Returning once again to the torture chamber and after her little talk with Tatsumi, which ended with her declaring that she'd execute him, Esdeath entered the chamber holding Dairoku. Upon entering, she spotted the white haired Harbinger. His hands were held up by chains as he remained motionless and hanging. His eyes, they were open, but were a dull red color as they were void of emotion and life. He looked like a dead body, but he was alive. Releasing a sigh, the Icy General approached him.

Esdeath: "Dairoku, are you awake?" The response she got was silence. It was like that since he was held there. Not even the other Torturers were able to get him to respond. She was about to leave before..

Athena: "General Esdeath."

She paused and looked back towards Dairoku, seeing the back of his left hand glowing.

Esdeath: "You. I recognize your voice."

Athena: "You should. I am dragon's spirit that resides within the Barbatos Zodiac-Armor, Athena. And I'm afraid you won't get to speak to my partner as of now."

Esdeath: "And why is that, dragon?"

Athena: "Should be obvious don't you think? Look at him. There's nothing left. As of now, he's just an empty shell, without any conscience. You won't get through to him."

Esdeath: "Oh?" she hummed and narrowed her eyes before taking her rapier and pointing it at the male's chest. Soon she made a swift jab, however the blade was repelled by a red glow that prevented it from making contact.

Athena: "You should know not to underestimate us, Esdeath. I will not allow you to damage my partner while he's in this state. If you want him to talk, you'd have to be close to him relationship wise. And as you stand, you do not fit that criteria. I suggest you stop wasting your time" The icy general narrowed her eyes before pulling her rapier back and sheathing it.

Esdeath: "You have quite the moral and attitude, for a dragon."

Athena: "Why thank you for the complement, but as my brothers and sister used to say, we dragons are more than beasts. For whoever we partner up with and every dangerous situation we go through, our bond grows stronger. Even if you plan for Dairoku to take part in that Execution Ceremony with Tatsumi, you'll fail. I'll let you know that." Esdeath said nothing as she turned her back to them and began to walk away.

Esdeath: "We'll see about that."

>>Meanwhile<<

*Tick*

*Tock*

The clock in the shared bedroom of the Night Raid hideout was the only noise in the room as Akame sat on her and her vampirc mate's bed. Her hands were neatly folded into her lap as she patiently waited for her mate to return. A day after Lieselotte had told them the news about Tatsumi and Lubbock being captured by the Empire, Dairoku had informed Akame about him going out for a small walk around the base's forest, just to clear his head for a while and do more training with both Chelsea and Athena. Thinking nothing about it, she agreed and had faith that with Athena around him, he wouldn't start to hallucinate and go crazy, thought it was a big leap of faith as she knew that Dairoku still wasn't the biggest fan of Chelsea, despite their previous encounters.

But, then a few minutes, Chelsea would have returned and told Akame that her boyfriend wanted some alone time to reflect, like how everyone needs. Akame frowned but understood and continued to wait... However, soon minutes would have changed to hours... then a day later.. He still hadn't returned. Now Akame was beginning to worry. Now the base was without their male teammates..

Soon however, a blackened glow followed by a demonic howl caught her attention. Looking to her right, Akame spotted her Zodiac; Death's Calling—Ketsuekime. It was reacting.. whether positively or negatively, the scarlet-eyed female didn't know. Though she began to think about something... more specifically, Ketsuekime's title...

Death's Calling...

Then she thought of Yoake's title, which was similar..

Death's Herald...

It was strange... She never really paid attention to it, but both Zodiacs had similar titles. No other Teigu or Zodiac had nigh identical titles.. and neither had such strong and similar auras to Ketsuekime and Yoake.. Then one final piece to the puzzle caused her eyes to slightly widen... A title she became all too familiar with since her time serving with Night Raid...

Death's Harbinger...

Now things were starting to fall together. Standing up, Akame approached the demonic scythe before taking hold of its handle. The demonic eye on the armor plate on the rear of the blade and near to the connection of it and the scythe's shaft, blinked and looked over at her. Akame stared into its eye, her eyes narrowing as her red iris glowed deeply along with her pupils glowing a deep purple. Gradually, her eyes would widen as she came to realization... she heard it, no... HIM.

"I, who is about to awaken... am the heavenly dragon who has ripped the principles of Jurisdiction from God. I cackle at the 'Infinite' I reflect at the 'Dream'. I shall become the Black Dragon of Jurisdiction... I shall drown you in the treacherous waters of blackened souls. Juggernaut Drive!"

