The Black Behemoth drifted inside a thick cloud bank above the Imperial Capital, silent enough that even the night wind barely noticed it. The anti-gravity runes pulsed like a slow heartbeat, softened beneath Lin Xiya's psychic dampening field.
Inside the lounge, Esdeath stood by the glass window, chin slightly tilted, pressing a cold cola can to her cheek as if testing the temperature of the new world she'd stepped into. Below, the Capital sprawled like a dying animal.
"So this is the Capital," she said, voice calm but edged. "I can smell the rot from up here. The Emperor is weak."
"It's the Prime Minister rotting it," Su Chen replied while checking the clasps on his gear. "And I'm not here to solve their mess. I'm here to empty out their vault."
He turned toward Saeko.
"Saeko, stay. Spar with Esdeath. I want you two to bond."
Saeko glanced at the Ice Queen. Esdeath's faint smile sharpened, a silent declaration: I don't lose.
"Bonding through combat," Saeko said, drawing her bone blade with a quiet eagerness. "That works."
"Don't break the ship," Su Chen reminded them, already walking toward the airlock.
He stepped into the darkness beneath him.
[Skill: Shadow Step.]
And vanished.
---
The Imperial Palace
Su Chen emerged from the shadow of a stone pillar deep inside the Palace's inner sanctum. The air tasted old— incense, metal, and the faint decay of a crumbling regime.
His Lich Bloodline flattened his life signs to zero. Even the light seemed to ignore him. To the guards, he was nothing but cool air brushing past.
He reached the entrance to the Great Vault.
Two heavily armored Imperial Guards stood at attention. Loyal, disciplined. Probably underpaid.
Su Chen didn't bother killing them.
He reached out with a tiny mental twist.
Sleep.
Both men went limp, sliding down their halberds like puppets with cut strings.
Su Chen approached the massive vault door, a ceremonial monstrosity of folded steel, runes, and blood-red lacquer. His hand hovered over the lock.
"System, analyze."
[Target: Imperial Vault Door]
[Mechanism: Royal Blood Required]
"Royal blood?" he muttered. "Cute. But outdated."
He rested his palm on the door. Skin rippled; a thin bio-probe extruded from his fingertip, diving into the tumblers while he fed a pulse of Spirit Energy into the blood seal.
A soft click. A long hiss.
The vault door groaned open like something ancient waking from sedation.
---
The Candy Shop
The interior was massive— rows of pedestals, glass cases, dim crystals humming with suppressed danger. Even dusty, the place radiated arrogance.
"Jackpot," Su Chen whispered.
He approached the nearest pedestal.
A giant axe gleamed beneath the dim crystal light.
[Belvaac]
He touched it lightly.
[Teigu Copied.]
Next— a pair of intricate gloves.
[Perfector — Copied.]
Next— a massive pair of scissors. Su Chen paused, eyebrows lifted.
"Extase? But Sheele still has— oh. Prototype."
[Extase Prototype — Copied.]
He moved like a seasoned thief browsing a supermarket, hopping from pedestal to pedestal, copying weapons, notes, formulas— everything. The Creation Books were the real treasure: full breakdowns of Danger Beast alchemy, forging sequences, and ancient rites.
But the room's true prize lay in the center.
A massive dormant suit of armor—ashen-gray, silent, cold.
Grand Chariot.
He placed his hand on it.
[Copying…]
A bright internal flash. Efficiency.
Then his gaze drifted to a small sword sealed behind glass— a Shingu, not a Teigu.
His attention shifted again, this time toward the far wall.
A black katana hung like a relic, its aura flickering red like trapped blood.
Su Chen read the plaque.
"Ancestral Mold of Murasame."
"…Ah."
So Akame's sword was forged from this. The blueprint. The original curse mold.
He rested a finger on the ancient steel.
[Murasame Cursed Mold — Copied.]
A slow grin tugged at his mouth.
"Infinite one-cut blades… imagine a skeleton legion wielding these."
He then lifted his gaze.
Above him, through transparent reinforced glass, the Shikoutazer loomed over the Palace like a god fallen asleep— too big to fit inside, so the entire building served as its cradle.
