The Imperial Assassination Unit was not a joke.
Especially not to Bill.
His own base had been wrecked to that extent, so there was no way he could simply swallow his anger and pretend nothing had happened.
At the first opportunity, he cooperated with Gozuki's team and searched every trace left around the Imperial Capital.
And in the end, they really did find something.
As the one responsible for mobility, Gilberda was not the type suited for stealthy movement.
On top of that, she had been carrying two people.
Bill directly deployed fifty men and had them search the area.
Since they knew their opponents were Oarburgh, he ordered everyone to focus on tracking. The actual combat would be left to the elite unit, whose overall strength was far higher.
The losses at Putra had been too severe. He did not want to lose too many pieces again just for a single mission.
Although he had already learned from Noah that the enemy's numbers were small, and that two of them had suffered serious injuries, their terrifying reputation still forced him to make cautious arrangements.
He also had to consider the possibility that the enemy had hidden forces, or even reinforcements.
Gozuki was at the front line, sitting beneath a tree.
Leaning against the trunk, he sat on a pile of fallen leaves with a branch in his hand, drawing lines and marks across the ground.
The drawing on the ground was the formation he had prepared.
Rustle, rustle.
Akame and the others appeared from all around.
Seeing them return, Gozuki showed a satisfied smile.
That meant they had results.
Nahashu crouched down and pointed at one of the marks on the ground.
"There's an abandoned castle here. Since the enemy needs medical treatment, they should need at least a minimum usable environment. I think this is most likely the place."
"Mm." Gozuki agreed. "I think so too."
He turned to Poney and said, "Poney, go notify old man Bill. Tell him the location. Also tell him there's no need to attack immediately. Form an encirclement first."
"Huh? Me? But I want to fight too!"
"Aren't you the champion of the running competition? Only you can complete this task."
"Ugh, well, if you put it that way, I guess there's no helping it." With just one sentence from Gozuki, Poney immediately became a little smug.
Her reluctant attitude from a moment ago vanished in an instant.
With her speed, if she ran fast enough, she should still make it back in time for the cleanup.
Thinking that, she immediately rushed toward the rear of their formation.
Watching her go, Gozuki used Murasame like a cane and pushed himself up.
He swept his gaze over every child present.
With Kurome and Gin joining as new combatants, the team was actually larger than it had been when the original seven were together.
"Then..."
Gozuki took a deep breath, his expression turning extremely serious.
He warned them, "This time, our opponents are not like those small fry from before. At every moment, assume the enemy is stronger than you. Act with that in mind, and rely on your comrades as much as possible. Oarburgh is on a different level. I've never personally seen them in action, but the fact that they're still alive despite such an exaggerated reputation proves the rumors probably aren't just rumors."
"The initiative is on our side. The enemy is exposed, and we are hidden. Understand? This is assassination."
Those words made every one of them tighten their fists.
Akame, in particular, looked like a demon.
Her crimson eyes were filled with dark emotion.
Oarburgh had killed Green.
This time, she would avenge him.
She would bury every single one of those enemies!
"Sister?" Kurome looked at her sister's ferocious aura.
She did not understand what had happened before, but she still began to worry.
So she quietly made up her mind.
She had to protect her sister!
"Move out! Attack from multiple directions! Akame, Kurome, you two circle around from the rear."
"Yes!"
"Understood!"
As they moved, Kurome looked at her unusually silent sister and asked, "Sister, have you dealt with Oarburgh before?"
Akame glanced at her younger sister and finally noticed the worry on Kurome's face.
She cursed herself inwardly, then slightly steadied her hurried footsteps.
After thinking back for a moment, her expression turned faintly red.
Seeing Akame like that made Kurome's eyes widen.
It was the first time she had ever seen her sister look that way.
It was almost like...
She did not know how to describe it.
With Kurome's life experience, she had no way of understanding what a "girl in love" looked like.
Although Akame's situation was not exactly romance.
After hesitating for a moment, Akame said, "Actually, before this, a boy confessed to me..."
"Huh?"
Kurome froze.
But Akame continued, "The selection group originally had seven members. But that boy died, so now there are only six left."
"His name was Green. He was calm, capable, smart, and very gentle to me. I only realized afterward that I had relied on him quite a lot."
"But he was killed by Oarburgh."
"His head was cut off, then brought right in front of me!"
Akame gritted her teeth as she described what had happened, allowing Kurome to understand why her sister had been acting strangely.
Normally, no matter who her sister killed, she did not change expression.
She would only say, "Burial."
Kurome had heard about it from Akame before.
It was a magic phrase their "father" had taught her, a miraculous word that helped her sever her hesitation when she killed.
Ever since the first time Akame killed someone, she had kept that habit.
Every time she took a life, she would say "Burial."
It had already become something like a ritual, and also a habit.
But this time was different.
This time, aside from "justice and the Empire," her sister had gained another emotion.
Hatred.
Looking at Akame like this, Kurome's eyes could not help but grow more serious.
She had heard what "father" said when he taught her sister.
He had said that, as an assassin, Akame had far too much emotion.
Rich emotions could allow someone to unleash greater strength, but they could also become the fuse that got them killed.
Now, Kurome felt that father had indeed been right.
If her sister were killed, Kurome was certain she would abandon everything to kill the enemy and avenge her.
But if these "family members" died, perhaps she would not go that far.
"I see it."
After spotting the castle, Akame spoke to warn Kurome.
"Father's order was to launch an attack immediately once we arrive. Let's charge straight in!"
"Okay, Sister!"
The Akame and Kurome sisters swiftly rushed into the castle, then began searching for traces of the enemy.
The castle had fallen into disrepair over the years, and no traps had been built inside in the past.
