Modified Humans

Night Raid.

With Susanoo and Chelsea joining, Night Raid had become somewhat livelier—but now, it had once again fallen into deathly silence.

Though they had not spent much time together, they had already come to see Chelsea as a true companion. Even Mine, who often bickered with Chelsea, felt the same way.

No one had expected Chelsea, who possessed an Imperial Arm with the strongest disguise ability, to die after completing her assassination mission.

For a time, the members of Night Raid were immersed in the pain of losing a companion. What was more, the one who had killed Chelsea was the same person who had killed Bulat.

For Night Raid, the blood debt owed by Lilith had grown even heavier.

"Now isn't the time to grieve. Sooner or later, we'll settle this debt. Right now, another order has come from headquarters."

The members of Night Raid could only turn their grief into motivation and throw themselves into their mission. Perhaps that was the only way to forget their sorrow.

Nacita then explained their mission.

"This mission concerns a religious organization—the Anning Dao."

"The Anning Dao? The one that says actively doing good deeds will bring happiness and longevity? I'd heard of that religion even back in my village."

Tatsumi recalled the wooden Anning Dao carving the village chief had given him when he left. It was that very carving that had blocked Akame's killing blow, allowing him to stand here now alongside like-minded companions and work to change this country.

"In recent years, the Anning Dao has gained more and more followers. It has even recently formed its own armed force, making it a significant power on the eastern side of the Imperial Capital."

"They've even shown signs of launching an armed uprising recently."

"Wait! An armed uprising? How many people will die because of that? If that's the case, shouldn't we stop this rebellion?" Tatsumi shouted, unable to bear the thought of the people suffering.

Nacita naturally understood that, but...

"Even if we stop the Anning Dao's rebellion this time, another rebellion will emerge elsewhere next time. So long as the Empire's atrocities do not end, the people will never truly find happiness."

Nacita clenched the mechanical arm she had installed after Esdeath cut off one of her arms.

"Now is the time to end all of this!"

"Even if the Anning Dao launches an armed uprising, the Empire could probably suppress it easily with its power. But if we add our strength to the equation, things will be different!"

"While the Anning Dao launches its armed uprising, the western Foreigners allied with the Revolutionary Army will attack the Empire's borders. Meanwhile, the Revolutionary Army will launch a revolution in the south and push all the way to the outskirts of the Imperial Capital!"

"But... will it really be that easy?"

Tatsumi had not let his blood run so hot that it clouded his judgment.

After all, there were several checkpoints between the Revolutionary Army and the Imperial Capital. Breaking through even one of them was already difficult under normal circumstances, let alone several in succession.

"Under normal circumstances, of course it wouldn't be so easy. But we have long since won over the officials in those cities. When the time comes, they will open the city gates before anyone else can react. By then, everything will be settled."

"We should be grateful that, even now, Ozneth has not taken the Revolutionary Army seriously. He believes our strength is nothing to fear. That's hardly surprising—after all, the Empire's two greatest forces are both stationed in the Imperial Capital."

"With those two there, no matter how many troops we send, it will probably be difficult for them to make any difference."

"But even so, no matter how many sacrifices we must make, we will definitely liberate this country!"

At that point, Nacita paused.

"However, the key Anning Dao is also full of danger within. If things go wrong, the entire Anning Dao could fall into Ozneth's hands."

"What's going on?"

Lubbock scratched his head. How had this suddenly become connected to the minister?

"The person the Anning Dao's leader trusts most, his assistant Bolic, is actually a spy the minister planted within the Anning Dao. He could kill the leader of the Anning Dao at any time, turn him into a true 'god,' and take his place himself."

"This... couldn't we just tell the Anning Dao's leader about Bolic's identity and let them clean house themselves?"

"That likely won't work. Bolic wields significant power within the Anning Dao, and if we were to inform them, it might force his hand and cause him to act prematurely. That would severely weaken the Anning Dao, and they would likely no longer be able to contain the forces on the eastern side of the Imperial Capital."

That was unacceptable to the Revolutionary Army.

"Therefore, our mission this time is to go to the Anning Dao and assassinate Bolic!"

Night Raid: "Yes!!!"

"At the same time, we can no longer ignore the Hunters. They have been targeting us all along, and the people we developed within the Imperial Capital are in grave danger. This is the perfect chance to lure the Hunters outside the Imperial Capital and ambush them there!"

Rather than fear, the members of Night Raid were filled with fighting spirit.

"At last, we're going to war on all fronts!"

Nacita then named three Hunters the Revolutionary Army headquarters wanted them to kill.

One of them was someone they knew very well: Lilith.

They could more or less guess the reason. Lilith's Imperial Arm was simply too effective at supporting Esdeath's Imperial Arm.

If Lilith remained alive, Esdeath's strength would become even more terrifying.

The other two, however, were relatively unfamiliar to them.

"Dr. Stylish?"

"He seems to have just joined the Hunters. How strong is he?"

Nacita said, "As for his strength... he's very weak. Even weaker than Lubbock."

Lubbock said, "Huh? Me?"

Nacita: "His Imperial Arm has no offensive capabilities whatsoever, but combined with Dr.'s own abilities, it became extremely terrifying."

"According to the Revolutionary Army's intelligence, Dr. Stylish is skilled in human modification. He used the people in prisons—criminals—for human experimentation."

"No one knows how many Modified Humans he has created so far. But if those Modified Humans are still under Dr. Stylish's control, they will be an extremely terrifying force."

Mine was somewhat curious about these so-called Modified Humans, so she asked, "Just how strong are these Modified Humans in combat?"

Remembering the intelligence gathered by the Revolutionary Army, Nacita felt a lingering sense of dread.

"...Very strong. Any Modified Human that survived may not possess the combat power of an Imperial Arm user, but they are all far stronger than elite soldiers. Among them, the strongest one..."

Nacita looked at Akame and fell silent for a moment.