Inside a small outpost in the outskirts.
Lubbock leaned against the corner, his expression extremely gloomy.
The woman he loved and the comrades he cherished had been captured. They might even be suffering inhuman torture right now.
No matter who it happened to, it would be hard to endure.
Mine, who shared the same predicament, was no different.
Inside the outpost, the heavy and oppressive atmosphere lingered for a long time without fading.
The orange glow on the horizon gradually disappeared as the door was slowly pushed open.
Akame dragged the corpse of a small Danger Beast and appeared at the doorway.
Looking at the dispirited Lubbock and Mine, Akame opened her mouth but did not know how to comfort them.
She could only drag the Danger Beast toward the kitchen, tie on an apron, and begin preparing dinner.
Bulat walked out of the room. He held his head and joked helplessly.
"What's this? Making Akame do everything herself is a bit too much."
Lubbock pushed himself up against the wall. After hesitating for a moment, he said,
"Bulat, I..."
Mine's eyes regained focus as she also looked toward Bulat.
Bulat's expression turned serious. He raised a hand to stop Lubbock from continuing.
"I know. Our comrades are in danger, and I'm hurting too."
"But what we do next. I think it's time we discussed that."
At that moment, a loud eagle cry rang out.
Bulat, the others, and Akame, who was cooking in the kitchen, all turned simultaneously toward the direction the sound came from.
Mine immediately got up and opened the window.
Less than a minute later, a Magu Falcon flew in.
Bulat crossed his arms over his chest and explained,
"Looks like intelligence has arrived. It's from Chouri-san."
Hearing that, Lubbock and Mine instantly became emotional.
Mine quickly took out the letter and read it aloud.
"A Super Danger Beast has appeared at the border. Esdeath and Uesugi Ryu have already left the Capital."
"Najenda and two others have been transferred into General Budo's custody. Tomorrow... at noon... they will be publicly executed."
"The Jaegers, the Four Rakshasa Demons, and Wild Hunt will all be present. Exercise caution!!!"
"Lastly, there is something I wish to ask."
"The Minister's son Syura died mysteriously, and the space-type Teigu Shambhala was stolen. Was that your doing?"
Mine's pupils trembled uncontrollably as the slip of paper in her hand fluttered shakily through the air.
There had been five people involved in the operation at Jellalck.
Now only three remained. Had someone sacrificed themselves, or had they escaped?
Bulat frowned, suspicion flashing through his eyes.
Just as everyone was deep in thought, another Magu Falcon flew over.
This Magu Falcon looked exceptionally lively.
It opened its beak, and a crisp female voice came from inside.
"What's wrong? Why's everyone looking so gloomy~"
Akame froze for a moment, then said in surprise,
"Chelsea!"
A puff of white smoke appeared.
The Magu Falcon that had just delivered the letter was startled and immediately flew away.
As the white smoke dispersed, Chelsea sat on the windowsill bathed in the fading dusk.
A lollipop was still in her mouth. She still looked like that clever and mischievous girl.
"Yup, yup, yup. I'm back!"
Mine's eyes instantly filled with tears as she threw herself into Chelsea's arms.
The sudden impact startled Chelsea, and she nearly fell backward.
Buzz.
More than ten transparent threads instantly blocked the window, barely allowing Chelsea to maintain her balance.
Lubbock lowered his left hand. Seeing this scene, he relaxed slightly.
Chelsea looked at Mine in her arms with a helpless smile.
"Mine..."
Soft sobbing could be heard as Mine held Chelsea tightly.
Bulat, however, was not as emotional as the others.
Expressionless, one hand rested on the hilt of Demon Armor.
Bulat spoke in a low voice, word by word.
"The intelligence about the Super Danger Beast came from Revolutionary Army headquarters. Najenda requested it from them."
"Why would a Danger Beast from the far western lands suddenly appear in the Empire?"
"Najenda may already have defected."
After speaking, Bulat raised his head and stared fixedly at Chelsea, his gaze filled with scrutiny.
"So many days have passed."
"Chelsea, which side are you on now?"
