Slay the Cerberus (The Pandora Conflict Part 2)

Year 1025, Same Day

Time: ~11:45 A.M.

Thousands of miles away from where Night Raid was located, an ominous trio observed the imperial capital from the top of a green hill as high noon soon approached. Having shaved off his thick beard during his trip here, Rin now looked many years younger. Sporting a black trench coat over a clean white shirt, the man known as the Red-Eyed Phoenix allowed himself to display a genuine smile for a brief moment in time—something the young female by his side immediately noticed.

"Daddy...you look happy about something," Rias spoke out of the blue.

"Of course I am! Soon Pandora's Box will be open and with the power contained within we'll create a world where everyone will have whatever they may wish for...a world where all thought becomes its own reality—a true utopia for all," the ambitious young man declared.

"Will I be in your new world, daddy?" Rias inquired as she leaned her body against Rin. Lowering himself to her level, Rin presses his lips against the scarlet-eyed female's lips, kissing her passionately.

"You are my world Rias. I'll always be with you," he added causing the gothic girl to blush slightly. Memories of her past with Rin began playing on the Scarlet-Eyed Killer's mind as the two shared a moment together, memories of how it all began...

MANY YEARS AGO - HANATE MANSION

The wind blew as thunder and lightning raged outside the large windows ever so violently. As always, the red-eyed girl watched from within the safety of her room as the world was consumed by the furious storm. Thick concrete walls and bulletproof glass were the only things keeping this child away from the harmful weather. To her, the world was still nothing more than a box full of mysteries. Hikari Hanate was the little girl's name, and this fateful night was only but the beginning of her childhood friend's nightmarish life.

As per the usual, Hikari wore her favorite dark red pajamas while she calmly admired the raging storm. Looking at her from just a few meters away stood the girl named Rias—Rias Makiri. With her long black hair separated into twin tails, she awkwardly stared at her friend before finally separating her lips to speak.

"Indra is definitely pissed off tonight huh?" she says trying to desperately capture her best friend's attention. Fortunately enough for her, Hikari actually noticed her calls.

"Who's Indra?" she asks while at the same time finally stepping away from the large window and sitting down beside Rias on the large bed positioned at the heart of the room.

"You serious?" Rias asked in surprise.

"Yea heheh," Hikari chuckled innocently.

"Okay...well you see, legends say Indra was the god of thunder and lightning in some cultures. Some even say his blood was used to create one of the forty eight imperial arms, but that's just a myth."

"Ohhh cool!" Hikari says rather enthusiastically as she grabs one of her friend's twin tails.

"Rias, you're the best nerdy friend I could ask for," the young red-eyed girl exclaims in the most awkward manner possible. Showing affection was definitely not her most refined skill.

"Um...thanks?"

"So there's still two hours to go before our bedtime, wanna go play some games?"

At that moment Rias Makiri smiled happily like never before. Having a friend like Hikari overcame any feeling of sadness brought upon by her parents and their unhealthy relationship during these dark times. But as happy as this moment was to both Hikari and Rias, a much more heated debate took place in a distant corner of the Hanate manor.

Sitting on a black leather couch in front of a large fireplace that partially illuminated his room, Ikuro Hanate simply watched as his wife slept on his lap. Ikuro then looked over his shoulder to greet his visitor. From within the cover of darkness, a figure watched the couple. Red eyes, long black hair and a young face, this assassin were nothing but a brainwashed child serving the corrupt empire.

"So did Gozuki send you here Akame? Typical," the rich and noble Ikuro spoke as he rubbed his chin with a malicious expression. In response the young red-eyed girl nodded in an unenthusiastic manner. No emotions crossed her face either, at that moment the girl named Akame simply existed. Without letting go of her serious composure and threatening presence, the little assassin opened her lips and spoke.

"Did you follow his orders?"

"Of course. Rias will spend the night with my daughter; you're now free to proceed with the slaughtering of her parents."

"What about Rias herself? What will happen to her after tonight?"

"That's for the empire to decide."

For a moment, the red-eyed girl gasped at the rich man's lack of consideration for the lives of others. Corruption was something this girl had to deal with on a regular basis, but Ikuro took the notion of such to a whole new level. The man barely cared about his own family at all, much less the happiness or well-being of others. Regardless, no more words needed to be spoken between those two very different individuals; therefore, the young Akame vanished from sight just as a blinding flash of lightning fell from the heavens above.

Turning his attention to the fireplace once more, Ikuro smiled as he caressed his wife's brown hair which gracefully extended down her back and waistline. To Ikuro, his wife was the only thing that mattered. In fact, one could say Misaki Hanate was the one and only thing keeping whatever remained of Ikuro's humanity.

Morning soon came, and just as expected of her, Rias returned to the neighboring mansion that served as her home. It was a beautiful place to call home with its mixture of Greek and Roman architecture that gave it a sort of exotic look; however, the girl didn't pay attention to such things. Pushing open the large wooden and metal doors that led to the mansion's main hall, Rias was greeted by something no little girl should ever see...

Her father and mother were now nothing more than bloody corpses splattered across the ground severed in various places with such precision that it could redefine the definition of mutilation. Blood painted the white walls and carpet, guts covered the furniture; it was a scene worth a thousand nightmares.

"Mommy...Daddy..." the little Rias muttered as she could barely process what stood before her eyes. Before she could scream for help though, a large man suddenly appeared behind her accompanied by a young imperial officer with scarlet irises.

"Rin, take Rias with the rest of our human test subjects. The daughter of a traitor deserves to suffer for the benefit of our future projects, such as Project C.O.B.A.L.T," the fat man spoke as he grabbed the girl by the shoulder and then pushed her in the officer's direction.

"Yes Prime Minister, I shall," the young man known as Rin Hanate said in an obedient tone before dragging Rias outside.

"Wh-What's going on?" the little girl said as she broke her silence.

"Prime Minister Onest ordered one of his assassins out into the field to slaughter your parents whom were guilty of working with the Revolutionary Army," Officer Rin explained. He then stopped and looked over at the girl as if judging her potential.

"Wh-Where are you taking me?" she asked nervously.

"To a laboratory where you'll be experimented on for a decade to come and likely die in the name of Onest's pointless research," Rin stated with his eyes dead set on the girl's gaze, "But if you survive...you'll wield power capable of transcending human comprehension...the power of an Ultimate Teigu."

"How-How can I survive mister Rin?"

"It's simple. Remember the image of your dead parents every passing second, use that as your inner light, hold on to it, and maybe one day you'll join me in my new world."

Those twisted words were what kept the young Rias alive through the torture and experimental process she went through in the following years. She spent countless days locked away inside highly secured dungeons and labs set light years away from any civilization which made escape impossible. A decade passed and Rias grew surviving with a glimmer of hope in her heart, but once Onest gave the order to speed up the development of Project C.O.B.A.L.T., she was tossed out into the streets as a failed test subject—a failed experiment of a project that would take another eight centuries to be fully completed. A failure...or at least that's what those scientists classified Rias as. Little did they know that she was their very first functional prototype, a miracle of science, a miracle Rin intended to fully exploit.

***

PRESENT DAY

"Sorry to interrupt you two but, what's the plan now exactly? Taking out the capital should be easy enough, but what about the man who appeared to save Night Raid? I'm not sure we can survive another encounter with him," Deus analyzed in a calm and collected tone snapping Rias out of her thoughts and grabbing Rin's attention. As always, Deus remained the most mysterious one of this trio; not even Rin knew too much about his past.

"We rest for the day. Rias needs to feed in order to regain her strength and all the fighting against Zephyria and Adena knocked the wind out of me so I could use some time to recover. Tomorrow morning once we're all back to a hundred percent, the capital will fall. As for the one named Akaro, he will fall once we unleash the power of Pandora's Box," Rin's words echoed with anticipation. Never before had the Red-Eyed Phoenix been forced to retreat, not even with the fight against Adena, so this Red-Eyed Hero was different. Had he and his group stayed there, there's no telling what would've happened.

"Master Rin, I should inform you that keeping the boy named Orion under control has been getting increasingly difficult."

"Oh? Why's that?"

"His teigu seems to be similar to my own in many ways. Back during our escape he was able to break free of my Limbo dimension for a split second and project lady Hestia's true consciousness into the mirage I left behind to face our attacker, the Red-Eyed Hero. My apologies for that Master Rin," Deus continued, his eyes shining with a dark purple radiance.

"Worry not, Deus. You can make up for your failures in the upcoming battle against the capital, and against Night Raid as well since they're most definitely gonna get involved," the Phoenix spoke mercilessly. The war between Rin Hanate and all factions competing in this revolution would soon reach it' climax as only one day remained before Pandora's Box would be finally opened.

Hope would all but be lost if it wasn't for the presence of Night Raid. Thousands of miles away, the group of assassins gathered around a large rectangular table with an extremely detailed continental map placed on its top. Forming an incomplete circle around the table, Akaro and Chelsea looked at each other from opposite ends of the circle. Raizo stood to the right to the Red-Eyed Hero while Adena was by his left.

"Adena, carrying Zephyria from the Sapphire Phoenix fortress all the way here must've been exhausting given that Rias limited your abilities," the new leading figure of Night Raid started the discussion.

"Actually I didn't come all the way here on my own. A girl with power and speed similar to Raizo's brought me and Zephy all the way here," the redhead spoke trying to match the serious air in the atmosphere.

"A girl speedster?!" Akaro and Raizo spoke simultaneously, slamming their hands down on the table.

"Uh yeah, she said her name was Godspeed or something," Adena added.

"Godspeed..." Chelsea's expression gave way to fear as sweat began pouring down her forehead.

"She can't be alive...there's no way she could've survived that..." the Red-Eyed Stormbringer spoke in disbelief. Memories of what could be described as his greatest battle thus far suddenly invaded his mind—a battle remembered by all but a select few as an unexplainable event that shook all of creation, the God's Tear.

"Do you guys know her?" Adena questioned as the room fell victim of a myriad of different reactions.

"Her real name is Vesta Arashi, and long story short, she was Raizo's female counterpart from an alternate universe. She tried to hurt my family, so me and good ol' Raichu over here put a stop to her before she could wipe out...well, everything," Akaro advertently explained. Out of everyone taking part in this little meeting, he was the only one not fazed by the news that Vesta was still alive.

"So...if she's such a bitch then why did she help me?" the firecracker of the group continued with the questions. Looking up at her, Raizo simply responded with a quick and honest statement.