Following that chant was a bestial and horrific roar that ringed through her ears. That voice... it was distorted.. but the scarlet-eyed assassin knew exactly who's voice was this..

It was him..

The one who vanished without any warning...

Her lover.

And not even a few minutes after, Akame would find a piece of paper flying into the room. It was a flyer announcing an Execution in the Capital... The ones to be executed..?

Two of Night Raid's own assassins. The bearer of Incursio and the Death's Harbinger.

Tatsumi and Dairoku.

CHAPTER 46: KILL DEATH'S HARBINGER PART 1

She felt hurt... betrayed.. lied to...

She knew something was wrong.. yet she hoped that he would fight it and come back to her.. but no. Akame sat on the bed, her curled up while hugging her knees. Her already crimson eyes were red from the amount of crying she went through. When she heard that voice through Ketsuekime.. she knew it.. and that flyer confirmed things further..; Dairoku had went to the capital.

Judging from the distortion and slight echo of his voice, she could tell he was in clad in Barbatos' armor. But the thing that caught her attention, wasn't the quote... but the tone behind his voice... It sounded soulless.. insane.. Dairoku's psyche had been broken.

Akame felt beyond upset at the fact that he lied to her. He kept reassuring her that he was alright, that everything would be okay... but in all reality, he wasn't. Did Athena know about this too? More questions just began to fill her mind, causing a slight overload in her mind. Her tears returned as she trembled and cried. All she could think about was...

Akame: "D-Dai... ro... ku..."

>>Next Day<<

Now with a plan set, Night Raid was going to go stop the execution. They knew it was a trap, especially considering they mentioned the destruction of the Teigu, Incursio and the Zodiac, Yoake. While Night Raid would do this for their allies over the Teigu and Zodiac, they knew that if the Revolutionary Army was to hear about the destruction of these two valuable assets, they'd take action immediately, so they had to be quick.

With her slipping on her crimson gauntlets onto her forearms, Akame prepared her uniform for the battle ahead of them. Glancing over to her right, she spotted Ketsuekime, who had stopped glowing. It seemed that it only reacted to when Dairoku was fighting and once he stopped, Ketsu stopped glowing. That meant two things...; he was knocked out or.. he was dead..

She grabbed the shaft of the scythe and stared at it as the eye on the scythe's figure flickered open and stared at her. Then she slowly opened her mouth as she muttered the name...

Akame: "Ajax..."

With that, a bright black and red glow shined from her as the newly formed Ajax armor surrounded her, its jet wings sprouting out as the turbines began to rotate. Her glowing blue eyes shone with determination... and a hint of Anger; It was time to get him back.

>>Meanwhile<<

The Capital's Coliseum was filled to the brim with the people of the Capital as they watched carefully the center of the massive structure, seeing the figures of Esdeath and Great General Budo standing and in front of them were two crosses with two podiums. The right cross had Tatsumi strapped to it, and the podium to his left, had Incursio's Key strapped to it. The left cross however, had Dairoku, with the podium to his right, had Yoake strapped to its surface.

Both Night Raiders hung their heads low, not giving the crowd the satisfaction of seeing their expressions when they'd eventually be executed.

Budo: "We even used the Teigu and Zodiac as bait, but will Night Raid really come to the rescue?"

Esdeath: "Considering how naïve Najenda is, it's very possible."

Budo: "Do you not think that there's a greater chance of the Palace being infiltrated, using this event as a distraction?"

Esdeath: "That's why the subordinates are back at the Palace, isn't it? Just be patient and sit still for a while. The purpose of this spectacle is to show just how much of a threat you and I are. Or so they say."

Budo: "Sounds like something the Prime Minister would think." Slowly, Tatsumi's emerald eyes glanced over to the Great General, who looked back to him.

Tatsumi: "Do you... not know about the atrocities that the Prime Minister has committed? Are you really fine with taking orders from him...!?" Budo stared at him before closing his eyes smirking lightly.

Budo: "My family has served to protect the Empire for generations. It is our duty to protect his majesty and the Empire." Soon however, his grin turned to a dangerous glare. "The current top priority is to eradicate the Revolution that threatens the Empire. Afterward, the Prime Minister that brought about this situation in the first place will be dealt with accordingly."

