After escorting Honest and the others through the palace gates, Izou quickly headed toward the arena.
As he passed through a plaza, Izou suddenly stopped in his tracks.
A familiar figure had appeared before him.
A bad feeling rose in Izou's heart as he asked in confusion,
"Uesugi Ryu, why are you here?"
Uesugi Ryu just happened to be passing through this place. Since he had run into Izou, he decided to deal with him along the way.
His expression was indifferent, his tone calm.
"To kill you."
Izou froze for a moment, then an extremely excited smile spread across his face.
"Is that so?"
"I heard you're also a master swordsman. Kousetsu has long thirsted for your blood!"
Uesugi Ryu looked toward the palace.
With Observer's telescopic vision enhancement, he could clearly see the situation inside.
Seeing this, Izou's expression darkened.
Uesugi Ryu's behavior was simply too disrespectful toward him as an opponent.
Izou drew his sword from its sheath. The slender katana gleamed under the sunlight.
Uesugi Ryu glanced at the katana named Kousetsu and lightly shook his head.
"What a shame. I don't have time to play with you."
Izou frowned, the killing intent in his eyes rapidly rising.
His sticky palms gripped the sword hilt tightly.
"Draw your blade. It won't waste much time~"
Uesugi Ryu pressed his lips together and said nothing.
Pitch-black, ferocious scales protruded from the surface of his skin.
The scales gathered around his elbow, forming sharp spikes the length of a pinky finger.
The muscles beneath the scales continuously bulged.
A violent aura spread from Uesugi Ryu's left arm.
At this moment, his entire left arm and shoulder were completely covered in dark black scales.
Compared to his normal right arm, this left arm was much larger and looked extremely deformed.
Izou's face became vigilant as every muscle in his body tensed.
His damp palm stuck firmly to the sword hilt.
Uesugi Ryu's figure still remained where it was.
A sharp, piercing pain suddenly stabbed into Izou's forehead.
Following his instincts, he raised his blade to block in front of himself.
The next moment, a black claw slammed heavily into the blade.
Izou heard nothing at all. Blood slowly flowed from his ears.
The slender blade shattered inch by inch, exploding into more than ten fragments.
The hands gripping the sword along with half of Izou's forearms instantly disintegrated under the violent force.
What followed were two clouds of fine blood mist.
Uesugi Ryu expressionlessly walked past Izou's side. He casually picked up a fragment and lightly flicked it.
The movement was so elegant that he looked like a magician throwing playing cards.
A shallow line of blood appeared across Izou's neck.
Before he could even realize what had happened, his body tilted forward and crashed heavily onto the ground.
The sword hilt with its broken blade spun twice through the air.
As though unwilling to leave its master's embrace, it plunged heavily into the ground before Izou.
Large amounts of blood poured from Izou's throat as understanding finally flashed through his eyes.
Kousetsu was not some great sword. Its quality was nowhere near that of a Teigu.
It was only because Izou had always deeply loved this blade that he gave it fame through his own strength.
Even after drinking endless blood, the sword remained the same sword. It would never change.
Under Uesugi Ryu's overwhelming force, it had no resistance whatsoever.
Although he had instantly lost because of his weapon, there was not a trace of regret in Izou's eyes.
He raised a hand, trying to touch his beloved blade, but unfortunately his hands had already been annihilated. His heart was willing, but he lacked the strength.
The blood flowing from his throat dyed the stone pavement red.
The scarlet blood connected him to the broken remains of Kousetsu.
The final blood Kousetsu drank belonged to its owner, Izou.
The corners of Izou's mouth curled upward slightly as a voice like a broken bellows sounded out.
"To die together... isn't... so... bad..."
As his words fell, the last trace of light in his eyes completely vanished.
Uesugi Ryu walked toward the palace.
He looked down on Kousetsu.
So he simply destroyed it and let it accompany Izou in death.
.............
Honest led the little Emperor toward the inside of the palace.
The Three Rakshasa Demons surrounded the two, two in front and one behind.
Just as they were about to pass through the palace gate, Mez and Suzuka, who were walking at the front, suddenly exchanged glances.
"Wait!"
The group instantly stopped.
At that moment, a red-and-black figure suddenly leapt down from above.
Akame's expression was cold as Murasame slashed straight toward Honest's head.
"Perish!"
Honest's expression changed. His obese body burst forth with astonishing speed as he dodged to the side.
Akame's slash missed, and she landed within the group's encirclement.
Just as Mez and Suzuka prepared to return and defend, sharp threads formed into a barrier that sealed off their route.
Lubbock walked out from behind the palace gate with a provocative grin, crooking his finger at them.
"You two beautiful ladies, your opponent is me!"
Sten strode forward, his fingertips suddenly extending as they pierced toward Akame.
Akame sidestepped the attack and kicked off the ground, charging straight at Sten.
But Sten was not panicked in the slightest. He even had time to tease her.
"Akame-chan, long time no see!"
"Your companions are being sliced to pieces. Is it really okay not to save them?"
Akame's expression turned cold as she replied flatly,
"You don't need to worry about that, Sten."
"I'll send you off!"
Sten continued spewing trash talk, hoping to affect Akame's state of mind.
Using his threads, Lubbock maneuvered against Mez and Suzuka. He had already set up numerous thread traps around the area beforehand.
Relying on those advantages, he temporarily held the two of them back.
The little Emperor was badly startled. This was the first time in his life he had ever witnessed a scene like this.
Although he was panicking inside, he still forced himself to remain calm on the surface.
Barely maintaining the dignity expected of an Emperor.
Honest himself was quite strong and had also trained at Koshin Temple.
However, he had no desire to fight Akame, who wielded Murasame. It was far too risky.
The Teigu on Honest's head, Erastone, could destroy other Teigu.
Unless forced into a dead end, Honest did not want to waste it here.
He shouted loudly,
"Three Rakshasa Demons, stop them!"
"Your Majesty, quickly, let's go!"
After giving the order, Honest grabbed the little Emperor and fled.
Being tucked under Honest's arm was slightly uncomfortable for the little Emperor.
But under these circumstances, Honest's actions deeply moved him.
He could not help but think that the Minister truly treated him best!
At this moment, however, Honest had no mind to care about the little Emperor. Taking him along was purely for his own benefit.
Without the little Emperor, who would activate the Imperial Arms of the Protector God?
Honest's heart was filled with confusion as he frowned.
"How did Night Raid end up here? Do they not even care whether their companions live or die?"
"Even as a desperate struggle, this is far too stupid."
As he continued thinking, Honest suddenly stopped.
He needed to consider whether he should head to the arena to find Budo or return to the palace through another gate.
Honest kept feeling that things were not that simple.
There were a large number of guards within the palace.
Night Raid could kill them, but the path here had been completely peaceful. It did not look like they had forcefully broken in.
The more he thought about it, the angrier Honest became.
"If I had known earlier, I wouldn't have handed Shambhala to that rebellious brat Syura. Now even escaping has become troublesome."