Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
Akame POV.
Lady Serena was terrifying. It should have been obvious, given that she had killed the fallen angel Kokabiel with extreme ease, and even defeated the current White Dragon in direct combat. But hearing those rumors was one thing, and experiencing her power firsthand was quite another.
The demonic power emanating from Lady Prince was definitely higher than that of a high-class devil; she was definitely a Ultimate-class devil, based solely on her demonic power. And she didn't even look like it.
While I was near her, I couldn't sense any of her power. My senses had been trained as part of my assassin training, but I couldn't feel anything from her, except when she used it to pressure Kurome.
Kurome remained silent, completely pale, trembling slightly as she watched Lady Serena's back disappear down one of the corridors. I glanced at my sister, conflicted.
My mission was to stop Kurome, but… at this point, I didn't even know if it would be necessary. Lady Prince had been able to incapacitate Kurome, a high-class devil, simply by unleashing her demonic power.
Najenda wanted to stop Honest's plan to send Kurome without disturbing Lady Prince along the way. It wasn't something she could really comment on. Still, at that moment, she could only think that everything would be easier if she approached Lady Serena directly and told her about the plans of Kurome, Honest, and the Old Satan faction.
But it was a general consensus that Lady Serena should not be disturbed or dragged into our fight. Lady Serena was essential to the lower-class devils and commoners. Pentagram City had to be held at all costs. Involving Lady Serena in our activities, even something as simple as speaking with her, could get her into trouble, something no one wanted.
We weren't a revolutionary army as such, at least not in name. The last thing we wanted was a second civil war among the devils. But none of us could ignore or forgive the actions of Lucifaad's devils.
So we fought them in the shadows. We were primarily assassin units. We aided the lower-class devils of Lucifaad wherever we could, and tried to rid ourselves of the corrupt, high-class devils who abused their power.
Even so, it was… a wake-up call that Lady Serena had been able to do more for the common devils in a few months than we had in decades. Lady Serena had practically sold herself out just to acquire the resources necessary to found Pentagram City.
A city for succubi and common devils. The mass exodus that occurred in Lucifaad practically saved more lives than we could have.
Furthermore, Lady Prince's queen, the impaling queen Bellatrix Black, and her bishop, Ravel Phenex, had taken care of half of Honest's special forces in a single confrontation.
The blows Lady Serena constantly dealt to Honest's forces and power were far greater than we could manage. Even so, we seized the opportunity to operate in the shadows.
It was during one of our missions that we fortunately overheard the plan Esdeath and her group were carrying out. Kurome would infiltrate Pentagram City and destroy all of the city's defenses so that Khaos Brigade and the Old Satan faction could attack the city and get rid of Lady Prince.
My job was to stop her at all costs.
"Dobby will guide you from now on!" said the… little creature cheerfully. I still didn't really know what in Hell he was, Dobby; I'd never seen anything like him. He was a small creature, barely over a meter tall, with big eyes, a long nose, and long, floppy ears.
"Dobby? What... kind of creature are you? " I asked cautiously.
"Dobby's a house-elf!" Dobby said cheerfully. I just blinked.
"…What is a house-elf?" I asked, confused.
"A house-elf is a house-elf!" Dobby said proudly, and I could only blink.
"I don't think you'll get a better answer," Kurome said curtly, seemingly composed. I frowned.
"Can you show us what our duties will be?" I asked Dobby. Dobby nodded vigorously, so vigorously that I was worried his head would pop out of his little body.
"Dobby will teach you all the young ladies you need to know about the manor!" Dobby said proudly before he started walking, practically bouncing; he walked, bouncing happily.
Lady Prince was rather vague as she pointed things out to us. She only indicated the general direction of where things were before leaving. She seemed to be in a hurry, so she must have had some important matters to attend to, and I didn't mind her leaving so quickly.
But Dobby was more… thorough. He practically started talking about everything in the mansion, about the objects and anything we found. He opened every room and happily showed them to us. We went through the same hallways several times, opening each door before moving on to another.
And… I had to admit, it was the strangest house I'd ever seen in my life. It was like a mansion straight out of a really weird fantasy book. No offense to Lady Serena, but… There was no other way to put it.
The main hall mimicked the sky, the same magic she had placed over Pentagram City, only this time inside a ballroom. Objects in the house tended to move on their own. I saw brooms move and sweep by themselves, plates float from one side to the other, and objects simply rearrange themselves.
Some portraits and photos moved. Doors, hallways, and staircases changed position. Rooms so cramped on the outside that they seemed like they could only fit a small wardrobe, but inside it was an enormous room that definitely couldn't possibly be there.
And then there were rooms filled with cables and technology whose purpose I couldn't even begin to understand. Which, I'll admit, felt out of place and disconcerting after seeing rooms filled with magic.
And the flowers. Like… where did she get flowers that looked like butterflies? Or flowers capable of singing? Or that floated? I had simply… given up trying to understand what I was seeing.
And there were many places we couldn't go. The first was the library. We were forbidden from entering the library. As were the personal and private rooms of those who lived in the mansion. As were Lady Serena's magic workshops.
