CH. 36: Signed, Es

Trumpets blew announcing the arrival of the special guest. The arena went into silence and the only sound that could be heard was that of a woman's heels stepping into the special spectator bench. She sat down on a throne and then put her right leg on top of the left one.

The person in question was a beautiful slender woman with long light blue hair and blue eyes. She wore General's apparel with long sleeves and buttons on the upper arms, a blue scarf on her neck, and high-heeled boots.

The Ice General of The Empire; Esdeath. She is a manipulative and savage sadist who lacked empathy for people. A person who enjoys putting her enemies through great pain, both physically and emotionally. A killing machine that has no problem slaying innocent people for her own sake.

Akira and the three demonesses had no problem analyzing the girl and conclude that she was very strong, at least for a human. Ultima used an omniscience ability and she was able to look at Esdeath's soul... It was a raging thunderous storm of darkness and insanity.

"She's evil" Ultima mumbled innocently, "You're one to talk," Carrera said with a raised eyebrow.

But without further ado, the first round began and the contenders commenced their fights. Two warriors entered from opposite directions and then started clashing with each other. A swordsman against an archer.

The crowd was shearing up intensely for the archer who was winning effortlessly, the swordsman could not approach him due to the arrows that were continuously thrown at him from all directions, against a ranged attacker, he was at a disadvantage.

( Looks like the fate of the first competitor is sealed! ) The commentator announced.

Carrera was bored by this fight, it was nothing but a querelle between two ants. So she decided to toy with them. Carrera looked around to verify no one was watching, and then she made an orb of destruction appear near the archer.

The man could not see the attack next to him but as soon as it prepared on exploding, he turned around to see a golden sphere next to his face, "WHAT THE FUCK IS TH— *BOOOOOOM* "

Carrera's orb exploded on the face of the archer. He fell from the high ground into the battlefield. ( WHAT IS THIS?! THE SECOND COMPETITOR WAS HIDING HIS TRUMP CARD SINCE THE START OF THE MATCH??! THAT'S A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY!! )

Not understanding what happened, the warrior rushed at the archer them defeated him with a direct swing on the torso.

The public was shouting and screaming in excitement at the victory of the warrior who pulled up such a good fight, even Esdeath herself was perplexed by what just happened. He lifted his sword to announce his win.

"Carrera I know you killed that guy" Akira said not bothering to look at her. She jumped back in surprise with a red cheeks of embarrassment, "Kahahaha..." She laughed nervously.

"That was a great performance, what do you think General?" Asked Kurome to Esdeath, a teenage girl with short black hair who was part of the Jaegers.

"I did not expect the swordsman to have such a trick up his sleeve. What surprises me the most was the potency of the attack, and from my knowledge, i do not recognize any <Teigu> capable of producing such an attack...—" Esdeath's expression filled with focus as she looked i to the battlefield with more interest, "—Fascinating..." She continued.

Kurome smiled then contemplated the ongoing fights— The rest of the fights went just like intended, apart from Ultima and Carrera playing with fighters and flipping the tables at the end of every battle. Akira found that quite entertaining, so much that Saeko's turn came after a few minutes.

( Last fight of the first round! Let us welcome proudly our next contestants! ) The commentator announced.

Saeko entered the battlefield with her sword in her grip and waving her hand to the spectator, she immediately recognized Akira whom she sent a kiss.

Esdeath looked closely at Saeko and the person she was looking at. Her gaze fell upon Akira whom she did not notice up until now, she raised an eyebrow as she couldn't discern him, however, she did get a little bit excited seeing how beautiful he was.

She wasn't the type to get aroused by someone's appearance but Akira was very remarkable with his devilish crimson eyes and long silver hair. However, what surprised her was Akira turning his eyes towards her and looking at her with a wicked expression.

Esdeath got chills up her spine and broke eye contact with him. 'Those eyes...' She thought as she remembered those cold bloodthirsty that looked at her, as well as that smile, a confident grin that could shatter a spirit.

"General? Are you okay?" Kurome asked with concern. Esdeath regained her senses then replied to her subordinate, "O-Oh my apologies, I seemed to have been drowning in my deepest thoughts. But something has been interfering with the fights. I doubt all these warriors have Teigus, something— Or rather someone, is toying with them." Esdeath comcluded while looking at Akira once again.

"And I may have found a potential suspect." She added.

――――――

The berserker fighting against Saeko ran at her with a big hammer and very fast speed. He swinged his hammer across the air and slammed it on the ground with force making the ground shatter.

Saeko in retaliation dodges his attack. The berserker did not stop from striking Saeko, however she had gained enormous speed ever since her training, avoid the direct attacks of a berserker was becoming easier.

"Way to go Saeko you're the best!" Akira cheered her by shouting loudly making her gain confidence.

