Kill the Rival

Year: 1024

After a long night spent with Leone, Raizo awoke the next day ready to begin training. There were only two and a half weeks left until the anticipated battle with the Jaegers. He had to make sure he was in tip-top shape for it in case the one he was seeking to kill was there as well. When he got up and stretched, he noticed that the busty blonde who shared his bed had already left. He didn't want to focus on the matter too much as it would distract him from his training so he finished his morning stretches quickly. Slipping on his trademark black and red haori along with his black pants and boots, he grabbed his armaments and headed out of his tent to join in the training.

Outside, the sun was peaking over the mountains just barely and he could hear various noises of grunts and groans as a result of intense workouts or training. He saw Najenda standing near the river bank looking out to see her soldiers preparing for the war.

"Morning Boss, what's everyone doing?" he asked her as he approached in an unusually friendly tone which even caught him off guard in his head.

"Good morning, Raizo. As you can see, everyone has already started their particular training regimen," she said waving her arm out over the valley. Over by the waterfall where Raizo had spent most of his time yesterday, he could see one of the newest members of the team standing there. His name was Susanoo and he was standing at the base of the waterfall with his huge double polearm weapon. He twirled it in his hand and sent a shockwave of energy spiraling up the tower of water. A large boulder broke off from the top which threatened to flatten the organism-type teigu as it descended rapidly. In that instant, Susanoo struck the massive object with his weapon thus shattering it to pieces.

"Damn, that's pretty impressive," Raizo raised an eyebrow observing the male's actions. Najenda smirked and nodded.

"Indeed, he truly is an impressive specimen."

Looking around, he saw the others training as well. Yuki was aiming at targets on the other side of the river, shooting her bow and practicing her long-distance skills with Mein. Of course, Mein wasn't impressed because she knew she could do the same but she appeared to be giving the newest girl props for shooting a target from so far away with a mere bow.

The leaves were making wait too much noise for it to be caused by the wind. Raizo drew his blades slowly only to sheath them again and put himself at ease as he saw Lubbock dashing around using his Cross Tail teigu manipulating how the trees were reacting against the wind. He saw the emerald joker jump from branch to branch before pulling all of his metallic wire at once slicing all of the leaves to dust and balding about 9 trees at once. Raizo nodded in approval over his technique as well as he had never really seen Lubbock in action before.

At the top of a small plateau, he saw the red-eyed killer, Akame, training by herself. It made sense that she was by herself training considering how anyone cut by her blade would die instantly. She was performing a series of swift combos turning effortlessly on her heels seamlessly connecting her strikes one after another. He looked for Chelsea, Tatsumi, and Leone but he couldn't find them. Najenda saw his distraught reaction and smiled seeing that he was slowly becoming concerned for others.

"The rest of the team is over in the next valley preying on some Danger Beasts if you want to join. It might be some good training for you too," the commander suggested. Shaking his head in compliance, Raizo dashed off to where Najenda directed him.

Moments later, he arrived at the valley. Down below, he saw a tribe of reptilian creatures. They were all at least three meters tall, had blue skin with purple stripes along the back, red eyes, and razor-sharp teeth and claws. They had an appearance like monsters from the stone-age and there was a pack of at least 20 of them. He observed the vast landscape and spotted a gleaming silver and white armored man hacking down creatures with a large red arrowhead spear along with a busty blonde with the appearance of a lion ripping the beasts to shreds. He smirked knowing that it was Tatsumi and Leone teaming up to fight against the beasts. Chelsea was safely on top of a small cliff observing the carnage sucking on her lollipop—an annoying trademark of hers. Raizo strolled up to the lazy ginger.

"So is this your training plan?" he asked.

"I am training Raizo, I'm just doing it differently," she replied in a flirtatious tone.

"Is that so?"

"Sometimes the best weapon isn't a blade, but rather the ability to observe and pass along information. That's what I do best."

"And what information can you possibly get from this?"

"Well if you know these kinds of beasts, you'll know that they keep coming in waves unless the alpha is taken out. That's what I'm doing, looking for the alpha so I can tell Tatsumi and Leone."

"I see. Well, I hope you don't mind if I join in?"

"Be my guest," she spoke casually before winking at the youth. Raizo's heart skipped a beat when that occurred before he walked away. The young assassin dismissed these strange feelings that Chelsea's casual flirtatious nature invoked in him for now and drew his twin sickles from his back. He swiftly jumped down, descending rapidly before he landed behind Leone and Tatsumi.

"Yo," he greeted bluntly while they were posed for another assault. They were breathing pretty heavily suggesting that they were fighting for quite some time.

"About time you showed up, Raizo! I hope you weren't too worn out from last night~" Leone winked at her new boy toy. In response, the blood wolf turned a bit and scratched his face.