Athena: "Huh. So in a sense, after you kill fat bastard Honest and destroy the Revolutionary Army, you'll help turn the Empire back into its original non-corrupted state, I presume?" Tatsumi became surprised from hearing the female voice, projecting from Dairoku's left hand, but he immediately recognized it as the voice of Barbatos, whenever he transformed or changed forms.

Budo: "Indeed, dragon."

Tatsumi: "But that could be done without destroying the Revolution! Everyone apart of it wants this country to be a better place! Why not help us by destroying the Prime Minister and freeing the Emperor of his influence!?"

Budo: "All though that would work.. I would prefer to not have this capital destroyed. And clearly the Revolutionary Army isn't going to stand down. So I'll destroy them, along with the Prime Minister to prove my point."

As he concluded his statement, Esdeath took a side glance to the Great General, a smirk forming on her face. She, despite being a General of the Empire, swore complete loyalty to the Prime Minister. Meaning if Budo decides to attack, they'll be enemies.. and she was looking forwards to battling him, going all out. The Empire's two strongest.

Budo then turned his attention to the still quiet and still Dairoku.

Budo: "What about you? Anything to say?"

Athena: "Don't bother trying, Budo. His conscience isn't present right now. You won't get an answer."

The female dragon was right as Dairoku just stayed quiet, his hair covering his eyes. Budo sighed in disappointment as Esdeath unsheathed her Rapier.

Esdeath: "Well then, it's almost time to begin, but I will be the one to kill Tatsumi and Dairoku. I will be taking the corpses as well."

Budo: "We've already agreed on this, do as you wish."

Esdeath: "Alright." She began to slowly approach the two males. "I've learned so much about the human body from all the torturing I've done. I know exactly where to stab you both if I want to kill you. I have high expectations for how long you both can stay alive, Tatsumi, Dairoku."

Tatsumi: "Is that so..?"

She first stopped in front of Tatsumi, with the male glancing around at the crowd, seeing their smiles and laughter. It was honestly sickening to him to see them enjoy such a type of event, but slowly he began grinning. He didn't care if Esdeath tortured him or straight out killed him. He wasn't going to scream like they wanted him to. Instead he was going to laugh and he grinned madly, taking Esdeath off guard. It was a grin that rivaled her own; he was going to show them all.

Night Raid's Pride.

Before the execution could happen, an explosion occurred and a hole was blown right through the stadium's wall, right behind Esdeath and Budo. Tatsumi looked surprised while Dairoku reacted very little to it.

Athena: "Oh? Looks like the cavalry is here."

Esdeath: "Is it Najenda!?"

Budo: "So they actually came." However, a familiar twin tailed silhouette in the smoke caused Tatsumi's eyes to widen as he recognized the female wielding the gun.

Tatsumi: "M-Mine!" She had a small smirk on her face as she swept part of her hair behind her ear. "What the hell are you doing!? Get out of here!!"

Mine: "Is that how you thank someone who's about to rescue you? I'll give you a scolding for that later!" She said with a bright grin as she winked at him. Tatsumi however, tears fell down his face as he lowered his head.

Tatsumi: "You... You idiot...!"

Esdeath: "Tatsumi...?"

Budo: "You're on the wanted posters." He said, looking at one of said wanted posters in his hand. "Did you come here alone?"

Mine: "That's right!" She gained a boastful and prideful grin. "I'm Mine of Night Raid! I was told that my stupid boyfriend was captured, so I just had to come to his rescue!" A chill surrounded Esdeath as she stared at the pink haired sniper while Tatsumi blushed lightly but smiled.

Tatsumi: "Mine... you really are.."

Mine: *smiles* "Let's get this over with and go home." Esdeath was speechless. Seeing Tatsumi blush in that manor, she has never witnessed ever since she made her moves on him. But towards Mine... that didn't sit well with her. Mine then looked at Dairoku and frowned. "What about you, Dairoku? You have anything to say for yourself!?"

She was just met with the silence both Esdeath and Budo got from him, only angering her further.

Mine: "Fine then! Just don't blame anyone for when you die and make Akame cry again! I won't ever forgive you for that asshole!!"

That spiked a reaction from the male, who flinched. It was clear he was conscious of what he did and knew what consequences awaited him. He couldn't even stand the thought of looking her in the eyes... to see them filled with anger and disappointment. He feared what would happen to them after today.. well if he got out alive.

