"Never mind, it's not important."
Not getting an answer from Ayato, Esdeath didn't care. "Your strength is enough to make me go all out."
Hum!
A sonic boom echoed, and Esdeath's aura changed completely.
The entire sky was overcast with dark clouds, as if the vast palace had become freezing cold.
"What... is this?"
Seeing this, Najenda and the others were stunned.
Even Akame and Leone, now Devils, grew serious.
'Esdeath had single-handedly changed the weather?'
Under their gaze, Esdeath raised one hand, her white military coat fluttering, as an invisible force burst forth.
"Ice... Cavalry!"
Whoosh!
In an instant, the entire palace was shrouded in white mist. An incomparably frigid aura, as if it could freeze everything.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Sudden thunderous crashes echoed through the palace, kicking up clouds of dust.
On the ground, ranks of half-human, half-horse ice cavalry stood in perfect formation.
Thousands upon thousands moved together, like endless waves, each wave higher than the last.
Even outside the palace, the ground began to tremble continuously.
From afar, the aura of iron-blooded slaughter shot straight into the clouds, a boundless, majestic spectacle.
"Wh-what are these things?"
The palace guards were stunned.
'Tens of thousands of troops had simply appeared out of thin air?'
"I originally prepared this move for a war. This is my first time using it."
Esdeath was slightly out of breath, but her eyes grew brighter and brighter. "Come, witness my unparalleled army."
Boom!
Tens of thousands of ice cavalry moved in perfect unison, like surging, rolling waves.
In an instant, they charged at Ayato with overwhelming, domineering force.
At this moment, the entire palace shook.
A terrifying pressure, like a collapsing mountain or churning sea, bore down on Ayato.
"Master, be careful!" x2
"Devil-sama..."
Akame and the others' expressions changed drastically.
One person, an army!
This truly was one person forming an army.
Everyone wondered if Esdeath's power was even human.
Amidst the tens of thousands of troops, Ayato seemed as insignificant as a speck of dust.
"Not bad. In this world, you are indeed an existence beyond the norm."
Ayato stood still, without any particular posture, simply raising his hand.
Hum!
A brilliant magic circle covered the entire sky. The terrifying fluctuations of magic power seemed to shake the clouds.
The next moment,
The world changed color.
Under everyone's stunned gaze, countless bolts of lightning danced, like electric serpents slithering, crashing down from the magic circle.
For the first time in a long while, since his strength had greatly increased, Ayato finally got somewhat serious.
Boom! Boom!
Terrifying mushroom clouds rose within the palace. Violent explosions shot straight into the sky.
Countless ice cavalry were instantly crushed, eventually turning into ice chips and disappearing.
Endless smoke and dust seemed to blot out the sky.
"Maybe I overdid it a little?"
Looking at the scene, Ayato grimaced.
But there was no helping it!
There were just too many ice cavalry.
He didn't have the patience to eliminate them one by one.
A real man just clears the field.
In the distance, everyone hid behind buildings, their faces filled with horror.
Their minds were blank, as if they had lost the ability to think.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
A gentle breeze blew, clearing the smoke and dust.
Massive craters appeared on the ground.
All the ice cavalry had vanished.
Crack! Crack!
Cracked ice walls that had appeared around Esdeath at some point shattered.
Her body stumbled, but instead of falling to the ground, she found herself in a warm embrace.
'It smelled good.'
Taking a deep breath, Esdeath looked up into those ruby-like eyes. "You win."
She reached out, her beautiful hands caressing Ayato's face.
"How should I address you? Should I call you Master?"
A faint smile appeared on her lips.
"If you want to start early, I certainly don't mind."
Ayato pulled her into his arms and led her towards another palace hall.
"So domineering..."
Being treated like this by a man for the first time, Esdeath's face flushed, then the corner of her mouth curled up.
'This feeling... was really nice.'
...
"So, you're actually a Devil?"
Inside the palace hall, after listening to Ayato's explanation, Esdeath's pupils contracted. She looked at Akame and the other two beside her.
"And those two... you reincarnated them as Devils too?"
"That's right."
Ayato nodded. "And you will become one of them."
Gazing into Ayato's eyes, Esdeath gave a moving smile. "Oh, I'm looking forward to it then."
'Becoming a Devil... interesting.'
"You're not surprised at all?"
Esdeath shook her head, her gaze calm.
Was she surprised that legendary Devils existed in this world? Of course.
But the weak obeying the strong... that was a lesson she had learned since childhood.
Now that she had lost...
Whether it was a Devil or even a world-ending demon god, she would follow to the very end.
Not to mention...
Becoming a Devil might give her a chance to become even stronger.
After all, she had seen her master's power just now.
Her so-called 'strongest' was nothing in front of her master.
So overall, she was the one benefiting.
Esdeath tossed her hair and said firmly, "Master, can we begin?"
Ayato looked at her deeply, then smiled. "As expected of you."
"With that resolve, then stay by my side for life."
A smile touched Esdeath's lips. "Of course, my master."
Ayato raised his hand, and a Rook Piece appeared.
"..."
Esdeath looked slightly confused.
'To reincarnate a Devil... what was he doing with a chess piece?'
"This is an Evil Piece. Place it inside your body, and the Devil reincarnation will be complete."
"I see."
Esdeath nodded, then her gaze turned strange.
'But where was this thing supposed to go? And how?'
Instinctively looking down at herself, Esdeath fell into thought.