Once we finished exploring the mansion, we went outside, and that was another complete shock. Dobby led us to what he called the Vivarium —pocket-sized enclosures filled with magical animals.
There were… so many kinds of animals I'd never seen before. And the same with the plants. So many unknown and magical plants. I suppose this is where Lady Serena gathered the ingredients for her potions.
"Um... who are they?" Kurome asked, frowning as she watched two red-haired women slowly moving a little way away from us.
"Devola and Popola!" said Dobby cheerfully. "They take care of the animals and plants! But Dobby helps too! Just like A2 and 2B! " Dobby added. I just looked at him, confused.
"But... I thought Lady Prince hadn't hired anyone else," I said, confused. Dobby nodded.
"They weren't hired; they were created by Miss Lady Serena!" Dobby said cheerfully. I stopped stiffly.
"Created?" I asked cautiously.
"Yes, created!" Dobby confirmed, but didn't elaborate. I just glanced cautiously at the pair of redheads. Were they... something like golems? The level of detail was incredible. The pair looked like sisters; I could barely tell them apart from real people. They even... felt alive, but a little more confusing. I just wouldn't dwell on it.
"By the way, where's the kitchen? I thought I'd take care of the food." I offered readily. The last thing I wanted was to see Kurome trying to poison Lady Serena. I really couldn't see it working, but better safe than sorry. To my surprise, Dobby stopped and looked at me steadily and seriously for the first time.
"The kitchen is forbidden," Dobby said seriously, crossing his little arms. "The kitchen is Lady Prince's territory, and no one else's," Dobby said before bursting into tears. "Oh, Dobby wants to cook for Lady, but Dobby isn't as good as Lady! Dobby has failed his task!" Dobby said before he started crying. I just blinked, confused. The only thing I understood was that Lady Serena cooked for herself and her peerage, which was… a surprise, but not unpleasant. "Ah! Lady Ravel needs me!" Dobby said as his tears vanished immediately, and then he disappeared too.
Kurome and I stared at the spot where Dobby had disappeared before moving. We both lunged at each other; Kurome tried to punch me, but I dodged it to the side, spun around, and tried to kick her.
Kurome put up her arm to stop the attack, which pushed her back a few centimeters, but she moved once more and tried to attack me again. I moved to respond, then stopped stiffly when a woman appeared between us.
"Did you finish fighting?" the woman asked coldly, barely glancing at us. I paled slightly and stepped back. Mainly because I hadn't even felt the woman move; she simply appeared between us. I didn't sense her moving or even that any demonic power was involved; she just appeared.
"My apologies, no-"
"I'm not interested." The woman interrupted me before walking forward and turning around. She wore a black dress, had silver hair that covered one eye, and looked at us bored, as if we were a nuisance or insects. "I'm Horn, the head maid and assistant to Lady Syr Flova, who is currently living in this mansion."
"As long as Lady Syr Flova lives in this mansion, I'm also in charge of looking after it. Dobby should have already given you a tour of the mansion; I'll show you what your duties will be," Horn said before turning away. Kurome and I glanced at each other, glared once more, before I immediately followed Horn.
Horn walked down the long corridors before opening a door; it was an empty room. Then she pointed to the bed, where two sets of clothes were neatly folded on top.
"Your uniforms, put them on." Horn ordered easily.
"Uniforms?" Kurome asked, making a face. Horn frowned at the question.
"Let's go." Horn said simply before heading for the door.
"But the uni- " I stopped abruptly at the question as I looked incredulously at my body. I was... wearing the maid's uniform. I glanced at the bed where my clothes were neatly folded. I felt myself go pale as I watched Horn's back recede.
What the hell. I could see Kurome was just as surprised; we both looked at each other and paled slightly before quickly following Horn. That woman… she was dangerous.
We were walking down the corridors before Horn stopped stiffly.
The two of us stopped behind her, waiting for orders, but before we could ask, a small woman with turquoise hair, pale skin, and pink tattoos appeared. Rebecca. I knew the names of all of Lady Prince's Peerage; I'd made it my mission to memorize everything about them. She approached, carrying what looked like a rather exotic machine gun in her arms.
"Horn! Have you see-"
"It's in the hallway on the left," Horn said easily, and Rebecca smiled broadly.
"Preem. Thanks, Horn!" Rebecca said cheerfully before stopping and looking behind Horn—that is, toward us. "Need to get rid of these Chooms?" Rebecca asked with a wide smile. She easily moved the heavy machine gun before pointing it in my direction. The machine gun barrel began to rotate slowly and menacingly, seemingly oozing some kind of dark energy. That… wasn't a normal machine gun.
"It's not necessary, Lady Rebecca," Horn said without flinching. "I think you'd prefer to go to Distracted Globe; the Arenas will be good entertainment." She added, and Rebecca just snorted, slinging the machine gun over her shoulder.
"Okay, okay, I'll go." Rebecca said as she walked away.
"She... wasn't going to shoot us, was she? " I asked cautiously as Rebecca walked away. Horn just glanced at us before starting to walk again. That... wasn't reassuring in the slightest. We kept walking before Horn grabbed both of us by the back of the neck and pulled us off the path.
