The sound of snapping twigs and bending branches broke away to a storm of leaves shaken from the foliage of a forest's upper canopy. Several shadows darted up high, yet all barely left a trace of their presence like phantoms crossing an open field.
Owls that overlook the moon.
Night Raid.
"We have only a single objective in this operation that must be achieved no matter the cost."
Amid a hurried pursuit, Najenda spoke without a shred of emotion on her face. Trailing beside her were Akame, Selka, Bulat, and the rest of Night Raid.
Aside from Selka who couldn't quite keep a neutral expression, the rest wore cold features as they all knew what was to come and what must be done.
"Honest must die."
None spoke against Najenda's words, rather, even Selka who was from the warring clans of Wakoku agreed. However, Selka wasn't without ulterior motives as she envisioned what would come at the end of the Empire's ordeal. That alone was enough motivation for her.
In contrast, the others who had experienced Honest's corruption would think of the future only after his death. For the sake of a world free of lies and treachery, they must focus on the man at the center of the Empire's strife.
"Honest must have retreated the moment he noticed the Capital's outer defenses fall," Najenda briefed everyone of her thoughts.
As a former general and field commander of the Empire's armies, her tactical mind couldn't be compared to that of the others. Therefore, the authenticity of her words carried weight that everyone had no choice but to listen to.
"The way to escape the Capital is limited due to its size and terrain. Honest cannot hope to scale from the distant cliffside, which leaves him no choice but to cut through this forest and into the vast expanse of the Empire's countryside. From there, he'll be home free if manages to enter the mountain ranges. However, if presented a choice, this would be his last resort as the vast plains leaves him and his retinue entirely visible."
Najenda began to pick up her pace as the urgency of her words took root in the air. Cracking branches that echoed with each leap revealed the extent of her apprehension and resolve.
If there was a time to die for a correct cause, then this was it.
If there was a time to kill fate itself and avert the downward spiral of the Empire's decline, it was now.
"Failure is not an option in this assassination." Najenda spat out with murder plastered over her face. "If Honest is allowed to live, he'll be a festering cancer that will eventually find a way to cause unforeseen problems. In that regard, ask yourself this, if we don't eliminate this problem first, who do you think will?"
"..."
The silence emphasized the depth of everyone's thoughts; the subtle shift in Akame's eyes, a momentary flicker that spoke a thousand words even as the make-shift bandage around her waist began to soak with blood. No one even knew she was injured.
Najenda let out a tired sigh while shaking her head, speaking with a tone that only grew graver.
"That man, I'm sure you all know who, has done enough to uproot the capital's evil. No, not even that. He's done too much. Rather than an emperor, his disposition has always been more inclined with the righteous. Regardless of personal inconvenience or harm, that man always takes it upon himself like it's the only method he knows."
Only the sound of Najenda's briefing echoed in the silence while everyone busied themselves with their own thoughts and motivations.
"Listen, and listen well." Najenda called attention back to her as she narrowed her eyes on traces of footprints left on the ground. "If we fail here, we not only prove our inadequacy, but solidify the assumption that that man must shoulder everything himself. Then, ask yourselves another question...in what Empire would its emperor put himself before his people?"
Was there even a need to answer?
Just listening revealed how unconventional such a leader would be for any empire such that it had never been heard of before. Of course, that didn't mean it was impossible.
They were living it.
"That's right. Its fucking our Empire that would, and its both incredibly heartening and despairingly disgusting." Najenda could no longer prevent herself from cursing.
A leader who would put himself before the people was one that many would consider a benevolent ruler. However, those were the types of people who die early from recklessness in wars, or failed in kingdom management by trying to handle everything on his or her own.
"So that's why we have to show him that he does not have to bear everything. We must succeed, so listen well."
Briefly, Najenda shifted her gaze to glance at her allies one by one before coming to a decision she'd already been dwelling over.
"We cannot allow Honest to contact Syura at any cost. To this end, we split into two teams," Najenda began to issue orders, leaving no room for rebuttal. "Mine."
"Yes!" Mine answered with resolved features, Pumpkin held tightly in hand.
"You, Chelsea, and Bulat will intercept Syura." Najenda said. "If he enters your sights, kill him. Syura may no longer have legs, but just in case, Bulat will act as escort."
Bulat nodded in acceptance, while Mine snorted haughtily, the assignment as good as done in her eyes.
"What if he's not alone?" Chelsea was the only one who offered a counter argument. As the one who spent the least amount of time under Najenda, she didn't have the same level of blind faith as the rest. She narrowed her eyes. "Intelligence gathered indicates Syura to be the leader of a recently established unit known as Wild Hunt."
"Even so, it's unlikely to run into much interference." Najenda didn't even bat an eye to Chelsea's doubts and offered an explanation while speeding forward. "Syura's escape was not a deliberate act, or a foreseen one. He shouldn't have had time to organize a proper retreat. His arrogance would have ensured this. Let alone entertain defeat, he wouldn't have considered how to account for a failure. Bleeding and legless, he fled in panic, meaning that he's on his own unless he can contact his allies."
Chelsea looked like she still had her reservations about making assumptions, but ultimately deferred to Najenda's experience and the trust that Mine and Bulat harbored for Najenda.