'I mustn't disappoint him, I've trained hard for this!' Saeko thought. The warrior striked once again but she had moved so quickly it was just her afterimage. He looked around to locate her but she was not found.

But then, he looked up and saw Saeko descending at him with her sword in front of her. She clashed her blade against his hammer and the two began pushing each other in a showdown of momentum and brute force.

But he was stronger, so he pushed her away in the limit of the battle ring. Saeko picked herself up, back on her feet with the sword in both hands. The berserker threw a barrage of continuous attacks at her.

Saeko who surpassed him in speed, had no difficulty passing through his attacks by jumping and crouching. But seeing the inefficiency of his work, the fighter got even more frustrated. His rage made him even stronger causing Saeko to have more difficulty fighting him.

She barely dodged his last swing causing a little injury to appear on her cheek, "Wa! He's even faster!" Ultima exclaimed.

"Of course, he is a berserker after all, he derives his power from his anger" Testarossa replied, "Don't underestimate her, for a human she's at the peak of her condition." Akira said as he spectated, though the strength difference was very clear.

"He's got even stronger than before!" Saeko said while desperately trying to avoid the crushing weight of her opponent's hammer.

"YOU'RE MINE!!" The berserker shouted as he destroyed the ground with his next attack, causing Saeko to fly into the wall. She crashed on the arena's obstacle and her sword flew away from her.

The warrior got closer to her with killing intent, he was planning on finishing her soon. Saeko hoped off the wall and looked with a blurry vision at the approaching threat. She did not know what to do, her weapon was too far and the strength difference was way too considerable.

"IT'S OVER—" He said preparing on crushing her. However, as he was lifting his enormous hammer, Saeko disappeared from his vision.

( Wh-Where did she go?! )

And then... "—GYAH!!" The berserker groaned making his weapon fall to the ground and collapsing on the floor.

He slowly turns his head around to see Saeko inserting two daggers deep inside his shoulders, "Don't think you can get rid of me that easily~" She mumbled in his ear while putting the daggers even deeper inside him.

He groaned even more intensely and spat blood on the ground. It wasn't a fatal injury for him who was so buff and strong, but it was still painful, a very painful sensation.

The crowd was in shock, some even wiped their eyes to see if they were seeing right. Since the very start, Saeko was holding back, she was toying with him and making him think she was weak, before finishing him off with a humiliating defeat.

The berserker fainted and was immediately take. away for recovery. Saeko emerged victorious and the public was going crazy with their screams.

( INCREDIBLE!! THE SWORDS WOMEN BEAT HER OPPONENT AT THE LAST MINUTE WHERE HIS GUARD WAS DOWN!! )

"Didn't expect her to win. Guess she was holding back all the time" Carrera said.

"She was already stronger than him but stills decided to toy with him before beating him. We're alike each other" Ultima said with a joyful expression.

"That is indeed one special an approach" Testarossa commented.

Yeah, that's basically who Saeko was. It looked like after Akira accepted her twisted and crazy side, she was more open-minded. She's already past human strength with her abilities.

――――――

Imperial Arm= Teigu**

Saeko's win against the berserker made everyone present shout in encouragement after witnessing such a spectacle. Some were happy, while others were angry because they had lost a bet.

"DAMN IT!! I PUT ALL MY MONEY ON THAT FUCKING DICKHEAD!!!" This was the same audible scream that could be heard throughout the arena. After all, who would have thought a high school girl could beat a buff berserker with Thor's hammer as his weapon?

"HAHA! Now pay up sucker! I told you that chick would win! My toe finger never deceives me!" Laughed a muscular old man who put his hand around his friend's neck to make him feel less bad for his loss.

"Damn, I should have trusted your fucking broken finger..." Said the guy in regret while handing his winning friend a purse of money, "Gahahaha!" Laughed the old man once again making his friend's expression darken.

( Now! Please welcome our next contenders! ) The commentator announced as two new fighters stepped onto the battlefield.

After a few seconds, they started fighting. A berserker against a samurai, a fight to determine the strongest. However, these two brawlers couldn't fully concentrate on the fight, because the Ice General's cold stares that were invading their fight.

Esdeath was staring with focus at the arena to determine the intruder that was interfering, "You look very focused on these ants fighting General" Kurome said with her innocent smile.

"I am trying to deduce here. Someone is toying with all these warriors and it's making me more and more curious..." Esdeath said while taking a few glances at Akira who was just watching this fight— And he would only cheer up when Saeko is the one to fight.

Her concentration was enveloping the whole battlefield, and before she realized it, the final round was already upon them. The two strongest fighters were united in the ultimate face-off.

