Chapter 153: Captive, Medical Treatment, and Hong Meiling's Curiosity

"Bang!" A gunshot rang out, aimed squarely at Chelsea's head, but the bullet was intercepted by a transparent diamond barrier.

A long-handled heavy blade slashed down once again, targeting Qi's head.

"Noisy." Qi flicked his whip-like leg, snapping the heavy blade into two halves. Maintaining his momentum, he shattered the puppet into two blood-soaked, mangled chunks of flesh.

"Bang." "Bang."

Qi's right index finger pointed at the blonde female puppet that had fired the shot. The puppet fired, and Qi fired simultaneously. His diamond-hard fingernails sliced through the metallic cartridge casing at twice the speed of a bullet, blowing up the enemy's handgun.

A幽-blue (deep-blue) flame erupted, reducing both to ashes.

As expected of little Qi, he's truly powerful enough to give one a sense of security, isn't he? However, to think that I, left with just a head, am still not dead—it's simply a miracle. Leone—no, Sheele—opened her eyes and saw herself immersed in a liquid as green and beautiful as agate. There was no suffocating sensation of drowning; instead, she felt warm and cozy.

Carrying Chelsea's head and headless body, Qi walked deeper into the dense forest. Since the two Yatsufusa puppets had been pursuing Chelsea, Kurome, the master of Yatsufusa, must naturally be nearby.

When they found Kurome, she had already passed out. The large needle stabbed into the back of her neck was still gleaming brightly.

"Although I'd like to exact revenge for you right now and vent this pent-up anger, she is Akame's biological sister. Let's capture her and take her back," Qi asked Chelsea, who was reduced to just a head.

Chelsea discovered to her amazement that she could still nod slightly, which left her marveling inwardly. Judging by Qi's demeanor, preserving her head probably wasn't the extent of it; her head and body should be reattachable. She had heard that when Sheele was sliced in half at the waist, Qi had miraculously reconnected her.

"Next time, don't be so reckless. I can't possibly rush to the rescue at the exact right moment every single time. Your own life is what matters most," Qi said with a slight sigh.

*I trusted that you would come to protect me, though. If the crystal bead inside Gaia's Foundation hadn't been knocked down along with my Teigu, I wouldn't have ended up in such a sorry state.*

......

Run was tied to a large tree beside the wooden cabin, calmly observing the activities of the Night Raid members and committing them to memory. Shortly after, he watched in astonishment as that immensely powerful and mysterious young man descended from the sky once again.

What shocked him even more were the head and headless corpse the youth carried in his hands, along with the unconscious Kurome.

The Jaegers were now truly existing in name only. Even the captain had no idea where she had been teleported. Run, who had originally hoped to climb the ranks step by step and change the Empire from within, felt a wave of despondent weariness at that moment.

"Chelsea?... What happened to Chelsea?" Leone, standing guard at the doorway, stared wide-eyed at the headless corpse and Chelsea's head, whose eyes remained wide open in death. Just like when Akame had first seen Sheele cut in two, deep grief and pain surfaced within the depths of her eyes.

"It's too early for grief. Wait until I've reattached her head, and then you can shed tears of joy," Qi said, brushing past Leone with a hint of annoyance as he walked straight into the cabin.

Leone suddenly realized the truth, quickly pulled herself together, and followed him inside.

Under the flawless manipulation of his spiritual perception, the cleanly cut, smooth severed edges were easily joined back together.

During the process, Chelsea genuinely experienced her head and body slowly fusing back together. The reconnection of her meridians allowed her to regain command over her physical form step by step—first her hands, then her arms, thighs, and feet. These areas were miraculously and clearly re-controlled by her brain once again.

She was finally able to speak. "What an unforgettable experience."

"Unforgettable your big head! You went to pursue the enemy and got counter-killed instead. Aren't you ashamed of yourself?" Mine, who was always being teased, finally seized the opportunity to mock her.

"At least I killed Bols; it's just that Kurome took body-enhancing drugs, so she wouldn't die unless her head was severed or her heart destroyed. Otherwise, I would have completed the mission flawlessly. Look at you instead—your clothes are all tattered. Could anyone possibly fancy your flat chest? Truly unbelievable." Chelsea immediately fired back.

"Akame, how do you want to deal with your sister?" Seeing Akame staring blankly at Kurome, Qi asked.

"Let her sleep like this for now. Once our revolution succeeds, she won't have an Empire left to serve, and naturally, she won't be an enemy anymore," Lubbock said, spreading his hands with a smile.

"I want to... grant her release," Akame said with some difficulty. "I just checked her body... because of the drugs, the burden on her is far too great. She won't live for another half a year... and every single minute of that time will be a torment for her."

"You don't need to worry about that. I am the omnipotent Qi, after all; helping her body gradually recover is no difficult task. How about this: I'll seal off some of Kurome's nervous system, reducing her combat capability to that of an ordinary person. As for Yatsufusa, I'll seal it with my crystal. If the day comes when she truly turns over a new leaf and joins us, she will also become a powerful ally."

"Mm, thank you, Qi." Akame smiled, looking genuinely happy.

Thus, everyone wore expressions of understanding and relief.

......

"What are you doing?" Esdeath, dragged by Hong Meiling to play in the water by the sea, gave up struggling after finding all resistance futile. As she herself had once said, since her strength was inferior, there was simply no point; she wouldn't engage in such meaningless resistance.

Even so, that wasn't the end of it. This girl, rumored to have lived for over five hundred years, had actually run over to her beloved after growing tired of playing, and was now hesitantly trying to undress him.

Even with her strength inferior to others, Esdeath reached her breaking point.

Hong Meiling shrank her hand back in a start, looking both awkward and utterly curious as she stammered, "I've never seen a male humanoid in Gensokyo, so I'm a bit curious—how are they different from women? My martial arts master once said, 'Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles.' So... I thought I'd take a peek while he's transferring his consciousness. He's such a nice person, even if he finds out, he probably won't scold me, right?"

Esdeath was left speechless. What kind of bizarre place was Gensokyo anyway? "No way! Kaitian is my lover. How could I let you strip him bare just to study him?"

Hong Meiling rolled her eyes, suddenly making a move to strike Esdeath's pressure points, and then dragged her down beside Qi as well. "Now we're accomplices in the same crime. Don't go blurting this out, okay?"

Hong Meiling extended both hands, trembling slightly as if she couldn't tell whether she was terrified or excited.

A cup of tea's time later, Hong Meiling wore a bitter expression. She had spent a whole cup of tea's duration fighting with the clothes without managing to undo them properly. In a fit of anger, she decided she would just tear them open by force.

"Utterly useless. Let me do it." Esdeath, who had effortlessly used her cold qi to unblock her pressure points without Hong Meiling noticing, shoved the fumbling Hong Meiling aside, extended her delicate fingers, and undid the fastenings with a few swift motions.