"Let's not go there right now, okay?" he dismissed her advance.

"Sounds like you two have got something going on. That's nice and all, but how about helping us take these guys down a notch or two?" Tatsumi commented in a muffled tone underneath the Incursio armor.

"Easy enough, why don't you two take a break then? I need a good warm-up," he said cracking his neck.

"Have at it then," Leone responded standing upright to relax. The large creatures watched with intense bloodlust as Raizo stepped forward. A shimmer of determination radiated from the assassin's dark crimson eyes. He grinned sinisterly as he slowly charged forward. The beasts all rallied together as a pack and let out various growls and screeches as they eyed a perfect target for a meal.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!" Raizo roared as he burst forward with great speed. He began spinning his scythes behind him as he rushed the fanged creatures. They rushed him as well seeking to rip his flesh from his body. As he collided with the first one, he swung his right blade in a whiplashing motion cutting off the beast's legs from under it sending him sliding into the ground. The clumsy comrades didn't think of running around and tripped over their paralyzed frontman. Raizo jumped off the ground toward the wave of beasts swinging his blades in a whirling full-circle motion slashing at the throats of the monsters one after the other in the form of a blade cyclone. They dropped one by one.

There were only 10 more but as long as the alpha remained, the beasts would continue to come. Raizo took a guarded stance as the remaining monsters encircled him. He waited for the first one to make a move before taking action. One grew a pair and attacked from his left. He waited until it got close before backflipping out of the way and launching the chained blade into its neck to pick himself off the ground once more. He wound up on the back of the injured creature which had been moving still despite its grievous wound.

"You're a tough son of a bitch, but you'll die here," he stated boldly as he sliced the back of the beast's neck. The collapsing body hit the ground sliding towards the right side of the circle. Raizo maintained his position surfing on the dead reptile before jumping to take out the creatures on the right. The circular formation then converged on his position thinking they could overwhelm him with numbers; however, they were sadly mistaken.

He quickly gathered his weapons back into his hands and fused the blades into a giant scythe. Using both hands, he spun it around his back and jumped in the air. As he descended, he saw that the beasts had their jaws gaped upon as if a fresh meal was falling from the heavens above but little did they know, they would never have the chance for a final meal. Swinging his blade in a rapid arcing motion, he began cleaving the dinosaurs piece by piece as rivers of blood saturated the green pastures. His comrades were watching from afar.

"Wow, he's got some serious skill right sis?" Tatsumi commented looking toward Leone.

"Yeah, I mean having a chance to watch him fight is something out of this world," the enigmatic blonde agreed. Chelsea dropped in from her perch on the plateau.

"Looks like he will take out the pack before any more of them show up. The alpha is getting scared so he might just run off," the pop-sucking assassin added.

"Damn, I never heard of an alpha running away before," Leone said, sounding impressed.

"Well, looks like we will have to find more targets for our training," Tatsumi sighed.

"We can spar if you want, we haven't had that chance yet Tatsumi," Leone said nudging her armored friend.

"Um, I don't think I want to sis."

In the meantime, Raizo had killed the last of the pack and had set his sights on the alpha male hiding behind the rocks. He dragged his large hooked weapon to the ground advancing on the monster's location. He stared it straight into its yellow eyes, the main feature that distinguished it from the others aside from strange-looking feathers at the top of its head.

"You're the last one!" the heterochromia-haired male proclaimed. He showed no fear toward the alpha that he knew would be tougher than the rest. But why should he have fear? He just killed the entire pack with no problems.

The creature suddenly lunged out from its hiding perch straight toward Raizo, anger flooding its eyes. It could easily call for more beasts to show up but unlike its nature, it specifically targeted the lone assassin. He held his large jaw open, razor-sharp fangs oozing toxic-looking saliva coming from its death trap advancing rapidly toward the lad and going to take a chomp out of him. The male swiftly jumped into the air and threw his scythe toward the creature like a boomerang attached to a long chain. The blade struck but merely scratched the skin only slightly, not even drawing blood.

"This one has some sort of armor," Raizo thought observing how the strike landed. He pulled the sickle back to his hands and used the momentum of its retrieval to double back toward a safe location on the ground.

"Come on, you have to have more than that to offer," Raizo stated boldly challenging the monster. The creature then let out an eardrum-shattering howl that shook the area.

"What the hell!" Tatsumi yelled. Chelsea and Leone also felt the effects and clutched their ears collapsing to the ground. Raizo fell to the ground paralyzed by the roar. As the alpha male saw this, he went silent and advanced in his position. Far off by the river, the other members of Night Raid heard the loud cry and dropped what they were doing to converge on the location. Moments later, they all arrived checking out the scene.

