Slay Rias (The Pandora Conflict Part 5)

Only one more piece of DNA was required to fully open it and the battle for that last key now occurred in a adimensional realm; a void with little more than a crystalline sky and an endless sea of dark waters. Standing on those waters were both Akaro and Rias in their transformed states. His shining red hair and blue eyes contrasted against the darkness of this lifeless realm while Rias' form merely blended in with it all.

"Rias...as I'm sure you've sensed by now, Rin is gone. You're the last one standing." Akaro remarked.

"Yes I know. But...it doesn't matter, all I need is your DNA to open the box and then...everything will be over. Our new world will be given birth," the young girl responded with a clear sense of sadness contained in her usually emotionless self.

"Look at yourself, can't you tell you're the victim here? You were being used by Rin...he never loved you."

"So what if it was all a lie? It doesn't matter in my eyes...all I wanted was a purpose to follow, and daddy gave me that," she said, her eyes now filling up with hatred towards the Red Knight that stood just ahead of herself.

"You hurt my family, brought my brother to death's door, and also threatened my Akame. If you don't take my hand now, I can't guarantee your safety," Akaro spoke offering the girl a way out even though tension was constricting his voice.

"Oh. How noble of you Red-Eyed Hero but don't fuck with me. I can see it in your eyes; you want me dead but that heroic, self-righteous side of yours won't let you outright kill me because deep down you see yourself in me. You see what could've been, seeing the darkest days of your past and acknowledging the fact that we're two sides of the same coin. Ultimate Teigu are always like that.

We always want to save our own from the darkness in which we were all created. But here's the thing, I'm not like you. I have to feast on human meat in order to stay alive. I was made to enjoy killing; my humanity was taken from me years ago while yours is still there shining through all odds. There's a reason so many look up to you and a reason your family follows you despite the impossible odds."

"And what would that reason be, Rias?"

"Isn't it obvious? You're the most human of us all. Without you there would be no Night Raid, no Sapphire Phoenix, no Elysium; we would be prisoners of the Primordial gods still stuck in an endless cycle of self-destruction. Akaro, you're the mortal who surpassed all adversity and singlehandedly forged his name into legend—someone even the gods respect and look up to. Red-Eyed Hero...you are the symbol of hope countless generations will look up to. Even when you're gone your legacy shall live on within the hearts of those you've saved."

Silence fell upon the two as they stared at each other. Akaro clenched his fists, his feelings now a raging tornado of emotions.

"Then...Let me save you!" he shouted.

"I'm sorry but no. There is no world where we all walk away and live happily ever after, not after everything we've done to each other," she spoke confidently before snapping her fingers. Almost in sync with her motion, a huge number of copies of the bow-type teigu that once belonged to the deceased killer Yuki appeared and formed an immense wall behind Rias. All of which simultaneously took aim at the Red-Eyed Hero using what appeared to be enhanced replicas of Aquilo's Gungnir as arrows. Akaro could tell that Rias was probably using Hestia's power to freely control this arsenal of teigu. She likely hoped to use the bow's ability to project the will of the user combined with an onslaught of projectiles that can never miss.

"Resplendent Blood Hunter!" she shouted as her weapons unleashed a rain of causality bending projectiles. Reaching out with his opened palm, Akaro smiled before unleashing a counterattack.

"Yata no Kagami!" he said causing the sudden appearance of a floating disk with a strange mirror in its center. Rias was then forced to watch as all of her Gungnir arrows were devoured by the mirror before being reflected back at her as massively faster than light projectiles. To defend herself from this, the female merely looked at her creations stopping them midair with her control over gravity. She effortlessly disintegrated the projectiles on the atomic level with just a thought thanks to Shiva's Maelstrom.

"Try deflecting this..." the Scarlet-Eyed Grim Reaper said as she brought her open palms forward. Wind, Sand, Earth, Ice, Fire, Space, Time, Gravity, Reality, all aspects of creation gathered according to her will forming an unstable spherical orb of black energy that contained all powers known to Rias Makiri.

"Your strongest attack huh? Fine, I'll meet it head on," Akaro remarked before placing his hands together in a jaw shape and bringing them back to charge up energy.

"Omnipotent Star of Annihilation..." Rias muttered as she thrust her sphere of power forward. Soon that sphere expanded immensely, becoming larger than entire continents and powerful enough to end all of existence. From Akaro's point of view, it looked as if a gigantic wall of darkness rapidly approached him at an unbelievably fast pace. Regardless, the shining red hero merely continued to focus his energy power between his hands before finally thrusting it forward.

"Tiro Finale!" he shouted as the energy he had gathered transformed into a beam of orange colored energy. In an attosecond or so, the two powerful attacks clashed against each other. Rias apparently had the advantage due to the sheer size of her move but Akaro was still putting up a fight as their beams of energy remained perfectly equalized at the center of the battlefield. However there was something Rias didn't account for in this scenario.

Depowering all the way back to his base state, a sudden flash of gold ran across the Red-Eyed Hero's eyes which sent a cold sensation down Rias' spine. Suddenly the so-called omnipotent attack she had launched was completely nullified and pushed through by an ocean of golden energy that now rapidly approached her.

"No...I'm not gonna let you win, not like this," she mumbled before teleporting away from the blast and right behind Akaro. On the horizon, a mushroom cloud formed as Akaro's Tiro Finale caused a condensed explosion when the hero turned to face Rias. Sweat ran down the female's body as she found herself having difficult time breathing.

"H-How...? You're not supposed to be able to keep up with me in my new Zen state, especially not in your normal form," Rias stammered.

"You can't feel my presence now, can you?" Akaro responded meekly.

"No I...No I can't...what's happening right now?!"

"First of all, your new form is still imperfectly balanced. Much like I used to, you still can't properly balance all of your imperial arms together in harmony thus you consume way too much stamina in a short amount of time. And second of all, I purposely restrained my true strength, the strength I earned after killing a few Primordial deities," Akaro calmly explained before quite casually walking up to Rias.

"Let me show ya just a billionth of this power," he added as he put his index finger on the little girl's forehead. In an instant, Rias was propelled backwards by the force of this touch. All she could do was cough up blood as her body's insides were broken and twisted; her empowered Zen form was literally knocked out of her before she finally landed back down on the ground a few kilometers away.

"Do you see it now?" the Red-Eyed Hero's disembodied voice questioned shortly before the man himself reappeared in front of the broken and defeated Rias, "Do you see why I restrain myself now?"

"Because...you're scared of what could happen if you'd let yourself go."

"You see...my comrades won't quit as long as they can still draw breath. None of my teammates will. Me? I've got a different problem. I feel like I live in a world made of paper, always taking care not to break something or someone. Never allowing me to lose control even for a moment, or someone could die. But you Rias...you never even cared about neither the people you annihilated nor the lives you destroyed; everything about you just disgusts me to no end."

Extending his hand out to Rias, one last time Akaro looked at her with a dead serious expression.

"Despite of my own personal feelings though, you are a victim in this story and it's my duty to give you one last chance."

A moment of silence fell between the two. For the longest of moments, Akaro and Rias stared into each other's eyes before the female finally reached out and grabbed the Red-Eyed Hero's hand. Akaro was caught by surprise; he didn't expect Rias to surrender to reasoning and therefore allowed himself to let his guard down. A mistake he would come to regret in little to no time.

Launching herself towards the Red-Eyed Hero as he still held her hand, Rias took the chance to lock her lips onto his before quickly inserting her tongue into his mouth. Sucking on his saliva, Rias brought as much of it as she could into her own mouth before vanishing in a flash of purple. Left dumbfounded for an instant, Akaro took a few seconds to realize why Rias kissed him. The Scarlet-Eyed Killer in that moment of defeat and despair probably came to the realization that she wouldn't be able to wound Akaro to get his blood, so she decided to take his saliva instead.

Following after the girl, Akaro reappeared back at the crater that once was the imperial palace. Rias desperately held on to Pandora's Box as she spit down Akaro's saliva onto it. Unsurprisingly the last central 'A' of the large box began shining. The word AKARA now radiated its full glory as the top end of the box broke apart unleashing a pillar of lavender colored dark energy. Rias laughed maniacally as that powerful force of untainted evil unexpectedly expanded outward and engulfed her completely.

