But it didn't matter.
They had their million-strong army, and he was confident that it would be more than enough to reclaim the capital and the palace.
His eyes burned with fervor.
As long as they reached the army, as long as he stood before themhe would reclaim the throne and crown himself as the new Emperor of the Empire!
"Huh"
The group came to an abrupt halt as they exited the city.
In front of them, a formation of soldiers clad in elite armor blocked their path.
These were not their soldiers.
Behind the formation loomed massive ice mountains, their transparent surfaces revealing frozen soldiers trapped within, their faces locked in expressions of terror.
"Hiss!"
The eerie, bone-chilling cold made their skin crawl, and goosebumps rose along their arms.
"Revolutionary Army, foreign tribesdo you have any true warriors among you?"
A cold, commanding voice echoed across the battlefield.
Standing before the army was Esdeath, clad in her military uniform, her sharp sword gleaming as she pointed it toward the Revolutionary Army leaders and foreign tribal chiefs.
Her lips curved into a cruel smile.
"I'm giving you an opportunity. A chance to die with honor."
"Es Esdeath"
The Revolutionary Army leader instinctively swallowed hard, fear gripping his chest.
Esdeath's infamy was unmatched; her name alone struck terror into hearts across the land.
But he couldn't comprehend why she was here.
"Why Why are you here?!"
The capital had been captured. The Emperor, the ministers, the nobleseveryone had reportedly been killed.
How was Esdeath, the Empire's most feared general, still alive?
And why was she standing in their way?
The answer was simple: Esdeath had chosen to be here.
When Rei Ao offered her the chance to massacre enemies to her heart's content, she eagerly accepted.
To her, the million-strong army and their leaders were nothing more than playthings to break.
Rei Ao had only one request:
Anyone who refused to submit must be killed.
Under Esdeath's ruthless command, the once-million-strong army had already been reduced to less than 400,000.
The weak are meant to die.
Esdeath saw no value in their lives, and Rei Ao had no objections to her methods.
Esdeath sneered, her sword gleaming as she raised it toward them.
"You have no right to choose your fate."
"The only option left to you is battle."
Her eyes burned with maniacal glee as her grin widened.
"The victors will live. The defeated will perish. Come, let us slaughter one another!"
While Esdeath reveled in the thrill of battle, others found themselves lost in thought.
Inside the grand bathing pool of the now-cleansed palace, several women sat submerged in the warm water, their expressions dazed.
For Mai Sakurajima and the others, the day's events had been a harrowing ordeal.
Blood, dismembered bodies, and the countless lives they had taken replayed endlessly in their minds.
The weight of their actions left them feeling numb, even nauseous, as they tried to process it all.
The bath was eerily silent.
The only ones who seemed unaffected were Rei, Kajika, Ayame, and Saeko Busujima.
Sitting beside Saeko, Mai couldn't help but voice the question gnawing at her.
"You you don't feel anything about killing, do you?"
The other women, including Megumi Kato and Sonoko Machida, turned their attention to Saeko.
Calmly, Saeko opened her eyes, her serene gaze meeting Mai's.
Through the rising steam, Mai noticed how Saeko's form seemed unshakable, her presence steady as ever.
Saeko turned to face Mai fully, her expression unreadable.
"Are you asking me what it feels like to take a life?"
Mai hesitated, then nodded.
Saeko's ruthless efficiency during the battle had left an impression on all of them.
She had killed without hesitation, without any sign of remorse.
Saeko regarded her quietly before speaking, her tone steady and unwavering.
"You're confused, aren't you? All of you are."
Mai lowered her head, her hands trembling in the water.
"Yes"
She stared at her palms, still glistening with droplets.
Though clean, she couldn't shake the sensation of blood staining them, an indelible mark on her memory.
Saeko sighed softly.
She placed a firm yet gentle hand on Mai's shoulder, her words measured.
"I won't lie to you. I can't give you peace or erase the weight of what you've done."
Her gaze swept over the others.
"Killing is never easy, and it never should be."
She paused, letting her words sink in before continuing.
"But if you want to find peace, you must first find your purpose. Choose a path you can accept, a reason that will give meaning to your actions."
Saeko turned her gaze back to Mai, her tone soft but resolute.
"For me, my purpose is clear: I am Rei Ao's blade. My duty is to cut down anyone who stands in his way."
So her blade was swift and deadly.
