"?"
Setsuna took a moment to confirm that Belfast hadn't been feeding them strange concepts.
It turned out to be Kanae overexplaining things with a little too much enthusiasm, which had clearly scared them.
"May I ask what business you have with us?"
Najenda stepped forward and asked.
"To keep it short—I intend to recruit you."
Setsuna stated bluntly.
"We will soon conquer this world and bring a new order."
"I'll provide better living conditions and show you things you've never imagined."
As he spoke, he glanced at Kanae, a thought crossing his mind.
"From now on, the Night Raid squad can form a joint unit with the Demon Slayer Corps. You're all relatively close in strength—ordinary humans. You should get along."
"Of course, if you're unwilling, I won't force you. If you'd prefer to stay in this world and live normal lives, that's fine too."
"..."
Tohru nudged Setsuna quietly, whispering through a private channel.
"Commander, what you really want is to bring back all the pretty girls, right?"
"Mm-hmm. Smart girl."
Setsuna patted Tohru's head, openly admitting it.
He wasn't shy about acknowledging his desires.
In every world, collecting the female leads was part of the fun.
Even if they weren't immediately useful, it was still good to stock up.
And if they were weak? No problem—gene ascension and magic enhancement could easily fix that.
Not to mention, they could become Spirits and hug Mio's thigh.
"..."
The Night Raid squad fell silent for a while.
Through their earlier exchanges with Kanae and Belfast, they'd gathered that Setsuna led an unimaginably powerful fleet currently at war with the Empire.
But the details were still unclear. They didn't really know what kind of person he was or what his ideals were.
As for whether he could defeat the Empire...
Judging from Belfast's absurd strength, it seemed pretty much guaranteed.
"This is a rare opportunity the Commander is offering. Think it over carefully."
Mio spoke gently.
"Just us? What about the others in Night Raid?"
Akame asked, clearly concerned about her comrades.
"You mean Bulat, Lubbock, and the others? They can live ordinary lives here."
"As a sign of respect for Night Raid, I'll grant them enough wealth to live comfortably for the rest of their lives."
Setsuna replied casually.
"No more licking blades or fighting for survival. They can buy a big estate in the countryside and live as they please."
Gold and jewels meant nothing to Setsuna anymore.
But in some worlds, they were extremely effective.
To people who had spent their lives suffering under imperial tyranny, financial freedom was an irresistible offer.
"..."
"Can we think it over for a while?"
Akame asked after a pause.
The offer was surprisingly considerate. Despite holding overwhelming power, Setsuna hadn't shown hostility toward them.
They even shared the same enemy—the Empire.
It seemed like a friendly faction—one worth cautious cooperation.
"Of course. You'll stay aboard the Eternal Swnofall for now and get used to the situation."
Setsuna nodded.
"Once we've conquered this world, you can decide."
...
Under Setsuna's arrangement, the Night Raid squad stayed aboard the Eternal Swnofall.
They felt like bumpkins visiting a high-tech metropolis—nervous, awkward, and overwhelmed.
Everything around them felt like alien technology.
Kanae took on the role of guide. With her friendly personality, she quickly became close with the Night Raid members.
She introduced them to the rest of the starship crew.
Which, of course, gave the natives yet another scare.
"This is Tohru. She's a dragon—she could destroy the world alone."
"Eh? A dragon? Destroy the world?!"
"That's Mio, a Spirit. Very powerful. She could destroy a planet too."
"???"
"Ikaros is an all-purpose angel. Her Apollo shot could sink a continent—or a nation."
"Huh?!"
After hearing all that, Akame, Leone, and the others found themselves even more curious about Setsuna.
Surrounded by Spirits, dragons, and even angels... was he a god from another world?!
...
Elsewhere—
After settling the Night Raid squad, Setsuna launched the starship and flew north.
The capital was left to the Heroic Spirits and Spirits.
They were having a blast chasing down Teigu users and imperial troops. Noble Phantasms were flying around wildly.
