a smooth move before he raised it over his head, point down, and drove it home. "Now die fish! I don't care if your sacred or not you've attacked so you're fair game in my book."

"Plus you look delicious!" Akame yelled as she followed Tatsumi the hilt of Murasame appearing in her open grimoire that she grabbed and drew just as Tatsumi impaled the top of the fish's head with his sword. "I'm going to fry you up good! Well Charmy is but we'll all feast on you later."

With that Akame flipped over Tatsumi as he and the monster began to fall towards the ground. Then, mid flip, she spun and slashed down with Murasame in a two handed grip. The razor sharp blade neatly decapitated the fish in a single, smooth, blow though Tatsumi had already impaled it's brain so it was a bit of overkill. Still, it was impressive and Akame finished her flip to land feet first on the fish's now headless body as it crashed to the ground while Tatsumi stood on its ugly head and pulled out his sword.

"Huh, no blood or brain." Tatsumi mused looking at it his brows knitting in confusion. "That's odd."

"Yeah, it's not bleeding from where I cut it either." Akame noted just as confused. "Still this outa do it."

"Aw man, you two are really fast." Luck said his grimoire out and hands sparking with lightning as Asta and Noelle screamed again. "I really wanted to fight it."

"It was in my way of returning to Marie." Gauche said his mirror out. "So it had to die."

"Damn that's impressive, you're really quick on the draw." Magna said a fireball in his hand. "So manly you two."

All three had also been ready to act but none of them had been as fast as Tatsumi or Akame. The couple's past life and training made them quicker to the draw with an enemy than anyone else in the Squad and as they'd just proven they'd gone for act and ask questions later it at all.

"What was that thing anyway?" The trio who'd been beaten to the punch asked at the same time finally asking an actual question that probably should have been asked first.

"None of you wasted any time!" Asta said. "And didn't even question it."

"It was attacking and looked deadly." Akame said not getting off it as she looked at the meat it would provide and licked her lips. "In this situation it's kill or be killed so you act accordingly. It is how I survived in a Strong Magic Region after all. Now how do we go about eating it I wonder? I hope it's not poisonous, we don't have Gordon to help on that front."

"Hehe." The old man laughed getting their attention with his laugh and they all turned to look at him though neither Tatsumi nor Akame left their spots on the fish as the High Priest walked towards them. "Oh man this is wonderful; you lot are really impressive to act so fast. I love it when we get exciting visitors. Yes, I am the High Priest of this subaqueous structure, the name's Gifso, and welcome to the Underwater Temple!"

As Gifso spoke he laughed with a broad, toothy, smile and then did a peace sign over his eyes. It was rather unexpected, and slightly undignified, behavior for a High Priest but then again it could just be the way it was down here so who were they to question it. Well question it too much that is.

"So this freaky old man is actually in charge here?" Magna asked the personality not matching what one would expect from a High Priest. "Not going to lie I was expecting someone more reverend."

"That wasn't the most neighborly welcome old man." Yami said as the took in Gifso. "Not a great way to greet visitors."

"Well I can't tell you how much I enjoy catching people off guard like that, it's so much fun." The man said with a deep laugh. "Did you see how some of you reacted, it was hilarious!"

"This guy needs a new hobby." Noelle said with a huff. "That wasn't funny at all."

"Hey there fishy, do you taste good?" Charmy asked as she approached part of the fish with a knife and fork in hand and drool already running down her chin. "Akame, help me fillet it so we can see what best to cook. I'm thinking we go with various dishes as it's large enough to provide a great range of things."

"Agreed." Akame said as she raised Murasame to begin slicing it up. "Some we'll have as the standard meat, some can be made into stew, others we should try raw with a little rice if they have it I say. There are many possibilities."

"Easy there you two." Asta said coming up to Charmy as Akame began to prod it with the tip of Murasame to see where best to start cutting though she was going to wait for instructions from Charmy so as to get it just right for the various dishes the little woman wanted to make. "Best to leave this monster alone if…"

Before Asta could finish there was a booming sound and the monster sliced itself up, smoke coming from the meat as it fell into neat chucks while Akame had to leap off it. She flipped forward, katana still in hand, and landed on the ground as she turned to drool at the now freshly cut fish monster while Tatsumi remained on its unchanged head though he did turn to look in surprise at what had happened.

"Woah it's all cut up." Asta said. "Did you do that Akame?"

