Chapter 41

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[Chertog Prison]

- Hey... who's this guy? - One of the guards asked, pointing his eyes at a swarthy guy who literally had no face on him.

- That one... yeah, kind of like a monster trainer. He got bored at one point and decided to set his animals on the village.

Another look at the prisoner gave the guard goosebumps; there were enough freaks in this prison, but Shura looked really creepy even against their background.

- What a freak..." commented the guard, and he paid for it.

Shura put his hand through the bars and grabbed the warder by the throat, choking him.

- Let him go now! - shouted the second warder, who was about to stab Shura with his sword to save his friend, but he had already snapped the warder's neck.

Grabbing the guard by the wrist and pulling him to the bars, Shura broke his arm and then nailed him with his own sword. Pulling up the corpse and removing the keys from his belt, Shura opened the bars and left the cell.

- I'll get my revenge! - Shura said, lifting the guard's sword with his only arm intact. His gaze caught on a lever, and, coming to it, with a mad smile he yanked it. - And I know who's gonna help me do it!

***

[Imperial Headquarters]

Newspapers with the news that there had been a riot in the Chertog Prison, resulting in the deaths of prison staff and the escape of several hundred criminals, spread throughout the Capital. Attacks on caravans, the destruction of villages, and the killing of civilians was what began to happen within the Capital. The headlines were full of details of these atrocities; reading them, Anna smoked a cigarette, almost gritting her teeth, because she knew who the main culprit was.

- Shura!... - Anna almost growled. The girl thought that this spoilt, arrogant piece of rubbish would sit quietly until his father released him. But it turned out that he had rioted in the prison, formed a gang of escaped prisoners and started rioting to lure her out. To make matters worse, the surviving guards were reporting that there were Teigu owners among the criminals... How?! It wasn't enough that she had to deal with ordinary maniacs, now she had to deal with Teigu maniacs!

Putting the newspaper away, Anna looked at the decree from Budo himself: "Deal with the Wild Hunt Gang" (as they called themselves). If Shura wanted to lure her out, he could congratulate himself, because as soon as Ghost figured out where he was hiding, Anna and her men would come after him, and this time she would personally pass judgement on him!

Standing up from her desk, Anna left the office, heading for the training ground. She needed to prepare her operatives in advance for the upcoming assignment, as well as enlist the support of the Huntsmen, which was not a problem.

Leon and Esdeath were still waiting and searching. Everyone was sure that they were alive - a whole army could not defeat those two together - but it would be nice to have them back. Reid, having learnt about the disappearance of both generals, became bolder and more active. There was a good chance that they would also decide to eliminate the Wild Hunt by rising in the eyes of the people and obtaining the teigu of their commanders.

- Yeah... this was going to be a tough operation.

***

[Night Raid Base]

All the members of the Raid stood in the conference room waiting, they had a good guess as to why they were gathered here, but they were still waiting for the boss to speak. Najenda sat in the centre smoking a cigarette, making sure everyone was present, Akame, Lubbock, Tatsumi, Leone, Chelsea, Susano (her teigu). After making sure everyone was in attendance, she put out her cigarette, then began to speak:

- I think everyone already knows why I've gathered you all here, but I'll explain nonetheless. Just a couple of days ago there was a riot in one of the largest prisons in the Empire. Escaped prisoners formed a gang and began raiding villages, pillaging them and raping the women. They called themselves the Wild Hunt, and their leader is the Prime Minister's son, who they call Faceless because of the huge number of scars on his face. We also know from spy reports that there are Teigu owners among the gang. Our main objective is to eliminate the gang! And seize the teigu that will help strengthen the Revolutionary Army! We will not allow them to commit any more atrocities within the Capital, for the protection of the people, we must destroy them!

- Yes!!! - Leone shouted with joy.

- You're not happy yet, Leone. Apart from us, the Wild Hunt also wants to eliminate Imperpol and the Huntsmen, so things will be more complicated than they seem.

