The combined weight of the three of them was already more than fifty kilograms over the limit.
Since the glider had to double as clothing, its design was nowhere near as sturdy as a real glider.
Cornelia gripped it tightly, but she still heard the fabric crying out under the strain.
"Wh-what's that sound?" Gin panicked, asking as she looked up.
Cornelia's face turned ugly. "This is bad, this is bad, this is really bad!"
Riiip!
"Aaaaaah!"
Along with the girls' screams, one side of the glider tore apart from the pressure.
The three of them fell rapidly toward the forest below.
...
Up on the castle, Merraid watched the three disappear into the forest, yet there was no displeasure on her face.
If anything, she seemed rather delighted.
"Master?"
"Dora."
"Yes?"
"Don't you think it's beautiful?"
"Ah? You mean...?"
"Feelings, Dora. Feelings. Such beautiful love between girls. To spare Akame from suffering, and to protect her, they chose to jump from such a height."
As Merraid spoke, her breathing gradually became more excited.
For her, being close to cute girls and watching bonds between girls bloom were among life's greatest pleasures.
Girls really should love girls after all!
Akame stared at the collapsed section of the castle and the companions who had vanished into the distance.
She was worried about them, but at the same time, she also felt relieved.
Because this meant she would not have to cross blades with the family she cherished, and Kurome would not be killed.
Finally, it also meant she herself had survived.
Merraid looked at her and said, "Come here. We need to prepare to welcome our employer."
Cassandra asked, "What about the remaining captive?"
Merraid waved her hand.
"Leave that to the Revolutionary Army to consider. We only need to take Akame and Kurome with us."
"Understood."
...
At that moment, in the forest...
Cornelia forced her eyes open.
Then, to her shock, she realized she was lying on top of a tree.
After recalling what had happened, her expression eased slightly.
"Fell into a tree and had the impact softened, huh? Lucky me."
She grabbed the trunk, swung a few times, and successfully flipped down to the ground.
After that, she began searching for Poney and Gin.
Considering that they had fallen almost straight down, they should not be too far apart.
She had only walked a few steps when she heard a faint sound.
She looked up.
Poney was hanging from one of the tree branches.
Gin, meanwhile, was hanging upside down from the tree beside her, one foot tangled in vines.
"Haa, thank goodness. Everyone's okay."
Gin, hanging upside down, looked extremely uncomfortable.
Her face turned pale as she said, "I think there's something seriously wrong with your definition of okay!"
After helping each other down, the three of them successfully landed safely.
Cornelia suggested that they move toward the camp where they had previously gathered.
The three immediately set out.
...
About half an hour later, Gozuki was extremely surprised to see the three suddenly return.
He called them into the tent and asked them for the details.
That was when he learned about Akame and Kurome's current situation, as well as Tsukushi, whom Poney had left behind.
"We have to hurry back and save them!" Poney said anxiously.
But Gozuki fell silent.
Emotionally, he did want to set out immediately.
Because with their current combat strength, their odds in a direct battle were already above eighty percent.
The reason their previous operation had failed was because the enemy had monitored their deployment through insects and seen their positions clearly, then defeated them one by one.
Oarburgh's level was indeed extraordinary.
Especially that insect user.
Her strength was very high, and even Gozuki had found her extremely troublesome to deal with.
No wonder the children had lost.
They were still too inexperienced.
If they fought again, he would choose to have the children launch a frontal assault together.
For example, right now.
With the enemy's numbers, there was absolutely no way they could withstand that this time.
But the problem was, the enemy must have known that too.
Even so, they had not pursued, and they had even allowed these three children to escape back here.
He really could not understand how those lunatics thought.
"Of course we'll save them, but we can't just attack like this. You said Akame and Kurome both had insect eggs implanted inside them, right? Nahashu is the same."
"Nahashu?! How could that happen?!" The moment Poney heard that even their leader had been implanted with those disgusting insect eggs, she immediately became anxious.
She herself did not even realize that her anxiety was much stronger than before.
Gozuki frowned. "That's exactly why this is troublesome."
After thinking for a while, he could only reach one conclusion.
They had to ask old man Bill and see if he could come up with something.
And when he told Bill everything, Bill answered decisively, "Of course, no problem."
"Oh?" Gozuki said in surprise. "That simple?"
"Simple?"
Bill raised an eyebrow.
"No, it's not simple at all. If you had told me five days in advance and brought me a sample, I should be able to hand you an insecticide now."
"Five days?!"
"Yes."
"I don't have five days! Make it for me within half an hour!"
"Hah? You're asking the impossible."
"Then one hour! Aren't you the Empire's greatest scientist? You can't even do something like this?"
"Stop talking nonsense. No one could possibly do something like..." Bill roared halfway, but the rest of the words refused to come out.
Because he thought of Noah.
That overly outstanding student of his.
Rationally speaking, he felt that even Noah should not be able to do something like this.
But he did not want to believe that.
At some point, that student had surpassed him by far too much.
Sometimes, Bill even found himself wondering whether Noah really was omnipotent.
All this time, he had felt that this student was hiding his true ability!
Although Noah had plenty of achievements and accomplishments, he still gave off a lazy, indifferent feeling.
As though his heart was not truly in this field, and he was only casually dealing with them.
"Hey, why did you stop talking? Don't tell me there really is a scientist better than you?"
The moment Gozuki asked that question, a certain figure flashed through his mind.
That young man always had that calm expression.
At that moment, Gozuki suddenly spoke.
"Let me guess. The person we're thinking of right now is probably the same one, isn't it?"
Bill fell silent for two seconds, then took out another person's file.
Gozuki accepted the file and looked at the information on it, reading the name in a low voice.