"No I just cut off it's head." Akame said shaking her head. "Not that I'm complaining this makes it easier. I wonder if it's a special kind of monster that does this when killed so that it can be consumed. That would be very considerate if it was like that."

"That must be it because it clearly wants us to eat it!" Charmy added excitedly. "So I say we oblige by digging in!"

"Sorry kids but you can't eat magic." Gifso said as the sliced fish monster glowed and then slowly dissipated causing Charmy to fall to her hands and knees while Tatsumi dropped a few inches to the ground. "Though a monster like that would taste good, I promise you that."

"I didn't get to take a bite." Charmy complained as Asta looked at the old man with wide, white, eyes. "Now I'm really hunger."

"Hey, you'd better make good on that." Akame said pointing Murasame at the High Priest while Charmy continued to complain. "Tatsumi and I killed that, the least you could do is grant us something similar to eat."

"Akame please don't threaten the High Priest." Asta said. "That's not a good look. Plus he said it was magic so you didn't really kill it."

"He tricked us with good meat!" Akame said as she turned her glare on Asta. "That's unforgivable. Even burning meat isn't as bad because at least there was a chance to eat it."

"Calm down my love." Tatsumi said as he sheathed his sword and walked over to her. "We should have noticed that something was up the moment there was no blood. Usually a kill like that is really messy."

"I guess." Akame said with a sigh as she lowered Murasame and then dismissed it which caused her grimoire to close and return to its pouch in her belt. "I'm still pissed though. There'd better be good food later."

"I'm more curious as to what kind of magic the old man was using." Vanessa said to Finral. "I've got no clue what can make an illusion that detailed. Transfiguration Magic can't cause that. Not even someone as skilled as Chelsea has the ability to create an independent illusion."

"It's certainly not easy to make something that enormous or lifelike." Finral muttered as he looked at the still laughing High Priest. "And the fact that it acted like a normal monster and didn't vanish after it was killed, that takes skill and control as well. Whoever he is and whatever magic he has, he's powerful."

"Anyway, you lot came to my Temple to seek the Magic Stone, didn't you?" Gifso said with a grin as he suddenly stopped laughing which got all of their attention. "Ah yes I see you did. Well, if you want it then you'll have to play a little game with me to get it."

That really spiked the attention of the Squad as the looked at the old man. Some were excited for it, some wary, and some nervous as they had no idea what to expect from the strange geezer who ran the Underwater Temple and attacked visitors with a monster made of magic just for fun.

"What kind of game do you have in mind?" Asta asked.

"Well here we go, this is trouble." Finral whispered worry filling him. "This guy may look and act like a senile old man but he's bad news. He'll make it look like it's fun until it's impossible and we lose and then he'll kill us all."

"He can try." Tatsumi whispered. "But better people than he have failed to kill me. Usually they're the ones who end up in the ground. Only my own actions can kill me."

"Don't remind me." Akame whispered back. "And it took a cheap shot in my case."

"And that's not helping." Finral said with a sigh as Akame and Tatsumi returned to the rest of the Black Bulls with Akame ending up next to Noelle.

"Well, you ready for the game?" Gifso asked still smiling having not heard the whispered exchange. "The name of this little game is…'Find Out How Squishy the Boobs Are.'"

As he said this Gifso moved to stand before Vanessa, Noelle, and Akame and began to make groping motions with his hands in front of them as he blushed. The reaction was almost instantaneous and about as you'd expected as Noelle almost instantly punched the old man in the face as hard as she could causing a nose bleed and knocking him to the ground where she began to stomp on his back repeatedly with her right foot.

"Blade Creation Magi: Specialty Blade – Meat Cleaver!" Akame said as Noelle punched the High Priest the anger just as clear in her voice if not more so as her grimoire floated up and quickly flipped to the right page and a very sharp meat cleaver appeared in the air before her. "Keep that up Noelle, pin him to the ground even if he enjoys it. I'll cut off his hands for this grave offense."

"Yeah how about we play this game instead." Noelle said still stomping on him. "Thanks Akame, that is a fitting punishment for this offense."

"Hey, you can't go about beating up a High Priest." Asta complained as Akame walked over. "And Akame, it's not appropriate to cut off someone's hands for that! I know it's inappropriate but he's a big shot here and we don't want trouble!"

"Why not? I'm royalty so I'm a bigger shot than he is." Noelle said not letting up one bit as she turned her head to glare at Asta. "He deserves this and more for daring to suggest that."