Mine: "What about Lubo?" Tatsumi couldn't fully answer as truthfully, he didn't know what happened to him. But then Esdeath spoke up.

Esdeath: "He died. He tried to escape and got killed. Plain and simple." Both Tatsumi and Mine's eyes widened in horror, then in sadness while Dairoku didn't react. Though Athena was quiet; she told him to retreat but didn't actually see if he got out or not, so it was a possibility he got killed in the crossfire.

Budo: "Akame isn't here, but we can expect her to arrive at any moment."

He glanced at Dairoku as he took off the royal cloak. He knew that Dairoku and Akame had some special connection, mainly from the fact during the time he'd train Akame, he would notice the interactions between her and Dairoku and it was made more convincing at what Mine said to the vampire just a moment ago.

Esdeath: "I know. Something like that has happened before."

She said, thinking back to the Borick assassination where Mine, Kuraime and Akame suddenly appeared at the last minute. There she stood, Mine glaring at the Empire's two strongest as she gripped Pumpkin tightly and a pink aura glowed around her.

Budo: "All insurrectionists will be executed... Adramelech."

Thunder God's Rage—Adramelech
Teigu Form: Gauntlets
Wielder: Great General Budo

"Adramelech was a Teigu that gave the user the ability the ability to create, shape and manipulate electricity. The user could use lightning as a weapon in both offense and defense. Budo is able to create a large, electric orb that could be shot as a projectile, as well as beams of electricity. Adramelech could also be used in manipulating the weather."

Creating a large ball of electricity, Budo launched it towards the pink-haired sniper, who only smirked.

Mine: "Try me, bitch. Let's go, Pridwen!"

She heard the familiar roar from her mind as she glowed brightly, Pridwen's slender pink armor surrounding her as she unleashed a bright pink blast from Pumpkin's barrel, which collided with the electric ball and easily over powered it. Budo was surprised as he was immediately blasted and slammed into the wall.

Budo: "What!? What is this power!?"

It became evident on what Mine's plan was. By charging into the Empire by herself, full aware of the presence of the two strongest, General Esdeath and Great General Budo, she would have been put into by far the most dangerous situation anyone has ever been. With her fighting the two strongest alone, Pumpkin's power would have risen to unbelievable heights and cause an enough distraction for whenever the others joined her;

This was her plan.

Athena: *Whistles* "Heh... I see her plan now. You have one hell of a woman, Tatsumi."

Despite not being able to see her, it was evident Athena was smirk. The brown-haired teen blushed a bit but watched as Mine and Esdeath faced off. Esdeath slammed her hand onto the ground, sending spikes of ice towards the sniper, who dodged from using Pridwen's wings to fly above it. Esdeath creating thousands of ice spikes before thrusting her arms forwards, launching them all at Mine who only grinned under her helmet. With her blue energy wings shining brighter and Pumpkin's barren being coated in a pink hue, she launched a blast and swung it, sweeping it across as her wings blasted two blue beams at the icicles, melting them all in an instant. Mine noticed that Pumpkin's barrel was smoking but it was nowhere near to overheating just yet.

Mine's thoughts: "Great! It's not overheated.. Good think I kept up with the maintenance after the battle with Seryu. However..." She glanced to her left hand were Absolute Zero lied dormant. She haven't used it since getting it, mainly because no situation called for it.. But now, she may need it. "Pridwen, start charging Absolute Zero to 100%"

Pridwen roared in confirmation as Tatsumi just stared at his girlfriend, blown away by her amazing and prideful display.

Tatsumi's thoughts: "Mine... you're amazing... you're so amazing that you're not even considering the possibility that you could die here or anything like that at all... You really do plan on saving me and taking me home, even in this desperate situation... What a girl.. you're more than I deserve" He smiled a bit.

Now with Esdeath and Mine now in a face off yet again, both seemed equally determined, mainly for the green-eyed male next to them.

Mine (Pridwen): "We're taking Tatsumi back, Esdeath!"

Esdeath: "I will not let you have Tatsumi."

Soon, the crowd began to panic just from seeing Pumpkin's firepower alone, terrified upon seeing such power coming from a gun. As they were fleeing, Imperial Guards entered the arena.

Guards: "Lady Esdeath!!" Esdeath however, held her hand out to them.

Esdeath: "I don't need help! Evacuate the crowd!" Seeing that the crowd was quickly being evacuated, Mine grinned under her helmet as a pink aura bursts around her.

