On the river, Akame and Susanoo were fishing to prepare for dinner. Each sat at opposite ends of the boat, backs to one another, intently focused on the rods in their hands.
Feeling a bit hungry, Akame took out a rice ball for a quick snack. Right then, her rod twitched.
"I've got a bite!"
The line whipped up, and a massive fish erupted from the water. It was several times larger than a normal human—definitely a Demonic Beast. Susanoo turned his head as the giant fish lunged toward him, but he didn't seem concerned.
"There."
After picking a stray grain of rice off the corner of Akame's mouth, Susanoo nodded in satisfaction. His weapon flew into the air, striking the fish squarely in the belly, neutralizing it without damaging the quality of the meat.
"Looks like we have our main course for tonight, Susanoo."
Dinner that evening was, of course, the fish. The food was devoured until nothing but bones remained on the table. Even a connoisseur like Akame looked satisfied.
"Ah... everything Susanoo cooks is delicious. All the exhaustion from training just melts away."
Leone rubbed her full belly, and everyone voiced their agreement. Demonic Beast meat wasn't just tasty; it was packed with nutrition and energy, perfect for fueling their strength-building exercises.
Bulat and Tatsumi still had so much energy left that they rushed out for another round of sparring. Najenda puffed out her chest; even though the praise wasn't for her directly, praising her Teigu was essentially the same thing.
"I told you Susanoo was amazing."
"Right you are, Boss!"
"This is top-tier stuff."
However, not everyone was perfectly in sync with the mood. Lubbock looked from Najenda to Susanoo, his voice dripping with jealousy.
"Everyone got close to Susanoo so fast. If this keeps up, my position in this group is going to be shaken."
"Lubbock, your position has always been at the bottom. How could it be shaken?" Mine, munching on a dessert cake next to him, shot back without mercy.
"Neow."
A sound like a kitten's mew echoed. Mine turned to see a small, brown-furred animal that had "wandered" into the house.
"Oh, it's a baby Margay."
"Did it come all the way in here? They aren't afraid of humans, are they?"
"Neow."
The Margay used its stubby legs to hop onto a chair, leaning close to Mine and rubbing its head against her.
"Neow..."
"What, you want some? No way, I'm not giving you any..."
"Neow!"
Looking at the tiny face staring up at her, Mine bit her lip. She was finally defeated by the sheer cuteness. She used her fork to cut off a small piece of cake.
"Alright, just a little bit..."
In that instant, the Margay's eyes flashed with mischief. It suddenly lunged, swiping the plate of cake from Mine's hand before she could react and leaping to the other side of the room.
A puff of smoke erupted, and the Margay transformed back into Chelsea, who was now holding the plate in her mouth.
"Now it's mine, neow."
"Chelsea!! Why you..."
"Haha, Mine, you were wide open."
Mine pointed a trembling finger at Chelsea, fuming but unable to do anything. Lubbock, meanwhile, focused on something else: her disguise ability.
"So that's your Teigu's power, Chelsea?"
"That's right. I can transform into anything I like. It's the Gaea Foundation. Pretty convenient, isn't it?"
The Gaea Foundation took the form of a makeup box. Not just in shape—the tools inside were actual makeup, lipstick, eyeliner, eyebrow pencils, powder... everything was in there.
"Mine, if you don't keep your guard up, you could be... assassinated."
"What?! If they find out about your Teigu, the same goes for you!" Mine immediately retorted. But Chelsea only replied calmly.
"True. My Teigu is for disguise, not combat. But that's exactly where its value lies."
"Like the look on Mine's face right now—it's priceless!"
"She makes me so mad!!!" Mine screamed internally. Chelsea's smug laughter haunted her for the rest of the night.
…
Sheele stood beneath a waterfall, holding her giant scissors with an intense expression.
"Extase!"
As she swung the scissors, the blinding light of her Secret Technique erupted. In that split second, Extase cleaved through the waterfall, cutting across the falling water. The entire cascade lit up brilliantly.
Sheele retracted Extase, huffing as she held her chest. Previously, when using the Extase Secret Technique, she had to remain stationary or accept a momentary pause. Now, she was training to remain mobile during the activation, even if it was just for a single strike.
One shouldn't underestimate that single strike. While an opponent was temporarily blinded and neutralized by the light, a precise swing of the scissors was all it took to end them instantly. Sheele felt a surge of confidence; she was growing stronger every day.
