Their commission was suspicious.

The feathers looked illusory yet also substantial, capable of inflicting excruciating pain on the man, yet his cries were full of energy, not like someone suffering a fatal wound.

Most importantly, the man wanted to pluck the four black feathers, but no matter how much he shook his hand, he couldn't touch them, as if they were just phantoms. However, the pain in his chest was excruciating.

As the black feathers fell like raindrops, the woman instinctively reached out to try and catch them.

The feathers drifted down slowly, and one feather landed in the woman's hand, which she caught steadily.

The black feather felt soft to the touch and had a warm feel to it, not at all as sinister as it appeared on the surface.

Just as the woman was about to touch it with her other hand, the black feather suddenly became ethereal, pierced through her palm, slowly fell to the ground, and then disappeared.

The woman staggered to her feet, instinctively avoiding the man whose face was contorted with pain and covered in fleshy features, and looked towards the pedestrians standing on the street.

Among the pedestrians on the street, a considerable number had developed varying numbers of black feathers on their chests, and without exception, they all appeared to be in great pain.

Seeing the woman unharmed amidst the rain of black feathers, while he himself was in excruciating pain, the burly man with the fury on his face angrily reached out to grab her. But before his hand could even touch her, the pain in his chest intensified several times over, instantly robbing him of his ability to move. He collapsed to the ground, convulsing in agony.

This scene was happening simultaneously in different locations in the capital.

Whether in the aristocratic district, the commercial district, or the slums, everyone receives the baptism of the black feathers fairly and justly.

The number of black feathers appearing on each person's heart varies depending on their sins.

Inside the palace...

"Phew, thankfully that angel intervened and repelled that dangerous dragon-like creature." The minister breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Otherwise, the minister would really have absconded with the money.

The minister had long prepared everything for absconding with the money. Even though the minister didn't think the empire would collapse now, he was still very cautious.

The minister felt that even if the Supreme Imperial Arms were to be used, it might not be able to defeat the East Sea Dragon, who had toyed with Esdeath and General Budo as if they were children.

They were beings who truly stood at the pinnacle of the world's military power, quietly residing in the Far East, living a life of peace and tranquility.

They could only engage in combat when the empire's military strength was at its peak, but the result of such a confrontation was that the empire would suffer heavy losses, while the enemy would lose some men.

That's it.

The day's events were too fantastical for the ministers to comprehend.

Let's find some unlucky guy later, ransack his house, and have some fun.

"Minister, what was that angel talking about regarding the empire's thousand-year-old sins? Isn't the empire becoming more and more prosperous under my rule?" The young emperor asked Ernest beside him, bewildered.

"Who knows? Maybe that angel went to the wrong place. He should have been looking for the western kingdoms. Under Your Majesty's leadership, the empire is thriving. Just two days ago, we defeated a northern tribe and defended the dignity of the nation." The minister spoke nonsense with a straight face.

However, the minister had already prepared himself to take a ten-day leave after a month to travel to the northern kingdom. If the empire was indeed put on trial, the minister would not return but would settle in the western kingdom with his wealth. If he was not put on trial, he could return openly and legitimately.

Ten days is not enough to shake Ernest's position in the capital.

Perhaps this month will require some investment of imperial resources to reach agreements with western kingdoms in order to improve our standing there.

What if we cede territory or open trade?

The world of Akame ga Kill! is vast, and humanity has not explored its entire territory. Apart from the central empire, only the western kingdoms are capable of rivaling it.

The south is an island, the archipelago in the far east is said to be undeveloped land, and the north is covered in snow and wind, so it's not enjoyable at all.

Therefore, the ministers had no choice but to choose the kingdom as their place of escape.

Riva, one of Esdeath's three Beast World subordinates, saw the minister spouting nonsense and the elite soldiers around him, and suppressed his urge to expose the minister's true colors.

Riva, Esdeath's subordinate, Brand's former superior, and a wise and brave former Imperial General, was framed for refusing to pay a bribe. After being arrested, he was rescued by Esdeath and became loyal to her. He possesses the Imperial Arm, Water Dragon, which allows him to control water.

"Then, Minister, do you think that black feather that floats down from the sky can really distinguish criminals?" the young emperor asked curiously.

