"Heh..."
After several rounds of combat, Esdeath stood atop an ice pillar, panting heavily.
Her heaving chest rose and fell with each breath. The edges of her white military uniform were scorched and tattered from the flames, revealing blackened burns.
Jeanne Alter still looked perfectly composed, riding the massive dragon as she slowly descended nearby.
Her armor was pristine and gleaming, as if untouched—completely at ease.
"So this is all?"
Jeanne Alter lifted her chin, golden eyes locking onto Esdeath.
"Master said you were strong. That I couldn't beat you. Seems he overestimated you."
"Master? Your superior, I assume? Tch."
Esdeath glanced up toward the starship.
Her guess was spot on—the opponent had merely sent a vanguard to engage her.
This girl's strength was certainly impressive. In pure skill, it would be hard to defeat her directly.
So—it was time to use other means.
Esdeath brought her hands together. Suddenly, the sky darkened.
A violent snowstorm rose from the ground, obscuring everyone's vision.
"General of the Ice Storm!!"
Crack-crack-crack—
A legion of glistening frost knights, forged entirely from ice and snow, burst forth from the ground around Esdeath.
They howled as they charged at the Witch of Dragons.
"Tch. Petty tricks."
Jeanne Alter didn't even flinch and gave Tohru a light tap.
The dragon opened her massive maw and unleashed a torrent of searing dragonfire.
Also a fire-type attack—but Tohru's power far exceeded Jeanne Alter's.
Red flames engulfed the earth ahead. The charging frost knights melted into murky slush in an instant, then boiled away into steam.
Esdeath hadn't expected the ice knights to win. They were just a feint.
As the flames cleared and the ground lay scorched—
Just as Jeanne Alter began scanning for her opponent, a blue figure suddenly dropped from above.
Using the dragon's landing and Jeanne's distraction, Esdeath had swiftly closed the distance.
She pressed her hands to the mark on her chest, unleashing a pale blue light that spread outward from her in a circle.
"Mahapadma!!"
In that instant, the surrounding space froze.
The burning fire on the ground, the flying ice shards, even scattered debris—all locked in place.
Jeanne Alter's sword-wielding hand halted mid-swing. The dragon banner in her other hand hung stiffly in the frozen wind. Her eyes still held a flicker of surprise.
All was silent. It resembled the time-stop powers of the Spirit of Origin or Kurumi Tokisaki.
"Oh, she's really out here inventing new moves."
Aboard the Eternal Snowfall, Setsuna nodded in approval. That technique was originally developed by Esdeath while hunting Tatsumi.
She must've gotten desperate fighting Jeanne and awakened it on the spot.
"You're strong—but only to this extent."
"Be content—and die."
Esdeath descended with a flash, blade aimed straight at Jeanne Alter's throat.
BOOM!!!
Her attack struck with explosive force, kicking up smoke and shards of ice.
But—she felt no sensation of piercing flesh.
Ding!
As the smoke cleared, standing before Jeanne Alter was a blonde twin-tailed girl in a maid outfit—with two dragon horns atop her head.
Tohru had caught the blade between her fingers.
She looked at Esdeath with an amused expression.
"Hi there~~ That's far enough. You are a bit stronger than her."
"But hurting anyone? That won't do. Commander would be mad."
"!!!"
Esdeath couldn't comprehend it.
How had the dragon suddenly become a dragon girl?
And how had she avoided Mahapadma's space-time freeze?
"Who... are you?! Why can you still move?!"
"Because I'm a dragon. Your time-stop magic still has a ways to go, human."
Tohru reached out and drew a magic circle in the air. Esdeath suddenly felt her entire body go limp and collapsed to the ground.
"See? Should've surrendered earlier. The Commander wants to see you."
...
Five minutes later.
Tohru flew back up carrying Esdeath, tossing her down in front of Setsuna.
"Urgh..."
Esdeath lay on the floor, Tohru's magic seemingly having drained every ounce of her strength.
She could only barely manage to kneel upright, lifting her head to look at the man sitting not far away.
She didn't know where this was, nor who the strangely dressed girls around her were.
But Esdeath clearly understood one thing:
She had lost.
That dragon girl had been toying with her from the start. No matter how hard she fought, she had no chance.
"Go ahead."
"Whether you want to kill me, make me pledge loyalty, or humiliate me—it's your right."