"But where do we find him? It's not as if we can predict where he'd appear?" Bulat asked while Chelsea found herself nodding.
Najenda had already anticipated such a question.
"Both men and women are creatures of habit. Syura would have subconsciously teleported to a place he thought the safest unless he was attempting mutual destruction. Being as he escaped death on his own, it's unlikely that he'd be willing to throw away his life for nothing. He should be in the forest training grounds south of here. It was a place he always gravitated towards in times of hardship or neglect from his own father."
"He didn't strike me as a hard worker," Bulat muttered, reminiscing of his days in the military.
"He's not." Najenda's complexion darkened considerably. "Syura's training ground is less of a place to hone his skills, and is more of a place to relieve his stress. Stories abound of him kidnapping women, having his way with them, and then beating them to death while forcing their loved ones to watch. Obviously, he wouldn't do it in public, but rumours are rumours, and nothing was done at all."
Sick bastard.
"Then how did you find out?" Mine asked, tone tinged with contempt.
"A request from Night Raid." Najenda answered. "An aggrieved family member of a deceased clued me in on the location."
"I see," Mine said with a forced expression. There would be no reservations about this assassination then.
Still, Leone picked up on something Mine, Chelsea, and Bulat were neglecting.
"Wouldn't Honest know the most about his own son?" Leone interrupted, staring at Najenda in confusion. "There's no way we'll beat him there."
Looks of concern appeared within the group, but Najenda remained steady.
"You overestimate that fat filth." Najenda recalled her days working in the Empire and the times she'd seen a younger Syura and Honest interact with each other. A pig father begets a pig son. "Even if it's Syura, Honest hardly ever paid attention to him. This gives us an opportunity. The window between Honest's uncertainty of Syura's location, gives us the means to intercept should Honest seek a rendezvous."
"Then why split our forces if we can just overwhelm Honest?" Leone frowned while Sheele remained blank faced, her natural air-headedness replaced for her talent in murder.
The answer was simple.
"Insurance." Lubbock said much to Najenda's approval.
"Exactly. Honest is the priority, but killing Syura ensures there's no simple way for him to escape other than the open plains. To a sniper, he's as good as dead. Pursuit teams would never let him off either."
Making sure that everyone was on board with the plan, Najenda saw no point in keeping them there any longer.
The briefing was over.
"Mine, Bulat, Chelsea, get to it." Najenda ordered, Mine and Chelsea nodding before taking off.
Bulat trailed behind, and just before he left, Najenda called out to him.
"Keep them safe, and if anything unexpected happens...I'll make sure all of you are remembered."
Bulat paused and took in a breath. It was clear that even Najenda did not know what was in store for any of them, only that nothing would stop them from completing this final objective.
"Right. Let's just hope it doesn't come to that."
Bulat saluted, and took off, his back broader than it had ever been since his days in the military.
Najenda grew wistful, Lubbock giving her a concerned look before she brushed back a lock of her hair and hardened her expression.
"Everyone else, with-"
Najenda paused. They all did while glancing at the ground from the tree tops.
Fresh footprints pressed into the mud.
No other explanation was needed.
"Move out!"
The enemy was close.
The expression on Honest's face was unsightly. His lips were twisted, his eyes curled unnaturally, and even his chin appeared jutted from how strongly he was gnashing his teeth.
Sweat matted Honest's brows, and his overly rotund body was wracked with unending muscle pain. A dutiful minister such as himself had never taken much in the way of physical exertion, let alone proper maintenance, and as such was lacking. There were fools for that already, and all that really mattered was a sound mind to mete out appropriate countermeasures.
Fleeing the capital had never crossed Honest's mind until it finally dawned on him that the capital's defenses were falling when even Esdeath was defeated with the soldiers of the outer wall.
There was no way Honest would just wait to be killed, and as such, he had taken preemptive actions.
Traveling with Honest was his entourage of elite soldiers trained to follow his will without question, and a lone child that was traveling at his leisure as if he was on a daring outing.
It was none other than the child emperor that was made to believe that the entire excursion was the start of a thrilling adventure.
The child emperor's ignorance was such that the kid would not know how bad the situation was until he found his head on a chopping block.
Honest grimaced.
Bypassing Budo had been a hassle, but the man was too preoccupied with welcoming the emperor's cousin to consider that Honest would sneak the emperor out. The sentence itself was laughable, and something Budo would never take lying down, but Honest cared little for anything but himself.
With Esdeath gone, there existed only one sole means to potentially turn the situation around, and it would be through the child emperor himself.
Honest and his entourage drew closer and closer to a large cave that spiraled down into a hollow chasm.
Najenda had been right that Honest didn't know where Syura could be, and that his last resort was a suicide run through the open plains, but there was something she could never factor.
It was a variable that few if any believed existed in the Empire, but Honest was in on the secret.
With Syura's whereabouts unknown, and a mad dash through the open plains being his last resort, Honest would rather shake the entire pot, or muddy the waters in hope for a better outcome.
"We're approaching," Honest said while panting for breath.
The group stopped, the child emperor hesitating at the entrance of the cave that led into a chasm that opened up into a massive underground cavern.
