Chapitre 124: Ice Devil Reigns
(With Ichigo)
"Okay, let's do this." The hybrid muttered as he stood in a deserted beach, facing the ocean. After ten minutes of Stylish running through every Kido Ichigo had at his disposal and the ones he neglected in training, Ichigo had basically two options: either repeat what he and Esdeath did the first time but all on his own, or master one of the forbidden Kido arts that allowed teleportation. Ichigo decided to try the easy option first as he unsheathed Zangetsu and a ring of mist formed around the tip.
"Hyoga Seiran." He chanted before thrusting the blade forward, shooting the icy cold vapors from the blade over the ocean waters. After a few seconds passed he stopped and looked at the large chunk of ice that now floated in front of him. "Okay, again." He flashed high above the water and readied a second blast. "Hyoga Seiran!" He put more into this blast and ended it after another few seconds, now seeing a much wider ice floe than the previous one and dropping onto it to check its stability. "If this is as thick as I can make it, I'm better off teleporting us." The hybrid concluded after feeling the ice drift away from land. "Better start practicing then." Ichigo clapped his hands and created a lime green rod of energy that made the entire ice floe glow with the Kido. "Kukanten'i." He whispered before disappearing... and reappearing twenty feet to the right and dropping to his knees.
"Okay, that was rough!" He grunted out, clenching his chest in pain and sweating. He took deep breaths for a minute before settling into a meditative position. "Take your time, focus, analyze." He repeated what Tessai usually told him in his younger training days. "Esdeath and the others can handle themselves."
(Wakoku)
Time passed slowly for the general, hunting for Syura was proving fruitless as the teens she took under her wing and herself searched the entirety of the Soukai nation and a ways into the surrounding allied countries. The last remaining place to search was into the Tenrou nation which was a highly aggressive empire that had been trying to conquer Soukai for years, Hinowa mentioned to Esdeath that it was in a battle with the Tenrou nation that her mother died in and the group soon came across a sign that announced that the Tenrou nation was arming for another invasion.
'Well, I might as well see the military power of Tenrou.' Esdeath thought as she read it while the teens were talking about the same subject before catching their attention with a loud whistle. "Listen. All of you have been improving greatly, fighting in synch together and on your own against bandits and Freaks, but none of you have truly seen the battle of war. This will be a perfect opportunity to see what war is like so we'll head to this Shiranui Fortress, but you will not be fighting. I want you to watch and ONLY watch. When the fighting is done, I'll be testing you on what you've seen. Understood?"
"Yes General!" Most of them responded, making her smile and wonder if this is what motherhood is like. She made it a point to treat those under her comrade like family so long as they proved their worth, but that was more like an elder sibling to the younger ones. She never had the chance or time to truly train and nurture someone's potential, now she molded these five into more effective soldiers.
Yumehachi was still a pervert but learned to focus more on improving his ability and not indulge in his desire for women. He still peeped but was only punished when caught by anyone but Esdeath, due to being a sniper and using the activity to train his hiding ability. Tobari became less brash and more level headed, thinking before diving into battle. Suzumaru improved his speed, reflexes, and spear technique and didn't focus on much else. Hisame and Hinowa were the ones she focused on the most, seeing the greatest potential in the both of them as future leaders, Hisame being the calm and collected thinker while Hinowa would inspire those under her command. If Hinowa was a sadist, Esdeath would've seen herself in the young teen.
"C'mon General," Tobari whined, "you've been training us for weeks and we've been kicking ass! Let us fight as well and prove ourselves right away!"
"Only children seek to prove themselves Tobari, not soldiers. Soldiers fight to win for their country." Esdeath chided, making Tobari pout, as they began heading for the fortress. The journey took a week by foot but they eventually made their way to the imposing and impenetrable base that separated the Soukai and Tenrou nations. Shiranui Fortress nestled in-between two steep mountains with two massive walls constructed with the idea of surviving and repelling sieges and at the center of the base of these walls are massive double doors to allow easy passage into the base. Esdeath and her students were less than a stone's throw away when the doors facing Soukai opened to reveal Syura, shocking the terrorist and the imperial general.