"What is going on here?" Najenda asked concerned as she, Akame, and Susanoo crouched down to check on Leone, Tatsumi, and Chelsea.

"We were training by fighting a pack of raptor Danger Beasts when Raizo showed up. He decided to give it a go and tore through them all but now he is fighting the alpha and the beast just let out that cry. We have no idea what it is going to do," Tatsumi explained.

"Damn it Raizo, you're always getting into situations with unpredictable outcomes," spat Yuki. The longtime associate of the male in question sighed heavily. She then generated an energy arrow that she readied onto her bow before aiming at the rampaging beast.

"What are you doing?" Mein asked in her usual criticizing tone. "You've got skills with a bow I won't deny that, but that doesn't mean you will be able to take that monster out in a single shot.

"Wrong. My teigu—Resplendent Will—can grant almost any wish that I invoke through its arrows so long as I hit the target and provided that the desire channeled through the arrow using my Life Force is strong enough. I can take this thing down no problem," Yuki declared. Raizo, who stepped back for a second, saw the group ready to take arms. He took a deep breath to calm himself before calling out.

"Stay back!" he yelled, "I can handle this!" He casually stood up using his massive hooked blade to steady himself. The creature towered over him as the acidic material oozed from his mouth while he shook his tail back and forth.

"You dummy! You were stunned by that scream we all just heard!" Mein cursed as she watched him stand up mistaking his slow rise for an injury

"Stop acting like a tough guy and let us help you!" Yuki cried out pleading for him to move aside.

"Raizo, you can't die in training. Pull back, that's an order!" Najenda shouted to him. Instead, Raizo wiped the dirt and a bit of his blood off his chin.

"Don't insult me. I almost died fighting Aquilo back in that damn arena and I made the mistake of thinking I'd be satisfied with dying a meaningless death so long as there was a speck of honor in it, but that's not true. I was a fool. I need to live through to the end so that I can prove that the Blood Wolves' legacy had meaning in this world. The strong may indeed prey upon the weak… but that does not mean that the fallen have no value. I will show this beast and the world what it means to be a Blood Wolf!"

Raizo's words echoed out with enough force to match the beast's roar. It seemed that at the end of the day Akaro's words had reforged the youth's fundamental views of his role in all of this. Alas, Round 2 with the alpha beast began as it swung its tail in a sweeping motion. Raizo jumped at the last possible second just narrowly missing the serpent's muscle. He then rotated his blade around him and cut half of it off causing the beast to writhe in agony.

As the youth landed on the ground, he doubled back and took a guarding stance. The monster charged him instantly, not giving him a chance to escape. The jaws of the beast opened but Raizo guarded himself against it, holding it off with his scythe. The acidic material leaked, sizzling away his clothes. He tried to hold it off but the monster pulled its head back with Raizo's weapon and tossed it aside. Raizo immediately went to draw his swords on instinct, but that was when he remembered that he left them back at his tent leaving him unarmed before a terrifying monster.

"Heh, well this is an interesting turn of events," he chuckled. He eyed his sickle which had stuck itself in the ground behind the beast. Peering around the monster, he searched for a way around but this thing had incredible speed. Suddenly, he felt his heart pound heavily in his chest like someone dropped a weight on it. Then there was a warm, surging sensation of power welling up within him. He breathed heavily trying to understand what was going on. His body began to feel like it was burning as his back glowed.

"Indra?" He asked himself. Training his gaze to the sky, he didn't see it get dark at all but something was happening with his Teigu. The alpha male stopped advancing on him feeling a presence of power.

"Looks like he is finally using his Teigu," Leone commented as she saw the glow from afar.

Loud noises filled the air again sounding like something was splitting the area around them. Raizo's hands began to glow and generate electricity; its voltage was blue. His crimson irises had a glowing blue spiral within them as the power continued to build more and more concentrating in his empty hands.

"Well then… this feels different," he surmised. Smirking sinisterly at the beast, he kicked off the ground and delivered a swift uppercut to the jaw of the monster pounding a shock through its body. He used his other hand and hooked him from the left sending the beast into the ground sliding. The assassin ran after him with a trail of arcing bolts. Catching up to the wounded beast, he leaped in the air again lifting his arms into the sky before clasping them together and then dropping the heavy fist onto the beast's skull. The monster exploded upon impact and its blood showered the area.

The energy around Raizo dispersed as the youth reclaimed his weapon and rejoined his comrades.

"Dude! That was awesome!" Lubbock exclaimed in amazement.

"How the hell did you do that?" Tatsumi asked in astonishment.

