Pinned beneath Akuto's boot, Esdeath showed no frustration—only release.
"Enough, Governor Akuto. This round goes to you," she sighed. "Now go to Her Majesty. The Minister is trying to use the Emperor for some scheme. You've been guiding Her Majesty all this time—waiting for the ripest moment to… claim her, right?"
Esdeath knew Akuto too well. In her campaigns she'd spare enemies to harvest stronger foes later; Akuto "raised" a girl-emperor.
Akuto seemed not to hear her quip and spoke evenly.
"Esdeath, aside from having no demonic power, in every other way you're fit for my world. This chess piece is yours."
A blood-red Queen piece fell and spun on the flagstones, gleaming wickedly.
"Absorb it, and you gain the right to keep climbing. The price is the same as Night Raid's girls—you'll be mine."
"Sayu, I'm leaving Esdeath to you. I'll go ahead."
With that, Akuto stepped—and vanished between breaths.
Over the Grand General's Manor — the Empire's capital
Akuto's form unfolded in the air. Below, the Grand General's residence had become a smoking ruin.
The lightning just now… it came from here.
"But with Esdeath away on my side, how did General Budo lose?"
"Judging from the leylines, something stirred not long ago… The Supreme Imperial Arms?"
"No—that colossus is too big. If it moved, I'd have sensed it immediately."
Which meant the Minister still had a hidden card—one strong enough to fell Budo. Interesting.
Akuto locked onto a faint life-signal and flashed down into the shattered compound.
Budo lay amid collapsed pillars, lightning-scored armor around him. The body bore few visible wounds, but the life-force flickered like a guttering candle—moments from extinguishing.
"Zzap—"
A thin arc crawled across the Teigu armor. The shock squeezed out one more breath of vigor. Budo's eyes opened. He was relieved—he had waited for this.
"Governor Akuto… take the tiger tally from my breast."
"Understood."
Akuto shaped Leviathan's water into a hand and drew a metal tally from Budo's coat.
"Cut your finger—and mine. Let our blood register to the tally together."
Akuto obliged. Two drops fell—tik… tik—and the tally glowed pale gold.
The light warmed Budo's face; his spirit rallied for a moment. Akuto knew it for what it was: final flare.
"Governor Akuto… what do you think of Furina-heika?"
"She's cute, beautiful—and very pure."
"Then will you join with Her Majesty and serve as Regent?" Budo asked, voice low.
"If I weren't willing, I wouldn't have spent so long by her side," Akuto answered.
"Good… good."
Budo smiled, satisfied.
"Now, in front of me, swear this: after you become Regent, you'll pass the throne to the child born of you and Her Majesty Furina."
"I swear it. If I hold the Empire, the next emperor will be the child Furina bears."
Akuto didn't care who wore the next crown; he hadn't come for dynastic glory, only to clear this world's quest. When it ended, he wouldn't remain.
Hearing the oath with his own ears, Budo's last regret dissolved. He could face those waiting beyond.
"Governor Akuto… receive your investiture," he rasped.
"Here, I—Budo, the 99th Grand General of the Empire—abdicate. Governor Sai Akuto receives the tiger tally and becomes the Empire's 100th Guardian Grand General, successor to the Teigu Adramelech."
Akuto did not take the tally—only watched him quietly. Budo didn't mind.
"The protocol is done. Now, what I must say."
"Her Majesty… is in danger," he forced out. "The Minister—somehow he obtained a means to manipulate the Empire's supreme power—he summoned the being bound by contract to the First Emperor."
"You must… save… Her Majesty. If you can save her… there is still… hope…"
His voice thinned to a thread, then broke. His hands fell; his eyes lifted to the ceiling and lost focus.
Akuto looked toward the palace, then back at Budo.
"Budo, I received the message you bled yourself to deliver. You've done what you had to. Now—it's my turn."
Green light unfurled from Akuto's foot—a healing domain expanding to envelop Budo.
A dozen seconds later, Budo blinked open, baffled. He stared at Akuto, then at the glowing field beneath him. The air turned awkward all at once.
He hadn't expected, at his age, to feel embarrassed again.
"Old man," Akuto said gently, "some words are better spoken by you to that girl yourself. I don't want your Grand General seat."
He set the tally back into Budo's hands. Then he stepped once—
—and arrived within the palace.
Inner Palace — the deepest hall
Furina-heika was confined in the innermost chamber, pretty face scrunched in worry.
"Governor Akuto!"
She jumped to her feet the instant she saw him, eyes brightening.
"Furina-heika, I'm here to take you out."
Akuto strode for the imperial throne.
"Hmph! Dream on," the Minister sneered beside the throne.
The throne was not so easily approached. So long as the Empire hadn't utterly collapsed, the Emperor enjoyed the strongest protection within the capital steeped in dragon aura.
Thud—
Akuto struck an invisible barrier around the dais.
[As expected—like the original course, the Supreme Imperial Throne has a built-in shield that extends to guard designated units.]
[However… Minister, you misplayed. When you expand the field, it isn't solid.]
His greatest mistake was inflating a close-fit shield into a wide-area barrier. Inflated, it became a boundary—which Akuto could pass.
"Avatar of the God—Vāmana, manifest."
One step—Akuto appeared before the Minister and planted a divine kick. The Minister cannoned backward, burying into the palace wall.
A second step—Akuto phased through the Throne's barrier.
A third—he stood before Furina-heika and lifted the astonished girl into his arms.
A fourth—both of them winked out of the hall.
"W-what?!" The Minister reeled. "The Supreme Imperial Arms shield—pierced?!"
"Disaster! Her Majesty has been taken! The Guardian Engine has lost its strongest trump!"
"So be it… I'll use that." He crushed a golden edict to his chest, face twisting.
Governor's Residence — mobilization
Akuto returned and went to work.
"If they've reached the point of striking at Budo and Furina, we begin the final phase."
"Sayu—notify Anvale City. March now. Raise the banner and advance on the capital!"
"Najenda-san—report to the Revolutionary Army that your plan to eliminate Governor Sai Akuto and Grand General Budo succeeded. Urge them to move at once."
Per Akuto's script, Najenda had long fed the rebels a shadow plan: she'd "assassinate" Akuto and Budo. Even if the rebels soon learned both lived, an arrow loosed cannot be recalled. They would have no choice but to march per plan.
Two uprisings at once would maul the Empire's national fortune; the Supreme Imperial Throne's output would plunge to Maō-class.
Orders flashed. Within two hours, Akuto's people fully withdrew from the capital and regrouped in Anvale City.
With Furina secured, there was no reason to linger. From here on out, the "capital" would become history—a relic, a symbol of the fallen old Empire. The Minister would, too.
Akuto had not chosen to finish the Minister the moment he saved the little emperor. If he didn't storm the capital, behead the Minister, and cleanse the old nobility in open campaign—how would the world know the Empire to come was new?
(End of Chapter)
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