Even in the imperial palace's grand hall, Saeko Busujima had executed a Revolutionary Army with a single, decisive strike for speaking out of turn.
Next to Yumiko, Ayame nodded.
"That's right, I feel the same."
She exchanged a glance with Kajika.
"Our lives were saved by Rei Ao-sama. We're willing to give everything for him."
Rei Miyamoto, sitting between Megumi Kato and Saya Takagi, nodded in agreement.
But her situation differed slightly.
"In my world, before all this, I had already killed someone"
"Koichi Shido!"
Saya Takagi immediately blurted the name, her expression twisting with anger at the memory.
"Koichi Shido"
Yuriko Takagi frowned, her sharp gaze showing recognition.
"That was your teacher, wasn't it? It sounds like something serious happened."
"Yes"
Saya Takagi's face darkened as she recounted everything that had happened that day.
"A teacher like that truly deserved to die."
Yuriko's eyes were fierce.
If she'd been there, she wouldn't have hesitated to deal with such a man herself.
And Rei Miyamoto had done exactly that.
"To be honest, after killing Shido, I was terrified. I was afraid that I had become a murderer," Rei admitted.
"But you killed someone who deserved it," Yumiko interjected.
She didn't see anything wrong with what Rei had done.
People like Shido deserved to die!
Rei smiled gently.
"You're right. Eventually, I came to understand that I had done the right thing by killing him. Once I realized that, the fear disappeared."
Seeing that the conversation was taking a positive turn, Rei turned her smile toward the others.
"Don't you think our current situation is quite similar?"
The group fell silent.
Megumi Kato was the first to break it, her tone contemplative.
"The people we killed were accomplices to the Empire's corruption. They helped maintain its oppressive rule."
Mai Sakurajima seemed to have an epiphany.
"Are you saying they deserved to die too?"
Rei shook her head.
"I don't know for certain. What I do know is that, from our perspectiveand Rei Ao's perspectivethey were obstacles, enemies."
Her voice became firmer.
"We killed our enemies, and they would have killed us if given the chance. In that sense, life and death were equal on the battlefield."
Sui scoffed, her expression full of disdain.
"If they're Rei Ao's enemies, and dirty humans on top of that, then they deserved to die."
Shizue nodded.
"At the very least, the Empire's future will change because of this."
The conversation seemed to ease the tension within the group.
Saya Takagi sighed, running a hand through her hair in frustration.
"Seriously, all this reflection it's just about that guy, isn't it?"
The group shared a knowing, awkward silence.
After all, they were all Rei Ao's women.
This mutual understanding made the atmosphere a little uncomfortable.
Saya broke the silence by turning to Saeko.
"Saeko, you came in late. Did you finish dealing with the Revolutionary Army? What's that guy doing now? And what about Akame and the others?"
Saeko's expression shifted slightly, a faint smile appearing on her lips.
"Rei Ao? Well"
She paused for a moment, then suggested, "Why don't we just ask him directly?"
[Main Chat Group]
Saeko Busujima: "@Rei Ao, Rei Ao, Saya wants to know what you're doing right now."
Rei Ao: "Oh, just the usual. You know, making love and stuff."
Stella: "Hmm?"
[Ding! Rei Ao has started a livestream!]
The group instinctively clicked on the notification.
The moment they entered the livestream, they were greeted by an overwhelming sight.
Frieren: "Wow that's a lot?"
Saeko Busujima: "Well, there were six trades, after all."
Stella: ""
It was happening again.
Stella, already accustomed to these situations, didn't even bother to react anymore.
The scene felt strangely routine by this point.
"I I hate this"
Her actions, however, told a different story.
Stella whispered softly, "Why do I keep doing this"
She, too, gave in to curiosity, though her face burned with embarrassment.
After all, once it started, there was no going back.
Yukino Yukinoshita, however, was utterly unprepared.
The moment she clicked into the livestream, she exited with lightning speed.
Her entire body jolted upright from her bed.
"W-What was that?!"
Her face burned with embarrassment as she clutched her head in disbelief.
"How can something so inappropriate be livestreamed?"
Her mind, already unsettled by the earlier bloodshed, was now overwhelmed by the chaotic images seared into her memory.
She had heard rumors in the chat group about Rei Ao's outlandish behavior.
But experiencing it firsthand was a completely different story.
The most shell-shocked, however, were Megumi Kato's sister, Hiromi Kato, and a trembling Eriri.
