Primordial Villain With A Slave Harem - Chapter 1047: Kaede’s Gift

Chapter 1047: Kaede’s Gift

A small chuckle escaped Chizuru Fujimori’s lips. It was warm enough to be polite, but with a tinge of something else. Weariness, perhaps.

“A change in leadership has certainly brought change into my life as well…” she replied as her gaze briefly slid toward Kaede before returning to the king.

But the exchange between the two elders was cut short by the no-nonsense voice of Kaede herself. “To honor His Majesty, King Alexios Valorian’s one-thousandth birthday…”

The katana in her hand tilted, catching the throne room’s light until its edge blazed white. She turned toward the row of Fujimori elders still holding the chains of the Phantom League’s highest leaders.

The elders stood like statues, utterly unbothered by the blade angled toward them. Yet the prisoners at their feet tensed, their eyes widening as the most primal instinct awakened in them. A tremor ran through the chain links as their hands clenched in their bindings.

Kaede did not finish her sentence. The silence grew thick, heavy enough to press against the skin. A visible current of mana coiled around her, swirling petals of silver light in the air, each one vanishing before it touched the floor. Her gaze sharpened until it was less like looking at a person and more like staring down the moon reflected on a drawn blade.

“[Shinsei Zanketsu].”

The katana moved. A horizontal cut, deceptively small, yet the world seemed to split along its path. Sound itself faltered. There was no clash, no scream, only a sudden, absolute stillness.

The elders remained untouched. Not a thread of their ceremonial robes was disturbed despite the arc of her blade having clearly gone right toward their bodies. But the prisoners…

One by one, their pupils dilated in horror. Their bodies stiffened as an invisible weight pressed upon their necks, the fatal mark of the cut. Then.

*Shhk!*

Every head lifted from its shoulders at once, rocketing into the air. Mordecai’s mouth hung open mid-curse, Draven Titanblade’s eyes shut in resignation, and Elara’s lips twisted into a smirk that death had stolen.

The Fujimori elders moved together without being verbally commanded, as though their bodies were bound to her will.

With perfect synchronicity, each drew their own katana, stepped forward, and impaled a falling head from below.

Kaede lowered her blade as the silver glow faded to a calm sheen. Her voice, cool and absolute, finished the statement she had begun:

“… the Fujimori clan and its Silverwind Duchy wishes to announce that the vermin infesting the lands have been eradicated.”

“What the fuck?” Alastair spoke crudely for the first time since his teenage years. His shock was seen across the faces of every single noble present. No One understood what was going on. Or rather, their brains couldn’t accept it as reality.

However, none were shocked than the table of the masked noble family.

<I don’t understand!> Ayame cried, being completely lost. She was straight-up nearly hyperventilating. <None of this makes sense! What’s going on?!>

<What’s that sword she wields?> Serika asked. <I feel an immense amount of power being emitted by it. It’s like a furnace of raw force.>

<I don’t know! I’ve never even heard of such a powerful blade, let alone seen one! My father used the best sword our clan had to offer, a legacy piece said to be wielded by the founder. It’s Legendary-rarity!>

<But this is a different sword, huh?> Quinlan spoke up with a calm tone. His mind was a mess as well, but he did his utmost to comfort his scared and confused lover.

<Yes! I don’t know what this is, but I don’t like it… It’s giving me a terrible feeling.>

<I haven’t been notified of the Phantom League’s dismantlement…> Vex’s voice sounded next. <I can’t even conceive how it was possible to achieve such a thing. They had to have rounded up all the higher-ups in a day at most, or I would’ve been notified about it already.>

<… I imagine catching all these people is easier said than done,> Jasmine whispered with a ghostly pale face, understanding the implications.

<Of course! Just like it is with the heads of the Consortium, the Phantom League leaders are… or were… very secretive people! Black Fang is one of the easiest to find because she can’t be bothered to swap locations much. The others are much more careful!>

Kitsara found that statement to be plain wrong. <Wait, didn’t Black Fang have some secret hideout which was veiled by Lady Yoruha herself? And you’re saying she’s one of the easiest members to locate?>

<Exactly. As I said, the others spend a lot more resources on their safety. The only reason Black Fang even wants Yoruha to redo the diminishing veiling magic on her home is so she can soak in her damned poison bath without being interrupted by intruders. The other heads would’ve long since left the place in search of a new hidden location.>

<Okay, let’s put that crazy woman and her tendencies aside for a bit, shall we?> Aurora spoke up next. <Let’s instead discuss how Kaede went from a pretty mediocre combatant with like 10 levels to her name to a single year later cutting off the heads of a whole duchy-sized criminal organization’s entire leadership! Her rate of growth is quicker than even Quin’s, and he’s a walking cheat code!>

<Right,> Lucille nodded. <Quin enjoys a permanent XP buff, which was even increased to 10X, which he used to burn down a whole beastkin city, collecting an insane amount of experience. He’s been using his AoE elemental mage abilities to slay numerous enemies, collecting XP like a maniac. Yet… I can’t even believe I’m about to say this, but from what we saw, she is simply stronger than he is. How is it possible that she could grow faster than he?>

<It makes no sense whatsoever.>

It was Ayame who responded. Her hyperventilation stopped as she listened to her family speak, at which point the woman soon realized how much nonsense this truly was. That was when cold logic overtook panic.

<Something is wrong… Grandma Chizuru is acting weird as well…>

But alas, her train of thought was interrupted when the king’s voice rang across the hall.