The Red-Eyed Hero could only watch as the once small gothic lolita was transformed and mutated. Her hair became extremely long and jet black in coloring dropping to floor-level. Towards the bottom, her hair split into big braids that were tied off by a bandage-like band. Her hair strands curved towards the left-side of her face while the mid-length hair became split and was tied by a smaller bandage-resting on her left shoulder. The once undeveloped body was now a fully matured curvaceous form with advanced assets.

Her outfit now consisted of a ruby-red corset which revealed her midriff with an insignia visible below the belt. The same belt rested of her hip and above her torn, black jean trousers looking like shorts. Her jean trouser had a chain, multiple belts wrapped around her right leg, a few which spiraled towards the lower half of her left leg. Over her corset, she wore a black jacket in the form of a robe with red-velvet lacing; the jacket was ripped towards the bottom and was tightened towards her chest by the belt. This new clothing, much like her new body, was a product of a power Akaro could only identify as a Primordial Darkness so ancient in nature it rivaled his own power…perhaps even surpassing it.

"Oh...it looks like your friend is in a bad spot," the now adult Rias commented with an arrogant smile on her face.

Looking to his left side, Akaro saw a naked figure lying on the ground. She looked injured but was still breathing. Quickly identifying her as the one and only troublemaker, Adena Zao-Long, Akaro ran up to the unconscious girl. Going down to one knee, the Red-Eyed Hero examined her naked form and injuries before using the Kamui form of the Spectator teigu which allowed for one to examine damage dealt beyond the physical realm.

"Hum...so being around Rin's flames burned through your soul even after your body reformed from ashes huh? Well...I suppose now is as good time as any."

Golden flaming spark of energy flowed from himself and into Adena's body. The redhead immediately woke up and jumped up onto her feet as a result of it.

"Woah-Wow-Wha…? I don't remember giving you permission to see me naked" she joked in a flustered tone as her face became just as red as her hair. Akaro couldn't help but chuckle.

"I'm sorry but I just can't take you seriously when you're literally naked in front of the enemy," he remarked with a sly smile stamped across his lips before standing back up.

"Eh?!"

Looking down at herself Adena only now realized that her clothes were gone. Covering her private parts to the best of her abilities, she backed away embarrassed.

"Don't stare at me like that! This body already belongs to Raizo!" she complained.

Before Akaro couldrespond, a certain red-eyed assassin appeared behind the wisecracking hero and karate chopped the back of his head.

"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" he overdramatically complained with his hands on his head. Stepping into view, both Akame and Kimiko stood to Akaro's right as Adena remained to his left. Rias calmly watched the reuniting group with a sadistic smile stamped across her lips; to her the sight of this family of supposed heroes was one that reminded the female of how happy she would be once she finally got to feast on them all turning the former legends into inhabitants of the perfect world Rin dreamt of creating.

"Tell me Akaro, why merely give Adena a spark of Primordial power?" she questioned.

"Heh isn't it obvious? Even something as simple as a spark can give birth to a dangerous fire," Akaro remarked as he and his family stood ready for their final confrontation with Rias.

"So another Primordial empowered enemy huh? This is gonna be interesting," Akame pointed out as she finally pulled her Murasame out of its sheath.

"Oh yea...here ya go Adena...CLOTHES BEAM!" Akaro spoke with an overdramatic voice before firing a beam of energy at the female. In sync with his action, reality itself bent and twisted around Adena thus causing a new outfit to suddenly materialize onto Adena's naked body. This time around it was a simple sleeveless white vest that proudly exposed the girl's belly and a simple yet mobile set of sapphire blue pants and boots.

"Aw...but I liked her naked," Kimiko spoke while looking at Adena with a stare capable of penetrating one's soul.

"Kimi...please don't look at me like that," the redhead spoke with a hint of embarrassment in her voice as she subtly feared falling victim to that girl in a more intimate scenario.

"Now, now Kimi, no funny business while in combat. You can do whatever you want with Adena later," Akaro casually remarked.

"Eh?! Don't sell me out like that!" Adena complained.

Tired of all the pointless chit-chat, Rias took to the skies as her black jacket now transformed into dark angelic wings that sprung out of her back. She resembled the figure of Lucifer himself as the heavens twisted in accordance to her almighty will. Raising one of her arms up, Rias casually stared down at the Heroes of Crimson when a massive singularity opened up above the capital. From within the darkness, a mud fell down onto the city below; powerful gusts of wind emanated from this strange black hole knocking down entire household buildings and city blocks at once. To worsen things, strange armored knights and warriors with darkened auras and glowing ruby eyes crawled out of the corrupted mud.

Akaro knew all too well what Rias going to do. By isolating herself into a dimension of pure nonexistence, she would rewrite all of creation and change its rules only to then finally become queen of the new world. The Red-Eyed Hero could see a sense of fear slowly but surely creep its way into the mind of his teammates. If Rias wasn't stopped now, everything would be lost and replaced by a world that is not their own. Looking to his sides, Akaro saw the faces of those he cared for the most one more time; Raizo was noticeably missing from the group. However, he didn't have time to worry about that right now; all he could think about was the task at hand. The heroic leader had given Rias every chance to surrender. He fought off his urge and disgust for her, and now there was no way back for either him or her. The end of this war now fast approaching and Akaro would have to make his choice.

"Why won't you just listen to me..." he spoke while clenching his fist.

"Because she doesn't want to..." Akame said out of the blue. Walking up to Akaro as he turned to face her, the infamous Red-Eyed Killer grabbed the sides of Akaro's face and brought him down to her level if only to see him eye-to-eye.

"Akaro...some people aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some people just want to watch the world burn. Rias is one of those people; she's too far gone, you can't save her. You can only stop her from bringing more harm to others," she explained, her red eyes locked against his.

"But..."

"No doubts just unleash your power and pierce through infinity like you always do. Show us the path to victory and bring forth another miracle...Red Knight," She finished before letting go of him. Standing back up straight, Akaro looked down at his own right hand before closing it into a fist.

"...Yes Ma'am," he replied to Akame and to his group.

Looking up at the Archangel of Darkness Rias had become, the man known by the title of Red-Eyed Hero changed once more. His hair spiked up as a platinum coloring took over it, a flaming aura of the same color ignited around himself with sparks of celestial gold electricity swirling around it.

"Boundless Zen mode..." Akaro spoke as his red eyes lit up a powerful gold radiance; his voice was also now somewhat deeper and more serious. Reaching out with his hand, the hero uttered:

"Tei-re on: Full power...True Murasame!"

Without a moment of delay, the longer, darkened form of the Murasame appeared under Akaro's possession, its blade of pure ruby red energy at full display. This time however, the weapon contained the power of all weapons in its user's ungodly large arsenal. Pointing his blade at his flying enemy, Akaro smiled confidently as his crimson scarf danced in the wind.

"Only Kimiko ever managed to push me into using this form in a serious fight before...you should be proud of yourself, Rias Makiri," he stated. Akaro then jumped up into the air and stopped himself just ahead of Rias sustaining midair flight as if manipulating gravity and space itself. The Scarlet-Eyed Female could only really smile at her challenger.

"I remember that transformation from when we first met, it's impressive but it won't be enough to measure up to my power now that I've been bestowed with the gift of the Red Kings," she boasted with pride.

"Maybe, but I'll still win this war," Akaro shot back at her.

"And how do you plan on doing that?"

"It doesn't matter, you're alone and I'm not. Be it Raizo fighting to find his own path, Adena struggling to decide what family she wants to be with, or even Kimiko and Akame trying to keep up with my shenanigans. The five of us...we're the light in this darkened world. Together we'll face everything and rise no matter if gods or demons try to stop us. We will always stand five against the world."

His words echoing into the hearts of all present to listen, Akaro's facial expression now looked like that of someone about to face an insurmountable challenge. Nonetheless he stood tall, without a shadow of doubt in his eyes. Down on ground level, the other three active members in this battle moved out of the crater that once was the imperial palace. Their objective was simple—to push back the darkened warriors, monsters, and beasts summoned by the Scarlet-Eyed Grim Reaper.

Meanwhile, away from all of this chaos, the assassin known as Raizo Arashi remained down on his mother's lap. Still damaged from his battle with Deus, the Stormbringer found himself in a state of unconsciousness. To the outside world it looked as if his body had fallen into a comatose slumber from which few could escape from.

