A ferocious wave of blistering, scorching wind blasted over them as the massive crimson dragon descended right above their clearing.
But right before it crashed into the tree line, a blinding flash of red light enveloped the creature.
The colossal scales, wings, and tail rapidly contracted, shrinking down into a human silhouette until the draconic form completely vanished.
Haruto dropped smoothly out of the night sky, casually carrying a person securely in each of his arms.
With a light thud, he landed on the grass and nonchalantly dumped both of his passengers straight onto the dirt.
"Ouch! What the hell?!" Mine groaned, rubbing her sore backside as she hit the ground hard.
"Mine!"
Sheele gasped, immediately dropping to her knees with wide, gentle eyes to check the pink-haired sniper for any hidden injuries.
Aside from a bruised pride and the clumsy landing, Mine was completely safe and sound.
[Ding! Trade complete!]
[Ding! You have successfully obtained the imperial arms: "One-Cut Killer: Murasame"! It has been stored in your inventory.]
Haruto casually brushed his hands together, dusting off a speck of imaginary ash from his sleeve as he looked down at the group.
"Well, the trade terms have been fully met," Haruto stated flatly.
However, Akame's attention wasn't on the completion of the contract.
The moment her younger sister's limp body hit the grass, all of Akame's usual composure shattered completely.
"Kurome!"
Akame cried out, her voice cracking as she sprinted forward and dropped to her knees, frantically gathering her unconscious sister into her arms.
Beside them, Mine groaned as she rubbed her sore head, shooting Haruto a sharp, resentful glare for the unceremonious drop.
But the heavy gravity of the situation quickly rushed back to her, and her eyes widened in realization.
"Oh, that's right, Akame! Before we left, this girl Kurome told me that she's your sister. Is that actually true?"
"..."
Akame froze, her dark red eyes trembling as she stared down at Kurome's pale, peaceful face.
After a long, agonizing moment of silence, she slowly nodded.
"Yes... She is my younger sister."
"Seriously?!" Mine blurted out, her jaw dropping. "If she's your sister, why the hell was she guarding my execution cell? And more importantly... she told Me she wanted to cut your head off!"
The rest of the Night Raid members turned their shocked, bewildered gazes back and forth between Akame and the unconscious assassin on the ground.
"..."
Akame tightly bit her lower lip, a drop of blood nearly welling up from the pressure.
She didn't offer any excuses.
In truth, she had already anticipated this tragic, blood-soaked outcome long before she ever set foot back into the capital.
"Night Raid! So, it really is you rats!"
Suddenly, a thunderous, authoritative voice boomed from the night sky above.
Boom!
The next moment, a massively built, powerful figure plummeted straight down from the clouds, slamming into the earth with earth-shattering force.
The impact shattered the ground instantly, sending a violent shockwave and a thick cloud of dust flying in all directions.
As the dust slowly cleared, a golden-haired man sporting a distinct faux-mohawk, clad from head to toe in heavy, imperial-grade armor, emerged from the crater.
Crossing his thick arms over his chest, he swept his cold, unforgiving gaze across the gathered group.
"You dared launch an assault on the Imperial Palace and throw the capital into chaos. None of you are leaving here alive!"
"General Budo!"
Najenda's remaining eye widened in sudden, sharp alarm.
Just as she had feared and tried to avoid, the catastrophic amount of noise and destruction had directly drawn the attention of the Empire's most formidable and loyal military pillar.
"Najenda, treacherous dog of the Empire, your life ends here. Face immediate judgment."
As a high-ranking former general of the Imperial military before she defected to the Revolutionary Army, Najenda was intimately familiar with Budo's terrifying reputation.
Instead of cowing, Najenda sneered, crossing her arms. "Heh, save your breath. The Empire has long since rotted completely from the inside out. A corrupt regime that feeds on the suffering of its own citizens deserves to be ground into dust."
Even as she talked tough, Najenda discreetly flicked her fingers, signaling her subordinates—and casting a worried glance toward Haruto's mysterious group—to prepare for an immediate, desperate battle.
She could already hear the heavy, coordinated stomping of thousands of elite imperial guards rapidly closing the perimeter around them.
They needed to break through and escape right now, or they would be buried under an endless sea of soldiers.
However...
When she looked over, she was met with a maddening sight.
Haruto and his companions were casually standing off to the side, leaning against a tree and watching the tense standoff as if they were eating popcorn at a theater play.
Noticing her anxious, questioning glare, Haruto merely offered an easygoing, nonchalant shrug.
"Don't look at me like that, leader-san."
Haruto smiled lazily, hands tucked into his pockets.
"The trade agreement is fully complete, and I've delivered your sniper back safe and sound. So this little political dispute has nothing to do with me anymore. Deal with it however you please."
"???"
The members of Night Raid were left entirely dumbfounded.
You're the one who blew half the palace to pieces, transformed into a city-destroying dragon, summoned the Empire's strongest general right to our doorstep, and now you're telling us it has nothing to do with you?!
What kind of mercenary, deadbeat assistance is this?!
General Budo narrowed his eyes, briefly glancing over at the four unfamiliar outsiders standing idly by.
Since they weren't listed on any official imperial wanted posters, he assumed they were just unlucky bystanders or foreign vagrants caught in the crossfire, quickly dismissing them to focus his killing intent entirely back onto the assassins of Night Raid.
Naturally, the hyper-destructive red dragon that had terrorized the capital moments ago must have been the specialized combat ability of some unknown Teigu wielded by one of these rebels.
"Night Raid. Surrender to the imperial authority this instant, or be eradicated."
Budo's expression turned glacial as violent, crackling arcs of blue electricity began to surge and snap across the surface of his heavy armor.
This was the terrifying manifestation of his legendary Teigu—Adramelech: The Demon's Wrath—a specialized armor-type Imperial Arm capable of generating and manipulating devastating bolts of plasma and lightning.
Lifting his hand high into the air, completely enveloped in roaring electrical current, Budo channeled his energy.
In an instant, the atmosphere pressure plummeted, and dozens of massive, jagged lightning bolts began to churn and gather in the dark clouds above, radiating the absolute wrath of the heavens.
The sheer destructive pressure was suffocating.
Everyone present knew that if those lightning bolts unleashed their payload, the outcome would be cataclysmic.
In all likelihood, only Bulat wrapped inside the impenetrable defense of his Incursio armor might narrowly survive the electrical onslaught, while the rest of Night Raid would be instantly charred to ash.
*******
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