"I still don't think such drastic actions are necessary," the child emperor muttered with a tilt in his lip. He knew exactly what lay beyond and turned doubtfully at Honest. "You said my cousin was coming with his forces, but now you say that they're besieging my capital? It's our family's capital, what's there to besiege when I'd opted to invite them to my palace for legal proceedings? My cousin looked quite charismatic and could serve to be an emperor in my stead until I come of age and mature. Only then would I be able to truly understand the Empire's politics."
"Ah yes, truly. That does sound quite ideal, doesn't it?" Honest secretly gnashed his teeth. "However, might you lend me your ear for a moment?"
Honest couldn't even properly explain the situation as it would all blow up in his face. It was exactly as the child emperor had said. The little emperor had invited his cousin to the capital, so there was no excuse for why conflict ensued.
What siege? What invasion? The boy had been eagerly waiting at his royal palace while the capital started going up in the flames of civil war with Honest as one of its figure heads.
"Certainly," the child emperor said, still all smiles.
Honest felt his sweat building. Budo was going to kill him when he eventually realized that Honest took the child emperor out of the royal palace.
Desperate times called for desperate measures. A silver tongue could get you far when your opponent was nothing more than a yes man.
What mattered was how to go about doing it.
"I lied," Honest began with an admission, causing the child emperor to widen his eyes. "This isn't a simple adventure, but a pursuit aimed at both you and I."
"Who dares to aim for my minister's life and that of my own?!"
"Indeed, how dare they!" Honest echoed, playing the matter up. "But that's why you must understand that all that we do now, we do for your sake."
"For my sake?" The child emperor grew a little emotional. Honest had always been the child emperor's sole pillar of support ever since the former emperor died.
"Yes. It doesn't matter what happens to me as long as you can live," Honest nodded, careful to keep his expression from twisting into a scowl. "However, you're the only one who can change everything and save us both."
The child emperor thought about it, but quickly realized that Honest had said something wrong. "But I'm not the only. My cousin can activate it too."
Honest would never admit that said cousin would slaughter Honest with no questions asked, and so tried to lead the matter back to a preferable direction.
"Your cousin is not here, and I fear that we have no time."
"Are the pursuers so fast?"
"Your life is just that important to them," Honest lied, knowing that it was the opposite and it was his life that was being doggedly pursued.
"But isn't it too much? Father said that I'm only to activate it in case the capital falls..."
This damn child!
Honest felt a vein pop over his temples, but he had no choice but to maintain a warm smile.
"It is falling."
"No it's not." The child emperor immediately denied the situation. "You told me we were preparing a celebration for the return of my family members."
Snapping that scrawny neck had never been so tempting for Honest, but it would truly be the end for him if he fell to baser urges now.
"The capital is really at risk."
"Then where's Budo?" the child emperor tilted his head. "He's supposed to be with me in the case of an emergency, and since he's not here that means you're just playing with me, minister. But I've had enough. Let us go back, my feet are tired."
Honest had never been so frustrated, but a stroke of luck would come his way.
A rustling in the distant forest revealed Night Raid's members hurriedly bursting through the foliage. All their eyes locked onto Honest the moment they confirmed his existence.
Tragically, if Najenda and the others had just waited a few minutes longer, then it was likely that Honest would never get his way.
As it stood though, the tide suddenly leaned in Honest's favour.
The child emperor shivered at the emotionless gazes of Najenda and the others, not realizing that they were directed on Honest who subtly positioned himself behind the child emperor.
The eyes reeked of blood lust and murder that no sheltered child could ever hope to resist. Moreover, the looks directed on the child emperor weren't friendly either. Unfortunate as it was, the child emperor's own naivety was a target of the people's animosity. If he'd only been smarter, wiser, how could Honest push through with his corrupt means? The child emperor may be ignorant of his actions, but ignorance could not stand in the face of genuine anger. Therefore, partial blame for Honest's atrocities could be leveled on the child emperor.
Given this outcome, the child emperor balked, shivering from the sheer intensity in the air.
Honest would not miss an enemy's oversight.
"Do you not see how they aim to kill you, Milord?!" Honest's honeyed words danced over the child emperor's ears. "You can't hesitate! Now is the time. The capital is besieged, and the enemy draws ever closer to us!"
So rattled was the child emperor that he didn't even correct Honest's words and stood in a daze.
Honest could no longer keep his calm with the enemy in sight.
"What can we hope to do if they are allowed to draw any nearer?! My- ugh, your honour guard cannot hope to keep them at bay for long. We need decisive action!"
The child emperor finally snapped out of it when Honest shook him by the shoulders.
"Y-You're right, minister. I was foolish for doubting you." The child emperor pursed his lips and ran deep into the cavern to reach the towering Teigu within.
Only the blood of the imperial family may wield the ultimate weapon of the Empire.
Resonating with the Teigu hidden beneath the Empire, the child emperor invoked name, and vanished into the safety of the royal family's exclusive Teigu.
The earth itself began to rumble.
"Shikoutazer."
The Primus Imperator, and Nation-Defending Machine God.
AKA- Liberty Prime
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