Akame came crashing through the window with bedsheets and curtains wrapped around her body, Kurome on her back, and a large bundle of weapons in her arms.
Seeing her suddenly break in, the relaxed look on Merraid's face darkened slightly.
Poney and the others, however, lit up with excitement.
"Akame! You're okay? Thank goodness!"
Akame looked at them and was surprised as well.
The first thing she did was throw the bundle of weapons toward them.
Cornelia caught it first, and the instant it landed in her hands, she realized what was inside.
By feeling the shape through the wrapping, she found her Shingu, Crusher King.
She reached in at once and equipped it directly.
By the time she pulled her arm back out, the familiar armguard was already fitted over her hand.
Then she tossed the weapon bundle to Gin.
Gin immediately spotted the handle of her large blade and grabbed it, drawing the weapon out.
Regaining her weapon brought a confident smile to her face.
"Perfect. Just in time!"
At that moment, the careful Cornelia noticed Kurome's condition and asked, "Akame, what happened to Kurome?"
"She..."
Akame was about to explain.
But the moment she tried to speak, she remembered what Merraid had told her about the Empire's darkness and everything Kurome had gone through, and she froze.
After hesitating for a moment, she only said, "Kurome is fine. She only passed out."
Cornelia smiled on the surface. "I see. That's good."
But in truth, she found Akame's reaction strange.
In fact, as the big sister figure of the girls' group, Cornelia had a mission no one else knew about.
Yes.
She was responsible for monitoring the others.
She had to secretly report their condition and any changes in them to Father.
Because she was Father's favorite daughter, she had been entrusted with that important duty.
And now, Cornelia keenly sensed that something was off about Akame.
Or rather, Akame had always been somewhat different from the others.
She would actually doubt Father's words and even voice questions.
That was far too strange.
As a child, how could she doubt Father's words?
At that moment, Cornelia could not help beginning to suspect that Akame might have already been brainwashed by the enemy.
Merraid was no longer watching from the side either.
She said coldly, "Akame, so you really did wake up. But for you to dare do something like this... have you forgotten about the eggs inside your body?"
Cold sweat ran down Akame's face as she gripped her sword with both hands.
In truth, she was gambling.
Because she did not know whether she had really been implanted with insect eggs.
It was also possible that Merraid had only made it up to restrain them.
"Then why haven't you killed me yet...?"
Akame continued testing her.
Merraid gently shook her head.
She said, "Although I like you very much, a child who misbehaves this badly still needs to be disciplined."
With that, Merraid rested her cheek on one hand and looked at Akame with a somewhat affectionate gaze.
All of a sudden, Akame felt something inside her body begin to throb.
She felt more than half her strength drain away in an instant, and she dropped to her knees, only able to support herself by using Kiriichimonji like a cane.
Immediately after that, she felt the sensation of something foreign inside her abdomen.
Then she covered her mouth as something surged up from deep within her throat.
Unable to endure it, Akame vomited violently and threw up the foreign objects.
Along with stomach acid, the sight of what she had vomited made a chill shoot straight up her spine.
Because she had actually thrown up three or four white larvae.
"Ugh."
Akame retched again.
This time, however, nothing strange came out.
"Akame!"
"Akame-chan! Are you okay?!"
"Hey, hey, hey, what the hell is that? That's disgusting." Seeing the larvae Akame had vomited still squirming, Gin felt her scalp go numb.
Seeing them panic, Merraid smiled in satisfaction.
She spoke again. "Did you think I only said I implanted insect eggs inside you to scare you? Don't forget, your little sister Kurome has been implanted with them as well. If you keep acting recklessly, I don't mind using your sister's death to prove that my words are true. How does that sound?"
'No!'
Akame's pupils shrank.
She clenched her fists, raised her head, and shouted, "Don't touch Kurome!"
She staggered to her feet, glaring fiercely at Merraid.
"Oh my, how frightening, Akame-chan. That's not the attitude you should have when asking someone for mercy." Merraid snapped her fingers.
In the next moment, Akame felt the sister on her back suddenly begin struggling.
She hurriedly untied the bedsheet and held Kurome in her arms.
Kurome's face was twisted with pain, and that pain had forcibly awakened her.
She writhed in agony, her cold little hands gripping Akame's clothes.
"Sis... Sister... it hurts. It hurts so much..."
"Kurome!!"
Seeing Kurome in pain, Akame immediately realized that Merraid was behind it.
She grabbed Kiriichimonji, and in that instant, her body erupted with unbelievable speed.
In the blink of an eye, she crossed the distance between them and arrived in front of Merraid.
That speed did not only shock Merraid. Even Cornelia, Poney, and Gin were stunned.
They could barely catch Akame's path of movement.
It was almost like teleportation.
Far too fast!
But for Merraid, all she did was raise one hand and rub her fingers together, as if preparing to snap them three times.
And because of that casual, almost weightless movement, Akame's blade stopped less than a centimeter in front of her eyes.
"Hehe. Finally calmed down?"
Merraid spoke as though mocking her.
"You should understand now. You can't attack me. If I die, the insect eggs inside you sisters will go out of control. When that happens, my insects will devour you from the inside out."
"..."
Akame clenched her teeth so hard it felt as if they might shatter.
She gripped Kiriichimonji's hilt with such force that the handle actually cracked apart in her hand.
Noticing that, Merraid was startled.
She had grown stronger again!
In such a short time, Akame had undergone another transformation.
Akame herself probably had not even realized that the speed she had just unleashed was far beyond what her past self could compare to.
This kind of growth, the sort that normally required years of steady effort, had happened twice in a short span of time!
It was truly astonishing.
What kind of power was causing this?
