Night Raid had been split into two teams.

Tatsumi, Najenda, Susanoo, and Leone were apart of the distraction team, which was meant to lure Esdeath out into the cathedral's courtyard so they could face her there. However, that strategy didn't seem to work, leading them to enter the cathedral themselves and face her there. But, they were all nearly defeated.

With Leone and the other two on the floor, Tatsumi was left to fight Esdeath himself. Standing there, clad in Incursio's armor and in a fighting stance, he stood across from Esdeath. The icy general, however, stood there calmly, gripping her sword tightly while dipping her cap down, an aura of murderous intent leaking out of her.

Tatsumi: (thoughts) 'So this is the overpowering pressure of the Empire's strongest human being... She's not giving me an iota of an opening... How am I supposed to fight her!?'

Esdeath: (thoughts) '...That's odd. It'll be hard to attack him. No, it's not that... It's more that...I don't want to...? He's leaving himself plenty open though. This is a first for me. Who is he...?'

There was a slight hesitance to Esdeath, unsure of why she didn't want to attack the Incursio user. Of course, it was unknown to her that the Incursio user is no longer Bulat as the key to the Teigu had fallen into the hands of Tatsumi, who had accepted it after his friend and mentor had died.

With the other group, the attack group meant to assassinate Bolic, they were at a stand still. Akira was currently hovering Akame, making sure she was alright. In the treeline, Mine had Pumpkin at the ready as she aimed it at Wave, who was entangled in a brawl with Lubbock. The man of the sea let out a battle cry as he leapt into the air and charged his fist down, Lubbock jumping back as the fist misses him, striking the ground as a crater appears under Wave's fist. But the blue-haired man responds quick, doing a sweeping kick and hitting Lubbock's leg, causing him to fall onto his back.

Twisting his body, Wave then uses his other leg and thrusts it upwards, landing and hitting Lubbock's gut. While the green-haired assassin was sent flying, the two former assassins of the Empire had rushed forward while his back was faced towards them, Akira holding onto Gin's sword tightly with Akame holding Murasame with her own tight grip.

However, Wave anticipated this, feeling the two's aura of killing intent heading towards him. He simply raised his armored arm and blocks their sword strikes. Swerving himself around, Wave deflects the blades off him and begins to repeatedly thrust his fists forward, unleashing a barrage on the two. But both Akame and Akira had quick reflexes, the two easily able to dodge such strikes. As the three were tangled in their skirmish, Mine gritted her teeth in frustration from the treeline. Wave's attention was focused on his current opponents, but he didn't forget about the sniper that lied wait in the shadows. He was keeping great watch for when Mine would fire a shot.

Wave would then punch from the side, Akame trying to lean back and dodge it. But his punch had just grazed her, ripping the clothing off of her stomach area and inflicting a bit of damage, making her let out a small grunt. On Akira's end, he wasn't able to get a strike in or a slash with his blade, Wave's defense was well put. The blue-eyed teen raised his sword above his head, but it proved to be a mistake, Wave responding quickly as he raised his foot and kicked him in his gut.

Coughing up a bit of spit, Akira was sent tumbling across the grass, Akame jumping back and skidding next to her boyfriend. 

Wave: "What's the matter!? All you two do is dodge me! I'm going to charge right at you!"

The armored man crouched down, preparing to dash towards the two assassins before he felt his body stiffen up, noticing wires had been wrapped around his armored encased body. He was caught off guard by this, turning his head around slightly to see the green-haired teen was leaning up against a tree, blood dripping down his mouth as he bore a grin.

Wave: "This is...!"

Lubbock: "They... They weren't just avoiding your...attacks. They were wrapping your body in threads... And fastening you to this tree."

Wave: "I'll just slice through this like I did before..." (thoughts) 'It won't break. What's with this tread...? It's sturdiness is clearly on a whole other level.'

Lubbock: "It's boundary cutting thread. I prepared this particular type ahead of time. You go on ahead, Akame!"

The red-eyed girl seemed to contemplate Lubbock's suggestion before she felt someone touch her shoulder, turning her head around to see it was Akira. All she received was a simple nod, to which she nodded back.

Together with Mine and him, Akame departed off towards the cathedral.

Wave: "W-Wait!"

Lubbock: (low chuckle) "I also... M-Managed...to be of some... Help..."