The Empire wasn't even capable of organizing a proper counterattack, let alone a final stand.
The elite guard they barely managed to rally was vaporized in an instant by a single Excalibur from the Ahoge King.
Letting the girls vent was fine—otherwise the Heroic Spirits would keep grumbling about how Master favored others and never gave them the spotlight.
Perfect time for Setsuna to handle the next target.
BOOM—
The starship pierced through the clouds.
The Empire's territory stretched farther than expected.
But beyond the capital, most cities were still stuck in medieval village-level development.
And the farther north they flew, the more barren the scenery became.
"To defeat the Empire and win the war, there are two key targets."
Setsuna looked down at the snow-covered mountains.
"Honest and Esdeath."
"Honest is the Prime Minister—the heart of the Empire's corruption."
"But he's trapped in the capital now. The Heroic Spirits are handling him—he's probably already dead."
Akame, Chelsea, and the others looked visibly conflicted.
The entire mission of Night Raid—and the Revolutionary Army—was to assassinate Minister Honest.
It had always been an immensely difficult task, and many had prepared to give their lives for it.
They needed careful planning over a long time just to get close to him, and then figure out how to deal with his guards.
The Temple of Imperial Fist and the Jaeger unit were filled with deadly elites—any misstep could mean instant death.
But to Setsuna, both Teigu users and Honest were just training dummies for the Heroic Spirits.
Hardly worth mentioning.
A single casual line had passed judgment on Honest's life—and Setsuna didn't even need to lift a finger.
The sheer disdain made the Night Raid members truly feel the vast difference in power.
In the face of an interstellar civilization, the Empire was no more than a swarm of ants.
"What about Esdeath? She's the Empire's strongest general. You shouldn't underestimate her."
Najenda pointed to her mechanical right arm and eyepatch.
"I fought her once. In a single clash, I lost both an eye and a hand."
"She... she's a monster. Not like any other Teigu user. Even if you gathered the entire Jaeger unit, they probably wouldn't stand a chance."
As if to emphasize her warning to Setsuna and his companions,
Najenda lowered her voice and added with a grave expression:
"The Empire's north was once home to countless tribal factions. Experts estimated it would take at least a year to conquer them all. Esdeath crushed them in a blink."
"She executed tens of thousands of prisoners. Even the so-called undefeated tribal chieftain was collared like a dog and humiliated to death beneath her heel."
She recounted Esdeath's horrifying record, her face betraying traces of fear.
Even now, long after that battle, just thinking about that woman still sent a chill down her spine.
"Oh."
Setsuna simply nodded.
He already knew everything about Esdeath—he was just hearing a local recap.
Mio, Tohru, Belfast, and the others simply shrugged.
Ikaros showed no expression, tilting her head slightly as if pondering something.
"You're... not afraid of her?"
Najenda found their reactions a bit unexpected.
That was a monster capable of slaughtering hundreds of thousands on her own!
Even the members of Night Raid wouldn't dare let their guard down at the mere mention of Esdeath.
"What's there to be afraid of? Just another primitive native bully."
Tohru scratched her head.
"That group of northern tribes? Commander could wipe them out with a single super-graviton cannon. What's so impressive about that?"
"Now, if she could beat Poseidon, I might admit she's somewhat strong."
The dragon girl didn't really understand why humans bragged about killing each other. In her world, they fought actual monsters and demons.
"Honestly... doesn't even compare to the Sirens."
Taihou added bluntly.
"Poseidon? Sirens?"
Akame and the Night Raid members were thoroughly lost.
"But she killed hundreds of thousands by herself—that's just, that's just... demonic..."
Chelsea tried to protest.
"Uh..."
Setsuna and the shipgirls exchanged glances.
They debated whether or not to tell these cute little natives that in interstellar warfare, it was common to destroy entire planets—or even star systems.
Hundreds of thousands?
Try hundreds of millions.
The Earth in the Black Bullet world was still flowing with magma.
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