Hiromi, still in disbelief, muttered, "Can this even be allowed?"
Her thoughts spiraled.
Would Rei Ao's actions one day cause him to self-destruct?
Meanwhile, Eriri lay in Rei Ao's bed, her eyes hollow and voice trembling.
"W-Why Rei Ao, why are you like this?"
Her mind, already frayed by the gruesome battlefield, was now numb.
Her precious "white moonlight" had been tainted once again!
~~~
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Chapter 147: 6vs1... Kurome joined! 7vs1!!!
"He-he-he-he-he!"
Saya Takagi's mouth moved wordlessly, her face rapidly flushing red as her emotions surged.
Her wide-eyed gaze darted toward Saeko Busujima, only to catch the slight smirk tugging at the latter's lips.
At that moment, she understood everything.
"Saeko, you knew what he was doing?!"
Saeko shrugged casually.
"Since it's a trade, naturally, it comes with payment."
"Uh"
Saya froze, rendered utterly speechless. Her gaze flicked instinctively to the others.
Everyone awkwardly avoided eye contact, their expressions shifting uncomfortably.
Even her own mother averted her gaze in embarrassment.
The bathhouse fell into a deep, awkward silence.
No one spoke. No one even tried to continue the philosophical discussions they had been having earlier.
Kurono Shinguuji, who had been silently observing these "youngsters" from the beginning, remained quiet.
Of course, there were two individuals among them who only looked young.
"Splash!"
Suddenly, Kurome, who had been sitting quietly in the corner, stood up from the bath and stepped out without a word.
Her back was straight as she walked away, leaving everyone else to watch her departing figure in silence.
No one said a thing.
"What's wrong with her?"
Kajika reflexively asked.
But no one had an answer.
No one in the group was particularly close to Kurome; they had barely exchanged any words with her before.
Not even two minutes later
"Wait Kurome?!"
Kajika's eyes widened in shock, and she exclaimed aloud, "How did she show up on the livestream?!"
The others turned their attention to the screen, where Kurome's figure had suddenly appeared in Rei Ao's livestream.
Meanwhile, within the stream:
"Ugh, I can't take it anymore"
Mine whimpered, her voice trembling as she slumped forward.
The connection, naturally, broke off.
"Tch, Mine, you're so fragile. Let me handle it!"
Leone declared, preparing to step up, only for Akame to intervene.
"Hey, Akame, you've already gone once! That's not fair!"
Leone protested indignantly.
But Akame, her expression resolute, replied solemnly, "My trade isn't complete yet."
"Ha?"
Leone raised an eyebrow, her lips curving into a teasing smirk.
"Are you sure you're not just getting addicted?"
Akame blushed deeply, her expression turning awkward as she silently sat down, avoiding Leone's gaze.
Seeing this, Leone could only groan in frustration and wait her turn.
As the women squabbled and blushed, Rei Ao, the center of their attention, simply sat back and watched with an amused expression.
No matter how heated their arguments became, he wasn't concerned.
After all, everyone was his, and he wasn't about to lose anything in the process.
Having handed the Revolutionary Army and the foreign tribes' invaders over to Esdeath, Rei Ao had shifted his focus entirely to collecting the "payments" owed by the Night Raid.
Najenda, Sheele, and Mine had been given priority.
Najenda, ever composed, sat calmly to the side, observing the others without a hint of embarrassment.
Meanwhile, Sheele and Mine clung to each other, their faces flushed as they pretended to sleep.
In their unspoken language, their body language conveyed a single, shared sentiment: "We're done for the day."
Seeing Leone looking disappointed, Chelsea hesitated for a moment.
Shrinking back slightly, she timidly raised her hand and asked nervously,
"Um Leone? Do you want to go again?"
"Hmm?"
Leone turned toward Chelsea, rubbing her chin thoughtfully before grinning.
"Not a bad idea, I guess."
The main reason was that Leone noticed how much Sheele, Mine, and Najenda seemed to be enjoying themselves.
Otherwise, even Akame wouldn't have been so eager to go again.
Chelsea's eyes lit up.
"In that case, I'll let you take my place for the payment!"
"Huh?"
Leone was taken aback.
That phrasing sounded odd, but upon closer thought, wasn't this just Chelsea asking her to repay the debt on her behalf?
Leone glanced at Rei Ao, who was busy focusing on Akame.
