"Did they run?"
"What a bunch of troublesome guys."
Gyutaro watched the two figures disappear, then immediately stepped forward to help Daki.
Not long after they left, several gang members and Ieyasu arrived downstairs.
"Strange… Miss Daki…"
Ieyasu felt uneasy as he looked at the room in front of him—it was Daki's room.
Since being assigned to work under Daki, he had naturally joined the local underground organization.
After hearing the commotion, he hurriedly came up to investigate.
The presence that Daki gave Ieyasu felt eerily similar to the feeling he got from Doma.
It was so overwhelming that it made his blood tremble.
"Where has Miss Daki gone?"
"There's so much blood…"
"Was she attacked?"
Several others looked around at the scene, their faces darkening.
Daki was their "cash cow" here, attracting countless dignitaries who came daily to witness her beauty.
If something happened to her, their losses would be catastrophic.
The higher-ups of the underground organization would surely vent their anger on these lowly subordinates.
"Go and find her! Otherwise, we're doomed!"
One of the minor leaders of the underground syndicate snapped back to his senses and barked an order.
They knew exactly how dangerous the situation was tonight.
If they didn't act, they'd be the ones taking the fall.
On the other side, Akame carried Leone out of the imperial capital.
Mounted on a horse, she rushed quickly toward Night Raid's hideout.
At this time, Leone had already fainted—there was a deadly toxin coursing through her body from the enemy's attack.
If not for Leone's incredible physical resilience, any ordinary person would have died instantly.
"Leone, hang on…"
Akame looked at the unconscious Leone and sped toward headquarters.
Nearly an hour had passed since Leone was poisoned by Murasame's counter-effect.
Akame finally arrived at Night Raid's base, carrying Leone inside.
Most of the Night Raid members were out on missions.
Only Lubbock, who was in charge of defense, and Najenda, the leader of the group, remained.
"Akame, what's going on?"
"Was Leone poisoned?"
Najenda, with her short, practical hair and the demeanor of a seasoned general, instantly assessed the situation.
She immediately recognized that Leone was suffering from a highly lethal toxin—and her arm had been severed.
This was no ordinary enemy.
"Boss, we've run into trouble," Akame admitted grimly.
The three of them carried Leone into a room.
Although the type of poison wasn't clear, Night Raid had access to the Revolutionary Army's resources, including top-quality antidotes.
After some time, Leone's breathing stabilized, and her severed arm was carefully retrieved by Lubbock using his Teigu.
Leone's Teigu, Lion King, possessed a terrifying self-healing ability.
Paired with Lubbock's Cross Tail, whose threads could stitch wounds with surgical precision, her injuries would eventually heal.
Akame then began to recount the details of the mission.
"Such an enemy exists?"
"She was cut by Murasame—a certain death blade—and still didn't die…"
"What is the origin of this foe…?"
Najenda's expression darkened.
As the Revolutionary Army's key agent in the imperial capital, she understood how vital Night Raid was to their success.
If the enemy's forces in the capital continued to grow, the situation would become dire.
Night Raid's ability to operate would be severely compromised.
"Have the others return immediately."
"Lubbock, send a message to headquarters at once."
Najenda took a deep breath, fully aware of how delicate the situation had become.
A single mistake could spiral out of control.
If they weren't careful, Night Raid would risk being completely dismantled.
Even Lubbock was startled by the grim look on Najenda's face—it was rare to see her like this.
Imperial Capital, Imperial Palace.
Rivo, who had been preparing to rest, suddenly heard the system's chime and opened his eyes.
[Ding! Your servant, Twelve Kizuki Upper Rank Six Daki, is highly poisoned and in a critical condition!]
The moment Rivo heard the notification, he didn't need to think twice.
He knew that Daki must have run into Akame.
"Servant Recall."
Rivo sighed. Facing Murasame, the bug-type Teigu that kills with a single cut, there was no room for carelessness.
The poison, which persists until its victim is dead, was especially dangerous—it was one of the few things that could truly restrain the Twelve Kizuki.
He immediately summoned Daki back.
He wanted to see for himself what would happen to a demon like her when struck by Murasame's cursed toxin.
As a flash of silver light appeared, Daki's injured body manifested in front of Rivo.
"Master…"
Daki lowered her head, her voice weak and filled with shame as pain wracked her body.
Behind her, Gyutaro also emerged.
He dropped to one knee beside Daki, his face twisted in anger and frustration.
"Master… this time, we underestimated the enemy…"
Hatred flared in Gyutaro's eyes toward the one who had hurt his sister so badly.
The humiliation of losing in front of Rivo only made his anger worse.
In his heart, he had already imagined torturing Akame hundreds of times over.
[Ding! Reputation can be spent to clear a servant's negative state!]
Rivo asked the system if Daki's poisoned condition could be lifted.
The system promptly answered.
[Empire Summoning System]
[Host: Rivo]
[Servants: Twelve Kizuki Series – Upper Rank Two, Upper Rank Three, Upper Rank Six]
[Reputation: 560]
[Skills: Servant Summoning, Servant Recycling]
It would take 500 reputation points to purge the Murasame toxin.
That amount was enough for another draw to summon a Twelve Kizuki member.
However, Rivo didn't hesitate—Daki's role was far too important, not only for her strength but also for the prestige she brought him during these early stages.