Fate: Kill

Chapter 6

It was a world of Kill or be Killed. Where sometimes the cruelest of intentions could be hidden behind the sincerest of smiles.
T

hat was the reality Akame had grown accustomed to dealing with. No, in truth; perhaps it was the only perspective she could believe in anymore.
Parents that abandoned their children for profit. Beggars and the ill dying on the streets. The inhuman treatment of children forced into government authorized assassination training. It had all been part of her life, something that was as simple as a common occurrence.
So then why?
Why was it different here?
The indifference she generally showed on her expression revealed traces of breaking as she walked through the Border Town's dirt street. It was far less developed than the Empire's paved roads and cement buildings, yet it felt more wholesome as if this was how the Empire should have been. Rather than the malicious political campaigns, rotten bloodlines of nobility, and the inability to put faith in others, the simplicity and joy she could see in on the faces of townsfolk left her with feelings of envy.
Perhaps her life may have turned out differently if she were born here and not near the heart of the Empire.
Her hands balled into fists, her head bowing low to avoid people's gazes out of habit yet there was no need.
Raiga of the Mountain Bandits.
Fords the Dextrous Hands.
Smits the Bladesmaster.
Ex-Brigadier General Bukerfield.
All of them were high-profile figures wanted by the Empire for past offences, and highly sought after by the Revolutionary Army for their connections and capabilities.
As if enchanted by some spell, these figures that had the ability to lord over their own territories of land were reduced to a doting father, a senile quack selling wood carvings, a lazy ass, and a feeble old-timer.
It was almost too difficult for her to believe when she considered their reputations within the Empire.
This entire town seemed to exist on another plane of existence.
Just as she could recognize them, surely, they would have recognized her due to the sheer amount of wanted posters the Empire had detailing her bounty as a member of Night Raid. She had secretly prepared herself in case any of them acted out against her, but contrary to her thoughts, they did nothing.
She'd noticed it the first time she went around town, her features obscured by a gaudy cloak, but even when the townsfolk observed of her side profile, nothing happened. There was no suspicion of any sort, which had been odd considering the remoteness of the Border Town. A new addition to the limited population should have at least garnered her more attention, yet to no avail.
Therefore, over the course of her stay in the Border Town, when she wasn't monitoring Shirou, she would take the time to wear less and less of her disguise until the point she was basically walking down the streets as the spitting image of her wanted poster.
Nothing.
Absolutely nothing, and she'd be a fool to think that it was because she wasn't recognized.
The way the senior population of the Town gave her knowing glances was perhaps the largest giveaway. Yet within those knowing glances, was a kind of message that caused her brows to furrow subconsciously. It was as if their eyes were saying that it was 'only natural' for her to be here.
It confused her more than she'd like to admit, more so when a part of her was actually growing used to everything by this point.
The her of the past would never have had revealed herself so openly, yet everything seemed to have changed from the moment she met Shirou, the young Lord of the Border Town.
She wondered what Najenda and the rest of her teammates from Night Raid would think if they saw her right now. The thought nearly caused her lips to curl upwards before she berated herself and focused her mind.
In regards to Shirou, the Empire and the Revolutionary Army would target him for his importance alone as a tool of war.
With the ability to heal, and the means to create Teigu, there was no way he would be left alone should she disclose his intel to Night Raid. In the worst-case scenario, Najenda may even order her to bring him in for 'protection' by the insistence of the Revolutionary Army. Subsequently, she didn't have to image the retaliation of the Border Town should their Young Lord be taken so suddenly.
With prominent figures spread evenly across the town, kidnapping the Young Lord would not be an easy endeavor. However, knowing the kind of importance Shirou would have to either the Empire or the Revolutionary Army, many troops could be mobilized for the operation, and at that point, it would be single town against an entire faction.
Defeat would be inevitable.
A part of her didn't want to see it happen so in her latest report, she hadn't mentioned anything about Shirou and his abilities. Instead, she only noted him down as a person of interest and that her target Edwin had not yet revealed himself.
