"Even though Berserk is supposed to be a trump card, you were still killed in one hit after using it. You really don't live up to the name of a Magical Beast. I understand. You don't want to be this weak either, so I'll make you stronger."
Noah looked at the giant monster before him, which was less asleep and more completely shut down, while holding its core in his hand.
Even if the core of a biological-type Teigu was separated from its body, the flesh would not collapse unless the core itself was destroyed.
He had obtained useful knowledge again.
Noah casually engraved an anti-barrier formula onto Hekatonkheires's core.
Recently, he had made great progress in developing and using formulas.
However, most of it was at the application level, not the combat level.
Honestly, it had been a long time since he had felt like he was truly "fighting."
Not that he particularly longed for it.
After all, he was a "non-combatant."
...
At the same time, Najenda had already brought the army, Oarburgh's group, and the Revolutionary Army's main force together.
Seeing such a large-scale march, both Akame and Kurome were deeply shocked.
Although they had always carried out assassinations against important "anti-Empire" figures, they had never seen this many people who were dissatisfied with the Empire.
"There are actually this many people who are dissatisfied with the Empire, even to the point of hatred..."
Akame looked at everything around her, shaken badly.
In truth, even before arriving here, they had already passed more than ten villages and several fairly large towns.
She had originally thought the local troops in those places would report them to the Empire or engage the rebel army in battle, but reality was completely different.
What she saw was neglect.
It was as though they had not seen this force that posed a huge threat to the Empire at all.
There were even two or three villages that welcomed them very warmly.
Everywhere they went, she saw people living miserable lives, completely different from what "Father" had told them.
Ever since she learned Noah's true identity, she had started thinking.
Was Longxi Village really a real village?
Was the truth just as she suspected, that everything there had been nothing more than an illusion created to cultivate them into assassins?
At the time, she had wanted to ask Noah clearly, but the situation had not allowed it.
"Sister!"
Seeing her sister's shaken expression, Kurome frowned deeply.
Again.
Her sister was starting to question the Empire again.
How could that be allowed?
The Empire's dignity could not be violated.
If her sister continued like this, and even became someone from an anti-Empire faction, then what was Kurome supposed to do?
Wouldn't she have no choice but to kill her sister?
Kurome clenched her teeth and secretly resolved to stop that from happening.
However, as if seeing through her thoughts, Merraid walked over at that moment and separated the sisters into different rooms.
Even if Kurome and Akame strongly objected, it was useless. Right now, they were nothing more than prisoners.
With the insects in their stomachs used as threats, they had no choice but to obey.
Kurome followed behind Merraid and was taken to the outskirts of the camp.
As she walked, Kurome looked left and right at the terrain, drawing a map inside her mind.
Although she was not the best among those specially trained in this field, she was still fairly skilled at it.
"Are you planning to deceive my sister and turn her into someone from an anti-Empire faction?!"
Kurome questioned the woman in front of her.
Merraid, however, had no intention of answering at all.
She simply led the way until the two of them arrived at a firewood shed.
Merraid opened the door and said, "Go in."
Although Kurome was unwilling, she could only walk inside.
Because her medicine had been taken away, she had been feeling uneasy this entire time.
If she did not take the medicine, those painful symptoms would flare up. It was an experience she never wanted to feel a second time after experiencing it once.
Bang!
The door was locked.
Kurome looked at the terrible environment, found a relatively clean corner, and curled up there, squatting with her arms around herself.
"So cold."
...
On the other side, Akame was taken to a rather luxurious room.
Not only was there a fireplace warming the entire room, but there was also a table full of prepared food, with fish and meat taking up more than half of it.
"What is this?"
Akame looked at this treatment, which could not be considered that of a prisoner at all, and turned in confusion toward the twin-tailed maid.
"What's going on?"
Cassandra glanced at her and said expressionlessly, "Lady Merraid had people prepare this. It is that lady's goodwill. I advise you not to reject her kindness."
There was a faint sourness in her tone.
It smelled like jealousy.
