Chapter 88: Sabaody Archipelago – A Promise with Akame
In just a single day—April 1st—Sabaody Archipelago underwent a massive purge. Countless slave-trading teams and pirate crews were eliminated, leaving behind new legends.
A group of identical gothic-dressed girls wielding dual pistols stormed slave dens, riddling the buildings with bullets until they collapsed like sieves.
A purple shadow dashed between the various tree islands. Twin red guns reaped lives one after another. A flash of red light would appear, and a notorious trafficker would be pinned to a wall with a long rifle shot.
The recently notorious "Ice Queen" Esdeath, who had just taken down a Warlord, was recognized. She froze several pirate ships anchored at the shore and, before a crowd of onlookers, effortlessly wiped out all the pirates present—on her own.
Ding ding ding—system notifications chimed without end. Information about defeated bounty targets filled Eric 's vision, along with the growing amount of collected money. It was more satisfying than AFK grinding in a game.
Rewind to when the three of them had just left...
The remaining three stood in place for a moment. "Shall we go too? If we don't catch anyone, we'll look really bad."
Akame nodded. "Mm."
Perona, still in spirit form, sighed. This group was too full of energy and stamina. She just wanted to live quietly in some deep, dark castle.
"Perona, are you okay being in spirit form for so long?"
"My stamina only lets me stay separated for about three hours."
"I see. Then head back for now. Just remember to use the communicator to keep me updated on Esdeath's whereabouts."
"Leave it to me!" Perona replied quickly. This mission suited her perfectly. Her spirit dove into the roots of the Yarukiman Mangrove and flew back toward the ship.
"That just leaves us two, Akame."
"Mm."
An awkward silence settled in…
"Remember when it was just the two of us?"
"September 3rd of last year. You summoned me when I was on the verge of death..."
Eric hadn't expected Akame to remember that so clearly. It was clear she truly cherished her time now, having found new companions to adventure and live with.
Eric glanced at the summoning section of the system's shop. One item caught his attention—a black-sheathed katana: Imperial Arm—March of the Dead "Yatsufusa."
[Yatsufusa – Price: 2.5 billion Berries. Note: Allows the user to control people slain by the blade through a curse. Can manipulate up to 8 corpses as puppets. The puppets retain their original strength and autonomy. The more corpses controlled, the weaker the user becomes. Once deactivated, the bodies return to normal corpses.]
With this Imperial Arm, Kurome was able to fight the entire Night Raid team with her puppets. Though extremely expensive, its power reflected that cost. Despite its weakness, its overwhelming strength compensated for it.
If he saved up enough, maybe he could summon Akame's sister someday.
"Akame, do you still miss your sister?"
"Mm. When we were young, we were orphans in the Empire. My sister Kurome and I were sold into a government facility to be raised as experimental assassins. We endured brutal selections for elite black ops. But because blood relatives weren't allowed in the same squad, my sister was taken from me."
It was the first time Akame had said so much at once. It was clear she deeply loved her sister, even if they might never meet again… but—
Eric pulled her into a hug, resting her head against his chest. Akame didn't resist. The sound of Eric 's heartbeat made her feel safe.
"Don't worry. I promise—I'll let you see your sister again."
Akame looked up, eyes wide, filled with surprise, joy, and indescribable emotion. "Really?"
"Of course. Have I ever lied to you about something that important?"
"You lie about small stuff all the time… but not about the big things."
Akame's words stabbed Eric like a dagger—deep and accurate.
"I may not be able to reunite you two right now, but trust me, I will."
"Mm. I believe you."
Akame smiled again, cheeks slightly pink, her starry eyes shining as she looked at him.
[Akame's affection increased significantly. Bond level unchanged]
So the jump from Bond Level 4 to 5 was really steep… This was the second major increase already, and still no "life or death together" threshold met.
Eric recalled their first meeting—the moment he "proposed" to Akame. She truly hadn't changed.
"?" Akame tilted her head slightly as Eric stared at her, lost in thought.
"It's nothing. Come on, let's go clean up the rest of those bastards."
"Mm."
Under the sunlight, their shadows stretched together across the green grass, slowly moving forward.
...
That evening.
"So… you basically wiped out the island's pirates and slavers?" Eric 's eyes went wide.
"Not exactly. About 90% of what was in the files. For some reason, it became really hard to find targets in the afternoon," Esdeath replied, puzzled as to where all the lowlifes had gone. She had spent most of her time looking for them, and because of Eric , couldn't use wide-range attacks that might harm civilians.
"Ara, that means you lost the bet, right?" Kurumi smirked. Thanks to her clones, she had quickly located targets. And those small fry were no match for her copies. With the numbers advantage, she easily beat both Esdeath and Scáthach.
"Hmph, I focused too much on hunting Supernovas, and that cost me in numbers." Scáthach sounded regretful. She had eagerly joined the hunt but couldn't resist targeting strong enemies—and lost the contest because of it.
'Redbeard' Thomas Two, as his name implied, had a giant red beard that made him easy to spot. His bounty over 100 million was well-earned. He tanked several of Scáthach's attacks and even tried to counter using brute strength. But size alone couldn't make up for the skill gap. Scáthach easily pinned him to a tree with multiple spears.
"Hmm hmm, that confirms I'm the winner," Kurumi declared proudly, hands on her hips. Then she asked, "By the way, Eric and Akame only found a couple pirates. Why so few?"
"Uh…" Eric scratched his head. "I was planning to compete with you all, but then we passed a restaurant and something smelled really good. Then I saw Akame drooling…"
"Wait, you and Akame? Wasn't Perona's spirit form with you too?"
"...Um, my stamina didn't let my spirit form stay out long. I returned to my body right after you guys left."
Kurumi fell silent. "So… it was just you and Akame… in a restaurant… all day?"
Even the usually calm Chiron turned snarky. "I saw them enter a restaurant from the ship and never come out. I was actually thinking of messaging you to check on them."
'Chiron, you…' Eric was caught off guard—but it was true.
"So," Kurumi leaned in with a dangerous smile. "While we were competing… you and Akame were on a date, huh?"
"I see…" Esdeath murmured in thought. "So Akame is the true rival."
Akame: "?"
That day, they had eliminated 13 slave trafficking teams, 10 pirate crews, and 37 wanted criminals. The total bounty reached 513.8 million Berries.
[Team unlocked the "100 Bounty Hunter Kills" achievement. Achievement Points: +3]
[Team unlocked the "First Supernova Kill" achievement. Achievement Points: +2]
On the very day the monthly mission was issued, it was already overfulfilled. Having such capable comrades sure made life easy…
(END CHAPTER)
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