This didn't surprise Raizo's mother. After all, tapping into the powers of an ancient primordial entity like Relepagus without as many as decades or even centuries worth of preparation time would utterly shatter anyone's body and soul down on an existential level. But even so, Raizo survived, he was damaged but alive. Hestia knew all too well why that was the case. In her mind it all surely had something to do with the boy's father...his real father. A gift from heaven...that was what Hestia identified her son as. This much Raizo knew all too well, but what he didn't know was that there was far more to it than that.

His mind now standing above a void, Raizo looked at the infinite darkness around himself. He remembered being somewhere similar to this after ultimately defeating Vesta with the help of his family and witnessing what he thought was her soul descending into hell. However this place was different; the boy did not feel the same murderous intent nor see anyone around himself. This limbo was a prison and Raizo was the prisoner, someone was keeping him here in spiritual form, someone who wanted him to see something. That someone was the one who planned all of this...

"The environment around Raizo suddenly shifted into a scene all too familiar to our so called "protagonist", a scenario many have tried to forget in the back of their minds as an unnecessary recap chapter at best and a myriad of plot conveniences for the antagonist at worse. Y'all know what I'm talking about right?" A disembodied voice narrated with a mocking tone.

Raizo himself merely looked around in awe as the memories of his trial played out just as he remembered:

"We've gathered together today to examine the charges brought up against this young man known as Raizo Arashi. He has been charged with conspiracy to commit espionage as well as suspicion of high treason. Will the prosecution please stand and make your opening statements and state your case?" the middle judge spoke. Responding to this, Fujitora stood up and cleared his throat preparing his speech.

"Your Honors, ladies and gentlemen of the court, Raizo Arashi is nothing short of an enigma. His involvement with us as an army has only been one that was signed as a contract. He is nothing but a mercenary and owes no real loyalty to our cause. To begin, I present the court with Exhibit A…"

"Yeah, yeah who cares...SKIP!" The disembodied voice uttered once more, this time causing the vision of the past Raizo witnessed to fast forward like a recorded video.

"Who are you?!" Raizo questioned angrily.

"Shhhh...Just enjoy the show, Stormbringer!" the condescending voice responded. And so...the vision continued from a further point in the trial:

"The prosecution would like to move on examining the testimonies of the members of Night Raid, Your Honor," requested Fujitora. Receiving three curt nods in return, the masked commander walked across the room to the stand where the members of Night Raid were seated. Since this served as a stand for the witnesses, they were already under oath and did not have to leave the area at all. Taking a moment, he turned to the first person in question.

"Akame, as one of the longest running members of Night Raid, would you please stand and give your testimony of your experience with Raizo?" the man asked. The long, black-haired assassin then stood up. Her face carried the usual emotionless gaze though deep inside, she was in agony seeing her comrade bound in chains by the people she swore allegiance to. She wanted to just draw Murasame and break the chains that bound the male but it would only make matters worse; that, and the simple fact that she didn't have her teigu with her anyway due to obvious security reasons. Taking a breath, she began to speak.

"Raizo is an extraordinary warrior and a close friend. To say that he has been an asset to Night Raid as well as a reliable partner in the heat of battle is an understatement. Despite our initial encounter, we bonded over time and became close allowing a sense of trust to be deeply felt when in the heat of battle as well as just living together as fellow assassins on a regular basis. I trust him with my life," she said.

"Touching, very touching indeed but could you elaborate on the initial encounter that you had with Raizo; specifically, could you tell the court exactly how you first met?" Fujitora asked making his next move to deface Raizo's character. Akame didn't want to particularly remember that incident but for the sake of justice…she had no choice.

"My first encounter with Raizo was after a mission that I and the other members of Night Raid had carried out. We attacked an estate in which people were indulging themselves with women. These women were all drugged and kidnapped from their homes to be sold into sex slavery. Little did we know the same estate was the location of a particular target—which we eliminated—that held important documents. As it turned out, these documents were the means in which led to the first encounter with Raizo."

"And why did Raizo want these documents?"

"If I recall correctly, Raizo believed that they held information regarding the whereabouts of Aquilo."

"Then what happened?"

"Night Raid had engaged in a hostile encounter with him," Akame confessed hating that she had to say that. Looking back on it now, it was all a misunderstanding but at that particular point in time it wasn't. The courtroom stirred quietly once again before growing silent to hear more.

"So Raizo wanted the documents and engaged in an encounter with you and the rest of Night Raid. Are those present the ones that fought against Raizo or bore witness to the confrontation?"

"Mostly; at the time, Mein and Lubbock were still alive and operating with the team and Chelsea was not with us yet."

"I see. Bringing in this mission report, it says that you, Leone, Tatsumi, and the two former individuals that are no longer among us engaged Raizo in combat correct?"

"Yes," Akame began, "But it was mainly Tatsumi, Leone and I that fought against him. Mein and Lubbock merely provided a perimeter to contain the situation."

"And how did things end up?"

"The battle continued until Najenda showed up putting a stop to the fight…"

The courtroom clamored once more as they listened to Akame. Nodding with this information in mind, Fujitora paced back and forth letting the testimony settle in the minds of the crowd and the jury not even trying to ask anything else that may enhance Raizo's character.

Suddenly...this vision of the past burned away, becoming a trail of flames that dissolved into the form of a book and an old man.

"Your life is truly one of interesting lies, isn't it? Raizo Mercer...you have been an interesting creation to say the least."

In front of Raizo now stood an old man, his pure white beard and long hair cascaded down all the way to ground level. His body was covered by a strange royal robe; the man's aura and presence was an enigma to the smallest of details. The former blood wolf could undoubtedly perceive him, even identify key physical features, but somehow...he could tell he wasn't getting the full picture. In front of the old man a strange, large book casually remained stationed midair.

"Mercer...? What are you talking about? Why are you showing me all of this?!" Raizo questioned, despair slowly setting in.

"Because it's all a fabricated lie," the old man responded.

"...What?"

"Come on Raizo, pay attention. Look at Akame's lines of dialogue. Does it make any sense? Furthermore listen to what the other character had to say..." the old man said before snapping his fingers once more.

Now the echoing voice of Tatsumi's testimony in court played into everyone's mind:

"Tatsumi, before Raizo was assimilated into the ranks of Night Raid, you were the latest addition. What were your thoughts on the accused after the initial encounter that you and your teammates at the time had with him?"

"Raizo was a formidable foe. Quite frankly, I felt like that day when we were on our way back to base that my life was gonna come to an end if I had to fight him any longer. I liked to think that all of us in Night Raid were unstoppable at the time but Raizo is the only person I've ever dealt with that instilled fear inside me."

"So you fear Raizo then?"

"At the time yes and if I had to face him as an enemy then yes but he's a comrade…a brother-in-arms and I've seen how he has changed over time."

"Indeed, now I've read the reports of how you encountered Aquilo during your time in which you were captured by Aquilo. When you inevitably returned, you had to tell everyone of your ordeal with the Jaegers. Could you tell the court about Raizo's reaction when Aquilo's name was brought up?"

"Raizo had an atmosphere of rage about him; it was like he had a deep seeded surging of emotions whenever Aquilo was mentioned. I wouldn't blame him though considering what the man did to Raizo's family."

The voices then stopped, returning Raizo's attention to the old man.

"Isn't it odd, Raizo? Why would Night Raid grow this sense of fear in relation to a warrior they ultimately overwhelmed? All you had back then was the ability to call forth storms and blinding lightning. Back then you would hardly classify as a challenge to a serious Akame, or a Mein that transcended her limits with danger empowerment.

You wouldn't even be able to effectively hurt Leone at that point due to her massively superior durability...and let's not forget that you passed out a few minutes after the battle was interrupted."

"S...Stop it," Raizo muttered while grabbing the sides of his own head. The more this old man spoke, the more pain invaded the boy's mind. Blood and tears began streaming down his eyes as a myriad of horrible realizations began floating around his head.

"You can't be serious...you're telling me...they were setting me up to die all along?!" the former blood wolf questioned as he dropped to his knees, his heart feeling as if it was about to explode.

"Ah...wouldn't that be a nice plot twist? Night Raid, the true villains all along! Eh no actually that would be terrible. No boy...oh there is so much more than that," the old man remarked before explaining, "You see...I needed you Raizo. After you announced your presence to the whole of creation by defeating the Godspeed herself with the help of our verse's mightiest warriors...I grew curious about just who you really were.

