Chapter 312

Chapter 312: Chapter 312

According to Kiriya, this blood-type Imperial Arms only required its user to drink a single cup.

Once the body successfully adapted, they would gain the Ultra-Class Danger Beast’s ability to control ice.

But Esdeath had never been the type to settle for anything less than the absolute best.

So naturally, she drank the entire vessel dry. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

Gulp. Gulp. Gulp—

The sight of a beautiful young girl calmly guzzling down an entire container of blood made for a rather striking image.

"How do you feel?"

Jeanne could not help asking worriedly.

"Mm... it actually tastes pretty—"

Esdeath suddenly froze.

Her hands went slack, and the golden vessel fell from her grasp and struck the floor.

Countless voices filled with malice exploded inside her head at once, followed by a tidal wave of resentment so overwhelming it seemed capable of drowning her consciousness.

’Kill... plunder... violate... destroy... exterminate...’

Unimaginable agony tore through her nerves, forcing even Esdeath to clutch her head.

"Esdeath!"

Jeanne and Ryuu both stepped forward instinctively, only for Kiriya to stop them.

"Relax. She can handle it."

The certainty in his voice eased their worries somewhat, though both women continued watching Esdeath anxiously.

Sure enough, after only a couple of breaths, the pain on Esdeath’s face receded like a tide.

A relaxed smile appeared in its place.

"So that’s it. The people who drank this before were driven insane by those voices?"

She gave a pleased little chuckle.

"I’ll admit, they’ve got some bite."

Then her expression changed.

"But they’re far too naive!"

A terrifying aura erupted from Esdeath’s body, generating a fierce wind that sent everyone’s clothing snapping around them.

"You think something this pathetic is enough to make me submit?"

"Not even close!"

Her smile became domineering.

"I’m the one who does the controlling!"

"A mere Imperial Arms has no right to defy me."

"Obey my will."

The declaration left no room for argument.

The violently churning blood of the Imperial Arms inside her immediately calmed, becoming as obedient as a trained dog.

At the same time, a mark appeared near Esdeath’s collarbone.

It resembled an incomplete black ring containing a heavily simplified, inverted Y-shaped geometric symbol.

With that, Esdeath had successfully fused with Demon God Manifestation: Demon’s Extract.

The strongest Imperial Arms user in this world had finally been born.

"Congratulations, Esdeath."

Jeanne was the first to offer her congratulations.

"How do you feel?"

"Thanks. I feel amazing."

Esdeath clenched one fist.

Her mind was bursting with excitement.

More than anything, she wanted to immediately find a powerful opponent and test her newly acquired strength.

As for who that opponent should be?

There was barely any need to think about it.

Meeting Esdeath’s burning gaze, Kiriya smiled faintly.

"That impatient already?"

"Hehe. Of course."

Esdeath slowly licked her lips.

"I’m already prepared to turn you into my possession and thoroughly ’dominate’ you."

She looked like a starving beast staring at a feast laid out before it.

After all, she had been dreaming about turning the tables on her "Master" for more than a day or two.

Back when she had been nothing more than a pure physical fighter, she challenged Kiriya practically every day.

Now that she had evolved into an absurd hybrid of warrior and mage, how could she not want to erase the humiliation of her past defeats and finally fulfill her long-held ambition?

Ryuu frowned and stepped directly in front of Esdeath.

"You’ll have to get through me first."

"Hehe. Fine by me."

Esdeath was not picky.

"Let’s see whether your Magic or my Imperial Arms comes out on top."

"Um..."

Jeanne developed a headache as she watched the two women prepare to fight each other on the spot.

She had expected something like this sooner or later.

But they were currently standing inside someone else’s stronghold.

Wasn’t starting a fight right here just a little too disrespectful?

There were quite a lot of people directly above them.

"Kiriya, aren’t you going to say something?"

Jeanne puffed out her cheeks and looked at him.

"Esdeath, don’t rush."

Kiriya finally spoke and pointed upward.

"If you want opponents, there are plenty waiting for us up there."

His energy perception had already detected a large number of life signatures gathering above the treasury.

Several of them were fairly powerful.