"Impressive indeed. It seems that whatever lessons you've learned from your last few battles have made you far stronger here and now. You might rival that foolish Silver Fox now. It's a shame that you obliterated the beast though. The meat could have made for a great meal," Akame sighed with a mixture of pride for her young pupil and sadness at the loss of potential food.

"Really Akame? Is that all you can think about?" Mein shook her head in dissatisfaction.

"It seems like your Teigu is evolving Raizo. Talk about perfect timing too," Najenda commented as Susanoo nodded in agreement. Meanwhile, Chelsea only smiled as she eyed the youth's blood-soaked muscular form up and down. One may even say she was checking him out.

"Yeah, looks like you didn't need me after all…" Yuki added sounding slightly disappointed but at ease.

"Why don't we end training here for today and get some food in our systems?" the leader of Night Raid asked. Everyone nodded all at once in agreement. Most of the group walked ahead as Najenda pulled Chelsea and Yuki to the side.

"Chelsea, make sure to send our raider friends are ready to make their move and leak information to the capital that Night Raid will be heading west. Yuki, you prepare a letter of information stating that we will be heading east. Be sure to get them out using two different ravens by the time dinner is ready. The sooner the Jaegers hear this, the more believable it will seem."

"Yes ma'am," the girls responded.

As they marched together back to their makeshift camp, they would bond together more as a group of assassins who would be training day in and day out to improve their skills for the next few weeks before ultimately confronting the Jaegers. However, little did Night Raid know, one of their members wasn't as they seemed.

***

THE NEXT DAY

It was a hot afternoon in the Valley of Ruin. Night Raid had chosen this location to set their ambush for the Jaegers due to their falsified information. If all went according to plan, Esdeath and half the team should have traveled southeast while the others would have come here. The sun was blistering overhead, scorching the area with intense heat. The wind blew light carrying the dust and tumbleweed from the barren wasteland below. Before entering the domain, there was a small forest nearby and that is where the league of assassins waited for their prey. Their hearts pounded with anticipation. This would be the first decisive counterstrike against the elites of the empire since the time before Raizo arrived.

They waited and waited for the enemy to come. Their anticipation built more and more but they had to keep calm for being in this life meant one had to have a great deal of patience. It was at that moment that four figures come walking into the valley.

"That's Wave, Kurome, Bols and I don't know who that other guy is," Tatsumi whispered to the team. Each of them nodded in confirmation.

"You said Wave was the one who had the armor like Incursio, right?" Najenda asked the boy to make sure.

"Yeah Boss, that's right."

"Alright then, Susanoo, you know what you do," she ordered the Biological Teigu. The horned man nodded and grabbed his weapon jumping down on the enemy in surprise.

"Night Raid!" Wave yelled trying to draw his blade but Susanoo took his polearm and sent the youth flying away from the battlefield in one swift hit. He soared through the skies like an eagle easily traveling about 50 to 100 kilometers away. The other Jaegers took up arms and tried to move into position for a counterattack, however, Night Raid had taken advantage of the area and routed them to the midst of the valley below.

"Now then, let's get this party started," Leone smirked cracking her knuckles. The group was divided up accordingly: Akame took up arms against her sister, Kurome in the middle of the field backed up by Najenda and Susanoo. Leone kept her focus on Bols while Mein, Chelsea, and Lubbock stayed hidden in the woods. Tatsumi was in the middle of both Leone and Akame's positions ready to back them up as needed while Yuki and Raizo confronted the cloaked figure. The setup was matched like a chess game with Night Raid having the overwhelming advantage. At least…it seemed that way.

"It's been so long dear sister, how I've waited to see your face again," Kurome smiled deviously as she drew her blade. Akame merely stared at her with dead eyes remembering a vow she made to herself that she would kill her sister someday.

"Hey sis, why don't we play like we used to? I want to show you just how much I've missed you! Come on sis! Play with me!" her voice echoed becoming tinted with a psychotic atmosphere. Akame drew her teigu, Murasame, as her sister held her sword, the Yatsufusa in her hands.

"I made a vow to end your suffering once and for all, Kurome. Today, I fulfill it by taking your life!" declared Akame as she took a guarded position ready to fight her sibling. Kurome began to laugh maniacally flicking her sword with her left hand.

"Dear sister, I just want to spend time with you for the rest of our lives! Become a part of my collection, I beg you!" she pleads. Suddenly she swings her sword with her left hand, a sign of desperation in her eyes.

"I will not let anyone get in our way, so allow me to give you all playmates! March of the Dead—YATSUFUSA!" she yells out. It was at that moment that a bunch of undead beings came forth from the ground ready to fight the group of assassins. There were 7 beings including a giant skeletal danger beast that nearly occupied the entire valley. The giant had razor-sharp fangs and oozed a poisonous-looking miasma that could melt away anything it touched. The other 6 warriors were modified humans with the exception of one being a strange gorilla beast.

