"Tssss! What is this guy doing here?" Najenda wanted to know, seeing Budo below.

"We need to organize an escape quickly," Lubbock said. "We can never fight Wild Hunt, the Jaegers, and this guy at the same time."

"General Budo?" Wave wondered, recognizing him. "What are you doing here?"

"There were multiple reports of a huge fight going on in town," the man told him, not bothering to look at him. "I realized Night Raid was involved, so I came over right away."

Then, looking at the three groups in front of him and seeing that everyone was fighting each other, the man began to roar.

"What the hell is this? Can someone explain to me what's going on here?"

Suddenly feeling protected, Syura affirmed.

"Budo-san... the Jaegers are nothing but traitors! They stopped us from doing our job and now they've allied themselves with Night Raid."

"What?" the Jaegers wondered.

"Oh, this guy is what you call an 'asshole'." Gajeel remarked, understanding what he wanted to do.

"You want proof?" Syura wanted to know. "Here's some."

Pointing to the pile of ashes, not far from Bols and his family, he assured.

"This is all that remains of our dear comrade, who died in combat! He was killed by this masked man who is none other than a Jaeger who has made an alliance with Night Raid! He deserves, therefore, to be considered a traitor and to suffer the consequences."

There was no movement from Budo, who only stared at Night Raid, while seeming to work out the best strategy to beat them all.

"And that's not all." Syura insisted, pointing at the citizens still standing at the entrance to the capital. "The people have been corrupted! They support the Jaegers! As such, they too are renegades who want to support Night Raid."

This time, static electricity could be seen on Budo's face, making Syura smile. To him, it was a sign that the general was angry at the members of Esdeath's group.

"Therefore, General, as the son of the Prime Minister, I expect you to provide your full cooperation in capturing these thugs! After such an act, be assured that my father will thank you."

Suddenly, to his great surprise, Budo's hand finally grabbed him by the throat, and lifted him up.

" Shut up, stupid kid ! "

"What…?" Syura wondered, trying to defend himself.

"First, I definitely didn't come to fight alongside you and help you! Second, because of your bullshit, the capital has become a complete mess and I'm forced to deal with various problems because of you! And third, no matter that you're the son of that idiot Prime Minister, dare to play petty boss with me again..."

Drawing lightning from his hand, he roared.

"And I'll blast you until you're a pile of ashes like your friend. "

Then, not waiting for Syura to respond, he ended up throwing him over his shoulder, and making him crash to the ground, as he would have done with a piece of trash. Once this annoyance was out of his vision, Budo looked towards the Jaegers.

"Jaegers, no matter what reason, however stupid, you have chosen to fight this band of morons, I ask that you cease this ridiculous revolt against Wild Hunt."

"Ridiculous revolt?" Wave said indignantly. "Is this a joke?"

"Huh? A problem?

"To be honest with you, we never made a pact with Night Raid." The boy assured. "However, for once, it seems that both of our groups have the same motivation: to eliminate Wild Hunt! Today, they are the ones who represent the evil of this city."

Staring at him with a stern look, Budo finally retorted.

"I don't care what you think, soldier! If I remember correctly, you were specifically hired here to fight Night Raid."

Then staring at the rest of the Jaegers he stated.

"Just like the rest of you! In that case, you have a choice! If you continue to do your job and fight Night Raid right away, I will make sure that no punishment is brought against you! However, if you persist in wanting to help Night Raid, I promise you that things will go very badly for you! The empire does not forgive treason."

"How dare you?" Wave roared.

"General!" Run called. "Am I to understand that you are letting Wild Hunt operate and condoning their murders?"

"I don't condone any of their actions." Budo retorted, glancing at the remaining members of Wild Hunt still standing. "I'm even against their existence! However, the Emperor has given them permission to do as they please! Therefore, opposing them is tantamount to opposing the Emperor."

"Scum!" Tatsumi suddenly roared. "Is this your justice?"

"Tatsumi?" Wave wondered, as the boy walked past him towards Budo.

"You are in no way someone deserving of your title of general."

"Really?" Budo wondered. "A rebel who dares to give sermons? You at Night Raid really think you can do anything."

"It doesn't matter if you're part of Night Raid or a general in the army." Tatsumi retorted. "You know very well what's going on in this empire! You know perfectly well that the misery and all these murders are caused by one person: the Prime Minister! All this is happening before your eyes and you're doing nothing to change it."

"He has the Emperor's approval!" Budo replied simply, as if that could justify everything.

"Is that your excuse? If the emperor asks you to set fire to anything or kill someone, you'll do it?"

"Indeed, it is."

"In that case, you're just a puppet."

"It doesn't matter who I am." The man retorted, taking a fighting stance. "Just be sure of one thing… as far as I'm concerned, I'm your enemy."