Elsewhere, Tatsumi and Leone teamed up, jumping into a nest of lizard-like creatures that walked on their hind legs, their mouths filled with rows of jagged teeth.
"Tatsumi, I'm leaving the small ones to you!"
"Got it!"
Tatsumi, clad in his Incursio armor, nodded and charged into the huddle of lizards.
"Their attacks aren't easy to tank. I need to observe their movements to avoid direct hits."
"Then, take them down!"
Tatsumi dodged the lizards' snapping jaws. A red spear appeared in his hand—Neuntote—and he instantly sliced two lizards in half.
Leone looked at Tatsumi with surprise. That spear was the auxiliary weapon of Incursio. Being able to wield it meant he was approaching the level Bulat once held.
She took down her twentieth lizard but noticed the numbers weren't thinning; they were only growing larger.
"Do these things ever stop? I have to find the Alpha."
She stood still for a moment, her beast senses flaring. She caught the silhouette of the Alpha hiding behind a rock.
"Found you!!"
Leone crouched low, tensing her muscles like a drawn bowstring before sprinting. She launched herself into the air toward the hidden Alpha.
"Aaa!!!!"
Bang!!!
With a heavy punch, the Alpha lizard stumbled, but it wasn't down yet, proving it was much tougher than the others. It whipped its neck around, spitting a glob of fluid at Leone. She leaped aside; the slime hit a boulder, which immediately began to smoke and corrode.
"That must be your ultimate move, huh?"
The Alpha roared, its claws leaving deep gashes in the rock where Leone had just been. She leaped high again, clasping her hands for a hammer-blow.
Boom!
The Alpha lizard was smashed into the ground, motionless.
"Mission complete."
In truth, this wasn't just for training; it was a mission Najenda had assigned them—clearing the surrounding area to prevent surprise attacks.
"Looks like cleaning up around here is pretty easy, huh?"
"The air here is quite thin. Fighting in an environment like this will help everyone get much stronger."
After the debrief, Najenda encouraged the group, then turned to Chelsea.
"What do you think, Chelsea? After observing Night Raid for a while?"
"Hmm... everyone is strong. Much stronger than my old team."
Tatsumi and Mine looked excited, especially Mine. Finally, the newcomer was acknowledging her.
"But..." Chelsea's tone dropped. "Strength alone isn't enough to survive. Regarding Sheele and Bulat—sorry if I offend your pride—but you two nearly died on your missions. You're both great, but as assassins, you failed."
The atmosphere suddenly turned cold, but Chelsea wasn't finished.
"And besides, isn't it too risky to trust that man named Asahi? He isn't even a member of Night Raid..."
"Hey! Chelsea, you're going too far! Brother Asahi saved—"
Tatsumi's brow furrowed in anger. He moved forward to argue, but Bulat held him back. Tatsumi stopped, his hands clenched tight.
Chelsea saw his expression, her eyes momentarily dimming as she turned to go back inside.
"If you don't reconsider your naive way of acting, even a hundred lives wouldn't be enough for you to survive."
Najenda sighed. "That was a very blunt assessment. Please don't be mad at Chelsea. As for Asahi, I'll speak to her later. Sorry, Tatsumi."
"It's okay, Boss. I... I spoke a bit too loudly just now."
The tension eased slightly as Susanoo looked at the mountain of meat piled up behind them.
"Alright, let's process this for dinner."
…
Asahi was dazed.
"Why am I..."
He had just been in the Imperial Palace a second ago. Why was he suddenly in the middle of this desolate wasteland?
Asahi scanned his surroundings. Aside from sand and rocks, there was nothing for miles. The only explanation he could think of was that purple circle that had appeared behind him when Seryu fired.
The circle is gone now.
As for his wound—most of the impact had been absorbed by his armor, though his chest plate was now scrap metal. The blood Seryu saw was mostly from a superficial surface wound; it would heal in no time. His mask had been shattered by Kurome, so this set of armor was a total loss.
Asahi stripped off the ruined armor, leaving only his windbreaker. He began walking, looking for any sign of life or a clue as to where on earth he was.
Would you like me to follow Asahi as he explores this new land, or shall we check back in with the fallout at the Imperial Palace?