"As you live you lose reasons and hope. But as you keep on going, you pick up new reasons and hope."
— Asta, Black Clover
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Esdeath, far from being afraid, was excited by the sight of Roy's ice dragons.
"Haa!" she shouted, slamming her hand onto the ground.
Thousands of massive ice pillars erupted from the earth, reaching towards the nine ice dragons.
However, the dragons effortlessly shattered the ice pillars with their claws and tails.
The nine dragons converged.
In the next moment, a thousand-meter tall ice mountain, formed from the intertwined bodies of the dragons, encased Esdeath within.
Even with her own ice powers, Esdeath couldn't break free from this icy prison.
"Amazing!"
"Another new technique! How many more does Roy have?"
"Esdeath has been completely defeated."
"He's... he's too strong! Esdeath couldn't even resist!"
...
The Night Raid members stared at the towering ice mountain in awe.
Najenda was the most shocked of all.
Although Roy had proven himself to be quite capable since joining Night Raid, she couldn't believe that even Esdeath, who she considered invincible, was no match for him.
She finally understood why headquarters had ordered her to follow Roy's lead.
Roy approached the ice mountain, a triumphant smile on his face.
He snapped his fingers.
The ice mountain instantly shattered into a shower of ice crystals, revealing the frozen Esdeath within.
Roy caught her before she could fall.
Esdeath slowly opened her eyes.
She looked at Roy, her gaze filled with admiration, and gently caressed his cheek.
"That was a beautiful technique, Roy" she said with a smile.
"Want to learn it? I can teach you," he offered.
Esdeath's eyes lit up.
"Really?"
"Of course. After all, we'll be facing even stronger enemies in the future."
Esdeath's excitement grew.
"That's wonderful!"
She was a woman who loved battle and the thrill of the hunt.
The prospect of facing opponents stronger than Roy intrigued her.
"Let's take care of things here first," Roy said, helping Esdeath to her feet. He then turned to Wave, Run, and Bols.
"Come here, you three."
The three Jaegers approached cautiously.
"Captain?" Wave looked at Esdeath questioningly.
"As you can see, I've been defeated. So..." Esdeath began, her voice calm and composed.
"From now on, you will follow Roy's commands. After all, it's only natural for the strong to rule the weak."
Wave, Run, and Bols exchanged glances.
They knew their captain's personality. And they couldn't defeat Roy, let alone escape from him.
They turned to Roy, their expressions uncertain.
"Don't worry," Roy reassured them with a smile. "I don't need you to do anything against the Empire. Just stay at the Night Raid hideout for a few days."
"Once everything is settled, you can go back to your lives."
The three Jaegers were confused.
"The Revolutionary Army will launch an attack on the Empire in a few days," Roy explained.
"Once the Empire falls and peace is restored, you can return to your duties. You're not evil people. The new Empire will still need your strength."
They remained silent, considering his words.
"Of course, you can also bring your loved ones to the Night Raid hideout for safety," Roy added.
"That's all I have to say. Think it over."
Roy then ignored them and turned to Najenda.
Najenda summoned her flying Danger Beast.
The Night Raid members, along with the Jaegers, returned to their hideout.
Back at the base, Roy immediately opened a portal to the Revolutionary Army headquarters.
He instructed the leader to gather their forces and launch an attack on the Capital the next day.
...
The following day, Roy led Night Raid and Esdeath to the Imperial Palace.
Wave, Run, and Bols remained at the Night Raid hideout. Although no one guarded them, they didn't dare to leave. Even if they did, they couldn't stop Night Raid's attack.
Bols, however, had brought his wife and daughter to the hideout for safety.
...
Inside the Imperial Palace, the Night Raid members marched through the halls without any attempt at concealment.
The soldiers, seeing Esdeath, didn't dare to stop them.
But there was one exception.
"General Esdeath, who are these people?" A man blocked their path. It was General Budo, the leader of the Imperial Guard.
"General Budo, the fall of the Empire is inevitable. I advise you to step aside," Esdeath said with a sneer.
Budo's expression hardened as he recognized several wanted members of Night Raid among the group.
"General Esdeath, have you betrayed the Empire?" he demanded.
"The weak submit to the strong. It's only natural," Esdeath replied calmly.
"Esdeath, don't waste your breath on him," Roy interjected, cutting off Budo's retort.
