Saint Nusjuro's gaze settled on the enormous firebird still burning in the distance.
"What happened here?"
He had left first to assassinate Sengoku and returned wounded.
Although he knew the other four Elders had been planning something, he had not had time to investigate before disaster struck.
Aside from the Room of Authority and the Room of Flowers, both protected by Imu, the entire Holy Land had been destroyed by the two colossal explosions.
The casualties were impossible to count.
Even the World Government facilities on the outskirts had been caught in the blast.
From where he stood, the flames resembled an enormous ring expanding outward with the shock wave.
Everything they passed was reduced to scorched earth.
"Aramaki, what exactly happened?"
Nusjuro tightened his grip on his sword and stared toward the place where Aramaki was hiding.
Reduced to the size of a Tontatta, Aramaki grimaced when he heard the question.
'Damn it. I chose the wrong side. Is it too late to quit?'
How had the World Government, which still held the entire world firmly in its grasp only a few years ago, collapsed this quickly?
He had barely climbed aboard before the whole ship started sinking.
Still panicking, Aramaki pushed aside the trees and vines concealing him and looked toward Nusjuro.
His eyes immediately widened until they nearly bulged from their sockets.
A figure made entirely of flame hovered silently behind Nusjuro.
And the Elder had not noticed him at all.
Nusjuro saw Aramaki's shocked expression even from a great distance.
His heart tightened.
The hand holding his sword snapped backward.
Shodai Kitetsu carved a perfect semicircle through the air.
The blade was extraordinarily fast.
Yet Cyrus stopped it just as quickly.
His body, formed from fire, raised one hand and caught the incoming edge between two fingers.
"You've worked together for centuries."
Cyrus smiled as he twisted the blade of Shodai Kitetsu.
"I'd hate for you to be separated once you reach the next world."
Nusjuro's heart filled with horror.
He pulled with all his strength, but the sword did not move even slightly.
He made his decision instantly.
Releasing the hilt, he abandoned Kitetsu without hesitation.
Still in his centaur form, Nusjuro sprang backward and tried to create distance between himself and Cyrus.
The moment he let go of the sword, however, the fiery figure flashed past him.
A brilliant arc of steel followed.
The bespectacled head spun into the air.
One slash.
Before the severed head could hit the ground, the centaur's hands caught it.
Clutching his own head against his chest, Nusjuro charged desperately toward the Room of Flowers.
Whoosh!
Cyrus did not even turn around.
He swung Kitetsu behind him with one hand.
The blade glowed crimson, light seeping from within the steel before a flaming slash raced after its target.
"Stop!"
A barrier of condensed darkness rose from the ground between the attack and the fleeing centaur.
Imu had intervened.
She expected the barrier to at least stop the slash long enough to preserve Nusjuro's life.
Instead, when the blade of fire struck the dark curtain, it tore through with the sound of ripping cloth.
The flaming slash continued onward without slowing.
The centaur, still fleeing while carrying his severed head, suddenly stumbled.
His speed dropped.
Then his body split cleanly down the middle.
The formidable physique of an awakened Mythical Zoan offered no resistance whatsoever before Cyrus.
Imu appeared behind the torn curtain of darkness.
Hovering in the air, she glared at Cyrus with fury burning in her eyes.
"I will kill you."
Her voice trembled with hatred.
"Go ahead, if you can."
Cyrus paused with the sword in his hand, as though considering cutting her down on the spot.
But given Imu's ability, destroying the body before him would accomplish nothing.
Whoosh!
The fiery figure vanished.
A moment later, Cyrus was holding Aramaki's tiny body in one hand.
"You and I are both waiting."
He turned toward Imu while the terrified Aramaki struggled helplessly in his grip.
"Everything happening now is merely our subordinates making noise beneath us."
"Still, I believe in returning every favor."
Cyrus smiled.
"You might not understand the expression, so let me make it simple. Cause trouble for me, and I'll repay you in kind."
Imu listened while staring at the ruins of Mary Geoise.
"Aren't you afraid that I'll activate everyone?"
"Activate everyone?"
Cyrus spread his hands, looking completely unconcerned.
"If you truly do that, then I'll have no reason to hold back anymore."
"I'll kill them all. If the world collapses completely, so what? I'm not from this world in the first place."
"Some people will survive in the end."
Imu fell silent.
She stared fixedly at Cyrus without speaking.
"You should be grateful for your ability."
Cyrus continued.
"If you didn't possess it, I would've killed you the first time we met."
"So when your opportunity appears, you'd better move quickly."
"If I catch you…"
He left the threat unfinished, ending only with an ominous chuckle.
A green doorway appeared.
Cyrus stepped through it, and the portal vanished behind him.
All that remained were the ruins of Mary Geoise and an Imu weighed down by dread.
Cyrus's words had pierced her heart like a blade.
The fear was so intense that her body nearly began trembling.
She could tell he had not been bluffing.
If she truly activated every dormant servant, Cyrus might actually destroy the entire world afterward.
Just as he had said, the people closest to him would remain beyond the disaster's reach.
As for everyone else, ordinary civilians likely meant nothing to someone as powerful as Cyrus.
With his abilities, he would stand at the summit no matter what kind of world remained.
Under those circumstances, why would he care what happened to this one?
"He's buying time."
Imu murmured.
She had realized that Cyrus was also waiting for the passage to another world.
They were both waiting.
When it appeared, everything would depend on who acted faster.
If Cyrus followed her into that other world…
Imu did not dare imagine the outcome.
"Lord Imu."
The maid carefully crossed the ruins and approached.
"Release those people. I need them to work for me now."
"But Lord Imu, those people are fools and cowards. They may only make the situation worse."
"It doesn't matter."
Imu waved one hand and disappeared behind a curtain of darkness.
Fools were acceptable.
The conflict had already reached a stalemate.
She had not activated the remaining half of her servants, while Cyrus's forces and the other factions throughout the world were busy eliminating those already awakened.
That would take time.
The situation was now fixed, and it made little difference who handled the remaining work.
Releasing the Celestial Dragons would not change much.
Perhaps they could even serve as targets and distract everyone except Cyrus.
That alone was enough.
Nothing else mattered anymore.
…
Aboard the Rose Hunter…
Cyrus had only just returned when another green doorway suddenly appeared on the deck.
Robin and the others turned toward it curiously.
Then they watched a second Cyrus step through.
---------
Read 40 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator