[Awakened! Prepare for your Second Trial…]
[Four brave ones… welcome to the Nightmare!]
Seishan dreamed of a terrain completely covered in ice.
Wherever she looked, she could only find ice. A volcano that stretched for kilometers was completely covered by a thick layer of ice. The forests surrounding the ancient kingdom did not escape the same fate.
Enormous trees, completely frozen—ice figures that sketched animals, utterly stopped in time.
Then she focused on the city.
It did not exist.
A layer of ice so high covered it that no detail could be discerned.
Suddenly, the sun retreated, soon disappearing behind the horizon. The sky darkened and then lit up again as a moon swiftly crossed it. An instant later, it was day again, and then night once more.
The sky constantly shifted between light and darkness—time was flowing backward at great speed. Then Seishan noticed how the speed of the day-night cycle increased even further until it almost stopped, but then continued at a normal pace.
At that moment, the layers of ice began to thin, and a great explosion shook the entire terrain. At its center, a figure made entirely of ice could be seen, and suddenly, all the ice from the surroundings began to shrink and converge toward that figure.
From one second to the next, everything that had been covered in ice no longer was.
The volcano still rose for kilometers, its rock completely black. The forests regained their intense green color, and a beautiful river with crystalline water cut through its center. The life of the creatures returned, and with them, that of the humans as well.
Finally, Seishan managed to see the city. It stretched for kilometers along the volcano and the forest, acting as a separator between both zones.
It was completely circular. At the outermost edges, toward the forest and the volcano, rose a wall. Built entirely from the same type of stone that formed the volcano. It was ridiculously high, and its color seemed to absorb light itself. Inside it stood houses and buildings, almost in ruins.
Kilometers further inward rose another wall of the same size, yet it was built from a different material. Its stone was lighter, less affected by the volcano's climatic conditions. Along this wall stood structures of much better quality and functionality than those in the outer zone. The most striking feature was the enormous red colosseum that imposed fear at the very sight.
Finally, one more wall rose—even higher than the previous ones. This one was completely white, built from a material resembling marble, so impeccable was its condition. Within it stood an enormous palace, made from the finest materials possible, and in front of it, a castle of equal size.
Slowly, Seishan's gaze shifted westward, toward the very edge of the Kingdom of Mordrath. There she found a zone that was neither forest nor volcano.
It was a completely gray mountainous area. Small hills and deep crevices formed the terrain. Even so, her gaze stretched and stretched until she managed to perceive a structure born from within a crevice, completing its formation in the next.
That structure was where Seishan found herself.
She opened her eyes with a start and found herself sitting on a completely comfortable bed.
'Where am I?'
Turning her head from side to side, she noticed she was in a simple room. The walls were gray with an open window in front of her. In front of the window stood a simple desk, and to one side, a simple wardrobe. On the opposite end of the wardrobe, a mirror occupied a large portion of the wall.
However, what caught her attention the most was the figure of a person sitting on the floor with their head resting on the bed, clearly sleeping.
Even so, she immediately jumped back and moved away from the person, summoning her armor and a sword, positioning herself instantly.
The tip of her sword pointed at the person who—with all the movement—was just waking up.
The first thing Seishan noticed was long, black hair. Then the person let out a yawn with their eyes still closed and stretched their arms. Their skin was completely pale.
Slowly, the person—whom she now realized was a woman—opened her eyes, and they were a dark red color.
The woman, upon opening her eyes, first focused on the sword tip pointed in her direction and then slowly looked into her eyes. She tilted her head and looked back at the sword.
She stood up slowly, and Seishan noticed the woman was quite short—perhaps even a head shorter than her.
Staring directly into her eyes, she asked in a serious tone:
"Who are you? Where am I? And why were you sleeping at the foot of the bed?"
The woman made no gesture of wanting to summon a Memory. She simply stood looking at her and tilted her head again.
"You don't remember anything, sister?"
Seishan narrowed her eyes. "We are sisters?"
The woman nodded and then pointed to the mirror on the wall.
She understood immediately but hesitated before moving.
'She's probably telling the truth, but if I don't want them to suspect me, I have to do this.'
Taking a few small steps to the side, she turned her head slightly—her sword still pointed at the woman—and looked at herself in the mirror.
Indeed, they had the same face with black hair. The only difference was that she had black eyes. Everything else was identical.
"We really are sisters…" she finally admitted.