So I looked at your past and your future, all possible outcomes, everything from top to bottom. Surely there had to be a reason why the Counter Force went out of its way to save YOU specifically even though it did nothing to save the other Stormbringers Vesta Arashi causally and mercilessly slayed. And it was during my search that...I found quite the staggering amount of evidence that point towards the true meaning of your existence."

The reality around the boy changed once more. As he remained on his knees with tears of blood running down his cheeks, Raizo saw the memory of the day his father was executed. The lone wolf watched as a young boy with black and white hair and dark crimson eyes enters the gates of the capital city of the empire. He was followed by a girl with pale blue hair and silver eyes. They were the last two survivors of the Order of the Blood Wolves—Raizo and Yuki.

Back then six months had passed since the massacre of their clan. Since that day, they had been making their way to the capital on foot only stopping to make money by taking out some danger beasts. As they walked the streets of the city, they made sure to buy clothes to make themselves blend in like everyday civilians.

"So here we are what are we going to do now?" Yuki asked him with a look of impatience and anxiety.

"I'm going to find my parents, bust them out, and then set this whole city on fire," he said with fury in his eyes. He swore vengeance on the empire at any cost and he was determined to carry it out. Suddenly, a large crowd began to gather near the center of the market nearby.

"The public execution of wartime criminals will begin shortly. All those who wish to see justice done to these traitors should gather at the town square immediately!" a large soldier announced. Raizo began to swiftly move with the crowd as Yuki struggled to keep up. After a brief walk, the people stopped moving. Using his smaller frame, he weaved his way through people toward the front of the crowd before the guards blocked off any further advance. He looked past them to see a man being led out onto the stage-like platform ahead. He had black hair and reddish-glowing eyes. His clothes were all tattered and his body was covered in scars from the apparent torture he went through. The young Raizo had his suspicions but he could make out the crest of his clan with a white wolf howling at a red moon. He couldn't believe his eyes. His father, Raiden, was alive.

"The man that you see being escorted onto the platform is known as Raiden, the leader of traitorous assassins called the Order of the Blood Wolves. If it wasn't for one brave young boy, the empire never would have known about this threat. Because of this hero's efforts, the Imperial Army—led by General Esdeath—was able to eradicate the entire clan. Let's welcome the brave boy here now!" the announcer shouted as a person covered with a cloak came out. He walked up to where the announcer was then he took off his hood. It was a boy alright. He had silver hair and green eyes.

As the present day Raizo remembered his younger self and immediately recognized the boy as none other than his best friend, Aquilo. He balled up his fists in anger. Yuki appeared beside him and grabbed his arm signaling him to calm down. Aquilo meanwhile took the stage with the announcer and then shouted.

"Glory to His Majesty and the Empire! Death to all traitors!" he declared boldly. The crowds of people all cheered in agreement.

"That backstabbing son of a bitch!" the young Stormbringer growled. Yuki pulled herself closer to him.

"Calm down, if you make too much of a scene, it could end badly for both of us," she pleaded.

The guards on stage laid Raiden on a cross. They tied his arms and legs to it, and then they hammered nails through his palms and his feet. With each strike, the clan leader let out a horrifying scream. When the hammer hid the head of each stake, Raizo tensed up as if he felt each blow. But even though Raiden screamed, he never once begged for his life. When they were done, they lifted the cross up and stood it upright for the people to see. Then, a big fat giant came up on the stage eating meat. He had this sick look of satisfaction on his face.

"Look, it's the Prime Minister himself!" a person in the crowd said.

"This prisoner must have been a serious threat if he came out to oversee this," another person stated.

The important man walked up to Raiden and started saying something that couldn't be heard by the crowd. Both the past and present Raizos present could read lips very well so he knew what the bastard was saying.

"You don't have to worry anymore. Your wife will make wonderful entertainment for the court guards. She will be taken care of. You can die knowing that fact," the sadistic old man said with a smile. Both Raizos were shaking even more as tears rolled down their faces rapidly, except the older Raizo had it much worse, as his tears were made of blood.

Raiden looked out to the crowd with his fading consciousness. He looked right where Raizo and Yuki were standing and smiled. It was at that moment that the present day Raizo Arashi noticed something his younger self missed the first time around. Standing in the back row of the crowd, a man with long, dark blue hair wrapped in a long tail and yellowish golden eyes observed the execution at hand. He had a crimson red shirt with a V-cut on and an old black overcoat that looked like it had been through a lot.

"My...son, I'm proud of you. Live on," Raiden said quietly before noticeably lowering his eyes away from his son and to the unique looking man in the crowd. However the Minister heard the dying man's words and looked to see the two cloaked figures. He ordered some men to seize them before walking over to Aquilo and handing him a flintlock pistol.

"I was going to set him on fire for fun but I'm bored now. Why don't you end this, hero?" he suggested.

Aquilo nodded and aimed the gun. Simultaneously, the guards approached Raizo and Yuki. The girl tugged onto the boy's arm trying to tell him that they needed to leave but the boy didn't move. Everything went quiet in his mind. He couldn't hear anything around him. The skies of broad daylight turned dark. It started thundering in a low, bellowing sound, which gradually became louder. The people stayed to see if the boy on the stage would pull the trigger.

BANG!

A gunshot sounded. Normally this would be the part where the young Raizo would've looked up to see his father's head whip back then hang down. Blood and brains would've come out from the back of Raiden's skull. The boy would then lose control and start cutting down the incoming men one after another. But this time it was different, the present day Raizo could see more than his past self ever could...and so he catch glimpse of the man with eyes of gold moving all the way to Raiden in the time it would take light to move around an atom, perhaps even less than that. Regardless it was as if time stood still. Placing his hand on Raiden's chest, this mysterious man's eyes radiated a golden coloring before unexpectedly flashing blue.

"Raiden..." the Golden-Eyed Stranger said. At that moment, Raiden somehow became able to fully perceive the reality around him in that frozen time-space continuum.

"Mercer? Is that really you?" Raiden questioned.

"Yes but I'm not the Alexander Mercer you know...I come from a future in which the entirety of existence faces the threat of being wiped out by the power of an object known as Pandora's Box," the man known as Alexander Mercer explained.

"And why should I care? The moment you leave...I'm dead anyway."

"I can't save you, Raiden. That much is obvious, and you're right, this doesn't concern you in the slightest. But I need an answer to a question I only now realized was present."

"And what would that question be?"

"You know the question already but...is Raizo my s…?"

"Your son? Yeah...he is, how long did it take for you to figure it out huh? You took Hestia even though she was promised to me! So much for being the noble God Hunterhuh?!" Raiden shouted in anger while trying to move even though he really couldn't. Sighing under his breath, Mercer could only really pity Raiden. Nonetheless this overdue meeting was necessary.

"Just so you know… Raizo did grow up to be quite the warrior, and the same goes for Adena Zao-Long. She'll definitely make a good wife for him someday," he said, trying to provide Raiden with some comfort. Closing his eyes, Raiden took a deep breath before letting out a sigh.

"Get going, save your son from whatever crisis the future may hold. I'll fulfill my role and simply die here."

Those were the last words Raizo heard Raiden speak before the man known as Mercer vanished in a passing attosecond leaving the Stormbringer's father to his inevitable fate. As Raizo's reality returned to that of an empty void, the old man who showed him all of these things smiled creepily before letting out a cold string of laughter. Whatever his intentions were, he had shown Raizo things he would've never even considered, but why? Why would he show him such truths?

"Quite the shocker is it not? This conversation between your real father and your fake daddy was what gave me the information I needed to fulfill my grand plan. Through Mercer's future actions, I discovered the legend of Pandora's Box and guided the young Rin Hanate into ultimately using it by manipulating all of history itself. Thus, the crisis was created which resulted in present-day Mercer finding out you were his son by going in back time to speak to Raiden in the first place. It's a paradox...a cycle in time...or as some might call it; A paradox with no origin," The old man's explanation penetrated into Raizo's mind as he felt his senses blur, almost as if some entity was trying to invade his body.

"Everything...was a lie," the heterochromia haired assassin mumbled as blood tears continued to leave his eyes.

