Chereads / Ichigo Awakens / Chapter 127 - Soul Conviction

Chapter 127 - Soul Conviction

(Future of the Empire)

"Prioritize residential and buildings that are classified as necessary." The young emperor commanded the architects, construction workers, and soldiers still able to act after the war. "Things like temples and my palace can wait. The wellbeing of the people come first." It was two days after the battle and many were still in critical condition, but many copies of the glove Teigu Perfector in the hands of capable surgeons assured that most would make a recovery. All spiritually aware beings bathed in the healing springs and Esdeath was back in fighting shape after a few hours.

"Yes your highness!" The group answered as they went about completing their assigned tasks, leaving Makoto with the assembled kings, ministers, and generals.

"Now, shall we get to this?" The young emperor said with a smile. From there Makoto negotiated a pact with the other kingdoms, an alliance for the betterment of all people of the world instead of just one kingdom. It would allow all the realms to advance at their own pace but still share in the bounty of technology and culture, a requirement of the other kingdoms being their own great weapons like Meihou or Teigu. What enforced this idea of cooperation was the Lord of the Path of Peace assuring that the God of Death would deliver judgment on those that threaten the coming world peace. After watching an army die in pillars of light, they were willing to believe anything in order to avoid divine punishment. However, the other kingdoms had one more condition before this new alliance could be finalized.

(Fate of the Alchemist)

"Shit, shit, shit!" Dorothea cursed as she tried to gather all the notes of her research she could salvage while getting all the supplies she could. After Gilgamesh died, she was immediately signaled and she knew she had to get out. She didn't even reach the self destruct before Ichigo finally found the Quincy base within Mt. Fake and brought his Arrancar. "I need to get out of-" she immediately blacked out before she even knew what happened.

Dorothea woke up days later chained to a post with Makoto smiling down at her, informing her that she was arrested for crimes against humanity the Empire and that she'd spend the rest of her life in a prison cell. She was first made to help with the recovery of the sick/injured of the Empire before finally being imprisoned at the Imperial Academy of Medicine, a new institute for furthering the healing arts, where she remains locked in the deepest levels. She still does her research but only in medicine and surgery in exchange for criminals to extend her lifespan. It was a choice between death and slavery and Dorothea proved too cowardly to face death.

(Honest Execution)

True to his claim, Honest was proving to be incapable of dying. Ichigo and Stylish experimented with many of Mayuri's drugs they had yet to test and tried to kill Honest in many different ways, even Esdeath helped before eventually getting tired of killing him again and again. With that confirmed, Honest was put on display by being strapped and nailed to a table with every adult in attendance being ordered to deliver the punishment of the people. With every citizen of the Empire and the armies of the other kingdoms in attendance, the public execution took over a week to come to an end. To the surprise of almost everyone, Honest never once made a sound no matter what they did.

They were never aware of the drugs that flowed in his veins increasing his perception to superhuman levels while he became so sensitive to pain that the air felt like fire. Honest's torture felt like thousands of years of endless agony before the public execution ended. Unfortunately for him, Makoto ordered that Honest be constantly executed until he somehow remained dead and the only food Honest could have was what came out of his own body. Honest's decadent life of feasting on all the most delicious meals had now fallen to eating and drinking his own flesh and blood to avoid starvation, and he never ran out of blood and meat.

(Beginning of Peace)

Soon after Honest's public execution, the assembled people began to celebrate the end of the war and the beginning of a new era of peace... for however long it was expected to last. Najenda got drunk very quickly and dragged Lubbock away, promising to make a man out of him. Ichigo was dragged away by Esdeath and Akame while Wave and Kurome took the big step to making out with each other. Leone was feeling left out of the more naked festivities and stole the Shambala Teigu, recovered from Mt. Fake, to visit Tatsumi to 'claim her mate' only to interrupt a rather competitive three-way Mine and Chelsea were having with Tatsumi and she just jumped right in. The Soukai teens were swept up in the festivities as well, with one making her way to their mentor.

