Using FGO to Open the Second Dimension

To get back on track, once you understand their personalities, it's easier to talk to them. After all, striking up a conversation without knowing someone's personality could easily offend them, or even reveal that you don't remember meeting them before.

Now that he understands their personalities, Koizumi isn't afraid at all, as long as they don't bring up the last time they met. He just needs to avoid answering their questions without thinking. Fortunately, Koizumi is usually pretty sharp, and not likely to answer questions brainlessly and anger them.

Slowly, Koizumi followed Kurome and the others towards the Imperial Palace. Looking at the golden palaces, Koizumi felt something indescribable... Luxury? No, palaces are supposed to be like this, so how could it be considered luxury? If they don't display status, what's the point of building them? But what is this feeling?

Just looking at them and walking forward, he felt something strange. It wasn't excitement or elation, but a more oppressive feeling, which made Koizumi uncomfortable.

"Haa..." Koizumi sighed, covering his chest with his right hand, as if trying to relieve the oppression.

"What's wrong? Koizumi?" Kurome seemed to notice Koizumi's abnormality and quickly asked.

Kurome cares a lot about her new friend, and unlike the others, she isn't excited about entering the Imperial Palace. Her only excitement comes from the possibility of getting stronger and saving her sister.

"It's nothing..." Koizumi smiled faintly, forcing himself to calm down.

Kurome nodded gently, not saying much, and focused her gaze on the Imperial Palace in front of her.

"Are you excited?" Koizumi cast aside the gloom in his heart and looked at Kurome with a smile.

For Kurome, her sister is the most important thing, so the possibility of mending things with her sister is probably the most exciting thing for her.

Seeing his friend happy makes Koizumi happy too, although...

His gaze swept over the Imperial Palace again, and Koizumi's lips curled into a wry smile.

He thought it would be difficult to get close to this place, but he ended up entering it in such a strange way.

If Reimu and Hata no Kokoro knew about this, what would they think...?

"I am excited. I'm happy to be noticed by the General, but I'm even happier that there's finally a way to bring my sister back to my side, and maybe even have her with me forever..."

Kurome's eyes sparkled with intense excitement. She really is an easily satisfied child.

Yes, she's still a child, a child who can't leave her sister.

Although she can make friends normally, she can't leave her sister and become independent, so in Koizumi's eyes, she's just a child.

But then again, he's just a child in some ways too.

He doesn't know what to do without Chaldea. What's the difference between that and a child who doesn't know what to do without their parents?

But, a child is fine, it's better than living in this world and not knowing what to do.

At least he has a goal to achieve right now, and that's all he needs to know...

Chapter 53: Budou and Esdeath

"Hmph! You're still the same, Esdeath! As I thought, you're the biggest ticking time bomb in this Empire! You better hope I don't find any dirt on you!" A stubborn and rigid middle-aged man walked out of Esdeath's residence. He was about forty years old, wearing heavy armor, with a white cloak fluttering in the breeze. The aura he exuded made his presence exceptionally strong, and every step he took was heavy and solid.

Just standing there and looking at him, Koizumi couldn't help but lower his head slightly.

This terrifying aura... probably only Esdeath can contend with him. But what does he mean by that?

General Esdeath is the biggest ticking time bomb in this Empire? Did General Esdeath do something?

But then again, is it just his imagination? Koizumi feels like this man's aura is somewhat familiar.

Sigh... Koizumi couldn't help but sigh. If he had been strong enough, he would have remembered auras clearly, but unfortunately, he only started training his power like crazy after leaving the Empire.

It's too late... Thinking of this, Koizumi looked at his hands, feeling slightly heavy-hearted.

Although it's a little late, if he starts training hard now, he'll eventually be able to fight alongside Reimu and the others.

Koizumi deeply believes this, so there's no need to be so depressed. Instead of being depressed, he should hurry up and get stronger, remember this deep sense of unwillingness, and turn it all into motivation to become stronger.

Shaking his head slightly, Koizumi banished these thoughts from his mind and glanced at the imposing man.

It seems like he came here to say something to Esdeath and they ended up falling out... Esdeath doesn't seem like an easy person to get along with, but she seems very friendly to Kurome, which is a bit strange.

"Old fogey, you're still the same, blindly loyal to a fault! And, don't you understand my thoughts, Esdeath? In an Empire without war or opponents who can fight me, it's just so boring!"

Esdeath slowly walked out of the luxurious mansion, but her words made Kurome and the others stiffen.

Did they just hear something they shouldn't have? Is General Esdeath planning to rebel against the Empire?

Then, will they be killed by General Esdeath for hearing these things they shouldn't have heard?

Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Kurome and the others couldn't help but tremble, but Koizumi wasn't panicking at all.

Esdeath and this man aren't showing any killing intent, what are you panicking about?

Since Esdeath brought Kurome to her side, she wouldn't suddenly kill people for no reason.

Moreover, Kurome was promoted by Esdeath, so she's basically on Esdeath's side. Why would Esdeath weaken her own forces for no reason? Although perhaps with Esdeath's strength, losing one Teigu User wouldn't hurt her too much.

But according to normal people's thinking, Esdeath shouldn't attack Kurome and the others.

Of course, that's just normal people's thinking. What if General Esdeath just doesn't follow the normal route?

Forget it, don't think so much. Even if Esdeath wants to attack, he won't be so easily slaughtered.

If all else fails, he'll just have to use a Command Seal... Speaking of which, the feeling of thinking about using a Command Seal at every turn is really unpleasant.

"Hmph! One day I will eliminate you, this ticking time bomb, for the sake of the Empire!"

This imposing man said something that didn't match his current aura at all. It just feels too low-level. Anyone can say those kinds of harsh words. If you say harsh words and don't act, that's just too low-level.

Although he can roughly guess that it's for the stability of the Empire, it would be better to act before saying anything.

Koizumi silently retorted in his mind, then focused his gaze on Esdeath.

Esdeath at this moment was quite disdainful. Although the guy in front of her outwardly claimed to be about the same strength as her, no one could say for sure what would happen in a real fight. Maybe she would win.

The stubborn, rigid man in front of her who only knew how to make threats was General Bude, who had attacked Reimu before.

He and Esdeath were both the strongest in the Empire, but they hadn't seen much of each other's battles, after all, they were on the same side.

But it was clear that Esdeath was the kind of battle maniac, you could hear it in her words...

Wait, what did Esdeath just say? Koizumi was slightly stunned, he felt like he had overlooked something just now!

[In an Empire where there isn't even a war, or an opponent who can fight me, it's just so boring!]

An Empire without even a war... Does this Empire have no war? Aren't there still revolutionary armies and foreign tribes?

Could it be that General Esdeath was just saying there was no war that could make her serious?

No, if she meant a war that could make Esdeath serious, she should have said it very clearly.

Sure enough, there's a problem... There's been a big problem since I lost my memory... It's like some kind of anomaly has occurred!

A solemn light flashed in Koizumi's eyes, and he raised his vigilance to the highest level in his heart. He couldn't afford to relax even for a moment now.

At this moment, General Bude, having finished making his harsh remarks, planned to leave directly. He didn't want to stay here with Esdeath any longer, otherwise, he might really not be able to help but take action directly and destroy this time bomb for the Empire.

Esdeath herself loved war, and if there was no war, then without a doubt, she would create war herself.

Regardless of her position, even if they were on the same side, as long as it could satisfy her, she could betray them at any time.

For Esdeath, loyalty was not important, because in this world, the strong were respected. If you were strong enough, strong enough to suppress everything, then was there any need for loyalty? They would betray you simply because you were weak.

Esdeath, with this kind of thinking, was undoubtedly a bomb that could destroy the Empire at any time in Bude's eyes.

His intuition told him that if he didn't take some preventive measures against Esdeath, Esdeath would take action against this Empire sooner or later, so in any case, he had to be more vigilant about Esdeath.

With this vigilance in his heart, General Bude slowly left under Esdeath's disdainful gaze.

General Bude directly ignored Koizumi and the others, not out of contempt, but because, under his perception, Koizumi and the others were really not strong, so General Bude didn't pay much attention to them. He focused more on Esdeath, who was harmful to the Empire.

That was true, although Koizumi possessed the power of a Vampire, the Vampire's power was suppressed by the sunlight during the day, including its aura, so it was difficult to sense the Vampire's aura during the day.

Besides, Koizumi had not transformed into Vampire form, so it was difficult for Bude to discover him.

However, when Bude brushed past him, Koizumi was still a little uneasy.

There was no way, this kind of behavior of going deep into the enemy camp was too exciting, so exciting that Koizumi couldn't help but feel very nervous.

Fortunately, this tension completely disappeared after a while, and Koizumi didn't reveal any problems.

If something went wrong here, it would be a shameful death.

The next moment, Esdeath directly brought Koizumi and the others in. She was very familiar with Kurome's social circle. Koizumi's arrival didn't surprise her at all. It would be strange if Koizumi hadn't come.

Bringing everyone to the training ground, Koizumi scanned the surroundings, a look of seriousness flashing in his eyes.

From the moment he arrived at the training ground, Koizumi felt a very special feeling...