"You can't be serious," Najenda said looking at one of the undead soldiers that she had recognized.

"So she got a hold of one of my old comrades," she sighed in a sorrowful tone clenching her fist but she knew that regardless of her feelings, she would have to take him down. He was dead already so she had to regard him as nothing more than a puppet. Just a short distance away, Akame experienced the same feeling as she recognized one of the puppets as one of the people she grew up with alongside Kurome.

"I can't believe you did this to these people," scolded Akame in a disapproving tone.

"Dearest sister, I simply did not want to lose my special friends now why don't you join my collection!" she yelled as all the creatures began to attack. From having an overwhelming advantage to facing slightly greater odds, the battle between Night Raid and the Jaegers began.

To the west, Esdeath, Ran, and Seryu along with a small force of soldiers were marching toward the alleged location where Night Raid was supposed to be. Going through the plains in the windswept lowlands was a simple task for the mighty general and her troops. It was deathly quiet though. No songs were being sung by the birds, only the marching of troops and the low calling of the wind.

"Something doesn't feel right, Captain," Ran commented as he looked around suspiciously as though something was lurking around.

"Come on Ran, relax! We've got justice on our side so there's no way we can lose! Right, Coro?" Seryu chimed in happily, her little Biological Teigu barked in response.

"Well then, let's see just how this turns out then," the sadist general smiled wickedly anxious for what would happen next. Suddenly, the unthinkable happened. Before them, there was an army of bandits waiting for them. They numbered in the tens of thousands at least and were waiting for the dogs of the empire to reach this location.

"Looks like it was a trap, after all, Captain," Ran remarked.

"It's no big deal, they pose no threat to us," the ice queen bluntly responded. She got off her horse and drew her rapier aiming it at the hordes of vile individuals.

"Hey, I want to give them a taste of justice too!" Seryu shouted dismounting her horse ready for the battle to unfold…rather, the slaughter to come. This was just a diversion to keep Esdeath busy; it was a clever move by Najenda.

"Pretty clever old friend…but too easy," Esdeath smirked as she charged into the fray backed by her two comrades and a small garrison of troops.

Back in the east, the furious fighting of Night Raid and the small troop that belonged to the Jaegers escalated. The matchup was rather inconsistent but balanced. Najenda fought against the corpse puppet summoned by Kurome that belonged to her former superior while Susanoo was taking on the massive beast dubbed Desta Ghoul by Kurome. Leone held her own against the flame-wielding executioner Bols and another corpse with a shield that kept blocking her attacks. Tatsumi was dealing with the gorilla beast and another unit while Akame was fighting against her sister and the body of her former friend, known as Doya. Mein sniped at another body that was using guns, which was called Natala. Lubbock and Chelsea still stayed out of sight despite the feeling of jumping into the battle as well.

On a nearby plateau, Raizo and Yuki are confronted by Aquilo. A feeling of tension sparked between the trios as the duo tried to ascertain the identity of the man.

"So, are you going to fight in your rags or are you going to show yourself?" Raizo questioned bluntly growing tired of this game. Yuki meanwhile slowly prepared an arrow on her bow ready to fire at the person.

"You always were one to get to the point, Raizo," he spoke in a low tone.

"Enough! This time I'll end you for sure!" the youth cursed in annoyance.

"Aquilo…" Yuki whimpered letting her guard down.

"Yuki? You're here too? Well then, isn't this quite the reunion?" the young imperial officer chuckled. He then turned his attention back to Raizo.

"The past cannot be changed. I've accepted that regardless of anyone's opinion. You have your views and I have mine," Aquilo stated coldly.

"And what of Assana? Do you accept her death? She was your friend too yet she died because of you," Raizo spat in contempt.

"She's the stupid one who jumped in the way of a firing squad. Seriously, who would sacrifice themselves for your bitch of a mother?"

Raizo went silent looking down at the dirt before him, the memories of the girl he fell for had flashed in his mind along with the last glimpse of his mother. His rage surged once again. Instantly he combined his sickles into one giant scythe then crouched and charged at Aquilo with full fury.

"BASTARD!!!!!!!!!!!" he screamed. He blamed him for everything regardless of his alleged justification. There was no turning back; the fated battle between wolves began.

Raizo charged in sweeping his scythe from the right side to cleave Aquilo's head but the man counters bringing his spear up to block it. Without even removing the cloak over the mysterious weapon, Aquilo uses one hand to redirect the strength from Raizo's first attack to force his former comrade away from him and thrust forward. Jumping to the left dodging the attack, Raizo brings the scythe down upon Aquilo's head but the clever man uses the cloaked rod and stabs it into the ground and pole vaults over him.

