[A/N : Warning, This chapter contains graphic descriptions of gore and violence, staying true to the brutal nature of Akame ga Kill.
Reader discretion is advised, and I urge those who may feel uncomfortable with such content to skip this chapter or proceed with caution. As always, the story aims to depict the harsh realities of this world, but I understand it may not be for everyone. Please read only if you're okay with it. Thank you for your understanding and support!]
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The auburn-haired woman tilted her head further, her unnervingly serene smile widening as her amber eyes studied Bane with an unsettling calm.
The dim light cast long shadows across her face, intensifying the eeriness of her expression.
Bane, still bound and bleeding from his thorn-lined restraints, maintained his composure as his aquamarine eyes met hers, calm despite the overwhelming pain surging through his body.
But the stillness shattered in an instant.
THUD!
Her boot slammed into his stomach with brutal force, driving the air from his lungs and slamming him backward into the damp, grimy wall.
"Gah!" Pain erupted through his abdomen, and he gasped, his muscles spasming as his body struggled to process the sudden impact.
"You dare ask me questions, you ugly disgusting criminal scum," she hissed, her voice dripping with venom.
Bane coughed, his blood splattering onto the floor as he writhed against his restraints.
'…so, the bitch is sadistic, bipolar and has a serious mental disorder,' he thought with a wince, trying to ignore the pain. 'Should be easier to provoke.'
Before he could recover, she reached down, gripping his hand tightly on her own.
Without hesitation, she drew a blood-stained knife from her belt and brought it down in one swift motion.
*SLICE!*
The blade severed his fingers.
Bane grunted in pain as blood poured from his mutilated hand, pooling in dark red streaks on the filthy floor.
His body trembled uncontrollably, and his breathing became shallow and ragged, yet he clenched his jaw, suppressing his agony.
His regeneration, pushed to its limit, had finally stopped working. Even the basic blood clotting that might have stemmed the flow of blood was failing.
His breathing came in shallow, ragged gasps as he looked up at her, his face pale.
"You think you have the right to ask?" she spat, her calm demeanour cracking to reveal a twisted fury. "Filth like you doesn't deserve to know their fate."
She leaned in closer, her amber eyes boring into his, her smile returning but now edged with malice. "Do you know what you do deserve, though?"
Bane didn't respond. He couldn't muster the strength to speak, and even if he could, he wouldn't give this bitch her so-called twisted pleasure in the name of justice that she desired to gain by torturing him.
And even if she did torture him, it was alright, as long he gets an opportunity to reverse his situation.
If he survived his current ordeal, any damages on his body will be recovered after a week's rest either way.
The woman's smile stretched wider, her blade now pressed against Bane's thigh.
THUNK!
The knife sank into his leg, and a fresh wave of searing pain radiated through his body.
Bane winced but bore it through gritted teeth, his aquamarine eyes still locked on hers as he analysed her.
'Not many weapons either,' he noted, mentally cataloguing her. 'She's relying on her biological teigu. No visible backup…or she is hiding it, the latter has higher chances.'
Without missing a beat, Seryu yanked him forward by the neck, her grip tight enough to crush most normal men's throats.
'Physically strong… maybe strength enhancers, or some biological modification, I can't sense any warmth either. It is just like Najenda's mechanical arm. I have to pay extra attention to this.' Bane, while battered and bleeding, held steady, his thoughts continuing even as she dragged him.
Finally, she shoved him down to his knees, his body splashing into the muddy filth of the sewer floor. She yanked his head upward, forcing him to look down the dimly lit tunnel.
"Take a good look," she said, her voice carrying an unnerving cheerfulness.
Bane's vision swam as he struggled to focus, but the scene at the far end of the sewer gradually came into view.
Hanging from the ceiling by thick steel chains was the limp, inverted figure of a woman.
She was completely naked and covered in blood and mud, her battered and bruised body riddled with signs of prolonged torture.
Her muddy purple hair, matted with dirt and blood, had been partially burned away, leaving patches of charred scalp.
Her spectacles weren't around her face as her face bore a deep, jagged slash that crossed from her forehead to her cheek, blood steadily dripping from the wound and pooling on the floor below her.
Her arm was a bloody stump, the wound crudely cauterised to prevent her from bleeding out. Her torso bore burns and bruises, the most horrific of which was a branding mark seared into her side, still raw and oozing.
She hung utterly still, her lifeless eyes staring blankly into the void.
Bane couldn't determine if she was alive or dead.
