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DN : [393] Bold Move
🕑 Added 2024-12-24 16:00:05 +0000 UTCTime passed, and with Najenda and her team joining the Empire, its overall power surged dramatically.
The addition of Night Raid's Teigus users significantly bolstered the Empire's forces. Combined with the pre-existing number of Teigu wielders, the total now exceeded double digits, solidifying their dominance. Under Najenda's management, the Empire thrived, progressing in leaps and bounds.
The nobility, once an entrenched force, was nearly eradicated. Najenda actively recruited talented individuals to govern this new Empire, steering it toward a more promising future.
It seemed as though everything was improving, as though the thin line separating hell from paradise had been crossed.
"August, I still don't understand. You made me queen, but now you're handing all the power to Najenda. Why?"
In the Imperial Palace, within the grand chambers once reserved for emperors, Esdeath now resided as queen.
August was the only man allowed to enter and leave freely. Though their relationship hadn’t progressed physically, the public viewed them as a match made in heaven.
"For fun, Esdeath," August replied nonchalantly, leaning back on a gilded chair. "If I told you this world only has one year left before it's completely destroyed—everything, everyone, the Empire, the tribes, all of it—would you believe me?"
"I would," Esdeath said without hesitation.
"Really?" August raised an eyebrow. "You believe me that easily?"
"You wouldn’t lie to me. Besides, you don’t need to."
"Good," August said, smiling faintly. "Then it's simple. This world has no future. Prosperity or decay, it doesn’t matter. What’s left is only a single year of existence."
"Does that mean everyone will die in a year?"
"Yes. The world will collapse. Unless someone leaves this world entirely, no one can escape."
Esdeath fell silent. Even someone as strong and fearless as her could not remain unmoved in the face of death.
"So you killed the Prime Minister, overthrew the Empire, and created this new government... all so people could live a little better before the end?"
"No," August replied with a smirk. "I killed the Prime Minister because he tried to kill me. I overthrew the Empire because it was convenient."
"How casual," Esdeath said with a chuckle. "The fate of an entire Empire decided on a whim."
"That’s the essence of this world," August said. "The strong devour the weak. Power rules everything."
His words carried a weight of truth that even Esdeath could not deny. This experience had been eye-opening for August as well. In this world, he was like a god, able to reshape lives and nations with a flick of his hand.
But at its core, his power stemmed from one simple fact—he was stronger.
"Here, I can act without restraint," August continued, "Because my strength is unmatched. But in another world, I was barely a newcomer before Fate rejected me. I nearly died in the void, all because my power was insufficient.
"In this world, I’m a max-level character running through a starter zone. But the moment I return to a high-level battlefield, I’ll be the one at risk."
Esdeath listened quietly, her expression thoughtful.
While August was lost in his reflections, Esdeath made her move.
She ordered the attendants and guards out of the chamber, shutting the grand doors behind them. Slowly, she removed her elegant royal robes, revealing her flawless form.
"Esdeath, what are you—?"
Before he could finish, Esdeath lunged forward, pinning him to the chair. The suddenness of her actions left August momentarily stunned.
"If there’s only one year left," Esdeath whispered, her voice uncharacteristically soft yet commanding, "then we shouldn’t leave any regrets, my dear."
She was well aware of the rumors surrounding them. While their relationship hadn’t crossed certain boundaries, Esdeath’s understanding of matters between men and women was naive at best.
Originally, she had planned to wait for the right moment—after August ascended the throne and she became his queen. But his revelation about the world’s impending demise had changed everything. If there was no future, then there was no point in waiting.
"Esdeath, calm down."
"I am calm," she said, her tone unwavering. "With only a year left, why waste time?"
"Wait, you—"
Before he could protest further, Esdeath silenced him with another bold move.
Though inexperienced, Esdeath was no stranger to the dynamics of control. Her interrogation methods often involved exploiting a person’s highs and lows, understanding how to bring someone to the peak of pleasure before plunging them into despair.
August, caught off guard by her assertiveness, soon found himself yielding to the situation.
...
Three Hours Later
As calm finally returned to the royal chamber, August gazed at Esdeath sprawled atop him, her breath coming in ragged gasps.
“You’re a monster,” she said, her voice hoarse yet filled with a hint of admiration. “I thought I was the wild one, but you’re on a completely different level.”
Esdeath, for the first time in years, felt utterly spent. Every ounce of strength had left her body. Since gaining her Teigu, she had never experienced such exhaustion.
“Esdeath,” August said, his tone calm yet serious, “I’m not human.”
“I figured as much,” she replied. “With that level of power and how you recovered from those near-fatal injuries in mere days... no human could manage that.”
“I am Demon. And more importantly, I don’t belong to this world.”
“Not of this world?”
“Yes. The reason you found me that day was because I had fallen into the void between worlds. I was on the brink of death, and coming to this world was my only option. Even so, I was gravely injured when I arrived.”
Esdeath’s eyes narrowed, her sharp mind quickly piecing the puzzle together. “So, what are you trying to tell me?”
“From this day forward, live for me,” August said, his gaze unwavering. “Become my queen, my eternal companion. Together, we’ll walk through worlds and face eternity side by side.”
“Your queen? Your companion?”
“Exactly,” August replied.
With that, he began to share everything with her—his origins, his powers, and the truth about the fleeting time left for this world. August laid it all bare, confident that Esdeath would not reject him.
For a long time, Esdeath sat in silence, processing everything she had just learned. Her expression shifted from confusion to contemplation, then finally settled on an emotion August knew all too well: devotion.
“So, this world is doomed in a year anyway,” she said, a faint smirk playing on her lips. “If I have the chance to witness even greater worlds, then this is an opportunity I won’t waste.”
August smiled, satisfied. His second queen had accepted her place at his side.
Comments
jose torres
Man I was getting a little nervous there, I was really starting to think it was going to become a fool who destroys everything, because he has all those sins, and I can understand him thriving on them but he has a habit of only leaning on one instead of nurturing all of them, like in the future he can manipulate the world's he goes to, to cause war greed gluttony wrath pride and lust to the world but him as a manifestation of those sins Don't ever be enough gluttony like in food or materialistic things, pride brother ain't much to say about that one, lust never enough women, and so on
