Another offer

"Why did you not reveal our hideout when you switched the sides?" Lubbock asked with furrowed brows.

"Why did you act like we don't know each other in front of Kurome?" Valdis replied with another question.

Lubbock grew silent upon hearing his question.

"Well, I can clarify everything to you if you force it out of my mouth, though I wonder if you will be able to do that. You have around 7 minutes before you would be forced to retreat unless you want to fight Esdeath head-on. However, I do wonder where is the rest of you, don't tell me they went to fight Esdeath. Actually, I wanted to have a small talk with Akame about something VERY important... to her at least, though I am glad she is not here otherwise I would not have been able to make Kurome leave us alone" Valdis said as he started walking back and forth in a relaxed manner making them feel he is acting too arrogant.

"What exactly are you plotting?!" Tatsumi rushed at Valdis, swinging his fist mindlessly. His speed and strength were commendable but there was no technique in his attack.

Valdis evaded his fist and as it passed his head, he caught Tatsumi's wrist and threw him over his shoulder, slamming him into the ground and creating several cracks in the ground.

*bang* Before Valdis could attack him, a thin sockwave of spirit energy was shot at the back of his head which made him jump away from Tatsumi but he never intended to attack him either way so he didn't care.

"You have become stronger Tatsumi, however, fistfights still don't suit you. Are you not strong enough to summon that spear yet? Or are you perhaps going easy on me?"

"Are you still trying to change The Empire for the better or are you like the other corrupted people in power?" Lubbock asked a very important question if Valdis were to answer that he is changing the Empire his own way, Lubbock might even believe him since Sheele's death must have played some role in his recruitment to Jaegers, however, that didn't mean he would forgive him.

"Neither" Valdis resolutely said with narrowed eyes which obviously confused everyone.

"What?"

"You could say I am worse than both of them. I don't care for anyone who isn't close to me." Valdis explained with a cold smile.

"Then what was Sheele to you?! Wasn't she nice and friendly to you when the others were suspicious of you?! That's right, everyone used to be suspicious of you, however, she was among the side that wanted to give you a chance and this is how you repaid her!" Tatsumi shouted at him and his aura was growing stronger, Incursio was responding to his emotions.

Hearing his words, Valdis flinched and soon enough an anger plastered his face. Lubbock's eyes slightly widened as managed to notice Valdis's relatively strong reaction to Tatsumi's words

"She meant nothing to me! What are you going to do about it, Tatsumi?!!" For the first time, Valdis shouted and dark green energy once again started swirling around him, as if responding to his anger almost in the same way as Tatsumi's Incursio.

"I will beat some sense into you!" Tatsumi once again rushed toward Valdis at a much higher speed than before and threw yet another fist.

"Stop, Tatsumi!" Lubbock shouted at him but it was too late to stop them.

Valdis intended to counter his attack once again however when he observed Tatsumi's fist he felt a slight danger so instead, he decided to activate his Susanoo.

*BANG!* The ground under Valdis ruptured and the impact even made Valdis frown as he felt how much stronger this attack was compared to before.

'Is this so-called plot armor and power of friendship?'

A skeletal arm suddenly grew out of the ribs and slapped Tatsumi. His armor absorbed the damage, however, he has been pushed a fair distance away.

"What is that armor? You weren't capable of such things before..." Tatsumi asked turning a bit more cautious.

"Stop, he isn't our target, yet. I think it's better for us to retreat from here before Esdeath arrives here. He has yet to make a move so I doubt he will try to stop us, though I certainly wonder why is that." Lubbock whispered to them and they nodded their heads in response.

"Are you leaving?" Valdis asked when he saw them whispering and nodding their heads which made them freeze and look at him, wondering if he truly intends to stop them.

"If you are leaving, relay my offer to Akame. I want to have a talk with her, one-on-one, no uninvited guests from either the empire or rebels." Valdis said as he once again deactivated Susanoo.

"Why would she ever accept something so shady? Can't you at least come up with a more believable trap?" Mine asked with a mocking tone.

"Because what I can offer to her is priceless. Despite being separated and ending up as enemies, I know that she still loves her sister and Kurome feels the same way. Tell her that I know of a way how they can reunite as sisters on the same side. I will go to the outskirts of the forest near your hideout 3 days from today at the same time. It's her own decision if she decides not to come and I will respect that, however, if any of you will come with her..." Valdis said and before he finished his sentence, his body started to slowly disperse into red plum blossoms petals as if covered in blood.

The trio's eyes widened as suddenly the surroundings around them changed and trees with pink petals slightly stained by blood appeared all around them in a circle as if to block their way.

"What the hell is going on?!" Mine raised her Teigu and was about to shoot when the wind sent the petals flying right in front of her, blocking her sight.

"I can easily predict what will be your next plans so don't force me to take an active role in hunting you lot" They heard Valdis's voice but couldn't pinpoint its location.

The surroundings slowly returned to their previous visage making the group sigh in relief. When they looked around them, they couldn't see even a hint of Valdis's presence.

"Quickly, let's go before we get caught!" Lubbock started running in the opposite direction from where Kurome went and Mine together with Tatsumi followed after him.

...

Valdis who was hiding behind the tree revealed himself with his fingers covering his left eye.

'Right eye is capable of turning illusion into reality and the left eye is capable of creating illusions within a certain range from me without making eye contact with my target, huh? I wonder...if I were to create an illusion with my left eye and then use my right eye to manifest it into reality, would the strain on my right eye reduce?' During this small confrontation, Valdis actually was able to discover his left eye's power.

*BANG!* His thoughts were interrupted by the loud sound of someone landing on the ground from a very high place.

"I will have your necks for daring to attack my man!" Esdeath's voice resounded in the quiet forest and a chilling aura spread to the surroundings, making even Valdis who was standing behind her flinch, however, he didn't forget to quickly make use of his newly discovered power.

"I am alright"

When Esdeath heard Valdis's voice behind her, she turned around and her eyes widened when she saw him in tattered clothes with several small cut wounds, however, she was relieved when she noticed him proudly smiling at her.

Without saying anything, she approached him and wanted to hug him which alarmed him and made him put his hand in front of him to stop her since she might see through his illusion if she were to touch him.

Shortly after, Kurome arrived together with Wave behind her.

"Where are they?!" Wave shouted all fired up just to see the duo talking, making it obvious that Night Raid ran away already.

"You are reckless, you should have fought together alongside Kurome, we would have eventually heard the sounds of battle!" Upon making sure he is alright, Esdeath scolded him with a harsh and cold expression.

"It might have been reckless but I held on for 10 minutes against 3 Teigu users, don't I deserve at least some praise?" Valdis said with a cheeky smile, making Wave shiver at the thought of how their leader would respond. Valdis didn't miss a chance to wink at Kurome as if to say he managed to stay true to his words which made her release a faint smile.

'Has he done all of this just to prove himself to me?' Esdeath grit her teeth, holding back an urge to slap him for his reckless behavior. Oddly, she even found this idea of his kind of sweet, though, she couldn't let him see that lest she wants him to continue with his reckless actions.