"My dear children, let me look forward to your performance!" Gozuki stood atop a mountain peak, his figure silhouetted against the sky. The breeze continuously swayed the hem of his coat, and his rugged, chiseled face bore a sinister and cruel smile.
From his vantage point, Gozuki could clearly observe the movements of the seven young boys and girls. Although he was highly expectant of each child, it was Akame who particularly caught the attention of this cold-blooded and ruthless man.
"Akame, you are gentle and unlike Tsukushi and Poney, who blindly trust me. How will you face your opponent?" Gozuki murmured with a bloodthirsty and cruel smile, feeling as though he had never been so eager to see someone's performance.
"Screech!!!" Just then, a high-pitched eagle cry echoed from the sky.
"Iron Eagle?" Gozuki slightly raised his head, his eyes gleaming as he spotted the massive gray figure c above him. His brows furrowed, and a hint of confusion appeared in his expression.
He recognized this Iron Eagle, one of the most powerful dangerous beasts in the nearby forest, the ruler of the skies. However, they had always kept their distance, and with Gozuki, the empire's top assassin who was more dangerous than any beast, the Iron Eagle had never appeared in this area before.
The young ones were on their first mission, and Gozuki didn't want anything to disturb them. He decided to observe what the Iron Eagle was up to.
Though it was a bit troublesome, if the Iron Eagle was here to cause trouble, Gozuki wouldn't mind taking it down!
"Clang!!!" With a forceful flick of his thumb, the blade hidden in the scabbard, Murasame, was partially unsheathed, instantly radiating a chilling gleam. At the same time, Gozuki released a sharp, sword-like aura, issuing a warning to the Iron Eagle.
As one of the most powerful dangerous beasts in the area, the Iron Eagle was highly sensitive to dangerous auras. Although they had never crossed paths before, its wild instincts told it that the human below was exceptionally strong.
However, if it were in the past, the Iron Eagle might have been somewhat wary, but now, with an even more terrifying being on its back, it didn't care!
"Tch, the warning didn't work!" A cold glint flashed in Gozuki's eyes as he saw the Iron Eagle remain unmoved in the sky. He became extremely serious, unsheathing his long sword and assuming a combat stance.
But just then, a blurry figure suddenly jumped down from the Iron Eagle's back. Gozuki, who was about to strike, immediately stopped his movement, his expression changing.
"Boom!!!" The ground cracked, and a slight tremor occurred as the figure landed directly on the ground. A black-haired, black-eyed man appeared before Gozuki.
"Yare yare, I accidentally fell asleep," Sora muttered to himself, rubbing his sleepy eyes. Using his Demon Armor, he had flown from the capital to the northwestern border, even taking several detours along the way, which had made him quite drowsy.
He thought to himself that the minister was quite unreliable, only giving him a location and a poorly drawn map. Was it intentional?
Hmph, whether it was intentional or not, Sora decided that the next time the fatso wanted to find him, he would definitely make him pay dearly!
"Who are you?!" Gozuki, who had finally gotten a clear loo at Sora, was startled and immediately shouted with heightened vigilance.
Both his senses and vision told him that the other party seemed like an ordinary human with no power, but the reality was far from it!
Joking aside, someone who could fall from hundreds of meters in the air and remain unscathed was no ordinary person!!!
A sense of dread rose in Gozuki's heart. The only person who could give him this calm yet terrifying feeling was the one known as the empire's strongest. His mind raced, and he began to have some guesses about the identity of the person before him…
"Hey… You're Gozuki, the empire's strongest assassin responsible for training Akame-chan and the others, and a former member of the Four Rakshasa Demons, right? You do look quite impressive!" With just one glance at this sword-like sharp man, Sora had already gauged his depth. Given the world's power system, reaching this level was indeed quite remarkable. A smile curled on Sora's lips as he generously praised Gozuki.
"In front of you, I dare not claim the title of the strongest."
