At this moment, Mez had removed the weighted horseshoe ornaments from her head. With her burdens lifted, her speed surged once again, and she was confident that even if Wood displayed the blistering speed he had shown earlier, she could keep up with him this time.
Mez's unique ability—secreting and manipulating sweat—might seem unimpressive at first glance, but in hand-to-hand combat, it was incredibly effective. Her ability allowed her to "slip past" most attacks, even bypassing Lubbock's Cross Tail barriers.
Leaping between the grand hall's stone pillars, Mez mulled over how to handle Wood.
To be honest, in all her time as part of the Four Rakshasa Demons, Wood was the most troublesome opponent she had encountered.
Despite being a Teigu user, Wood hadn't even drawn his weapon, yet he had already overpowered her and Suzuka with sheer physical prowess.
The Four Rakshasa Demons each had a unique trait that surpassed human limits. But the man before them seemed to have transcended human limitations in every conceivable way—strength, speed, and frequency of attacks.
Wood possessed the durability and power of Sten, the speed to rival Mez herself, and an attack frequency that completely suppressed Suzuka. Against such a foe, what hope did they have?
As Mez pondered her options, Wood, standing on the ground below, flashed a toothy grin.
"You don't think staying up there makes you safe, do you, little girl?" he teased.
"Let me show you a skill that transcends human speed—Six Powers' Moonwalk!"
Hearing this, Mez smirked mockingly. "So what if I'm above you? What can you possibly do?"
Her confidence vanished instantly as she saw the unthinkable: Wood stepping into the air as if it were solid ground, moving effortlessly skyward.
"A human walking in the air? How is this even possible without a Teigu?" Mez thought, her mind reeling.
She relied on her agility, jumping between the pillars at incredible speed, but even her movements couldn't match Wood's ability to move freely in mid-air.
Within seconds, he had closed the distance, and, returning the earlier favor, launched a powerful whip-like kick aimed directly at Mez.
The same attack that Mez had used on him earlier was now coming her way, but while Wood had effortlessly absorbed her strike, she wasn't confident she could do the same.
With no time to dodge, Mez crossed her arms over her chest defensively and activated her ability, secreting sweat to try and "slip" the kick away.
However, the next moment, Mez's eyes widened in shock. As Wood's foot swung toward her, it suddenly turned black, coated in a metallic sheen.
When the reinforced kick connected, Mez's ability proved completely ineffective. Worse still, she realized that this strike was far stronger than anything Wood had previously displayed.
BOOM!
Despite her defensive posture, Mez's body was flung backward like a cannonball. She crashed through one of the hall's massive stone pillars, which took two people to fully encircle.
Just before Mez hit the ground, Suzuka rushed from the rubble to catch her, preventing further injury.
Even so, the impact wasn't easy to handle. The force carried Suzuka backward, her feet sliding across the floor for several meters.
Her shoulder, already pierced by Wood's earlier Finger Pistol, began bleeding profusely again, splattering blood onto Mez's face.
"What kind of monster is this guy…? My arms… I think both bones are completely broken," Mez muttered weakly.
While she had avoided internal injuries, the sheer force of Wood's Armament Haki-enhanced kick had fractured both of her arms completely.
Wood glanced at the two women and sighed.
"You're both beautiful, but unfortunately, we have no shared bond, no history, and you're not even related to my companions. So, I'm afraid you'll have to die here.
"Allow me to show you another skill that transcends human limits—Six Powers' Tempest Kick!"
Among the Six Powers techniques, Tempest Kick was Wood's strongest. As a master swordsman, even a slash created with his legs carried the precision to cleave through steel.
Wood launched a flurry of crescent-shaped vacuum slashes toward Mez and Suzuka, each as sharp and deadly as a blade.
Given their current state and the wide area covered by Wood's attack, avoiding or blocking the slashes was nearly impossible for the two women.
"You may have broken arms, but your legs are still fine, right?" Suzuka said, setting Mez down.
"I'll hold him off for five… no, three seconds. Use this chance to escape."
Suzuka's tone wasn't sentimental. The Four Rakshasa Demons weren't known for camaraderie, as emotions like loyalty were considered luxuries in their line of work.
Her decision was purely pragmatic: Mez was the youngest and least experienced among them, and Suzuka knew her own speed wasn't enough to escape Wood's pursuit. If someone had to survive, it made sense for it to be Mez.
Besides, Suzuka's masochistic tendencies made her oddly welcoming of the punishment Wood could deal. The pain he had inflicted earlier hadn't deterred her; it had, if anything, excited her.
"You run. You've always taken care of me, and now it's my turn to repay the favor," Mez said, baring her small fangs in a grin.
Her words carried a stubborn sense of honor, declaring that if anyone stayed behind, it would be her. Either she would shield Suzuka, or they would die together.
Watching this heartfelt exchange between the two assassins, Wood felt a twinge of exasperation.
"Wait… am I not supposed to be the good guy here? Why does this feel like I'm the villain?"
As Mez and Suzuka continued to argue over who would stay behind, Wood's Tempest Kick slashes reached them.
Just as the deadly crescents were about to strike, a golden electrical net erupted from the ground, intercepting the attack with a crackling roar of thunder.
