212. Akame Ga Kill : War Between Paradise City and Empire. (2)
While the Empire's army was facing utter defeat on the battlefield, Esdeath, along with Syura and his Wildhunt group, monitored the situation from a distance. No one was happy about the unfolding war that quickly went south for the Empire, especially since it was clear that the Empire's defeat would be certain.
After all, with the enemy's efficiency in cleaning the armies, it's probably only taken a dozen hours before the Empire army's absolute defeat.
It wasn't even a war; it was a massacre.
Anyone can see that the difference in strength between the two forces was so unreal that it was clear the Empire was losing, while the enemy side had barely lost anything.
...
"General Esdeath, should we retreat now? The situation doesn't seem favorable at all." The empire war advisor suggested, "There are too many strong Teigu users on the other side... and it's much stronger than our side."
Hearing the report while observing the battlefield herself, Esdeath frowned and muttered, "Still, no blonde-haired, blue-eyed teenagers have joined the battlefield?"
"No, General Esdeath! Whether in the west, east, or south, there are no Teigu users from the enemy side with the appearance you described," the scout leader reported.
"Even though that Impersonate Teigu User has been imitating my appearance on the battlefield?"
"Yes!" the scout leader nodded. "Strangely, no enemy Teigu users are targeting her right now, even though that girl has your appearance and, to some degree, your appearance!"
"Are they just afraid of my reputation... or has our plan been leaked...? I mean, that teenager claims to be the leader, and I guess it's only natural that the leader doesn't appear on the battlefield directly." Esdeath murmured with confusion.
"Or Kaito may have known our plan a long time ago..."
As someone Kaito had defeated, Esdeath knew all too well how powerful the teenager who fought her was, and yet, he was still nowhere to be seen on the battlefield. Furthermore, the "Teigu users" from Paradise City weren't targeting her at all, making Esdeath even more certain that their plan had probably been discovered a long time ago.
Then she remembered how many amazing abilities Kaito showed her during their short confrontation. Esdeath feels that she shouldn't be surprised if Kaito can predict or even read the future, making all of the strategy for this war end up worthless.
Of course, Aika had already informed Esdeath of Esdeath's plan in the chat group, and all members and several squad leaders were already aware of their plan. Knowing that Esdeath on the battlefield was fake (impersonated by Chelsea), none of the chat group members wanted to attack her, as Chelsea was supposed to be in the same squad as Night Raid (the good guys).
Not to mention, Chelsea's fate was too tragic in the original, and most chat group members came to a consensus to make this girl work for them later on. Crocodile is especially excited to have a subordinate who could mimic anyone's appearance flawlessly.
...
While Esdeath keeps thinking about what she should do in this desperate situation, Syura, with his Wild Hunt members, grows impatient and decides to complain at her, "Esdeath, when are we finally going to make a move? Our armies got slaughtered!"
"What kind of General are you?!"
"But their dangerous leader is still not on the battlefield..." Esdeath explained, "I forgot to remind you that guy is a space user too, and the moment you enter the city, he probably discovered us immediately."
"So what? Why do we need to wait for the man who fights you to appear on the battlefield?! Even if he's that strong, with everyone here, I believe we could easily defeat him!" Syura yelled impatiently.
"That's true. I'd like to defeat the man who could scare our strongest General." (Izou)
"Even if it will be a tough fight, I will take up the challenge." (Enshin)
"I don't care. He is not a kid anyway. I am gonna crush his bones." (Champ)
"I heard he was cute! If we defeat him, can I take him as a pet?" (Cosmina)
"Back up, Cosmina, I am also interested in the guy who could scare Esdeath." (Dorothea)
Hearing all disgusting comments toward Kaito, Esdeath, who has a slightly good impression of him (Esdeath wasn't murdered by him), couldn't help but get angry, "Stop underestimating him! I assure you, all of you guys are not his opponent at all!"
"..."
