The Empire's Strongest / Fierce Battle ...

Seeing Koizumi before her, she thought of Akame, who had once fought her in an inhuman form.

A form possessed only by demons!

The Empire's Strongest

"What's going on?" Kurome's attention was drawn to the battle nearby. Why was Koizumi fighting General Esdeath? Could there be something wrong with Koizumi? Kurome frowned tightly, but that didn't seem right...

Gin, Mamin, Remusu, and the others also looked toward Koizumi and Esdeath, their eyes filled with confusion.

They were all deeply puzzled by Esdeath's sudden attack. Why was she doing this?

Liver and the others silently stood behind Esdeath, watching the scene without saying anything.

Esdeath had not told them to intervene, which meant this was merely Esdeath's battle lust acting up.

And that was indeed the case. Esdeath simply felt like fighting; it was not because anything was wrong with Koizumi.

"Interesting. I can sense extraordinary power from you! This must be the power you gained by abandoning your human body! You really are like Akame!" Esdeath's lips curved slightly, the excitement on her face impossible to hide.

As excitement surfaced in her eyes, the surrounding space seemed to gradually freeze under the chill released from Esdeath's body. In the next instant, the entire training ground was covered in ice.

Feeling that power, Koizumi could not help but feel a heavy weight settle in her heart.

What terrifying power. In an instant, she had completely frozen the entire training ground. Not only that, it even seemed to affect space itself. Esdeath's power was completely unlike anything a human should possess. Could an Imperial Arm really be this powerful?

A Servant? Probably not... Although Koizumi was not very familiar with the distinctive aura of Servants, she could not sense anything unusual from Esdeath. Other than her overwhelming presence and aura, there was nothing strange about her.

Strange... If she was not a Servant, why did she possess such terrifying pressure?

Could a human possess power equal to, or even stronger than, Reimu and Hata no Kokoro?

Koizumi quickly shook her head and cast those thoughts aside. They were fighting right now! How could she have the leisure to think about so much? She could not afford to lose focus against Esdeath! The moment she did, something would happen!

Then, countless ice spikes erupted from the frozen ground and shot toward Koizumi.

However, in Koizumi's eyes, those ice spikes were far slower than they appeared.

Amid sharp whistles through the air, countless ice spikes closed in on Koizumi. In that instant, crimson afterimages streaked through the surrounding space, and the ice spikes all missed their mark. Almost simultaneously, flawless cuts appeared across every single spike.

—Koizumi had cut them all apart!

Koizumi's crimson eyes fixed on Esdeath, her gaze filled with coldness.

"What is the meaning of this, General Esdeath? I do not believe I have offended you. This is even our first meeting!" Even if they were going to fight, Koizumi had to ask for the reason first.

"What reason does one need to fight? Wanting to fight is reason enough! In this peaceful age, having no one capable of matching me is unbearably boring! Akame finally appeared too, but that woman actually escaped my pursuit! How utterly dull! Now that an interesting one has finally appeared, how could I not have some fun!"

The moment she finished speaking, Esdeath appeared before Koizumi before even an afterimage could be caught.

A sweeping kick lashed toward Koizumi's abdomen like a long whip, carrying a piercing whistle.

Koizumi almost took the blow head-on. Her face immediately twisted in pain as both hands clamped tightly around Esdeath's long leg.

"Oh?"

Noticing that Koizumi had grabbed her, Esdeath's lips rose slightly.

Did Koizumi really think that amount of strength was enough to hold her down? She was thinking too much.

Bursts of cold erupted from Esdeath's body, and the instant they reached Koizumi, Koizumi's hands froze solid.

But pink spiritual energy burst from Koizumi's body, forcefully breaking the ice. In the next instant, Koizumi swung both hands toward the ground and hurled Esdeath away.

Like a ghost, Koizumi's speed abruptly increased. As she flung Esdeath away, she chased after her.

"Pfft!"

Esdeath's figure suddenly vanished. Before Koizumi could fully react, a sharp pain suddenly tore through her body.

Countless streams of blood burst from Koizumi's abdomen, some of it even splashing onto the corner of her lips.

Licking the blood from her lips, Koizumi's eyes revealed intense excitement.

So what if she was injured? As long as she still had mana, she could continuously regenerate. That was the vampire's powerful vitality.

Slowly, the wound in her abdomen, which had been spraying blood, began to heal.

However, intense pain spread through her body again, and Koizumi could no longer catch sight of Esdeath at all.

