Chapter 293 – The Imperial Capital.

Chapter 293 – The Imperial Capital.

Team Akagi soared high overhead, moving at an absolutely ludicrous speed as they zipped toward the Imperial Capital. Halifax watched in awe as the ground below them flew by so quickly while Amakusa screamed in abject horror.

"STOP THIS THING! I WANNA GET OFF AKAGI'S WILD RIDE!" Amakusa pleaded for Akagi to slow down but was again ignored.

{LET ME DOWN!} (Amakusa)

"There's no stopping the fun train!" Akagi cackled as they continued flying toward their destination. "This attraction goes until I say otherwise!"

{WHAT PART OF THIS TRAIN IS FUN?!?} (Amakusa)

"Judging by the mountains that we just passed, we should be near the Imperial capital soon. I'd recommend landing somewhere outside of it so we can walk in rather than cause a massive scene by landing within the walls." Halifax figured that flying straight inside would attract too much attention, and would complicate things.

"Alright everyone, hang on to your butts! We're gonna speed things up a notch to hasten our arrival time!" Akagi channeled more power, and speed up, moving to the absolute limit of what the girls could handle.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Amakusa screamed as they rocketed forward yet again. "SOMEBODY SAVE MEEEEEEEEEEEE!"Rread latest chapters at novelhall.com

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"And we're here!" Akagi cheered as they slowly landed outside the Imperial Capital. In the distance, they could see the massive white walls that surrounded the city, and Halifax pointed out the main entrance which sat beside the mighty Tibrus River that ran through the city.

"SWEET GROUND! I'LL NEVER LEAVE YOU AGAIN!" Amakusa was practically kissing the ground after she landed.

{GROUND!} (Amakusa)

"Oh come on ya big baby. It wasn't that bad." Halifax chuckled. "Though hitting that bird wasn't very fun." It had practically exploded into a fireworks display of blood, guts and feathers when she smacked into it.

"I mean, seeing it explode into like that was kinda funny..." Yumi looked ashamed to laugh.

"Yeah! Not to mention that we didn't even go that fast! After all, we didn't even have to go to plaid!" Akagi laughed at an obscure reference that even Yumi didn't get.

{Note to self. Have Yumi watch that movie when we get back.} (Akagi)

"But let's give the pet a few moments to calm down. Halifax can you send a message to our awaiting Princess?" Akagi figured that Amakusa would need a minute to stop freaking out.

"Yeah." Halifax held out her hand and made a small semi-translucent dove appear in her palm. "Now, take this to Rebeckah, and don't let anyone see you, okay?" She pat it on the head before throwing it into the air. "And it's off. I'm betting we'll get a quick reply, so let's start heading down toward the city now. The bird will give me her reply if and when she writes it." She started walking down the hill, and Akagi, Yumi, and Amakusa followed, though she was being dragged by Akagi.

"Come on, pet. Let's go." Akagi had her by the scruff of her Kimono and dragged Amakusa along.

"Flying is scary... No more flying..." Amakusa whimpered as she was dragged across the grass.

After slowly hiking down a large hill and hopping onto the main road, Akagi and Co eventually found themselves at the main gate of the Imperial Capital. The massive white walls that surrounded the massive City emanated with magic, and Halifax mentioned that it had a reputation as being nearly impossible to successfully siege. Its walls were specially made by the Dwarves and enchanted with ancient Elven magic, which both reinforced them and passively repaired any damage they might take. In its history, the Imperial Capital had been besieged many times by both other humans and Demons, but it had never fallen.

Getting inside was ordinarily quite difficult, as you would need a special permit to enter and the wait times could be lengthy. However, as a Mythril-ranked adventurer, Halifax simply flashed her small guild plate and made up a lie about her being here on a special mission, which quickly got them inside.

{The perks of being important!} (Halifax)

Once inside, the scale of the city hit them full on. Amakusa and Halifax had been here many times, but to Akagi and Yumi, it was impressive. The paved cobblestone streets were dotted with numerous planted trees as well as light posts, which Akagi figured ran on magic, and the buildings that sat along the different roads reminded Akagi of the 17th-century Palladian Architecture of Italy with some Neo-Classical mixed in.

"If people think you're just Akagi's slave, that actually will make things even easier." Halifax gave a wry smile.

"I mean... She is." Akagi laughed. "I call her pet, but in reality, she's my slave."

{Or should I say intern?} (Akagi)

"..." Amakusa glared at her.

"Am I wrong?" Akagi looked back at her. "You're my pet, and must do whatever I say. Thus, you are a slave."

"I..." Amakusa bit her lip.

"Be grateful that I did not make your subconscious personality the entirety of your being." Akagi smirked. "Or would you rather be my happy pet all day?" She wiggled her fingers over her shoulder. “I can easily rescind my kindness if you want.”

{Dark...} (Halifax)

"Ethical issues aside, Akagi is right, Shiroe." Halifax interceded. "For the most part, you still have your free will, and based on what I've seen from that Black Company of hers, you got off easy."

{Part of me is saying that I should be angry with Akagi for doing something so cruel, but then that part fucks off and says that Shiroe deserves exactly what she's getting... Damn... I really don't care anymore, do I?} (Halifax)

"They might not be the best example either." Yumi gave a wry smile. "Besides Elna, the rest had their personalities entirely wiped and a new one implanted. It is similar to what happened to Shiroe, but I'd say it's far more extreme." She approved of the newly transformed Black Company and was always happy to have more converts to the Cult of the Demon Lord.

"Either way, Shiroe is my happy pet and will gladly do tricks and wag her tail if I want." Akagi laughed. "So just remember your place, and all will be well."

Amakusa looked to Halifax for help but received a shrug.

{You're barking up the wrong tree, little doggy.} (Halifax)

"Ignoring that whole issue, there's one place we should probably avoid." Halifax moved up next to Akagi.

"If it's the one with the literal God hanging about, then I understand." Akagi laughed. She'd sensed the Divine Energy the moment she closed in on the Imperial Capital and as she got closer the 'signal' only got stronger.

"Ah, so you already detected her. I guess that's not surprising all things considered." Halifax gave a wry smile. "There are temples dedicated to each of the Gods in the Capital, and Lady Tahena spends a lot of time in hers. If you're sensing divine energy in the City, then that's probably her."

{Out of all the Gods, she was the one who interacted with the mortal world the most, but... I'd say that her interactions and generosity weren't entirely out of a sense of altruism.} (Halifax)

"If I'm correctly recalling the information that Mizumi and you gave us, Tahena is the Goddess of Health and Fertility, right?" Yumi recalled what she could about Enoris' Gods.

"Yes." Halifax nodded. "She's pretty popular among average people for I'd say pretty obvious reasons."

"Now the real question is, where does she stand on the issue?" Akagi asked about whether she was one of the Gods that supported Elariel's 'rebellion.'

"Sadly, she supports Gale's plan, but not out of a simple desire for self-preservation." Halifax answered. "From what Rebeckah told me, Tahena just wants to continue blessing people, even if it is in another world."

"Her reasons are irrelevant." Akagi continued. "All Gods are going to get a punishment, but I plan on being a bit nicer to those who are at least trying to stop Gale's plan."

{Though nicer doesn't mean a free pass, and Elariel herself is going to get a very fitting punishment when things go my way.} (Akagi)