"Sure, let's say we believe you... But do we need to keep waiting? It's clear even without the man you are afraid of, Empire definitely will lose if we don't do something." Syura smiled crookedly, "Then, why don't we just do it?"
...!!!
"Pfffft... You are right!"
Hearing Syura's persuasive words, Esdeath seemed just wake up from her confusion. She admitted that she might be outplayed by her enemies, but so what? Forget about her role as General; she is not a person who escapes from challenge. Also, deep down, she also eager to defeat Kaito directly.
"I admit I never thought that all Teigu users from this city are that capable and much stronger than us, and it was genuinely my mistake."
"...Should we retreat, General?" The war advisor suggested hesitantly, "We can ask for more reinforcement from the Capital--"
"No. There's no way I can ignore all the sacrifices that our soldiers in this war and running away from the enemy isn't my principle." Esdeath scuffed, the atmosphere suddenly became cold as she was eager to fight Kaito again, "Let's go! Stick to the plan!"
"I will be responsible and go straight away to the inside of the city."
At this point, it's clear that even without him appearing on the battlefield, the Empire would have ended up defeated sooner or later. So, Esdeath knows that Syura was right; she was trapped, and her only choice is to defeat Kaito head-on inside Paradise City with Wild Hunt members.
As for Syura, he feels happy that the Empire is currently losing... Because all responsibility for what happened in the war naturally fell to Esdeath, as the highest-ranking military member on the battlefield. With the Empire's defeat in this war, Esdeath's reputation would undoubtedly plummet, and she could even be demoted, allowing Shura to become the Empire's new General.
Syura didn't know that there was no way he would achieve his goal... as he would end up getting killed by Kaito very soon.
>>>>>
While the war raged fiercely outside Paradise City, the city itself was eerily silent and calm, with all the residents hiding in shelters until the war was over.
Only Kaito, Yuu, and the three cursed children were playing and enjoying the city park by riding a bicycle together... which Scorpion taught both Anna and Midori. (A/N: Scorpion's legacy of the seven-star was a broken tricycle, so I assume she should know how to ride one)
Even so, both Yuu and Kaito were currently on alert, activating their Haki and abilities at all times to scan the whole city. Previously, they had both been informed of Esdeath's plan to infiltrate the city directly with Shambhala, and their job was to stop them and even kill them off as they were all notorious criminal.
Previously, this task was intended for Saitama to handle, but Aika stated Saitama needed to be somewhere else, and they were kind of short on manpower right now.
Hence, Kaito and Yuu were forced to help cover some areas, and of course, neither of them minded about this.
Kaito was especially happy that the chat group still relied on him, even though he was on "vacation." He also wouldn't let Esdeath cause damage to this city and he also really wanted to take and learn the Shambhala, the Teigu with the teleportation ability.
If Kaito manages to figure out how to create space props, each chat group member will soon be able to teleport wherever they want without having to buy the ability from the chat group... although he's also aware that wouldn't be easy to achieve.
...
"Ahhh!!" (Anna)
""Anna!!"" (Midori/Scorpion)
*Crash*
...!!
"Ouch! I-I fall again! I am so sorry!" (Anna)
As Anna fell from her bicycle again, Scorpion and Midori quickly stopped their bikes and rushed to help her up.
"Are you okay, Anna-chan?" (Midori)
"Umm... I am sorry." Anna's face teared up, and she apologized, "I am not that good at this compared to Midori and Scorpion-san!"
"It's just because I have experience riding one before.... You can do it." Scorpion commented calmly, patting her. As the oldest kid here, she treats everyone with care and treats herself as an older sister.
"As for me, my cat reflex helps a lot. But you are a tortoise model..." Midori looked embarrassed, knowing her 'factor' being cat was helping her with her reflex, "B-But you will be fine!"
"Yeah, you will be fine, Anna." Kaito suddenly interjected with a reassuring tone, "After all, both of us are watching you all, and I can also heal your injury."
"That's true, but remember you still need to be careful---"
...!!!
