Survival in Akame ga kill

Using his one arm to push himself up from the cold, bloodstained floor, Bane stood slowly, his breathing now steadier but still laboured. 

His body ached for rest, but there was no time for such luxuries. With a quiet grunt, he marched toward Zanku’s lifeless body, kneeling in front of the corpse.

Ignoring the content expression frozen on Zanku’s face, Bane reached for the slasher’s headband, Aka Teigu, Spectator. 

Carefully, he began to unfasten it from Zanku’s head, his fingers brushing against the cold metal. When the headband came free, Bane inspected it closely, intrigued by the closed metallic surface over the eyeballs, where he expected to see the bright green orbs that were seen by him during their fight.

‘Perhaps the large green eyeball is from some ancient, danger beast... or it’s an artificial creation made by mixing various danger beasts’ samples,’ Bane thought, eyes narrowing as he studied the intricate designs etched into the Teigu.

Despite the relic’s allure, Bane didn’t dare to even consider using it himself, not now. Sheele had warned him of the deadly consequences of trying to wield two Teigu at once. 

Not to mention, Spectator could very well be incompatible with his body, and any adverse effects could be fatal in his current state. Even his regenerative abilities might not be enough to stave off whatever side effects came with using the artifact.

‘Forgotten ancient technologies like these are beyond anything I can comprehend. Best to inspect it later, once I’ve reached safety, then hand it over to Najenda. She’ll know what to do with it, and it might earn me some favours.’ Bane thought with exhaustion, and he carefully tucked the Teigu into one of his worn, torn pockets.

He knew well the value these relics held, both to the Revolutionary forces and the Empire. The compensation for delivering such a treasure would be substantial, though that wasn’t his immediate concern. Still, it was a good card to hold for the future.

‘But that’s for later. I need to get out of here first.’

With one last glance at Zanku’s twisted body, Bane turned and began walking toward the chapel’s entrance, leaving the heavy stench of death and decay behind. 

Tap Tap 

As he stepped outside, the cool morning air hit him, and he paused for a moment to take in his surroundings. He couldn’t sense anyone nearby, no imminent threats, no hunters.

For now.

The sun was just beginning to rise, its rays casting a golden hue over the buildings. The warmth spread across Bane’s battered body as he stood there, watching the dawn break over the horizon.

‘Damn... Now that the sun’s up, it’ll be harder to avoid those snipers,’ Bane thought, shaking his head in frustration. ‘At least the hunters haven’t shown up yet. Could be worse.’

He surveyed the terrain ahead, realising that he’d have to navigate through the nearby buildings if he wanted to avoid being picked off by long-range shooters. As he prepared to make his move, he raised his foot to step forward.

Suddenly, every hair on Bane’s body stood on end.

His Instincts screamed at him to run away from the incoming danger, a primal warning coursing through his veins like wildfire.

Stiffly, he lifted his gaze to the sky, his muscles tensing as a sudden wave of dread washed over him. 

The air itself seemed to shift, the currents swirling unnaturally. The warm sunlight dimmed as thick, menacing clouds rapidly gathered overhead, darkening the sky and swallowing the morning light in a matter of seconds.

But it wasn’t the ominous storm that sent terror through Bane’s core. No, his major source of fear was the man floating high above, armored in gleaming steel, his very presence oppressive.

The imposing man stood tall in the air, his muscular frame encased in intricately forged armor that shimmered with a dull, silver-blue hue. His dark crimson cape billowed in the fierce winds generated by the storm.

Bane’s muscles strained to the max, sweat dripping down his back. His eyes widened as he saw the figure in the stormy sky.

He knew that face. It had been burned into his memory from countless posters and intelligence reports at the Revolutionary Army’s base.

The man above him was none other than Great General Budo, one of the Empire’s most feared and formidable warriors, a powerhouse. 

A terror on the battlefields, Budo hailed from a prestigious family of knights that had served the Empire’s royal family for generations. His presence alone struck terror into the hearts of both rebels and loyalists alike.