"Dr. Stylish?"
"This person sounds somewhat familiar."
Bill sighed. "If you're looking for help, call this man over as well. He was once a member of the Science Division too, but after gaining some achievements, he founded his own unit."
"I understand."
"You contact Noah. I'll contact Stylish. In any case, this place isn't too far from the Imperial Capital. With their abilities, they should be able to arrive within an hour."
After saying that, Bill turned around and began fiddling with those complicated devices that made even Gozuki's head hurt just by looking at them.
...
In the Imperial Capital, when Noah saw the communication device used to contact Gozuki light up, he knew more work had arrived.
Noah glanced at the dazed-looking Hekatonkheires beside him, then directly picked it up.
He looked toward the palace.
Above the palace, many flying-type Danger Beasts circled all year round.
Among them, there were even super-class Danger Beasts, and all of those Danger Beasts were controlled by a certain Teigu.
If Black Nightmare did not want to become the target of those monsters, then it had to fly around them or maintain a low enough altitude.
After all, monsters controlled by a Teigu would not leave their assigned area.
After a long period of optimization and modification, aside from Black Nightmare's original weapon system, it was now also loaded with a large number of bombs, enough to nearly annihilate an entire army group.
It was not that Noah intended to do anything in particular.
He had simply stored the results of his usual research on it all at once.
Although they had said he should arrive within an hour if possible, the time he actually needed was nowhere near that long.
He even ate a meal first before leisurely finding a place to depart.
....
By comparison, Dr. Stylish, who had set out immediately after receiving the order, arrived at the rendezvous point before him.
In fact, he had already begun researching the insect eggs inside Nahashu's body.
Gozuki looked at the man who gave off a strange atmosphere.
He looked less than thirty years old, and his behavior was quite gentlemanly. Wearing a pair of glasses, he resembled some kind of elite professional.
There was stubble on his chin, but it was not messy.
His appearance was clearly maintained carefully, showing that he was someone who cared about his image.
Because Gozuki was seeing him in person, many memories became clearer.
This man, known as "Dr. Stylish," had once been a fairly famous scientist in the Empire.
He had carried the title of genius scientist and received significant attention from the Empire.
At the time, the scientific level he displayed was enough to make even other nations covet it.
However, as the strongest country on the continent, the Empire had enough deterrence.
Therefore, only a very small portion of Dr. Stylish's technology had spread abroad.
Even so, his scientific skills were famous overseas and enjoyed an extremely high reputation.
Across the sea, the Peacock Dynasty had even sent people to the Empire specifically to learn his techniques, but no one had managed to last.
Many people who personally witnessed his research said they could not accept it.
In truth, his research was similar to Bill's. Both involved the "development" of the human body.
The difference was that Bill focused on drug development, while Dr. Stylish had far fewer restrictions.
His modifications to the human body were no longer confined to the category of "human."
Replacing human organs with animal organs, or even stripping away all skin and replacing it with a metallic coating—he carried out such things without the slightest hesitation.
Because of their difference in philosophy, Bill had originally intended to bury him away.
However, Stylish used his own means to contact the Empire's higher-ups and obtained the right to establish a new unit.
Although his seniority was still shallow, his status was not actually inferior to Bill's.
He might even be the highest-ranking person present.
"Mm-hmm, I see. So that's how it is. A woman who controls insect-type Danger Beasts. Very interesting."
Although Dr. Stylish spoke as if he were discussing serious business, his gaze remained on Nahashu.
Nahashu's cold, handsome appearance and lonely, proud aura seemed to draw Stylish's attention.
The two attendants following Stylish noticed this and immediately understood that their master had taken an interest in the handsome boy.
Dr. Stylish.
He was similar to Merraid Oarburgh, yet also completely opposite.
His romantic interest was also directed toward the same sex.
He gay af.
That was why the two of them were similar, yet entirely opposite.
"Come now, young man. Open your mouth." Dr. Stylish spoke to Nahashu in a gentle voice.
Nahashu felt somewhat uncomfortable.
This man's gaze disgusted him!
But what he was doing was meant to help him.
That contradiction left Nahashu conflicted.
He obeyed the instruction and opened his mouth.
At that moment, Dr. Stylish put away his expression, and his gaze became serious.
He removed his right hand from his pocket and took off the glove covering it.
Everyone saw that he was wearing a strangely shaped hand apparatus.
His fingers moved slightly.
Thin fibers, so fine that the naked eye could not detect them, slipped nimbly into Nahashu's throat and extended deeper into his body.
Gozuki sensed those fibers, and his heart tightened.
Such delicate fibers were actually being sent into Nahashu's body under this man's control?
Should he call that boldness or confidence?
The inside of the human body was incredibly fragile.
As someone who had refined his own body to the extreme, Gozuki understood that better than anyone.
Even with fibers that thin, if they tangled around something or knotted inside the body, the result could very well be fatal.
Dr. Stylish seemed a little surprised.
He had not expected someone here to notice what he was doing.
So he explained aloud, "Relax. This is a Teigu."
'What?'
Gozuki was surprised.
'This man actually had a Teigu?'
Dr. Stylish multitasked with perfect composure.
"Divine Hands: Perfector. This Teigu amplifies the precision of my finger movements by several hundred times. It is the Teigu most suited to me. Now, I will use that precision to extract the insect eggs inside this young man's body. As long as I can analyze a portion of the egg tissue, I will be able to immediately produce a medicine that kills them."
"I heard you also called someone else for assistance. Hehe. I don't know who it is, but I'll have to apologize to him. His arrival is destined to be meaningless."
Dr. Stylish used his free left hand to push up his glasses, his face full of confidence.