"Hey... wait a minute." Wave shouted, trying to comprehend what he had just heard. "The... The one responsible for all these massacres... is the Prime Minister? But what...? That's impossible! He... We're supposed to work for him to preserve peace! Not the other way around."

There was no response from Budo.

"Ge… General? You… Is this a joke?"

Feeling like he was going crazy, Wave continued to stare at Budo, while pointing at Tatsumi.

"Tell me he's lying, please! Tell me what he just said isn't true."

There was still no response from Budo. Seeing him remain silent, Wave couldn't help but think about the past few days and all the times he himself had thought about the fact that the Prime Minister and Esdeath were responsible for the catastrophic state of the army. He had proof. He had heard strange conversations as well as seen with his own eyes the nobles of this city killing poor people for fun. Wild Hunt was further proof of Honest's cruelty. Yet... yet... he had always refused to believe that he was fighting on the side of darkness.

"General!" He shouted, tears in his eyes.

"Wave… each of you has been manipulated by Honest." Bols told him. "What matters to him is having full power! He wants to get rid of Night Raid because they are the only group that can still stop him."

"He's right," Run agreed. "People commit massacres here and there, and the Prime Minister, when it suits him, is the first to cover it up or blame it on someone else! He's the last person who cares about the well-being of this country."

"Im… Impossible." Wave said, clenching his fists. "I refuse to believe it! None of this makes any sense."

"Right now, that fool Honest thinks he can get away with anything." Budo admitted, looking at Wave. "However, once Night Raid is taken down, I promise to take care of him personally! So, just stop all this and help me fight them! You'll be commended for that."

Suddenly gripping the hilt of his sword, Wave had the greatest difficulty containing the rage he had inside him.

" How...? How could I have been so blind? I... I helped the wrong people without realizing it? I'm just... I'm just an idiot. "

"So?" Budo wanted to know. "What is your decision?"

Seeing that he was staring at him, Wave finally turned to look at his companions. Remaining calm, Bols and Run only stared at the general in front of them, while barely hiding the contempt they felt towards the man. For her part, Kurome was much more focused on Akame. Nevertheless, knowing very well what the boy was thinking, she mumbled.

"Just make sure you don't regret your choice."

" Kurome ... "

"Wave, you continued to protect what was most precious to me, in my absence." Bols remarked, placing Rubicante in front of him. "No matter what you choose, I will follow you, my friend."

" Bols ... "

"I always thought I could change the capital, by becoming an elite soldier." Run confessed. "However, as I see it, the evil is rooted too deeply for me to do anything like that! Wave, maybe you'll allow me to defeat the monster I've been hunting for years! I'll support you too."

" Run ... "

Then, finally, setting his gaze on Wendy and Seryu, Wave could see Seryu grimace, as she used her last strength to lift her arm, before giving a thumbs up.

"I want... real justice..."

" Seryu ... "

"Hey, what are you mumbling?" Syura wanted to know. "Am I dreaming or are you really…?"

"SHUT UP!" Wave suddenly ordered him. "No matter who you are, I could never forgive you! You killed hundreds of people... you tried to kill Kije and Logue... as well as Wendy and Seryu... and that's only what I could see with my own eyes."

Then pointing his sword towards Budo, the boy assured.

"If, to continue being a Jaeger, I have to deny my values to protect these kinds of monsters, I give up my place as an elite soldier! Yes, I much prefer to join the Night Raid camp."

Standing still in the face of this announcement, Budo eventually saw Bols and Run take a step towards him.

"My name is Bols and I also decide to give up my place as an elite soldier of the Jaegers team! If this does not protect my family, I do not see what would make me stay among you."

"My name is Run and I also renounce my place in the special forces."

More uncertain than them, seeing that imitating them would result in turning the entire empire against her, Kurome ended up hesitating. After all, what she wanted was to fight her sister, to make her an obedient puppet.

" Family is sacred. "

Widening her eyes, thinking back to that sentence that Natsu had said a few months ago, the young girl stared at Akame, who was looking at her, too, while seeming to want to hear her imitate her companions. And it was by seeing a certain ounce of hope in her eyes that Kurome noticed.

" She left the Empire to fight evil. "

Gritting her teeth at first, the girl eventually raised her gaze towards Budo, while declaring.

"I don't intend to ally myself with Night Raid! However, I also renounce my place in the ranks of the Jaegers."

Then, walking side by side, the four companions stood in front of Budo and Wild Hunt, while declaring.

"From now on, we are the enemy of the empire."

"What…?" Happy wondered, flying above them. "What's going on?"

"It seems like they finally figured out the truth." Lily noted, smiling.

