At the sound of his voice, Esdeath imdiately looked toward the throne.
What t her eyes was Souta lounging lazily in the seat.
She instantly recognized him, this was the man who had crushed and knocked her out.
Without a word, Esdeath lunged forward, her high-heeled leather boot kicking straight for Souta's head.
A slicing gust of wind accompanied the blow but thanks to his divine shield, not even a single strand of Souta's hair moved.
With accelerated perception, Esdeath's movent looked like a slow crawl to him.
He didn't bother to move. He simply looked her way.
Imdiately, divine power flowed into the air, forming a pressure field like a mountain bearing down.
It was a spell conjured through divine manifestation.
Esdeath was slamd down by an invisible force, forced to one knee before him.
"Pointless struggle. Pathetic."
Souta's voice was calm, utterly indifferent to her attack.
Esdeath tried to break free, then attempted to activate her Teigu, but to her shock—nothing happened.
She couldn't conjure ice. She couldn't even freeze the ground or the throne.
Her powers... weren't working?
"You think brute strength alone can defy my dominion?"
Souta looked down at her with serene detachnt.
His tone was casual, yet to Esdeath, it sounded like an irrefutable truth.
There was no arrogance in his words, just fact.
Her powers had failed because of his "authority."
His divine domain could be seen as a system of rules.
Matter has three states.
Though Souta hadn't fully mastered divine control over matter, it was a trivial task for him to alter the rules within this palace so that water could not exist in a solid state.
To break this temporary rule, Esdeath would need to unleash enough power to override it—sothing she was capable of with her national-scale blizzards.
But for now, stunned by the invisible suppression, she instinctively halted her efforts.
Twice now, she had been effortlessly subdued.
She had to admit it, she was defeated.
Thoroughly and utterly defeated by this stranger.
"I've lost. Kill or do as you wish."
Esdeath gave up struggling without hesitation.
"Kill? If I wanted you dead, you wouldn't have woken up again."
Souta didn't sugarcoat anything.
"I kept you alive because I have a use for you."
"Oh? So you've taken a liking to this body, huh?"
Esdeath locked eyes with Souta, etching his face into mory—the man who had bested her.
"Go ahead. You're the victor. You're stronger than . Do whatever you want. Co, ravage my body if you wish."
"..."
Souta was montarily speechless.
But staying in his 'cool' persona, he kept a calm tone.
"What a shallow woman. I'm not interested in your body... for now."
"For now?"
"That's not the point!"
Souta frowned, clearly annoyed by the interruption.
"Judging by your attitude, you believe in survival of the fittest, don't you?"
"Of course. The strong can take everything from the weak. That's the law of the world."
Esdeath answered without hesitation.
"In that case, since I defeated you, and I'm stronger than you, you are now my spoils of war. You must obey my commands."
Souta stated his intentions outright.
"You have no objections, do you?"
"Well, well... trying to ta a beast, are you? You've got guts."
Interest mixed with scorn appeared on Esdeath's beautiful face.
"You're the victor. I'll follow your orders... but be ready to be bitten the mont you slip up!"
Even now, unable to move, Esdeath laughed madly.
"You'll regret not killing ."
"Not likely. Do you think I fear mortal threats?"
Souta stood and walked over, towering above the kneeling Esdeath, his gaze icy.
"If you obey , I'll allow you to challenge any ti you wish."
With a wave of his hand, he released the restraints on her.
Right now, Esdeath hadn't even developed Mahapdama yet—she posed no threat.
And even if she did, ti-stopping wouldn't work on him.
His divine shield was no joke.
Immunity to ti-stop—sothing standard for deities in D&D. Otherwise, what kind of god would fall to every mortal with a ti spell?
Esdeath felt the pressure vanish and slowly stood.
She stretched her stiff body, then stared directly into Souta's eyes.
After nearly ten seconds, she finally said, with a strange mixture of emotion:
"You really are... exactly my type."
"What? Not attacking anymore?"
"I have no confidence in winning right now. Don't worry, I'll sharpen my fangs first, then tear you apart when the ti cos."
Her expression brimd with interest.
"To think soone like you exists in this world... How surprising! Are you a Danger Beast, or a human?"
Souta sat back on the throne before replying:
"I'm not of this world. Obsessing over such labels is aningless."
"Oh? So there are other worlds beyond this one?"
Esdeath's interest deepened, her mood visibly rose.
She craved war, combat, bloodshed but this world's people were too weak. Bude was barely decent.
Eventually, she would run out of worthy foes. Things would grow dull but if other worlds existed, her desires could be endlessly fulfilled.
What could be more thrilling?
She made up her mind, never mind temporary obedience. Even if Souta tried to drive her away, she wouldn't leave! But Souta didn't indulge her curiosity. Instead, he asked:
"Esdeath, you were supposed to be suppressing the border tribes. Why are you in the capital?"
"That question..."
Esdeath narrowed her eyes at him, puzzled.
"You seem to know a lot about . This is our first eting, isn't it?"
"That's my power. I obtain any information I want."
Souta replied casually.
Esdeath frowned. "Then why bother asking ?"
Because why waste divine power when I can just ask?
But he didn't say that. He just looked at her and said:
"You're a prisoner now. My spoils of war. Esdeath, if you want to keep your right to challenge , then you must obey."
"The Minister summoned back. Said he needed help dealing with a group called the Path of Peace."
Esdeath answered without fuss.
"The tribal suppression is nearly finished. Whether I'm there or not won't change anything."
She tilted her head and added curiously:
"But the Minister also told sothing interesting that drew back."
"There were rumors of a god appearing in Jellock, performing miracles... That god was you, wasn't it?"
Souta didn't reply, but his silence was answer enough.
Esdeath's curiosity deepened.
"What's your goal? You didn't co all this way just to sit on a throne, did you?"
Reviews
All reviews (0)