Gulp—
Inside Minister Honest's mansion.
Cosmia, disguised in a guard's uniform and lying among a pile of corpses, pretending to be dead, swallowed hard, her heart racing with panic.
She was no stranger to chaos.
Before meeting Sheila, she was already infamous in the Western Kingdom as the "Witch," known for her bold and flashy antics. After joining Sheila's crew, she followed him on his rampages, mostly toying with men rather than killing, but still dabbling in all sorts of rebellious acts.
But now…
She couldn't shake the feeling that the girl named Uchiha Hikari was the true "Witch."
Killing Sheila's group in the empire's rural heartlands was one thing—those were backwater regions where Minister Honest's influence couldn't easily reach.
But this was the Imperial Capital!
No matter how strong she was, storming Minister Honest's mansion single-handedly… that was just insane, wasn't it? Even if she succeeded, didn't she fear the empire's wrath? They'd send an army to hunt her down!
Of course…
Cosmia wasn't worried about Uchiha Hikari's safety.
After all, that girl had that bizarre flying ability and had seized Sheila's teleportation Teigu, "Shangri-La." Even if she faced an unbeatable foe, she could escape without anyone catching her.
No, Cosmia was worried about herself.
When Uchiha Hikari first stormed deeper into the mansion, Cosmia was still paralyzed from the gravity field of the "Judgment Spear," unable to move freely. Curious about the outcome of Hikari's clash with Honest, she didn't flee immediately.
Big mistake.
By the time she realized things were going south and tried to slip away, the mansion was already surrounded by a swarm of imperial soldiers.
And among them was General Budo, a figure as renowned as Esdeath herself.
Now, Cosmia had no chance to escape. She quietly swapped into a guard's uniform, smeared blood on her face and body, and lay among the corpses, hoping to blend in and survive.
It was going pretty well.
The night was dark, the casualty count was high, and General Budo hadn't noticed her.
The soldiers clearing the scene only checked her breathing briefly before tossing her onto a cart with other bodies, set to be incinerated once everything settled.
But…
Just as Cosmia cracked her eyes open to scout the situation and look for an escape, she heard a soldier nearby let out a sharp gasp:
"Who's that?!"
"!"
Cosmia's heart skipped a beat, thinking her ruse was up.
But then she heard other soldiers shouting, one pointing to the sky: "Up there!"
"Careful… it might be an attack!!"
As they spoke, a massive dragon-like creature soared through the air with a fierce gust, streaking in from beyond the capital, heading straight for Minister Honest's mansion.
On its back were several figures in varied outfits, led by a white-haired woman with an eyepatch.
—"Night Raid's" boss, Najenda.
Night Raid's headquarters wasn't far from the capital, tucked away in the mountains a few dozen miles out. After receiving Hill's message, Najenda made a snap decision, rallying Akame, Mine, Leone, and the others to rush over and see the situation for themselves.
Najenda had a rough sense of Uchiha Hikari's strength.
Much like how she once underestimated Esdeath, she figured Hikari was only slightly stronger than Brand or Akame. With her flight ability, taking out Sheila's group wasn't surprising. But assassinating Minister Honest in the heart of the capital? That was a reckless move.
Even if Sheila's death had tipped off Honest, putting him on high alert, succeeding in the assassination would likely lead to a manhunt by the capital's forces, risking injury or capture.
So, Najenda's mission here was partly to back up Uchiha Hikari.
A powerful asset like her, who could aid the Revolutionary Army, would be a shame to lose.
But…
"Huh? Where's Miss Hikari?"
"Did the fight end that fast?"
From high above, Najenda surveyed the blood-soaked courtyard below, piecing together what had happened.
"As expected, even with Miss Hikari's strength, assassinating Minister Honest was too much. The battlefield's such a mess—she might already be…"
"Wait, who's that?"
Under Najenda's gaze, a blinding bolt of lightning shot up from the courtyard like a javelin, hurtling toward the sky with unstoppable force!
At the last second, the dragon carrying Night Raid flapped its wings, barely dodging the attack.
As the lightning spear exploded in the air, illuminating the night, they saw a towering armored figure step out from the mansion, looking up.
"General Budo?!"
Najenda's heart sank. "Even he's here? Looks like Miss Hikari's assassination failed…"
In the mansion's courtyard, Budo let out a cold snort, a flicker of killing intent in his eyes. "So it's you, Night Raid! Najenda, you were once an imperial general, blessed by the empire's grace. Betrayal is already a capital crime, and now you repay His Majesty like this?!"
"…I'm sorry, but we're on different paths. The empire's rotten to the core—it has to change. Why stand against the tide?"
"Hmph!"
Budo scoffed, shifting his gaze to Akame. "Black hair, red eyes… you're the one who killed Minister Honest, aren't you? Such power, yet instead of serving the empire, you've gone astray. What a pity."
Najenda and Akame: "Huh?"
At that moment, both sides were puzzled.