"And besides, only Tatsumi can touch my boobs." Akame said causing Tatsumi to flush though no one was surprised by that as Akame reached the High Priest. "Alright pin him Noelle, I'll make this swift and clean. After that we just need Magna to cauterize the stumps and we'll be good."

"Akame can you stop threatening to dismember people!" Magna said not pleased that he was being brought into it. "You almost castrated that Diamond guy we helped out."

"Oh right you did threaten that to Zell!" Asta said.

"He flashed me his penis before I got a chance to see Tatsumi's and Tatsumi's is the only one that I ever want to!" Akame said glaring at Asta as Noelle slammed her foot down one more time into the man's back and held him there while Tatsumi went bright red and Vanessa smirked and gave him a side glance recalling Akame's request to borrow a certain bikini. "And I'd do this for anyone. I would have blinded that bespeckled Golden Dawn guy if he'd seen Noelle naked."

"Oh I remember, thanks for that Akame." Noelle said. "I know I can trust you to defend my honor."

"You almost blinded Sir Spectacles!" Asta yelled. "What the…"

"Now, now, all this was only a joke." Gifso said as he suddenly wiggled free from Noelle showing surprising vigor and got up holding his face, his nose still bleeding and smiling as he did. "I didn't mean it. Please don't take my hands."

"Well now I'm going to show you how not funny it is." Noelle said as a ball of water formed over her hand. "There's only one man I'd want to…hold up I, I don't mean to…"

"My, my, Noelle is there more to that?" Vanessa asked with her earlier smirk deepening at this new revelation as Noelle flushed red and got flustered her denial going into over drive.

"No, never mind, ignore that." Noelle said quickly. "Let's focus on this pervert and punishing him."

"Agreed." Akame said brandishing her cleaver. "Now hold still and this won't be too painful. I'd rather not have to use any other blades to make you compliant now that you've wriggled out from under Noelle's foot."

"Noelle, Akame, none of this is a good idea!" Asta said. "Just calm down."

"Yeah enough of this messing around." Magna said. "Tatsumi, can you talk Akame down?"

"Why, she has a point." Tatsumi said his cheeks still a bit red from what she'd said. "It is a fitting punishment."

"Thank you my love." Akame said with a smile before it turned malicious as she glared at Gifso. "Now, palms down on the ground nice and easy. It will be quick and clean as I've made sure that this blade is as sharp as possible."

"Seriously, we dragged our asses all the way down here." Magna said. "Let's not make things worse now. Hey, old man, we're not here to play games so if you value your hands then move this along. How'd you know that we are after the Magic Stone?"

"Haha, you'll be surprise how well these old eyes still see things." Gifso said still smiling though it was to hide that he just wanted to play a game with the visitors and had no idea that there was a Magic Stone here or even what one was. "So, what will you do? The Clover Kingdom needs that Magic Stone, doesn't it? It's here and only I know where so you've got to play my game to get it."

"Well what do you guys thing?" Magna asked as he, Gauch, and Luck huddled up around a still meat cleaver wielding Akame who was clearly determined to punish the High Priest for his comment. "Beat him up and take it by force? Then we don't have to play his stupid game."

"That would be the fastest and Marie shouldn't have to worry about living in a world with creeps." Gauche agreed. "So I'm all for this."

"Plus it looks like he's super powerful so fighting with him gets my vote." Luck said. "I'm all for a little sparing and I want to see what this old man can do."

"And some light dismemberment will loosen his tongue." Akame said. "I hate torture but this is punishment for threatening to touch what belongs to Tatsumi so it's fitting. I may even let him keep a hand if he's forthcoming."

"What twisted stuff are you four plotting?" Asta asked shocked at the discussion that he was hearing. "Beating up and dismembering old men isn't what the Magic Knights do! And Akame, chopping off hands is not light dismemberment! We really shouldn't do any of this."

"Probably best not to think about it." Tatsumi said. "It will work out in the end."

"Yeah well it wouldn't work to begin with because that's no ordinary old man." Finral said as he, Vanessa, and Charmy turned away from him as none of them wanted to play a game anyway. "We don't want to get caught up with someone as powerful as he is. Only the Captain, Akame, and Tatsumi can handle him if it came to it."

"Do you think there's time for a nap?" Vanessa said with a yawn. "I'm sleepy after all this."

"Forget napping I want dinner!" Charmy said. "And I know Akame does as well so can we hurry up and get some food."

"And what about you three?" Asta asked looking at the trio. "Do you even care about the mission?"