The woman smiled. "Yes, we are." Then she turned around and began walking toward the door. "Come. The others will surely want to know about your condition, and besides, the food must be ready by now."
"Wait," she asked. "What is your name?"
The woman stopped and replied with a smile, "My name is Akame."
Seishan nodded, unsummoned the sword and they both left the room and went to what she assumed was the dining room.
The hallways were quite simple—gray walls with large windows letting in the little sunlight that reached so deep into the crevices.
Eventually, they arrived at the dining room, and Seishan stopped at the door while Akame clapped to draw the attention of the two people sitting around the table.
"Here we are."
The dining room was nothing special—a simple long table with eight chairs around it. A counter with fresh ingredients and more prepared food. No windows along the room.
Upon hearing the noise, they turned to look at them and smiled. One of them stood up from her chair and began walking with open arms in Seishan's direction.
But moments before getting too close, Akame raised her hand, and this woman stopped.
"Akame?" the woman asked hesitantly.
Her sister within the Nightmare replied after giving Seishan a nod. "Kurome didn't remember that we were sisters. The accident seems to have been more serious than we thought. She probably lost her memories."
'Kurome? Is that what I have to call myself now?'
The smile on the yellow-haired woman's face disappeared, replaced by an expression of sadness.
"I see…"
Taking advantage of the silence that followed the news, Seishan asked, "My name is Kurome?"
"Yes," her sister replied with a smile.
'The best thing would be to change it so that when I run into any of the girls, they recognize me… I hope it's not a sensitive issue with Akame,' she thought.
Seeing that the other woman had already returned to her seat at the table, Akame walked toward her and sat down in front of her plate. Following her example, Seishan did the same. However, before starting to eat, she looked up and focused on the other women who had not yet introduced themselves.
"You seem to know me, but I don't know who you are… could you tell me your names?"
The yellow-haired woman dropped the piece of meat she was eating and said with food still in her mouth, "Oh! That's true!" Then she finished swallowing and added, "My name is Dana."
Dana had short, yellow hair. Seishan had never in her life seen anyone with hair that color, but at the same time, she was the only one with gray skin, so she couldn't talk about having strange features. Her skin was slightly tanned.
Then the other woman smiled radiantly at her. "Hello, my name is Petra. It's a pleasure to meet you again."
She was a young, attractive woman, white complexion, and a slender build. Her nose was small and upturned. She had brown hair and brown eyes.
Seishan immediately realized that all three women around her were Awakened.
"Nice to meet you…" Then, looking at Akame, she asked, "Would it be possible to change my name?"
Her sister, who had already finished her plate and was about to eat the one from the other side, stopped and looked at her. "You want to change it?"
Seishan nodded.
"What would you like to be called?" asked Petra.
She pretended to think about it, and seconds later, replied, "Seishan."
"Can I call you Shan?" Dana immediately asked, still eating with a smile on her face.
"Yeah, sure."
The woman gave a thumbs up and continued eating. Then Petra also nodded, and finally, Seishan turned to look at Akame.
Her sister was watching her with an expressionless face. However, just as the seed of doubt began to plant itself in her, Akame nodded and smiled at her.
"If that makes you feel good, I don't see why not." Then she added, "Start eating before it gets cold."
Seishan nodded and began to eat her plate. It consisted of pieces of meat and various vegetables.
During the meal, there was only light conversation between Dana and Petra until eventually, she finished her plate and asked.
"Where exactly are we?"
The two stopped their conversation and focused on Seishan. Then Petra replied:
"We are in the Kingdom of Mordrath."
"Who is Mordrath?" asked Seishan.
The three women looked at each other and were silent for a few seconds. Then Akame asked: "You really don't remember anything, sister?"
She shook her head.
Akame let out a sigh and explained, "Mordrath is the king of the kingdom. He is an Ascended blessed by Beast God." Then she clenched her teeth slightly. "He is the one responsible for the state of the kingdom."
Seishan narrowed her eyes. "The state of the kingdom?"
Petra was the one who replied, "Yes. You noticed that the four of us are awakened, didn't you?" Seishan nodded. "Well, that doesn't happen in the city."
"What do you mean?"
Dana spoke now. "Women are not allowed to Awaken in the city. If you do, they send you as a slave to the colosseum to entertain the masses, or they simply kill you."
Seishan's eyes widened, and she stood completely petrified.
'I hope none of the girls are in that situation.'