For the first time in years, she felt torn.
The only other time she had ever questioned her way of life was when she had betrayed the Empire's secret Assassination unit and defected under Najenda's persuasion.
'Come with me, and help put an end to Empire's corruption.'
She could still remember the words Najenda had spoken to her. It was a simple sentence that still resonated within her which was why the situation was becoming far difficult than it should have been.
In the end, it all boiled down to Shirou and the qualities she saw in him.
It was a hope for a better future that was battering at the belief she carried about the world.
If it was him, then maybe…. It was hard for her not to think along those lines and she struggled inwardly.
In the next moment, she shook her head at a loss, and eventually realized that she'd been walking aimlessly.
The area around her was no longer within the cheerful streets of the town, but had transitioned to the area where the people of Heiwa were residing.
They stared at her with curiosity before returning to their own business with determined expressions.
The people of Heiwa were a neutral faction of Wakoku that generally kept to themselves. The appearance of outsiders had always interested them, but their circumstances were now different. They had been chased and killed out of their own homes before they took shelter at the Border Town.
Even if they were curious to interact with other non-natives, all of them were aware that the people of Hageshi would not give up on them so easily.
Selka, in the place of her father, had forced the able-bodied men to begin training with the Teigu Shirou had created.
Various types of swords and weapons displaying differing attributes and capabilities attracted the attention of not only Akame, but the other townsfolk passing by.
A glint appeared in Akame's pupils as she observed silently.
After the initial discovery of Shirou's ability to create Teigu, she had distanced herself from him to conduct her own investigation regarding the matter. She knew that Shirou possessed some sort of sword-type Teigu that could form swords into various shapes based on her observations of him, but his ability to form unique swords with differing properties confounded her.
It was not something that a single Teigu could do.
A sword that could produce flame, another that could send internal vibrations through the metal, along with all sorts of abilities. Each sword was deadly in their own right, yet it didn't make sense for Shirou's sole Teigu to be able to create new Teigu at random.
Teigus were only known to possess a single unique property belonging to the Danger Beast that they were crafted from. Murasame's for example had a deadly poison that could kill a man with a single cut. In no way could Murasame's suddenly erupt in flames or shoot out coulombs of water. It wasn't that kind of Teigu.
With that reasoning, it was impossible for to accept that Shirou's Teigu could be so versatile. As such, she came to the only logical conclusion, he had a method to create new Teigu.
This was the basis of her investigation which was important enough for her to forego her stalking-erm-observations of the Border Town's Young Lord.
Results turned up immediately.
Her meticulousness was not just for show.
In the small Border Town, there weren't many places Shirou could go to spend his time. All she had done was retrace his steps while looking for clues to the steps he had taken before suddenly producing new Teigu.
In the healing house where Shirou frequented, she had taken out the box she had seen him spend so much time with and scrutinized its contents.
Most of what was within the box had been reduced to a fine grey dust, but when she brushed off the thick upper layers, she managed to pick up a small fragment of what appeared to be bones.
Danger Beast bones that quickly crumbled between her fingers.
That was it. That was all the evidence she needed.
Teigu were crafted by imbuing the unique properties of Danger Beasts into weapons. The variability of the new Teigu Shirou had made had most certainly come form the bones reduced to ashes within the box.
The Empires long lost methods to manufacture Teigu had reemerged in a Border Town that the Empire nor the Revolutionary Army would never have had payed attention to.
Staring at the capabilities of the new Teigu that the people of Heiwa were displaying for practice, she pressed her eyes tight and tried to come to terms with situation.
She promptly left in the next moment, wanting to go to a place where she could be alone.
As much as she enjoyed the novelty of the Border Town, there were times that being alone allowed her to better assess her actions. This was one of those times.
Her legs carried her farther and farther away, the dirt and gravel of the town transitioning to long grass beneath her feet that prickled her exposed calves.
It was a minor bother, and with a simple leap she started moving up over the canopy where she continued on forward.