The lively atmosphere was extinguished by Bulat's words.
Everyone's attention shifted onto him. The amount of information in those words was enormous.
Mine also rubbed her eyes and turned to look at Bulat.
Chelsea lowered her eyes, seemingly not surprised by this at all.
"Boss reached a cooperation agreement with Uesugi Ryu."
"The Super Danger Beast is being used to lure Esdeath away from the Capital."
"Tomorrow, Uesugi Ryu will lead the Jaegers in rebellion."
"Night Raid will also respond and use the opportunity to kill Minister Honest!"
Bulat stared at Chelsea tightly, distrust evident in his voice.
"That sounds a little unrealistic. So they sent you back to convince us."
Chelsea did not deny it and nodded.
Akame also understood the reason behind everything.
She herself was not entirely convinced by Chelsea's explanation.
Akame understood her younger sister.
Kurome did not seem like the type who would approve of something that was obviously betrayal.
Facing the questioning gazes of Bulat and Akame, Chelsea slowly spoke.
"As for why the Super Danger Beast from the far western lands came to the Empire, I can give you the answer."
"I worked together with one of Uesugi Ryu's subordinates to capture the Super Danger Beast's cub."
"We used that method to lure it over here."
Lubbock raised a hand to signal Chelsea to stop.
"The timing doesn't add up."
"There's no way something like this could be done in such a short amount of time, right?"
Chelsea rolled the lollipop in her mouth and looked at Lubbock.
"That's exactly what I was going to explain next."
"Uesugi Ryu possesses the space-type Teigu Shambhala."
"With that space-type Teigu, distance is no longer a limitation."
"I suspect the reason he was able to arrive at Jellalck so quickly is also inseparable from that Teigu."
Bulat said nothing as he sorted through the chaotic information in his mind.
As someone who had fought alongside Najenda for many years, he also refused to believe she would defect to the enemy.
After seeing everyone fall into thought, Chelsea added,
"By the way, Shambhala's original owner was the Minister's son Syura. He's already dead."
Hearing that, Bulat's tense expression eased somewhat.
Some things were finally starting to make sense.
Chelsea took a deep breath.
She was not used to persuading others, so she could only do her best to reveal the information she knew for certain.
"Lastly, regarding this cooperation, I believe Uesugi Ryu is trustworthy."
"At least until this operation is over, we are allies."
Chelsea looked at everyone with clear eyes as she spoke.
"Uesugi Ryu needs our strength. He cannot deal with Budo and Honest alone."
Bulat closed his eyes silently. After a long period of silence, he finally spoke.
"I hope things are really as you say. At this point, all we can do is agree."
...........
In a small town in the western region of the Empire, this place was already close to the Capital.
Hegreon stood atop a castle, growing increasingly furious.
Along the way, it had continued collecting the black bone fragments from its cub, yet it still could not find it.
This Super Danger Beast had accumulated overwhelming rage.
Hegreon let out a piercing cry as pale green poisonous mist spewed from its mouth.
A few minutes later, the town was completely engulfed by the poisonous fog.
Bodies poisoned to death lay scattered across the streets.
Hegreon vented its fury recklessly upon these towns.
High in the azure sky, a wyvern rapidly approached the area covered by poisonous mist.
Esdeath gazed at Hegreon's blurry silhouette, unable to suppress the smile curling at her lips.
"A rare Super Danger Beast. It's been a while since I last had a proper hunt!"
Uesugi Ryu smiled as he said,
"Looks like excellent experimental material. If handed over to Stylish, he might be able to replicate something similar to a Teigu."
Esdeath said nothing further. Strange light flickered within her ice-blue eyes.
After thinking for a moment, she warned him,
"Looks like we'll need to change battlefields. A poison-type Danger Beast is troublesome. Be careful."
Holding the briefcase, Uesugi Ryu calmly nodded.
"Understood."
Esdeath turned her head and glanced at Uesugi Ryu. A powerful fighting spirit surged within her heart.
Whether this battle intent came from the Super Danger Beast or something else was unclear.
"The hunt begins!"