"General Budo, the Empire is finished. You have two choices..."
"First, continue to resist and be killed by me."
"Second, pretend nothing has happened. It's just a change of emperor. You can remain a general in the new Empire."
"Choose."
Budo was silent for a moment.
"I won't let you pass."
"As expected," Roy sighed.
Budo was known for his stubbornness. He adhered to the old ways, believing that military officials shouldn't interfere in politics.
Although he was aware of the corruption within the government, he hadn't taken any action.
If he were willing to surrender, the Empire wouldn't be in this state.
"Esdeath, I'll leave him to you," Roy said.
"Leave it to me. I've been wanting to fight General Budo, the other 'strongest' in the Capital, for a long time," Esdeath replied, drawing her rapier and pointing it at Budo.
"It seems a battle is unavoidable," Budo said, activating his Teigu, "Thunder God's Rage: Adramelech."
The two powerful warriors clashed.
Roy and the others continued towards the throne room.
"Who are you?" The guards outside the throne room surrounded them.
The Night Raid members attacked without hesitation.
The endless waves of soldiers couldn't stop their advance.
The ministers and officials inside the throne room panicked.
"A rebellion? Have I, as Emperor, made a mistake?" The young emperor, still a child, looked around in disbelief.
"No, Your Majesty. Even after losing your parents, you have ruled wisely," Prime Minister Honest declared.
"And I have always been by your side. You've made no mistakes."
The Emperor didn't know that his parents had been murdered by Prime Minister Honest.
"That's true. You've always been with me. You wouldn't lie to me," the Emperor said, nodding.
The ministers and officials remained silent, witnessing the blatant manipulation.
"Your Majesty, the rebels have deceived the people. We must show them the consequences of their actions," Prime Minister Honest declared.
"Show them your imperial might and quell this rebellion."
He was trying to convince the Emperor to activate the Supreme Teigu, "Shikoutazer."
The Emperor nodded and stood up, ready to activate the Teigu.
Just then, Roy and the others stormed into the throne room.
"Prime Minister Honest, you're going to die!" Akame declared, charging towards the minister, ignoring the other officials.
However, as she was about to strike, she was thrown back by an invisible barrier.
"Akame, come back!" Roy called out.
Akame, unable to harm Prime Minister Honest, retreated.
"Prime Minister Honest possesses a Teigu that can destroy other Teigu. We'll leave him to Saeko," Roy announced.
"What? Prime Minister Honest has a Teigu?" Mine exclaimed in surprise.
"A Teigu that can destroy other Teigu... it's good that we know now. Otherwise, the consequences could have been disastrous," Leone said grimly.
In the original story, Leone had been unaware of Prime Minister Honest's Teigu ability.
She had been caught off guard, her Teigu destroyed, and she had been shot multiple times.
Although she had managed to kill Prime Minister Honest in the end, she had succumbed to her injuries due to the loss of her Teigu's regenerative abilities.
"Hahahaha, the Supreme Teigu has been activated! This is the end for you rebels!" Prime Minister Honest suddenly cackled.
The barrier had even blocked Akame's attack, who was at the peak of High-Class Devil level. It seemed the Supreme Teigu possessed at least Ultimate-Class power.
"Your Majesty, show these foolish rebels the hammer of justice!" Prime Minister Honest urged the Emperor.
"I am the Emperor of the Empire!" the young Emperor declared without hesitation.
These were the activation words for the Supreme Teigu.
The ground trembled.
The officials in the throne room stumbled and fell.
A massive object began to emerge from beneath the floor.
"Everyone, get out of here!" Roy shouted, leading them out of the throne room.
From outside, they could see a colossal suit of armor rising from the ground.
The throne room was instantly destroyed.
Most of the officials inside were killed.
When the Supreme Teigu fully emerged, they could finally see its true form.
It was a gigantic suit of armor, a thousand meters tall, its presence radiating an oppressive aura.
"W-What is that?!"
"It's like a monster!"
"Is that the legendary Supreme Teigu?"
"I can't believe it actually exists."
...
The Night Raid members stared at the colossal giant in shock.
But they weren't afraid.
They had seen a giant of this scale before.
Roy's Ice Thousand Armed Kannon was just as massive.
