"What do we do now?" D'Eon asked their Master in a low voice as the Cruel Officials closed in.
"Wait for now. They haven't attacked immediately." Ritsuka glanced around as she searched for a possible escape route and spoke quietly. While breaking out before the enemy completed their encirclement was the best opportunity, it would be difficult to infiltrate again afterward. To repair this Singularity, some risks had to be taken.
"Welcome to Nevernight City, Master of Chaldea. I didn't expect you to arrive so soon. Your name is... forget it. I'll call you Dazed Sheep."
After the Cruel Officials surrounded Mash, Ritsuka, and the others, the Empress's voice came from the execution platform ahead. She was nowhere to be seen. As expected, she was hiding underground.
"Your Majesty, you invited us to Nevernight City just to treat your guests like this?" Ritsuka asked, looking around.
"That was indeed my discourtesy."
"Your Majesty, I—" The man who had previously betrayed Mash, Ritsuka, and the others spoke up. Before he could finish, however, the Empress cut him off.
"Silence. You dare interrupt me? Take him away. Twenty slaps, twenty lashes, and force boiling water down his throat." The Empress's cold words made the man's body tremble uncontrollably. Just as he tried to defend himself, a Cruel Official beside him slapped him to the ground. Then two Cruel Officials came up behind him and dragged him away to carry out the punishment.
"I will give you the reward you deserve, and the punishment you deserve as well. Here, merits and faults do not cancel each other out," the Empress continued, addressing the man being dragged away.
"I was discourteous earlier. As an exception, I shall permit you to enter my palace." As soon as the Empress finished speaking, another voice suddenly sounded