The Sekirei’s Covenant

Everything was frozen, completely still. Whether it was the gentle breeze or the drifting leaves, the whole world seemed to have stopped moving!

Mahapdama, Esdeath's own hidden skill she developed, a super ultimate technique that can freeze time and space!

"Ah, ah, to deal with just these two kids, you actually used this move? How boring."

Looking at Ieyasu and Tatsumi, who were suspended in midair, frozen but still with excited expressions, Esdeath rested her chin on her hand and muttered to herself.

To deal with these two little guys, she could crush them with a single finger. But since developing this move, she had never used it. Just now, on a whim, she couldn't resist trying it on them, and the effect was indeed quite good.

Glancing sideways, she saw Seryu, Kurome, and Aria all with shocked and worried expressions. Esdeath nodded with satisfaction. These three girls had some conscience; she hadn't "hurt" them for nothing!

"These two guys… really, it's better to just kill them!"

To Esdeath, Ieyasu and Tatsumi were just toys to play with. They even dared to think about taking little Sayo from her beloved hands—such arrogance made Esdeath want to laugh. She thought it might be better to just wipe them out so they wouldn't keep jumping around like fleas and annoying her.

A bloodthirsty and cold smile appeared on her lips. Raising her Western-style longsword, Esdeath was ready to stab them to death.

But just then—

"Huh… what's this?"

Seeing the Teigu "Cutter of Creation [Extase]" in Tatsumi's hand suddenly burst with dazzling light, Esdeath stopped her action, a flicker of anticipation in her eyes.

She hadn't expected this boy named Tatsumi to bring her such a surprise. But she hoped he wouldn't disappoint her!

"Time… Space… Fracture!"

Tatsumi, who had been completely frozen by the time-space freeze, slowly spoke. The light on the Teigu "Cutter of Creation [Extase]" instantly surged!

With cracking sounds like breaking glass, the frozen space created by Esdeath's Mahapdama shattered instantly!!!

The breeze resumed, leaves drifted again, and the world started moving once more. Esdeath was dumbfounded—her hidden skill had been broken just like that…

"Ha… ha…"

Tatsumi landed on the ground, panting heavily with a look of lingering fear and shock.

Ieyasu and the three girls Seryu, Kurome, and Aria looked confused, completely unaware of what had just happened.

"Tatsumi, are you okay? What happened just now?"

Although he didn't understand what happened, Ieyasu knew they had been hit by that woman's strange technique. Seeing Tatsumi suddenly weak beside him, he quickly helped him up with a worried expression.

"I'm fine. I just used the hidden skill of Cutter of Creation to break her technique, which consumed a lot of energy."

Tatsumi gave Ieyasu a reassuring smile, though he looked weak.

The legendary 48 Teigu are powerful not only because of their surface abilities but also because of their attributes and hidden skills. Few can become Teigu wielders, and even fewer can develop these hidden skills.

For example, "Mahapdama" is the hidden skill of the Demon's Extract, "Infinite Evolution" belongs to the Demon Armor: Incursio, and the "Time-Space Fracture" Tatsumi just used is the hidden skill of Cutter of Creation!

In the original story, Sheele-chan almost developed this hidden skill, but it was lost after being swallowed by Koro. Tatsumi's ability to develop this skill is partly due to his exceptional talent and partly because, as a former protagonist, he is blessed with some halo.

Needless to say, every hidden skill is extremely powerful. The attribute of Cutter of Creation [Extase] is incredibly sharp, able to cut through everything—even the strongest defense of Demon Armor: Incursio (of course, the fused Divine Demon Armor is an exception). When pushed to the extreme, it can even cut through time and space, perfectly countering Esdeath's time-freezing skill "Mahapdama."

They were truly lucky to escape this disaster!

"Lady Esdeath, are you alright?"

At this moment, Seryu, Kurome, and Aria came back to their senses and rushed to Esdeath's side, asking with great concern.

Although they had absolute trust in Esdeath, the queen's earlier behavior had really scared them.

"Hehehe, I'm fine. I just used a newly developed ability on a whim."

"It was just a bit of boredom, but I unexpectedly found something interesting!"

Patting the heads of the three girls to show she was fine, Esdeath turned her gaze to Tatsumi:

"Tatsumi, huh? You really gave me a huge surprise! If I didn't already have my beloved, I might even like you!"

"To be able to break my 'Mahapdama'—you really are an unexpected guy. Haha, since you gave me such good entertainment, I can promise to take you to meet little Sayo by my beloved's side!"

She was not angry that her ultimate skill had been broken; on the contrary, Esdeath looked quite pleased.

"Really?!"

Hearing Esdeath's words, Tatsumi and Ieyasu both rejoiced instantly, extremely excited.

If possible, they naturally did not want to fight this terrifying woman. No one wants to feel completely overwhelmed and defeated, so when they heard Esdeath actually agreed to take them to see Sayo, the two were naturally overjoyed.

"Heh… just in time, my dear, they have already come out!"

As if sensing something, a sly smile curved at the corner of Esdeath's mouth. Just as she finished speaking, an array diagram appeared, and the figures of Sora, Sayo, and Spear—who was carrying the minister tied up like a rice dumpling—became visible.

"Sayo!!!"

Although they didn't know how she appeared, when Tatsumi and Ieyasu saw their long-missed companion Sayo, they could no longer hold back and ran over excitedly.

A slight smile appeared on Sora's lips; naturally, he had long known about the situation outside. Sayo, who possessed the Almighty Five Sights [Spectator] ability, was the same. Moreover, the arrival of these two was already expected by Sora. He gave Sayo a meaningful glance and communicated through thoughts to tell her what to do.

"Ieyasu, Tatsumi! Great, you're both safe!"

Following Sora's instructions, a strange light flashed in Sayo's eyes, but she quickly recovered and put on an expression full of excitement and nostalgia, running toward the two.

"Sayo, you…"

They had originally thought Sayo might draw her sword against them again like before, but seeing that she seemed unchanged and was still the same good friend, Tatsumi and Ieyasu were stunned, unable to understand what was going on.

"Sorry, Tatsumi, Ieyasu, for deceiving you last time."

"There's going to be danger here soon. Let's move aside first, and I'll explain everything to you."

With a kind and friendly smile, just like when she was their companion before, Sayo spoke to them.

They nodded blankly. Although they didn't understand what was going on, seeing the girl who had returned to them exactly as before, both were extremely happy and even felt like crying.

"Yo, Ieyasu, Tatsumi, sorry about last time. You two go take shelter first. Sayo will explain everything later!"

Sora also waved friendly greetings to the two kids, sensing their aura. Not bad, not bad. Under Babara's training, they had grown a lot, especially Tatsumi, who had even developed a hidden skill called "Sever All Things." He was barely qualified to be Sora's enforcer now.

Although still very angry at Sora, seeing how he and Sayo acted, it seemed there was some hidden story. Tatsumi and Ieyasu held back their anger for now, deciding to wait for Sayo's explanation.

Without any intention to greet Sora, the two followed Sayo, eager to find out what was really going on.

"Hehehe, Master, you're so mean, bullying those two dumb kids like that."

Aria ran over, hugging one of Sora's arms, laughing mischievously. But looking at Ieyasu and Tatsumi's departing backs, her expression was full of unspeakable sarcasm and sympathy.

"Well, well, you brat, you can't say that. I've already been pretty nice to those two…"

Sora replied with a sly grin, completely unconcerned.