The sisters were in no hurry to return to base. Instead, they first went into the mountains to find some Danger Beasts and obtain their cores, which they exchanged for some candy for Kurome.
After returning to base, Akame prepared a room for Kurome, then went to bed herself.
"Divine Abyss, thank you!" After returning to her room, Akame hugged Divine Abyss and spoke with a serious expression.
"You're welcome. Just don't kick me the next time I examine your body."
"Pervert! Fine, I know!" Akame spat. The latter part was as faint as a mosquito's buzz, but Lin Ran still heard it.
Once Akame fell asleep, Lin Ran transferred directly to Sheele's wrist with a thought.
Looking at Sheele's sleeping face, Lin Ran felt somewhat regretful. He had already used up today's transformation time! Left with no choice, he returned to Akame's side. At least Akame hugged him while she slept!
Early the next morning, the sounds of Bulat swinging his weapon mingled with those of Akame chopping vegetables. Helplessly, Lin Ran transferred to Sheele's side and slept a little longer.
When Sheele woke up groggily, she fumbled around for a while before finding her glasses. Lin Ran looked her over; despite her mature figure, she exuded an adorably airheaded air. He greeted her, giving her a fright.
"Huh! Divine Abyss, when did you get here?"
"A little while ago. Akame was cooking, and I found it noisy, so I came here to sleep for a bit."
"Oh, oh, I see. All right, got it." Sheele smiled, tidied herself up, and took Lin Ran along to breakfast.
Akame stared huffily at Sheele, who was talking to Lin Ran. Earlier, she had called out to Divine Abyss and received no response, so she had guessed he might have gone to find Sheele. After all, apart from her, Sheele was the person Divine Abyss was closest to in Night Raid.
Lin Ran returned to Divine Abyss and sheepishly offered Akame a few words of explanation. Akame huffed and reluctantly forgave him.
Before long, Kurome arrived as well. Akame quickly introduced her to everyone. They trusted Akame unconditionally and soon accepted Kurome.
They discovered that Kurome held a box of candy at all times and rivaled Sheele in adorable airheadedness. Sheele was also the first to approach Kurome, and after chatting, Kurome found that she got along very well with her.
"Kurome is a little weak. She might suffer in a clash with Esdeath's subordinates. While the great battle is still some way off, we should take her out to improve her strength first."
"That's what I was thinking too. I plan to speak to Boss and head to the northern part of the Empire for a while. But before leaving, I want to meet that General Esdeath."
"Sure. Give her a warning and see whether she knows what's good for her. If not, kill her. With Night Raid's current strength, we can easily handle the remaining Teigu users."
Akame glanced at Kurome, who was with Sheele, then turned and headed toward the imperial capital.
"Fight your way straight into the palace. With me here, they can't do anything to you!"
Akame nodded, gripped Divine Abyss, and cleaved the palace gates open with a single slash. Lin Ran was somewhat speechless. There was no need to make such a commotion, was there?
Esdeath was flirting with Tatsumi when she sensed an immensely powerful presence invading the palace. A trace of excitement immediately appeared on her face, as though she could already see the intruder begging pitifully at her feet.
"Could one of your teammates have come to rescue you? No matter. I'll go cut off her head and bring her to see you." Esdeath stroked Tatsumi's face as she spoke with a touch of madness.
Tatsumi watched Esdeath leave, then saw Wave and the others follow her. His heart tightened involuntarily. He did not believe anyone other than Akame would dare storm the palace like this.
"Demon Sword Murasame? Hmm? That Teigu in your hand isn't Demon Sword Murasame," Esdeath said, somewhat puzzled.
"Esdeath, I have no intention of fighting you, but I hope you'll take your squad and break free of the Empire's control. Teigu users shouldn't be butcher's knives in the Empire's hands, slaughtering the innocent."
"You have no right to tell me what to do. But if you can defeat me, I can consider your proposal."
"The rest of you, stay out of this!"
Akame no longer hesitated. Pushing off with both feet, she instantly charged at Esdeath. Dozens of ice swords hurtled toward her. Akame slashed, and her sword light tore through every obstacle ahead. Their figures clashed repeatedly, and the ice swords in Esdeath's hand kept shattering.
In just a few dozen seconds, she had already gone through over a hundred ice swords. She had pushed the Demon's Extract to its limit, and an ice domain swept out, blanketing the area. Akame was frozen within it.
Hundreds of ice swords came flying, and Esdeath also used Mahapadma without hesitation. For a moment, Akame seemed to be in a hopeless situation, with ten chances of death and none of survival. At least, that was what everyone around them thought.
A cold gleam flashed in Akame's eyes. Even frozen in ice, she did not panic in the slightest. Black light erupted around her, and the phantom of an enormous sword, hundreds of zhang tall, appeared above the palace.
"Heaven Opening!" Akame murmured the words, and a violent aura tore apart every restraint around her.
Her sword slashed viciously toward Esdeath. Wherever the sword light passed, all the ice melted away.
"The outcome is decided. Until you defeat me, you must no longer help a tyrant perpetrate his atrocities, much less slaughter the innocent." Akame looked expressionlessly at Esdeath, who lay on the ground, utterly drained. She had held back just now; otherwise, that slash would certainly have killed her!
"So someone as powerful as you actually exists in this world," Esdeath said with a bitter smile.
"I'll remember what you said. From this moment on, I resign from every position I hold in the Empire! Remember this: I'll come looking for you again!" Esdeath struggled to her feet and looked at her subordinates in the Jaegers.
"Boss, can I come with you?"
"Yes, as long as you're not afraid of being hunted by the Empire."
Akame left, leaving behind a scene of devastation. Tatsumi was somewhat torn over whether he should return to base or continue staying in the palace.
After recovering her strength, Esdeath walked over to Tatsumi, smiled gracefully, kissed him, and left with Wave.
Whether Wave had been bewitched by her beauty or won over by Esdeath's formidable strength, he had fallen at her feet all the same.
"Captain, where are we going?"
"Let's visit my homeland first," Esdeath said with a smile. For some reason, she now felt liberated. From now on, she could live only for herself.
"Akame, do you think letting Esdeath go was right or wrong?"
"I think we just have different convictions. I've heard about her past. Her father taught her to pursue great strength from childhood. She simply took a crooked path after her tribe was wiped out."
"Yes. My guess is that you've become her goal now. Once she becomes stronger than you are now, she'll definitely come looking for you again."
"You think she can become stronger than I am now?"
"If it were someone else, I wouldn't think so. But she's Esdeath. She's a legend in her own right."
Lin Ran knew very well how powerful Esdeath was in the original story. Now that her fate had changed, no one knew what she would ultimately become.