The green-haired assassin then coughs up blood as he continued to hold his threads down, trying to prevent Wave from escaping. However, the armored simply get pulling on it, being much stronger than Lubbock. In the end, Lubbock slumps over, falling unconscious as Wave fights his way out of the thread's grasp and continues his chase.

Wave: (thoughts) 'If I hurry, I should be able to catch up to them. I can't let them reach Kurome and the rest!'

Up ahead, Wave spots Akame up ahead. However, he noticed that Akira and Mine weren't there. But at the current moment, that didn't matter him, his sole objective at the moment was to subjugate Akame and prevent her from reaching the cathedral. 

Jumping into the air, he prepares his legs as he attempts to do his move, Grand Fall. Before it could even be initiated, a blast of spiritual energy came from the sidelines, hitting his chest.

Wave: (thoughts) 'It's her! She didn't go to the cathedral? She was waiting to ambush me!? Wait... Then...!'

Mine: "'Slow and steady wins the race,' as they say. We knew if we waited, you'd come to try to stop us eventually. Now, Akira!"

From the treeline, Akira leaped out of there and takes his blade off his back. Bringing it up over his head, he slams it down and hits Wave, the man of the sea being sent down towards the ground and crashing into it. Once he landed, Akira turned his head around and gestures for the two to keep going on ahead.

Mine's blast wouldn't have killed him and would buy them some more time, but Wave could potentially recover and stop them. So, he's making the choice to stay behind and buy them more time. Wave stood up and dusted himself off, but was immediately met with Akira in front of him, the ice user creating a large ice greatsword and slamming it into Wave's side. The black-haired teen was trying to prevent the Grand Chariot user from recovering so he couldn't chase Akame and Mine down. The armored man was sent towards the forested area with Akira chasing after him. Mine then looks towards Akame, who looked in the direction Akira went with worriness.

Mine: "Don't worry, Akame. With that armor on, that guy isn't dead, but at the very least, Akira got him away from us. He'll be fine."

Akame: (smiles and nods) "Right. Let's head to the cathedral."

Before they could continue on, they heard the grass behind them being rustled upon. Turning around, the two girls see a group of Imperial soldiers, squad that belonged to Bolic, walking up to them. The most distinct man among them was a man named Holimaca, wielding the Teigu: The Mysterious, Adayusu.

The man brought his shades down a little bit to gaze at the two girls, raising an eyebrow as he held his cigar in his mouth.

Imperial Soldier 1: "Bingo! It's Night Raid!"

Holimaca: "Just because they're girls, don't go easy on them. We're going to put them into the ground!"

Imperial Soldier 2: "Yeah! Formation 'ballistic array!'"

Holimaca: "I was hoping I would fight the Ice Cold Reaper of Night Raid, but... I suppose you lot will have to do. I'll bury you with my scythe! It'll be certain death!"

Holimaca then flashes his weapon, the blade of the scythe unfolding and displaying itself. Unlike Akira's Harvester, Adayusu looked quite plain, not really looking anything special. She put on a bored and unimpressed look, giving Holimaca the notion that she wasn't going to take him seriously.

This angered him a bit and ordered his squadron to attack, the Imperial goons unsheathed their swords and run towards them. The Imperial soldiers were quite confident that they could take them on, but in all honesty, there outmatched by the two Night Raid assassins. With her insane speeds, Akame dashed past them and quickly cut the Imperial soldiers with Murasame, the soldiers dropping dead in mere seconds. Seeing her coming towards her, Holimaca has his Teigu's blade fold back and close towards the handle for it's defensive capabilities.

He did block it, but it was futile. The upper area of Murasame's blade and just scratched his chest, Akame backing off with a small grin. Holimaca had a look of relief, thinking he blocked the attack entirely.

Holimaca: "That was close..."

Mine: "It wasn't close."

Holimaca: "Huh?"

Mine: "It's already over."

The man was confused as to what she meant before he looked at his hands. In fear and surprise, he drops his weapon, his cigar falling out of his mouth. The poison marks of Murasame began to appear all over his skin, Holimaca quivering and shaking. If it weren't obvious, he didn't want to die. 

Holimaca: "This can't be... But she barely... Touched me..."

He then drops down onto the ground, dead. A pool of blood slowly begins to leak out of him as Akame and Mine casually walk past the corpses. Looking at each other, they continue onto their original objective. 