Esdeath stared at Tohru and Setsuna.
One was the one who defeated her, the other was clearly the "Commander" they spoke of.
Survival of the fittest. The strong rule.
She had lived by that belief, trampling and humiliating countless enemies.
She had always known—one day, she might be the one trampled.
But Esdeath didn't see anything wrong with it.
It was a privilege of the strong. The strong ruling and crushing the weak was only natural. Even if she died, she had no complaints.
"Nope, your fate's up to the Commander. I'm just a maid."
Tohru mimicked Belfast's curtsy, though not very accurately.
She found it very amusing to act as the Commander's maid.
"A maid?"
"Fine. Do what you will."
Esdeath looked toward Setsuna.
This man had an extraordinary presence—more like a ruler than anyone she'd ever met.
Thinking back to how she'd been sparring against his maid made her want to laugh.
So much for the Great General of the Empire—couldn't even beat someone's servant.
"Heh, interesting."
Setsuna stood up and slowly walked over.
He tilted Esdeath's chin and studied her face.
Classic queen-like features. Beautiful. Great figure.
He had to admit—she was quite the rare beauty, with a wild and untamable aura.
Yet she also had a girlish side. In fact, her lovestruck tendencies were even worse than Mio's.
"So if I defeat you, I can do whatever I want with you, right?"
Setsuna asked.
"That's right."
Esdeath replied.
"And if I wanted to treat you like you did that tribal general—collar you and step on you?"
"No complaints."
Esdeath's expression didn't change.
She looked at Setsuna, and honestly, if he were the one doing that to her... it didn't sound too bad.
"Then what if I asked you to kill Honest and the other imperial nobles?"
Setsuna asked with a curious glint in his eye.
"...I can."
Esdeath nodded.
"The strong should control everything of the weak."
She had always lived by her own desires and beliefs.
"You really are a pure one."
Setsuna lowered his gaze and lifted her face with a smile.
"Serve me from now on. Your Teigu is still worth studying."
"Understood."
Esdeath bowed her head, obediently agreeing.
With him standing and her kneeling, her upward gaze made Setsuna feel oddly gentlemanly.
"Alright, let's get everyone acquainted. This is Night Raid. You'll be fighting alongside them from now on."
He smiled and gestured toward Akame and the others, whose expressions were complicated.
Esdeath stood up, walked forward, and greeted them as if there was no emotional burden at all.
"Hello. I hope we get along well in the future."
"Mm, I know all of you. You've caused the Empire quite a bit of trouble in the past—but there's no need to dwell on that now."
"??!!"
Najenda's eyes almost popped out of her head.
How can we possibly get along?! You're the one who took my arm and eye! she screamed internally.
Esdeath had always been her deepest psychological scar—and now, in just a few hours, Setsuna had turned her into a loyal subordinate.
Unbelievable.
Still, since it was Setsuna's decision, she didn't dare question it.
She simply decided to stay far away from Esdeath moving forward. Their personalities were simply incompatible, regardless of their allegiances.
"..."
Akame also had no idea what to say.
From meeting Belfast, getting an info-dump from Kanae, to seeing the Eternal Snowfall, defeating Esdeath, and now having to team up with her...
Too much had happened in just two days. Her mind was spinning.
Not long after—
Tohru went down again and retrieved Kurome.
She had been knocked unconscious by the shockwaves of the battle.
Setsuna thought for a moment and handed her over to Belfast for "re-education."
Kurome and Akame didn't get along. Making them reconcile would take some effort.
Fortunately, now that the person Kurome admired most—Esdeath—had already surrendered, persuading her would be a bit easier.
Finally—
There was Jeanne Alter, looking completely confused.
She cautiously approached Setsuna.
"Master... so did I win, or lose?"
"What do you think?"
Tohru tilted her head and looked at her.
Time-stop abilities were kind of cheating when it came to Jeanne.
If the dragon girl hadn't stepped in at the end, she'd clearly have lost.
"Tch. A loss is a loss."
Jeanne clicked her tongue and stood in front of Setsuna, turning her head away.
"Just say it, Master. Whatever you want me to do from now on—I'll never go back on my word!"
"..."
Setsuna glanced at Esdeath, then back at Jeanne.
"Did I just get two plush balls out of one fight?"
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