"That's right Raizo. I manipulated your life, brainwashed your friends into speaking lies just so you would end up here; I made them work against you. Absolutely everything thus far has been engineered to lead you here, the end of the road," the old man continued.

"Why...Why would you do all this?! Who the hell are you?!" Raizo questioned, blood now leaving his ears and eyes.

"Because I saw her...when I looked into the future I would create for you, I saw her presence guiding you through the darkness. 'I'm proud of you', she said as you continued your journey into the Nightmare Forest. But where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself...I'm the writer of all stories in existence, the greatest inventor to ever grace this Omniverse. I am the one who seeks the Goddess-Above-All, I am...the Architect," he melodramatically stated.

"Don't tell me you're trying to..."

"That's right, Raizo. This crisis was created with the intention of pushing you to the edges of sanity and far beyond your physical limits. Once your spirit finally breaks...I'll use your body as a vessel. Undoubtedly Kimiko—the current form of Akasha—will let her guard down around me if I use your body. Once that happens, I'll take her power for myself."

Raizo could barely hear the Architect's mumbling; his mind was just numb and borderline broken. Looking up at the old man one last time Raizo was just ready to die there, but nevertheless, he stood up courageously once more. One more attack was all it would take away his sanity and break his spirit.

"Don't take it personally Stormbringer...I'm only a kid trying to find his mother, I'm sure you can relate to that," The Architect spoke as he reached out with his overwhelming power. This would've undoubtedly been the end for Raizo hadn't a certain duo shown up. The entire hyper-dimensional space trembled as both Assana and Marayah appeared between Raizo and the Architect. The mere pressure created by their presence completely outclassed the old man's power.

"Architect...you've been caught plotting against Akasha. We'll be taking you to the Scribe now, he'll judge you accordingly," the blue-haired girl spoke as her more muscular partner cracked her knuckles.

"Hopefully you get the death sentence, you traitor," Marayah said. The two then immediately reappeared in front of the Architect, faster than what one would describe as instant speed.

"You two, don't tell me you're the..."

"Aspects of Akasha? We're the ones responsible for getting rid of scheming Primordial trash like you," Assana calmly spoke.

"I didn't think you were real... this is amazing…"

"And stay down kid."

Before the Architect could finish that sentence, Marayah just casually delivered a sucker punch to the old man's face knocking the powerful god out like he was nothing. Watching this from afar, Raizo could only stand there with a surprised expression. He could barely believe what he was seeing.

"Assana? Is that really you?" he questioned, his eyes now widened by both surprise and disbelief. Raizo knew with complete and absolute certainty that Assana died in his arms the day his clan was slaughtered; however in a world of gods, assassins, demons, and killers with power beyond human comprehension...does death even matter anymore?

That other girl, Raizo couldn't help but tremble in her presence. She singlehandedly put down one of the more powerful Primordial Gods, who was probably close in power to Akaro with all but a single sucker punch. Such a display of strength was unthinkable, to say the least.

"Raizo..." Assana mumbled under her breath as she looked over her shoulder. The sight of Raizo in such a pitiful state was heartbreaking to the blue-haired priestess, but she stopped herself from helping him. Marayah on the other hand didn't partake in such emotional drama.

"Don't waste your time with that imbecile, Assana. A cowardly puppet like him doesn't deserve anything but a painful death," she spoke coldly as her dark brownish red eyes came into contact with Raizo's crimson hues.

All the boy could do was struggle to remain up on his feet; after all, he was one step away from completely breaking both physically and mentally. However, taking advantage of the momentary distraction provided by the Stormbringer's presence, the old man known as the Architect smirked meekly as golden blood escaped his lips.

Clicking his fingers together, the mysterious god vanished in the blink of an eye leaving his captors behind. For a moment a hint of annoyance dawned on Marayah's expression. That soon vanished as Assana turned around and walked up to Raizo despite of the words Marayah said just a few seconds ago.

Assana didn't really care all that much about capturing the Architect and she had no interest in even stopping the ongoing Pandora conflict. In actuality, the priestess was here to save Raizo and that was just about it. Now, as she faced the boy she once loved, the once fragile and defenseless female couldn't help but share a few encouraging words in this moment of darkness.

"I know it's hard to see it now, but you don't need to be bound by that god any longer… you're free now, Raizo."

"But...what am I supposed to do? If let loose I'm sure I'll end up doing something wrong again. I thought I could make my way back to who I was before the shadow fell but even back then I was just being used."

"That's not truthful at all. You saved this world time and time again. You may deny it, but without you, this world would be nothing more than space dust by now. As mother said...you are a Crimson Hero, and eventually, you will find your redemption."

Those were the last words Raizo heard before his eyes shot open back in the real world. The first thing he saw was his mother clinging tightly to him as an army of darkened warriors, monsters, and beasts surrounded them. Genesis and Orion fought against these powerful creatures to the best of their abilities, but it was obvious they were at a disadvantage here due to the enemies being in a far greater numbers. Then, in that moment of chaotic action...Raizo saw why his mother was holding him so close to her chest. Up in the sky, the dark angelic figure who once defeated and devoured the Stormbringer unleashed a powerful stream of blackened energy with one hand while she held the Red-Eyed Hero by the neck with her other hand. That energy was not something mortals could deflect or at all comprehend in the slightest. Unfortunately for the Arashi family, it was coming right at them.

Escape was undoubtedly all but an impossible dream at this point but it was at that moment when death's embrace fast approached that a certain someone finally showed his face. Cutting through the incoming wave of energy with his electrifying curved blade as his trench coat danced in the wind, Alexander Grayson-Mercer finally arrived on the battlefield.

"That's right, Assana is correct. Raizo, you don't need to be bound by the will of that false god any longer," he spoke confidently before unsheathing the long ornamented knife he kept attached to his belt. Turning to look at the two members of the Sapphire Phoenix who still desperately fought off the army of monsters, Mercer smiled.

"I heard what's going on, thank you. Thank you all for fighting for my son. I'll take care of the rest. That's my job...as his father."

Up in the sky, Rias' scarlet eyes widened with surprise.

"The God Hunter..." she mumbled under her breath, giving Akaro an opportunity to break free from her grip.

Letting go of Raizo before standing up on her feet, tears began to escape Hestia's eyes and stream down her cheeks as she slowly reached out with her hand now fully showing her more human side. The Stormbringer knew more than enough to connect the dots as he watched this. The reason his mother never cared for Raiden as a wife would for her husband was that she loved another man all along—a man who gave her a son to call her own, a gift from heaven. Hugging Mercer's back as he prepared to face the army, Hestia looked like a completely different person—one that Raizo hadn't seen since his childhood.

"You're here... after all these years..."

"I'm sorry it took me so long to figure it out what happened... I guess I was just too caught up in my own problems to ever notice the obvious."

Stepping up to the incoming army of shadows, Mercer uttered:

"Ea gear 96: Chronos Rose Proto-Armor."

Seconds later, a powerful Obsidian black armor snapped onto his limbs after their individual pieces materialized around him. Each armored piece showed a myriad of carved lines and details, and the chest piece was noticeably bulkier in order to comfortably fit the user's muscular frame. Around the neck area, there was an apple-red cloak that flowed as if it was a living entity. There was also a hood of the same color attached to it, however, Mercer kept it lowered. But that was not all the Supreme God of Elysium had to show. His white skin suddenly became darker and his once long blue hair transformed, becoming shorter in nature and more spiked but also entirely white.

On his right hand, he wielded an oddly curved sword that strangely resembled a skeletal structure, this was the so-called Blade of Indra—a weapon forged from the mortal remains of the God of Thunder's Danger Beast incarnation. On his left hand, Mercer carried a sacred knife that bloomed with a gorgeous celestial radiance. This weapon was known as the Oracle, and much like the legendary Gae Bolg, its strikes manipulated cause and effect never allowing for an attack to miss its intended target. Furthermore, the object was bathed in a poison superior to that of a creature like Leviathan. A lightning blade with the ability to dismantle and annihilate anything and a knife that can never miss and instantaneously kills in one hit-- these were just some of the tools available to the mortal who ascended into the realm of the divine and received the title of God Hunter.

"Instantaneous movement," he spoke before vanishing. In the following time span, thousands upon thousands of Rias' creatures either disintegrated into nonexistence or fell poisoned by Mercer's knife. His level of speed, strength, and skill far outclassed even the most powerful of warriors. Even for the Stormbringer he—who could perceive everything down to fractions of attoseconds—was barely able to keep up with the action.