"SHIT! DEMON!" Syura shouted as he ran back into the fortress and revealing the army within, bearing the Tenrou banner. Unknown to Esdeath, Syura was taken into the care of one of the leading officials of the Tenrou nation, Moegi of the Ten Stars and leader of the entire southern army forces. During his time being her whore and bodyguard, he was taught enough of the language for simple communication. From there he overheard the latest plot to try and break the impregnable fortress and managed to convince not only Moegi but another member of the Ten Stars of his plan. He'd use his powerful weapon to eliminate all the occupants of Shiranui Fortress, when in reality he was teleporting the people to the Quincy base in the hopes of quelling Gilgamesh's wrath. But before returning to the base he needed Shambala to recharge and he figured he could entertain himself with a harem of women slaves as a 'thank you' for delivering them their victory. He never expected to find Esdeath. It was as if God himself hated the man.
"You coward!" Esdeath shouted as Syura fled, quickly analyzing the change in the situation. Hordes of soldiers looked confused by Syura's sudden fear but dismissed it upon looking at Esdeath and the children. Esdeath guessed that they might have numbered in the tens of thousands and she smiled as they continued to charge at her.
"General, what should we do?" Hinowa asked as she and the other kids brought out their weapons, more than a little concerned at facing an army with only six people. Suddenly she and the others were shot sky high as Esdeath quickly grew a massive wall of ice that completely closed the way, with the general alone and facing the army herself.
"I already told you. You watch." She called out while summoning her Zanpakuto as the Tenrou army were stunned by the sudden wall of ice. "You watch and you witness. Witness the roars of those aiming to kill, the cries of the dying, the clash of steel, the scent of blood, and the fury of war. Learn all this here and now!" Esdeath tensed up while the Tenrou army shouted about it being one woman and continued the attack. "Now, to entertain myself." She shot forward and made her first strike, cleaving through the first and second row of soldiers in front of her with ease. "Conquer the frozen Hells, Tsundora Akuma!" She unleashed her Shikai and shot forward like a spear, blowing away people with the force of her movement and cutting through anyone that was unfortunate enough to touch her freezing blade, turning their blood to ice.
"Kottaiki!" She fired a blast of cold energy, freezing every last person that was hit by it, at the doorway and sealed it shut. "Now," she said while surrounded by scared enemy soldiers and changing stances, "who's next?"
(With the teens)
The group watched in shock and awe at the power and grace that Esdeath displayed, easily cutting down every one that she trapped with her till she was walking in a river of blood and bodies. To Tobari and Yumehachi, it was an inspiration to get stronger. To Hisame and Suzumaru, it was a lesson on fighting against crowds. Only Hinowa felt like she was watching a demon at work, tearing through those far weaker than herself and even enjoy it. The girl had two main dreams; one was to make her mother's name of Hinowa known throughout Wakoku and the other was bring an end to the seemingly endless war that has plagued the country for the last hundred years.
"Man, the general is so strong!" One of her friends, Tobari, said while looking at Esdeath in admiration of her power. "And that ice power is so fearsome!"
"What was it called again?" Suzumaru asked, Esdeath finishing off all the remaining soldiers trapped with her before heading toward the frozen gate and smashing it open to continue her bloody works. "A Teigu... Tsundora Akuma? I can't remember."
'Teigu. Such devastating weapons.' Hinowa thought to herself as the thousands of soldiers fighting Esdeath slowly started to flee from the wrath of the woman they were calling a demon. 'If Sokai had these weapons, the war could end for good... but what's the price General? What would I have to give in order to get power like that? Would it even be worth it?" Hinowa silently asked Esdeath continued to kill even as Tenrou soldiers began to flee. Only after they were all gone or dead did Esdeath lower the ice they were all standing on. The battle began with 50,000 Tenrou soldiers and in the course of thirty minutes almost half of all those soldiers had died at the blade and power of Esdeath.