Najenda was stunned by Budo's implication that "Honest is dead."
Budo, meanwhile, was confused about how Akame—the supposed assassin—had slipped out of the mansion and joined Night Raid on their dragon.
But there was no time to hash it out.
As Budo's aura surged, storm clouds gathered, and his body, wrapped in lightning, rose into the air, blue-purple arcs crackling around him.
—Thunder God's Wrath: Adramelech.
Budo's Teigu, an armor-type that controlled storm clouds, was among the most powerful, rivaling Esdeath's "Demon's Extract." As he unleashed its full might, his presence soared, like a god of thunder standing tall in the heavens, making Night Raid tense up.
Akame drew Murasame.
Leone and Mine readied for battle.
The fight… was about to erupt!
Meanwhile, Uchiha Hikari was following the young emperor to the palace's underground.
Compared to Honest or Dorothea, the emperor's memories were almost laughably simple—like a 21st-century college kid, radiating a clear, innocent stupidity.
He didn't even know about the "Supreme Teigu."
Yup, that's right.
The previous emperor and empress were poisoned by Honest before they could pass down the royal secrets, leaving the young emperor a blank slate, a puppet who only knew what Honest fed him.
With no other choice, Hikari took on Honest's role, telling the emperor about the "Guardian Machine God" and following him to its storage site.
"…It's this big?"
Standing on a railed stone platform, Hikari peered into the abyss below, eyes wide with awe.
In the world of Akame ga Kill!, many Teigu could change forms.
Take "Demon Armor: Incursio," a sword in its dormant state that transforms into full-body armor when synced with its user.
Or biological Teigu like Sayo's Hundred-Armed Giant or Najenda's Susanoo, which also had transformation modes.
But…
The "Guardian Machine God" was just as massive as it was in the original story when the Revolutionary Army breached the capital. A colossal frame, 200-300 meters tall, weighing thousands of tons, it stood like an armored mountain in the hollowed-out palace depths, connected by suspended stone steps.
According to Honest's memories, this was the origin and pinnacle of all Teigu, usable only by someone with royal blood.
In other words, only the young emperor could operate it—anyone else in the cockpit would be useless.
Hikari had no intention of letting the emperor take the controls.
After all…
The "Guardian Machine God" rivaled Esdeath's power.
It also had a "Purge Mode," a secret technique using alchemy and the Teigu's properties to morph its exterior into a dragon, boosting its weapon destruction and defense. In the original story, Purge Mode made it potentially tougher than Esdeath, with beam cannons stronger than Naruto's Tailed Beast Bombs.
If the emperor got in and activated it, Hikari wasn't sure she could stop him.
Her goal was to quietly take it and study it in a safe place.
But…
After circling the Guardian Machine God and inspecting it, Hikari hit a snag.
It seemed… fused with the palace.
Or rather, the founding emperor likely built the palace around it, not the other way around.
Activating or sealing it for transport would collapse the entire palace complex.
Realizing this, Hikari used her flight technique to return to the platform, deep in thought.
"Gotta find a safer way…"
No rush, though.
She couldn't use the Guardian Machine God herself, and her interest was more curiosity than necessity. If she had to pick, she preferred practical Teigu like "Shangri-La" or "Judgment Spear."
Tonight's haul was already massive—her sealing scrolls and universal capsules were nearly full. She decided to head back, clear some inventory, and then tackle the palace's treasures.
For now, Hikari planted a suggestion in the emperor's mind: "Don't use the Supreme Teigu." Then she escorted him back to his chambers.
On the way, a few patrols of imperial guards spotted her.
But before they could question her, the emperor snapped, "Back off! Don't disrespect the minister!"
The guards: "?"
Unaware of Hikari's Tsukuyomi, the guards were baffled but bowed to royal authority, assuming their young emperor was playing some weird game with this girl—after all, they looked about the same age.
Back at the chambers, Hikari grabbed Dorothea and took off into the sky.
Speaking of which…
The palace airspace was guarded by numerous flying Danger Beasts, tamed by a special feed-type Teigu.
As Hikari flew off, some noticed her, emerging from their nests. They resembled ancient pterodactyls or oversized bats, and there were a lot of them.
Even after Hikari unleashed her killing intent, they didn't back down, looking ready to pounce.
Luckily, their range was limited.
Once she left the palace grounds, they stopped chasing and flapped back to their nests.
Then, Hikari spotted storm clouds gathering in the distance, lightning dancing across the sky, clashing with red-and-white beam cannons.
"What's going on over there?"
"…Probably General Budo fighting someone," Dorothea muttered, trying to prove her worth. "His Teigu controls storm clouds. It's really powerful."
Even without her input, Hikari had figured it out.
In the original Akame ga Kill! story, Night Raid once stormed the capital to save Tatsumi from execution, facing off against General Budo.
Thanks to Hikari's interference, this world's timeline had shifted drastically. Yet somehow, this battle was playing out again at a different time.
Guess it was fate.
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