"It's because seeing you made her feel something she hadn't felt since the day she massacred the Adena of her world."

These words flowed into Adena's mind causing her to blush shortly afterward. It was true, if Vesta and Raizo were in essence the same being then there was one thing they shared in common...their feelings towards Adena.

"Yeah okay, she wants a piece of Adena's booty. That still doesn't explain why you're all still breathing," the Red-Eyed Hero continued.

"Perhaps something changed after she somehow returned from the dead?" Chelsea suggested.

"It doesn't matter! We have enough on our plate at the moment; we have to stop Rin before the situation worsens. If Vesta hasn't acted against us so far, she definitely won't do so with Akaro around," the Stormbringer proclaimed angrily. Biting his own lips, Raizo looked defeated and mad at the world around him. The death of his comrades was not something he considered meaningless or something easy to fix. Even after going through so much in the Nightmare Forest and obtaining the Heart of The Storm alongside the Vajra blade, he was still at the bottom staring at the top. The thought that everything the he had worked for throughout his journey could still be taken away in an instant by forces beyond his control just irritated him.

Turning to his right, Akaro looked his younger brother in the eyes. For a while it was as if time had slowed down for Raizo. His perception of time felt faster simply because the sudden rush of adrenaline in his body forced his powers to activate accordingly. This was merely a result of locking his crimson hues against Akaro's eyes as an unsolvable expression floating between them was like a perfect combination of calm and fury. Placing his hand on Raizo's shoulder, the Red-Eyed Hero changed that outlook with a simple, comforting smile.

"I'll just repeat what she told you that night in the forest, those words that brought warmth to a cold heart: I'm proud of you. Don't lose sight of yourself. I am always watching over you," Akaro spoke as time seemingly stood still for all except them both.

"How...how do you know about…?" Raizo was about to ask in disbelief as his eyes widened in shock. Akaro cut him off promptly.

"How I know about your little misadventures doesn't matter. What does matter however is that you stop letting your failures get the best of you. I've had enough of you drowning on past failures and being a damn crybaby about it. Who the hell do you think you are huh? You're not a failure to anyone nor a slave to your own emotion...you're the goddamn Red-Eyed Stormbringer and you better start living up to that title.

I know it's hard and I know it's painful, trust me I've been in your shoes more times than I can count. I know how much losing someone or failing to protect a loved one can hurt, but learning from those failures is just something you're gonna have to do."

"..."

Left speechless against his older brother's words, Raizo could only really remain silent. He wanted to tell Akaro about his strange nightmare, but he didn't have the courage to admit that his failures to Night Raid could be anything more than a bad dream.

"C'mon now, we got work to do," Akaro spoke before turning his attention back to the meeting at hand. Time then returned to its normal flow leaving Raizo to reflect on everything that was just said in that passing attosecond. So much had happened since he last met Akaro. Most of the bad that happened between back then and now were mostly Raizo's fault. If he had simply used the evidence left behind by his battle with Vesta or tried to somehow contact Akaro and the others, he would've been able to utterly and completely destroy any and all of Fujitora's arguments. If he hadn't ran away to find his mother, Najenda wouldn't have ended up as one of Kurome's puppets. The only reasonably good thing that came out of his journey into the Nightmare Forest was his new transformation and blade, but even that is proving itself to be of little value now. All of these regrets now piled up on the Stormbringer's shoulders alongside the failures he saw in his nightmares...but it wasn't enough to bring down his newly found resolve.

"Akaro is right, I'm not gonna falter here. I'll learn from my selfish deeds and my weaknesses...I'll change everything for the better, starting with what happened that day." The Stormbringer thought to himself, his emotions just now finally finding some small form of equilibrium.

"Alright everyone, I'll have a friend of mine set up a few protective barriers around here to secure Chelsea and the other members of Night Raid. It's likely Rin will allow Rias to feed before attempting to take out the capital," Akaro proclaimed, finally resuming the meeting.

"Feed? Yeah about that...what is she? Is this Rias even human? How was she able to suppress everyone's imperial arms?" Chelsea started with the quick sequence of questions.

"For starters, Rias Makiri is codenamed Akacifer. She was one of the many test subjects for the prototyping phases of Project C.O.B.A.L.T which stands for Crossbred Organism of Biogenetics Alterations and Legitimate Teigu. The goal of this project is to create a human being who is also a teigu. Said creation would differ from an organism type teigu which has a preset range of abilities. Instead, this creation would be able to wield all original 48 Teigu at will and rise above and beyond their limits.

Of course such a project would require technology far superior to that of this time to be fully perfected, but that doesn't mean a proof of the concept is impossible to build...and that's what Rias Makiri is. The closest you can get to the goal of this project with current science, alchemy, and technology. She has a few shortcomings though, such as her endless lust for blood and flesh and the fact that she has to feed on humans every 48 hours in order to maintain her abilities," Akaro presented in a lengthy explanation, one that wasn't at all easy to grasp in a few minutes. Nonetheless, Chelsea forced herself to understand while the others looked more confused than ever..., especially Adena, she was just lost in the crowd at this point.

"If you don't mind me asking Akaro, how is it that you know all this? Seems like information that wouldn't really matter to someone such as you," the orange haired girl continued with the questions. The makeshift leader then replied with terse accuracy.

"Of course, it matters to me...after all; it's the story of my life."

"I'm sorry what?"