The way she weaved through the interwoven meshwork of branches and leaves displayed her agility as an assassin. Not even a footprint was left behind to distinguish the path that she had taken.
In Night Raid, she was perhaps the most proficient in being fleet-footed. It was why she was chosen to kill Edwin as the man was known for being difficult to handle unless taken down swiftly. Murasame and her dexterity were the counters to anything Edwin could muster.
Yet, in the current instance, she was shocked to realize that Edwin was the last thing on her mind. In fact, if she hadn't left the Border Town to think on her own, then she may have neglected him for far longer.
It was Shirou's fault.
She was quick to lay blame to the source. If it wasn't for his intervention on their first meeting in the dead of the night, then perhaps she'd already be back at Night Raid awaiting her next assignment.
She sighed, her mouth thinning as she grew pensive.
What was happening to her?
She brushed back a lock of her hair behind her ears in unease.
This wasn't how a professional was supposed to act like. It was almost as if she was reverting to how she used to be before she and her sister were taken in by the Empire as future assassins.
It baffled her, but at the very least, now that she was alone, her competency was returning to her.
Her feet stopped only when she reached the foot of the sword-like wall of steel she had watched Shirou create. It was massive, standing at nearly thirty meters high, the looming shadows produced created cooling drafts of wind even from where she stood near the base.
With a thought, she scaled the thick metal and reached the top for a grand view of the area around her. With the addition of the new wall, the security of the Border Town was unquestionable, but at the same time, the Empire would surely notice and investigate.
It was just another thing she felt like she had to warn the naïve Lord of the Border Town about.
Honestly, she felt like she understood how it was to be a baby sitter at this point.
Her eyes narrowed.
Enough with the small details, it was time to decide on her course of action. However, her decision to come to the top of the wall of steel came with unexpected gains.
Scouts?
She noticed several smaller individuals from her elevated position. As the sun was directly behind her, those individuals were unable to notice her presence and continued to stare at the wall in abject shock before retreating with post-haste.
From the characteristics of the people, they were evidently people of Wakoku, and only one tribe would venture near the border of the Empire to fulfill a goal.
The scouts of Hageshi had arrived.
Her feet immediately carried her away.
Without even thinking about it, the first priority that filled her mind was to warn Shirou.
She paused when she realized this, a tint of red forming on the tips of her cheeks as she pursed her lips tightly.
Really?
She felt her face burning as she thought of her own mindless actions.
What was happening to her?
In the end, she still went back to report.
When Shirou asked why her face was so red, she only had single cold response, her arms crossed together while her head was turned away in shame.
"Shut up," she said.
Selka had no words to describe how she was currently feeling.
Her people were smiling again after the danger that had threatened to kill them on their journey to the Border Town, and perhaps that was all that mattered?
Her friends and family ran laughing directly in front of her, the children converging by the small creak and bathing with their mothers in the early morning calm. It was something that was a direct result of the way the townspeople and Shirou were treating them.
Even with the little food the town had, bread and meat were provided for breakfast, lunch, and supper without exception.
The gratitude Selka felt was beyond words, therefore she wanted to show her and her people's appreciation through action. None of the people in the Border Town should know that the people of Hageshi were on their way to attack, and they shouldn't have to.
The people of Heiwa would settle everything rather than dragging in the kind people of the Bored Town to their problems.
The only variable was Shirou.
Rather than leave Hageshi's attack for Heiwa alone to handle, he had something different in mind. Using the pretext that he had hired the people of Heiwa as the Border Town's guards, he refused to not involve himself.
It was a kindness and selflessness that Selka had never had the privilege to see within outsiders.
The determination in her gaze intensified as she began a routine of punches and kicks that could shatter rocks into fragmented splinters.
The people of Heiwa were all gifted physically, and Selka was no exception. Moreover, she was different from the other women of Heiwa who generally spent their days as happy caretaker. She always joined the men in morning training.