" I never imagined that each of them could understand that they had the wrong enemy. " Thought the Exceed. " Is Gajeel's plan the source of this rebellion? Or is it thanks to Wendy? "

Suddenly growling, Syura couldn't hold back some form of displeasure as two groups now faced him. For his part, Budo only let out a sigh.

"It's a great pity."

Then, in an instant, lightning surrounded him as he seemed ready to strike down everyone in front of him.

"In that case, you are all under arrest, as assassins, enemies of the empire and traitors! Surrender without resistance."

"No way." The jaegers retorted, running towards him.

In response, Budo let out a huge cry, as he charged his lightning to the maximum.

"You wanted it! Every traitor must be destroyed."

However, part of his attack went above him, and managed to stop a shot that was meant to kill him.

"What?" Mine wondered, as she had just pulled towards him.

" How fast! " Najenda observed. " Mine barely had time to shoot when he saw the attack coming towards him. "

"Night Raid!" Budo roared, immediately targeting the flying ray. "I will exterminate every last one of you! LIGHTNING CRASH !"

Immediately, a huge black cloud formed above the flying ray, and began to roar, a sign that it was charged with electricity.

"What's that?" Lubbock asked in fear.

"Bad news." Mine said.

"Quickly, go away." Najenda ordered her parting.

It was useless. In an instant, lightning struck them immediately.

"JUMP!" Lubbock shouted immediately, jumping into the void.

Creating, before that, two threads, he let them wrap around Mine and Najenda, and pulled them so as to take them with him in his fall. And barely had the two women left the back of the flying ray, that the animal was struck by lightning. Not even having time to let out a cry of pain, it found itself carbonized, and died in a second, while its corpse crashed to the ground.

Starting to imitate it, Lubbock screamed in fear, as he got closer to the ground. However, that was without counting on the sudden appearance of Lily, in his warrior form, who seized him and Najenda. For his part, Happy intercepted Mine, and flew near his friend.

"This guy really has power comparable to Laxus! I hope he doesn't have his strength, otherwise we'll have a hard time defeating him."

Trembling for his part, Lily had a hard time hiding her fear, towards the lightning. He was truly terrified of it.

For his part, finding himself facing Budo, Gajeel smiled somewhat, while declaring.

"So this is what you're going to stop us with? Pffft, don't make us laugh! I've had worse than you, in my world."

"In your world?"

"Yeah, and if you ask me, you don't even have a place in the top 5 best mages of Fairy Tail! That damn Laxus is much more powerful than you."

"Laxus? Who is he? The leader of Fairy Tail? Oh, damn it…! What do I care about your nonsense? ADVENT OF THUNDER EMPEROR !"

In an instant, a rain of lightning struck around the man. Forced to retreat, everyone had to flee so as not to be electrocuted on the spot. And yet, despite the power of the attack, Tatsumi screamed before running towards Budo.

"Tatsumi!" Leone was horrified, seeing him charge.

Running until he was out of breath, Tatsumi began to zigzag, feint, and gesticulate in all directions in order to avoid the lightning. Twice, one of them managed to hit him, and damaged his armor here and there. Yet, despite this, the boy persevered, until he found himself in front of Budo.

" Huh ? " Said the man.

"Budo!" Tatsumi roared, aiming his fist at his face.

Having seen him from the beginning, the general only had to take a step to the side, at the last moment, to avoid his attack. Then, raising his hand, he directed his blade towards Tatsumi's neck in order to knock him out.

" Stupide kid ! "

However, surprise was visible on his face, while Tatsumi managed to use his other hand to place it behind his back. Managing to grab Budo's hand, he began to squeeze it with all his strength.

"I've got you!"

" Huh ? " Said Budo.

Suddenly, he ducked down as he felt an aura on his back. Passing over his head, Akame's sword barely managed to graze him, despite the fact that the fighter had taken advantage of Tatsumi's diversion to approach Budo, while remaining as discreet as possible.

"I see." Budo said. "That boy was just acting as bait and stopping me from running away by grabbing my hand! However,…"

Despite Tatsumi and Incursio's weight, he had no trouble raising his arm into the air, lifting his opponent with ease.

"You are nothing compared to me."

Bringing his fist down with all his might, against the ground, he smashed Tatsumi's armor, hitting him in the abdomen. Reduced to pieces, the armor disappeared, leaving Tatsumi vomiting blood.

"And one."

Then forming a gun with his fingers, he released an electric discharge that hit Akame and electrocuted her. The poor girl then fell to the ground, unconscious.

"And two."

Then looking at the rest of the gang, he wanted to know.

"Whose turn is it?"

In response, he crossed his arms in front of him, as a rain of sharp feathers rained down on him. Hitting his armor as well as his protected forearms, they didn't cause the slightest scratch to the soldier, while the general threw an angry look at Run.

"Damn it!" the Jaeger muttered. "His protections are much stronger than I thought!