- We have a great opportunity to get the teigu, and Imperpol must be aware of it. We'll probably have to fight them too. - Lubbock reasoned.

- It will be a very difficult task, but we must take the risk if we are to bring the Revolution closer to victory. But in case the forces are unequal, retreat, I don't want to lose any more Teigu owners.

- In that case, we will definitely fulfil this mission. - Akame said while clutching Murasame in her hand.

- Well said, Akame! And you, Tatsumi...? - Leone turned her attention to him.

- Me what...? - the brown-haired man who had been standing quietly listening to her interrupted.

- You're usually always shouting excitedly about how we're going to make the world a better place. Do you want to say something?

- I... won't be participating in the mission.

- WHAT?! - Leone exclaimed along with Lubbock (Akame was also surprised, but didn't show it).

- Tatsumi, can you tell us why you're doing this? - Najenda asked, squinting her eyes.

- I'm the only member of the Reid who doesn't have a teigu, so I'll be practically useless on the mission.

- He's right. - Chelsea agreed. - It's going to be a bloody mess, and Tatsumi's not likely to survive it.

- I see. Well, that makes sense. Perhaps you should stay. - Lubbock agreed.

- I'm sorry I can't be of more help.

- Don't worry, Tatsumi. Your sister will get you a teigu! I don't think those guys will need it anymore.

- Leone.

- All right, gentlemen, we're off. It's time to show what we can do! - Najenda shouted loudly, raising her iron hand and clenching it into a fist.

- YES~!!!

***

Standing on a tree branch, Ghost watched the Wild Hunt camp. The bandits were having their usual fun, drinking alcohol and raping women from the villages they had burned. Unlike his apprentices, he calmly watched without making any attempt to rescue the captives.

It was no problem for Ghost to find the bandits' lair - their base was located near Stailish's laboratory northwest of the Capital, where he conducted his experiments. At the moment, Ghost was interested in the owners of the teigu, who worked for Shura. He learned their names from the captured bandits: Enshin, a man with black hair in a tight suit, a pirate from the southern islands; Dorothy, a genius alchemist with a modified body who looks like a girl of about 14; Isou, a samurai and apparently Dorothy's bodyguard; Cosmina, a girl with glasses who wears a rabbit costume; and Champ, a fat pedophile clown. Samurai and Dorothy don't seem to have teigu on them, Enshin has a sword that controls wind gusts, Cosmina has a microphone that amplifies sound. Champ has spheres that have different effects.

The information gained was enough to plan an assault on the lair, and thanks to the fact that Stileish had designed his labs the same way, Imperpol had his plan on his hands. But there was another dilemma, another watcher, or rather watcher. OWLs was perched on a tree branch right in the middle of the camp, scrutinising the area. Apart from Ghost himself, absolutely no one paid any attention to her.

"Anna's predictions proved correct again, and Reid has also decided to eliminate the Wild Hunt. They also have a teigu wielder who can disguise himself as any living thing. Quite useful information." - Ghost pondered.

Giving the signal for all the Spirits to leave, Ghost jumped off the branch and landed on the ground.

- We should check the emergency exit.

***

Leon and Esdeath were currently trying to learn the capabilities of Shambhala. The first time they had been transported near the border of the North, where Leon had been for the first time in this world, making the young man feel nostalgic. The second time they found themselves in the East, in the building that housed Omega's temporary headquarters, there they decided to take a short lunch break. Then there was the West - the pair appeared in the middle of the office of the garrison commander, where the colonel was at that moment, which almost fell off his chair with fear and surprise. Having learnt about the situation, the colonel more or less calmed down, although the explanations sounded strange. After enquiring about the situation in the garrison and recalling the attack on the fortress, Leon continued his experiments. After a couple more unsuccessful moves, the guy began to understand how the Shambala worked.

- This time it should work. - Leon said to himself. - And if it doesn't, I guess I'll have to get to the capital on foot.

- I think you can do it.

With a chuckle, Leon activated the teigu again, disappearing with the girl in a white flash. Looking around, a satisfied smile appeared on the boy's face. The very mountain where they had been transported.