Noticing her reaction, Dana continued between laughs, "That reaction was pretty funny!"
The other women closed their eyes while shaking their heads at their companion's reaction.
"But…" Seishan breathed, "How does he control that? Why does he do it?" she asked.
"We don't know why he does it. I'm sure even he doesn't know the reason," Petra replied. "Since Mordrath took power, it has always been like this."
Dana added, "And if you're wondering why no one has done anything… it's because of the General of Mordrath." Shaking her head, she added, "She is a psychopath, and the worst part is that no one can do anything to defeat her."
"Why?" Seishan asked.
"Because she is a Transcendent," the three women said simultaneously.
Seishan swallowed.
'A Saint?'
They were going to have to defeat a Saint to complete the Nightmare. Why the hell was the conflict they had to resolve as mere Awakened to kill a Saint?
Furthermore, this confirmed what their mother had told them. She had faced a Cursed Beast with powers over ice in this zone, and now the vision at the beginning of the Nightmare showed them how everything was covered in ice, and the General was precisely a Saint.
Obviously, the General was going to be the strongest person in the kingdom, therefore, she must be the one who ended up succumbing to corruption and becoming a Corrupted Deity.
A vibration sound pulled her from her thoughts, and she noticed Akame taking a note from a little device and beginning to read it.
Then she stood up from her chair and said, "We have a mission.." A pause, and she ordered, "Seishan and I will go together. Petra and Dana, I need you to go ahead and update us on the situation." Looking at them all, she added, "We have twenty minutes."
Immediately, Petra and Dana disappeared.
Seishan blinked, staring at where both women had been a second ago.
Akame noticed and let out a laugh. "That's something you'll have in the future, don't worry. It's something that allows us to teleport."
'A Memory for teleportation? No one in the clan has anything like that.'
"I see… and us?"
"We'll go on something else." She began walking toward the door. "Follow me."
Seishan nodded and walked behind her.
They crossed multiple hallways, all identical, until they reached a new room. In it, there were many swords, shields, barrels full of arrows, and even bows on the walls. However, what caught her attention the most were the two creatures lying down.
Horses.
They were two Horses, lying down.
These animals were extinct in the waking world, so it was the first time she had ever seen any.
Making a bit of noise, the horses stood up then, Akame placed a saddle on their backs.
"Do you remember how to ride a horse?" She asked her.
Seishan stood petrified, staring at the creatures, eventually shaking her head.
Akame grabbed the reins of one of the horses and, with a simple jump, was on top of it. Then she extended her hand toward Seishan with a smile.
She took the hand and, with a jump, was seated on top.
"Hold onto me," Akame ordered in a soft voice.
Seishan obeyed and held onto Akame's waist.
As soon as she felt she was secure, the wall of the room began to open, and seconds later, the horse began to gallop at great speed across the terrain.
Seishan held onto Akame's waist a little tighter, feeling like she might fly off. Even so, the situation was quite fun, so a smile drew itself on her beautiful face as the horse galloped at high speed.
During the journey, she decided to ask something she was very curious about.
"Akame, why doesn't the king allow other women to Awaken, but the General is allowed?"
Akame replied in a loud voice, "The General is not a native of the kingdom. For that reason, the king couldn't do anything against her. When she arrived, he knew he had no chance of defeating her, so he offered her a position where she could do whatever she wanted and wouldn't oppose him."
'That makes more sense,' she thought.
"What does her Aspect do?"
"We don't know what her specific abilities do, but mainly, she controls ice." A pause. "She can create ice from absolute nothing and shape it however she wants."
That was crucial information for her. It meant the Nightmare could be resolved by killing her, but that also led to the issue that she was a Saint, and they were four Awakened.
Surely this group of women was against the King, which was why their base was so far from the city. This was good news for the cohort—it meant they could have powerful allies.
Even so, they were still mere Awakened, while the General was a Saint and the King was an Ascended. Not to mention the number of guards there must be and the rest who could get involved.
How could seven Awakened defeat an entire kingdom with a Saint and an Ascended defending it…
'Wait… why did I assume there would only be seven of us? Maybe this group is much larger.'
Seishan decided to voice her doubts.
"How many are in this group?"
Akame hesitated for a few seconds and replied with a slight trace of embarrassment in her voice. "Umm… we are eight at the moment."
'So that would be eleven of us against an entire kingdom…'
Seishan let out a slight sigh. "How did you expect to defeat an entire kingdom, an Ascended, and a Transcendent with eight Awakened?"