"I never had a mother, or if I did then I can't remember her. All I had was a father and two siblings being a brother and a sister. The first memory I have of myself is me being chained against a wall inside a jail cell. That's where I believe I was born; seven hundred and eighty-one years from now on the morning of the 25th of December of another Earth. I was the second of the named Ultimate Teigu to be deemed a satisfactory success. From there a lot happened but what matters is that in the end, I managed to overcome the control of my creator—the man I once called father, Hirce Hajime. In the end, his vision of a new world never came to be and I continued my fight to preserve the kingdom's peace for the rest of my days."

"So you're saying that our future…"

"Is trailing a path similar to mine, yes. The only difference is the obvious presence of the Sapphire Phoenix, which greatly altered the original world line of this space-time continuum. This civil war was supposed to have ended months ago in a battle to the death between Akame and Esdeath. Najenda was supposed to be the leading figure helping reform the capital's political system after the war while Akame, who was supposed to be more powerful than all of you put together by now, dealt with Deus in a battle that shattered the laws of physics. So to conclude, although similar in nature, our World Lines are indeed different from each other in more ways than one."

Multiverse theory was already difficult enough for most present to even remotely comprehend. Adding timelines or as Akaro called them world lines just made it all more difficult to follow.

"So...what should we do now?" Chelsea questioned once more, her expression now filled with a considerable bit of regret brought upon by the thought of Najenda's fate in the world Akaro described. A world where peace was achieved and the Boss didn't have to die a pointless death.

"For now I want you all to make yourselves at home. As you can see by our new continent map and proper meeting room, I've added quite a few new things to this place. Adena you too, get some rest and keep an eye on Zephy just in case she wakes up. Raizo and I are gonna be out training for the rest of the afternoon."

With those words spoken, Akaro backed away from the rectangular meeting table. The other members of Night Raid nodded in agreement to his orders before backing out of the meeting room themselves. It was clear by now that even with the recent power increases that both Akame and Tatsumi received, they would still be utterly squashed by Rin's group of killers. A few minutes passed before Akame and Chelsea took it upon themselves to explore the new building they would now call their new home. Tatsumi sat on one of the couches in the new area that served as a medical bay of sorts. A few feet away from him, an unconscious Zephyria rested on a bed while snoring somewhat loudly. Adena stood by her bedside with what could be described as a blank expression. The thought of what Rin made Zephy experience made her want to just go out there and make him pay, yet at the same time, the hothead knew that doing so would be a mistake.

Outside of the household, Raizo Arashi found himself following his older brother to the back end of the newly reformed Night Raid Headquarters; the weather had taken a turn for the cold as dark clouds formed on the horizon. The Stormbringer couldn't really tell what the objective of this upcoming training session was other than the obvious need for him to achieve a higher degree of power in a short time or something like that.

Honestly, at this moment, all Raizo could really think about was what life must be like for Akaro and the others. Were borderline-apocalyptic crises like this considered normal daily activities for his otherworldly family? Raizo had an endless amount of burning questions he wanted to ask but there was no time for it right now. These thoughts were soon interrupted as the two brothers came to a halt, arriving at the decently sized open area used for Night Raid's training sessions. Turning to face his younger brother, Akaro smiled before speaking.

"So, ready for a quick field trip little bro?"

"I thought we were going to train," Raizo stated, now somewhat confused.

"We are. Thing is, I can't properly have a practice match with you at full power without killing thousands by accident now can I? We're gonna need an entire dimension all to ourselves," the Red-Eyed Hero spoke ominously, obviously trying to set up a mysterious atmosphere.

"Alright...where are we going then? Shouldn't we tell the others about it?"

"No worries Raichu, we're gonna be back the moment after we leave because time travel is neat."

"Wait wha-woahhhhh!"

Raizo's question would have to be asked another day as the young red-eyed male soon found himself being enveloped by a bright white flash light. Blinking several times fast to regain his sense of sight, the Stormbringer quickly came to the realization that he was no longer home.

Now standing on new and unfamiliar territory, Raizo looked ahead only to see a strange new world. The ground on which he stood was very much black in coloring as statutes of great and powerful figures made out of pure gold formed lines that extended as far as one's eyes could see. The sky was transparent in nature allowing for the visage of what felt like a gorgeous never-ending cosmos that featured a myriad of galaxies of all shapes, sizes, and colors.

"What...is this place?" Raizo asked as he took in such a stunning vista.

"This is the Throne of Heroes and Legends, a part of the Akashic records," a taciturn and cool girl's voice reached the Stormbringer's ears.

Looking to his right, Raizo finally noticed a female standing beside him. Her completely pure amethyst-colored eyes were more than enough to stun Raizo for a moment. She possessed a wondrous beauty that scarcely felt real. Further, her rather large bust and curvaceous body covered by body armor made the young assassin flustered to the point where even uttering a few words became a challenge.

"Wh-Who...are you?" he stammered over his question but finally managed to speak.

"Ruler—at least that's what you'd normally call me—but since you're the little brother of history's strongest heroic spirit I suppose I'll make an exception," the female spoke as she crossed her arms, "The Name is Jeanne d'Arc and don't worry, your brother's gonna be with you in a few moments."

Still stunned by Jeanne's presence, Raizo was left dumbfounded for a few seconds. Regardless of that—Lady d'Arc's quick cameo appearance wouldn't last much longer.