Coming to a halt at the heart of the enemy hordes, Mercer smirked as his sword became engulfed with aqua-blue electricity. Furiously swinging it in a three-sixty-degree slash, the blade's power demolished the equivalent of billions of men in all but a passing instant. No matter how impressive he was though the battle would never come to an end as legions of enemies continued to emerge out of the singularity above. Seeing this, Mercer looked up at the sky and towards Akaro who was still clashing against Rias.

Hitting Rias with the full might of his True Murasame and Boundless Zen Mode, the female was forced to continuously counter with her bare hands before overwhelming the hero with a well-placed onslaught of dark feather projectiles that Akaro only narrowly managed to evade. A small amount of golden blood dripped down his cheek...it looked as if Rias managed to scratch the unstoppable force that was her opponent.

"Well would ya look at that...you can bleed," the Scarlet-Eyed Grim Reaper spoke mockingly while breathing heavily. Akaro however merely ran his hand down that small cut and the blood escaping it before smiling excitedly.

"It's been so long since I felt this sensation...almost forgot what it was like," he spoke in turn.

"What sensation?" Rias questioned.

"Pain," Akaro responded.

"You truly have gotten more powerful than me in that empowered form... but…"

Abruptly stopping in the middle of his own sentence, the Red Knight snapped his fingers. Almost in sync with this action, reality and fiction shifted around relocating both Akaro and Rias down to the ground level where Mercer was and it also teleported Adena, Akame, Kimiko, and Raizo to the heart of this storm.

"Let me guess, you're gonna rely on her huh?" Mercer questioned as he saw Akaro appear by his side.

"Yep... meanwhile you go ahead and take care of the monsters in that big ass singularity would ya?" Akaro said a smile still stamped across his lips.

"Heh as you wish, partner," Mercer responded before sharing a fist bump with his very best friend. Jumping high into the singularity that surrounded Earth's orbital range, the God Hunter vanished into the dark dimension shortly before the whole singularity closed behind him.

Now only five remained the five warriors who stood against the ultimate darkness. Akaro was at the center, and to his left Kimiko and Akame awaited the beginning of the final battle while on the right side, Raizo and Adena did the same. The Stormbringer's heart was full of doubt after everything he saw, but he marched on with his family. Rias on the other hand couldn't help but tilt her head and smile maniacally at the unfolding situation. Dark clouds gathered around the whole planet, and the entire universe felt as if it could break at any given moment. Malevolence and evil were the only things that remained in this forsaken world, yet these five just wouldn't surrender.

"How beautiful, this dazzling light shines even as the end approaches. Devouring all of you will be a pleasure," the angel of darkness spoke while intoxicated by her own lust for power.

"Alright guys... me and Kimiko are gonna need around ten seconds, then we'll finish her off in one strike," Akaro explained.

"We'll buy as much time as you need," Akame spoke confidently, her skin now paler and almost grayish in nature. All watched as a pair of dark wings sprung out of her back, her eyes became more demonic in nature adopting a black and red glow to them. This was the power she had been granted after countless years of mastery with the Murasame-- the form of Death itself. Charging towards Rias without as much as thinking twice about it, Akame unleashed a flurry of sequential slashes from left to right. Poisonous dark flames were infused with each of her attacks; her power and speed were unmatched even amongst her own teammates. That said Rias barely felt those attacks. Due to her Primordial essence, no one other than Primordial Gods of similar power to her could ever hope to damage the Scarlet-Eyed Grim Reaper. Nevertheless, Akame didn't aim for victory, she was merely buying time and so were the others.

Slashing and beating away at the immovable opponent that stood before them, Raizo and Adena unleashed everything they had from Sundering Strikes to Supernovas and beyond while in their strongest transformed states in a desperate effort to buy time for Akaro and Kimiko. Meanwhile holding Kimiko with his arms, Akaro looked her eye to eye as their foreheads touched. Slowly transferring his Primordial energy into the girl, Akaro was betting everything into this plan. Kimiko's main ability—the 'Kami No Me' or Eye of God—enabledher to see the lines of a target's destined entropic end or ´´death´´; a cut along any line would bifurcate and annihilate the object, no matter the sharpness of the cutting tool used, and ultimately it would destroy the object's origin. The damage inflicted this way cannot be healed in any way causing instant death. This ability extends to cutting things with no physical existence, such as time itself. It doesn't matter if the target has a spiritual body or if they are dead like ghosts. It only matters if they are "living" in the sense that they can interfere with the current world. Her ability to "kill" the origin of her targets also allows for the destruction of any concepts or boundaries.

The only limit to this ability is the fact that its current form is incapable of affecting deities born with primordial power as they lack 'Flaws to be cut' or 'Lines of Death'. Even though beings like Akaro, Mercer, and Rias have these lines since they were once mortal beings, they are still immune to Kimiko's 'Kami No Me' due to the rule that dictates beings with primordial energy can only be hurt by other Primordial beings. But what if Akaro temporarily gave Kimiko Primordial status? This was the Red-Eyed Hero's ace in the hole, he would create a workaround for the rule that made Primordials as dangerous as they are and have his most trustworthy ally deliver the finishing blow.

Seeing this blasphemy against her occur, Rias exploded with pure rage and hatred. Sending out a burst of power around her, the female blasted away and knocked out Raizo, Adena, and Akame at once. She then ferociously charged toward the two that conspired against her; however, her progress was immediately halted by six blades equal in shape and size to Raizo's Vajra. These blades fell from the sky and formed a circle around Rias encapsulating her in a field of electricity, the owner of those weapons then revealed herself. Appearing to the right of Rias in a flash, Vesta focused all of her power in preventing the Grim Reaper from ending Akaro and Kimiko before they could execute their plans. She was not alone though, alongside Genesis, Orion, and Hestia put all she had into stopping Rias.

"Come on! Finish her!" the Crimson Annihilation shouted. In the end, even a former enemy like herself fought for the salvation of this world alongside the remaining members of the Sapphire Phoenix; Akaro couldn't but smile at such an ironic outcome.

"This is taking too long," Kimiko spoke out of the blue before pulling Akaro down locking her lips onto his, and completely absorbing his energy in all but a single instant.

"K-Kimi..." Akaro stumbled on his own words as he saw the female stand up, now with a twist of light platinum illuminating her otherwise crimson eyes. Behind her, Rias finally broke free from her restraints and now fast approached Kimiko's position.

"Go ahead Kimiko... do what only you can do."

Nodding in agreement, Kimiko calmly turned around just as Rias reached out with her arms. Grabbing hold of her katana and swinging it upwards, Kim looked at Rias with a deadpan expression stamped on her face as the Scarlet-Eyed Reaper howled in pain from the sensation of having her hands ripped clean off. Stepping back as a sense of despair became visible in her facial expressions, Rias fell down to her knees. She could tell that her end was nigh but that didn't make the thought of falling victim to Kimiko's eyes any less terrifying. As Kimiko stood in front of her with her sword positioned for a horizontal slash, the Dark Angel began to cry.

"I...I don't wanna die..." she begged, for once having a moment of clarity.

"I don't really care," Kimiko simply responded before slashing away at all the lines of death she could see, "We gave you way too many chances and you refused all of them; embrace eternal rest for it is your only salvation…"

Those were the last words Rias heard before having her whole entire body dismantled in all analogs of existence. All that remained was the echoing of her screaming as her mortal body ended up bifurcated into little more than raw meat; her spirit was also annihilated. Everything that Rias Makiri once was dissipated into something indescribable, something beyond mere nonexistence.

Silence then fell as all warriors who fought in this final confrontation looked up at the woman who slayed the almighty and all-powerful Scarlet-Eyed Grim Reaper. The war for Pandora was over, the imperial capital was now left in ruins but most of the citizens were taken out of harm's way thanks to Vesta. The world would live on to see another day and those five heroes who fought alongside Vesta and the Sapphire Phoenix would be remembered as legends in this crimson world. But even so, things remained more uncertain than ever before. With the land of the empire now lacking an emperor and with Onest nowhere to be found, no doubt someone would attempt to overthrow the capital sooner or later.

However...