Saeko has flawlessly beaten all her opponents, earning her an undeniable spot in the finale. The one going against her was a tall tank —A warrior with buff armor— wearing solid, unscathed armor and holding an axe.

The two shared piercing eye contact and dared not lose their focus. Once the commentator spoke his first word, the two disappeared from their place because of their high speed, and the sound of two metallic weapons clashing against each other sent out a shockwave throughout the arena.

"She became so fast!" Ultima exclaimed with a surprised expression, "So she finally decided to show her true strength" Testarossa commented.

Saeko was now going all out knowing that this fighter was the only obstacle separating her from victory. She was currently using a long katana as her main weapon. Her strength let her repel her opponent's attacks easily, however, the real problem here was his defense, that armor he was wearing was way too thick to be penetrated by her katana.

She couldn't afford to pierce through his thick armor and reach his flesh because her weapon's durability was already declining very fast, noticing the little shards of iron flying around and the scratches on the sharpness.

"Keep up Saeko you can do it!" Akira shouted.

Saeko heard Akira's encouragement clearly albeit the cloud of screams that were thundering around her. She put away her sword and then grabbed her two deadly daggers.

Her speed increased exponentially and her movements became more synchronized as she had become an assassin. Her eyes showed a scorching flame of determination, 'I must win.' This was the thought that repeated in her mind.

The tank noticed that behavior change, "She's doing the same trick from before..." He mumbled.

He took his guard up but still could hear her metal daggers slashing his armor. But as he turns to take a hit, he finds her already gone.

The tank was at a huge disadvantage due to his thick armor that restrained his mobility, normally, he'd win easily against warriors and archers who relied on weapons to deal damage, but against an assassin, who possessed poisonous items and great agility, he could only hope for her to fall in his grip.

Due to her fast movements, the tank was getting more and more destabilized, and he lost his balance in a matter of seconds. Saeko took this opportunity to drop him to the ground. "GYAH!" He groaned as he was knocked down.

The tank had fallen on the floor so hard that the ground underneath him broke into pieces. This caused his armor to get heavily damaged due to the impact. His helmet had cracked a bit revealing his forehead.

Saeko pointed her dagger at him, a few centimeters away from his uncovered face and it was her win. "I win" She said still edging his dagger at his forehead.

The arena was in shock. Saeko has done the impossible and won against the strongest tank. It was only a few seconds that the screams started flooding the benches. Everyone shouted in joy and clapped their hands for Saeko's win.

"SHE HAS DONE IT!!! SHE FUCKING WON!!!!" Laughed the old man from before. This time he had put his wagger on Saeko again, earning him a win with more than fifty people who lost the bet. No telling how he would have paid fifty people if Saeko had lost.

"She's very good. She has what it takes to join the Jaegers. And I kinda like her fighting style, what do you think General?" Kurome asked with a hint of interest.

Esdeath got up from her luxurious seat and then walked down towards Saeko by using the staircase in front of her, while simultaneously replying to Kurome, "Yes, I firmly identify the potential residing within her. I doubt she uses an imperial arm which makes it even more exciting."

She saw Esdeath descending towards her with her heels making the arena drown in silence at the presence of the ruthless Ice General.

Esdeath stopped a meter away from her and then handed her the prize money, "Congratulations on emerging Victorious from this competition. Your fights were entertaining, I hope you continue onwards this path of greatness" Esdeath congratulated Saeko.

"Thank you for organizing this tournament, but I'm not interested in money, this was a pleasure" Saeko replied with a light smile.

Esdeath slimed back then continued, "I expected this coming for a talented woman such as yours, I can see the resolve burning deep in your eyes. Would you be interested in joining my special units? Being part of the Jaegers comes with various advantages" Esdeath offered.

It was true that the Jaegers were a powerhouse famously known within the Empire, people who others did not dare get on their bad side. Not counting the fact that their General was a ruthless killer.

This offer was charming, but Saeko had already decided to stick to Akira and no one else for the time being, "Your offer is very tempting, but I don't wish to be part of anything, still thank you" Saeko respectfully declined.

"Is that so?" Esdeath confirmed. She sighed in disappointment. But Saeko must have had her reasons. Maybe she was doing it for herself? Maybe for someone else?— Or maybe, because she did not have need in any of that.

"Well then, I thank all of you spectators who came here to assist today's event." Esdeath said with a smiling expression.

"—However, I would like to address one of you." She then shifted her gaze towards the nonchalant Akira.

"You sir, the one with white hair and those beautiful scarlet eyes. Please come down to the battlefield." She requested as a smile of anticipation slowly formed on her mouth.

Saeko looked at Akira with a confused look then at Esdeath, 'Akira?? What is she planning??' She thought deeply.

――――――

Thanks for Your Precious Lecture!

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(Read ahead of everyone with the advanced chapters!)