Even if I transform, I will never be captured.

Firstly, she didn't want to fight a battle maniac like Esdeath; secondly, the idea of ​​a public duel was simply impossible for her!

But unexpectedly, after all the twists and turns, I still ended up having to participate in that martial arts tournament.

Satella became even more depressed when she thought about the information Ernest had given her about Gozchi.

Because that was a really strong opponent.

Born in the Imperial Fist Temple, he is known as the strongest man in the Empire, wielding the Imperial Arms Murasame, which is capable of killing with a single strike. He is currently in his early thirties and at the peak of his life.

Everything else is fine, but the key issue is that Satella is really wary of the Imperial Arms [Muramasa].

Just as the name suggests, if you are cut by this demonic sword, you will be infected with a cursed poison from the wound and die quickly. There is no antidote. One cut is fatal. Even a scratch will kill you. There is no cure. It was forged specifically to kill people.

As for whether or not to fight someone like that...

Isn't it obvious?

Satella tilted her head slightly to look at Esdeath walking beside her. Her slightly pointed chin and rounded lines gave Satella's perfect profile a beautiful, glazed sheen in the sunlight.

With an unfathomable glint in her beautiful red eyes, Satella gazed at the sky and said:

"Esdeath, you challenged me before, didn't you? What was my answer back then?"

“You really have no fighting spirit!” Esdeath frowned.

Satella smiled, neither confirming nor denying.

As a young girl, Esdeath was a very straightforward person, so when she heard Satella say that, she would naturally only think of Satella's rejection of her challenge.

"I won't fight a pointless battle."

But that's exactly what Satella wanted to say.

However, since Esdeath had misunderstood, Satella naturally wouldn't bother to clarify.

—If I told Esdeath my true intentions, given her battle-crazed nature, she would definitely get involved, right?

However, that would be too dangerous.

Don't be fooled by how easily Esdeath defeated the four demons; it was only because Satella had buffed her with 'brute force', 'speed', and 'luck'.

In terms of current strength, Esdeath, who does not yet possess an Imperial Arm, should be roughly equal to the Four Demon Kings. Sending her to face Gozuki, who wields Murasame, would be a near-certain death for her.

So no matter what, Satella had no intention of letting Esdeath face off against Gozchi.

After that, Esdeath became unwilling to talk to Satella anymore. The two of them went to the martial arts tournament to register, had lunch together, and then parted ways.

After all, if you really want to be precise, the two of them probably can't even be considered partners yet. The only reason Esdeath stays with Satella is because she gets to fight with her.

Ernest was very efficient. He had only said in the morning that he was looking for Bill and Gozich, and Satella received his message in the afternoon while she was having dinner at the hotel.

"The Sea of ​​Trees of Gifunola...?"

Satella murmured to herself as she looked at the words written on the note.

Satella dislikes fighting, but she doesn't resist it either. If you think about it carefully, the number of people she's killed since she transmigrated is enough to sentence her to death a dozen times over.

However, killing is something she would only do as a last resort. If possible, Satella still intends to talk to the other party.

After all, she had no grudge against the other party, and she only wanted to see the two people. It shouldn't be a demanding request, right?

At least at this moment, that's what Satella thought.

Author's Note:

P.S. I feel like I should say something, but I don't know what to say... Anyway, I've been in a really bad state lately, for many reasons. But I was a reader once too, and I know that if I give too many reasons, they'll just become excuses in the eyes of readers, so I'm just going to bury my head in the sand.

Lately, I haven't dared to look at book reviews or even donations, for fear that my fragile heart wouldn't be able to handle it.

Chapter 111 I'll crush you with absolute power!

Early summer, midday, the forest is a little noisy because of the chirping of insects and birds.

Sunlight filters through the green leaves, dappling the ground.

"rustle--"

Suddenly, the leaves began to rustle, causing the sunlight to flicker violently. In this scene, a giant snake covered in dark patterns snaked across the ground, carving a deep trench in its wake.

Rattlesnake.

Even among all dangerous species, it is considered a fairly powerful S-class (Special-class) dangerous species.

Its venom can corrode even stone, and its incredibly flexible body can instantly crush an elephant into mincemeat.

These dangerous species possess body parts that can be used to make weapons, and only truly powerful individuals can hunt them.

In this forest, it can roam almost freely.

However, being so nascent in intelligence, it probably never imagined that one day it would be targeted.

And it was by several children.

As it walked with its head held high to a few tall trees, the birdsong around it suddenly fell silent. Sensing danger from its animal instincts, it turned its head, hissing as it flicked its tongue, its brown, vertical pupils warily scanning its surroundings.

boom!