"Take care Arashi Raizo, I hope our fates may cross once more in the future," Jeanne spoke with a quick smile as she seemingly vanished into thin air leaving a trail of blue sparkles behind.

"Jeanne d'Arc huh? Man...I need to hang out around here more often, meet new people while at it..." Raizo mused to himself as his heart finally calmed down. Realizing what he just said, the male clutched his chest and took a deep breath. He tried to make sure he wasn't too caught up in that moment. After all, it wasn't like him.

"Took a friendly liking to Jeanne now didn't ya?"

"Gya!" Raizo jumped forward as Akaro suddenly appeared behind him only to sneakily grab the Crimson Harbinger's shoulders.

"You know her?" Raizo inquired.

"Oh y'know I wasn't always married to Akame, and being the strongest Counter Guardian around got me quite the rep with the ladies around here back in my single days... but that's a collection of stories for another day."

The two brothers continued their discussion for quite a while before moving onwards to another part of the so-called Throne of Heroes to proceed with Raizo's training. Back in the world of mortals, another conversation took place, but this one was of a different kind. Inside Night Raid's new meeting room, Chelsea looked for a former enemy's help.

"You called?" Adena casually spoke as she entered the dimly lit room.

"I wanted to ask you a few questions," Chelsea stated as she placed her hands on the large rectangular table. She looked rather stressed.

"Shoot," Adena's simple reply echoed around the room as the former Jade Dragon Princess leaned back against the closest wall she could find.

"During our confrontation, Rias mentioned something called the Pandora's Box, I was wondering if you have any information on that?" the pink-eyed girl asked with a clear hint of curiosity present in her voice. Of course, she expected a flat-out no, but to her surprise Adena replied.

"Yeah actually...but it's not much."

"Oh?! Then please tell me what you know," Chelsea continued, desperate for any new bits of information.

"Well, long ago in my younger days, someone told me this fairy tale that's supposedly so old it predates all known human civilizations. It goes something along the lines of:

Before the corrupt empire controlled this land, before the reign of our illustrious first emperor came to be—long ago in an age long since forgotten by men, five legends brought together those evils that heaven cannot judge and evils feared by the gods themselves. With their combined might these five divine figures locked away the evils inside a box created to withstand such primordial darkness. These five were then forever remembered by those who henceforth worshipped them as the AKARA—a title that supposedly meant 'Red Kings' in the ancient tongue."

Adena's story hit Chelsea like a truck. At long last, the pieces of this were beginning to fall in place.

"So Rin found the box which contains all evils and now plans to use its powers to change the whole world..." Chelsea thought out loud.

"Yeeep that's one way of putting it. Worry not though; he won't be going anywhere after I put my foot up his ass!" the fiery ginger proclaimed excitedly as she smiled at the thought of making that snake of a man suffer.

"Heh, you sure are quite pumped there."

"Of course! I want payback against that fuckboy," Adena continued with her seemingly never-ending confident remarks. The two females then shared a friendly chuckle. For a moment there, Chelsea even felt relieved of the many weights on her shoulders.

Meanwhile away from that moment of genuine friendship, a primrose-eyed female who identified herself by the name Vesta Arashi watched Night Raid's headquarters from afar. Her presence was hidden by the forest and the fact that she was suppressing her own power. Going in there to join the remnants of Night Raid would probably result in yet another confrontation akin to what happened during the Crimson Annihilation crisis—something Vesta would prefer to avoid.

Even so, she couldn't help but feel the need to explain everything that happened to her and why she was acting like a psychopath and gathering power. Most important of all, she wanted to warn Night Raid about the one who forced her into becoming a disillusioned broken shell of her former self...

"I wish I could come to your doorstep and beg for your help, Raizo. But after everything I did to hurt you... I just can't put you at risk again; doing so would be selfish. Besides, you got a Scarlet Cerberus to slay."

Lost in her own thoughts, Vesta the Crimson Annihilation vanished in the blink of an eye shortly before four lightning bolts of crimson, scarlet, vermilion, and blue colors respectively dropped from the skies above side by side into Night Raid's backyard causing a loud crashing noise. A smoke screen rose up concealing the identities of the four individuals who emerged from the lightning bolts.

Following this, the remnants of Night Raid almost immediately gathered outside; however, this time they had Adena standing alongside them. That said, the group of visitors who had just arrived didn't possess any evil intent towards Night Raid—a fact that became increasingly clear as the smoke screen formed by their dramatic entrance began to clear.

Standing back to back, Akaro and Raizo came into view before two females revealed themselves by walking to the Red-Eyed Hero's left side. One of them looked exactly like Akame but with more developed assets and an overall taller, bustier, and more curvaceous frame. She wore a white imperial uniform akin to the one used by general Esdeath, but unlike the Ice Queen, her uniform revealed a lot more skin. The other female was shorter by comparison; in fact, she was the shortest member of the group of individuals being around 5' 11" in height. This was definitely above average for a woman, but that coupled with her young face and the deadpan look in her crimson-red eyes just made the girl stand out as the least threatening-looking person around. Unlike her comrade, however, she didn't wear a revealing outfit. Instead, the girl wore a dark brown uniform complimented by leather plating and a hooded red cloak that seemed to be made out of a material akin to blood.

