Due to the interruption, both Kaguya and Esdeath simultaneously stopped their fight and turned their gaze toward the intruder.
This figure was covered in wounds, his clothes tattered and bloodstained, looking more like ragged strips of cloth. His hair was a mess, and his face was so swollen it resembled a pig's head, with the swelling reducing his eyes to narrow slits.
This pitifully wretched man was none other than Minister Honest.
"You're still alive?" Esdeath asked, curiously eyeing the suddenly appearing fat man.
"What's he doing?" Kaguya asked in confusion. "Has he gone mad?"
"Probably," Esdeath replied uncertainly. "Did I kick him too hard earlier?"
"No," Kaguya said seriously, "you didn't kick him hard enough."
Far in the distance, Minister Honest collapsed to the ground, his eyes wide with disbelief as he stared at Kaguya. "Impossible… How could you still be unharmed?" he muttered.
"What could possibly have happened to me?" Kaguya replied, puzzled.
"Impossible!" Honest suddenly screamed. "My Teigu can't fail! It's impossible!"
"Huh?" Kaguya felt even more bewildered.
Could it be that Honest had truly gone mad after being kicked in the head by Esdeath?
At that moment, Esdeath's eyes lit up, as if she had figured something out. She smiled and stepped forward, saying, "I think I know what's going on. From what I understand, he possesses a Teigu called Erastone, an anti-Teigu that destroys the opponent's Teigu."
Erastone is a gem-like Teigu, capable of destroying the opponent's Teigu as long as they are within range. The gem shatters as a price for activating the ability, but it regenerates after a week, during which time it cannot be used again.
Upon hearing this, Kaguya suddenly remembered. It seemed familiar to her. She turned her head and looked at the dumbfounded Honest with a gaze that said, "You fool."
Did Honest really think that her power still came from a Teigu?
He was far too naive.
Kaguya walked up to him, squinting her eyes and smiling. "You thought that if you destroyed my Teigu, I would lose my abilities, and then Esdeath would kill me, right?"
Honest's pupils shrank in terror. He kicked his legs backward, cold sweat mixed with blood flowing down his swollen face, making him look even more filthy and repulsive.
Without needing to hear his answer, Kaguya already knew his plan.
"What a brainless pig," Esdeath laughed as she walked over, wrapping her arm around Kaguya's waist. "Why would I kill my dear? She belongs to me, after all." She stretched out her pale fingers, trying to lift Kaguya's chin.
"Girl, mind yourself," Kaguya grabbed her mischievous hand and said, "And besides, we'll see who belongs to whom."
"So, the two of you were in cahoots all along!" Honest growled, pointing at them in fury.
"That question is so stupid, I refuse to answer," Kaguya said disdainfully. "A brain is a good thing, but too bad you don't have one."
"You two bitches, I'll—" Honest's voice was filled with rage as his fury boiled over.
A flash of white light streaked by.
Blood splattered.
Before Honest could finish his sentence, his words were abruptly cut short.
A large head flew through the air amidst the spray of blood, hitting the ground with a "thud."
Kaguya flicked the blood off her sword, kicking the head, its eyes still glaring with anger. "So, it turns out that people really can't speak after their heads are chopped off."
"Well, of course, they can't talk once their head's off," Esdeath said matter-of-factly. "Though once I encountered some strange people whose heads I chopped off, but they kept screaming for hours before they finally died."
Kaguya's forehead creased with black lines as she stared at Esdeath, speechless.
How much free time do you have to sit and watch people die?
"Shall we continue our fight?" Kaguya asked as she looked at the beautiful Imperial general in front of her.
"I'm not in the mood anymore. Let's continue another day," Esdeath replied, flipping her pale blue hair with a smile.
Kaguya nodded but suddenly thought of something and asked, "Is it because you've used too much energy today, and now you're too tired to fight?"
"My dear is so clever," Esdeath said, blinking and blushing slightly.
"I think I should deal with this demon right now," Kaguya said, turning away with a blank expression.
"Look over there," Esdeath suddenly pointed into the distance.
"Are you trying to change the subject?" Kaguya asked, a little annoyed by the petty trick, but still turned her head. Her expression froze in surprise.
The giant dragon that Kaguya had cleaved in half with her Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion was now slowly dissolving into starry particles, dissipating into the air. When the dragon's massive body had completely vanished, a slender figure appeared on the ground.
"It seems like… a person."
Kaguya quickly walked over, picked up the person on the ground, and paused in mild shock.
The person was young, with fair skin, delicate features, and a slim build, so light in Kaguya's arms that they seemed weightless. It was the young Emperor of the Empire.
"What's he doing here?" Kaguya asked in confusion.
"Don't you get it?" Esdeath laughed. "Without the Emperor's bloodline, that fat pig Honest wouldn't have been able to use the Supreme Teigu. Only the Emperor and you could control it."
"You mean…" Kaguya's brows furrowed slightly.
"Exactly," Esdeath said. "Honest must have used some method to control the young Emperor and used him to manipulate the Supreme Teigu. Without the Emperor, there's no way Honest could have controlled it."
"I see." Kaguya nodded silently.
Thinking about it, the young Emperor was truly pitiful. His parents had been murdered by Honest, and he had been manipulated and deceived, eventually even being controlled to help Honest seize both the Empire and the Teigu.
Kaguya glanced down at the disheveled young Emperor, whose clothes had been torn from the earlier explosion, and her expression turned a little strange.