But Mine then posed a question.

Mine: "By the way, that weapon that guy was carrying. Didn't it strike you as a Teigu?"

Akame: "A little, I guess. But it was not as beautiful as Akira's Teigu. Either way, we'd better get to the cathedral." 

---

Inside the cathedral, Najenda woke up from previously being unconscious. She could see that Esdeath was still currently squared off with Tatsumi, and Kurome was there, guarding Bolic.

Looking to the rest of her team, she could see Leone was lying on the ground, heavily wounded and in a pool of blood. Susanoo was encased in ice, immobile and unable to do anything. She then gritted her teeth in frustration.

Najenda: (thoughts) 'I'm pathetic. Even if it was only for a second, I can't believe I blacked out. Though I could sense what was going on, my body wouldn't follow through. I know I've become weak, but... Esdeath has clearly grown. She's even stronger than when I was with the Empire...! I shouldn't have held out for later. I'm going to use it now!' "Magatama Manifestation!"

Susanoo's body begins to glow in an aura of light, the magatama on his chest glowing as it absorbs the life force of Najenda. The organic Teigu begins to change form, a gust of wind occurring inside the cathedral as Esdeath and Tatsumi were forced to pause their battle.

The icy general held her hat so it wouldn't be blown off her head. Esdeath could feel the amount of power Susanoo was radiating, and it only kept increasing.

Esdeath: "Najenda? What are you doing?"

Najenda: "We've survived this long because we're stubborn. Just because you froze him, doesn't mean you can count him out. Go. Susanoo. Crush Bolic!"

Shattering the ice prison that surrounded him, ice shards flying everywhere, Susanoo sent an angered glare towards Esdeath, fueled by his will to fulfill his master's orders. Esdeath simply grinned with excitement.

Esdeath: "My ice... So that's your Trump Card! I'm surprised he can still activate in that state."

Blasting off of the cathedral's floors, debris and shards of rock flying from where he blasted off, Susanoo rocketed himself towards Esdeath. But Esdeath kept herself composed and jumped back as she avoided Susanoo's punch. From the side, Tatsumi charged in, hoping he'd get the jump on her and land a hit. 

Raising his leg, Susanoo aims a kick and sends it Esdeath's way, but she simply blocks it by raising her forearm that held her sword. With her other hand, Esdeath blocks and catches each and every one of Tatsumi's fists, the brown-haired teen having repeatedly thrust his arms forward. All while she was doing this, she complimented her foes, her excitement only growing, her eagerness to continue fighting and be the one who ends up on top. This is what Esdeath lives for. 

Esdeath: "Not bad. Very interesting. But... You still can't defeat me!"

Using her sword, Esdeath slashes across Susanoo's chest in an "X" formation, using her leg to kick Tatsumi in his gut. Due to the force she inflicted upon Tatsumi, she sent him flying across the area and crashing into a few of the cathedral's wooden pews. While Susanoo had been inflicted force as well, it wasn't as much as Tatsumi. 

Now that they were both vulnerable, she brought her cap down her head a bit and created spiral of ice spikes, sending it towards both Tatsumi and Susanoo. The Incursio user wasn't fast enough to respond to them, unable to block them as he was left to take on the barrage of projectiles that repeatedly stabbed into him. However, the organic Teigu was faring much better, materializing a long sword in thing air and grasping it's handle. He then begins to run down an aisle, dragging his long blade down as it cut through multiple pews, having it go straight towards Esdeath.

Susanoo: "Ame no Murakamo!"

The cryomancer of the Empire creates an ice wall in front of her to stop the majestic blade, but it simply begins to cut through it. But once the blade got near the middle, it stopped, Susanoo giving an impressed look towards the icy general.

Susanoo: "You guarded yourself by instantly erecting an ice wall dozens of layers thick."

Esdeath: "I commend your vigor. But you can't get me."

Susanoo: "Not you, maybe. But what about my targets behind you? You were getting too caught up in the thrill of the fight."

Esdeath: (eyes wide) "Kurome! Are you all right?"

In the previous spot, Kurome and Bolic were no longer there. They were now near Bolic's throne, Kurome having summoned Natala to pick her and the corrupt aide and carried them to safety.

Kurome: "We're all okay!"

