Tyrant

"Hehe, how naive."

Hearing Bulat's arrogant words, Nyau and Liva, who had somehow come onto the deck and were standing beside Daidas, laughed.

They knew exactly how powerful Lilith was, and they also knew that she had not gotten serious at all.

Lilith was currently on the Grand Canal. The entire canal could become her strength, allowing her to end the battle in an instant.

However, Lilith wanted to see just how powerful Incursio was.

From those two attacks earlier, Lilith had learned about Incursio's enhancement of its user's strength, as well as the power of its auxiliary weapon.

"And what about its defense?"

Tiny droplets of water floated before Lilith. Under the sunlight, they glittered like diamonds.

Such a beautiful sight sent a chill through Tatsumi's heart.

Could Big Brother withstand an attack like this?

This time, there were three times as many droplets floating before Lilith as before!

This time, Bulat failed to block all the droplets. He could only stop those aimed at fatal areas such as his head and chest; he was powerless against the rest.

When the attack ended, Bulat's pristine white armor was already covered in blood.

"Big Brother!"

Tatsumi cried out in worry.

"Don't worry, Tatsumi. My hot-blooded spirit won't be extinguished by an attack of this level!"

Bulat propped himself up with the Red-backed Shrike and stood.

It hadn't injured his bones?

Although she had not used her full strength, after breaking through the armor's defense, it had only caused superficial wounds. This surprised Lilith somewhat.

It looked like only a thin layer of armor, yet its defensive power was this strong.

"Lilith, you clearly possess such tremendous strength. Why do you stand with the Empire?"

"That doesn't sound like something an assassin would say."

Lilith looked at Bulat in his armor. "The Empire? The Rebel Army? You seem to have misunderstood me. To me, the Empire and the Rebel Army are no different in what they do."

Bulat's pupils contracted. "What do you mean?"

He fought with the goal of liberating the entire Empire. He would not allow their ideals to be slandered.

"Heh. You're all just acting for your own desires. What excuses are you looking for?"

She had learned enough about Incursio's capabilities, and Lilith had no interest in continuing to play with Bulat.

With a wave of her hand, four water blades sliced toward Bulat.

Bulat swung the Red-backed Shrike and blocked the first water blade, but the remaining blades struck his body.

Bulat was instantly sent flying. When he landed on the deck, the immense force left a deep dent in it.

"Big Brother!"

Tatsumi hurried to Bulat's side, only to find that the armor on Bulat's body had already been dismissed, revealing him covered in wounds.

Looking at the wounds all over Bulat's body—especially the three long gashes across his chest and abdomen—Tatsumi tried to cover the bleeding wounds, but he only had two hands. He simply could not cover them all.

"Big Brother."

Tears could not help but spill from Tatsumi's eyes.

"Tatsumi, a man shouldn't shed tears so easily... Puh."

Before he could finish speaking, Bulat coughed up a large mouthful of blood.

The water blade that had struck his chest had already cut into his lungs. At this point, even breathing was difficult for Bulat.

As blood continued to drain from him, Bulat could feel his Life Fire gradually dying out.

He knew that he was beyond saving.

If Incursio had not blocked most of the damage for him, he would have been reduced to a mangled corpse beneath those water blades long ago.

But he could not let both of them die here. He had to find a way to let Tatsumi return alive!

"Tatsumi, listen to me. Take this sword and summon Incursio!"

"Big Brother, this is Big Brother's armor. I can't do it."

Bulat punched Tatsumi in the face.

"You say you can't do it without even trying? Are you even a man?!"

Watching the two entrust the Imperial Arm to one another, Lilith frowned. Did they really think she would just let them do as they pleased?

A water blade sliced toward Tatsumi.

Seeing this, Bulat lunged at Tatsumi and shoved him away at the critical moment.

But his entire left arm was cut off, along with half of his shoulder.

Despite suffering such grave injuries, Bulat still shouted, "Call out to it—with your burning soul!"

This time, Tatsumi did not hesitate.

"Incursio!"

At Tatsumi's call, Incursio answered him.

A massive phantom of armor appeared behind Tatsumi. No, it was not armor.

Before everyone's eyes, the mouthpiece of the armor transformed into a huge, blood-filled maw.

Lilith even seemed to hear the cry of a dragon.

It was Tyrant's cry.

"This is... Is it because it has been used for over a thousand years, or because of Tatsumi's call, that you've broken free of your restraints?"

Ordinary people might have merely marveled at Incursio's power, but Lilith could see that the dragon named Tyrant, hidden beneath Incursio, was about to "revive"!

Lilith, who had originally planned to kill both of them outright and seize their Imperial Arms, hesitated.

Tatsumi's compatibility with Incursio was extremely high. If he kept wearing it like this, there would come a day when Incursio turned back into Tyrant.

Tyrant was an immensely powerful Super Dangerous Species.

It was a Super Dangerous Species that had already gone extinct in the Empire a thousand years ago.

Nowadays, among the Dangerous Species still living within and around the Empire, the strongest were only Special Class Dangerous Species.

A living Super Dangerous Species was more valuable than an Imperial Arm, no matter how one looked at it.

As for Incursio's ability to evolve according to its environment, it was, frankly, neither here nor there to Lilith.

After thinking it over for a moment, Lilith decided to spare Tatsumi.

By letting Tatsumi go today, she could reap a Tyrant tomorrow. No matter how she looked at it, it was a profit.

As for how to subdue Tyrant, Lilith had plenty of methods.

"Lilith, I'm going to avenge my big brother!"

Only after putting on Incursio did Tatsumi realize just how great the strain this Imperial Arm placed on his body.

Right now, Incursio was forcibly strengthening him, but that enhancement would not last long!

Clad in Incursio, Tatsumi raised his fist and charged at Lilith with reckless abandon.

Lilith sent a water blade slicing toward Tatsumi.

Tatsumi's eyes lit up. Rather than dodge, he crossed his arms before his chest. The water blade struck his forearms, and a jet of blood burst forth as Tatsumi's body was flung backward.