Akame looked at the delicious food before her, then touched her empty stomach.
She swallowed, sat down on the chair, and began sweeping through the food on the table.
"Mm, it tastes pretty good!"
Akame ate pork in two bites and did not even use chopsticks for the fish, directly grabbing it by the tail and stuffing it into her mouth.
A tremendous sense of happiness filled her.
But at that moment, she suddenly realized something.
So she asked the cold maid beside her, "Hey, what about my little sister, Kurome? Is she locked up somewhere like this too?"
Cassandra said, "That's right."
Hearing that answer, Akame let out a breath of relief.
Good.
Kurome was the person she worried about most.
If Kurome could eat enough, stay warm, and was not in danger for the time being, then Akame could focus on her own thoughts.
She did not know how long she would stay here, but during this time, she had to uncover the Empire's true face.
Everything she had seen along the way.
The secrets Merraid had told her.
And what the Empire had done to Kurome.
All of it had already left her psychological defenses in tatters.
Only one final breath remained.
Just a little more, and all the trust she had built up toward the Empire in the past would be completely overturned.
...
Najenda and the high-ranking members of the Revolutionary Army held their meeting until late at night.
During this meeting, one of her decisions was approved, and at the same time, her authority was placed under certain restrictions.
First, she lost command over the army she had brought with her.
Those troops would also be split up and assigned to different camps.
After all, Najenda was a former Imperial general.
Although the Revolutionary Army welcomed her joining them, if they did not do this, she would instantly become the person with the greatest voice in the Revolutionary Army.
That was not permitted.
This army followed her because of her personal charisma.
Precisely because of that, it could not be placed under her name.
Even if they were skilled in battle formations and other military techniques, they had to be dispersed for now.
This was for the stability of the organization and the collective.
Because of that, Najenda's own demand was also approved.
She would establish a "special unit" and serve as its commander.
At the same time, she would still remain one of the Revolutionary Army's commanders, and the Revolutionary Army had to provide this unit with sufficient support and personnel.
The unit's nature would be that of an "independent unit," and its main work would be "assassination." Its assassination targets would mainly be Minister Honest's faction, the Minister himself, and the current Emperor.
After facing Esdeath and Noah, Najenda had summarized three lessons.
They absolutely must not face those two in direct battle.
Whether in numbers or in quality, such things were meaningless against them.
If there was any possibility of killing them, it would definitely not rely on wearing them down with an army, but assassination.
The Imperial Assassination Unit had suppressed the Revolutionary Army so thoroughly with less than ten people that it had been difficult for the rebellion to gain momentum.
That alone was enough to prove how significant a role a powerful assassination unit could play.
Najenda also said, "I've already found someone quite impressive, so I plan to return to the Imperial Capital again in the near future."
And just like that, Najenda became the "commander of a special unit that had not yet been established."
...
After Akame had eaten and drunk her fill, she glanced at the door and began having certain thoughts.
But there was that cold twin-tailed maid beside her.
No, she was not some maid. She was an assassin of Oarburgh.
With Cassandra present, it was impossible for Akame to quietly sneak out.
Unless she could subdue Cassandra.
The maid saw through the girl's thoughts. Or rather, Akame was too simple.
Her entire being was far too pure, and whatever she thought was written on her face so clearly that anyone could read her mind.
"You want to go outside?"
Akame, who had not expected her thoughts to be seen through, froze when Cassandra suddenly spoke to her.
Then she began playing dumb.
"Wh-what are you talking about?"
Her eyes wandered, her legs suddenly pressed together, and her face turned three centimeters to the side.
Cassandra said helplessly, "Your acting is terrible. Your thoughts are far too obvious."
She recalled her master's arrangement and said calmly, "You can go out. As long as you don't think about running back to the Empire. Also, aside from a few confidential areas, you're free to walk around."
"I can?" Akame found it hard to believe.
Cassandra's tone remained casual. "Although you are a prisoner now, you may become our companion in the future. It's good for you to see more things. That's what Lady Merraid said."
"That woman..."