"Oh, you already realized we were against them?" she asked, but immediately continued, "That's the thing—we simply don't have to."
"What do you mean?" Seishan asked with a raised eyebrow.
Akame turned slightly and winked at her. "It's better if you see for yourself."
They continued the journey in silence. It lasted less than ten minutes on the horse, thanks to the fact that their destination was in the third wall.
Once they reached the wall, Akame tied the horse to a post, and they both began climbing it from the outside.
Although every few hundred meters there were enormous gates for free passage, they couldn't use them. Rather, Akame couldn't use them. Or so she told her.
The southern wall wasn't very high—since it bordered the forest—so they climbed it in less than a few minutes.
Once on top, Seishan began to look at the views, and they were not very pleasant. It was like looking at the Outskirts of the Waking World from above. The only difference was that here, the houses were made of wood and more primitive materials.
"Do you see that over there?" Akame asked her, pointing with her finger.
Seishan followed the direction of her finger and focused on a specific structure. It was completely devoid of any signage or indication of what it was.
"I see it, but I don't know what it is."
Akame began to prepare to descend the wall while replying, "That is one of the prisons where they put people before taking them to the colosseum."
Seishan didn't reply, but a feeling of helplessness formed in her body.
Descending the wall together, when only a quarter remained, Akame stopped and extended her hand in Seishan's direction.
She didn't quite understand, but she took her hand anyway, and immediately felt the wind rush past her ears, making her black hair move aggressively.
From one moment to the next, she found herself standing on the roof of one of the houses. Completely confused, she began to turn her head until she found Akame, who was signaling her to crouch down.
Obediently, she crouched down beside her and began to look down the street.
In front of them were ten Awakened guards moving in formation.
She heard Akame let out a sigh, and then the latter turned to look at her.
"Those ten are our targets." She turned back to look at them. "Stay here. I'll handle it."
Her sister within the Nightmare tried to move, but Seishan held her hand.
"What the hell?," Seishan said. "How are you going to face ten Awakened by yourself?"
Akame stopped and tilted her head. "What? They're only ten."
Seishan looked at her with a completely blank expression.
"What do you mean, 'only ten'!?" Then she pointed at the guards. "They're ten Awakened against you alone! I can fight too."
Akame tilted her head the other way. "Do you remember how to fight?"
'Oh, she meant that.'
She brought her hand to the back of her neck and said, "Well, I don't have the memories, but the instinct is there, you know?"
Akame stood watching her for a few seconds until she let out a sigh and finally agreed.
"Okay, but you'll only take on three at most. If you need help, just tell me."
She nodded, and immediately, a red armor that looked more like a dress settled over her elegant figure. Then a long, completely red sword appeared in her hand.
Seishan wanted to stand up to attack them immediately, but Akame stopped her with a look, and she crouched back down. The question was written on her face, so the latter said:
"Give me a few minutes."
She simply shrugged as they continued watching the guards walk down the street. A few minutes later, Akame spoke again.
"The first one's Aspect gives him high resistance to physical attacks." A pause. "The second one's Aspect gives him extreme agility, while the third has the ability to launch mental attacks." She was about to continue speaking until Seishan touched her shoulder.
The latter said, "How do you know that?" Then she added, "And how did you get down the rest of the wall so fast?"
Akame didn't react to either question and continued analyzing the guards. After several long moments, when she already knew the Aspects of all the guards, she turned to look at her with a smile.
"How else?" she asked rhetorically, then continued, "We have information on almost all of the King's guards. I was just remembering their faces." Then she looked ahead again, finally saying, "As for your second question… I'm just fast."
'There's more to it than that. It's impossible to know everyone's abilities and remember them just by seeing their faces. With all the clan's resources, we still don't know even 1% of Valor's people…'
Still, with her distrust, she could do nothing. If Akame didn't want to tell her the real reason, that was fine. Even though she was supposed to be her sister in the Nightmare, that didn't mean Akame had to tell her her abilities.
In fact, a clear example was herself. Her sisters knew she had a True Name, but she had never told them what it was. Not because she distrusted them, but because names have power.
So she kept it secret and had never mentioned it to anyone. Because once two people know something, it ceases to be a secret.
Returning her focus to Akame, the latter gave her a signal, and they both began moving across the rooftops. Leaping over the gray roofs, they headed toward an alleyway and waited there.