But Budo wasn’t just powerful, he was, in many ways, considered the Empire’s strongest military force, comparable only to one other person named Esdeath. 

Together, they represented the Empire’s near-unstoppable might.

Bane’s heart pounded in his chest as he realized the magnitude of the threat before him. He was not facing an ordinary opponent. The man in front of him was a living storm.

Bane remembered Budo’s Teigu, which he had read from the reports, and his eyes went towards a pair of menacing gauntlets like his own. 

The Teigu’s name was ‘Adramelech’, a pair of menacing gauntlets that crackled with electricity. But unlike Jormungandr, they didn’t look simple, but they crackled with electricity as if alive. Thick arcs of lightning danced across the surface, flickering in rhythm with the storm clouds above. 

As he stared at the man hovering in the sky, memories of his childhood flashed through Bane's mind. 

He could still hear Liya’s voice vividly, recounting the legendary tales of Great General Budo, how the man could single-handedly crush armies of thousands, how he could summon lightning from the sky to obliterate his enemies on the battlefield. 

As a child, he had scoffed at those stories, dismissing them as exaggerated fantasies meant to impress or scare him.

But now, facing the very man from those tales, Bane understood the truth. Every word Liya had spoken was real. Budo was a walking storm, a force of destruction the likes of which Bane had never imagined possible.

Back in the Revolutionary forces, Bane had diligently studied profiles of key figures in the Empire’s military.

Budo’s file had been extensive, detailing his overwhelming power, his family’s prestigious lineage, and his exploits on the battlefield. 

But reading about Budo was a far cry from experiencing his presence firsthand.

Now, standing under that cold, piercing gaze, Bane felt the full weight of Budo’s power. The man radiated an aura of pure dominance, as if he were the embodiment of war itself. 

The gap between them was staggering. Bane couldn’t even fathom what it would take to harm the general, let alone defeat him.

Liya had been right all along. The man in front of him wasn’t just strong, he was beyond strong. So much so that even if hundreds of Banes were to fight him, they wouldn’t stand a chance.

For the first time in a long time, Bane felt the icy grip of despair tightening around his heart.

Budo’s brown eyes, cold and piercing, locked onto the masked person with a gaze that spoke as if he was dealing with nothing more than an insect, a minor nuisance.

He didn’t bother with words as he lifted one of his armored hands into the air, his gaze never wavering from the masked figure. 

CRACKLE!

The dark clouds above seemed to listen, rumbling in response to their master’s silent command. Then, in an instant, a bolt of lightning shot forth from the sky, tearing through the air with a deafening roar as it hurtled toward Bane’s position.

Bane’s eyes widened. There was no time to think. “Fuck my life!” he cursed in despair, knowing there was no chance of dodging the strike.

The incoming lightning’s range was too great and its speed was too fast for any human reflex to respond.

In a desperate bid to escape certain demise, Bane summoned Jormungandr, despite the mental strain, and positioned it over his heart and head.

The lightning reached him in an instant.

RUMBLE!

The sky tore apart with a blinding flash, and the ruined chapel erupted in an explosion of splintered wood and stone. 

BOOMM!!

The force of the strike obliterated the structure, sending wooden beams and chunks of debris flying in all directions. The lightning scorched everything in its path, reducing the once-holy ground to a smoldering ruin.

In the midst of the horrifying devastation, a burned figure emerged, smoke billowing from his charred body as he collapsed to the ground, his limbs trembling faintly. 

Collapsed in a kneeling position, his head slumped forward, his flesh now burnt and blackened, steam rising from his ruined body. His gauntlets vanished completely, trying to protect him from the wrath of Adramelech.

The chapel, now reduced to little more than smoldering wreckage, crackled and groaned as the flames from the lightning strike licked at the remaining rubble.

This was the power of one of the Empire’s mightiest.

[Chapter : 65 General Budo]