Using Heiwa's fighting standards, her current capabilities were near the top, her strength was already enough to grapple and wrestle with mountain lions and tigers. Only the fittest of Heiwa's men could contend against her, but most of them had perished to allow her to lead the women and children and safety.
Remembering the way that they used to praise her for her diligence in training and seeing how empty the training field now was with only a few dozen men left, her grief returned in full force.
Those bastards.
Her hands balled into fists, her nails digging into her palms.
With her father still unconscious and the looming threat of those from Hageshi, there was a lot for her to do.
She glanced at the stockpile of weapons nearby. She wasn't completely ignorant to what they were.
In the Empire they were called Teigu, but in Wakoku they were referred to as Meihou.
Yet she was stunned when she noticed the quantity of them.
There was a total of twenty-five, enough to arm all the remaining able-bodied men of Wakoku and even herself. However, from what she knew, Miehou were rare, only a single blacksmith in Soukai Nation Capital able to produce them.
So then, why were so many presented to her and her people just because they became the Border Town's first guards?
Her lips quivered as she thought back to the figure of that youth who came to her on the night that she felt the most insecure.
That image was ingrained in her memory. To be truthful, she'd been thinking about it constantly in the past few days.
'When you find someone worth following, you'll naturally understand what you should do.' Her father's words echoed in her mind, yet she still wasn't able to comprehend their significance.
She gritted her teeth before calming herself. She needed to make the best of what she had now that her father was out of commission.
As she and the other men had already practiced with their Meihou, all that was left was general exercise.
Her punches and kicks released acute snapping sounds as the power of her muscles erupted within her limbs.
Agile as the forest hare, and as ferocious as the rock bear.
Those were the principles her father had taught to her in the place of her mother. Her mother had died when she was born, but she too was a Hunter.
Selka was merely following in her mother's footsteps.
Her quick and forceful movements ended up creating a tear in the clothes Shirou insisted that she and the other women of Heiwa wore.
She snorted before tugging at the lapels of the tunic over her torso and directly stripped it off along with the constricting kilt around her legs.
Beneath, she was wearing a standard tank top made of soft wolf's pelt, and a short form-fitting rabbit skin skirt that covered only a tiny amount of her upper thighs. To Shirou, it looked like she was wearing nothing but underwear so he had tried to reason with her to change the general attire of the women of Heiwa, but all he got in response were confused expressions.
The people of Heiwa favoured living in the wild and away from corruption and greed. The small and thin fabrics they wore allowed for maximum mobility so none of Heiwa's people saw anything wrong with their attire. Even the men fancied shorter lengthened beast kilts, but the main issue lied with traditions. Men were stronger bodied so they focused their attention on strength-based training while the woman naturally focused on agility in their spare time.
In regards to public morals, the reasoning was simple.
'Weren't the important parts already covered?'
That was all that mattered to the people of Heiwa to which Shirou had no response but to give up and start pleading.
Recalling how easily she'd given in when he started begging her, she started to consider why her aunties started calling her an 'easy woman.' To begin with, what were they even hinting at?
Her expression was hard to discern, but thinking of Shirou caused Selka's mood to brighten somewhat and soften her features.
She felt that he and the people of the town were different from the liars her father had warned her to be careful of because they all seemed genuine.
The warmth of the sun overhead shone down on her, the relatively light clothing she wore allowing her to bask in the heat of the early morning after her exercise. The other men around her had already left to bath in the creak after the women finished using it.
Naturally, Selka didn't follow.
Even if she decided to be a hunter and had good relationships with the other Hunters, she was still a girl. To bath with men at her age was embarrassing even for her.
A sheen of sweat masked her face while tiny beads formed over her skin and trickled down her toned body. The cool breeze that blew buy cooled her down before she took an offered towel from a child and began drying herself off.
"Thank you, little one," she said, tousling the child's hair.
The child pouted at her actions, but she didn't stop. Children would only be children once in their life. She might as well make the best of it and indulge in her maternal instincts.
