Chapter 84: Slay! Syura!
In another part of the royal palace.
The Prime Minister rested his chin on his hands and looked at the son before him. "Syura, disband your Wild Hunt!"
"Wh... what?!"
Syura had a stupefied look on his face.
He had originally come to claim credit. He had captured two members of the enemy by a clever scheme. As long as he interrogated them, he would find out the location of Night Raid's base, and he would have performed a great service!
However, the Prime Minister was now trying to strip him of his power!
Syura slammed the table and shouted angrily, "Why? Why are you doing this?!"
The Minister sighed, which gave Syura a bad feeling.
A file was thrown in front of him.
"This is a gift Esdeath sent over just now. Do you know what it is?"
"Hmm?"
"There is a man in the Jaegers named Run. He found out that the person who released the Danger Beasts near the Capital was a good friend of Dr. Stylish. That would be you, Syura. This is irrefutable evidence."
"Wh-what—?!"
Syura was greatly shocked. At the same time, his mind raced and he realized that Run's pretense of being ambitious and wanting to climb the ladder was all for the purpose of investigating this matter.
How dare he deceive me!
The Minister was very disappointed, and even more disappointed in the silent Syura.
He said coldly, "I don't care if you fool around, but to be caught so easily is too unsightly. I hate incompetent people, Syura."
Syura's eyes widened, his teeth clenched as he tried his best to defend himself. "Are you kidding?! I captured members of Night Raid! That's a great contribution, isn't it?!"
"And that is why I will not hold you accountable for this matter!"
The Minister scolded him sternly. "Just obediently disband Wild Hunt and behave yourself until this incident is over, Syura!"
"Ngh... damn it!!!"
Syura let out a furious curse. Enraged, he pushed open the main door, turned, and left.
"Well, that's about the long and short of it."
Kobayashi rubbed his swollen temples. He had overused his Teigu just now, and his head was aching. However, looking at the limp Tatsumi on the ground, a satisfied smile curled up on his lips.
It had taken quite a bit of effort to get him to agree. To have achieved something that even Esdeath couldn't, Kobayashi was a little self-satisfied.
"I'll be counting on you to draw their attention from now on, Tatsumi."
Kobayashi turned and left.
He walked out of the cell. Esdeath was already gone, even though she had said she would take him to see the Emperor.
Oh well. I'll just go back by myself.
But as he was walking down the dungeon corridor, a dark-skinned young man came storming towards him. Even without having met him, Kobayashi knew his name.
—Syura.
Syura narrowed his eyes, exuding a bad aura. But after the two passed each other, he suddenly stopped and called out to him.
"Wait. You... you're one of Esdeath's subordinates, right?"
"I am. My name is Kobayashi. What is your esteemed business, Young Master Syura?"
"Hehehe..."
Having just been filled with anger because of Esdeath, Syura was now dying to vent. He would dismember the man before him and send him to Esdeath as a gift.
But just as he was about to make a move, he was visibly stunned when he saw Kobayashi.
"Hmm? I remember... your Teigu was that girl, right?"
Syura's greatest hobby was women, so he had a strong impression of Kobayashi. When he had first returned, he hadn't known about it. He had only found out after teleporting him away, and had been quite annoyed and regretful at the time.
Now, his chance had come.
"You. Want to leave Esdeath?" Syura tried to recruit him, tempting him, "I'm about to go and interrogate the Night Raid members. After we find their base, we'll wipe them out in one go. This is definitely a great contribution! How about it? A chance to get promoted and get rich is right in front of you. Come and be my subordinate."
Of course, he wasn't being sincere. He still held a grudge over what Run had done. How could he possibly recruit someone else?
As long as he could trick him into handing over that female Teigu, he would just kill the man afterwards!
Syura was full of malice.
Kobayashi waved his hand and refused. "I'm sorry... I am, after all, General Esdeath's subordinate. Let's just forget about this."
"What's so good about that woman?!"
Hearing that detestable name, Syura flew into a rage and roared, "That woman is about to be finished! At a time like this, you should leave her quickly to avoid your own demise! I am the Prime Minister's son. I know much more than you do!"
"I-is that so..."
Kobayashi pinched his chin, as if pondering the truth of the matter.
Syura continued to egg him on. "That's right, come and be my subordinate! The position of Great General will surely be yours in the future!"
The wild promise he made was truly astonishing.
To increase his persuasiveness, he continued, "In the future, I will take over my father's position, and may even become the Emperor. So following me is definitely a wise move!"
Has this guy gone mad?
This was the royal palace. Even in the dungeon, there were countless eyes and ears. For him to actually say here that he wanted to be the Emperor... was he not afraid of it reaching the ears of the Minister and the Emperor?
But it also revealed one thing. Syura did not know that the Emperor possessed the Ultimate Teigu—a Gundam that only those of royal blood could pilot.
"Alright, I'll join!"
Kobayashi pretended to agree reluctantly.
"Really?!" Syura grinned.
But then he pretended to be in a difficult position. "However, I've run into a little trouble right now. Because I haven't caught any troublemakers recently, my father is very disappointed in me. So, if you hand over your Teigu to me now, let me use it to capture them, and then—"
"Sigh—"
He let out a deep sigh.
"You're a classic case of only remembering the food, not the beatings."
Although he wasn't qualified, he couldn't help but scold him. Syura had spoken with such passion, but in the blink of an eye, he had revealed his own sordid thoughts. And here he thought he was capable of something great. In the end, he was just a man whose mind was occupied by lust. It must be hard for the Minister to have such a son.
Even Kobayashi was disappointed in him, hating the iron for not becoming steel.
"You dare to lay a hand on RyuZU?" Kobayashi looked him straight in the eye and said coldly, "Do you want to die?"
"Hey, what do you mean by that?!"
Syura glared at him. At the same time, his hand secretly touched his Teigu, [Shambhala], preparing to teleport him into a volcano.
However—
"RyuZU."
"Yes, Master Kobayashi."
RyuZU, who was beside him, answered softly.
Syura turned his head, looking with wicked desire at the elegant maid he coveted. But when he tried to turn his head back, he found he couldn't.
Because his head now had a mind of its own.
A vivid red line appeared on his dark-skinned neck.
"W-wait, no way... no... way..."
Syura reached out his hand, wanting to grab RyuZU. But because his body would not obey his commands, in the end, even after falling to the ground, he could not touch the hem of the elegant maid's dress.
"This is your final chapter, Syura."
Kobayashi took [Shambhala] from his hand.
"Oooohhhhhh!!!"
The Prime Minister's hands went limp, and the plate he was holding fell to the ground. He said in disbelief, "Syura, he's... d-d-d-d-d... dead...?! And he was killed by one of Esdeath's subordinates?!"
The subordinate who was reporting did not dare to speak.
Suddenly, the Minister held his head in his hands and roared with heart-rending grief, "Do you know... do you know how important Syura was to me?! Ooooh, that unfilial, bastard son!!!"
The crazed Minister's tears streamed down his face. He looked absolutely furious.
However—
The next second, he stopped crying.
"Forget it. Who cares. I'll just have another son from scratch. And his death can appease Esdeath's anger. You were of use in the end, Syura."
The Prime Minister had completely lost his humanity.
(End of Chapter)