You are very strong, but my painting style is better than yours!

Sighing and lamenting? Is it a lack of self-confidence?

This is not the kind of emotion one should have before a major battle—Akame couldn't help but feel worried.

Although Iori made it clear that she wouldn't let anyone interfere, Akame wouldn't stand idly by when the time came.

As for a warrior's pride and dignity... please, she's an assassin, okay!

"Has she realized the gap in strength and already foreseen her own death?" Esdeath sneered.

A master can judge the approximate difference between two people just by their aura, and Esdeath believes that she is second to none in this respect.

"No, the sigh was just because I was a little disappointed..."

However, Iori's next words caused Esdeath's pupils to shrink sharply—

"You don't seem as strong as I thought."

Chapter 64: Mere ice shards are nothing compared to me.

The words had barely left his mouth when extreme cold enveloped the earth!

Accompanied by violent tremors, sharp ice spikes reminiscent of towering mountain peaks came rushing towards us!

Layer upon layer, like a giant frost flower blooming on the earth, crushing everything with its immense mass! Piercing through everything!

Huge rocks fell into it, like grains of rice falling into a millstone, and disappeared in the blink of an eye!

Whether they were members of the Night Raid or the Three Beasts, they were all struck by that direct and pure power, scattering like small animals fleeing when a wildfire arrives. Even so, some were still affected, and if their companions hadn't intervened in time, they would have become a blurry mass of flesh and blood.

Najenda was carried by Brad, who was wearing the "Possessed by Evil" outfit. The two leaped high into the air to avoid the first wave of attack. The agile Brad shattered the ice spikes that were chasing from behind and used the momentum to escape again before finally leaving the attack range.

The short-haired female general watched as the camp was easily crushed like building blocks. One by one, the Imperial Arms users hiding in the shadows had to expose themselves, each using their unique abilities to resist the ice spikes and quickly retreat.

Once everything had calmed down, a giant ice flower appeared on the spot, spanning over two hundred meters in length and nearly one hundred meters in height. Many Teigu users, such as Akame and Leone, watched this scene with lingering fear.

It wouldn't be accurate to say they lost everything, but it completely shattered their previous confidence.

Even Najenda believed that the assembled lineup was very strong and that they could defeat Esdeath as long as nothing went wrong.

But now it seems... even if they win, it will be a Pyrrhic victory. The Imperial Arms users will probably suffer heavy casualties to keep this monster alive!

"Wait! Where is Iori? Where is Iori?"

Najenda reacted quickly, her eyes flashing as she anxiously searched for Iori's figure. Suddenly, her expression froze as she spotted Iori alone atop a towering ice peak, her cloak fluttering behind her.

"he……"

The female general's mood immediately calmed down. She considered herself to have a good eye for people. Even though Esdeath's strength exceeded her expectations, seeing Iori's reaction, she inexplicably felt that there was still hope.

"Go, Iori, defeat Esdeath!"

Iori ignored Najenda's words. His feelings were complex, a mixture of relief and excitement—the feeling of facing a formidable opponent, but—

It was by no means a trial of life or death!

Whoosh!Whoosh!Whoosh!

Thick, long ice spears, each capable of hunting large, dangerous species, emitted sharp, explosive sounds. The immense impact shattered the ice peak where Iori stood into countless fragments, the misty ice shards shimmering brilliantly in the twilight.

However, the next moment, Iori appeared on another ice peak and calmly raised her longsword—

Clang!

The specially made military knife and the Ama-no-Kurakumo sword made a crisp clinking sound, and the force transmitted from the blades made Iori's hand tighten, and all the muscles in his body automatically tensed up.

The moment their swords clashed, the two faced each other. The queen's eyes seemed shrouded in shadow, and even through a mask, one could feel the chilling and pure killing intent emanating from them.

But Iori remained calm throughout—though no one else could see his expression.

With a slight lift of her toes, she dodged Esdeath's follow-up fierce slash, while the Queen pressed forward step by step, her figure like a swooping eagle piercing towards Iori, her long ice-blue hair stretched straight by the wind pressure.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

In the brief moment of their fall, the two had already clashed three times.

