Chapter 308

Chapter 308: Chapter 308

Over the past six months, Esdeath had traveled with Kiriya and the others through one dangerous uninhabited region after another, hunting all kinds of Danger Beasts and fighting more battles than anyone could count.

Even during their downtime, she constantly dragged Kiriya, Ryuu, and Jeanne into high-intensity spars, causing her combat ability to skyrocket.

She had yet to obtain the ice-type Imperial Arms destined for her, but in terms of pure hand-to-hand combat and swordsmanship, her current strength was already comparable to the peak Esdeath from the beginning of the original story.

As for Syura?

He was certainly considered a powerful fighter in this world, firmly among the first-rate.

Plenty of Imperial Arms users would not be his match.

But against an Esdeath who had spent the past half year growing at a ridiculous pace?

That was basically walking into a graveyard and bringing your own shovel.

...

"Syura... lost?"

Najenda and the others were stunned.

Who was Syura?

A spoiled second-generation bastard with a cruel and sadistic personality.

Frankly, some Danger Beasts had more humanity than he did.

But no matter how awful he was as a person, there was no denying his strength.

Even Great General Budo, known as one of the strongest warriors in the Empire, had once praised him as a young martial artist who had already achieved remarkable mastery.

Among the entire Imperial military, there were fewer than a handful who could confidently defeat him in hand-to-hand combat.

His strength was very real.

And yet—

A completely unknown blue-haired girl had dropped him in a single exchange?

Had the world gone insane?

Could some random girl really appear out of nowhere and turn out to be a peerless monster?

"Uh... General."

Lubbock swallowed.

"Do we still need to help?"

"Help?"

Najenda sat back down.

"Just watch."

She calmly picked up her tea again.

The others exchanged glances before following suit with obvious enthusiasm.

Syura was getting beaten up.

Why would anyone interrupt entertainment this good?

...

Out on the street, Syura’s followers remained frozen after seeing the arrogant son of the Prime Minister get dropped in a single exchange.

None of them rushed forward to rescue him.

They were too stunned.

Syura was the strongest among them.

So if that blue-haired girl could defeat him instantly...just how powerful was she?

Could they really beat someone like that?

Cold sweat appeared across their foreheads as their mouths went dry.

An invisible pressure seemed to settle over their shoulders like a mountain.

"You idiots!"

The blond girl suddenly snapped.

"You think you still have a choice?"

Her sharp voice jolted everyone.

"If anything happens to Lord Syura, do you honestly think the Prime Minister will spare us?"

Everyone shuddered.

Their gazes toward Esdeath and the others immediately hardened with desperate resolve.

If they fought this group, the worst possible outcome was death.

But if they angered Prime Minister Honest...

Death itself might become a luxury.

Compared with being dragged into hell by the Prime Minister, gambling their lives here seemed preferable.

Besides, they had several Imperial Arms users among them.

If they coordinated properly, perhaps they really did have a chance.

"Go!"

The woman dressed like a singer turned toward one of the soldiers in the rear.

"Find the Imperial Capital Guard and bring reinforcements immediately!"

The soldier’s eyes lit up.

He spun around and ran with everything he had.

Everyone else charged Esdeath, Ryuu, and Jeanne at once.

Shhk—!

Esdeath did not hesitate for even a second.

Her figure blurred.

Sword light crossed the street.

Every ordinary soldier who rushed forward was cut cleanly in half and collapsed into pools of blood.

There were only three exceptions.

The blond girl with shoulder-length hair.

The flamboyantly dressed singer.

And the round, clown-like man.

They had avoided being bisected, but blood still sprayed from their bodies as deep wounds opened across them.

"Oh?"

Esdeath’s lips curved upward, a faint crimson gleam flashing through her eyes.

"You actually avoided that."

Her smile became increasingly dangerous.

"Come on, then."

"Use everything you have and entertain me."

The blond girl, the singer, and the clown clutched their wounds, cold sweat pouring down their faces.

The figure standing before them no longer felt human.

She seemed more like some terrifying monster that had crawled up from the abyss.

The killing intent surrounding her was so dense that they could scarcely imagine how many lives she must have taken to create it.

’Do we... really have a chance?’

For the first time, all three wavered.

But Esdeath’s killing intent quickly forced them back to reality.

They were already riding a tiger.

There was no getting off now.

They had to fight with everything they had!

No hesitation.

No retreat.

The singer pulled out a microphone.

It was the Imperial Arms Heavy Pressure.

Any sound transmitted through it became devastating sonic force, powerful enough to shatter hardened armor and bone alike.

She drew a deep breath and faced Esdeath.

"Aaaaaah~~!"