"Now, do you all understand what I was trying to teach you?" She asked her students while internally seething at Syura's escape. "In battle, the strong will devour the weak. Without this fortress, would Sokai be strong enough to survive?" The teens thought for a moment but conceded that Sokai's ground forces are lacking compared to the Tenrou soldiers Esdeath cut down with ease. "However, the ultimate push to become strong, as I've learned, doesn't come from the desire to crush those weaker than you. It comes from the desire to protect what is precious to you." Esdeath looked to the sky, thinking of the one person that defeated her. "I learned that the hard way."
"So we can become strong like you general," Hisame asked looking dead serious, "if we focus on protecting something precious?"
"Aim to become stronger than me." She said with a smile before pointing toward the capital. "Now go inform your king of what happened here. I'll stay here and... stand guard." She ordered as the five rushed to report that Shiranui Fortress was practically defenseless with only Esdeath remaining, unaware of a rather twisted smirk she bore as they left.
(Exposition Dump)
Commander Moegi was forced to retreat, her army being crushed by a single monster of the battlefield that her latest lover called a demon. If she didn't see it for herself, she'd have thought Syura was exaggerating the matter but what little he managed to convey told her that Sokai was now virtually untouchable. She believed she'd be seeing that demon of ice in her nightmares for years to come and now she had to inform her king of her failure. To add insult to injury, Syura soon escaped for her army's custody and disappeared, taking with him the special tool that nearly delivered them the Sokai nation, the Teigu Shambala.
The king of Tenrou was less than pleased to hear that the invasion was yet another failure, but was willing to forgive a member of his Ten Stars after forcing her into a chastity belt for the next few months. He sent scouts to validate Moegi's claims and out of ten scouts only one returned, missing an eye, a few teeth, some fingers, and bore further evidence of torture as he recounted with terror the valley being filled with impaled corpses and how his team was captured and tortured by a woman with the beauty of a goddess and the cruelty of a demon. Word quickly spread of the 'Ice Demon of Sokai' and support for a continued war with Sokai slowly began to fade. Fear of the demon was almost as effective as the fortress itself in protecting the Sokai nation when scouts and soldiers saw the valley filled with impaled bodies from the failed assault. Those foolish enough to go too far into the now named 'Valley of Corpses' found themselves added to the number of bodies lining the valley.
Shiranui fortress was soon reinforced with the appropiate number of soldiers and though they were just as put off by Esdeath's work, no one had the bravery to say anything about it. Esdeath herself remained at the fortress and training the teens until word of the Empire's return to Wakoku while Akame, Wave, and Chelsea tried to infiltrate Tenrou to find Syura. Tatsumi and Mine joined Esdeath at Shiranui to serve as additional forces to keep the fortress and to receive officer training from Esdeath, the general giving both the field promotion to captain and command of any forces the Empire sends to Sokai. Akame and her team returned a week later with the unfortunate news that Syura evaded capture yet again and made an entire city population disappear with him. The only good news was the sighting of an Imperial vessel and Ichigo's Reiatsu.
(With Ichigo)
"Docking now sir!" A naval official announced as the vessel soon reached the port near Nagisa castle where Esdeath and rest of those from the Empire, the teens training under Esdeath, and King Sotetsu with his army commanders waited the arrival of the Soul Reaper and his group. Ichigo, trusting the people to do their jobs on the ship, jumped off to meet up with Esdeath and her team.
"Status report." He immediately ordered as Esdeath stepped forward.
"We have searched the entirety of Sokai and found no trace of Syura until the neighboring Tenrou nation attempted to invade. Heading to the invasion site myself, I came upon Syura with the invading army and had to let him go in exchange for holding off the enemy army. Further investigation led to the conclusion that he sided with Tenrou for some reason and used Shambala to clear out the Sokai soldiers at Shiranui Fortress. After single-handedly repelling the invasion, half of us stayed at the fort while the other half went into Tenrou to search for Syura, only for him to escape with Shambala yet again."
"Damn it. I can't remember the last time someone gave me this much trouble." The hybrid growled before facing Sotetsu while the Imperial soldiers began unloading the munitions and other supplies. "Emperor Makoto of the Grand Empire is lending a company of 200 soldiers to be placed under the command of Tatsumi and Mine and ONLY used in the course of defense for Sokai." The teen told the king while Chelsea translated, the man nodding in agreement.