In the blink of an eye, a massive ice storm directly swallowed Koizumi. Merely standing within it, she could feel its extraordinarily powerful tearing force, as though it wanted to rip her body completely in two.

Koizumi's strength was suppressed during the day. With only a portion of Remilia's power, there was no way she could defeat Esdeath. The Esdeath before her might even be more terrifying than the Remilia she had seen before.

And how could Koizumi, with only part of Remilia's power, possibly contend with Esdeath?

Like a bomb, Koizumi's body suddenly exploded into countless bats.

The instant Koizumi's body burst apart, the ice storm vanished, and Esdeath was already standing atop the ice.

In the next moment, the bats gathered together and transformed into a tall figure shrouded in crimson light.

The crimson light shattered like glass, and Koizumi appeared before everyone, breathing lightly.

"Can't be killed?" Esdeath stood on the ice, looking at Koizumi with great interest.

An existence that could not be killed? Did such a person really exist in this world? Esdeath thought to herself.

Though she had never encountered one before, her earlier attacks on Koizumi had already been enough to make an ordinary person bleed to death.

And with that final strike, she should have died outright. Yet Koizumi had turned into bats and come back to life.

"Looks like this is a little interesting. It seems the days ahead will not be boring."

Looking at Koizumi, Esdeath's lips curled into another smile.

Koizumi could not help clutching her chest, her body trembling slightly. She had just been killed alive by Esdeath once, hadn't she?

Being killed alive like that had only happened once before, when Lancer had done it to her.

The last time Lancer killed her, she had been completely unprepared. But this time, she had been fighting Esdeath and was still brutally slaughtered, unable even to catch a glimpse of her opponent.

The Empire's strongest... Koizumi had truly experienced it.

Fierce Battle

At this moment, Kurome was fighting an ice cavalryman created purely from ice elemental power.

This ice cavalryman possessed extraordinarily powerful combat ability. According to Koizumi's estimate, the one before them could trade several rounds with Hata no Kokoro. That alone was enough to prove how powerful Esdeath's ice cavalrymen were.

Kurome was currently struggling bitterly. Yes, she was fighting alone.

Meanwhile, Remusu, Gin, and Mamin were working together to deal with a single ice cavalryman.

It had to be said that Esdeath's training was effective. Kurome was already able to handle the ice cavalryman's attacks.

The sky gradually darkened, while Koizumi was still fighting Esdeath. Originally, Koizumi believed the Three Beasts should have fought her instead, as that might have produced good results. Unfortunately, Esdeath said she had not fought in a long time.

Koizumi could only offer herself a moment of silent mourning. Hopefully, this body would not get used to being abused.

Koizumi did not want to suddenly become a masochist. That was not a good habit.

Esdeath's reason for fighting Koizumi was that she hoped to cultivate an opponent who could satisfy her.

What puzzled Koizumi was that Esdeath said this was an age of peace, with no enemies at all.

That left Koizumi deeply confused. Did this world not have a Revolutionary Army?

Of course, Koizumi did not ask directly. She was in the heart of the Empire, the Imperial Capital. How could she casually ask about the Revolutionary Army? If someone mistook her for someone plotting to rebel against the Empire, she would be finished.

Kurome gritted her teeth and wielded the Imperial Arm March of the Dead: Yatsufusa, blocking the ice cavalryman's attacks.

Its cold gleam was sharp and biting. One careless mistake, and she could be injured by the ice cavalryman's strikes.

Cold sweat beaded across Kurome's forehead. Though simply dodging was not a solution, her strength was not enough. Kurome understood one thing: she simply could not block the enemy's attacks.

The ice cavalryman was far stronger than ordinary soldiers, perhaps even stronger than Esdeath's own subordinates. However, ice cavalrymen were not made for combat, but for storing energy. They could store several days' worth, then release it all at once during a decisive battle, creating a massive blizzard over an enormous area.

Dodging the ice cavalryman's attack, Kurome swung the katana in her hand once more.

As an Imperial Arm, March of the Dead: Yatsufusa possessed great power. But unfortunately, without even a single puppet, Yatsufusa was useless and could only be wielded as an ordinary katana.

In an instant, countless blade shadows flashed, followed by a series of clashing sounds.

Yet no matter what she did, Kurome could not leave even the slightest mark on the ice cavalryman.

This was a gap in strength that could not be overturned. What Kurome needed to learn from this was reaction speed and movement speed.

