The cold wind howled through the land, carrying with it a biting chill that stirred the long-dead weeds on the ground. The imperial highway, built under the might of the Empire, stretched desolate and empty, not a single soul in sight.
Along the road lay discarded clothes, broken toys, shattered carriages beyond repair, the bones of animals—and even the long-decayed corpses of humans.
Until... two figures appeared at the distant end of the official road—one white, one black, master and servant. The life force radiating from them seemed utterly out of place amid the desolation of this land.
At first glance, the vegetation seemed lush and the soil fertile, yet the land felt unnervingly barren. The reason was clear—if not a natural disaster, then it could only be man-made calamity.
Endless wars had ravaged the Empire's border villages, leaving behind only ruin.
Desolation, bleakness, decay... this was the scene Selene witnessed along her journey—a vision befitting the twilight of a dying dynasty.
The remnants of the once-glorious Empire, whose official roads and military fortresses still stood usable even after a thousand years, now contrasted starkly against the decay of a realm barely clinging to survival amid internal and external turmoil.
"Frequent border rebellions, unrest within the Empire... doesn't that make it the perfect time for us to seize control of this world?"
As she walked, Selene asked playfully, "Sebas, what do you think? Should we join a faction? And if so, which one?"
"..." Sebas remained silent.
After passing through a small frontier village recently plundered by foreign tribes from the southwest, Selene had already deduced the nature of this world through the official proclamations and maps left behind in its largest building.
This world, Selene recalled, was called Akame ga Kill!—a world once dominated by a mighty nation known simply as the Empire.
A thousand-year-old civilization, the most powerful nation in existence, matched only by the western kingdoms. The southern isles and northern tundras lagged far behind in development, while the eastern islands remained largely uncivilized.
But that was all in the past. After a millennium, the once-mighty Empire had rotted from within. Beset by turmoil and corruption, it was no longer on the brink of collapse, but its hidden dangers were far from minor.
This corruption wasn't the sort that could be cured by eliminating a few people—it was systemic, spreading from the highest ministers down to the tax collectors in the streets. Corruption had seeped into the bones of the nation.
To speak of the root of this decay, even on the surface level, one could not ignore the Empire's Prime Minister—Honest.
After the previous emperor's death, Honest poisoned every member of the royal family except for the youngest prince, including the empress. Then, after placing the boy upon the throne, he became the regent and began eliminating all political rivals.
He replaced the court officials with his own loyal followers, stacking every critical position with those belonging to his faction. Among these loyalists stood the Empire's most formidable weapon—Esdeath, whom Honest personally elevated to the rank of general.
Esdeath was both Honest's partner and his most lethal blade.
But Esdeath only cooperated with him out of self-interest. She craved battle, longed for war, and was a firm believer in the law of the jungle. At the same time, she was notorious for her cruelty toward her enemies—earning her the title of Queen of Carnage.
Her most infamous deed was the massacre of four hundred thousand northern tribesmen, an act that made her the embodiment of a demon in the eyes of those people.
Yet, for all her cruelty, Esdeath was surprisingly kind to her soldiers and the citizens of the Empire, refusing to accept bribes and ruling her troops with fairness.
Cruel to her enemies, benevolent to her people—such was one of the Empire's two great generals, Esdeath.
Where there was Honest's faction, there naturally existed both a neutral faction and one of conscience. The strongest warrior of the neutral camp was none other than the Empire's other great general—Budo.
If Esdeath was the spear that struck outward, then General Budo was the shield that guarded the emperor. Commander of the Imperial Guard, he stood as the protector of the young sovereign.
Upright and unwavering, Budo never bowed to Honest's tyranny. Though he despised the minister's ways, he abided by the ancestral code that soldiers must not interfere in politics. Thus, even knowing of Honest's corruption, he never intervened.
One could say that General Budo's very existence was one of the key reasons why Honest had not yet managed to seize complete control over the Empire. Had Budo been a bit more assertive—had he used his immense power to eliminate Honest and his faction—the Empire might have delayed its collapse by several more years.
As for the so-called faction of conscience, under Honest's relentless suppression, it had long since declined into irrelevance. Its influence within the court was nearly nonexistent, reduced to a handful of powerless remnants—surviving only thanks to General Budo's protection.
Many believed that it was Minister Honest who had dragged the Empire into such a state of decay, and that once he was removed, the Empire would recover its former glory.
Selene dismissed such a notion with disdain. The downfall of a feudal empire was never the fault of a single individual—it stemmed from the moral rot of the entire ruling class.
Though the statement might sound sweeping, Selene was certain of one thing: even if she lined up every member of the upper class and executed them one by one, a few rotten survivors would still slip through.
Another major power in the Akame ga Kill! world was the religious organization known as the Path of Peace. Preaching that doing good deeds would bring happiness and longevity, it had amassed an enormous number of zealous followers.
To be honest, Selene had little interest in them.
And that brought her thoughts to the other major force opposing the Empire—the Revolutionary Army.
Wherever there was oppression, there would be resistance. Naturally, against the Empire's corruption, those who raised the banner of rebellion existed as well. The Revolutionary Army, the second-largest power in the world of Akame ga Kill, fought to overthrow the decaying rule of the Empire, destroy Honest, and bring an end to imperial tyranny.
However, to achieve their goal, they had chosen to ally with the western tribes—the very same foreign races that had long sought to invade the Empire, plunder its wealth, and enslave its people.
Did they not understand that the northern, southern, and western tribes had always dreamed of seizing the fertile heart of the continent and reducing the Imperial citizens to servitude?
What kind of logic was that? "Better to yield to foreigners than to one's own countrymen"? The thought made Selene's opinion of them plummet instantly. To collaborate with the enemy who sought to destroy one's homeland—this was nothing short of inviting the wolf into one's house.
In Selene's eyes, it was a pathetic and disgraceful act, one she utterly despised.
Although she felt contempt for the Revolutionary Army's methods, she was far from emotionally invested. Throughout the journey, she had been contemplating how best to dominate this world as efficiently as possible.
The Path of Peace and the Revolutionary Army were out of the question. That left only the Empire itself.
Perfect.
At this point, the Empire was in full decline—its internal affairs rife with corruption, oppression, and bureaucratic rot. The ministers abused their power, crushed their rivals, and monopolized authority. Externally, the Empire was plagued by invasions from foreign tribes, uprisings from the southern Revolutionary Army, rebellions along its borders, and scheming religious factions.
For the Empire, it was a disaster upon disaster. But for Selene, it was an opportunity—a time of chaos where she could maneuver freely, exploiting the crumbling order to extract every last drop of vitality from this world.
Slow and steady—that was fine. Selene had all the time she needed. The longer she waited, the more thoroughly she could absorb the world's essence.
For the former ruler of this realm, it was only fitting that once she usurped its throne, the World Core would naturally fall into her hands.
If she aimed not merely to conquer but to revive and rebuild the Empire—to advance the level of civilization and thereby strengthen herself—then careful planning was essential. After all, her Honkai traits ensured that the higher the civilization level of the world she ruled, the stronger she herself would become.
This ability practically forced her to focus on technological development—farming, industry, research. Not just destruction, but construction.
"Well, I just don't know what exact period this is. Imperial Year 1014... Has Honest already taken power or not? Ugh."
The thought made Selene rub her temples in mild frustration. "...Why am I even overthinking this? Forget it. Let's go find some signs of civilization first."