Chapter 321
The moment Kiriya said that, Jeanne, Ryuu, and Esdeath all fell silent.
An attack with that kind of power had only consumed twenty percent of his energy reserves?
Hearing something like that was enough to make a person want to swear.
"Mmph, mmph... Big Sis, did you hear that?"
Even with the gag in her mouth, Kurome somehow managed to complain in a muffled voice.
"He said he only used twenty percent. He’s definitely bragging."
Akame said nothing.
She simply studied Kiriya in silence, continuously reassessing him in her mind.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
Prime Minister Honest, whom Kiriya was carrying in one hand, twisted violently as he shouted his denial.
Shikoutazer was a divine weapon.
That belief had been branded so deeply into Honest’s soul that it had practically become an unshakable law of reality to him.
Yet this young man had destroyed it with ease and unleashed devastation comparable to a natural disaster...
and now he was claiming that doing so had cost only twenty percent of his energy?
The psychological impact was comparable to spending years desperately pursuing the goddess of your dreams, only to watch another man crook one finger and have her immediately run over to him.
If Kiriya was telling the truth, then Honest’s entire faith would collapse.
It was a reality he simply could not endure.
So he could only convince himself that Kiriya was lying.
There had to have been an unimaginable price behind that attack.
Slap! Slap! Slap!
Kiriya casually gave Honest a rapid series of slaps, beating his face until it swelled like a pig’s.
He controlled the force perfectly, ensuring each slap hurt like hell without doing enough damage to actually ruin the man.
"Shut up."
Kiriya spoke as though scolding a dog.
"Nobody asked you."
Honest showed no intention of calming down.
The Emperor was dead.
Shikoutazer had been destroyed.
He knew perfectly well that he had no path left to survival, and that realization only made his behavior more unhinged.
He shouted as loudly as possible and made his words as vicious as he could.
"You’re going to die! Those people chasing merit will tear you apart and—Mmph! Mmph!"
In the end, Kiriya had no choice but to give Honest a gag as well.
...
Kiriya’s "escape" continued.
He deliberately kept their pace from becoming too fast—just enough that the pursuers could continue detecting their trail.
In fact, he even allowed the distance between them to gradually shrink.
That only convinced the pursuers even more strongly that Kiriya had suffered severe injuries.
Otherwise, why would his speed keep dropping?
That conclusion led to an unexpected development.
Even while pursuing the same enemy, the different forces began watching one another with increasing suspicion.
"General, what exactly are they doing?"
Bulat was among the pursuing forces.
Feeling the wary and openly hostile gazes coming from the surrounding troops, he could not understand what was happening.
"What else could it be?"
Beside him, Liver looked energetic and confident as ever, but his smile carried obvious contempt.
"They’re afraid we’ll claim the rebels’ heads before they do."
He glanced at Bulat.
"After all, we have someone as powerful as you on our side. Of course they’re worried."
"But the enemy hasn’t even been defeated yet."
Bulat frowned.
"Why start fighting over credit now?"
"That’s politics, Bulat."
Liver’s sneer deepened.
"The heads of those rebels represent reputation, wealth, authority, and even greater military power."
"They’re a feast everyone wants a bite of."
Bulat hesitated.
"Then what do we do? Keep chasing?"
"Of course."
Liver answered without hesitation.
"If they can take the prize, why shouldn’t we?"
His eyes gleamed sharply.
"Bulat, this is our opportunity. When fate places a gift in your hands, refusing it invites disaster."
Bulat looked at his superior—and the man he regarded almost as an elder brother—and found himself unsure what to say.
If he were being completely honest, Bulat would rather have returned to the Imperial Capital to suppress the chaos and protect the defenseless civilians there.
But Liver had already made his decision.
Out of loyalty, Bulat felt obligated to support him.
’We’ll finish this fight as quickly as possible, then go back and put an end to the disorder in the city.’
That was what Bulat told himself.
The two had barely settled on their course of action when they suddenly noticed several nearby units simultaneously sending detachments toward them.
Those troops began surrounding Liver’s force.
"General Liver."