Mine (Pridwen): "And now I can finally fight without holding back. You ready Pridwen?" A roar from her armor caused her to smirk as she aimed at Esdeath, Pumpkin's barrel glowing bright pink. "Alright.. Here I come, ESDEATH!!!" She fired a blast from Pumpkin at the Icy General who began dashing around to avoid it, all the while holding her captain's hat on her head. Mine gritted her teeth and followed her, while continuously blasting, the sweeping shot. "You're not getting away! I'll blast you to pieces!!"

Esdeath however, leaped over the sweeping shot, before she glared down at her and snapped her fingers, creating her infamous ice meteor attack before launching it at her. Mine didn't seem fazed by it at all as she aimed at it.

Mine (Pridwen): "Like that'd work!!"

She blasted the meteor, destroying it instantly, Esdeath began to grin wildly, enjoying the thrill of this battle as Mine used her energy wings to fly and barrel roll out of the way of the large chunks of ice that were falling, before she fired another blast to Esdeath, who narrowly dodged, through her hair seemed to have been singed a little.

Esdeath: "Oho. What incredible firepower. If I drive you even further into a corner, will it grow even more?" She theorized as both her and Mine landed on the ground across from each other. "And on top of that, even if you did miss me, you've set Tatsumi and Dairoku free. Not bad."

She was right. The crosses the two assassins were bound to became half melted, releasing the two.

Mine (Pridwen): "Well, I am a Genius Sharpshooter, after all."

As Tatsumi stood back up, Dairoku remained motionless, falling onto his knees. Tatsumi grinned and looked at Dairoku, however upon seeing how he was, his grin faded; he was still 'unconscious', meaning he'd have to do his best to protect him as well as Mine. He noticed his left sleeve slightly singed but only chuckled as he approached Incursio.

Tatsumi: "You keep aiming a bit too close for comfort, but thanks, Mine." Stopping in front of Incursio's key, he went to grab it but winced in pain as he realized that there were thin barbed wires around the Key's handle. He began to unwrap the wire as Esdeath looked at him.

Esdeath: "You have no reason to hide it anymore, right? Transform, Tatsumi. Come at me with everything you have, and I will answer you in return."

Tatsumi: "Esdeath...!"

Esdeath: *smiles affectionately* "And if you can live through it, then that can only be destiny!" *thoughts* "I was going to wound him but intentionally miss the vital spots and leave him on the brink of death, so I could take him away, but... This will be much, much more entertaining." He slowly smirked more and more as Mine just grew agitated.

Mine (Pridwen): "Why you... Stop running your mouth!!" she launched a blast towards Esdeath, who only sidestepped out of the way.

Esdeath: "I can already see the trajectories. I can see now why you were able to lay your hands on Tatsumi. I'll break you slowly. Crushing people like you is always entertaining."

Mine (Pridwen): "You're just as psychotic as the rumors say... as If I'd hand Tatsumi over!"

Esdeath: "I will have him."

Mine (Pridwen): "I won't let you!!"

Then...

Tatsumi: "INCURSIO!!!!!" Both females looked over to Tatsumi, seeing Incursio erupt from behind him in a brilliant flash of red light.

Tatsumi's thoughts: "Incursio, your body is still alive, isn't it? I don't care how agonizing it'll be, or how much pain I'll feel. Give me all the strength you can possibly give..!! Because of me, Lubo is dead... Because of me, Kuraime died with regret... I can't let Mine or Dairoku die because of me too! So give it to me! The power to obliterate this Empire, this injustice!!! GIVE ME EVERYTHING!!!"

Mine noticed that something different was happening. Incursio's transformation is different from before. There could have been only one solution to this phenomenon.

Now standing before them, was Tatsumi clad in Incursio. However, its appearance was drastically different. Its structure was more like a dragon, with silver dragon-like armor replacing the more traditional armor. Around his waist was two dark gray sashes. The horns on his head were much larger and swept back and his face was pitch black, and inside what looked like the danger beast's mouth. His eyes, rather than the glowing yellow mechanical eyes, they were organic with white scleras and red iris with pupils in the shape of Incursio's symbol. And his hand was Incursio's spear, however the red head of the spear was significantly larger.

This new form even caught Dairoku's attention as he slowly looked over to Tatsumi.

Dairoku: "...Incursio...... it has... evolved..."

To Be Continued...