The child pouted and simultaneously pulled away from her, sticking out his tongue in provocation, but Selka only laughed when the boy paled and ran away when she moved to pinch his cheeks. The brat.
Left alone, she left farther up stream where she could bath in pace without others disturbing.
Cleaned, it was only then that she made her way to look for Shirou.
The day before, Shirou had informed her that scouts from Hageshi were seen in the surroundings outside of the steel wall surrounding the Border Town.
With the emergence of the scouts, Selka knew that it wouldn't be long before the rest of the vanguard arrived followed by the main force.
It was imperative that she at least know whether or not Shirou had a plan. Otherwise, she was intending on sharing her information about Hageshi so that adequate countermeasures could be prepared.
Perhaps the largest variable was the fact that the people of Hageshi had mastered a means to tame Danger Beasts. It was because of this fact that the people of Heiwa whose physical capabilities were far stronger than those of Hageshi had lost so badly.
She needed to give Shirou a warning.
She didn't want the same thing that happened in the land of Heiwa to happen to the Border Town.
It was an unacceptable outcome to her, therefore, she urged herself to move faster.
The building that looks the least like a Noble's manor is where Shirou was staying at. She'd taken this memo to heart the first time she saw Shirou's home. It was large, but it was rather plain, most of the rooms being used for storage and guests who had no place to stay.
Shirou had offered to house the people of Heiwa in his manor, but Selka felt like she was taking advantage of Shirou's kindness too much and refused adamantly.
Knowing exactly where she was going, it didn't take her long to make her way through the Border Town and towards the front door of Shirou's manor.
As she attempted to walk into the house, she noticed a woman standing by the door that stopped her.
Recalling the name of this woman, Selka remembered that her name was Elaine.
Elaine was Shirou's attendant and friend so it was only natural for her to stop visitors by the door. Selka obviously understood this because she often had the same treatment in Heiwa. She was the chief's daughter and she had also had a personal aide that helped manage who could meet with her.
Knowing this, Selka got straight to the point and spoke her intentions.
"I'm looking for Shirou," she said curtly.
She got no response, prompting her to frown. "Is there a problem?" She asked, straightening her back.
Elaine wasn't reacting. Her gaze was glued to Selka's attire while her expression stiffened. Rather than wear the clothes Shirou had given her, in Selka's haste, she had worn Heiwa's standard beast skin garments. On her wrists and ankles were leather bands woven with eagle feathers.
The light furs that Selka wore could in no way hide her slender curves and natural beauty. Her midriff was entirely exposed and a portion of her lower breast was showing due to their ample size. Her tan skin was still fresh from bathing and it had a shine and glossiness to it that darkened Elain's expression further. "Are you a hustler?" Elain asked in all seriousness.
"Yes?" Selka answered questioningly.
The people of Heiwa naturally lived in isolation. Most of the words and insults that they used were local to them alone. For example, splashing water over someone's butt was considered one of the greatest humiliations for a Hunter. It meant that they were careless and allowed someone to sneak up on them. In contrast, touching someone's but with the person aware of your approach was a sign of interest for the other person. The notion was founded based on the way the forest baboons initiated sexual contact.
Elaine didn't know what to say at that point. She was smart enough to determine that Selka did not understand her insult in the slightest. Her eye twitched. "At the very least put something on!"
Elaine unbuttoned her upper wear and draped it over Selka's shoulders. Beneath Elain's upper-wear, she was wearing a blouse, so she didn't mind lending it away. What she was more concerned about was protecting Shirou's innocence, yet Selka's naivety was a hard hurdle to overcome.
"I don't need this?" Selka stared at Elaine in confusion while idly fiddling with the cloth suddenly draped over her. It was too tight around her chest, the buttons straining, and that fact infuriated Elain further.
"J-Just go inside," Elaine gnashed her teeth, restraining her indignation. "Shirou's in his father's study."
Selka nodded before tilting her head at the way Elaine was glowering at her.
Outsiders were strange. The thought entered her mind before she altered it when considering Elaine's actions when compared to Shirou's. Outside women are strange. Selka concluded.