"Who knows? It's probably all just a hoax," the minister said with a disdainful smile.

"Although that angel may be a real angel, religion is not something worth believing in. These people will do anything to make people revere and believe in them."

In fact, the minister believed that the mercury lamp was an angel, and his spirit was not strong enough; he was also influenced by spiritual suggestion.

However, believing that the black-winged birdman is an angel does not mean that one must believe in them.

The minister knew that if the feather truly had the ability to identify sinners, it would certainly not miss him.

Although the minister felt he had done nothing wrong, rationally speaking, he was indeed the bad guy.

The ministers still possessed this basic self-awareness.

So now we're laying the groundwork with the emperor in advance, so we can find an excuse later.

However, the minister was also curious. He was standing inside the room, so how could the black feathers be blown in by the wind?

However, the minister was somewhat astonished by the fact that the feathers were not blown in, but instead floated directly into the palace through the building's illusory structure.

The minister watched the feathers warily, prepared to be marked.

At the same time, the ministers also hoped that these feathers were something like Imperial Arms, and were ready to use the Imperial Arms in their hands.

The minister possesses an Imperial Arm that can seal away Imperial Arms, which might be effective against these feathers.

The young emperor curiously reached out to try and catch the falling feather.

"Your Majesty, please do not touch these things of unknown origin." General Bud walked in somewhat disheveled from outside the palace.

After nearly being struck by lightning, General Bud took advantage of the shattering of the observation deck to leave.

General Bude was not fleeing, but rather protecting the emperor.

While leaving Esdeath to fight the Dragon of the East Sea alone in the training grounds was indeed a bit excessive, General Budo always put the Emperor's safety first.

"Whoosh!" Before the young emperor could say anything, the feather that was about to fall into his hand suddenly stopped in mid-air and then shot towards Ernest, who was standing next to the young emperor.

Feathers around Ernest were also aimed at him.

The feather moved so fast that it pierced Ernest's heart before he could react, its roots deeply embedded in his heart.

"Ah!!!" Ernest screamed in agony.

General Bud rushed forward instantly and stood between Ernest and the young emperor to prevent Ernest's screams from frightening or injuring the young emperor.

"Ah!" Besides Ernest, screams also rang out from other places.

For example, the corrupt officials of the same faction as Ernest, and two of the Three Beastmen.

Ten black feathers were pierced into Ernest's heart, symbolizing the most heinous crimes.

The so-called Ten Abominations refer to ten crimes: treason, rebellion, treason, heinous crimes, immorality, disrespect, filial impiety, discord, injustice, and internal strife.

It seems the ministers... have taken all of them?

Of the three beast warriors, Riva stood there bewildered, without any black feathers on his body.

Nichu, a petite cross-dressing boy, has a fetish for collecting women's faces and has six black feathers tied to his chest.

Daidas, a battle maniac, has... two black feathers stuck to his body?

General Bud was not attracted to the black feathers, nor was the young emperor.

[The trial begins! These ten sinners are the most heinous criminals, and Heaven will punish them as a warning to others.]

The familiar voice echoed in everyone's ears, and the image of the black-feathered angel reappeared before their eyes. But this time, the mercury lamp was no longer floating in the air; instead, it appeared at the execution grounds used by the empire for public executions.

Below the mercury lamp stood ten crosses.

[Number one, the worst of all evil, Ernest. Crime: Unforgivable]

As soon as Mercury Lamp finished speaking, a dark hole suddenly appeared in front of everyone in the royal palace.

General Bude instinctively stepped in front of the young emperor, lightning gathering in his hand.

A gigantic, ghostly hand emerged from the dark cave, completely ignoring General Bud and the young emperor, and directly grabbed Ernest in its grasp.

Lightning roared, but General Bud's lightning attack had no effect on the Ghost Hand. The Ghost Hand continued to drag Ernest into the black hole, which then closed instantly.

At the same time, Ernest appeared before everyone.

……

"Look, this is the capital." Sheila stood in front of the crowd, looking at the bustling capital that she hadn't seen for a long time.

"Can we really do whatever we want in this capital city?" asked a woman dressed in revealing clothes, wearing knee-length black stockings, dressed like a songstress.