"If I'm not mistaken, you are General Sora, one of the empire's three strongest, right?"
Gozuki retracted his aura, showing a polite smile, flawless in every way.
"Yes, that's right, I am Sora."
Sora nodded, not hiding it, and directly admitted it, continuing:
"I suppose the minister has already informed you? It seems Akame-chan and the others are undergoing their final training. I'll wait a bit longer, and once they return, we'll proceed with the handover!"
Although this uncle was cool and handsome, the type that would make girls scream, Sora had no interest in him. He was already eagerly searching for the long-desired Akame-chan.
Hmm, but it seems Akame-chan was hiding quite far away. The first thing that caught his eye was a somewhat sleazy muscular guy, not his target, Pass!
Changing direction, a tall, thin guy with glasses, occasionally smirking, clearly the type who was secretly perverted, not his target, Pass!!
Changing direction again, a cool little handsome guy, walking while reading a book, acting like a literary youth. Damn, he was really handsome, almost as good as Sora himself, not his target, Pass!!!
Well, Sora was feeling bit frustrated. No matter where he looked, he couldn't find his target!
Not giving up, he changed direction once more.
Finally, this time, those annoying male creatures no longer appeared his sight. What entered Sora's view was a tall and voluptuous figure.
Long, wheat-green hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall, swaying with her light steps, filling one with endless imagination.
Although he hadn't seen her face yet, just from her back and figure, Sora could tell that this must be the big sister of the group, Cornelia!
Hehehe, not bad, not bad. In the original story, this big sister, who was deeply relied upon by the girls, was killed by the old hag Babara's disciple, Taeko. But now that Sora was here, he wouldn't let such a cliché thing happen again!
Hmm, as punishment, he would reluctantly recruit the aloof Taeko-chan as well, and let Cornelia bully her in return.
Although he was a bit reluctant, since she was already in his bowl and couldn't escape, Sora wasn't in a hurry. He shifted his gaze once more.
This time, what entered Sora's sight was a lively girl with a long ponytail, her arms behind her head, walking while kicking her little feet.
Based on the information I have, this should be the legendary Poney, the little sister with a not-so-bright mind and an extremely blind trust in Uncle Gozuki.
Hmm, her legs are long enough, her waist is slim enough, and her face is cute enough. The only sad part is that her chest is a bit small!
Comforting herself in her heart, Poney is still young, and there's still room for improvement. As long as she works hard in the future, everything will be fine.
She was able to save Mine from the sorrow of being a "plane girl," so she can definitely save Poney too!
Firming up her belief, Sora shifted her gaze once again.
A strange glint flashed in her deep eyes, and this time, what appeared before Sora was the youthful and buxom Tsukushi!
Looking a bit nervous, she held a silver gun in her hand, constantly looking around as she walked.
Despite being a pure and lovely girl, she was holding such a violent and bloody weapon. It was impossible not to feel the urge to discipline her a bit!
With an evil smile on her lips, a thought flashed in Sora's mind, and she had already planned how to discipline this cute little delinquent in the future.
After searching for a while, Sora finally found her most anticipated target in a remote corner—the protagonist of this world's fate, the ace assassin of the Night Raid, Akame!
Although she hadn't reached the maturity of two years later in the original story, her figure and appearance were already quite similar. Even though Sora already knew what she looked like, seeing her in person for the first time still stirred a strange excitement in her heart.
At this moment, Akame wasn't wearing the black combat suit from the original story but a white short dress, losing a bit of her coldness and gaining a touch of liveliness and cuteness!
Unlike the others who were searching for their targets, Akame stood still, staring at the contents of an envelope in her hand with an incredulous expression.
Sora naturally knew what was in that envelope. It was all the doing of that old man Gozuki, still so evil at his age!
However, as a fellow traveler Sora had no right to criticize Gozuki. The things she had done were far more evil than this!
With a charming smile on her face, Sora was also looking forward to seeing how the cold yet tender-hearted Akame was born from the baptism of blood!