Survival in Akame ga kill.

[Night Raid's Hidden Base] 

Nestled deep within a maze of jagged cliffs and dense forests, far from the prying eyes of the Empire's imperial army, lay the secret stronghold of Night Raid. 

Inside the base, the sterile air of the medical bay was thick with tension. 

The room was bathed in harsh, clinical light, the kind that seemed to suffocate rather than illuminate. The sharp scent of antiseptic mixed with the metallic tang of blood, creating an atmosphere that was both suffocating and unnerving. 

Bulat lay motionless on the cot, his once muscular frame now a patchwork of bandages and bruises. 

Machines hissed and beeped in a steady rhythm, their sounds syncing with the shallow rise and fall of his chest. 

Third-degree burns snaked across his arms and torso, the skin beneath blistered and blackened. His ribs, cracked and fractured, were tightly strapped.

In a distant corner of the bay, Leone leaned against the wall, her arms crossed. Her golden eyes, usually sharp and confident, were now shadowed with worry. Her usual swagger had given way to a coiled tension, her fingers tapping a restless rhythm against her biceps. 

Akame stood beside her, silent as ever, though her hand hovered near the hilt of Murasame, as if she were contemplating something reckless. The cursed blade seemed to hum faintly, as if sensing the growing unease in the room. 

Najenda sat closest to Bulat, her posture rigid, her single amethyst eye unblinking. The flickering overhead lights cast harsh shadows across her face, accentuating the lines of stress and fatigue. 

Scattered on the table beside her were reports—intercepted imperial missives, maps marked with red Xs, and a half-empty vial of painkillers. But her gaze remained fixed on Bulat. 

How did it come to this? 

Bulat had barely returned alive, and the genuine horror lay in the fragmented account he had managed to relay before collapsing. 

The first sign of trouble had been when Bane lost contact with the snake he had attached to Sheele, a failsafe meant to track her movements. 

That alone had been cause for alarm. 

Sensing the urgency, Bulat had allowed Tatsumi and Mine to move in for a rescue. But then, they too had gone in dark. No response. Nothing. 

Something had gone terribly wrong. 

It was then that Bane, who was already in poor condition, had volunteered to investigate. 

"That reckless, insubordinate bastard," Najenda muttered under her breath. 

Bane had charged headfirst into danger without thinking about consequences, disappearing just like the others. 

Now, after hearing Bulat's fragmented account before he lost consciousness, Najenda finally understood the full extent of Bane's actions. 

She had always known he was reckless, but this? 

This was something else entirely. 

Fighting local gangs, human traffickers and eliminating their leader. Clashing with imperial soldiers and engaging in a death battle with Zanku, the head collector. Enduring a fake execution at the hands of the Empire's mightiest, Budo, and then recklessly charging straight into a trap where chances of survival were very low. 

It was as if he was begging for death. 

Or… did he want to? 

What was even more astonishing was that all these horrific events had unfolded within the span of just two days. 

Geralt had warned her that Bane had a habit of throwing himself into dangerous situations, a trait evident in his stellar records within the Revolutionary Army ranks. 

Every mission assigned to him had been completed without fail, even when all the members of his squad had perished. 

After some time, he had even refused to work with anyone else, telling his superiors that solo missions suited him better. 

There had been objections, but against his stellar performance, they were all silenced. 

To top it off, he had been found to be a suitable Teigu user, a military asset of the highest value, akin to a thousand soldiers. 

After that, it was as if a tiger had been given wings—his rate of mission completions soared, particularly in assassinations. 

One of his major accomplishments was assassinating Prime Minister Honest's relative, who had been guarded by over fifty armed Imperial forces, including warriors from Kouken Temple. 

But this accomplishment had caused significant turmoil within the Revolutionary Army, as Bane had also hung the relative's head on a stake in the middle of town, creating a massive headache for the higher-ups who had to deal with the fallout. 

Nonetheless, it had proven his worth. 

That was why she had recruited him. 

She had thought that with the proper incentive, which was revenge, she could use him. 

But now, for the first time, she wondered if she had made a mistake. 

'He's in for it if he makes it.' She thought.

Her fingers clenched into fists, nails digging into her palms. The weight of the situation pressed down on her like an iron chain.

She wanted to smash something. Break something. 

But instead, she took a deep breath, forcing the boiling anger to settle. 

This wasn't the time for emotion. 

She needed to control herself.

Najenda reached into her coat and pulled out a cigar, rolling it between her fingers before placing it between her lips. Her free hand moved to her pocket, fishing out a lighter.

The familiar click of metal sounded, and a small flame flickered to life.

But before she could bring it to the tip of her cigar, a voice broke the heavy silence.

"Not here," Akame said, her voice unusually firm. "Not near Bulat."

Najenda blinked before glancing at the unconscious man beside her. The steady rhythm of the oxygen mask filled the silence, a quiet reminder of how fragile his condition still was.

A beat passed before she sighed and clicked the lighter shut, tucking both it and the cigar away. "You're right," she admitted, her voice low. "My mistake."

Akame nodded her head slightly, but the tension in the air remained.

After a moment, she spoke again, her tone calm.

"I should go."

Najenda turned her head, meeting Akame's unblinking stare. The assassin's voice held no hesitation, no doubt, just the simple, quiet resolve she always carried.

But Najenda didn't waver. She held Akame's gaze, her single eye sharp and unwavering.

"No," she said.

Akame's brows furrowed slightly. "Why?"