"Kaito!"
"I know!"
While they were advising children, Kaito and Yuu's Haki suddenly detected someone appearing 500 meters away from them.
Knowing what was happening, they both became alert and immediately prepared to engage with them to protect the city. Of all the possible areas they could appear, they happen to appear near Kaito and Yuu, and such a coincidence is probably thanks to his bad luck.
With Esdeath and Syura in the city, along with his ragtag Teigu user team, they need to stop them quickly; otherwise, the consequences of failing to respond quickly could be severe!
...
"Girls, stay here and don't make a ruckus. Let us adults handle the situation." Kaito warned and then turned to Yuu as he reached her hand, "Yuu! Hold my hand."
"Umm!" (Yuu)
Since Aika let Yuu stay with Kaito for days just to follow him, Kaito knew he couldn't leave her behind; otherwise, the girls in the chat group would be mad at him again.
"Brother?" (Anna)
"No, brother, we want to help!" (Scorpion)
"I don't want master to go outside without me anymore!" (Midori)
"No, it's too dangerous! Trust me, just go back home and wait for us to come back!" (Kaito)
...
Although the trio of cursed children wanted to follow along, it's clear Kaito currently has no time to follow their antics and just immediately leaves the children behind. Fortunately, the children decided to be obedient, as they also didn't want to make their beloved brother angry with them.
>>>>>>
A few seconds earlier, before Yuu and Kaito detected them, Esdeath, Shura, and the Wildhunt members appeared in the middle of the deserted city, and they immediately observed their surroundings.
"Oh.... this is inside the Paradise city. Seems even more great than Imperial Capital." Izou said, admiring the prosperous look of the Paradise City.
"What a great view! I still can't believe this city was built in such a short time, and it doesn't make sense! The only explanation would be that there's Teigu that specializes in building things!" Syura admitted that he's also interested in 'Teigu' that can build this city in a few days.
"Too bad, we are going to fucking destroy it! Also, where are all the people?! Let's kidnap their woman right away!" Enshin urged impatiently, looking at the empty building and street.
"Also, the children, I want all the children." Champ followed with a tone that could disgust anyone who heard it.
"I heard a lot of human voices to the south. I am sure that's where their people are hiding!" Cosmina, using her sound manipulation Teigu, quickly informed her group.
"Then, let's go straight away, we can admire the ruin--" (Syura)
...!!!
"Danger!" (Esdeath)
*Clank*
...!!!
At the very moment that Kaito decides to backstab Syura when he appears behind him, somehow, Esdeath manages to react to his attack, and she manages to block it!
"Oahh!"
Syura shrieked in panic and even fell, realizing he had almost been murdered. Even wildhunt members also panicked, as they couldn't even react to Kaito's space movement speed. At this moment, just by a single confrontation, they realize Esdeath wasn't kidding about Kaito.
Even right now, his presence was already suffocating enough for Wild Hunt (not directed to Esdeath). Kaito decided not to play around with disgusting criminals like them and released all of his malice and energy without holding back!
Kaito swore there was nothing that could stop Kaito from killing all Wild Hunt members... as he wouldn't even hesitate to use his trump card to deal with them.
...!!!
"Sneak attack? How low you are, Kaito!"
Hearing Esdeath excitedly yell, Kaito quickly positioned himself with Yuu by jumping backward and then commented, "Oh? Esdeath-san. It seems you managed to block my surprise attack this time."
"Same method wouldn't work on me twice, Kaito!"
"That's interesting." Kaito just shrugged and then said, "...Yuu, retreat. Let me handle all of them."
"You really want to face all of us alone? Aren't you very arrogant?" Esdeath yelled at him in a provocative tone. However, despite her 'excited' appearance, Esdeath prepared to go all out from the very beginning, since she's aware this might be a fight to the death... and she might lose her life here.
What Esdeath didn't know was that he had never had any plan to kill her-- but the same can't be said of Syura and his wildhunt group.