Once Iori landed safely, Esdeath suddenly stomped down on the side of the sloping ice peak, like an invisible gale wielding a blade capable of cutting through steel—

Ka!

She cleaved the ice spikes, no matter how thick they were, in one strike!

However, the attack still missed its target. Iori descended from the sky, her Ame-no-Kurakumo sword glowing faintly as she slashed at Esdeath.

Just then, thin ice spikes suddenly appeared on both sides, crossing and blocking Iori's path. As Iori's blade fell and severed them, the Ice Queen rearranged her stance, placing her index fingers and thumbs together in a ring on her chest, perfectly encircling the dark mark that symbolized the power of the demon god.

呲!

A long spear of ice pierced through the air, striking Iori in the blink of an eye—

clang!

The sturdy sword blocked the ice spear, but this attack was far more powerful than before. The ice spear continued to extend, sending Iori flying far away.

Call ~

A flash of icy blue light appeared, and Esdeath's feet were stopped by an equally elongated ice pillar. She quickly caught up with Iori and swung her gleaming military knife down towards Iori's neck!

Clang!

Iori blocked with her sword, thus escaping Esdeath's pursuit.

Unexpectedly, the queen waved her hand, and the surrounding giant ice peaks instantly trembled, blocking out all the sunlight and causing Iori's vision to dim rapidly.

If someone were to look down from above at this moment, they would see a giant ice flower rapidly closing, with the collision of solid ice producing a terrifying muffled sound, like polar glaciers crushing each other—a power that only nature could create!

"Slaying Wheel!"

Just before the ice flower completely closed, a sharp blade of light pierced through the solid ice and shot out from the top, along with Esdeath and Iori, who were locked in a struggle.

"To be able to compete with me to this extent, you are indeed no ordinary person!"

The female hunter was extremely excited. Her ability was to manipulate ice and snow, but both her personality and fighting style were extremely aggressive. Like wildfire and like a hungry wolf, she would not wait to tear apart and devour any prey!

"Your swordsmanship, your weapon, and your unpredictable movements are all things I've never seen before. This is a truly unique experience. After killing you, my strength will surely rise to a new level!"

"...That's a real shame."

Iori then said out of the blue, "Looks like I'm late."

"What?" The Queen's eyes sharpened. "Trying to buy time with nonsense?"

"I'll give you a few words of praise, Esdeath."

Iori looked around at the frozen surroundings and shook her head with a sigh: "You are indeed very strong. This is not a compliment or a mockery, but a description from an objective point of view."

Agility, strength, explosiveness, skill, reaction speed; possessing powerful supernatural abilities yet not overly relying on them, but rather combining physical skills and Imperial Arms in a reasonable way... he's practically the perfect killing machine.

"...I don't like the way you talk."

Esdeath slightly raised her face and said coldly, "As if you have the right to judge me!"

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

A barrage of ice arrows materialized out of thin air, raining down countless flashes of light from the sky, leaving no chance to dodge!

That's why I feel it's a pity.

Iori swung her longsword horizontally, and a beautiful radiance emanated from the precious jade, making the jade blade appear as if it were made of emerald glass. Then, as the blade swung out, it released a dragon-shaped burst of energy, which blew away the rain of arrows with a majestic roar. Then, she turned around and swooped down on Esdeath.

This was the first time the female general had ever seen such a peculiar attack. She couldn't help but smile slightly, and without making any movement, thick and tall walls of ice rose up in front of her.

Bang!

The force shattered several layers of ice, but failed to reach the queen herself.

Immediately afterwards, the icy blue figure leaped over the high wall and engaged Iori in battle once more.

"You think you can fool me with this little bit of pretense?"

"It seems I came at the wrong time!"

Iori didn't argue with Esdeath, but instead said to herself, "You are still growing and haven't reached your theoretical peak yet... For me, this is a regret."

His words were not false; this was truly what he thought.

Esdeath is a typical combat-oriented powerhouse. The training and education she received in the tribe from a young age, as well as her later military experience, destined her growth path to be accompanied by battles at all times, from which she also draws inspiration.

In a sense, she is like a protagonist in a hot-blooded drama. The more intense and dangerous the battle, the more it will stimulate her growth, allowing her to surpass her peers at an astonishing speed and even obtain the title of "strongest".