"I never had much respect for Honest or his ilk, nor did I care to fight alongside his lackeys," a deep voice said.
"But the resolve you two just displayed… that's something I can appreciate. I'll lend you my strength—for now."
The voice belonged to none other than General Budo.
Budo's ability to manipulate lightning and block Wood's full-powered Tempest Kick made his presence unmistakable.
Wood had heard of Budo from Najenda, whose accounts painted him as a rigid and upright soldier.
When Budo had remained silent earlier, watching Wood battle Mez and Suzuka, Wood had assumed the man had turned a blind eye to the Empire's corruption.
But now, it was clear: Budo's inaction wasn't due to apathy. It was disdain—for Prime Minister Honest and the Four Rakshasa Demons. Budo had refused to align himself with such corruption, choosing only to act now, spurred by his own principles.
"I once thought General Budo was a man of great wisdom and justice, but now, just as Najenda said, you're nothing more than an old stubborn fool."
General Budo, the supreme commander of the Empire's military—if you were to ask who the most popular general was, there was no doubt it would be Esdeath.
However, if you were to ask who held the highest prestige among the soldiers, then it had to be General Budo.
General Budo, in his forties, had served under two emperors. In terms of seniority, even Najenda and Esdeath combined couldn't match him.
Many of the Empire's current generals were once his students.
General Budo wasn't a villain, and he was known for his integrity. Without him, the few virtuous ministers left in the Empire might have been entirely wiped out by Honest.
However, while righteous, General Budo was also incredibly rigid. Following ancestral teachings that dictated military officers should not interfere in politics, he chose not to act against Honest's corruption despite being fully aware of it. This allowed Honest's influence to grow unchecked.
It was said that General Budo was another of the Empire's "strongest" individuals. Like Esdeath, he wielded a Teigu capable of manipulating the elements.
Unlike Esdeath's ice-based Teigu, Demon Manifestation: Demon's Extract, General Budo's Teigu was a lightning-based one: Wrath of the Thunder God: Adramelech.
Given that his opponent was rumored to rival Esdeath in strength, Wood saw no reason to hold back by refraining from using his own Teigu.
Knowing that Budo could command lightning, engaging in hand-to-hand combat would be sheer folly.
Wood reached out and pulled the Knight of Winter from where it had been planted in the ground. With a powerful stomp, he shattered the floor beneath him, propelling his body forward with explosive speed, leaving behind the sound of a sonic boom.
The Teigu Wrath of the Thunder God: Adramelech was an armor-type Teigu. Its gauntlets enhanced striking power with built-in iron stakes, and it could summon powerful lightning for ranged attacks.
General Budo could manipulate lightning for high-pressure assaults, long-range blasts, and energy balls. He could even form a lightning armor around himself, which paralyzed anyone who came into contact with it.
Watching the rapidly approaching Wood, General Budo clenched his gauntleted fists. Amidst the crackling sound of lightning, golden orbs of electricity formed around him and shot toward his opponent.
"Hyakki Gokenryu: Kamaitachi Dance!"
With one hand gripping the Knight of Winter, Wood unleashed a series of rapid strikes. The high-speed slashes created afterimages, sending an enhanced storm of wind blades crashing toward the incoming lightning spheres.
As the sharp wind blades collided with the lightning orbs, a deafening cacophony of wind and thunder filled the grand hall. Chaotic arcs of electricity etched deep grooves into the floor, while fragments of wind blades scattered in every direction, leaving behind long gashes on the walls.
Amidst the chaotic storm of wind and lightning, Wood's figure emerged unscathed, breaking through the electric storm and appearing directly in front of General Budo. He raised his blade and swung it down in a decisive strike!
Facing the descending blade, General Budo remained unfazed, countering with a powerful punch. Lightning surged with a roar as his fist shot forward to meet the attack.
CLANG!
The collision of the metal gauntlet and the blade created a shockwave, transforming into a violent gale that spread outward from the two combatants.
Suzuka and Mez, who had been standing behind General Budo and closest to the battlefield, were caught in the blast. Like kites with their strings cut, they were hurled through the air by the intense wind.
The massive stone pillars in the grand hall, each requiring two people to encircle, began to crack like spiderwebs under the force of the shockwave.
As golden lightning erupted once more from General Budo, it coalesced into an armor-like shroud around him, forming a crackling suit of golden electricity.
Metal and flesh alike conducted the powerful current. As Budo's lightning surged, the golden arcs snaked along the Knight of Winter, creeping toward Wood.
The lightning armor generated by General Budo was capable of paralyzing anyone who came into contact with it—an inherent weakness for any opponent specializing in close combat.
However, to General Budo's surprise, as the golden arcs reached Wood's body, his skin was suddenly covered in a black, metallic sheen.
The moment the lightning touched this black surface, it was repelled.
BOOM!
A powerful shockwave erupted as the two combatants were blasted apart by the force of their prolonged clash.
The only difference was that General Budo merely took a step or two back, while Wood skidded across the ground, leaving a long trail behind him.
From this exchange, it was clear that in terms of raw strength, Wood was at a disadvantage compared to General Budo.
But that was no surprise. With Budo's towering stature and the enhanced power granted by his lightning, the general's physical dominance was evident. Directly clashing with such brutal power and energy, Wood's loss in this aspect was expected.