Akame Ga Kill - Split The Earth In Two, Quake

Chapter Fifty Six: The End

As Quake stands in the middle of the rubble and debree left behind from the battle, looking down at the pile of scales that once made up Shol's body and the shattered heart on top. He turns away from the destruction to the rest of Night Raid as Najenda, Lubbock, and Susanoo start walking towards Akame, Budo and Esdeath. Esdeath is helping Akame to her feet as Lubbock looks up to the sky and sees something that causes him to rub his eyes frantically. He looks back up to the sky with a squint before exclaiming, "T-Tatsumi!?! He's alive!?" Everyone else looks up as Lubbock points up into the sky in distance at something flying. They all see Tatsumi and Lubbock looks over to Akame and frantically asks, "Didn't you kill him with your Murasame!? How is he even alive!?!" Akame nods to Najenda and Najenda explains, saying, "We've been practicing a secret technique in case any of the Gods would go rogue and try to take over your bodies. Now, Akame's able to sense life forces and if she manages to make physical contact with a person, she can tell how many life forces are inside them and which one is stronger or weaker. She's been practicing this with Tatsumi and a few other Imperial Arm users for a week or so now, and it seems to already be coming in handy." As Tatsumi lands next to everyone, he's greeted by smiles all around, with the only exception being Quake, who seems to be lost in thought. Tatsumi looks down at him with a concerned glance before a swift glare causes the dragon boy to flinch. "I see. I can sense it from here, you've completely eliminated all signs of Tyrant's soul within Tatsumi's body. Being able to eliminate a soul so easily without doing any harm to the other...that's what one should expect from someone as skilled at killing as you, Akame.", Quake notes as he glances over at the assassin, earning a slight glare from the girl. To her surprise, Tatsumi calls out to her, saying, "Akame...", to which she quickly looks up to him, seeing his still kind smile through his dragon form. "I'm grateful that you saved me again. Thank you. Now I can finally go back to Mine.", Tatsumi tells her as his smile seems to widen, causing the assassin to blush. As her cheeks heat up, she can see Tatsumi in his human form in her mind as he smiles down at her. After a quick nod to Esdeath, she's released and she tries to stand on her own, but quickly begins to stumble as a sharp pain surges through her body. She almost falls to her knees, but Esdeath quickly catches her, saving her from the fall as the girl winces in pain and grabs the markings on her arms. "The curse mark...", Budo says as he looks at the markings all over Akame's body. Quake looks down at her and notes, "Murasame's trump card might be powerful, but it comes at a heavy cost. In exchange for a temporary boost to God-like level, you have to dawn the sins of every person you've ever killed with the blade. These sins are burned into your very flesh and will never go away no matter how much medicine you use or healing you receive. It's a heavy price to pay, but in the end it granted us the perfect opportunity for victory." Esdeath lifts the girl back up to her feet as she tells her, "Don't push yourself so hard, Akame. You just went up against a God one on one and survived the encounter, you should take some time to rest now." Akame refuses however, saying, "I can't. I can't rest, not yet. There's one more thing I have to do before I can rest." She grasps her Murasame tightly as she glares at Quake and asks, "Who are you?" "Excuse me?", Quake asks as he glares over at the girl, but she does not falter. "I can't sense Minazuki's or Quake's life forces inside you. You're something...else... What or who are you!?", Akame exclaims as she points to the God with her sheath. To her surprise, he holds his hand out to her generously, only looking to her with a cold glare. "Well, go on.", he suggests as he holds his hand out for her to take. She glares up at him, uncertain if this is some sort of trap or not, as he says, "You have the ability to distinguish between different life forces, don't you? Then go on, do it." He gestures for her to take his hand oncemore, and she reluctantly complies, but as she touches his hand, she can feel every bit of his overwhelming aura pass through her like an ocean of raw power all rushing out through a single touch. She quickly pulls her hand back, looking at the boy with a completely shocked expression. "Was that enough to satisfy your curiosity?", he asks her as his glare seems to soften into a stern glance. She gives him a quick nod and he lets out a slight chuckle before saying, "Good, now we should turn our attention to the wounded. Who knows just how many people got caught up in this battle..."