However, unlike the protagonist who is full of passion, the person without the protagonist's halo is likely to die halfway through... After all, not everyone has the privilege of "sit-ups".

Esdeath is undoubtedly a boss-level character who enjoys half the treatment of a protagonist, which is why she has such a powerful presence in the original work.

But this is precisely the "regret" that Iori mentioned:

Esdeath at this moment is missing two important battles compared to what she will later experience, and has failed to absorb the crucial "nourishment".

　One was defeating and massacring hundreds of thousands of foreign troops in the North, utterly humiliating their leaders and completely crushing their dignity and will.

One was her battle with the humanoid Imperial Arm Susanoo, where she was driven to the brink of defeat by the overpowered Susanoo. Although she managed to turn the tide and defeat him with her powerful trump card, it still deeply moved her.

Adding to the chaos of the situation, Esdeath endured the constant casualties of her subordinates while battling wits and courage against Najenda's Night Raid, experiencing a rare taste of defeat and helplessness.

These things undoubtedly deeply stimulated Esdeath, prompting her to go even further on her already near-perfect foundation!

While Esdeath is indeed powerful now, she still falls short of the domineering aura she possessed at the end of the original story... and probably hasn't yet developed the ultimate technique of "freezing time and space."

Iori had originally made thorough preparations to face the fully-formed Ice Queen, but now... she can only say she's lost interest.

Even through the mask, Esdeath still sensed his emotions. Powerful individuals at a certain level can communicate telepathically when fighting, and Esdeath noticed Iori's undisguised disappointment.

The Queen is furious!

"Since that's how it is, then I'll grant your wish! Let me show you what real hell is like!"

As Esdeath raged, dark clouds suddenly filled the sky, the temperature of the atmosphere dropped rapidly, and the moisture in the air condensed into frost, covering the entire earth. Within a radius of a thousand meters or even a wider area, sharp, knife-like ice fragments appeared out of thin air, spinning wildly like blades in the gale.

"Surge forth, Ice Storm!"

A biting, all-encompassing wind, mixed with ice spikes, enveloped Iori. Before Esdeath could even launch an attack, her clothes began to frost and freeze, as if she were about to be completely swallowed up.

This is to release the power that has been accumulated and stored up all day long, in order to obtain destructive power beyond the limit.

The already exaggerated coverage of [Demon God Manifestation] will be further enhanced at this time, easily covering the entire Northern Territory and even a wider world!

Of course, using such power to deal with Iori as an enemy at this moment would be a huge waste, so Esdeath chose to use it on herself, elevating her already powerful self to a new level!

Akame and the others, who were watching from afar, felt immense pressure, struggling against the biting cold as they watched the battlefield in the eye of the storm with bated breath.

call!

Ice blades, ice spikes, ice pillars, ice arrows... all sorts of attacks rained down from the sky, filling the atmosphere in an instant, as if everything in the world had become Iori's enemy!

The boy, who was bearing the brunt of the pressure, remained calm. He patted his shoulder and brushed away the frost.

"Those mere ice shavings are nothing compared to what I have!"

And at that very moment—

"Duan Kong!"

Zheng! ! !

An invisible wall of spiritual pressure stretched across the sky, deflecting countless ice blades and frost blades, while Iori below remained unharmed.

"Reflecting the myriad phenomena, flowing through all the void; "

All things are impermanent, but fullness and emptiness are cyclical.

Clang!

Before the chant was finished, Esdeath couldn't wait to swing her sword forward. Iori caught the even more fierce slash. The chill emanating from the sword seemed to penetrate his entire body. If it were an ordinary person, they would be frozen into an ice sculpture just by touching it.

Even so, it still couldn't stir the slightest ripple in his mind.

The sword, shimmering with light, reflects Iori's face like a mirror of mercury—not a mask, but his true appearance.

"Unite, like a clear mirror and still water!"

Chapter 65: When did you develop the illusion that you would win?

When the condensed spiritual pressure was released from its restraints, visible transparent ripples swept across the atmosphere, dispelling the cold wind and frost, and the world seemed to stand still for a moment.