If she could go from an absolute disadvantage at the start to an even match, that would prove that Kurome had grown.

Esdeath believed no training could compare to actual combat. That was how Esdeath herself had grown.

A cold glint flashed, and the ice cavalryman's figure reflected across Yatsufusa's blade.

Without hesitation, Kurome swung. Her eyes became increasingly resolute, and her sword swings grew ever faster.

Finally—

A crack appeared at the ice cavalryman's waist. It was the result of Kurome's several hours of effort.

From the moment she had arrived at the training ground until now, Kurome had not rested in the slightest. She had been fighting the entire time.

But even after cutting that crack, Kurome was not happy at all. She knew she was still far from her goal.

Taking a light breath, Kurome focused her gaze on the ice cavalryman. The muscles tensed throughout her body did not relax in the slightest. Clearly, this was not the time to let down her guard, so Kurome remained completely vigilant.

Compared with the tense battle here, Koizumi's fight was clearly even fiercer and more eye-catching.

Pressure enough to crush the ground, blade flashes carrying cold radiance that cut through space, shockwaves battering the surrounding air... None of it could be ignored.

The Three Beasts watching the battle were filled with shock.

At first, the three of them had not understood why Esdeath valued such a seemingly young girl so highly.

Now they understood. Compared with ordinary people, this girl's talent could only be described as monstrous. From being brutally slaughtered by Esdeath at the start to being able to catch Esdeath's figure took only a few hours. She had accomplished that in less than half a day. If that was not monstrous talent, what was?

Koizumi's body was already covered in wounds. Blood sprayed across the area, turning the training ground into a slaughterhouse.

She no longer had time to care about her injuries. All she needed to do was catch Esdeath's figure, then chase after her. As long as she would not die, she would train herself to death. Koizumi had always believed that.

That was why Koizumi had never left her vampire state. Otherwise, she would have collapsed from grievous injuries as a human.

Honestly, Esdeath was truly astonishing. Not only had she fused with Demon's Extract to a degree beyond perfection, but her technique itself was utterly flawless.

Esdeath wielded the katana in her hand with masterful skill. No matter how Koizumi looked, she could not find even the slightest opening.

Up to now, Esdeath had perfectly blocked every one of Koizumi's attacks, leaving Koizumi unable to harm her at all.

Even when Koizumi used Remilia's danmaku attacks, Esdeath perfectly blocked them with her Imperial Arm's power.

More than that, Koizumi believed Esdeath had even stronger finishing moves that she had not used yet. At the moment, she was merely playing around.

"So strong..."

Koizumi's heart sank. Gungnir tore through space in her hand, carrying howling shockwaves as it became a flash like a divine wind, violently thrusting toward the Esdeath figure she had caught.

With just one thrust, it seemed as though several spear shadows had appeared, directly surrounding Esdeath.

Esdeath did not even look. She merely swung casually, but in Koizumi's eyes, the slash was like an aurora, sweeping through space like a streak of silk. It appeared abruptly like a fleeting flash of light, forcibly cutting even the air currents apart.

Koizumi's breath caught, and Gungnir moved even faster in her hands, filling the area with spear shadows.

Yet beneath that strike, the countless spear shadows abruptly dispersed, leaving behind only a single spear!

A massive shockwave swept outward, shaking the surrounding space. Koizumi felt as though both her hands were about to break.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!!!!!!!!!

Koizumi was sent flying by Esdeath's attack and deeply embedded in the ice. The aftershock caused the ice around her to cave in, while fine cracks spread through the surrounding surface.

Esdeath truly was a battle-obsessed freak!

Koizumi's Pale Face

Koizumi's face was pale as she clutched her injured area. Though it had already healed, the pain remained.

That pain could not completely fade in such a short time, so she could only let time slowly soothe it.

Kurome, meanwhile, glanced at the training ground with lingering fear. Almost the entire field had been dyed red with blood.

By the way, all that blood belonged to Koizumi. It was incredible that she had lost so much blood without dying from blood loss.

So far, Koizumi had only become much paler and physically weaker. Otherwise, there did not seem to be any problems.

...If that had happened to Kurome or anyone else, they probably would have been dead long ago.

Kurome hurriedly shook her head. It was better not to think too much about it, or she would definitely have nightmares tonight.

Esdeath, however, was very satisfied with today's results. Her desire to torment someone had been released quite a bit. It seemed that no one had come recently for her to abuse, so she had been feeling somewhat stifled. It was rare for her to let loose today, and she felt much better.