Before hiding completely, Akame explained that she would handle the ones in front and that Seishan should stay with the ones in the back, waiting for the first contact to begin before intervening.
So following the order, she moved one alleyway down and stayed hidden there.
Hidden in the shadows, she watched as the first guard passed by, followed by the second, and then the rest. They all had their armor summoned and, obviously, their weapons of choice.
Remembering the abilities of the last guards Akame had mentioned, she prepared herself. The last guard had abilities related to his own essence and that of others, helping them recover much faster, but it wasn't an offensive Aspect. The other two had more defensive Aspects—obviously, the formation was designed for them to protect the last one—so the rest of the guards would have double the essence to defend themselves.
Even so, it wasn't going to work against her.
Looking toward Akame's direction, Seishan managed to see how her sister's expression didn't change at all, and after summoning a katana-shaped Memory, she disappeared from her position.
'She wasn't lying about being fast.'
The moment Akame disappeared from her spot, she noticed how the first guard's body—the one with high resistance to physical attacks—clearly split in two. His head falling freely to the ground.
She hadn't teleported; she had simply moved so fast it seemed like she had. Seishan remembered the Aspect of the Valor Legacy, Caster, the moment she saw Akame move. However, she had to say that Akame moved much faster than what the Legacy would have achieved. Even if he had reached Awakened.
Distracted by such explosive movement, she didn't realize that the second guard had already succumbed to the same fate.
'Now it's my turn.'
Seishan took advantage of the moment of chaos in the front line of the guards to focus some essence in her legs and jump toward the last three guards. The moment she did, she aimed her sword at one of their necks. However, at the last instant, he raised his axe and managed to avoid the fatal blow.
The clash of metal rang out, and in that same second, the other two turned toward her with expressions that shifted to pure anger.
The two guards with defensive Aspects positioned themselves in front of the third, covering him without hesitation, forming a barrier. However, they failed to realize that on the other side of the street, something new was forming.
Even so, Seishan ran toward them to draw their attention.
As soon as she entered range, one of them launched a vertical slash aiming to cut her in half, while the other prepared a descending strike with his axe. But she didn't stop. At the last moment, she tilted her body, feeling the edge graze her hair, and in that same movement, spun on her axis to appear at the side.
Then she moved her sword quickly, blocking the vertical slash.
The second had already recovered and attacked again. The blow fell hard, but Seishan was already moving after circulating essence into her legs, generating an explosive movement—a short step—and the impact hit the ground.
Doing the same, she slipped between them—a spin, a feint, another step—moving fluidly while essence coursed through her body exactly where she needed it: legs to explode in movements, torso to spin without losing balance, arms for precision.
The two guards advanced together this time, one blocking her path while the other launched a low sweep. But Seishan jumped forward instead of back, passing between the two as the sweep fell behind and the other attack was poorly positioned.
The moment she touched the ground, she spun, and from a lower position, launched a quick cut that was blocked by reflex, though the impact forced the guard to step back a few paces. When he recovered, she was already behind them, moving again. Attack, dodge, step, spin. Each exchange was faster than the last.
Barely five seconds after the exchange began, the third guard finally realized the mistake they had made. He turned toward the street behind him… and failed to avoid the bite that closed around his head, tearing it off in an instant.
[You have slain an Awakened human, Leon.]
While she distracted the other guards, she decided to summon one of the Transcendent Echoes she had. The figure of an enormous wolf materialized in the other alleyway, its presence instilling fear by simply existing. But the moment the guard fell, Seishan unsummoned it without hesitation.
If she, a princess of the Song Clan, couldn't face two Awakened with defensive Aspects, then what had she trained so hard for?
How could she even try to stand as Arthur's equal when he returned? No… she couldn't afford that.
For that reason, she clenched her teeth and faced the two giants head-on. Her expression shifted to one of complete concentration. This time, she wouldn't rely on anything else.
The first charged straight in, raising his axe with pure brute force. Seishan waited until the last second before moving, letting the blow fall where she had been. The second attacked in that same instant, trying to take advantage of the opening, but she was already spinning, deflecting just enough for it not to reach her, and that small mistake was enough.
She advanced without hesitation—one step, another—her body responding with measured explosiveness, and her sword came out in a straight line. She feinted toward one of the guards, and he protected himself with his sword, while the other decided to take the opportunity to kill her… but that was Seishan's plan.