'So this is a Ultimate-Class Teigu,' Roy thought.
Such a powerful Teigu...
It consumed a lot of stamina to use, but the frail young Emperor didn't have much stamina to spare.
Yet, even so, in the original story, the Emperor had managed to unleash its devastating power.
Just then, the Emperor's voice boomed from within the Supreme Teigu.
"This Empire, passed down through generations, is the order of God! To rebel against God is blasphemy!"
A red light emanated from the gem on the Teigu's forehead.
A crimson laser beam shot down towards Roy and the others.
"Secret Art: Cross Shield!"
Roy raised his hand and conjured a massive ice shield.
Boom!
The laser beam struck the ice shield.
The ground shook, and debris flew everywhere.
But the ice shield remained intact.
"Its power is horrible," Najenda muttered, her expression grim.
"How are we supposed to defeat it?" Mine felt a sense of helplessness.
"Leave this to me. You deal with the minister and the Imperial soldiers," Roy instructed.
"Yes!"
They had no objections. Only Roy could handle such a colossal opponent.
The obvious weakness shown in the original story didn't exist.
In the original story, Tatsumi had struck the Supreme Teigu in the abdomen and declared it a weak point.
But who would design armor with a weak point in such an easily targeted location?
The Night Raid members dispersed to fight the Imperial soldiers and Prime Minister Honest.
Roy faced the Supreme Teigu alone.
He spread his Devil wings and soared into the sky.
Seeing him approach, the Emperor roared again.
"Haa!"
The red light on the Teigu's forehead gathered once more, and another laser beam shot towards Roy.
This time, Roy didn't try to block it.
He simply dodged.
Boom!
The laser beam missed Roy and struck the city below, creating a massive explosion.
A mushroom cloud rose into the sky.
Everything in the vicinity was instantly obliterated, countless lives lost.
He couldn't use the Ice Thousand Armed Kannon. That would destroy the Teigu.
He had to freeze it.
Roy didn't waste any time. He raised his hand.
"Secret Art: Ice 9 Dragons."
Nine massive ice dragons materialized in the sky, roaring silently as they charged towards the Supreme Teigu.
The Emperor panicked at the sight of the ice dragons.
"Stay away!" he screamed.
The Supreme Teigu fired a massive laser beam from its mouth and dozens of smaller beams from its shoulders.
The beams struck the ice dragons.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The ice dragons shattered.
Just as the Emperor breathed a sigh of relief, the ice dragons began to regenerate.
They were made of ice. Even if shattered, they could easily reform.
The nine ice dragons converged on the Supreme Teigu.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The sound of freezing echoed through the air. Within moments, the Supreme Teigu was encased in ice.
The nine ice dragons coiled around it, immobilizing it completely.
Inside the Teigu, the Emperor, exhausted from overusing its power, fainted.
With the Supreme Teigu neutralized, the rest of the Capital had also fallen.
Prime Minister Honest had been slain by Saeko. He died without understanding why his Teigu hadn't destroyed her weapon.
He didn't know that Saeko hadn't used her Teigu at all.
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By evening, the entire Capital was under their control.
Roy sat on the throne in the Imperial Palace.
"Roy, get down from there! That's the Emperor's throne!" Mine exclaimed, flustered.
Now that the Empire had fallen, that seat belonged to their leader.
"What's the big deal?" Roy shrugged, unconcerned.
"By the way, Mine, do you want to be my Empress?" he asked with a playful grin.
Mine blushed furiously.
"What are you talking about?!"
Roy chuckled at her reaction.
He then turned to Leone. "Leone, now that the war is over, you're not going back to the slums, are you?"
Leone pondered his question. "Well, we are assassins," she said with a sigh.
Her words highlighted the harsh reality of their situation. Once the new Empire was established, Night Raid would be disbanded.
And the assassins of Night Raid would be seen as a threat to the new regime.
A ruthless emperor might even eliminate them.
"Then how about becoming my Empress?" Roy offered.
"Eh? Roy, are you declaring yourself the new Emperor?" Leone asked, sitting beside him and slinging an arm around his neck.
"If that's the case, becoming your Empress doesn't sound too bad."
"Then it's settled," Roy said, wrapping an arm around her waist.
Leone froze, her body stiffening.
Despite her usual carefree demeanor, she was still just a young girl.
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