Raizo also looked different. The Red-Eyed Stormbringer's hairs now extended slightly further down his neck going as far as almost reaching his shoulders. Instead of the typical attire, he now wore a sleeveless black assassin uniform similar to the one used by Akame but with various layers of plating added for extra protection and a pocketed dark trench coat on top of it. That coat provided additional places to store supplies and valuables. His blade's sheath was now attached to the left of his loose scarlet belt. As for Akaro, he still sported the same look as before.

"I thought you said we would be back the moment after we left," Raizo remarked after noticing the small crowd of Night Raid members surprised at his arrival.

"Yeah looks like you miscalculated our temporal landing zone...eh at least you got the right universe this time, little Raiiichu!" Akaro cheekily commented before gently punching Raizo's shoulder in a friendly manner.

"Whatever! I only had a week to practice anyway," Raizo spouted back.

"That you did," the older of the two brothers spoke before turning to face the girl in the red cloak, "Hey Kimi, is the thing ready?"

"Hum not yet, Jibril-san is still tempering the handle of the thing inside a super massive black hole. She should bring it over to Raizo-chan over here in about three to four hours," Kimiko responded back with her typical neutral tone and seemingly disinterested expression.

"Cool, Cool. Gonna be one hell of a gift."

Raizo wondered what Akaro and Kimiko could possibly be talking about. A gift for whom? He thought to himself. However before any questions could be asked, the red-eyed female in the general attire walked up to Raizo interrupting his inner thoughts.

"Please go ahead and introduce us to your redheaded friend," she spoke in a very calm and soft tone of voice.

"Sure thing ma'am."

"No need to be so formal, Raizo."

"Sorry, Akame," he corrected himself before walking off to introduce his companions to Adena.

"Oi you, who are those two?" the fiery enigma immediately asked full of curiosity as Raizo stopped in front of her. The explanation Raizo gave was quick and to the point; much like the explanations his brother Akaro gave back during their first meeting. At this point in time, going into detail about it all would just be redundant. Luckily enough for the former blood wolf Adena was already more or less used to multiverse theory. One fact that definitely helped her grasp the idea of why there were two Akames around.

"So...big boobs Akame over here is the same person as regular ol' Akame over there but from an alternate universe's future? Well then…" Adena said to herself.

"Yeah I know it's complicated, don't worry you'll get used to it," Kimiko commented as she and the adult Akame walked up to Adena and the other members of Night Raid. Akaro soon joined them as well.

"You're Adena right? I'm Kimiko...Kimiko Hanate," the shorter red-eyed female casually introduced herself. Adena however couldn't really react in any way, her body oddly enough felt cold when in the presence of this girl. It was almost as if the gods that provided her with power had suddenly decided to run and hide. That last name was what really triggered the martial artist into feeling a controllable yet considerable amount of rage.

"Hanate..." she mumbled under her breath.

"Hum something wrong?" Kimiko asked, her facial expression showing a bit of interest.

"Are you by any chance related to Rin Hanate?" Adena inquired as she pulled out her poll weapon and changed to a more battle ready stance. Akame reached for her Murasame's handle fully prepared to cut down the Sapphire Phoenix member who seemed to still nurture murderous intent towards the name of the Hanate family. However before Akame could act, Akaro gently grabbed hold of her hand signifying her to let Kimiko handle the matter.

"Indeed I am related to him. In my world, Rin was my older brother, but that's a story for another book," Kimi responded to Adena's question without paying attention to the fiery redhead as much.

"Well your brother took a lot of important people away from me y'know?" the redhead continued with her fury filled questions.

"So what's your deal? Rin bested you in a fight and now you're throwing the weight of that defeat on anyone who's even remotely related to him? How selfish of you...Adena-san," Kimiko not so subtly remarked, causing the girl in front of her to snap.

Immediately taking a swing at Kimiko with her pole, Adena unleashed a flurry of sequential attacks as Kimi quickly dashed away from her strikes. Quickly breaking through light speed, the two continued their little confrontation for quite a few moments before Adena was finally able to seemingly land a side blow to Kimiko's torso. As she did so, the image of the Kimiko she was chasing after vanished into the wind as if she was never there. Confused on what had happened, Adena turned around only to see her opponent standing a few feet away from her with a bowl full of rice on one hand and chopsticks on the other.

"Sup," Kimiko said with a cheeky smile stamped across her lips, "Sorry, I had to go get my lunch."

"What the fuck was that?" Adena demanded to know.

"Oh you mean the visage of me you were chasing? That was an afterimage all along," Kimi remarked before using her chopsticks to eat up some of the rice on her bowl.

"You seriously didn't know it was that? Wow you're slow," she continued with the casual taunts.

Biting her lower lip, Adena launched herself towards her opponent one more time. This time, however, she engulfed herself with powerful flames of various colors. Her power grew exponentially as she prepared to unload all of her flaming energy directly onto Kimiko. In reality Adena could only really see Rin's figure when she looked at her opponent. Even after being told by Akaro to control herself, something just kept telling her to fight until her life faded away. This voice in her head, this corrupted need for blood and vengeance; it was just not natural to the redhead. Regardless of that, Kimiko still remained as neutral as ever.