The two charged through without hesitation, going from the first floor all the way to the fourth without finding any sign of the enemy.
The castle had five floors.
Because it was a castle, the structure was completely different in scale from an ordinary house.
For example, the third floor alone was over seven meters tall.
...
At that moment, on the top floor.
Merraid had long since known that pursuers were coming.
She said to Cassandra beside her, "Dora, go outside and meet the enemy first. I'll lend you the insects."
"Yes, Lady Merraid."
The twin-tailed maid bowed gratefully, then left the room and headed toward the staircase.
With every step she took, countless Creeping Things poured out around her and followed.
Although she felt sorry for Gilberda, given their current condition, the only way they could endure was to increase their own fighting power.
So they had used the flesh cut from Gilberda's body as nests for the insects, hatching a large number of them in a short time.
"Who goes there?"
Cassandra blocked Akame and Kurome as they tried to head upstairs.
Seeing Cassandra in a maid outfit, Akame and Kurome exchanged a glance.
It matched the information.
The enemy wore maid uniforms.
Kurome was not polite at all. "Who goes there? This isn't your home either. You're just robbers who broke in without permission."
She drew her blade and took a combat stance.
Akame did the same, drawing Kiriichimonji and holding it at her side.
After so much real combat, she had already found the fighting method most suited to her, including this sword stance.
It was the posture that allowed her to best take advantage of her speed.
Although Poney always took first place whenever they competed in running, Akame was stronger when it came to reaction speed and agility in battle!
Cassandra narrowed her eyes slightly.
Her hidden weapons had been almost completely lost in the fight against Noah.
Now she did not even have spares left.
Fortunately, Merraid had lent her the insects.
"Rude intruders."
Cassandra spread her arms.
The next moment, from the turn of the staircase and the lower floor below, a pitch-black tide of insects surged out.
"What!"
Akame was startled.
Facing the swarm rushing straight toward her, she unleashed the slash she had been preparing.
The flash of her blade tore through the darkness and directly shredded a large number of insects.
But it clearly had little effect.
Because the gap she had opened was filled again almost immediately.
The two were forced onto the defensive in an instant.
"I'll handle our backs, Sister!" Kurome stepped forward on her own.
The sisters stood back-to-back, continuously swinging their blades at the insect swarms in front of them.
But these insects were not only numerous.
When those flying insects dodged their slashes, or when their blades were actually deflected by the insects' shells, both girls were shocked.
They were only insects!
Their swords could not even cut through them?
And their attacks could not even hit the bugs properly?
"Damn it, fall back! Kurome!"
"Okay, Sister!"
The two instantly retreated, leaping backward and landing beneath the stairs.
But when they looked back toward the top of the staircase, both of them said in surprise, "Where did she go?"
Cassandra had vanished at some point.
This was still a battle.
Losing sight of the target was extremely dangerous.
Where?
Where had she gone?
"You two look rather busy."
The maid's voice came from behind them.
Akame and Kurome turned at the same time, ready to swing their blades.
But before they could, their arms were seized, their joints locked in place, leaving them unable to move freely.
Cassandra's four hands were controlling both girls' arms, two on each side.
Akame's forehead broke out in cold sweat.
"Four arms?"
Cassandra had followed Merraid for many years and had experienced countless battles.
After restraining them, she immediately had venomous insects jump onto their necks and inject poison into both girls.
And that was not all.
There was more than poison inside.
There were insect sacs.
Dormant eggs.
With this, the two were effectively hostages.
Because with just one thought from Lady Merraid, those eggs could be activated, absorb the hosts' blood, and grow wildly.
In just over ten seconds, the eggs would split and mature repeatedly, and the hatched insects would tear open the mother body from the inside.
The nest of the Creeping Things was the flesh of humans and animals.
After being poisoned, the two girls felt their strength rapidly drain away, and their vision began to blur.
For assassins, poison resistance was a basic skill.
Since childhood, Akame had been made to eat all kinds of poisonous things to build resistance.
Kurome had gone even further.
Even the medicine she normally took contained extremely potent toxins, not to mention everything she had gone through during her physical enhancement and body modification.
But even so, the poison of the Creeping Things was clearly beyond what either of them could endure.
Only one person in Oarburgh could resist this kind of poison with her body alone.
Or rather, one person once had.
Barbara Oarburgh.
That old woman had spent her entire life as an assassin, and her body could resist more than six hundred types of poison.
...
After rendering the two intruders powerless, Cassandra brought them back to Merraid.
Seeing her return so quickly, and even bringing back a pair of cute twin sisters, Merraid's face immediately blossomed into a delighted smile.
She clasped her hands together, like a girl who had received a beloved gift.
"Oh my, Dora. You brought me such wonderful presents."
She reached out and brushed aside Akame's hair, revealing her sleeping face, then did the same with Kurome.
But at that moment, her fingers stiffened slightly.
She leaned close to Kurome, suddenly stuck out her tongue, and licked Kurome's cheek.
The excitement in her eyes dimmed considerably.
Because she had already understood Kurome's condition.
"This child won't do. She doesn't have much time left."
The poison had already seeped through her entire body.
If this continued, it would soon reach her head.
Considering the way those drugs were used, she was a modified human, wasn't she?
The Empire's methods were still as tasteless as ever.
To think they would treat such an adorable girl so cruelly!
Fortunately, this long-haired friend beside her was quite good.
No, "quite good" did not even begin to cover it!
What is this?
This overflowing vitality, this energy that seemed to be growing stronger every moment.
To have developed to this degree at her age... she was practically born to be an assassin!
Perhaps she had even more potential than Merraid herself had possessed as a child?
How interesting.
She had to make this child hers!
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