- I told you so. You can do it.

- Come on, they're probably tired of looking for us by now. - Leon suggested it.

- Let's go. - Esdeath agreed.

Her tame dragon had long since flown back to the palace, so they would have to get back on foot. Leon could try to teleport them directly to the city, but he didn't want to experiment any more after the successful attempt.

***

Several hundred Imperpol soldiers, operatives and members of the Huntsmen were near the Wild Hunt camp and were waiting patiently. The soldiers, unlike the members of the Huntsmen who had arrived at the gathering place only recently, knew exactly what they were expecting. Wave ran his eyes over the Imperpol soldiers and his comrades, who were busy doing their own thing: Balls was talking to Alex, the Alpha Omega commander, about his family life, Kurome was talking to Seru and playing with Koro (before that she was eating her biscuits), and Ran had been chatting with Anna for the past hour on various topics up to the discussion of plays in the theatres.

The guy still decided to wonder why they weren't attacking, but stopped when a girl holding a briefcase approached him. Her face was covered by a lightning mask, her hands were bandaged, and her eyes were like snake eyes. Wave got goosebumps, still such exotic eyes he was seeing for the first time.

- Let me guess... you have no idea what we're waiting for? - Mia asked bluntly.

- Ah... Y-yes! I wanted to ask the general about it.

- I don't see the point in bothering her right now. If you want, I can give you an answer.

- What are we waiting for?

- The moment the Night Raid attacks the camp.

- What?! But why?

- It's pretty simple. Right now, there are hundreds of escaped prisoners and five Teigu owners in the Wild camp. You have to admit, a battle with them could result in significant casualties amongst our comrades. So we'll let the Raid strike first and get hit back, and then we'll launch an attack.

- So... the Raid is kind of like cannon fodder?

- I see you get it.

- I see... I see what the plan is now.

- Glad to be of help. - said Mia as she was leaving.

- Wait, what's your name?

- Mia.

- Wave, I'm Mia. - The guy extended his hand to the girl.

- Always nice to meet a good friend. - Shaking Wave's hand, Mia said.

- By the way, why are you wearing a mask... and your hands are in bandages.

- Burns.

- Oh... sorry... I didn't know.

- Don't worry about it. They don't really bother me.

- If you say so.

A rumbling sound came from the direction of the Wild Hunt camp, and then gunshots and screams were heard. As if on cue, the soldiers prepared for battle, and Anna, standing in front of the crowd, began to give orders:

- Gentlemen, you know what to do! None of these people are to leave this forest alive! So show no mercy to those who wish to surrender! And remember, your job is to eliminate the bandits, and the Huntsmen will take care of the teigu owners! Do you understand?!

- Yes, sir!!!

- Then let's go into battle!

***

In order to deal with the Wild Hunt teigu owners, Najenda decided to split them up with a two-pronged attack. She, Susano, and Lubbock faced off against Enshin and Cosmina. The girl was quickly dealt with by Lubbock - when Cosmina was about to use the microphone, he wrapped strings around her neck and suspended her above the ground, strangling the girl. Enshin was more complicated - his teigu, the Shamshir sword, creates air blades, the power of which depends on the moonlight, and it was a full moon. The air blades created by this guy were cutting trees and Wild Ones to death, which he didn't take into account. Susano was able to break all of Enshin's bones with one blow, turning him into a bloody mess. The guy screamed loudly, enough that the other Wild Ones came running, and the trio had to deal with them as well.

Akame and Leone were fighting Chump at this point. The clown was throwing his spheres at the girls and defending himself with them. The explosion and fire spheres were the most uncomfortable, and the worst part was that the idiot had set the forest on fire and the flames were rapidly spreading.

- Akame, this is not good. - Leone swivelled her head, looking at the flames that slowly surrounded them.

Akame agreed with Leone's comment, no one wanted to burn with Champ, so the girl decided to finish with that clown. Akame was about to rush towards her opponent, when suddenly a strong wind blew, putting out the fire, and then a lot of feathers stabbed into Champ.

Ran hovered above the girls, paying no attention to them. He was now completely focused on the clown that was squirming in pain. Landing next to Champ, the boy took a knife and plunged it into the clown's stomach, then took a flower from his pocket and applied it to the cut, causing the clown to scream in unbearable pain.

- When applied to a wound, the internal components cause unbearable pain... just like the General said.

Akame and Leone stood behind and watched as the blond man tortured the clown.

- Akame, he...

- Yeah, he's from the Huntsmen. - The girl agreed, changing her aim.

Ran soared into the air, dodging the brunette's attack. Gunshots could be heard in the distance, signalling that the fighters had begun their assault on the camp. Feathers from their wings flew straight at the girls - just as Anna had said, Raid needed the Wild Ones' teigu, and Ran couldn't let them take the clown's teigu.

Being in the air, Ran was perfectly safe. Leone tried throwing rocks at him, but in vain - they had to hide from the feathers of the guy under the trees. When they were gone, Ran decided to quickly retrieve the teigu, but the body wasn't there.

"Where is he?!"

An orb flew into Ran's back and he fell to the ground. Trying to get up, the guy felt pain: one of his bones was definitely broken. When he raised his head, he saw the wounded clown back on his feet - he was coming towards him, wiping the blood, and his spheres were flying around him.

- Now I can give up-" a shot rang out, and a bullet went through Chump's head, his body fell on his back, and footsteps were heard behind him.

Turning around, Ran saw Mia holding a Callandor in her hand, smoke coming from the muzzle. Standing over the boy, she held out her hand, helping him up.

- Thank you.

- You're welcome. - The girl said, lifting the clown's teiga.

- Shouldn't Kurome be with you?

- She chased after Akame and the cat. Better yet, can you walk?

- I can, but I don't think I can use the teigu right now.

- Mmm~. - Mia stretched out, handing the spheres to Ran. - You better get back with them and we'll take care of the rest. And be careful this time.

- I will. Thanks again.

Ran went back and Mia ran to help the others, as a sniper she had a lot of work to do. As she ran, a howl came from the direction of the Wild camp.

- What was that?!

***

When the soldiers had finished shooting the bandits, and their entire camp was committed to Rubicante Bolsa's fire, the fighters prepared to pry open the door of Stileish's lab. Just as the door was about to be opened, a rumbling sound came from the other side, and then again and again. Something wanted to get out of there, and it made the soldiers step back and ready their weapons.

Of the Teigu owners only Anna and Balls remained, Seria and Wave along with the Nine-Tails she had sent to deal with Najenda and her men. It was only a matter of time before Mia and Kurome returned, but she still hoped for their speedy return.

The blows grew louder and dents began to appear in the door. The soldiers moved to a safe distance and took cover.

- Balls, get ready to burn. - Anna said, switching her teigu gun to buckshot.

- Got it.

The iron doors were knocked off their hinges and fell to the ground with a clatter, kicking up dust.

- What the hell is that?! - The soldiers watched as the creatures began to emerge from the passage. Their structure resembled a human's, but they looked like insects in appearance.

Letting out a loud roar, the monsters pounced on the soldiers. The soldiers immediately opened fire, but the creatures simply ignored the damage.

Anna was afraid to imagine what would have happened if she hadn't left Bols to help. The monsters burned like torches, emitting painful howls and screams:

- ONE LOB!!! ONYLOB!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!! USHORP YETYEBOO!!!

The last creature fell to the ground, writhing in pain, and just when it seemed to be over, the ground shook.

- Everyone run out of the camp now!!! - Anna gave the order.

The ground began to split, the soldiers scattered away from the epicentre. From the ground began to get out a huge something, similar to the monsters that were killed at first: an insect-like creature with legs like a spider and the body of a man, it had four arms and a head, in which there was....

- Ha-ha-ha-ha!!! You wretches, don't expect me to give up so easily!

- Shura? Is this idiot out of his mind?

- You!!! - Shura roared after spotting Anna.

- Fire!!!

***

The huge mutated Shura was seen from everywhere. Night Raid and the Huntsmen had stopped the fight and were watching the huge thing from afar as it scattered and crushed the soldiers.

- Fucking hell, it's ours! - Nero exclaimed. - Fighters, forget the Reid, our comrades need help, so follow me!

Wave and Seriu followed Nero as well. There was no point in chasing and fighting the Raid now, especially when there was a more serious threat.

- Najenda...? - Lubbock asked.

- Retreat. We got the teigu, so our task is done.

- But what if Chelsea is still out there!

- She may have been able to get out, as she did before. - said Najenda, turning round and walking away.

Lubbock stared at the giant for a while longer, who was rumbling around.

- Shit..." Lubbock said, following the Boss.

***

The soldiers were firing at Shura and the new monsters with everything they had - the machine gun shots didn't stop for a second, but Shura just covered himself with his giant arm and swept the soldiers away, laughing like a madman. Balls tried to burn him, but Shura threw him into the forest with a punch, breaking a couple of trees.

Bringing one of his arms round, he was about to crush the group of soldiers again, but a powerful shot straight into his chest nearly sent him crashing down.

Turning around, Anna saw Mia, who met the commander's gaze and nodded. Nodding back, Anna continued firing, using burst rounds. Later, Wave and Seru joined in - the guy threw the monster backwards with a leg kick at full speed, and Koro, taking on the guise of a berserker, started hammering Shura.

- Get off!!! - Shura shouted, knocking Koro off him and throwing Wave back with a single blow.

The soldiers stepped back, never stopping firing at the monsters, and Shura stood up, still laughing. He looked at Anna again, and anger boiled in the guy's eyes.

- Kill!!! I'll destroy you!!! I'll destroy you all!!!!!

Shura rushed straight at Anna, sweeping away everything in his path. He grabbed the girl with his huge hand and pulled her towards him. Anna tried to move, but to no avail, the grip was tight. Their gazes met, one read anger and the other disgust. The soldiers couldn't do anything to help as they had to fight off the monsters, and Wave, Seriu and Mia were helping them with that.

- It's all because of you. If it wasn't for you, I could have kept having fun. But you ruined it, made me fall in my father's eyes.

- You've been down for a long time. Unable to do anything but suck up to your father and do whatever you want. You think you can reach the same heights as him? Don't be ridiculous. You're just an ordinary golden child who can't do anything without the help of his father. - Anna spoke in a calm even voice, looking at Shura's angry face, she felt his hand squeezing hers, but the girl did not change in her face. - Sooner or later I will still meet my end like everyone else, but unlike you I will die with a smile on my face. - Anna smirked in Shura's face, it was not hard to guess that he wanted to see fear and tears in her face, but he would not get them.

- Before I die, I will make you suffer. And then I'll destroy your fucking Imperpol too! - Shura shrieked, clutching the girl.

- But you'll still... nothing... will work out. - Anna continued to say, even as she felt some of her bones breaking.

- And why is that?

- Because people like you are incapable of winning.

- Yes I teb... - suddenly a light appeared above Anna and Shura, both raised their gazes, looking at the circle that appeared above them, and if the girl didn't quite understand what it was, Shura knew perfectly well. - It was...

A black-clad figure jumped out of the circle and chopped the colossus' arm. The grip loosened, and Anna, along with the hand that held her, began to fall down. It was as if time had slowed down for the girl, and she closed her eyes. But instead of falling, she felt herself being caught in her arms. Opening her eyes, Anna met Leon's gaze, which made her grin.

- I'm sorry for the delay.

- I forgive you... And where did you 'heroes' get the habit of rescuing ladies at the last moment? - Anna asked, either jokingly or genuinely interested.

- YOU!!! - Shura roared, he remembered the one-eyed guy who had shot his arm off, but his gaze was especially fixed on the amulet that the young man held in his hand. - This teigu, it belongs to me!