Her crimson hues now shined with a bright red radiance. As she suddenly tossed her empty bowl aside keeping only her chopsticks in hand, time itself slowed down to a halt. In that narrow attosecond of time, Kimiko slowly walked all the way to Adena as she performed her charge attack. Ignoring the flames around the redhead, Kimi gently poked Adena's forehead with her chopsticks before she could move and or even properly react. This simple act, which normally wouldn't even remotely hurt, was more than enough to propel Adena spinning backwards causing her limbs to twist and break before the female ultimately ended up blasted with her back against a tree. With her feet and arms now positioned backwards, her bones broken, and her neck twisted, Adena coughed up blood as she whimpered in pain.

Kimiko soon appeared in front of her after a dramatic slow walk. The damage dealt to Adena by Kimi was different from any other wounds. Normally Adena would've been able to easily shrug off anything that generates heat or healed from any injuries even returning from the dead if need be. These wounds, however, were inflicted not only upon Adena's flesh but also on all analogues of reality linked to the existence of the being known as 'Adena'. In other words, Kimiko inflicted damage upon the very 'concept' of Adena's life.

"You...You're going to kill me?" Adena questioned using up whatever remained of her strength.

"Kill you? No, No, No, if I wanted to do that I would've just blinked you out of existence with my Eye of Fiction or made you into bloody chunks with one of my other abilities. Right now, I'm actually trying to help you."

"Wait what?"

"That's right," Kimiko remarked as she moved the lower end of her red cloak aside revealing a sheath with a katana in it. Removing it carefully, Kimi brought it down to Adena's neck.

"No wait!"

"Just keep quiet," she said before driving her blade into Adena's throat.

Surprisingly enough for everyone, there was no blood. Instead, the blade phased right through Adena's flesh. Cutting right through the concept of the wounds on Adena's body, Kimiko reversed the damage done to the female while also saving her from the source of her vengeful thoughts. Black flames began escaping Adena's gaping mouth as she awkwardly stood up the moment her limbs and neck snapped back into place.

"RAHHHH-GAHHH!" she shouted in pain as the stream of black flames exiting her mouth formed the image of a dark phoenix before vanishing into nothingness. Dropping to her knees once more, Adena began breathing heavily as the pain she once felt faded away while her body was back in one piece. The need for revenge against Rin and the violent thoughts she once had was but a distant dream.

"Were those...Rin's flames?" Adena asked, her expression now stuck somewhere between relief and confusion.

"Yes, those were my brother's illusive flames, I suppose."

"So that's why he did it...he said the only way of me saving Zephy was by absorbing the flames of his illusion first."

"He most likely assumed that you would be far too busy saving your friend to even notice the long-term effects of his illusive dark flames. Of course, he probably didn't intend to outright kill you, only cause you to gradually go mad," Kimiko spoke as a cool gust of wind passed by her, causing the female's dark brown, almost raven-colored hair to dance gracefully in the wind.

Her expression didn't carry any form of ill intent and she wasn't much of a jokester; Kimiko merely looked down upon Adena like a ruthless yet merciful figure. Neither truly a heroine nor a villainous figure, Kimi didn't carry any rules in regards to violence. If she had to hurt someone to save said person, she would do it without as much as a passing thought. Adena now knew this, and it all just made her feel overwhelmed by what felt to her like a tough mother's love.

Turning to walk away, Kimiko's back looked like that of a giant in Adena's eyes. She was so far beyond anyone Adena had ever fought before...no, saying it was even a fight to begin with would be far too generous. Kimi was merely toying around with someone who must've looked like an angry child to her. Yet somehow despite being so ruthless and merciless, this girl was wholeheartedly selfless. As the fire-wielding killer known as Adena watched this godlike figure simply walk away with the sun shining down on her back, she couldn't help but smile.

Finally seeing Kimiko standing with Raizo, Akaro, and the adult Akame, something changed within Adena. For a moment there she actually felt like she had something to strive towards—a family she now wanted to be with.

Night eventually came after another long meeting between the remnants of Night Raid and Raizo's otherworldly family. Upon hearing the fairy tale of the Red Kings, or AKARA as they were called, a consensus was reached after plenty of talking. Chelsea, Akame, Leone, and Tatsumi would stay behind to watch over Zephyria while she recovered. Meanwhile, Akaro, Kimiko, Adena, Raizo, and the other Akame would seek out Rin's group—the Scarlet Cerberus—and stop them from causing another apocalyptic crisis. However, Raizo still had one thing left to do before leaving.

Now sitting on the porch located at the back of the Night Raid headquarters, Raizo and Kimiko waited for the arrival of a certain archangel. As always, Kimiko kept herself calm and silent as she sat there beside the Red-Eyed Stormbringer. Even after having survived one too many crises alongside this female, Raizo was still no more knowledgeable about her past than the day they first met. He wanted to ask her a lot of questions, such as: What happened to the Rin Hanate of her world? How was she able to defeat Adena so effortlessly? At the same time, he also felt like such questions would somehow be pointless in the end.

"You look lost in thought, Raizo," Kimi spoke, finally breaking her silence.

"Yeah...it's just that I feel we haven't had the chance to chat all that much since the Godspeed crisis. Even then we exchanged a few words."

"Oh I dunno about that, we've talked on occasion," the red-eyed girl said, still acting somewhat distant.

"We have?" Raizo asked with a perplexed expression.

"Well, I have been experiencing these odd dreams lately...dreams about the past, others about the future, and some about people close to me. I still remember the dream I had about you fighting against a legion of Danger Beasts in a place called the 'Nightmare Forest' or something."