Finishing the feint and changing direction at the last moment, her sword embedded itself directly into the second guard's heart.
[You have slain an Awakened human, Maer.]
With the sound of the guard's lifeless body hitting the ground, Seishan found herself in a one-on-one. The last one didn't hesitate and attacked with everything—a vertical strike aiming to split her in two—but she stepped back just enough, letting the axe graze past as she felt the impact against the ground.
In that instant, she saw the opening and moved. A feint to one side; the guard reacted… mistake.
Seishan changed direction at the last moment, entering through his blind side before he could correct, and dodging the attack at the last moment with an elegant, almost dance-like spin, she appeared behind him. With a clean cut, his head separated from his shoulders.
[You have slain an Awakened human, Keaer.]
Even before the head hit the ground, she was already turning to help Akame. However, when she did, the latter was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, staring at her intently.
Everything around her was filled with lifeless bodies.
Slowly, Akame uncrossed her arms and began to applaud her with a smile.
"You did very well. I liked what you did with that guard over there," she pointed to the guard the Echo had killed, "that was a smart move." Then she pushed off the wall and jumped to the roof of the house she had been leaning against.
Seishan didn't know how to react, because what she had just said implied that Akame had managed to kill seven Awakened even before Seishan could kill a single one…
She trembled at the thought.
'What kind of monster is she?'
Speaking of monsters, it was time to move, because the smell of blood was suffocating her, and she didn't know how much longer she could contain her Flaw to prevent anything unpleasant from happening.
They moved across the rooftops again for a few minutes until they reached the edge of the wall from the inside. Once there, Akame descended to the street, and Seishan followed.
They continued walking calmly, and Seishan began to observe her surroundings—while also carefully watching Akame.
The houses in the area were completely destroyed and in poor condition. It would even be wrong to call them houses.
Some had their roofs perforated; others had their walls collapsed upon themselves. There were houses where a window should have been, but it was completely covered with wood, and finally, those that only had their foundations.
Something that wasn't surprising upon analyzing this was the fact that there wasn't a single person in sight. And her heightened senses—thanks to her lineage—didn't help her smell any presence other than Akame, herself, and an overwhelming smell of blood.
But the latter didn't belong to the group they had already killed. It came from ahead of them, which meant the other girls—Dana and Petra—had also been busy.
The closer they got, the more intense the smell of blood became, which meant she was going to have a hard time wherever they had to go.
Moments later, they turned a corner and managed to see it.
In front of them was a structure that wasn't completely destroyed. It had its walls and roof in good condition. The only striking thing was the ridiculous number of bodies around it, added to the fact that their blood was all splattered across the walls.
Seeing the scene, Akame let out a sigh and shook her head.
Seishan noticed and decided to ask her, "What's wrong?"
The red-eyed woman turned and pointed at the corpses.
"Dana acted up again."
"Dana did all that by herself?" she asked, observing that there were easily fifteen bodies surrounding the structure.
Akame looked ahead again and began walking in that direction, saying, "Petra probably helped her, but those two together don't know how to control themselves." Then she added, "They probably made a bet to see who could kill more."
"I see…"
'What the hell? Who bets on who can kill more than the other!?'
'Well… Howl and Hel could definitely do it… well, whatever.'
Seishan took a deep breath and decided to step forward, concentrating her entire body and mind on not seeing or thinking about the blood around her.
Once they entered the structure, her concentration almost broke again because inside there were even more corpses than outside.
'How is this even possible!?'
Unable to hold it in any longer, Seishan quickly said goodbye to Akame and the rest of the girls inside the structure and went outside to get some clean air.
Once she had distanced herself enough, she began to breathe to suppress the urge to go back and start drinking the blood present like a monster. Instead, she decided to summon a Memory, and it appeared in the form of a bottle in her hand.
This bottle contained a flow of blood that wouldn't spoil and could last her months. Drinking from the bottle, the blood hit her palate, and she realized it was from Corrupted-rank creatures.
The Memory was a gift from Bin, so it made sense that she had enthralled creatures of that rank and ordered them to drain themselves.
Once her Flaw was satisfied, she stayed staring at the moon that had already risen over the city. If it weren't for the fact that she was sitting on top of a collapsed house, she would have said the moment would have been special.
In fact, it could have been more special if a certain person were beside her while she did it.
Lying down on the roof, she brought her hands behind her head and stayed staring at the stars and the moon.