Is there a barrier here? As soon as he came in, he felt the sense of confinement here, but this was also normal. Given Esdeath's strength, if there was no barrier, it was estimated that it would cause some damage to the interior of the palace.

Esdeath's self-training was no joke, she was one of the strongest in the Empire!

"Kurome, you and your friends train here now."

Esdeath said lightly, while giving her three followers behind her a look.

When they came in, Esdeath had already introduced her three followers to everyone.

The Three Beasts—Liver, Nyau, and Daidus, respectively possessing the Teigu Water Dragon Possession: Black Marlin, Musical Dream: Scream, and Twin Great Axes: Belvaac. All three of them possessed exceptionally strong strength.

Liver was a general with silver hair who looked rather mature. It was said that he used to be a general of the Empire, but due to committing a crime, he was later released by Esdeath and became Esdeath's subordinate, infected by Esdeath's personal charm.

Nyau was the cross-dressing boy who looked like a woman, with a petite figure, born into a prestigious family, with a cold and ruthless personality, liked to dissect small animals, and had a habit of collecting women's faces, but his strength was indeed very strong, and he was the backbone of Esdeath's army.

Daidus was a burly man with a rough appearance. He had followed Esdeath to conquer the foreign tribes of the North, a battle maniac who liked to fight with the strong to improve his experience points, but come to think of it, did he think killing people was playing a game? Improving experience points or something, wasn't it too much to bear? Forget it, I'll lose if I take it seriously!

Thinking of this, Koizumi curled his lips and said nothing. Why bother so much?

Kurome nodded silently, and began to train with Gin and the others on the side, holding the March of the Dead: Yatsufusa in her hand.

Gin and Mamin didn't say anything, but Remusu was a little repulsed.

There was no way, Remusu's physique was not very good in the first place. Not only that, she was actually ranked in the dozens among those who failed in the Empire's assassination squad. In terms of aptitude, she was completely inferior to Mamin, Gin, and Kurome.

Moreover, Kurome had now obtained a Teigu, and her strength must have increased, so she was even more inferior to Kurome.

However, since Gin and Mamin were so enthusiastic, she must not spoil everyone's fun.

So, Remusu could only force a smile and train with Kurome and the others.

It was obvious that Kurome's strength had been greatly improved after obtaining the March of the Dead: Yatsufusa.

With a very high degree of compatibility with the Teigu, the host's strength would also be improved to a certain extent.

This was the same principle as whether a weapon was easy to use or not. If it was not easy to use, the strength would also be affected.

Therefore, Gin, Mamin, and Remusu were somewhat struggling to deal with Kurome when they joined forces.

It was a pity. Esdeath looked at Kurome with some disappointment in her eyes. Although Kurome's constitution was much better than she remembered, there was no doubt that her strength had declined, and not just by a little.

Sure enough, in this peaceful era, a killer like Kurome, essential in times of war, would have no place to use her skills.

Who would have thought that the Empire's assassination squad, once second only to the Elite Seven, would be completely disbanded, selecting only the Elite Seven.

So Kurome didn't receive adequate training, which was truly regrettable.

However… Esdeath's gaze suddenly turned to a conflicted Koizumi.

Indeed, Koizumi was conflicted. He was wondering if he should step forward and train with them.

However, before Koizumi could figure it out, Esdeath suddenly revealed an excited smile, stomping her right foot on the ground. In the next moment, a huge ice spike suddenly rose from the ground, stabbing towards Koizumi.

"What—!!!!!"

Koizumi was slightly stunned, his hands subconsciously condensing into a pink spear—Gungnir!

Gungnir was held horizontally in front of his chest, and the ice shards struck Gungnir with lightning speed, creating intense friction.

The friction between the two sparked a series of sparks, and at the same time, Koizumi was directly knocked away by the impact.

Koizumi couldn't help but grit his teeth, and the moment he escaped the attack of the ice shards, a pair of blood-red wings unfurled behind him.

Slowly, a pair of dark pupils had completely turned blood-red and were glowing.

Moreover, Koizumi's teeth began to sharpen, making him look just like a Vampire.

Although he didn't know why Esdeath had launched an attack on him, there was no doubt that she wanted to fight him. Since she wanted to fight him, he would accompany her to the end, even if she was the strongest general.

However, Koizumi was very curious as to why she would attack him?

Koizumi didn't understand. Could it be because he was a wanted criminal? If so, she should have attacked him when she was talking to Kurome, right?

Or was it for some other reason? Koizumi could only guess for now.

Esdeath had an excited look on her face, and the aura on her body was released without concealment.

The look in those ice-blue pupils was like that of a ravenous beast that had been hungry for a long time when it saw delicious food. That kind of hunger made people subconsciously feel fear.