It was at that moment that Elaine would realize in the future that she probably should have corrected Selka's mentality before she began describing Elaine as a strange woman to the people of Heiwa.
Future regrets aside, Elaine was too busy pouting at her own chest size to consider anything else. As a woman, she had been defeated by a person that was utterly clueless. It was a mortal blow that caused Elaine shoulders to sag.
Selka saw Elaine's reaction, but attributed to her earlier thoughts and simply nodded.
Walking through Shirou's house, Selka reached the study and promptly knocked on the door. "May I come in?" She called out, a hand subconsciously moving to straighten her hair.
"Go ahead," was the swift reply.
She pushed open the doors, and as she expected, Shirou was inside sitting on a desk working on paper work Elaine had given to him to manage. When he had last left the Border Town and rescued the people of Heiwa, he had been gone for the whole day. The work piled up, and he couldn't just leave it either.
Like Selka, Shirou didn't want the people at the Border Town to get involved with the situation against Hageshi, therefore, he needed to keep suspicions off of himself. To suddenly not have time to fulfill his obligations, that was surely a red sign that Elaine could exploit to thereby look into his personal business.
He scratched his head tiredly. The things he had to do to keep those close to him safe. At the very least, his siblings were going through a sleeping stage where they spent most of their day napping as their bodies grew.
Tiny reliefs, but they add up eventually, he consoled himself.
"So, is there something you wanted to talk about?" He called out, feeling relieved that he could put away the quilt he'd been holding for hours. If he could burn the papers, he would have had burned them as well, but they necessary to fool Elaine.
Selka nodded her head while acting reserved. "I wanted to discuss the strategy against the people of Hageshi."
Unexpectedly, her words were met with a strangled silence.
She stared at Shirou, and realized how stiff his back had gotten, and the fact that he wouldn't meet her gaze.
It couldn't possibly be? Right?
"Y-You did actually consider some sort of plan, didn't you?" She inquired, stepping forward in all seriousness.
Shirou smiled awkwardly, a finger rubbing at his cheek.
He didn't have a plan. The most he was considering to do was to step out personally. Given what he had seen of the capabilities of the people near the Border Town, the mystic codes he had created should be enough of a deterrence. Therefore, he didn't really consider anything else.
"…" Selka's eyes were piercing.
Still, she eventually just sighed. "At the very least, we still have time to think of something right?"
"Unfortunately, not. There's no more time to discuss plans," a voice echoed into the room.
Moments later, Akame dropped in from a window. In recent days she'd been spending her time scouting the area atop the steel walls. "The people of Hageshi are here."
Akame's admission was met with abrupt action.
Shirou sat up while Selka immediately bolted out of the house to mobilize the Hunters of Heiwa. Akame simply decided to tail Shirou from the shadows lest she explain her presence to Elaine who peered into the study after Selka left.
"Is there something wrong?" Elaine asked, there was a knowing light in her eyes that Shirou didn't notice due to his urgency.
"No, no, everything's fine, but there's someone I promised I'd heal today so please watch over Artus and Anna." Saying that, Shirou briskly walked passed Elaine, muttering a small apology as he patted her shoulder reassuringly.
Left behind, Elaine bit down on her lips, feeling exceedingly disheartened.
Why didn't you ask for help? She thought to herself.
She clenched her fists before running off to the heart of the Border Town.
There were things that had to be prepared.
Danger Beast.
Special Class: Mountain Shaker.
It was a type of Danger Beast that was unique in their size and general strength. They were Quadrupedal behemoths that were generally docile and solitary. They were reptile like in appearance and each carried a towering spire of rock on their backs that could increase and decrease in weight on a whim.
The vibrations generated from their movements were what earned them the name of Mountain Shaker. By increasing the weight of their loads and crashing into the ground, they could release ultra sonic vibrations and tremors that could shatter all obstacle in their path. Their body height alone was nearly thirty meters tall and that was without counting the weights on their backs.
