As soon as Rosen finished speaking, Esdeath summoned an ice pillar that fell from above Minister Honest's head.
The thick icicles, weighing several tons, could easily crush a human into a pulp.
But at this critical moment, Minister Honest unleashed immense potential at the brink of death.
The jeweled headdress on his forehead suddenly lit up, and then Rosen and the others saw Esdeath's body stiffen, and the icicles she had summoned shattered into tiny ice shards.
"Ugh…"
Esdeath's figure swayed precariously, and cracks instantly appeared on her snow-like skin, clearly indicating massive capillary ruptures within her body.
When Rosen appeared beside her and supported her, her body temperature was rapidly dropping.
Marcille let out a cry of surprise.
Saeko Busujima had already taken her katana, Muramasa, from the chat group's temporary storage, and seeing Minister Honest trying to escape, she moved a few steps, her body, enhanced by the gene serum, lightly touched down like a dragonfly on water, blocking Minister Honest's escape route.
"Mercy, Lady Hero, mercy, Lady Hero!"
Minister Honest instantly knelt down.
However, Saeko Busujima was unaffected because she already knew about Minister Honest's various evil deeds, so she was about to swing her blade.
Seeing that this woman was completely unhesitating, Minister Honest's expression turned ruthless, and his fleshy, obese body suddenly erupted with a speed that did not belong to his physique.
Minister Honest was once a martial artist from the Imperial Fist Temple, a renowned boxing gym in the Empire.
He later entered officialdom, which was when his body became obese.
Although many years had passed, his foundation was still there.
Coupled with his fat-covered muscles, even three to five ordinary strong men would find it difficult to get close to him.
Minister Honest's large hands were like palm-leaf fans.
But Saeko Busujima easily jumped to dodge, and while airborne, her katana, Muramasa, attacked, effortlessly dismembering Minister Honest's two arms.
Blood spurted from the wounds.
Minister Honest, who had never felt pain before, let out a pig-like shriek.
Blood even splattered onto the young emperor's face.
And at this moment.
A voice filled with anger rang out from within the imperial court.
"What exactly are you doing?!"
Budo's face was filled with shock and anger.
He had never imagined things would develop this way.
In his fury, pale blue electricity surged around his entire body, then immediately pierced through the air, shooting towards Saeko Busujima, who had severely injured Minister Honest.
"How can I let you succeed!"
Although Marcille, who was nearby, was scared, she was already prepared.
A magic attack shot from her staff, made from a branch of the World Tree, blocking Budo's attack.
Meanwhile, Rosen was examining Esdeath's injuries.
"I'm fine."
Esdeath was not accustomed to such close contact with a member of the opposite sex, and her hands, which were gradually regaining strength, pushed Rosen away.
"What happened just now? It felt like my blood was boiling?"
"I was careless. It seems we all forgot that Minister Honest also has an Imperial Arms."
Rosen grinned, and at the same time, Holy Light appeared in his hand, healing Esdeath's wounds.
In the blink of an eye, Esdeath's injuries were healed, but she still had nearly dry bloodstains on her body, which looked quite unsettling.
"That damn old geezer! To make me so pathetic!"
The recovered Esdeath stood steadily, her eyes like torches, staring intently at Minister Honest.
The ornament that was originally on his forehead had already shattered.
And that headdress was also an Imperial Arms.
It was called the "Ireston" Gem Headdress.
A rare protective Imperial Arms.
An anti-Imperial Arms that can destroy the opponent's Imperial Arms.
As long as an Imperial Arms user enters its range of influence, it can destroy the opponent's Imperial Arms at the cost of shattering the gem.
The damaged gem requires a week to regenerate, during which it cannot be used.
Although it has no effect on ordinary people, its influence on Imperial Arms users is surprisingly good.
After all, it's only a week of not being able to use the Gem Headdress, and compared to the enemy's destroyed Imperial Arms, this cost is completely acceptable.
In the original plot, Minister Honest used this headdress to destroy Leone's Imperial Arms.
Subsequently, Leone, who had lost her transformation ability, was shot in the abdomen by Minister Honest with a pistol; although she won, Leone also died from excessive blood loss.
"But fortunately, your Imperial Arms is quite special. If it were an external object, it would probably have been shattered by now, but if it weren't for us, you would probably be a prisoner right now."
Although recovered, Esdeath, whose Imperial Arms was affected, could not defeat Budo.
And speaking of Budo.
Marcille was currently fighting him.
But perhaps because her own attack magic was too weak, all of it was blocked by the lightning around Budo.
"Esdeath, do you know what good deed you've done?! Conspiring to murder an Imperial Minister in court, are you trying to rebel?!"
Budo was surging with pale blue lightning, and his golden hair stood straight up.
"That's right, Budo, I am rebelling."
Esdeath spat out the blood in her mouth, revealing a cold smile.
"As an Imperial General, do you know what you're saying?! Apologize to the Emperor now, and you can still avoid death!"
Budo was furious, his voice like thunder.
"Indeed, Budo, you are too pedantic. I'm already rebelling, so why should I apologize to the Emperor?"
Esdeath's sarcastic smile deepened.
Swearing not to interfere in court politics?
Although the original intention was not to separate civil and military officials, it also caused an extremely bad impact.
Budo, of course, knew what Minister Honest had done over the years.
But he also turned a blind eye.
The Empire becoming like this also has a lot to do with Budo.
"Cough cough…"
After Esdeath finished speaking, she suddenly coughed a few times.
The after-effects of the Gem Headdress were still present, and it would not be a matter of a moment to fully recover.
"In that case, I will kill all of you here, and no one will object!"
Budo was enveloped in lightning.
Even the weather outside the Imperial Capital's windows was affected; when dark clouds arrived, they were filled with large amounts of lightning, like arbitrarily moving dragon-snakes, terrifying in their power.
"I…"
Budo was about to command the lightning to eliminate Esdeath and her rebellious allies.
As for Minister Honest's life or death, he actually didn't care.
He was angry purely because the young emperor was right there.
And Esdeath, like him, was a military general.
Since she was a military general, she should not interfere in court politics!
"Kneel."
Two light words of motto came from within the imperial court.
In an instant, Budo's knees bent uncontrollably.
The accumulating lightning also instantly dissipated, and the kneeling Budo revealed a look of incomprehension.