"What are you all looking at? We got work to do," Kimiko finally spoke, brightening up the situation.

Families are like branches on a tree. We grow in different directions yet our roots remain as one. That is the unchangeable truth of this world even as this war comes to a close. Even as Adena felt doubt about whom she truly stood with and even as Raizo's mind came to a shattering point, their hearts remained forevermore entwined. Deep down they knew that no matter where they were, they would never be alone.

Forcing himself to stand up once more and walk up to Kimiko, Raizo unexpectedly embraced the female in a hug. Resting his head on her shoulder, the Stormbringer reflected upon everything this girl had done for him once more. Everything from saving him and Akaro during the battle against Vesta to aiding his misadventures in the Nightmare Forest, and even the shoulder she always offered from him to cry on. Reaching closer to her ear, Raizo spoke the truth he felt buried in his heart at that moment.

"You know Kim, I think I..." the remainder of what he whispered into her ear remained inaudible to all except Kimiko herself who reacted by closing her eyes and sighing happily.

"I know," she responded as she opened her eyes once more before rubbing messy Raizo's hair.

***

Year 1025, 30th of October

Time: 11:30 AM

As the Pandora Conflict had at last drawn to a close, the irony of its effects of it became apparent. The Empire, once regarded as an unbeatable and unshakable kingdom of tyranny and corruption, was little more than a shadow of its former self. Five days have passed since the world at large witnessed the shadow of Pandora and the rise of the five individuals who would be forever known as the team who did the impossible—Team AKARA.

That was the name chosen by the populous as a way to honor the original owners of that title. In spite of the darkness that surrounded them, these five myths stood up and said, "We are here...the Red Kings are here!" Thus their legacy was forged in the fires of mankind's darkest hour. In a blaze of glory, they showed the world a dazzling light of hope unlike any other that had come before.

Inspired by their efforts, citizens of the empire began to rebuild all that was lost with the help of what remained of the imperial forces and even Esdeath herself, who now sported a shining new artificial arm akin to the one once used by Najenda. The ice queen still felt the phantom pain left behind where her original limb used to be, so far it had been a battle to adjust to what felt at first like a cumbersome hunk of plated metal. Over the past five days, she had all but mastered the use of this mechanical limb by using it to aid in the old-fashioned transportation of heavy construction materials to various parts of the capital. It still felt a little awkward and slow at times but it would have to do for the time being.

Watching Esdeath work from afar, the new emperor trembled with dissatisfaction as he saw with the one eye he had that the citizens of this wretched city slowly began to put their faith in the people who he once considered the greatest threat to his crusade for absolute power—the Sapphire Phoenix. Onest definitely wouldn't be surprised if his own soldiers allowed Hestia's army of mindless followers to infiltrate the capital now that they believed she was affiliated with Team AKARA. Regardless the old man could only really be thankful for being alive, if the Crimson Annihilation hadn't swooped in and saved him from the explosion generated by Adena's flames without anyone noticing then he would've surely ended up a victim of Rin's mad quest for a better world.

"In the end, I suppose you partially achieved your dream," the former Prime Minister spoke under his breath with an open mind as he looked onward to the masses of working citizens, "That said, this is still not the world you so desperately wanted. You brought all of us together, the whole world found peace in observing your downfall at the hands of the five who ascended into legend. As the agent of ultimate chaos who sought peace, you were what Hestia and the Revolutionary Army needed in order to change the outlook people had of our illustrious empire. It's ironic, isn't it? The one who fought for peace ultimately brought us both more suffering than ever before and a small piece of temporary peace that will undoubtedly be shattered."

Turning to face the one-eyed minister as he rambled to himself, Esdeath sighed in remembrance of the Red-Eyed Phoenix.

"Violence insights more violence, war brings more war. Rin sought peace through conflict and that ultimately only loops back to square one. This paradox spiral is the one thing that man could never accept. I myself don't understand the feelings of the weak. To me, the law of the world is survival of the fittest. It's how the weak are weeded out meaning those people that died were too weak. It's only natural for the weak to perish," she spoke with her typical sadistic outlook on life displayed in full force.

Away from this display of ideologies and ideals, a group of assassins gathered once more around a camp that was once a fortress. Standing in front of the deadly animal-like killer, Leone, Raizo prepared himself for an extremely potent Deja Vu.

"Liar…" she said softly in a broken tone of voice. Raizo leaned in to hear her more.

"What?" he asked.

"Liar…Liar…Liar…Liar…Liar!!!" she yelled.

"Leone…it's not like that. It's just…" he played along

"Just what Raizo? Just what?! You lied to everyone about what you went through! Instead of telling us what happened in that original timeline, you kept it all to yourself, you used me to contain your own emotions and then acted as if nothing had happened. Why did you have to lie directly to me? Me of all people Raizo! You know what? Maybe Fujitora was right after all, you're just a selfish individual who only uses other people for his own gain. Remember what Akaro said? In a world without you, we would've already won this war which makes it quite obvious that everything that has happened to us since you joined is your fault."

It wasn't quite a word-for-word reenactment of last time, but it was close enough. The blonde then turned around and walked away with tears pouring uncontrollably down her face soon jumping on top of the manta. Listening to that heartfelt and gut-wrenching rant, even Tatsumi and Chelsea were moved to tears as they got on the manta not even trying to look at Raizo's face. Akame was the only one left behind. She merely walked up to the blank-faced Stormbringer and without any malice or disdain whispered into his ear.

"I won't blame you or say anything spiteful to you over your decision. Ultimately as human beings, we all have to choose our paths. I don't hate you or hold any resentment towards you Raizo as I do still hold respect for you both as a fellow swordsman and an assassin. I pray that we will never have to cross paths as enemies for it would be rather unfortunate; so as your friend I can only say that I hope you know what you're doing," Akame stated, "May the heavens forever shine on your sword and guide you to the everlasting triumph Crimson Harbinger."

Raizo remembered the Red-Eyed Killer's statement almost word for word; however, he didn't feel any of the pain or sorrow from the last time he and Leone had this little 'break up scene'. Instead, he just felt numb. He knew that after everything was said and done the memories of the original timeline would return to their original owners. But this time around the Stormbringer wouldn't allow himself to be left speechless by his own emotions. Walking up to the manta Night Raid used to travel here, the Crimson Harbinger looked into the eyes of his ex-lover one last time.

"I know that I was selfish beyond repair, that my actions brought you more harm than good... but I don't regret them, because I know they were worth something in the end," he started.

"What?!" Leone reacted.

"Look I get it. You're hurt and I've made mistakes but I'm not sorry, Leone. No matter how we may paint the picture here, this world would be a bad place with or without me. Regardless, I've saved it from a myriad of cataclysmic events time and time again, didn't I? Well now I'm trying to change it," he continued, "It may still be selfish to do so. After all, who am I to decide what's best for the whole world? But hey! I'll always have people to help me find my way."

"So you're saying that all the good you did outweighs the bad?" she questioned.

"That's right," he casually said.

"You're dead to us, Raizo."

Joined by the other members of Night Raid with the exception of Akame, Leone allowed the manta to take flight without speaking another word to this villainous and entirely selfish persona the Stormbringer 'shown'. Tatsumi and Chelsea couldn't help but look at Raizo with a sense of sadness as they looked at him one last time. Turning to make his way back to the new and still-under-construction Sapphire Phoenix fortress, Raizo saw the young Akame standing by her lonesome on the road behind him.

"Staying with us for a while longer?" he asked.

"Of course, I need to say my goodbyes to Akaro and the others," she calmly responded. The two then made their way to the encampment without sharing too many words throughout their short walk. Standing ahead of the entrance, Akaro waited for his brother and his beloved to return safely.

"Was that really necessary?" he questioned the Stormbringer before embracing Akame with his muscular arms "You didn't need to destroy Leone's hopes and dreams there y'know?"

"I've been through this break up three times by now, and after everything that the Architect showed me... I just can't bring myself to cry over it anymore. The only things I accomplished on my own terms were stopping Vesta back when she was still our enemy and defeating Deus. Everything else between those two points was just that old man influencing me. Whenever I told Leone 'I love you' during those days... were those even my words to begin with or was that just the Architect forcing me to say such things? Sigh... I can't go back now. I have the power so I should find a way to change things... to change the past that led us here," the lone wolf spoke. Walking up to him after letting go off of the young Akame, Akaro looked towards his depressive and self-loathing brother.