Najenda leaned forward slightly, resting her elbows on her knees. "Because it's already too late," she said bluntly. "The capital will be on high alert after everything that's happened. If you go now, you'll be walking into a trap and make the situation worse."

The room fell into a silent hush as none tried to deny the fact.

Leone clenched her fists. "So what?" 

She snapped. "Are we just supposed to sit here and do nothing while our comrades are out there, fighting for their lives?!"

Najenda didn't flinch. Her expression remained cold, pragmatic. "If you rush in now, you won't be saving anyone. You'll just be adding to the body count."

Leone's teeth clenched, her fingers twitching as if she wanted to punch something, punch someone.

Akame, however, remained still.

"…Then what do we do?" She began to ask, but before she could finish, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed down the hall.

Lubbock burst into the room, his breathing quick, eyes sharp with urgency.

"Intruder," he said, wasting no time.

Najenda immediately straightened. "How many?" she demanded.

"Just one."

She narrowed her eye. "Just one?"

Lubbock gave a grim nod. "Yeah. But… I don't think it's human."

A heavy silence fell over the room.

Najenda's expression hardened. "Explain."

"It's heading straight for the base like it knows exactly where we are," Lubbock reported, his voice tense. "It tore through our outer perimeter, and the traps aren't working on it. Not even slowing it down."

"I think it's a special class danger beast." He guessed.

Najenda stood swiftly.

"Location?" She asked.

"South side. Less than a minute away." Lubbock answered.

Without another word, she strode to the nearby cabinet, yanking it open. Inside, a pair of pistols gleamed under the dim light, alongside a sturdy sword. 

She grabbed them all, fastening the gun holsters around her waist and securing the sword at her side.

"Move out."

No one hesitated. Even Leone, still bristling with frustration, followed without question. Bulat was left behind, still unconscious on the cot, the rhythmic hiss of the oxygen mask fading as they rushed out into the night.

*

The acrid scent of scorched earth and trampled foliage clung to the air as they reached the edge of the base.

The wind whispered through the trees, rustling the leaves like unseen specters, and the moonlight cast jagged shadows across the clearing. 

Suddenly, a shape emerged from the darkness.

*Woosh*

Akame moved first. Murasame unsheathed in an instant, its cursed edge gleaming like a death sentence.

Lubbock cracked his fingers, metallic threads slithering around his arms, coiled and ready to strike.

Leone bared her fangs, muscles rippling as her transformation surged to completion. Golden fur bristled, claws extended, her breath deep and steady, anticipation thrumming in her veins.

Najenda drew her sword, pistols at the ready. Her finger hovered over the trigger.

But then—she stopped.

So did everyone else.

But it wasn't instinct or hesitation that froze them in place. It was what stood before them.

Lubbock, Leone, and Akame stood rigid, staring, their expressions unreadable but their eyes wide with something between disbelief and dread.

Najenda followed their gaze, her breath caught in her lungs.

A towering figure loomed at the entrance to their base, a monstrous entity draped in the blackened remnants of something unnatural. Its humanoid frame was coated in jagged, obsidian-like scales, its form twisted and nightmarish, like a beast that had clawed its way out of the abyss.

It started at them with its azure eyes.

Never in her life had they seen such a creature.

"A mutated danger beast?" Najenda wondered. 

The beast wasn't attacking.

It simply stood there. Watching.

And then it moved.

They tensed, ready to strike, until they saw what it carried.

Cradled in its arms was a woman, her body limp, battered, drenched in crimson. Another figure was slung over its broad shoulder, just as broken, just as still.

Recognition struck like a blade to the gut.

"Sheele… and Tatsumi," Lubbock breathed, his voice barely above a whisper.

But more than the shock of seeing them alive—was the strangest revelation of all.

There was no hostility. No malice.

Only something else. Something they couldn't name.

Then, just as the realization settled, the creature staggered.

Its massive legs trembled, its body swaying. And then, with deliberate care, it lowered itself to its knees, gently setting the wounded down.

A deep, shuddering breath escaped from within its chest. Then—its body began to change.

Its darkened scales cracked, crumbling away into nothingness, dissolving into the wind. The beast withered, its monstrous bulk shrinking, unraveling into something human.

And when the last of the obsidian armor flaked away, what remained was a human.

Blood soaked his trembling frame, his body wrecked and barely holding itself together. Yet even in his brokenness, his grip on Sheele did not waver.

Najenda's breath caught. Her heart clenched.

She knew this person.

"…Bane."

His dull, exhausted eyes lifted to meet hers. A fleeting recognition flickered within them.

His body swayed, unsteady.

Then, in a voice hoarse and raw, he spoke.

"…Save them."

And before anyone could react, his strength gave out.

He collapsed.

—-

A/N:

BOOM! Yeah, baby! With this, not only is this arc wrapped up, but we've also hit 100 chapters—a milestone I never thought I'd reach when I first started writing this fanfic. But here we are, against all odds, proving that even sleep-deprived, procrastinating fools like me can accomplish something.

A huge thank you to all my dear readers for sticking with me through this wild ride, especially my MVPs: Tsukoyomi777, IBM, Yugi Yugi, Saad_Bihmid, ACertainPassingUser, WilBerker029, BrazilianFox, Read the Plot, Rayomega, PantekBuat, and Odinneversmile(New but fun to chat). 

You guys have been my biggest motivators, and I truly appreciate your support, comments, and encouragement.

I hope you all stay with me for the rest of this journey—whether this fic turns out to be amazing, decent, or a chaotic mess. Either way, it'll be one hell of a ride.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you!