"Well the food may get Akame to calm down." Tatsumi pointed out looking at her as she continued to plot with Magna, Gauche, and Luck, meat cleaver still in hand. "Or not but I don't blame her."

"Again not helping!" Asta said.

"It's a shame that you haven't made up your minds yet." Gifso said his grin wide as he knew just what strings to pull thanks to watching the group's arrival with his magic. "Play my game with me and not only will I give you the Magic Stone if you win but I'll round up the Temple's loveliest ladies, all fair maidens who've never seen a surface dweller before by the way, bring in the finest drinks you can't find anywhere else in the world, and the tastiest seafood you've ever had and all prepared by experts who know how to bring out the flavor in ways you've never experienced. Why we'll have a magnificent banquet to celebrate the game no matter who wins it. Well? How about it? Shall we play my game?"

"Yes we're in!" Charmy, Vanessa, and Finral said all at once as they turned to face the old man beaming at the offers that they'd been made. "Let's do it!"

"Perhaps I was a little too hasty, I am still new to love after all and I may have been blinded by that." Akame said as the meat cleaver vanished and her grimoire once again returned to its pouch as thoughts of seafood filled her mind. "So I'll suspend my judgement and participate but the food had better be worth it."

"It will be unlike anything you've ever had before." Gifso said with a grin. "Trust me, you'll never be able to see seafood the same way again after you've had the stuff we have."

"Gah!" Asta said shocked though he had stars in his eyes. "Is that seriously all that's important to you? I'm going to play the game because of our mission not the promise of a stupid party! You've…"

"That's enough out of you." Yami said kicking Asta forward and finally getting involved with the situation before he exhaled smoke. "It looks like we've got no choice in the matter. We've got to get that stone so we'll play. Come on old man, if you want this so bad then take on this master gambler."

"But you lose more often than you win." Tatsumi said. "It's part of why you're often broke."

"That doesn't matter, Captain Yami's got this!" Magna shouted. "No one can out play you!"

"I win in the fighting pits and that is more than I lose elsewhere." Yami said. "Well most of the time as I do have my bad days I'll admit."

"Er…" Tatsumi began.

"Captain, we win for you in the pits." Akame said. "And you know that no one can best us in them. Between our own martial training and being able to read ki no one stands a chance against us."

"It is why we're likely not going to get any matchups for a while." Tatsumi said. "The pit can't contain the numbers now needed to reliably challenge us. Short of a really good challenger who can match us all they can do is keep upping the numbers."

"Yeah and I still win my bets when I make them." Yami said. "Now what game will it be old man? Dice? Roulette? Poker? Name it and I'll give you a run for your money."

"Woo-hoo you're in!" Gifso cheered. "And no it's going to be a brawl! It's time for a real Temple Battle Royale! Yeah this is going to be great! I can't wait for this."

"A battle, that's even better." Yami said with a grin. "I win those all the time."

"Again, Akame and I win them you just bet on us through our intermediaries." Tatsumi said. "And it's the safest bet that you can make."

"And this time I'm taking part and there's no need for those peacocks to aid us and get a cut of the payout." Yami said as Gifso kept celebrating. "This will be just what we need."

"Alright let's get this started!" Gifso said before Tatsumi could say anything as his grimoire flew out surprising the Black Bulls as there was a three leaf clover on it. "Temple Mages, come on down! Game Magic: Temple Shuffle!"

With that, and the revelation that the man's attribute was Game whatever that meant, several balls of magic were formed above him and suddenly there were doorways in the coral wall above and behind the old man. It was strange and the Black Bulls questioned it but they were cut off as several figures leapt out of the doorway and landed on one knee in a line behind the Hight Priest.

As they rose the Black Bulls noted that they all wore white and blue hooded robes that hid their figures and disguised their genders while masks made to resemble fish or crustaceans covered their face. In total 11 Temple Mages appeared behind Gifso.

"You summoned us High Priest?" They asked in unison.

"Finally Mages from the outside have come to visit us!" One of the Temple Mages said and instantly his voice was recognizable to Tatsumi which confused him immensely as it was not what he was expecting at all. "We've been waiting so…"

"Wave?" Tatsumi suddenly asked. "Is that you? What the hell are you doing here? I thought you'd survived, at least you were alive when I last saw you."

"Huh?" The man who'd spoken asked back in utter confusion at Tatsumi's words. "Who's Wave? A friend of yours?"

