"It's over." Although curious why Takeru didn't resist in the end, Esdeath just looked at the frozen Takeru with a smile.
But before she could rejoice and help Takeru unfreeze, she noticed cracks appearing in the ice. Then, in an instant, the cracks shattered completely.
Amidst the sky-covering ice shards, Takeru aimed his staff at her neck.
"Esdeath, it's all over." Takeru said calmly, looking at her.
"No, I still have one last method!" Hearing Takeru's words, Esdeath spoke again.
"I know. If you can inflict even a single injury on me, then this duel is your win." Hearing her words, Takeru still said calmly.
"Then it's settled! Mahapdama!" Hearing Takeru's words, Esdeath unleashed her final move.
As she shouted, the surrounding time and space froze. Then, looking at Takeru, whose expression was frozen, she gently approached him, softly caressed his cheek, then took her rapier and thrust it at Takeru's arm.
However, when the rapier struck Takeru's arm, Esdeath was surprised to find her attack couldn't penetrate Takeru's arm at all.
What shocked her even more was that in this frozen time and space, Takeru's body seemed to have moved slightly, which astounded her.
"Hah!" With Takeru's roar, the frozen time and space quickly developed cracks. Then, Esdeath was completely forced out of the Mahapdama state as Takeru shattered the frozen time and space.
Forced out of Mahapdama, she stared at Takeru in shock.
"Time's up. Starting interest calculation. Stamina insufficient, entering debt collection mode!" Suddenly, as the number surpassed ten thousand, exceeding Esdeath's total stamina, the Potclean instantly transformed into a Toritaten.
With the doll's transformation, Esdeath was even more shocked to find herself feeling extremely exhausted, even struggling to maintain the strength to stand.
This was perfectly normal. Takeru himself had lent her around six thousand stamina, and she had just attacked with all her might without holding back. Exhausting her stamina was not surprising at all.
Then, Takeru simply waved his hand, and the Toritaten dissipated.
"You lost, Esdeath." After dispelling the Toritaten, Takeru said seriously, looking at Esdeath.
"Yes, I lost. From now on, I will dedicate everything I have to you." Hearing Takeru's words, Esdeath also struggled to perform a single-knee kneeling pledge of allegiance to Takeru.
In this duel, without a doubt, she lost thoroughly. From start to finish, she wasn't even clear how much strength Takeru had used. Yet, she had exerted almost all her strength. Even so, she still lost completely.
Because of this, she became even more captivated by Takeru. She also understood why Takeru said he could become the Emperor relying on his own strength alone...
"Get up." Noticing the infatuation in Esdeath's eyes, Takeru also showed a happy smile, quickly pulling her up.
Seeing Esdeath's exhausted state, Takeru thought for a moment, then directly punched her again. Esdeath felt herself recovering somewhat.
After four consecutive punches, the Potclean's value dropped to around three thousand. Then Takeru canceled the Hakoware again, using this method to transfer stamina to Esdeath.
Feeling her stamina recover, Esdeath touched the spots where Takeru had hit her but felt no pain at all, which also made her curious.
"Takeru, so what are your next actions?" After adjusting her condition, Esdeath eagerly asked Takeru about his future plans.
"Next, I'll use special means to directly control Great General Budo of the Empire, along with the Prime Minister and the Emperor. Then have the Emperor abdicate, have the Prime Minister confess his crimes, and execute him. Finally, purge the Empire of its corrupt officials."
"At that time, inevitably, some people won't wait idly. They might attack me or cause chaos in the surrounding areas. At that time, I need to hold the capital. So, I'll need you to lead the Jaegers to suppress and clear obstacles for me."
"And minimize casualties among innocent civilians." Hearing Esdeath's question, Takeru quickly outlined his plan.
"I understand. I will surely cut through thorns and brambles for you." Hearing Takeru's words, Esdeath knelt on one knee again, pledging her allegiance.
Although curious about how Takeru would control the Prime Minister and others, that wasn't for Esdeath to consider. Since Takeru said so, as a competent subordinate, it wasn't about questioning but properly thinking about the orders given by her superior.
Seeing Esdeath's docile demeanor, Takeru was very pleased. The effort in this battle wasn't wasted.
"For now, let's proceed according to your original plan. After returning to the capital, we'll go meet the Emperor and the Prime Minister. At that time, I'll take control of them." Takeru said with a light laugh.
"I understand." Hearing this, Esdeath still nodded lightly, indicating she understood.
"Well, now I'll first drag out the disobedient rat." Takeru said with a light laugh, then used several Soru to quickly rush towards Dr. Stylish's location.
"Not good, sir! They seem to have discovered us!" As Takeru spoke, a modified human with enormous ears said in panic to Dr. Stylish.
"What? Impossible. Didn't you say this place is at least 1.5 kilometers away?" Hearing his words, Dr. Stylish frowned.
"Sir, Takeru's figure disappeared. I can't see where he is at all!" A modified human wearing special glasses also quickly said.
"Run!" Hearing the two's words, Dr. Stylish didn't hesitate and prepared to leave.
But before running a hundred meters, light flashed. The 'Eye', 'Ear', and 'Nose' of Dr. Stylish's special forces were hit by white slash waves released by Takeru. Their heads flew, and they could only fall to the ground with shocked expressions.
Dr. Stylish beside them didn't even have time to react. Several Nen Needles shot from Takeru's hands, quickly hitting his head.
Dr. Stylish, who was about to initiate his giant transformation, froze in place, then looked towards Takeru's direction with a respectful gaze.
Then Takeru directly carried Dr. Stylish and headed back towards the valley.
Esdeath, waiting for Takeru in the valley, soon saw Takeru returning with Dr. Stylish.
"He is..." Looking at Dr. Stylish, Esdeath frowned.
"He was spying on us from afar earlier, seemingly with ill intentions, so I brought him back. Now he's under my control." Hearing Esdeath's words, Takeru said calmly.
Hearing Takeru's words, Esdeath's eyes lit up, then she kept examining Dr. Stylish but couldn't see any signs of being controlled.
"Alright, explain why you were following us." Looking at Dr. Stylish, whose eyes showed a trace of dullness, Takeru directly asked.
"Because I suspected you were a spy, so I brought Eye, Ear, and Nose to monitor you." Hearing Takeru's words, since he was subconsciously loyal to Takeru, he would answer truthfully when asked, unless Takeru completely controlled him.
"So that's it? Your intuition is quite sharp. By the way, I stayed with Night Raid for a while." Hearing his words, Takeru said with a light laugh.
Esdeath beside him was momentarily stunned upon hearing Takeru's words but soon calmed down. Since she had now decided to fully serve Takeru, regardless of whether Night Raid was an enemy or friend in the past, interpersonal relationships would follow Takeru's commands.
Takeru also liked this about Esdeath very much. Believing in survival of the fittest, defeating her earned her complete and wholehearted loyalty.
"Dr. Stylish, confess some of your crimes." Then, Takeru directly had him confess his crimes.
"Yes. I am skilled in modifying humans and have a large number of privately modified soldiers. To obtain materials, I once poisoned three villages, combining the villagers with Danger Beasts for modification. I also once..." Hearing Takeru's words, Dr. Stylish quickly listed his crimes.
Very clear and very cruel. The number of innocent people harmed reached over a thousand. Hearing this, Takeru's expression turned serious. Dr. Stylish's crimes were much more severe than Takeru had imagined. But considering his usefulness, Takeru didn't kill him.