"A dream?" Raizo's heartbeats suddenly began slowing down as sweat unexpectedly started pouring down his forehead. He never told Kimiko anything about said events, not even during his training in the Throne of Heroes. How could she know? Turning her head to achieve eye contact with the Stormbringer, Kimiko let out a soft smile.

"I don't really know if it was real or not since it was such a vivid watching experience. It was as if I had become some sort of disembodied presence who merely watched the unfolding events from afar. My eyes could see the unseen lines that mold and connect all of creation. In my dream I could see the spiral of origin; this spiral was the primordial beginning of all things in this reality. All things passed through the great wheel, their natures and their histories—past, present, and future—were connected to it. It was thus a vast and empty place. It reflected what I am, in a way. I am connected to it, and I am a part of it as well. I am it, which is why the greatest feats that powerful warriors can only dream of were allowed to me. In that disembodied form, I could change the very structure of elementary particles. I could transmute evolution itself, changing everything into something wholly different. All creation danced to the tune of my eyes and the melody of my will. I could bend the rules of this lie of a reality, this prison that keeps so many minds to sleep. I could break it as easily as a twig. I could remake this existence. I could unmake it. I could make a new one...but even though I had all that knowledge and power while in that dream, I didn't feel any need of changing the world or even destroying it. All I felt in that moment was the pride a mother would feel when her child finally grows up."

"..."

A faint blue glow of a powerful, pure, and divine energy suddenly flashed across Kimiko's crimson irises as she recalled said dream. By now Raizo felt sweat running down his body and tears were forming in his eyes.

"Kimi...did you by any chance say something to me during that dream?" the Stormbringer questioned as he awkwardly reached out to Kimiko and placed his hands on her shoulders as the two looked into each other's eyes.

"Now that you mentioned it, I do remember saying something like: I'm proud of you. Don't lose sight of yourself. I am always watching over you," the female spoke with that same nurturing and motherly voice Raizo heard that night in that godforsaken forest causing the boy to burst into tears.

"Hey...it's alright," Kimiko remarked before lending her shoulder for Raizo to cry on. Gusts of wind cut through the night as the man renowned as the Crimson Harbinger of Death let out the weight of his feelings onto his sister's shoulders. All she did was share a few words and hug Raizo with her small arms, but for him, she had done so much more than that.

It may have been just a dream to her but to Raizo; having such a heartwarming presence always watching over him like a guardian angel was just something he never expected to have.

"Why do you care about me so much, Kimi? All I do is get those who stand with me killed. I'm a failure...I don't deserve someone as kind as you watching over me in your dreams..."

"You're wrong Raizo. All this time you've denied it and covered yourself with blood in order to maintain yourself immersed in lies, but in the end, you're still a good person. You're a hero... a hero who helped save this world and all who live in it from two apocalyptic crises. That's more than twelve billion people in total. You also saved Chelsea from an early death at Kurome's hands and Night Raid itself from meeting its end in the fight against Esdeath and Budou. Sure you've made some mistakes along the way, but so did we."

"Kimi..."

"Raizo Arashi, you're my little baby brother-in-arms and I love you. But it's time you stop beating yourself over all your little mistakes. It's also time you quit lying to yourself... you're neither a traitor nor a failure to anyone."

Removing the crying wolf from her shoulder, Kimi brought his head down a bit and softly kissed him on the forehead.

"Now stand up little Raizo... be the Crimson Hero I know you can be," she whispered in his ear before gently letting go of her brother. Standing back up while wiping his tears away, Raizo now looked more filled with happiness than ever before.

"I...I promise to make you proud, Kimi," the Stormbringer spoke confidently with a renewed resolve. It was at that moment that an angelic figure appeared beneath the moonlight. Looking up at the sky, Raizo saw a curvaceous female form barely covered by a revealing armor. Her large white wings were beautiful to look at, and her long purple hair was just as stunning. In her hands she carried a sword wrapped in a dark red cloth—something Raizo now identified as the gift Akaro mentioned a few hours back. Launching the blade towards the ground like a meteor, the delivery angel made sure Raizo's new toy landed right in front of him.

As the dark red cloth fell off the blade, Raizo caught glimpse of the sword's handle which was made of ebony, skeletal-like material with no form of cross guards leading up to the blade. The blade was made out of a very strange material similar to obsidian, only far more sharpened and deadly. Its form was also fairly uncommon as it was curved like a katana but also possessed various intricate details and symbols along its extension. The former blood wolf didn't really see how such a misconstrued, odd weapon could actually be used in actual combat, but nonetheless, he could feel the immeasurably powerful aura emanating from the blade. Grabbing hold of the sword's handle, Raizo closed his eyes. Reflecting on everything he had gone through, he smiled.

"Thank you for everything. Having the opportunity to call you guys 'my family' is my greatest blessing," Raizo spoke as he removed the blade from the ground.

A war between Raizo's family and Rin Hanate's group of killers would soon erupt and shake the very foundation of this world. However, the Red-Eyed Stormbringer was no longer filled with doubt. He now looked forward without second-guessing himself. It was now time to break his own fall...it was time to find his way back to who he was before the shadow fell.

"Now...let's keep on walking evermore onwards, let us face the Crimson Reckoning that awaits us in battle."