"Of course, my dad is a minister! The most powerful person in this country!"

"Isn't the emperor the most powerful?"

“He’s just a little brat who can’t even distinguish right from wrong, and listens to my dad like a child. Don’t worry about him. I told you, you’ll gain a lot by following me.” Shisira turned to look at the Imperial Arms users she had worked so hard to gather behind her.

"Wow, how amazing! Are black feathers falling from the sky in your capital city instead of rain?"

“I don’t know, at least it wasn’t here before I left.” Sheila shook her head.

As they drew closer to the capital, it was as if they had entered a certain realm, and a scene suddenly appeared before their eyes.

A fat man with big ears floated in the air.

"Isn't this my dear father? What kind of magical form is this? A Teigu?" Sheila was very curious, and then casually took a black feather.

The black feather, which should have ignored this person who had suddenly barged into the capital and had never been baptized by the "orange juice" according to the underlying logic, seemed to sense something just as it was about to become ethereal. Its body paused and it turned back into a solid form.

The change in the feathers is like a human-like surprise.

They seemed surprised that someone would be in such a hurry to rush back to the capital to their death.

Are there really people in this world with such bad luck?

"What is this?" The alchemist in the group took the feather and examined it.

After the second guilty person was detected, the countless feathers floating on the edge of the capital suddenly stopped in mid-air.

This strange phenomenon alerted Sheila and everyone behind her.

"Whoosh!"

Countless black feathers shot towards the unfortunate group who had walked right into the trap with lightning speed.

Although these people were all Teigu users and each had their own methods, the feathers were immune to attack. Caught off guard, everyone was pierced by the feathers.

Immediately afterwards, countless large hands rushed out of the black hole, grabbed the people in their hands, and dragged them into the black hole.

There really are unlucky souls in the world who come to their deaths just as the countdown is about to end.

Chapter 969 [Ten Days of Execution by a Thousand Cuts]

Ten minutes ago...

"Hahahaha! This is hilarious! I'm not even a sinner! Hahahaha! Is that angel blind?" Esdeath stood there, laughing and mocking the black-feathered angel Suigintou.

Countless black feathers drifted down slowly, but they remained motionless as they approached Esdeath, continuing their descent to the ground as always.

Even when Esdeath reached out to catch the black feather falling from the sky, the black feather only hesitated for a moment before becoming ethereal and falling to the ground, disappearing without a trace.

"Father, may I kill her?" Mercury Lamp, sitting on Chen Luo's shoulder, looked at Esdeath, who was mocking her, with hostility.

"Sweetie, I'll give you three bottles of probiotics later. Just ignore this crazy woman." Chen Luo comforted the mercury lamp.

Mercury Lamp, for the sake of those three bottles of lactic acid bacteria, glanced unhappily at Esdeath, who was openly cursing her to her face, and then obediently rubbed her face against Chen Luo's.

It's absolutely true that Esdeath is a madwoman.

Esdeath is determined to face what others fear and avoid, and her thought process is indeed different from that of ordinary people.

Esdeath, Chen Luo, Abigail (who was being led by Chen Luo's hand), Suigintou (who was resting on Chen Luo's shoulder), and the Herrscher of Knowledge (who was observing the grand event of Kuroba's descent) left the training ground together.

According to Esdeath, there's no one in the training ground, so what's the point of staying there?

After seeing the horrific scene on the street, Esdeath roughly understood the operating logic of these Black Feathers.

These black feathers will automatically drift towards the sinner and insert their roots into the sinner's heart.

These feathers appear to be solid and can indeed be touched, but once an ordinary person touches them, they become illusory and continue to fall to the ground.

Only when these black feathers take root in the heart of a sinner will they remain in an illusory state for an extended period.

The more sinful a person is, the more black feathers they have on their chest, and the more black feathers they have, the deeper the pain they usually feel.

If a person with a feather stuck in their chest tries to continue doing bad things, the black feather will instantly multiply the pain they feel several times over.

"This is simply a perfect instrument of torture. The person who came up with this punishment must be someone I get along with very well." Esdeath was very satisfied with the scene as people on the street occasionally let out painful screams.