Although it made her somewhat uncomfortable, Akame could no longer say with certainty that she would never join them.
If it had been her before being taken in by the Empire, then even if she had seen the suffering of the people, she would at most have tried to protect her own little sister.
As long as the two sisters could live well together, that would have been enough.
Perhaps because she had experienced suffering herself, she could empathize with pitiful children.
Or perhaps she had been taught too many ideas like "for justice," "with greater ability comes greater responsibility," and "for the people."
Regardless, a sun called justice had already awakened in her heart.
Just like when she was in the Empire, there were some things someone had to do.
Even if no one in the world knew of their achievements, even if they could only become nameless heroes in the shadows, as long as that could make the people happier and reduce the number of pitiful children like they had once been, she was willing to become a sharp blade that protected the people.
Unfortunately, the Empire's words had stopped at the surface.
Her efforts had merely swept away truly good people for the sake of scum like the Minister.
If the Revolutionary Army's goal was to create a truly happy country, then perhaps joining them would be the best atonement for everything she had done in the past.
While thinking continuously, after Akame left the room, she focused her gaze on the faces of the people here.
The faces of the people in the Empire were mostly gloomy.
She had been unable to understand it before, but if the Empire truly was as brutal as Merraid said, then it would not be strange for people worried about their lives and futures to show such expressions.
But the people here seemed different.
Their expressions were also heavy, but within that heaviness, there seemed to be a faint trace of yearning, as if they carried some great ideal and were walking toward its end.
She wanted to see Kurome, but was refused.
Perhaps they did not want the sisters to discuss plans or something similar.
Standing on the road, Akame raised her head and looked at the sky, revealing a deeply confused expression.
And someone saw her like that.
"Hey there, little sister."
Hm?
Hearing someone greet her, Akame turned her head and looked at the other party.
What entered her eyes was a very beautiful woman with silver hair and silver eyes, a wonderful figure, and an extremely mature feeling.
No.
Should she say cool?
Yes, she was cool.
"The Empire's former general..."
"Just call me Najenda." Najenda waved her hand, seeming to have no attachment at all to the position of former Imperial general.
"You're Akame, right? From the Assassination Unit?"
"Yes..."
"You're so young! Becoming an assassin at such a young age." A trace of pity flashed through Najenda's eyes.
"Can you tell me about your experiences?"
Akame looked at Najenda before her and originally wanted to refuse.
But because of Najenda's special identity, she hesitated for a while.
After a moment of hesitation, she changed her mind and said, "Then let's exchange stories. I'm also very interested in why you defected from the Empire and joined the Revolutionary Army."
Her condition caught Najenda's interest.
So Najenda simply spoke first about her own past, including how she joined the army, how she became a general-level figure in such a short time, and how she discovered the Empire's cruel side and wanted to change it.
Akame was deeply shaken.
Because this was not just anyone speaking.
This was the personal experience and feelings of the Empire's former general.
A general was a noble and respected position, without question part of the Empire's true upper echelon.
According to Najenda, if she had been willing to accept the Empire's darkness and join in its corruption, what kind of life would she have enjoyed?
Yet she had willingly given all of that up to join the cause of overthrowing the Empire.
Aside from Najenda's own nobility, this also proved that the Empire had indeed rotted to an irreversible degree.
At night, Akame lay in bed, constantly recalling the final words Najenda had said to her.
"The Empire has existed for a thousand years, but it is diseased. Its roots have rotted. This is already irreversible. The only way forward is to tear it all down and begin again."
At the same time, Najenda sat at her desk, with a piece of intelligence placed on top of it.
Through their contact, she felt that Akame was an extremely rare talent, and that she perfectly matched the character and ability Najenda hoped for.
Two profiles lay before her. Although there were only two people, they gave her confidence that this cause was feasible.
One profile belonged to Akame.
As for the other...
Bulat, known as the "Hundred-Man Slayer."
Although the organization had only just been founded and had not even decided on a name yet, Najenda had already decided that no matter what, she had to bring these two people under her command.
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