Her mind, tired from the urge to consume blood and contain her Flaw, began to wander, and she ended up thinking about what Arthur might be doing.
She didn't doubt that he would return—he had to. But at the same time, she couldn't help but worry about him. Was he okay?
Now that Sunless had returned, he was completely alone in the Dream Realm as a Sleeper.
What if he was in an unexplored zone? Or what if he was in a death zone?
Seishan really didn't want to think about that, so she decided to focus on other things.
First, she imagined how she would receive him when he returned. Would she be able to not jump and give him a hug the moment he did? Would she be able to look away from his golden eyes? Or would her gaze focus on his lips?
At that last thought, her cheeks began to take on a rosy hue. But at the same time, a smile found its way onto her face.
It was the first time she had ever felt this way… and that made her happy.
Throughout her life, she had only had one goal: to return everything she had been given to her mother.
Even though the latter had forced her to consume Beast God's lineage and then didn't help her escape the Forgotten Shore, everything she had and ever had was thanks to her mother.
She had her sisters because her mother decided to adopt her and then adopt the rest. Her reputation came from being one of the queen's daughters. Her survival in her First Nightmare was thanks to the training her mother had given her. If she hadn't been adopted, she might have died.
She had lived in an orphanage in the Outskirts after becoming an orphan, and it was precisely her mother who had given her a new family.
But now there was something her mother had no influence over, at least for now.
Arthur.
Was it a selfish thought to say that she wanted to be with him to have something of her own? Something that didn't derive from her mother's kindness?
Seishan didn't know, and the truth was, she didn't care to know either.
She just wanted him to return so she could see his face and give him a hug. And maybe something more, but she was against thinking about that!
However, reality was also different. She wasn't stupid. No matter how much she felt this way about him, she knew he didn't feel the same. Maybe he didn't even see her as someone worthy of having a relationship with…
Yes, he had kissed her on the forehead that day, but didn't he also hold Cassia's hand to guide her? What made her think he might see Cassie as a potential partner instead of her?
She knew she was beautiful, but she wasn't blind either. At the same time, she knew and recognized that Cassie was also very beautiful. Added to the fact that they had known each other for much longer…
They had only known each other for about three months, while with Cassie, they had been childhood friends.
The smile she had previously was wiped from her face at that thought, but it immediately returned, and she let out a small laugh as she remembered talking about this with her sister Hel.
Hel, with her typical carefree and dramatic way of being, had told her:
"...Well, you never know… maybe this Arthur guy likes older women, you know?"
While remembering this, she felt a presence approaching, and when she opened her eyes, a pair of red ones were looking down at her with a slight smile on her lips.
"Everything is ready. We can go back," said Akame, then extended her hand toward her.
Seishan took it and stood up. Then, with her sister within the Nightmare, they climbed the wall again, and once on the other side, they jumped on the horse again, and they galloped back to the base.
Even after the mission was over, Seishan still didn't know what it had been about. So she decided to ask.
"Akame, I still haven't asked… but what was the mission about?"
She lifted her head a little and then turned slightly to look at her. "We received a notification that a patrol of the King had identified a woman who managed to Awaken without permission, and we went to save her." Seishan was about to ask something else, but Akame continued, "The notification came from the woman's husband, and we immediately took action."
"Wait," she lowered her eyebrows. "The husband informed you of this? I thought they were against us?"
Akame shook her head.
"Why would they be? Sexism affects them too." A pause. "I've known men who want to act in ways different from those dictated by society, but they can't even be themselves. Others, when they still decide to act, are taken to the colosseum and used as entertainment…"
"In short, it's a problem that affects us all."
Seishan fell silent, internalizing the words, but Akame spoke again.
"Do you remember when you asked me how we were going to defeat an entire kingdom as eight Awakened?" She nodded. "Today was a clear sign that the people are tired. What you saw is something that happens repeatedly. That man was not the first to want to save his wife, and he won't be the last."
"Did they both survive?"
The red-eyed woman closed her eyes slightly and replied, "No." Then she continued in a lower tone. "The woman survived, but the husband did not. In the end, there were more guards than expected, and he sacrificed himself to save her life."
"Another victim of the King's rules, right?" Akame nodded. "What will happen to the woman now?"
"We'll take her to the base for now." After dodging a crevice, she continued, "Then we'll see if she wants to join the cause or not. In fact, her name is Ceres."