Leon handed Anna over to the operatives, as she couldn't walk on her own right now, and turned his gaze to Shura.

- A dead man doesn't need it.

Shura made a huge fist, about to smear the guy like an insect. Taking advantage of the Shambala, Leon was above him and chopped off his other arm. Landing on the ground, he next began chopping its paws, and the creature fell to the ground.

- Now me! - Esdeath shouted, running out of the forest. - Hegel Sprung!!!

A huge block of ice fell right on top of Shura, pinning his mutated body to the ground.

- Now... Weiss Schnabel!!!

Hundreds of ice spikes flew straight at the attacking monsters, piercing through them. The survivors were being chopped to pieces by Leon, assisted by the other teigu owners. Shura, meanwhile, tried to throw off the block, but it wouldn't budge.

- Hello, Shura. - Esdeath stood on the giant's body and slowly approached the man. He began to twitch, trying to get out, which made Esdeath laugh. - I didn't think I'd ever have the opportunity to torture you. And I'm so glad I did.

- Do you know what your father will do to you if I die?

- I know nothing. - Esdeath answered him, watching him stare at her in confusion. - Onest has a peculiarity that everyone who does business with him knows. He only values those who do him good, and your actions are only tarnishing his image in the eyes of the Emperor. Simply put, right now you are more useful to him dead than alive. So I will be more than happy to try out new methods of torture on you.

Esdeath took out a knife from her pocket and began to slowly approach Shura, whose face did not hide emotions - fear, horror, resentment and desire to live.

- Wait.

Esdeath stopped, her knife was a millimetre away from Shura's eye. Turning round, she saw Anna, who was being held by two operatives.

- What do you want?

- I'll kill him.

- That won't do. I want to kill him too, you know. He's annoyed me too much all these years I've been serving the Empire.

- Some of my men are dead. The hostages I was ordered to rescue were either killed or turned into these things. And all this senseless slaughter, all these sacrifices were made on purpose just to lure me out...! Esdeath, I have a lot more reason to kill this freak than you do. So let me deal with him while you help the rest of us with those things that are running around.

- Well, you've convinced me. - Esdeath put the knife away and stepped away from Shura, allowing Anna to approach him. - But I hope you torture him. - With those words she went off to help the others, leaving Anna and two other operatives with Shura.

- I told you: people like you can't win. - Anna drew her revolver and shot Shura in the stomach, causing him to scream in pain. - Fire bullets. I don't usually use them because of their low effectiveness, but for your execution they're perfect. You don't want to be burned from the inside out, do you? - Anna asked, shooting then in the chest, causing another wave of pain and screams. - And don't think you're gonna get away with one shot. You never deserved a quick death.

***

Dorothy and Esau left Stileish's lab through the back door. She was pleased with the result - although she hadn't been able to meet the doctor in person, she had managed to get his records, notes and surviving monster specimens. And while Imperpol was fighting the monsters and the mutated Shura, she and her bodyguard were quietly leaving through the emergency exit. Now all she had to do was leave the Imperium and continue her research back home.

Reaching the closed door, Esau walked forward and opened the door, stepping outside and looking around.

- All is quiet, it's safe to come out.

- Nice. - Dorothy said, walking beside the samurai. - It's a shame we couldn't get into the Imperial lab, but Stileish's hidden lab satisfied me. What do you think, Esau?

- ...

- Esau..." she turned around and saw her bodyguard lying on the ground covered in blood.

Adopting a fighting stance, Dorothy looked around for whoever had done this, but there was silence all around. Then she felt a prick in her neck, after which she slumped to the ground, unable to feel her body. Her eyes could see something, and her pupils focused on a dark figure coming out of the woods, looking somewhere behind Dorothy's back.

- Thank you for your help.

- You're welcome! But I hope this arrangement stays between us.

- I can keep a secret.

- I can tell by you. Well, see you later.

Dorothy's weakened hearing only picked up footsteps.

- ...Now, we have to figure out what to do with you.