Akame Ga Kill - Garou

Garou was sitting in the carriage, glaring daggers at Seryu. That crazy bitch had bandaged him up so much that he looked like a mummy. In return, she shot him an angry glare.

The guy she had picked up turned out to be a wolf in sheep's clothing. After putting all that effort into helping him treat his wounds, he had the audacity to ask if they had anything to eat. Foolishly, she took out their food and laid it in front of Garou, who ate everything without leaving a single scrap behind. The bastard had eaten enough for five people in one meal. What made it worse was that she bore the brunt of her hungry fellow soldiers' anger and was berated by Ogre. And the ungrateful guy didn't even try to help her—he actually seemed to enjoy the show. Seryu was starting to regret helping him.

"Hey, Seryu, do you have anything else to eat?" Garou asked, deliberately trying to piss her off.

"You ungrateful glutton! You ate everything we had!!!" Seryu snapped angrily.

"You still have that little thing next to you. It looks tasty," Garou said, eyeing Seryu's pet. The creature, sensing Garou's hungry gaze, immediately hid behind its owner. For some reason, the human before it gave off an unsettling, dreadful feeling.

"You monster! You can't eat Kuro!!!!" Seryu screamed, dropping to the ground to hug Kuro protectively while glaring at Garou. He smirked wickedly—he wasn't the type to let others walk all over him without biting back.

Ogre, watching from the side, laughed along with the rest of the soldiers. "Garou, give Seryu a break. You're already in your thirties. Try acting more dignified."

Garou turned to him and said, "I'm 18, smartass."

Ogre and the others immediately stopped laughing and stared at Garou in shock.

"18? You're younger than me?! That can't be true. You must be lying," Seryu said, completely stunned.

"I swear on my honor that I'm 18. Happy now?" Garou grumbled. He didn't like how surprised they all were. Did he really look that old?

"Assuming you're telling the truth, how the fuck did you end up looking like this? This can't be natural," Ogre asked, voicing the question on everyone's mind.

"I train a lot," Garou answered.

"Oh, so you're strong?" Seryu asked.

"Probably one of the strongest beings in this world," Garou said arrogantly. Even if he wasn't at the absolute top, he was still among the strongest. Moreover, unlike many, his strength was the result of hard work—not some extraordinary power he had been given or born with.

"It wouldn't kill you to be a little humbler," Seryu huffed while the rest dismissed his words.

The group continued on, with Garou and Seryu bickering while the others laughed at their antics. Hours later, Seryu suddenly screamed in excitement, "The capital! I can see it!!!"

Garou looked ahead, and his eyes widened. A massive city stood before him, with an enormous palace perched atop a mountain. His mind short-circuited for a moment before his thoughts turned chaotic. What the hell was going on? This was definitely not Z City. Hell, this wasn't even any city in Japan.

Seryu noticed Garou's stunned expression and assumed it was because he had never seen the capital before. She spoke proudly, "The capital is the biggest and most beautiful city in the Empire."

Garou's face darkened slightly as he asked, "Seryu, do you know about the Hero Association? Or cities A through Y?"

Seryu shook her head. "Never heard of them. What are those?"

Garou ignored her and reflected on everything that had happened since he woke up. The weird animal, the group of so-called heroes, these soldiers, and now the capital before him… Was he even still in his world? He then remembered the strange purple light he had seen before losing consciousness. Garou was now certain that light had something to do with all of this.

"Earth Dragons!!!!" a soldier suddenly screamed, pulling Garou from his thoughts.

Garou looked ahead—five massive monsters were emerging from the ground. He narrowed his eyes. He didn't recognize these creatures, yet the soldiers did. That meant they were well-known around here. At this point, Garou was 99% sure he wasn't on the supercontinent—or even in his own world anymore.

"Garou, stay in the carriage! Don't leave, no matter what! We'll do our best to stop these things!" Seryu said hurriedly before charging forward with Kuro.