Keeping an eye on the fluid motions of the Silver Fox, Raizo recovers his posture from his failed attack and prepared to strike again the moment Aquilo would land. Using momentum gained from kicking off the ground, Raizo charged at Aquilo once more however, Aquilo quickly countered this by meeting the raging youth head-on with the spear he coveted. In that instant, the pair began to clash spear against scythe twirling their massive bladed weapons and colliding with one another blow for blow. Coming to a deadlock, they gazed eye to eye with one another—sadistic emerald irises meeting with furious ruby irises.

"It's been so long since we last fought Raizo, this takes me back," Aquilo smirked cockily at his former friend.

"Reminiscing of the past will not stop me from killing you!" he growled in determination. All Yuki could do was watch the two fight and keep her bow drawn to support her ally when needed. She watched the two clashing with one another and had a flashback to the time they were children like it was just yesterday.

Raizo and Aquilo were the best of friends but also the most bitter of rivals. Aquilo was naturally gifted with the talent to wield any weapon given to him no matter what. He used his wits to outmaneuver his opponent and he was a natural-born leader. Raizo, on the other hand, was more physical relying solely on his prowess and raw fighting ability. His weapon skills were also notable but he couldn't use a singular weapon, he always needed to use two hands for everything he did when it came to combat.

"For someone who's the son of the head of the clan, you're not cut out to lead, Raizo," she recalled a young Aquilo would say criticizing the struggling boy.

"Who said I wanted to lead? All that matters is getting the job done, politics and other crap with the clan is not of concern to me," Raizo would retort thinking that spilling blood was the only way to live as an assassin.

"There's more to being an assassin than just being a tool to shed blood. Assassins are also guardians who walk in the shadows."

"Tell me something, who do you serve: The Blood Wolves or the Empire?" Raizo would test Aquilo to see where his resolve stood.

Aquilo did not have anything to say in this regard which made Raizo doubt him. The youth sighed, "You criticize me but you don't even know who you're serving. I serve the creed which makes us assassins. The Empire is just a means to an end. For now, they are our masters but when the time comes… I will not hesitate to end them and rekindle the flames of the order of the Blood Wolves!"

The clanging of steel clashing against steel resonated in the air. Raizo and Aquilo were fighting at a level that very few could keep track of. Dominating the field of battle with their clashing, the members of both Night Raid and the Jaegers periodically gazed up to the top of the plateau to see the furious fighting between the two young men. The furious swinging of weapons came to a halt when they were locked in a deadlock staring eye-to-eye with one another.

"Seems like we're evenly matched Raizo," Aquilo says in a tone much different than before. The glint in his eye held a bit of sick enjoyment in this fight.

"That's because we're not fighting at our fullest, let's stop bullshitting around and get serious already," Raizo says gritting his teeth.

"Why don't we get serious then shall we?" Aquilo commented licking his lips. Putting force behind his weapon, he pushes Raizo back approximately 15 feet. He then unraveled the weapon he yielded, showing off his Gungnir, a golden-staffed spear. Once freed from its confines, the entire weapon radiated a dark green aura from it. With this, Aquilo began to laugh.

"Holy Longinus Gungnir!" he shouted proudly. Emphasizing the name, the aura of the unveiled weapon grew and enveloped Aquilo making him appear as though he was some otherworldly entity. Regaining his footing, Raizo wanted to see just what kind of power that aura was generating so he took his large hook blade and swung it on its chain hurling it toward his foe. The blade was spot on its target moving toward its target rapidly seemingly covering the 15-foot gap within an instant, and yet Aquilo cracked a smile as it approached.

A loud shattering sound came as the weapon struck the spear wielder. The prized scythe that Raizo often used broke into pieces upon impact leaving only the chain. Both Raizo and Yuki were completely astonished by this fact. Aquilo begins to laugh maniacally from the expression that was on their faces.

"You honestly thought that throwing your weapon at me would do you any good? As if it would be that easy! My god Raizo, you can't be that foolish. My teigu can generate an aura of its own that encases the user and protects him from harm. So long as I don't let go of this spear… I'm invincible!!!" he declared.

Pulling the chain back to him, Raizo stands upright and takes a deep breath to calm his nerves. He looks down at his hips and locked his eyes on the hilts of his precious dual blades. He looked up to the blackened skies above that formed from the wrath of his power.