They would have been classified as a Super Class Danger Beast if they weren't so easy to avoid. The fact that they spent most of their days hibernating after a meal was also taken into consideration.
Even from where Shirou, Akame, and Selka stood with the Hunters of Heiwa atop the steel wall, they could feel the tremors of the earth.
"The bastards of Hageshi must have noticed the wall to employ four Mountain Shakers at once," Selka's tone was grave but Akame didn't comment. She had seen the scouts a few days earlier and already knew that they'd seen the wall. It was only natural that they would come up with a counter.
Selka was inwardly feeling guilty. If she had consulted with Shirou earlier, then he would have had known that the people of Hageshi had the means to tame Danger Beasts. The Mountain Shaker, being one of the more docile types was favoured by the Hageshi in Siege wars.
Steel or not, the walls would not hold should the Mountain Shakers get close, but fortunately, the Mountain Shakers were slow by nature.
There was still time to think.
Elsewhere, hiding within the foliage outside the steel walls were the townsfolk of the Border Town; many of them had already prepared for battle days earlier and had set up fortifications at strategic locations. When Elaine had notified them that Shirou was moving towards the steel wall, the entire town secretly mobilized and was waiting in case the situation soured.
Perhaps the only ones in the Border Town who didn't know that the inhabitants were actually professionals was Shirou and his siblings, but that was how the late General intended it.
"Why aren't we helping yet grandfather?" Elaine's voice was slightly clipped, the worry in her tone evident. She was staring pleadingly at an old man with greying hair and long a beard, the Ex-Brigadier General of the Empire, Lord Bukerfield.
The two were located behind a forest canopy, the dense branches in the are making it difficult for them to get spotted.
"Even if we can't deal with the Mountain Shakers, surely if we kill their tamer's they'd become useless," Elaine insisted.
"There's no hurry woman," Lord Bukerfield said gruffly. "Shirou is the son of the late General. There's no way that the General would die without at least teaching his eldest son some skills. Shirou shouldn't be so simple. We've all known this from the moment he tried to hunt Danger Beasts alone."
Elaine curled her lips back and frowned. She was still worried.
Shirou was her friend and she had grown up with him while specifically being trained to guard and keep him safe. At the beginning, she rebelled against her father's wishes to continue their duty as subordinates to the General's family, but it all changed when she realized the type of person Shirou was. He was caring and selfless, choosing to help others when he himself asked for nothing.
From then on, she never neglected her responsibilities again.
"Even still, we have to do something!" Elaine glowered at her stuck-up grandfather.
"Quiet woman," Lord Bukerfield rebuked. "Your father has not taught you well enough if think it's appropriate to question your grandfather's decisions. Besides, the situation may not be as bleak as you think." Lord Bukerfield grinned, his expression expectant as he watched the battlefield intently.
However, he wasn't prepared for the words that pierced directly into his heart at the next instant.
"I won't cook for you anymore," Elaine said coldly, crossing her arms and turning her back.
Lord Bukerfield stiffened, the neutrality of his poker-face breaking. "Cherished granddaughter, let's not get too carried away here," he tried placatingly. "Food is life and death, and your grandpa is already old."
Elaine looked at her nails and didn't speak a word.
This rebellious brat with small boobs.
Lord Bukerfield gritted his teeth in frustration before reluctantly gesturing with his hands for Raiga and the others to get ready to intervene.
Meanwhile, atop the tower Shirou had been considering the problem at hand as he watched the people of Hageshi command the Mountain Shakers forward while keeping their distance.
Four-hundred meters.
There were only Four-hundred meters left before contact.
Looking at Akame and Selka's expressions, it was clear that no one was confident in defeating the Danger Beasts in front. The hides of the Mountain Shakers were too dense. Furthermore, defence was the Mountain Shaker's strongest trait.
Not even the mystic codes he had created could do much damage. What was needed was something more forceful, a weapon of crystalized legend.
A Noble Phantasm. One strong enough to change the tide of battle.