Suddenly performing a perfect loop, he was able to avoid an explosive sphere that had been thrown towards him.

"What do you think you're doing?" Champ asked, suddenly filled with a burst of courage. "I'm your opponent."

"With Budo's arrival, our chances of winning have increased." Izou remarked. "Let's use this chance to reduce the number of our enemies."

Approaching in turn, Giry roared.

"Those damn brats are gonna pay for this! I'm gonna wring their necks."

"If Budo wants to destroy Night Raid that much, let him do it." The clown advised. "We'll take care of the Jaegers! I'll take care of Run! Izou, I guess you're going to take Kurome! As for you, Giry, just kill Bols and his little family! And do us the pleasure of killing those two damn kids who are at the origin of all this. "

Then looking for Seryu and Wendy, Champ was suddenly very surprised to see Giry's body, lying on the ground, still unconscious after the blow that Leone had given him.

"What…?" Champ wondered, turning around.

Pointed towards him was a needle ready to pierce his neck, in order to kill him.

"I've got you!" Giry chuckled, in a feminine voice.

However, suddenly being cut in two, the needle couldn't reach its target, while Izou had intervened in time.

"It takes more than that to fool me... Night Raid."

Smiling, the Giry, right in front of him, did a quick jump back, before disappearing in a small pink cloud. Then, Chelsea's silhouette could be seen.

"Impressive, I see your group has at least one competent person."

For his part, still afraid of having escaped death so closely, Champ fell backwards, all the while trembling.

"What...? What...? Who is this person?"

"Idiot!" Syura suddenly roared, placing himself next to them. "Stop acting like a bunch of losers and kill them once and for all! Do you really want to be humiliated?"

"Hey! Aren't you the one who just lost your teigu?" Izou mumbled, unhappy at being treated like a dog by this man.

"Huh? Did you say something?"

"No, nothing!" Izou lied, while pointing his saber at Chelsea.

Understanding what he was planning to do, the young girl then preferred to flee. This was without counting on Izou's speed, which allowed him to already be next to her.

"It's over! My saber is looking forward to being covered in your blood."

Still remaining very calm, Chelsea only had to bend down. And it was only like this that Izou was able to see Gajeel's silhouette right behind her.

" IRON DRAGON'S CLUB ! "

Extending his arm, while transforming it into a pillar, Gajeel directed it at full speed towards Izou. Blocking it nevertheless with his saber, the samurai began to smile, while he managed to stop the attack of his new enemy.

"Oh? A quality opponent? I'm already excited for our fight."

"Tsss!" Gajeel said simply. "You were about to attack a defenseless girl and you dare to call yourself a man? Don't make me laugh."

"Oh, thank you, Gajeel-darling, for standing up for me." Chelsea cooed then, while hiding behind him.

"You, shut up! Stop getting me into trouble."

"Hey, Izou, I never ordered you to…" Syura began.

He was then cut off, by the sounds of various explosions. Trying in vain to touch Run, with his orbs, Champ only missed him and was even forced to back away, again and again to not get hit by his feathers.

Getting up, the real Giry was surprised to see Lily and Happy land in front of him, along with Mine, Najenda and Lubbock.

"What…?" He wondered, before the members of Night Raid began to attack him.

"Damn it, what the hell is this?" Syura wanted to know, stepping back.

"It's the fruits of all the carnage you've created." Wave stated, walking towards him.

" W ... What ? "

"Syura! You are now my enemy! I must eliminate you."

"Eliminate me? Me?" The man asked, smiling stupidly. "Don't make me laugh! You never..."

He suddenly fell silent, after Wave got in front of him and managed to punch him right in the stomach. Then throwing him to the ground, Wave saw him writhing in pain and trying to catch his breath.

"Stand up." The former Jaeger ordered him. " Our fight has only just begun. "

"What? " Syura wondered. " There's no way he's stronger than me! "

Finding herself passed out for a few moments, Akame finally made out the sounds of the different battles all around her. Budo tried to strike down Leone while the young woman ran around him, dodging his attacks as best she could. Run dominated the sky and relentlessly attacked Champ while the clown had the greatest difficulty in responding. Wave fought Syura while Gajeel did the same against Izou.

Opening her eyes then, Akame could make out movements in front of her, corresponding to a pair of legs walking towards her. Then, when they stopped, not far from her face, a voice questioned her.

"Why did you abandon me, sister?"

Then widening her eyes, Akame finally raised her gaze, to see Kurome, in front of her, with her saber in hand. However, paying no attention to her weapon, Akame focused her gaze on Kurome's face, and noticed that her sister was crying.

"Tell me, right now! Tell me your reason! I want to kill you so much! I want so much to make you my doll and stop you from running away again and leaving me alone! Yet I… Yet I…! I want to know! Why did you abandon me?