"Oh?"

Esdeath paused before smiling.

"They already reacted?"

"Looks like they aren’t completely useless after all."

"Well, this is the Imperial Palace."

Kiriya glanced around the treasury.

"It would be strange if their response were slow."

Then he looked toward Jeanne and Ryuu.

"See anything you want?"

"No."

Both women shook their heads.

Nothing in the treasury particularly appealed to either of them.

"All right, then."

Kiriya nodded and pulled out a summoning scroll.

Since they were already enemies with the Empire, there was no reason to generously leave all these good Imperial Arms behind.

He packed away every last one.

Hissssss—

A sudden sound of gas being released came from nearby.

Kiriya and the others paused.

Pale purple smoke had begun spreading through the treasury.

"Well, damn."

Kiriya raised an eyebrow.

"They’re pumping poison gas in here."

"Heh. They think a cheap little trick like this can take me down?"

Esdeath snorted.

An intense chill burst from her body.

In moments, thick ice covered the treasury walls and the surrounding area.

Even a potent poison temporarily lost much of its activity under temperatures that low.

"Let’s go."

Esdeath turned toward the exit.

"I want to meet those experts."

There were many possible ways out.

Naturally, Esdeath chose the most dangerous one—straight through the front.

Very Esdeath like.

Kiriya exchanged a glance with Jeanne and Ryuu.

The three could only shake their heads and follow her.

...

"Move, move, move! Surround this entire place! Not even a fly gets out!"

Outside the underground treasury, a high-ranking officer barked orders at the top of his lungs.

The Imperial Palace Guard was exceptionally well equipped, and before long the entrance had been surrounded so tightly that there was barely a gap anywhere.

"To think rebels would actually be bold enough to infiltrate the Imperial Palace and steal from the treasury."

Prime Minister Honest stood safely behind layer upon layer of guards, stroking his beard with considerable self-satisfaction.

"If I hadn’t happened to come by on a whim, they might actually have succeeded."

Not long earlier, Honest had suddenly felt like taking a walk.

When he passed the treasury, he decided to go inside and inspect it.

Instead, the guards had greeted him with—

"Prime Minister? Why are you back again?"

That single sentence instantly put Honest on alert.

After questioning them and learning that another "Prime Minister" had already entered the treasury, he immediately realized thieves had infiltrated the palace.

So he ordered troops mobilized at once and had the entire area surrounded.

Honest himself, meanwhile, remained very far back.

The Four Rakshasa Demons were stationed around him as additional protection, ensuring that he would not accidentally get caught in whatever happened next.

After all, even getting someone else’s blood splashed on him would be terribly unlucky.

Despite doing little personally, he was still immediately showered with flattery by his subordinates.

They praised his foresight.

His keen powers of observation.

His brilliant command.

Whatever sounded the most shamelessly flattering, they said it.

"Hahaha! You praise me too much."

Honest smiled magnanimously.

"I merely discovered the rebels. When it comes to arranging troops and capturing enemies, we must still rely on Great General Budo."

The surrounding officials immediately fell silent.

They all belonged to Honest’s faction.

And everyone knew Honest and Budo hated each other.

If any of them enthusiastically praised Budo now and Honest remembered it later, would they even live long enough to regret it?

"Hmph!"

Great General Budo was a powerfully built middle-aged man with a stern, upright face.

His personality was rigid and principled, the complete opposite of Honest’s love of schemes and political manipulation.

The two men were effectively mortal enemies.

At the same time, Budo was an unwavering royalist.

His loyalty to the Imperial Family and the Emperor was absolute.

He desperately wanted to eliminate Honest and restore order to the court.

Unfortunately, his family’s ancestral teachings forbade military officers from interfering in politics, while Honest continued to enjoy the Emperor’s complete trust.

That left Budo constantly restrained.

He could only watch as the Empire deteriorated further with each passing day, causing his hatred for Honest to accumulate year after year.

But hatred was one thing.

Budo’s loyalty to the Emperor was beyond question.

So the moment he heard that rebels had infiltrated the palace, he personally led troops to establish a defensive formation.

Whoever these traitors were—he intended to crush them completely!