If this was merely talent, then wasn't that talent enough to rival Esdeath?
Merraid had dealt with Esdeath when she was young.
When she heard that Esdeath had become the youngest general in history, she had not been surprised at all.
Because she knew exactly what kind of monster Esdeath was.
Even as the heir to Oarburgh, Merraid had no choice but to avoid Esdeath back then.
That pure power had left an incredibly deep impression on her even now.
Many years had passed, and although she had not seen Esdeath again, she still believed in that woman's potential.
And now, the girl before her was the only person Merraid had ever seen whose talent could match Esdeath's.
Seeing Akame stop, Merraid looked at her ugly expression and already had an idea for how to control her.
Akame's greatest weakness was her little sister.
Kurome.
As long as Merraid promised to help treat Kurome, then used Kurome as a hostage, Akame would definitely obey.
At first, that would be enough to control her.
Afterward, there would be countless opportunities to make Akame accept Merraid, to make her truly understand this world, the Empire, and the Minister.
Once Akame understood all of that, then even if Kurome died later, she would surely walk the path of opposing the Empire.
"Hehehe."
Merraid reached out and gently stroked Akame's face.
Akame did not swing her sword. Instead, as if she had submitted, she let Kiriichimonji fall from her hand.
Seeing this, Gin loudly questioned her. "Hey, Akame, what are you doing?! Why aren't you cutting her down?!"
Cornelia stopped her and analyzed, "Wait, Gin. The insects inside Akame just now probably weren't all of them. Also, Kurome's body has most likely been implanted with the same things."
"What?"
Gin felt a chill run through her body, goosebumps rising all over her skin.
She quickly rubbed herself, unable to stop herself from wondering whether insects had been planted inside her too.
Merraid embraced the dazed Akame and pointed at Poney and the other two in front of her.
"Akame, you must be obedient. As long as you listen to me, I'll do everything I can to treat your little sister's body."
"You... you mean that?"
Hearing Merraid's words, a light called hope suddenly appeared in Akame's eyes.
Kurome was the closest person to her in the world.
Her only little sister.
Not her fake family.
She absolutely could not let Kurome die!
"Ah, of course it's true. But you have to be obedient. First, from now on, you are no longer the Empire's dog. You belong to me."
"You... want me to betray the Empire?"
Gozuki flashed through Akame's mind.
Father's face appeared there.
At the same time, scenes of her life with her "family" also passed through her thoughts.
No.
She couldn't.
Once she betrayed the Empire, her "family" would become her enemies!
She and Kurome would no longer be able to survive in the Empire.
"Hehe. The Empire isn't worth your devotion. Join us. We are employed by the Revolutionary Army. Once the Revolutionary Army overthrows the Empire, there will never again be pitiful children like you sisters." Merraid whispered temptingly beside Akame's ear.
Suddenly, Poney shouted, "Don't be fooled by her!"
She stepped forward, clenched her fist, and said, "Father said that when we face an enemy who tries to shake us with words, we have to reject them immediately! Don't think about the enemy's intentions, and don't try to understand their words! Did you forget, Akame?!"
Poney's loud series of shouts cleared Akame's cloudy gaze a little.
But Merraid became displeased.
She could tell at once that Poney had been heavily brainwashed.
No matter what she said to a child like this, persuasion would be impossible.
The only choice was to kill her.
"Very well. Then, Akame, your first mission is to kill these Imperial dogs."
'What?'
Akame stared blankly at the "companions" before her.
The hand holding her blade trembled, and so did her pupils, shaking violently.
Seeing the situation turn into this, Cornelia also felt that things had become extremely troublesome.
The enemy was using Akame's own little sister, Kurome, as a threat.
And it was not only Kurome.
Akame herself had also been implanted with insect eggs by the enemy, meaning her life was no longer in her own hands.
What could they do?
If Cornelia imagined their positions being reversed, what could she do?
The answer was nothing.
If they did not want to force Akame to suffer, then what was the only thing they could do now?
Suddenly, Cornelia thought of something.
She took a deep breath and looked toward the window Akame had shattered.
She swallowed, then abruptly whispered, "Poney, Gin, both of you, get close to me."
Hearing her voice, Gin and Poney moved to her side.
Cornelia's eyes were filled with resolve.
She said, "Both of you, hold on to me no matter what!"
"Eh?"
"Huh?"
Before Poney and Gin could even understand the plan, Cornelia suddenly raised Crusher King and clenched her fist tightly.
With a sharp shout, she unleashed Crusher King at full power.
Terrifying force slammed down, directly smashing apart the castle corridor and causing a large section of it to collapse.
"Uwaaaaaah!!"
"Hey, hey, hey! What the hell are we doing?! We're going to die, aren't we?!"
Poney and Gin clung tightly to Cornelia.
Cornelia leapt outside with everything she had. In midair, she flipped her outfit outward completely, and in the blink of an eye, her clothes actually transformed into a glider-like device.
The three hung beneath it, drifting toward the rainforest.
This made Poney extremely excited.
She shouted about how thrilling it was, then said to Cornelia, "Cornelia-nee, you actually had an escape trick like this? That's amazing!"
Gin was also completely astonished.
She had never imagined that a set of clothes could instantly turn into a glider.
Among the three of them, only Cornelia herself knew the situation was not good.
She was controlling the glider, but steering was almost impossible.
And the descent speed was completely wrong.
'Damn it.'
Three people really are overweight!
'Oh no!'
At this rate, whether they could land safely was a serious problem!
'Please, everyone in the Science Division, I hope the things you made are sturdy enough. All three of us are only sixteen. Wouldn't it be way too sad if we died now?'
'Come on, you have to hold!'
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