"Forgive me Assana, but I have to soil the steel that you graciously gave me," he whispered. He then glances over at Yuki who was still seemingly petrified from the fear of seeing how much of a monster Aquilo had become; however, she had a stillness in her eye. It was like she knew just what Aquilo was capable of. Yes her body suggested fear, but that glint in her eye was unmistakably troubling. Did she know about Aquilo the whole time? Raizo had to put that in the back of his mind. They were in a battle right now and with the sounds of the insane battle taking place behind them in that gorge, he had no time to be distracted by this anxiety. He had to focus solely on the enemy before, as such; he placed his hands on his sheathed swords and drew them out. The obsidian blades held a luminescent glow that would make anyone want to think twice about clashing with them. Easing his breath, Raizo called forth his power.

"Alright Indra, let's see that power that I discovered during training!" He yelled as bolts of lightning struck down upon his location filling him with an electric aura of his own, the black steel charged with arcs of electricity. Raizo's eyes glowed with the brimming power from within as there was a mysterious radiance coming from his back.

"Oh? Looks like you got a better handle on your Teigu," Aquilo spoke in a taunting voice.

"That's only natural. After all, you provided the catalyst needed to master it," Raizo remarked with deadly focus.

"And that would be?"

"Pain, suffering, and sorrow; that's what was needed to drink from that arm. Losing all my comrades, my father, and my first love was what drove me to this."

"And what about your precious mother? Did you forget about her?"

"No… I don't even know if she is dead or alive."

Aquilo takes a moment to chuckle at this, "Haha, what if I were to tell you that your precious mommy is alive right now? Would that ease your pain, hmm?" he mocked him.

"What did you just say?"

"You heard me. Your mother is alive."

"Where is she?" Raizo asked tensing up once more.

"I suppose you'll have to entertain me in order to find out,"

In that instant, Raizo rushed Aquilo head-on without even giving Aquilo a chance to finish what he was saying. The thought of his mother being alive gave him hope, but the games that Aquilo was playing made him enraged once more. His blade was nearly at the spear wielder's throat but Aquilo blocked just in time.

"You're going to tell me before you leave this fucking world," Raizo hissed at him.

"Well then, let's see what you can do!"

Aquilo pushed Raizo back once more but not nearly as far. The Silver Fox takes a stance holding Gungnir with both hands in a thrusting position. Raizo takes his own stance holding his dual swords in a cross shape charging them up even more with electricity. Then in the next instant, they charged at one another clashing once more.

Aquilo starts on the offensive by thrusting his spear straight toward Raizo's heart which gets batted away almost instantly. The spear holder then tries to follow up with a sweeping motion by swinging the bell-shaped butt of the weapon down towards his opponent's feet. Raizo jumps over Aquilo's head swinging his left blade down at the nape of Aquilo's neck. In response, the clever man brings the tip of this spear which had failed at the sweeping motion to angle its way upward meeting the oncoming attack and deflecting it. He then turned on his heel getting back into his stance staring eye to eye with the boy again.

Even fighting Teigu against Teigu, they were evenly matched. Raizo went on the offensive this time going at Aquilo swinging his twin swords interchangeably performing a series of swipes and thrusts with his swords. He spun on his heel swinging them in a tornado fashion and did many acrobatic leaps to throw Aquilo off guard. Seeing Raizo fight with the blades was different than when he fought with the scythe. It was like he was one with the weapons in hand dancing gracefully but sharply as he sought to draw blood from his opponent.

Aquilo was trying to keep up by protecting himself from the oncoming attacks. Even though he was protected by the aura of Gungnir, these energized blades gave him a sense of unease. He had to counter this somehow so he waited for an opening. Sure enough, there was one as Raizo was turning on his heel to swing at him. Aquilo adjusts and pushed the blade of his spear forward grazing the side of his former friend. A spurt of red juice came forth splatting the ground in crimson as he darted back throwing Raizo off his pace.

Raizo winced in pain realizing he had been hit but let a bolt of electricity strike the womb to cauterize and numb his pain. Aquilo had a cocky grin like he got the upper hand on him but Raizo would make sure he doesn't hold that grin for long.

Remembering the move he did before against all those wild beasts, Raizo takes his blades and jumps into the air only to then slam them on the ground sending a wave of lightning across the ground at Aquilo. The violent shaking of the tumbling electricity made it hard for anyone to keep balance. Yuki even stumbled to the ground but luckily she wasn't in the way. Feeling like it wasn't all that, Aquilo decided he was going to take the arc wave head-on. Raizo smirks at this fact.

The Silver Fox thrusts Gungnir into the ground to split the energy wave but that only made it worse. The energy wasn't aimed at him; it was directed toward the spear! The arcs of electricity hit the metallic weapon immediately electrocuting the user. Aquilo was standing there stunned and the aura enveloping him wavered as a result. Using this opportunity, Raizo shook off the pain from his side and charged forward. He drags the steel to the ground and then jumps up.