However, it seemed the shockwave Susanoo had created when dragging his sword across the ground had dealt some damage to the puppet. Blood began to spurt out of a wound in his back, falling over as he drops Bolic and Kurome, the black-haired girl falling onto her knees while Bolic fell onto his face.

Kurome: "Natala!"

Susanoo: (thoughts) 'I was aiming at Bolic with my shockwave, but... It won't be easy to bring him down with just that... Still, at least I damaged their defense forces.'

Esdeath: (gritting teeth) "If I don't even get to fully enjoy the battle... I'm never taking another bodyguard job again."

She created more ice spikes above her, almost as if it was like a bright blue chandelier was above her. It then began to spin rapidly, spreading it all around throwing them at high speeds, as if they were streaks of light. At this point, Esdeath had given up on capturing them, now deciding and settled on shattering Susanoo's core. Multiple ice needles were beginning to shower over the organic Teigu.

Using the ring that was on his back, Susanoo brought it forward and used to reflect the oncoming projectiles. Esdeath was now distracted and now had to defend herself against her own. This was Susanoo's chance.

Susanoo: "Yasakani no Magatama!"

Yasakani no Magatama was a simple ability that increased Susanoo's speed and physical strength, although it is only temporary. Shrouded with an aura, he jumps into the air and goes past the icy general, heading towards the now vulnerable Kurome and Bolic.

Seeing all of this happen, Esdeath had no choice. She had no choice but to use her supposed Trump Card. 

Esdeath: "Before me, all things freeze. Mahapdama!"

And then, everything stopped. No one was moving, everyone was as still as a picture. All except for Esdeath, who turned her head around and prepped her sword.

Esdeath: "I've frozen time and space. This is the Trump Card I made to ensure Tatsumi cannot escape me again. I invented it to defeat my enemy every time without fail."

The woman's heels clicked along the cathedral's floor as she began walking in the direction of Susanoo, going up the steps that led to Bolic's throne. She then stopped right behind him.

Esdeath: "It eats up so much energy I can only use it once a day... But I think that's enough, don't you think?"

Taking her blade, she then thrusts it through Susanoo's back. Esdeath then stops her Trump Card, time returning to normal as everyone began to move again. Susanoo's eyes widen as he soon finds a blade sticking out of his chest, just below his core. 

Susanoo: "What the...?"

Esdeath: "In the religious texts, Mahapdama is one of the ice realms of hell... It's named differently from my other techniques, but... It fits the image perfectly."

Najenda: "Susanoo! Get away from there!"

Esdeath: "I won't give you the chance!"

The icy general froze Susanoo's lower half, his legs now encased in ice. Reeling her leg back, she thrusts her leg multiple times, repeatedly kicking the block of ice and shattering the organic into smaller pieces. His core was flung straight into the air, now a perfect target to be destroyed.

Esdeath: "I'll commend you for making me use my Trump Card."

Najenda: (thoughts) 'Susanoo's core...'

The red matagama then lands onto the floor, Esdeath soon following suit by raising her boot and slamming it down. The core was then shattered, it's shards and pieces scattered across the floor.

Najenda froze, her eyes widening in surprise, but also in complete defeat. It seemed she had lost, Esdeath now looking in her direction as she begins walking towards her, dragging the end of her sword across the cathedral's marble floor.

Esdeath: "You've gathered some impressive friends, Najenda. My former student being one of them. You really are an interesting one. It's too bad I won't have any more enemies to look forward to defeating, but... Given that you're the leader of Night Raid, there's no way I can let you go."

Scraping noises could be heard as Esdeath looked puzzled, looking down as she sees the shattered matagama trying to rebuild itself. Esdeath was impressed with such tenacity for an organic Teigu.

Esdeath: "Look. Even with a broken core, he's still moving. It just proves how powerful... Your Trump Card was."

Najenda: (thoughts) 'Susanoo. Even after what you've been reduced too...!'

Esdeath: "But it doesn't seem he has the energy to fully restore himself. It's the end for him."

Najenda: (thoughts) 'Is there nothing more... Left to be done...!?'

Esdeath: "And now... There's no one left to fight me."

Leone was still rendered weakened, unable to heal herself as she lied battle damaged on the cathedral's floor. Tatsumi had lost his battle and was still slumped against one of the broken pews, unable to move and continue fighting.

Esdeath readjusted the cap on her head and looked at Najenda with a grin.

Esdeath: "Allow me to show you all to the torture chamber."