'No,..she is still alive.' He mentally corrected himself.
His pale blue eyes remained eerily calm, betraying no emotion, though his mind churned beneath the surface, processing the grotesque scene before him.
A few metres away, chained to the damp, icy wall in a similarly horrific manner, was another figure.
The young man was slumped, his head hanging low.
His arms were stretched out, bound by thick steel chains affixed to the walls, keeping him upright in an agonising posture.
The young man's naked torso was a horrifying patchwork of injuries.
Deep red welts criss crossed his ribs, burns marred his flesh, and jagged cuts ran along his abdomen. His legs trembled, barely holding him upright.
But what truly caught Bane's attention was the blood trickling down his chin. The unnatural shape of his jaw made it clear something had been done to him.
'Tatsumi.' It didn't take Bane long to recognize him.
Tatsumi's youthful face was almost unrecognisable. It was swollen and bruised, his lips cracked, and blood smeared across his cheeks.
"I had to punish him," Seryu's voice chimed in, cheerful and casual, as if discussing mundane chores.
She leaned closer to Bane, a smile playing across her face, her tone taking on jovial. "He wouldn't stop screaming when I cut off that pink-haired whore's head. It was so annoying! So, I fixed him."
She grinned, as though recounting a fond memory. "Justice demands silence when the guilty are punished. Don't you agree?"
Bane's eyes flickered to her briefly, but he said nothing. His gaze returned to Tatsumi, observing the cruel precision with which he had been tortured.
'...Both of them are still alive, though I am not sure about their mental condition.' Bane thought with rationality.
These injuries weren't random. They were calculated to keep him alive, ensuring that every ounce of agony was prolonged without granting a merciful end.
Seryu stepped in front of Bane, twirling Mine's severed head by her blood-matted hair like a grotesque toy. Her amber eyes sparkled with sadistic delight as she continued.
"They were so weak," she said, her voice almost pitying. "Just like you." She sneered.
She gestured toward the hulking beast crouched nearby, gnawing on something. "Once they were defeated, I knew I had to give them the proper punishment."
She let out a soft laugh, shaking her head. "First, I started with the purple-haired bitch. She had this blank, dumb look, like she didn't even understand why justice was being served to her."
Her smile faltered for a moment, a flicker of annoyance crossing her face. "But when I was dutifully doing my job, that pink haired whore cursed me. So I had to change my target."
Her expression shifted to a wicked grin. "But oh, she was a fiery little thing, that one. She spat on me! Can you believe it? Cursed me, spat right in my face! Me Seryu ubiquitous."
Seryu's eyes gleamed with dark excitement. "I was going to wait and finish with her, but that just made me so angry. So, I gave her the justice she deserved. I cut into her, piece by piece, as she screamed for her pathetic life. And when she finally stopped moving, I took this," she lifted Mine's head with a sickening flourish, "and sawed it off myself."
Bane remained silent, his gaze turning back to the gruesome tableau before him.
'She probably defeated them by using Sheele as bait hostage,' he guessed, a reasonable probability.
In front of Tatsumi, a massive, dog-like creature crouched low, its dark fur slick with blood. Its muscular frame rippled as it tore into a mangled, human-like figure sprawled on the ground.
'Based on the information in Najenda's diary, biological Teigu possesses diverse and numerous abilities, yet they share three fundamental characteristics: remarkable durability, strength, and regeneration. As a result, their destruction requires the obliteration of their core, though I can't do that in my current situation.' Bane recalled information about the biological teigu.
The beast's sharp teeth crunched through bone with sickening ease, ripping flesh apart in chunks.
Bane's eyes followed the remains of the tattered, pink fabric still clinging to the body, enough to confirm the obvious truth.
'Justice she says, bitch is feeding her dog a human's corpse.' Bane sneered in his mind at the madwoman's hypocrisy.
The hulking beast growled softly as it continued its gruesome feast. Blood pooled beneath its massive paws, spreading across the floor, mixing with the filth of the sewer.
It took only a moment for Bane to notice the tattered remnants of pink clothing clinging to the corpse.
The fanged creature tore through what remained of her body, her limbs already reduced to shredded masses of meat. It let out a low, guttural growl, unbothered by the presence of the young woman or Bane's gaze.
The sight was horrifying, but Bane's face remained stoic.
"Sheele, Tatsumi and Mine, in which the last one is dead,' he thought.
Three Night Raiders all captured, tortured, and desecrated.