Raizo roared out before swinging his blades down across Aquilo's chest in an X-shape. The aura of his armor of energy flickered absorbing part of the blow but there was still a V shape wound that came from both sides of the collarbone to Aquilo's sternum. As he landed in front of his nemesis, Raizo roundhouse kicked the man in the side sending him tumbling across the plateau.

Aquilo panted heavily as the feeling of fatigue tried to hit him. "Not bad, Raizo," he struggled to speak

"It's over Aquilo… now then… where is my mother?" he asked shouting to the battered body of the man. Reeling in pain, Aquilo slowly struggled to his feet. Now that he lost grip of his spear, he could also feel the fatigue hitting him. He breathed shallow breaths as the blood seeped from his chest. Beads of cold sweat dotted his brow as he looked at the man that he once called brother. He smiles at him.

"You've gotten stronger Raizo in the few months since our last battle at the arena that much is certain. However, I can't afford to die, not here," he pants extending his hand outward, "Return to me, Gungnir!"

The sinister spear teigu then disheveled itself from the ground and whisks its way back to his owner, "Well then, let's wrap things up shall we?"

At the same time, a massive explosion occurred in the valley. Two things went down. Something had taken down the massive beast that was occupying most of the crevice of the area and a large fiery pillar erupted in the sky essentially covering the entire zone. The momentum of the tumbling dust even affected the area in which the trio of Blood Wolves was standing.

"Shit, that's a bad sign," Aquilo grunted. As the dust settled, he gazes at the confused pair.

"I was hoping this showdown would continue but it seems like I have to take my leave. Raizo… you can find clues about your mother in the Archive located in Old West Town, but that's only if you can survive this first!" he shouted before he aimed his spear at Raizo. However, he then adjusted his targeting to Yuki. Seeing this, Raizo looked over to her and ran as fast as he could to his friend. Using his energized muscles, he pushed Yuki away from the impact zone which sent her flying away. As for himself, Raizo took his sword and went to smack the oncoming projectile similarly to how Akame had deflected Gungnir in her fight with Aquilo and the Jaegers.

"That won't work fool!" Aquilo laughed but he quickly shut up when he saw that the spear's momentum was stopped by the obsidian blade. A bright flash of light occurred as Raizo batted the spear away into the ground. Nevertheless, the force of the spear sent him flying off the plateau toward the forest.

Aquilo sighed heavily and went to grab his spear seeing Yuki on the ground. His emerald irises make contact with her pale blue eyes as if they communicated something. He shook his head and dashed away from the scene looking for any survivors among the Jaegers.

Far away from there, Raizo was propelled through the skies before he started falling. He used what remained of his chains to break his fall by catching onto tree limbs and such. With a loud crash, he was lying flat on his back in the bushes. Stumbling a bit, he gradually regains his composure as he heard a blood-gurgling choking noise. Grabbing his swords, he sees one of the members of Night Raid stabbing a girl with black hair in the nape of her neck with a needle.

"Chelsea?" he asked slowly limping out of the bushes sheathing his blades. She turns to see her ally and smiles a bit.

"Good to see you Raizo. Hey are you okay?" she tilted her head about to approach when the girl she thought she killed sprang up with a sick grin on her face.

"Lookout!" he shouted. Chelsea narrowly evaded Kurome's attack as the girl laughed evilly.

"That girl is Kurome… she gave me too much trouble last time. I better take my chance to beat her while she's wounded and off her mental game with an off-guard attack." Raizo thought before taking a deep breath and gathering power. Swirling arcs of electricity appeared in his hands as he thrust them in order to send bolts of energy at the unprepared girl.

Kurome howled in intense agony before she fell over on the ground, small plumes of smoke coming from her body.

"Come on, we don't have much time," Raizo remarked before grabbing Chelsea and hoisting her in his arms, He quickly dashed away from the scene as fast as he possibly could.

"Thanks for the save there… pretty sure that gurl would've killed me if you weren't there to give me a heads up. You're wounded though… we should get you medical attention," she says.

"I know but let's worry about that when we get back to our friends. Did we take out anyone?"

"I managed to kill the big guy in the mask and the team took down a lot of the corpses that girl you just fried had. So it is a relative victory for us, what about you?"

"My guy got away, but not unscathed. I need to have a word with Najenda though."

"How come?"

"I need to go to Old West Town."

"You must be looking for the Archive. What do you need there?"

"Hopefully some clues to find my mother but…shit," Raizo abruptly felt himself fading out of consciousness as he suddenly stopped. Raizo put the girl down before falling to the ground. It seemed the fatigue got the best of him at last.

"Raizo? Raizo, hang in there!" she yells out as two other figures come running along. Voices could be heard in the man's ears, all of which seemed familiar but his consciousness faded to black.