However, he'd used up most of his reserves creating weapons, therefore, all he had to rely on were his physical capabilities and regular steel swords imbued with magecraft.
He clicked his tongue.
From the way the people of Hageshi which numbered a few hundred were trailing behind the Mountain Shakers, it was clear that the Mountain Shakers were only being used to tear down the steel walls. After all, Danger Beasts would not distinguish between enemy and ally in their attacks, especially one that was as large as the Mountain Shakers.
With the way the ground was shaking, there was no way that the people of the Border Town would not notice.
He had to do something and fast.
As his mind worked on overdrive, Selka and the other people of Heiwa did something that immediately caught his attention while they prayed for victory.
From their necks, they each held onto pieces of dried bone that were unmistakable to his eyes.
Danger Beast bones.
"Selka," he called out swiftly. "Those necklaces, what are they?" He asked to clarify.
Selka stared at him anxiously, but still explained everything in a clear voice. "These are Danger Beast fangs and talons that the Hunters of my people had gathered in their hunts against lower-ranked Danger Beasts. They are tokens of honour for all Hunters."
Selka had three of such fangs fitted to her necklace while some of the other Senior Hunters carried several dozen on their person.
This, this could work.
Shirou's eyes began calculating the amount energy he could extract from the Danger Beast bones before calculating that the quantity would be enough to return him to his peak state. Although Selka said that the Danger Beast bones were only made from lower-ranked Danger Beasts, he could tell that the ones on Selka were of a high rank. It was the same for the more experienced Hunters.
"I need those bones," he said with all seriousness.
Selka and the other Hunters faltered as the bones represented their honour, but in the end, they realized that it wasn't the time to be hesitating.
Meanwhile, Akame widened her eyes in realization when Shirou piled up the Danger Beast bones into a pile which he placed his hands over.
H-He's going to make another Teigu, Akame was certain of it.
"Go," Shirou's voice echoed for all to hear. "Leave the Danger Beasts to me."
Selka and the Hunters didn't question Shirou and promptly leapt down the steel wall to confront their enemies.
Akame wavered for a moment, before she too joined up with Selka and the others.
Left to his business, he wasted no time and quickly began extracting the magical energy before him. One by one, the fangs and talons were bursting into pieces of dust under his palms. With each broken fang and talon, he felt surge after surge of energy coursing through him.
Ten percent.
Thirty.
Sixty.
Ninety.
One-Hundred.
His pupils shone with a bluish hue, his posture straightening, his legs propping him onto his feet.
Something in the air trembled.
If Danger Beasts were walking congregation of stored magical energy, then right now he was no different as his Twenty-Seven Magical Circuits thrummed to life.
The river that was dry flooded with water once more.
"I am the Bone of my Sword."
The beginning of his mantra left his lips, fueling the path of his magic within him.
Unseen fluctuations traveled through the air, the Mountain Shakers freezing in place.
Akame, Selka, the Hunters, and even Elaine abruptly shot up their head to the sky, their eyes dilating, throats dried.
Without even revealing the presence of the twenty-five new Teigu, the people of Hageshi were already stupefied in the distance.
T-That wasn't possible!
Shirou used his left hand to support his right forearm. The magic within him shifting into a gale.
His fingers twitched, zephyrs forming a miniature hurricane atop his palm, and from it appeared a massive pommel.
There were four mountain-sized enemies placed sporadically away from each other, and he didn't have enough energy to fire four different blasts from a Noble Phantasm. At most he could only fire one or two before he'd have to start conserving energy. Therefore, he would make something that would count.
Something that would live up to its name.
His body trembled, his veins popping as his eyes grew blood-shot.
Yet in the end, he unleashed it.
The hurricane forming into a typhoon.
A shadow loomed in the horizon, blotting out the sun.
It was colossal.
If the enemy was the embodiment of the mountains themselves, then so be it.
-Let the mountains fall.
The Green Field Cutting Through Thousands.
Ig-Alima
The Mountain Felling Sword.