Then a blade emerged from the ground and pierced the place where we had been standing. It was a short, thick, quite old blade with a pommel shaped like a beast's skull, attached to a chain.
The blade and chain sliced the mansion in half before flying back down to where they had come from. I stared in shock before my heart sank. We were under attack?! I immediately looked at Kurome, only to see the shock in her eyes. Wasn't it Khaos Brigade? Then—
Horn began to drag us aside once more. This time, a muscular man emerged from where we stood. Two meters tall, pure muscle, with tanned and scarred skin. His arms were encased in chains, and his hands held the blade that had pierced the ground. Or blades, it seemed; it was part of a pair, as he carried two, one in each hand.
The man was launched off the ground, hit the ceiling, and came to a stop. He plunged both blades into the ceiling and stood there staring down at the hole he had made. And then, the Impaler Queen emerged from the ground, a deranged smile on her face, spear in hand, and without hesitation, she lunged at the man.
The man then moved, used one of his blades to stop the spear, then used the other and plunged it into Lady Bellatrix's shoulder, finally kicking Bellatrix in the stomach and throwing her to the ground with enormous force that broke the entire floor.
Then the man used the blade still embedded in Lady Bellatrix's shoulder, attached to the chain on her arm, and yanked her before throwing her against a wall. Lady Bellatrix's laughter echoed through the room as she was tossed around like a rag doll, slammed against every wall.
Horn remained impassive, simply grabbing our necks and beginning to move us along with her, somehow always in the exact position to prevent the fight from affecting us. We narrowly avoided any attack; once, it would have been luck, but doing it repeatedly showed how skilled Horn was.
The man finally grabbed Lady Bellatrix by the head and began slamming her against the ground repeatedly. Lady Bellatrix dissolved into smoke, reappearing beside Ottar, her arm enveloped in a translucent white sphere, which, when it struck Ottar's body, seemed to shatter reality itself.
Ottar flew through the wall, and Bellatrix immediately followed. Kurome and I stared in disbelief at the enormous destruction their fight had caused.
"It seems the defensive enchantments in the training room have broken again. Lady Serena will need to reinforce them even further," Horn said nonchalantly as she began walking over the rubble.
"W-who was he?" Kurome asked, almost pale.
"Ottar." She said simply and didn't seem to want to offer any further explanation. Horn paused once more before sighing and stopping us both. Then a massive green laser beam the size of a room ripped through the entire mansion from bottom to top, destroying everything in its path. When it ended, a huge, smoking hole remained. Then a voice was heard from the hole.
"Record 157, prototype BFG-9232. Core based on the BFG-9000, project objective: to reproduce and eventually exceed the capacity of the BFG-10000. Prismatic Energy as the power source, as a substitute for Argent energy. Recorded power output: 739.55419%. Core stability remained above 99.9% throughout the discharge. There was no structural collapse or material deformation. Completely stable."
"A notable improvement in the attempt to utilize and converge holy and demonic energy. Containment defenses failed after 4.2045 seconds of concentrated attack from the prototype. Improve defenses." The cold voice, almost like that of a machine, emerged from the hole that now existed in the mansion.
A tiny woman, with a tangle of wires protruding from her body, flew out while inspecting the damage she had caused. Then she simply looked at us before descending again.
"The architecture is viable, the BFG-9232 prototype can be considered a success, and the design of the BFG-9233 prototype begins." The voice disappeared into the hole without saying a word.
"Nice laser." Another voice said as she approached the hole. The woman was Lucyna Kushinada. "I guess she's finished her experiment. It's the perfect time to pester GLaDOS with some upgrades." With that, Lucyna simply jumped into the hole.
"Horn!!" Another shout startled us. Kurome and I braced ourselves for whatever might happen. But this time, it was simply a woman running toward us. Enid Sinclair. A non-combatant, a priority target to keep safe. "Tell Serena I'll be busy! She's busy and not answering me! I'll be editing the missing videos with Koro-sensei! And get everything ready, please; we're having a premiere movie night!" I want everyone to see how it turned out!" Enid Sinclair said cheerfully as she walked past, jumped over the huge hole as if the hole had always been there, and continued on her way.
"Horn, my dear," a male voice said, and we turned to see Lucius Malfoy smiling slightly. "I have the files Syr asked for. If you would do me the favor of taking them to her, I need to finish the paperwork before the special event," Lucius said calmly. Horn took the folder full of papers.
"I will, Lord Lucius. My lady thanks you," Horn said, bowing. Lucius just laughed and finally looked at both of us. His gaze was slightly unsettling, as if he were looking into our souls and knew things. Lucius smiled before nodding in our direction.
"I'll be in my office if Syr needs any more information about the paperwork," Lucius said casually before turning and walking away. He seemed barely to care about all the destruction. In fact, everyone acted normally, as if this were a common occurrence.
"Let's go to the next wing; this one will be unusable until tomorrow," Horn said calmly, turning away.
I… could barely keep up with everything that had just happened. What kind of mansion had I stumbled into?
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