"Hey Raizo," Akaro called out to him causing the boy to turn his attention towards the older brother, "Let's see you grit those teeth!"

"Wha…?"

Before Raizo could even think to react, the former Night Raid member found himself on the receiving end of a powerful and precise punch that immediately shattered his noose. Falling back first against the ground with enough force to crack it open, the younger of the two brothers could only gasp in surprise as pain filled his sense.

"The hell was that for?!"

"Isn't it obvious? You were going full-on edgelord mode, so I had to knock some sense into ya," Akaro explained.

"While it is true that the Architect used and manipulated both you and your comrades, there's still much you did on your own merit. Do you want to change things? That's fine, but don't go losing yourself just yet. After all, you have a few promises to keep with both myself and Kimiko now don't ya?"

"..."

Remaining silent for a moment, Raizo lowered his head before smiling softly.

"You're never gonna let me win an argument are ya?"

"Nope, never gonna happen," Akaro responded as he reached out to his brother with one of his hands.

"Now come on, we have a celebration happening tonight."

---

Year 1025, same day

Time: 8:00 PM

Joining the line formed by his family, Raizo watched the starlit night sky as Zephyria slowly and awkwardly approached the red-eyed male who stood by the Stormbringer's side. Orion and Genesis were also present and watched the ongoing celebrations from the sidelines. In her hands Zephy carried two necklaces with crooked cross-shaped pendants and different pieces of clothing. Hestia then stepped into the scene with her significant other holding her hand and standing by her side. Raizo still found Mercer's presence and affectionate displays with Hestia to be quite strange for him to observe. After all, he didn't know much about his father other than the fact that he was a god of some sort and a fearsome hunter that singlehandedly earned his way to the top.

"Tonight we celebrate our victory over the Scarlet Cerberus, we wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for these five powerful individuals," Hestia began, the troops around the encampment cheering her and Team AKARA on while enjoying themselves by feasting on the finest meals and drinks available—all being courtesy of John and Charlotte.

"Akaro...as leader of this legendary team, please accept this gift."

Following the words of her mistress, Zephy handed over the pieces of clothing meant for Akaro and one of the necklaces. The dark-skinned female respectfully knelt down as she extended her gift to the Red-Eyed Hero.

"Thank you, Miss Venta," Akaro spoke while sporting his trademarked smile. Zephy's heart skipped a beat at the sight of such a powerful figure acting friendly toward her.

"As for you my son, please accept this gift from the God Hunter himself," Hestia continued as Zephy handed the pieces of clothing and pendant meant for the Stormbringer.

"Now we will reward you three... Adena, Kimiko, and Akame."

The celebration party continued with plenty of cheering, but as for Akaro and Raizo, the two brothers retreated to the privacy of their own tents and changed into their new attires. Emerging out of his tent a few minutes later, Akaro now wore a gray dress shirt with a long tail, black dress pants, and black dress shoes. On his hands, he wore a ring on his right index finger, two other rings on his right fourth finger, and a necklace with a crooked cross-shaped pendant. He also had a red, tattered cloak on. Meanwhile, Raizo looked fairly similar as his outfit was merely a redesigned version of the attire his mother gave to him a while back; it now included a darker coat that originally belonged to his father and the same pendant Akaro wore.

Hours passed as the celebrations continued throughout the night. Shortly before midnight, Akaro and both Akames returned to their tent for a good night of sleep while the Stormbringer decided to do the same after wishing a good night to his parents and Adena. Due to the lack of tent availability, Raizo and Vesta had to awkwardly share for the night but that is a story for another time.

By 3:00 A.M. however, Hestia got out of bed and silently put her clothes back on before leaving her tent while Mercer slept. The two had quite the reunion, but the white beauty just felt as if she was being called outside by a powerful force. Standing by herself in an isolated location away from all tents, Hestia waited for something or someone with a hint of childish excitement on her facial expression.

"You're there, aren't you? My friend..." she said ominously.

In response, an elderly husky giggle echoed throughout the night as a tall swordswoman equal in height to Akaro walked out of the darkness of the night and into the scene. Red eyes, long dark hair, and tanned skin with a black dragon tattoo that flowed up her left arm. Only the lower end of her body was covered by any form of armor, her top was covered by a plain white shirt and a black overcoat with rolled-up sleeves.

"You've grown Hesti," the mysterious female commented in her deep voice.

"And you're still the same old blood wolf, Akatsuki," Hestia retorted with a smile before embracing the female in a hug, "It's so good to see you again."

"Likewise...but there's no time for reunions now is there? Is Vesta here?"

"Yes, I have allowed her to rest and befriended her. She's sleeping in the same tent as my son at the moment; please make her death quick and painless. I do not wish to see someone who shares my blood suffer."

"Don't worry... she won't feel a thing," Akatsuki spoke with an ironic smile stamped across her lips. Soon three other figures emerged out of the shadows and joined Akatsuki, two of which Hestia immediately recognized as Assana and Marayah respectively. The last one, however, was a complete mystery. This mysterious woman wore a shallow-cut black dress, five necklaces with an assortment of beads, a red girdle belt, and a pair of matching gauntlets. An object that looked to be made from feathers hung from the right side of her skirt. She also used black, thigh-length boots with a red splatter pattern. Her most distinctive feature was definitely the fearsome, full-face mask with four eye slits, further enhancing her inhuman appearance. With Akatsuki leading them, the four females prepared to march onwards and capture Vesta.

However, such a fate wouldn't come to pass as this group of four killers was suddenly stopped by the sight of a girl sleepwalking her way to them before stopping a few meters away. This girl was none other than Kimiko Hanate.

"I will protect..." she mumbled before opening her eyes. Boundless, above absolutely everything including existence and nonexistence, possibility, causality, dualism and non-dualism, the concepts of life and death, and their analogs at any level, the power being emanated from Kimiko's shining blue eyes was now something that could never be described in its entirety.

"Return to the Scribe... tell him to forget Vesta for she is no longer a threat."

With those words spoken, the four killers who aimed for the Godspeed's head vanished from sight in the blink of an eye. The Aspects of Akasha wouldn't dare raise a finger against the one who supposedly was Akasha herself. Falling down to the ground exhausted, Kimiko returned to her usual sleepy self mere seconds after the dangerous gang of females left. Hestia couldn't really fathom what was happening, but she understood enough to know that she should just carry Kim back to her tent and forget she saw anything.

***

Year 1025, 31st of October

Time: 08:30 AM

Reuniting one last time just outside of the Sapphire Phoenix encampment, Raizo and Akaro had one last conversation before the Red-Eyed Hero's departure. The others had already made their way out of this world and returned to their homes. Vesta left as well to god knows where, and the young Akame returned to her comrades and Night Raid. For once in a lifetime though, the world felt at peace.

"Akaro...you know what I'm gonna do, don't ya?" Raizo questioned.

"Of course I do," the older brother responded.

"Well then, you have to stop me. Otherwise...this will be goodbye."

"Raizo...it doesn't matter what you do, our bonds exist beyond time. The journey we're in now is merely a prologue, the beginning of something far greater. I don't need to stop you... I never did, because from the moment we first met, I knew you'd find your own way out of the darkness."

"..."

Reflecting on his words, Raizo closed his eyes in shame of his own weakness.

"When I met you, you weren't afraid of anything. You taught me how to leave the ground and use my wings. I never thought a hero would ever come my way...but more than that I never thought you'd come to call me a brother."

Tears began escaping the Stormbringer's eyes, deep down he didn't believe that he deserved any of the care his family had for him.

"You helped me feel like I had a place, a direction. You showed me that a greater dream can be achieved, you never abandoned me even when you should've...I...I don't deserve you, Akaro. The light you gave to guide me will never fade away, but moving forward never felt as hard as today," he continued, "So please...don't let me say goodbye."

Grabbing hold of Raizo's shoulder as he walked past him, Akaro looked at his brother eye to eye.

"This isn't goodbye. I'll always be here for you whenever you may need me, brother."

"...Akaro"

"Until we meet again, Red-Eyed Stormbringer."

These were the last words Raizo heard his brother speak before he vanished from this world. With tears streaming down his cheeks and an uneasy heart beating in his chest, the Red-Eyed Stormbringer was alone once more.