The first mounted officer to arrive called out loudly.
"Lord Serfesh has issued an order. You are to immediately lead your men back into the city, suppress the unrest, and protect the civilian population."
Serfesh was a veteran statesman who had served three generations of Emperors.
His political prestige exceeded even Honest’s in certain circles.
He was unquestionably one of the true heavyweights of the Empire.
"And if I refuse?"
Liver narrowed his eyes.
"Those who disobey military orders will be executed without mercy!"
The knight’s voice was equally murderous.
𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢
At once, the troops behind him drew their weapons.
"So that’s it."
Liver’s expression darkened.
"You’re trying to remove us from the competition before we even reach the target."
A single unit would not have meant much.
But several forces combined were enough to threaten Liver’s men.
With their strength, Liver and Bulat might still have been able to break through by force.
But doing so would inevitably cause serious losses.
Worse, it would mean openly severing relations with one of the Empire’s most respected elder statesmen.
For the first time, Liver hesitated.
When his troops remained in place, the atmosphere grew increasingly tense.
The surrounding units did not rush to attack either.
Bulat’s presence alone was enough to make them cautious.
But if Liver insisted on forcing his way through, battle would become unavoidable.
For a time, the two sides remained locked in a dangerous stalemate.
...
"Seriously, do we need to make this so complicated?"
Esdeath was beginning to lose patience with being chased.
"That pack of trash back there? I could deal with all of them by myself."
Her tone was completely casual.
"Not yet."
Kiriya sighed.
"We need to draw out all the Empire’s die-hard loyalists, ambitious schemers, and other obstacles at once."
"Once those people are cleared away, rebuilding the country afterward becomes much easier."
He smiled faintly.
"A blank canvas is easier to paint on."
"Oh?"
Esdeath’s eyes immediately lit up.
"You want to become Emperor?"
Now that sounded interesting.
Being Emperor meant campaigns, wars, and endless opportunities to fight.
Just imagining it made her slightly excited.
"Emperor?"
Kiriya waved dismissively.
"Why the hell would I want to be Emperor? I’m not taking on that miserable job."
"Then why are you going through all this trouble?"
Esdeath genuinely did not understand.
"Because I don’t like what I’ve seen."
Kiriya sighed.
"We’re already here. It would feel wrong to leave without doing something."
"You want to start... a revolution?"
Jeanne was the only one who immediately understood where his thoughts were going.
"Nothing that grand."
Kiriya hurriedly waved both hands.
"I just want to cut away some rotten flesh and tumors, then let some reasonably decent fresh blood take their place."
"At least give the ordinary people of this country a chance to breathe."
Once an old order had been destroyed, something new had to replace it.
Kiriya was not the kind of idiot who killed everyone in charge and then walked away without caring what happened afterward.
Someone had to deal with the consequences.
"Even so..."
Jeanne’s eyes shone brightly.
"That’s still a remarkable thing to do."
Ryuu’s gaze also softened, carrying a little more warmth and respect than before.
Both were fundamentally kindhearted women.
How could they not feel happy seeing the man they cared about possess enough compassion to think about an entire country’s people—and actually act on it?
"Boring."
Esdeath, on the other hand, pouted in disappointment.
"Ahem."
Kiriya immediately changed tactics.
"We’ve attracted quite a lot of enemies already. There should be plenty of strong fighters among them."
He looked at her.
"When the time comes, you can fight too."
"I won’t use the move that killed the Emperor."
His smile turned challenging.
"We’ll compete to see who finishes first. How does that sound?"
"Hehe."
Esdeath’s mood changed instantly.
"Now that sounds interesting."
Her grin widened.
"I accept."
Then her eyes shifted mischievously as an idea occurred to her.
"In that case, we should lure even more people out."
She looked Kiriya up and down.
"How about this?"
"Pretend you’re seriously injured."
"Better yet, cough up a huge mouthful of blood right in front of them."
She pointed at herself.
"Then I’ll carry you."
"That should make even more of them come running, right?"
Kiriya stared at her for a moment.
Then he grinned.
"Damn."
"You really are a genius."