The sound rang out abruptly, startling a flock of birds into flight. The rattlesnake merely flicked its tail dismissively. It knew this was a weapon called a firearm, but an attack of this magnitude couldn't even penetrate its scales.

The snake's head suddenly turned, looking towards the source of the sound—a little girl with short flaxen hair, who could be considered extremely pretty among humans.

However, it is just a snake, so human aesthetics have no effect on it.

"Hiss!"

Tear her to pieces!

Page 168

It was at this moment that a sudden change occurred.

"—!"

Without uttering a sound, a boy suddenly leaped out of the tree, his brown pupils reflecting an extremely cold light in the sunlight.

He swung his sword toward the rattlesnake's head and slashed down!

The rattlesnake's vertical pupils contracted sharply; as an S-class dangerous species, it actually sensed a threat from that boy.

puff!

Decisively abandoning the harmless little girl, the rattlesnake opened its mouth and spat out a mouthful of venom at her.

Just as the boy, who had nowhere to grab hold of the air, was about to be sprayed with venom, a whip suddenly darted out from the side, curving around a bend.

The whip bound the boy's body, not only pulling him away from the venom's reach but also propelling him at an even greater speed towards the rattlesnake.

laugh!

A cold, sharp blade flashed through the air, slicing through the rattlesnake's body, and blood splattered out!

"Roar!"

This injury was nothing to the rattlesnake, but feeling its dignity had been insulted, it still roared angrily and swung its tail, trying to deliver a fatal blow to the boy who had just landed on the ground and was unable to move.

—But it can't be shaken off.

"With me here, you won't get away with this!"

A tall boy suddenly emerged from the ground and grabbed its tail with tremendous strength.

“Take this!”

Two beautiful and lovely girls darted out from behind the trees. One threw a punch—her hands were clad in strangely shaped metal gauntlets; the other kicked—her speed was unbelievable.

boom!

Under such an attack, even the massive body of the Rattlesnake was shaken, and it fell to the ground with a sound that shook the earth, kicking up a cloud of dust.

However, this was still only a minor injury for it.

I was just careless for a moment. Once I get serious, these kids are no match for me—

"I'll bury you!"

A sharp knife pierced its brain through its eye, and with a sudden twist, it brought its life to an end.

"Yay! We finally defeated the S-class Dangerous Species!" The girl with an orange ponytail jumped around and did a backflip on the Rattlesnake's corpse, looking full of energy.

"Akame, you're amazing! You always manage to kill with one blow." The girl with short flaxen hair rushed over and hugged Akame's neck affectionately. Although she was only 13 years old, her already well-developed breasts created a deep cleavage on Akame's body.

"I also put in a lot of effort, okay? My arms are still sore." The burly boy with scars on his face looked on with envy.

"If it weren't for my perfect battle plan, we wouldn't be able to defeat an S-class dangerous species at all, would we?" The boy holding the whip pushed up his glasses and smiled rather narcissistically.

"I was just sneaking up from behind. The boss still makes the biggest contribution, always taking the most dangerous missions..." Akame scratched her cheek and smiled sheepishly.

"Shut up, you weakling! I just don't want the mission to fail because of the death of a weakling. The strongest person should bear the greatest responsibility." The blond boy coldly flicked the blood off his sword.

"Everyone, stop arguing. Everyone contributed a lot to this operation; we couldn't have done it without anyone," the girl with long, golden hair smiled and tried to smooth things over.

Bonnie is lively, energetic, and has a carefree and somewhat silly personality.

Tsukushi is gentle and cute, and she is like a sister to her.

Guy has a slightly nasty personality, but he's always reliable in crucial moments.

Green, who considers himself a strategist, is slightly narcissistic and repressed.

Nahshu, the leader, calls the other members of the team "noobs," but in reality, he cares deeply about his comrades. His deliberate belittling of them is also a way of taking all the responsibility upon himself.

There's also Cornelia, the eldest sister who's incredibly capable, excellent at housework, and deeply trusted by everyone.

Akame, with Tsukushi's arm around her neck, looked around at her group of companions.

simply……

It's as warm as a family.

If there's anything missing, it's probably an adult who truly cares about them and brings them the warmth of home.

Although they nominally share a common 'father'...

However, in order to cultivate their ability to live independently, the 'father' named Gozchi did not spend much time with them.

Moreover, the mere thought of that name brought back memories of that day three years ago, when this person, with a chilling expression, separated her from her sister, Kurome.