"Would attacking pirate and bandit bases count as defense in the Empire's eyes?"
"I think it does."
"Good, I'll discuss with my commanders where best to put them after seeing them in action. As for my trade with the Empire," five men came forward as he said that with another twenty men moving cargo that resembled body parts of Danger Beasts or Freaks as they were called in Wakoku, "I bring five of my finest blacksmiths that specialize in Meihou crafting and much material that they are familiar with. They will teach and be taught the techniques of the trade between our peoples so that we may both benefit from what they learn."
"They have been studying the language of the Empire in preparation for this trip courtesy of me." Chelsea added as she finished translating.
"Good work. We'll be leaving in three days as we resupply." Ichigo finished, getting a heavy smack on the back from a laughing Sotetsu.
"Then let us celebrate! Come, let's have a fishing challenge and a hearty feast!" And for three days the king, Ichigo, Esdeath, Wave, Tatsumi, and Hinowa all competed with who could catch the best haul. Sotetsu because he just loved the sea, Ichigo because it felt rude not to, Esdeath because she enjoyed a good hunt, Wave and Tatsumi because they won't see their rival for however long, and Hinowa because fishing was her specialty. Ichigo and Esdeath were the main winners due to catching large sea Danger Beasts though cooking was mainly the task of Hinowa, Wave, Tatsumi, and Akame. Sotetsu brought his best liquor for everyone of age, but Esdeath and Akame conspired together to get Ichigo drunk which led to a long night for all three of them.
Finally the day of departure came and everyone bid their good-byes as the teens boarded the ship destined for foreign lands and allies had to separate once again. Two days of sailing and they reached the Storm Region of the sea, terrifying the teens with its ferocity. Esdeath went to the prow in preparation to repeat the last time she calmed the sea. Ichigo didn't move as the entire vessel began to glow for the spiritually aware.
"Kukanten'i." He whispered, making everything reappear on the other side of the storm. "Next stop, the territory of the Grand Empire." He said with a proud smirk.
(Quincy base)
The sounds of wet smacks reverberated through the caves of the hidden castle, finding their origins in a throne room with Syura strung up by chains and getting beaten to the point of bleeding. Gilgamesh sat upon his throne with the indifference of watching an ant being crushed as Syura was brutally punished on his order. The crimes of wasting the king's time and because Syura was still vile scum.
"Enough, it's time we ended this." Gilgamesh calmly ordered, the Soldats beating on the bastard stopped and stepped back.
"Please my lord," he tried to say through swollen lips and missing teeth, "I brought you what you wanted, I did as you demanded, so why!?" He coughed up globs of blood and another tooth. "What warrants this punishment!?" A dagger suddenly found itself in his thigh, piercing through bone and muscle.
"If you truly wish to know mon... no. Even mongrel is too generous." The Quincy lord stated as he glared at the tortured servant. "It's because I've wanted to watch you die from the moment I met you." Gilgamesh actually growled at the hanging man. "The first crime was that you dared to believe you could be my equal, but the more I learned of you the more the desire to have you killed grew. Believe it or not you disgusting wretch, I do have standards. Standards that found you and your ilk so vile that I should have struck you down the moment I met you. However, I could still use you and let that Soul Reaper and his allies do the job for me. That alchemist is still useful, but not you... except maybe for meat." Syura gawked in horror, knowing the monstrosities that awaited him and the usual mercy of killing the victims was likely one that would be denied him.
"Please my lord! I can sti-!" Syura tried to say but his voice disappeared, courtesy of Xaros who appeared behind his lord. With a wave of the golden Quincy's hand, Syura was then dragged away, down corridors filled with more and more horrific monstrosities that Dorothea created until reaching a door that read 'Hecatoncries'. The door opened and revealed Honest, mutating into a disgusting multi-limbed abomination that was growing bigger and bigger with all that he was eating. Syura saw various Danger Beasts and people, all of which were being eaten raw. "Pops?" Syura asked in horror, not realizing that his voice returned. He was thrown inside when Honest stopped eating and noticed his son.
"Hungry." Was all Honest said before charging at his helpless son.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone