The Capital, at the opulent imperial palace perched atop the city's highest point.
Sitting upon the throne was a young boy with dark green hair, barely seven or eight years old. Without his crown and robes, few would realize that he was the ruler of this land, the Emperor of the Empire.
Currently, an emergency meeting was underway. The officials below wore expressions of intense strain until an armored soldier entered, kneeling on one knee to deliver a report.
"I have just received word. Generals Nakakido and Hemi have deserted and joined the Revolutionary Army."
"So, the military expert General Nakakido has..."
"The Revolutionary Army is expanding far too quickly!"
"If we don't deal with them soon, the Capital..."
"Do not panic!"
The young King stood up, his youthful voice silencing the murmuring officials.
"They will soon grow bored in the south. We can deal with the Revolutionary Army at any time."
"If they gather in one place, it will be easier to eliminate them. Is that not right, Prime Minister?"
The Emperor turned back. From the shadows behind the throne, a bloated old man stepped out, still gnawing on a large piece of meat with no regard for the decorum expected of a Prime Minister.
"Just as expected of Your Majesty. You have shown great composure in this matter."
Although he addressed him as Your Majesty, the old Prime Minister showed not a shred of respect. He continued to stuff meat into his mouth; none of the officials below questioned it, as they were all too accustomed to this sight.
"Instead of worrying about those distant revolutionaries, it is more necessary to deal with the traitors close at hand. And Night Raid—they have killed too many of our people."
"We are being attacked from two sides; I'm so frustrated I'm actually gaining weight!"
He bit into the meat, tearing it in half before swallowing.
"We must recall General Esdeath."
As soon as the Prime Minister finished his sentence, everyone except the Emperor turned pale, breaking into a cold sweat as if they had just finished a grueling workout. To them, Esdeath was not merely a general—she was a nightmare.
"Return... return to the Capital?"
"But Commander-in-Chief Budou..."
"The hunt for traitors was originally General Grand's responsibility. This will wound his pride, will it not?"
"Esdeath? No need to worry about that."
Even at his young age, the Emperor knew that Esdeath was a brilliant general and a rival to General Grand. The Prime Minister nodded in rare agreement; when he looked at the reports of the war against the Northern tribes, even a man like him felt a chill run down his spine. He secretly felt lucky that the only thing Esdeath craved was not fame or power—if it were, he wouldn't be sitting in this position.
"That is correct. She is the cold-blooded woman who buried 400,000 Northerners alive."
"It is no longer a matter of life or death. She will strike them all down and make them taste defeat."
...
Tatsumi was in a state of panic. During their escape, he had somehow become separated from Leone. Most importantly, Tatsumi was completely lost; he didn't even know where he was.
"Hey, you over there! Can I help you with something?"
As he was scratching his head in frustration, Tatsumi turned around. He found that the person who had spoken was a brown-haired girl with a ponytail, wearing the armor of the Imperial Guard and leading a strange creature. It looked quite amusing, white with large black spots.
"I am Seryu, part of the Imperial Guard! And a warrior protecting justice!"
Seryu gave a military salute, and the beast she was leading raised its stubby arm to do the same.
"The Imperial Guard..."
Tatsumi felt a bit uneasy, even though Seryu seemed very friendly. After all, the first person he had killed without it being for revenge was Captain Ogre of the Imperial Guard. Now that he was an assassin, the two sides were mortal enemies.
"Kiu kiu..."
"Coro, you're hungry, aren't you? Just wait a little longer."
"Kiu..."
"Um... Miss Guard, what exactly is this creature?"
Seryu picked up the creature named Coro and began to explain.
"This is the Teigu Hecatoncheir. No need to be afraid; it's harmless except to bad people."
Upon hearing it was a Teigu, Tatsumi realized it resembled one from the comprehensive Teigu book. The Boss had given him a copy, though because the drawings couldn't capture everything perfectly, he hadn't recognized it immediately. However, the name and general shape matched.
This thing was definitely not as harmless as it appeared now.
Tatsumi tensed up; a Teigu user from the Empire's side was less than two meters away from him. If he were discovered to be an assassin, he would be dead for sure!
But he couldn't just turn and run; he had to act natural and find a way to distance himself.
"So, do you need anything?"
"Ah, I'm lost. But I don't know the area I was in before."
"That is a bit tricky, but no worries! I'll show you the way while I'm on patrol!"
"Ah, yes, thank you."
Seryu took Tatsumi's hand and began to run; his face turned slightly red. Even though they were on opposing sides, this was the first time a girl had ever held his hand.
"Kiu kiu kiu kiu kiu!!!"
The beast hopped up and down, its eyes squinted in disapproval, specifically aimed at Tatsumi.
"Sorry about that, Coro doesn't like strangers much."
"So... how did you get it?"
"No high-ranking official was compatible with it, so they had to test compatibility with lower-ranking people. And it chose my justice. I also gave it the name Coro."
"Coro is my precious partner."
"I see."
Following that, the two began searching for the path Leone had taken him on. They circled around until dusk before Tatsumi finally found his way back.
"This must be the area you mentioned earlier."
"That's it, thank you very much."
"It's nothing! If you encounter any bad people, just call for me! we will handle it."
"That's reassuring..."
Tatsumi scratched his head awkwardly as Seryu ran off, pulling the beast Coro behind her.
"Let's go, Coro!"
"I bet you're starving. Are five death row inmates enough for you?"
"Kiu kiu!"
Watching the friendly guard run away, Tatsumi fell into silence. In the Imperial Guard, there were pieces of trash like Ogre, but there were also people like Seryu. She was only kind to him because, in her eyes, Tatsumi was an ordinary citizen in need of help.
Night Raid fought for justice—a raw, blood-soaked justice. Seryu's justice was one with blinded eyes. Because they were on opposing sides, a clash was inevitable.
Tatsumi wondered, Could I really strike down someone like her when the time comes?
But he quickly suppressed the thought. If he didn't, the members of Night Raid would become targets. Though he had only joined recently, the people in Night Raid had become precious to Tatsumi; he didn't want to lose any of them.
"Asahi-san, it's truly difficult..."
At this moment, he understood—or rather, understood more deeply—how heavy the phrase "bearing your own sins" that Asahi mentioned earlier truly was. Seryu was a good person, that was true, but if she wanted to kill the members of Night Raid, Tatsumi would kill her. Her death would be a sin he would carry for the rest of his life, until the day he died.
In truth, Tatsumi did not know that Seryu's brand of justice was far more extreme than he could imagine. In her eyes, there was only black and white. The Capital was white; the revolution was black. The Guard was white; Night Raid was black. There was no objective perception.
Coincidentally, Seryu's mentor was Ogre—the very man Tatsumi had killed. Thus, the debt between the two sides was far from settled; it was only just beginning.