Ogre shouted to his soldiers, "Raise your weapons and open fire! Kill these bastards! Seryu, order Kuro to attack!" He drew his sword and rushed at one of the monsters.

The soldiers opened fire while Seryu pulled out two submachine guns. Kuro, who had looked like a small dog just moments ago, suddenly grew in size. He now resembled a massive, muscular white bear. His hands grotesquely enlarged, reminding Garou of the S-ranked hero Superalloy Darkshine—but white.

Kuro lunged at one of the beasts, savagely biting into its neck. Meanwhile, Ogre cleaved through another monster. In just a few seconds, two out of the five creatures were down. The remaining three charged at Seryu and the soldiers, who kept shooting at them. Before they could reach the group, one of the monsters collapsed under the hail of bullets.

The last two, however, kept advancing. The soldiers, seeing the approaching beasts, ran for their lives—except for Seryu, who stubbornly kept shooting until another one fell. But the last one was just meters away, and she was out of ammo.

Seryu closed her eyes, resigning herself to her fate—only to hear an explosion in front of her. Yet she felt no pain.

She opened her eyes and saw Garou standing just two feet ahead of her, his right leg raised in the air. His kick had splattered the upper half of the danger beast into a pile of gore scattered across the road.

Garou turned to face her. "Despite being so weak, you've got a little courage—and a whole lot of foolishness. What the hell were you thinking? That thing could've killed you."

Seryu felt slightly insulted at being called weak, but she still replied, "If I had moved, you would have died. It's my duty as a soldier to protect civilians."

Garou rolled his eyes. "Protect me? I'm stronger than you. Actually, I'm stronger than all of you combined—even while I'm injured. Not to mention, I already told you I'm strong."

"I thought you were lying! Besides, Kuro can beat you!!" Seryu shot back.

Garou glanced at the massive beast and smirked while licking his lips. "I don't mind fighting him, but if I win, I'm roasting him for dinner."

Seryu's eyes widened, and she quickly jumped in front of Kuro, blocking Garou's view. "No!!! You can't cook Kuro!!!"

Garou grinned wickedly, making Seryu fear for her pet's survival. Meanwhile, Ogre was watching Garou intently. He was shocked by the man's speed and power. Even in his injured and seemingly exhausted state, Garou had just demonstrated a level of strength far beyond his own. If this was Garou's power while wounded, how strong was he at full strength? Could he even rival the elite warriors who wielded Teigus?

And if he truly was that powerful… then how strong would he become if he wielded one himself? The thought terrified Ogre. He might reach the level of the Empire's generals. He then recalled the Empire's strongest general—didn't that woman seek out talents to add to her forces? Perhaps if he convinced Garou to join her, he could receive a great reward.

As Ogre schemed, Garou sensed something and looked at him warily. "Hey, what are you thinking about? I've got a feeling you're planning something against me."

"What?!! NO!!! Captain Ogre is the greatest and kindest man there is! How could you accuse him of plotting something?!" Seryu protested, defending her captain and mentor.

Garou gave her a flat look and then pointed at Ogre. "The guy looks like a ruffian who robs and assaults people in dark alleys. That missing eye only adds to the image. He's got one of the ugliest, most villainous faces I've ever seen. How can you be so blind?"

Seryu gasped, while Kuro, hesitating for a moment, gave a small nod.

"You traitor!!" Seryu cried.

Ogre, on the other hand, glared at them in frustration. He was corrupt and ruthless—he never openly admitted it, but he was well aware of his nature, and so was everyone else. It wasn't something that particularly bothered him. But now, a dog and a man he had just met were casually labeling him as evil purely based on his appearance. Did he really look that bad?

The soldiers, who had been listening to Garou and Seryu argue about their captain's face while watching Ogre's eye twitch in irritation, exchanged uneasy glances. Finally, one of the braver soldiers hesitantly spoke up, "Uh… maybe we should keep moving instead of wasting time here?"

Ogre snapped. "You think my face is a waste of time?!"