Su Chen approached the pillar connected to its frame.
His hand touched steel.
[Target: Shikoutazer]
[Copying…]
Energy ripped through him. The drain was violent. His mana threatened to bottom out.
He popped a Spirit Stone into his mouth and bit down like he was chewing candy.
The sensation steadied.
[Success.]
Blueprints, structure, internal designs— all his.
"I have the soldiers. I have the weapons. I have the nuke," Su Chen murmured, turning away.
Time to leave.
---
The Assassin in the Moonlight
He stepped out into the courtyard.
Moonlight painted silver across tiled roofs and marble pillars.
And someone stood between him and the exit.
A girl in a black uniform. Red tie. Long katana in hand. Black hair drifting in the wind. Red eyes steady, sharp— and tired.
In her other hand, a bag of meat buns.
Su Chen's steps halted.
Akame.
Night Raid's silent blade.
Her eyes narrowed. "You're not a guard. You smell like death… and iron."
Su Chen exhaled slowly.
"Not bad. You're sharper than the people running this place."
Akame dropped the bag.
Her pupils contracted.
"Target identified. Eliminating."
She vanished.
She moved like a whisper sharpened into a blade. Faster than Saeko. Faster than any human should be. A shadow blinked behind him— Murasame already descending toward his neck.
CLANG.
Murasame hit a floating bone shield and sparked.
Akame's eyes widened a fraction.
"You blocked it?"
Su Chen didn't answer. His body darkened, skin hardening into dark-gold metallic sheen.
"Try again," he said simply.
Akame's expression tightened. She whispered—
"Burial."
She exploded forward, a blur of steel. Ten slashes. Twenty. Sparks danced off Su Chen's skin like fireworks, the cursed markings crawling over his arm only to dissolve instantly.
His Lich Bloodline swallowed the poison like warm soup.
Akame landed lightly, breath quiet but uneven. Confusion flickered across her face.
"…The curse doesn't work?"
"Your sword kills by cursing the heart," Su Chen said. "I can stop my heart whenever I want."
Her stare sharpened— then softened when her stomach growled.
Loudly.
The meat buns lay crushed on the ground.
Su Chen lifted them with a flick of telekinesis.
He opened his storage, swapped them with a steaming roast chicken, and floated the plate toward her.
"You dropped your dinner."
Akame froze. Her nose twitched. Hunger cracked her expression for half a second.
"…Is it poisoned?"
Su Chen raised a brow. "You're the one holding the poison blade."
Her stomach betrayed her again.
She sheathed Murasame.
Took the chicken.
A massive bite.
Her eyes widened.
"…Delicious."
"I have more," Su Chen said. "Enough to feed an army."
Akame paused. "You are bribing me."
"Yes."
She blinked.
"…At least you're honest."
"You're wasting your life with the Revolution," Su Chen said plainly. "The Empire's corrupt. The Revolution is corrupt. They'll trade one tyrant for another."
He spread his Purple Cloud Wings.
"Or you can leave this world with me."
Akame stared at the wings long enough that her expression— normally unreadable— shifted.
"…Can I bring my sister? If I find her?"
"Kurome? Yes. I can fix her drug issues."
Silence stretched— then: another bite of chicken sealed her internal struggle.
"I won't join you today," she said finally. "I have a mission."
She met his eyes.
"But… if you have more of this next time… I will listen."
And then she vanished into the night like smoke.
The system chimed softly in Su Chen's mind.
[Akame Interest +30]
[Status: Hungry for More]
Su Chen allowed himself a small smile.
"She'll come."
He glanced at the Palace.
"I've got the tech. The weapons. And the assassin's interest."
He cracked his neck.
"Time to go before Budo starts doing morning patrols."
The shadows curled around him.
[Shadow Step.]
He stepped back into the sky.
---
Status Update
Blueprint: Shikoutazer (City-Wiping Mech)
Mold: Murasame (Mass-Producible Cursed Swords)
Skill: Teigu Crafting (Biological Alchemy)
Relations: Akame (Fed + interested)