"General Esdeath?" Hinowa started, gaining the general's attention. "You've done so much for me and my friends and I'd love to pay you back for it... but, I still have a goal. My dream to bring peace to my home-"

"Who said you can't do that?" Esdeath interrupted, surprising the young teen. "The Empire will be lending aid to Soukai, so whether as a soldier of Soukai or the Empire you could still aim for your dream. I don't want to replace your mother, just to ensure that my clan's legacy lives on. Besides, MY ARMY WOULD DO ANYTHING FOR THEIR LITTLE SISTER! RIGHT MEN!?" She yelled out to her soldiers as they danced and drank.

"YES! GENERAL ESDEATH!" They answered, ganging up on Hinowa with head pats and hugs. "If she says it, then you're as good as family kid!" A voice yelled out before releasing her.

"...Well, if that's the case. Then I accept the Partas name." Hinowa Partas said, causing the army to cheer.

"TO OUR NEW FAMILY MEMBER!" Esdeath loudly called out as they partied even harder, pulling their new sister and her friends along. The high of the celebration was matched only by the low of the later news of Esdeath's arrest.

(End of the Empire's Strongest)

After the party ended, Esdeath secured a large territory in the Northern region of the Empire where he army built a new home for the general and any vassals she'd gain. While they built that, Esdeath wrote a book detailing everything she'd have to teach Hinowa about being a member of the Partas clan, along with detailed instructions for controlling her Teigu 'Demon's Extract'. After a month of this, she was arrested for her own plethora of war crimes committed while in the service of the Empire. That was the official reason, the real reason was that her life was demanded in exchange for the other kingdoms to fully join the new alliance.

However, this also worked for Esdeath as she, Budo, Najenda, Makoto, and Ichigo plotted her death. Esdeath made it clear that after the Quincy War, she'd fully devote herself to joining Ichigo in the Spirit World and everything about this arrest and execution was just to satisfy the other members of the alliance. Esdeath was found guilty, despite the protests of her army and new daughter, and sentenced to be executed by being drained of her blood. Esdeath's soul was ejected before the first needle ever touched her skin and she watched as her body turned into a husk of its former self. Before any fighting could break out over what to do with the Demon's Extract, Esdeath's will surfaced stating that her army and daughter would gain all of Esdeath's possessions with Hinowa specifically inheriting the Teigu.

(Departing)

"Stylish, am I missing anything?" The hybrid asked the AI as he continued to pack. The Capital was still undergoing repairs, but to the less essential buildings for cultural and aesthetic appeal. One of which being the Memorial representing all those that died in the Quincy war and Esdeath's statue, portraying her as the warrior and monster she was. Akame was left with a hundred Asuachi that Ichigo could spare as he appointed her as his replacement as leader of the Shinigami in this world.

"I believe you have everything and I sent backup copies of all the reports made back to Squad 12." The virtual doctor answered as robot arms loaded his central CPU to the teleporter to send him back to Urahara's squad. "See you on the other side, stylish reaper." The AI said before disappearing, with Ichigo breaking down his lab and heading out of the training grounds to the throne room where everyone agreed to gather for the last goodbyes. Along the way, Ichigo looked at the golden chains wrapped around his left forearm. The 'Heavenly Chains' a gift from the original Gilgamesh(Caster Gilgamesh, I'm feeling lazy) that appeared after the fight for Ichigo to use against Yhwach, but for only one time. The spirit of the ancient king then took the sword Ea and disappeared before Ichigo's eyes.

"Everyone said their goodbyes?" Ichigo asked his group of nine new allies. Esdeath spent the last few hours before her execution saying her goodbyes and to console her army and students, Hinowa in particular was upset at losing another mother so soon after accepting becoming her daughter. Bulat and Sheele spent a few hours getting some last laughs and tearful hugs with their friends from Night Raid. Leone managed to get Mine and Tatsumi back from Soukai in time to see their friends off while Chelsea remained in the Eastern continent to continue serving as ambassador. Daidara, Izou, Suzuka, Mez, Marik, and Mira had no further connection to the world so they didn't care.