Her voice was clear, beautiful, and genuinely worthy of a professional singer.

But hidden within that beautiful sound was lethal force.

The proof lay directly ahead of her.

Roads, walls, and everything else caught in the path of the sound waves began exploding apart.

Yet despite the tremendous speed of sound itself—

Esdeath was not hit.

The instant the singer activated her Imperial Arms, Esdeath had already predicted the direction of the attack and moved aside.

Whoosh!

While Esdeath was airborne, a ball came flying toward her chest.

Her exceptional dynamic vision allowed her to clearly see the character written across its surface—

Fire.

The next instant, raging flames erupted from the ball and completely swallowed her.

"Yes!"

The round clown planted both hands on his hips in triumph.

"It worked! See? When it really matters, you can always count on the great Champ!"

His Imperial Arms, Die Leaguer, consisted of six different elemental spheres capable of producing fire, lightning, ice, wind, explosive force, and corrosion.

His ridiculous clown-like appearance made opponents naturally underestimate him, which gave him plenty of opportunities to launch sneak attacks.

And just now, his companion had created the perfect opening.

Champ had seized it flawlessly and landed a direct hit.

"Hehehe... I’ve made a huge contribution this time."

Champ’s imagination immediately began running wild.

"Surely nobody would complain if I found a few cute little kids to play with afterward. Noble children would be best... soft skin, pampered bodies... they’d be so much fun."

He was already dreaming about his reward.

Completely unaware of the pity in Ryuu and Jeanne’s eyes.

Poor idiot.

Did he really think an attack like that had actually hurt Esdeath?

Shhk—!

An almost imperceptible sound whispered through the air.

Champ suddenly felt a chill across his neck.

He raised a hand, intending to touch it—

only for his vision to begin spinning.

The last thing he saw was a fat, headless clown standing where he had been.

’Isn’t that... me?’

The thought had barely appeared before his consciousness vanished into darkness.

"N-No... impossible..."

The singer backed away repeatedly, her voice trembling.

"I saw it! I saw Champ’s Imperial Arms hit you! How can you possibly be completely unharmed?"

"Oh, so that thing was an Imperial Arms too?"

Esdeath’s voice was light and almost bored.

"Not a bad power."

She tilted her head.

"Unfortunately, it takes too long to activate."

Then she looked directly at the singer.

"You’re next."

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Esdeath walked toward her.

With each approaching step, the singer’s expression became more distorted by fear.

She sucked in a desperate breath and screamed at Esdeath with everything she had.

Heavy Pressure—full power!

"I already told you."

Esdeath vanished.

"Too slow."

She appeared behind the singer and drove her sword straight through her torso.

The blade pierced cleanly through her heart.

The singer’s eyes widened as unbearable pain erupted through her chest.

She desperately wanted to do something—anything—but her strength rapidly vanished.

Her body collapsed to the ground.

Esdeath casually flicked the blood from her sword and turned toward the blond girl.

"Looks like you’re the only one left."

"N-No... please don’t kill me!"

The blond girl seemed to completely break down.

She scrambled toward Esdeath on hands and knees, tears streaming down her face.

"I didn’t want to do any of those horrible things! They forced me! That’s right—they made me do everything!"

"Oh?"

Esdeath’s lips curved into an unreadable smile.

"So you’re actually a good little girl?"

"Yes! Please, you have to believe me!"

The blond girl slowly crept closer, sobbing miserably.

"I never had a choice before. But now... I want to be a good person."

She reached Esdeath’s feet.

"Please."

The girl wrapped both arms around Esdeath’s long leg and begged desperately.

"Give me a chance."

"That sounds reasonable enough."

Esdeath’s voice drifted down from above.

The blond girl’s eyes immediately brightened.

Then she grinned.

Several sharp fangs appeared inside her mouth.

They belonged to the Imperial Arms Blood Collection: Absorbdex.

A set of artificial fangs implanted in the mouth, they allowed the user to drain a victim’s blood until only a dried corpse remained.

The stolen blood could then be used to heal injuries and strengthen the wielder.

Her entire display of weakness had been nothing more than an act.

She only needed a chance to get close enough to this terrifying woman.

Then she would drain her dry in an instant.

Not only would that eliminate an overwhelmingly powerful enemy, but absorbing her blood might also grant an enormous increase in strength.

Two birds with one stone.

’I’m a fucking genius.’

Without another moment of hesitation, she opened her mouth and lunged toward Esdeath’s calf with lightning speed.

One second.

She only needed one second.

Then victory would belong to her.

Shhk—!

A sword plunged down through the top of her skull and nailed her directly to the ground. 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

The blond girl—died.