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Alex: "..."
Hestia: "Alex, come see me after the mission. I need to talk to you."
Watching the chat spiral in a direction he really didn't like, Alex quietly shut off the livestream and exited the group.
The old saying was right—three women make a drama. And there were way more than three in there.
Once he had time to breathe, he'd deal with them one by one.
With that thought, Alex lifted his gaze toward the battlefield ahead. Both Taeko and Cornelia were on their last legs.
"Looks like it's about time," he murmured."Guess I should step in."
Wind and sand howled across the ground.
Taeko and Cornelia were both breathing hard, chests heaving violently. Taeko clearly had the upper hand, but during the fight she'd still taken several direct hits from Cornelia's Teigu, Crusher. The damage wasn't just skin-deep—her insides had been shaken by terrifying force.
Cornelia wasn't in any better shape. The poison running through her veins and the deep cuts from Taeko's blade had left her severely wounded.
"It's obvious," Taeko said, pulling her sword from the dirt and stepping forward again. "I'll be the one left standing."
"After I kill you… I'll take care of the rest of your friends."
"Then try it," Cornelia forced herself upright, teeth clenched. "I won't let you hurt anyone close to me."
There was no turning back now.
Only one of them would walk away alive.
"Hah!!"
Taeko suddenly accelerated, her blade flashing out in a sweeping slash.
This time, Cornelia didn't raise Crusher to block. She simply stood there.
She was gambling everything on this.
If this hit landed, she could flip the outcome in one move.
"Die!!"
Taeko's blade cut horizontally, closing the distance more than before. If she wanted to finish Cornelia in a single strike, she needed to be close—close enough to unleash the full weight of her sword.
The moment Taeko stepped fully into range—
Cornelia traded injury for injury and threw her punch.
The Teigu wrapped around her wrist—Crusher—had already finished charging.
The surrounding air was dragged inward, spiraling violently. In an instant, a massive, terrifying vortex formed and swallowed the space ahead.
"What?!" Taeko gasped.
Too late.
She had underestimated the Teigu. If she'd known its full capabilities, she would never have committed to full close combat.
Boom—!
The vortex detonated outward.
The crushing wind pressure seized Taeko's body and slammed her straight into the earthen wall behind her. The impact shook the entire structure, dust raining down.
And that wasn't all.
The wind pressure locked her in place, pinning her movements.
"Looks like…" Cornelia exhaled shakily, "I'm the one who wins."
Despite the sharp pang in her chest, she stepped forward, targeting Taeko's heart, and drove her fist out.
With Crusher amplifying her strength, that punch would tear Taeko's heart to shreds.
I'm sorry.
But in the next instant—
Something completely unexpected happened.
Taeko forced her body against the suffocating wind pressure and raised her blade.
"I won't lose!!"
Clang!
Crack—
Her sword struck Crusher directly.
And instead of her blade shattering—
The Teigu itself exploded.
The wrist-mounted weapon fractured into countless glittering shards that scattered through the air.
From the beginning, Taeko had believed that any weapon could be broken. So she'd been attacking the same point on Crusher over and over during the fight.
Now the result proved she'd been right.
Crusher was destroyed.
A wave of unbearable pain surged through Cornelia's wrist. She let out a sharp, agonized cry.
It was practically the same as losing her right hand.
"Die."
As Cornelia staggered back, Taeko thrust her blade forward in a clean, merciless strike.
The sound of steel piercing flesh rang out clearly.
The sword went straight through Cornelia's heart.
Blood streamed down the blade and dripped onto the ground.
Thud.
Cornelia collapsed.
With her strength gone, the poison in her body surged unchecked, devouring what little life she had left.
"If things were different… I think I would've liked to be sisters with you."
Taeko looked down at her fallen opponent and murmured softly.
Then she slid down against the earthen wall, trying to steady her breathing and recover from her own internal injuries.
Cornelia was dead. The rest of the assassination squad would notice soon enough. And when they did, she'd be their first target.
Right then—
Soft footsteps approached from ahead.
Taeko's eyes sharpened. She gripped what remained of her sword, shot to her feet, and slashed forward without hesitation.
Her blade cut with absolute force, as if it could sever anything in its path.
Alex raised his right hand.
With two fingers, he casually caught the blade.
He smiled faintly. "Easy there. No need to be so hot-headed."
The indestructible body granted by his first Authority, Battle Against Heaven and Earth, wasn't just for show—especially now that he'd ascended to godhood and all his powers had been strengthened.
"All Imperial dogs deserve to die!"
Shock rippled through Taeko's heart at how easily he'd stopped her attack—but she refused to back down.
"You really think you're a match for me?" Alex applied a little pressure.
Snap.
The blade broke in his fingers.
Taeko's pupils trembled.
Who was this man?
That kind of physical strength—was he even human?
Alex read every flicker of emotion on her face.
Since he'd already stepped out into the open, there was no point hiding anything. He calmly told her the truth—about being someone from another world, about Akame and the others' change of heart, about everything.
"You're all just pitiful people," he said slowly, rubbing his fingertips together.
"Nothing more than pieces on a board, played against each other by two factions."
"Now there's a chance to step off that board."
"It's right in front of you."
"And why should I believe you?" Taeko asked in a low voice.
Alex almost laughed.
He'd heard that line more times than he could count.
If it were anyone else saying that to him—They'd already be dead.
"..."
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