"We'll miss you Ichigo." Akame said, now wearing a white vest over her uniform to show her authority over the Soul Reapers in the world, before pulling Ichigo in for a kiss. "I hope we'll be reunited." Ichigo smiled back to the girl.

"Maybe some day." He said before facing away from the group and opening a Garganta. "Stay close and keep up. We've got a long journey ahead of us. Makoto, stay strong and protect the peace." With that, Ichigo led his group into the endless abyss of the Precipice World on the long journey home and hoping his influence didn't have any really negative effects in the long run.

(Akame Ga Kill Epilogue)

After training for months with the Partas army, Hinowa Partas would take the plunge and drink the Demon's Extract. She was losing against the insanity caused by the blood but some lingering bit of Esdeath's own spirit that remained protected her daughter, permanently killing the other voices and granting Hinowa the powers of ice. During this time of training and recovery she grew close to emperor Makoto and gained his permission to bring her extended family to Wakoku to help end that war. Makoto agreed on the condition that when Hinowa is victorious she would return to become his bride, mainly to keep the Demon's Extract in the Empire's control but also because he grew fond of her. She agreed and with a fleet of ships and a few new Teigu with her fellow teens from Wakoku, Hinowa returned to her homeland in Soukai with an army.

The Soukai nation slowly went from being on the defensive to the offensive with the backing of the Empire, soon besting their enemies until they and Tenrou were the two main powers on Wakoku. To congratulate the teens, King Sotetsu offered most of them high ranking positions in his army with Hisame getting his wish in marrying the king's daughter, Princess Rinzu, while Hinowa gained monetary thanks due to being more a citizen of the Empire than of Soukai. She did, however, also achieved her own dream of making the name Hinowa known throughout Wakoku while reigniting the terror of the Ice Devil of Soukai, though Hinowa was far less brutal than Esdeath.

Sotetsu eventually became drunk on greed and arrogance believing himself invincible thanks to the backing of the Empire, leading Chelsea to assassinate him in a way to incriminate Waniba, who was planning to betray his people to Tenrou after losing the chance to marry Rinzu. Hisame would eventually take the throne and lead Soukai to victory and end the war in Wakoku. Hinowa would keep her word and return to the Grand Empire to become the wife of Makoto, who was leading a new golden age of the Empire.

Esdeath was eventually deified as a war goddess, showing the nobility of a warrior and the savagery of a monster that Death managed to tame and wed. Peace could only truly be maintained with strength and the soldiers followed the example of "no greater friend and no worst enemy" that Esdeath somehow embodied. Many suspected a massive bias but the Lord of the Path of Peace denied any of that, always exemplifying Esdeath's monstrous actions before the God of Death claimed her as his bride.

Najenda and Lubbock finally got married, so did Wave and Kurome, Tatsumi married Mine, Chelsea, and Leone after getting all three pregnant. Tatsumi was also adopted by General Budo to eventually become his successor. Bols finally retired from military service and his restaurant became one of the biggest and best in the empire, serving anyone that would come through his doors and often serving as a reunion site from the still surviving members of the Spirit Team as they were called. Run also retired and returned to teaching while also being appointed as the head of the Imperial Academy of Higher Learning, where students went to push the boundaries of impossible within ethical standards where the only thing that mattered was one's intellect.

The five kingdoms would eventually become the Grand Alliance and further spread until the entire world operated under a single united banner. There were still battles and conflicts with terrorists, but they were swiftly dealt with by Akame's Shinigami as they followed only two laws. Keep the happy peace, and always aid the lost souls. Akame knew she was breaking a vital rule of the Shinigami, but she would be damned before losing the peace so many sacrificed so much for.