"It's a long story." Tatsumi said his own confusion deepening as he wasn't getting any hint of falsehood from the man's ki and, well, Wave was never a good liar to begin with so it couldn't be him as a single glance of him or Akame would have broken the mental block he had but Tatsumi would still test it. "Say, do you remember the Empire?"

"Empire? There is no empire here." The man replied. "At least I've never heard of one."

"I see, sorry for the confusion." Tatsumi said. "You just sound a hell of a lot like an old friend of mine. Kinda similar to how that Beast Mage sounded like an evil big bro only you're not evil."

"Um thanks." The man said now really confused.

"Given the lack of recognition or pain if he was Wave it's clear that he's not." Akame pointed out. "But that's not unexpected."

"True." Tatsumi agreed. "Sorry for interrupting everyone, do continue."

"Um…" The man said.

"Ignore that and focus on how much fun this will be!" A female voice squealed indicating that at least one of the mages was a woman and in the surprise of the Temple Mages appearing and Tatsumi's questioning of one of them neither Asta nor Noelle recognized the voice. "I can't wait! I can finally achieve my dream!"

"Oh I'm not sure." A mage with a moray eel mask said with a dark chuckle. "They don't seem as impressive as we thought."

"They're a bunch of talking fish!" Asta said confused and terrified.

"Aw come on, those are the lamest masks ever." Magna said. "And we're not going to lose to anyone so you're going to eat those words buddy."

"Yeah sense their ki Asta." Akame said as Asta calmed down. "They're clearly human and based on what I'm sensing it's 10 guys and a girl."

"Should be at least entertaining." Tatsumi said with a grin. "I presume that we can't kill."

"Correct, lethal force is banned." Gifso said which should have been obvious but he'd gotten the sense that at the very least the black haired girl was a killer as she'd been serious about taking off his hands though her boyfriend might be one as well. "Please refrain from it if possible."

"Akame, blunt your blades, your attribute is lethal and that's basically the only way to minimize it." Yami said. "And blunt Tatsumi's now."

"Yeah this is a game." Akame said as Tatsumi pulled out his sword just enough for Akame to touch the blade and blunt it. "Done. I'll make sure mine are blunted when I use them."

"Am I the only one who thinks that this is bad?" Finral asked. "I'm sensing a ton of power coming from them. Are they Temple warriors or something? I thought Temple Mages would just maintain it, not fight for it."

"That sounds like a good thing to me." Luck said with a laugh as Yami just looked at the mages before him. "The more powerful they are the more fun this will be."

"All right now that all the combatants are present let's get started!" Gifso said excitedly. "Time to begin the countdown!"

"Wait right now?" Asta asked as Gifso silently began his countdown.

"What are we actually doing?" Noelle added. "I don't get it. What's a Temple Battle Royale?"

"It's for the mission so bring it." Tatsumi said. "We're not going to go down easily."

"Good, you're ready." Gifso said with a laugh as his mental countdown hit 0. "Let's go!"

With that Gifso moved his arms and suddenly water burst up in an arc in front of each group as Asta complained that he wasn't ready. Gifso clearly didn't care as he continued to cackle as water portals opened up beneath the Black Bulls and the Temple Mages and they all plunged into them sending the 22 combatants to different, random, points underneath the Temple in the special area for this game while Yami was sent to the observation room to watch it with Gifso as he was too powerful.

With that the fun game of Temple Battle Royale had begun. However, none of the competitors aware that a third party was already on his way down to the Underwater Temple to make it much more serious.

I think that's a nice little place to leave this chapter off, a small cliffhanger of sorts before we start the Battle Royale. As many of you have no doubt realized, I've upped the Temple Mages to 11 due to Akame and Tatsumi's presence. They won't be reborn souls or anything, just nameless OCs added to be beaten by Tatsumi and Akame in the battle royale but if you'd like to suggest a magic for them then I'm all ears. Other than that the only thing to add to this straightforward chapter is the Wave reference. That is there because Wave is one of the few Akame ga Kill characters (along with Bulat and two others) who shares an English VA with a Black Clover character and I do enjoy these subtle references and jokes so I put it in. In this case the character is still masked but I'm sure many of y'all know who it is. As for Wave himself, well you still have to wait and see if he's going to be in this story. Anyway, that is all that I have for y'all so I will leave this chapter off here. As always, if you like my story then please follow, favorite, review, PM, etc. it is all appreciated and helps me get better and stay motivated to keep producing more content and any questions asked I will do my best to answer both privately and at the start of the next chapter. Until next time.

Stringdog