CHAPTER 386: EX 386. ARMAN’S FLAW

As the Dowager tore into the lunatic, it was like watching a storm breaking against a cliff.

Each strike hit with more fury than the last.

Although he had only known her for a short time, Leon never thought she was one to lose her composure like this; he had never seen her abandon the cold restraint she usually carried like a second skin.

But he understood why.

The corrupt swarm earlier hadn’t angered her; vile as they were, they hadn’t harmed the steps. But this thing, this deranged creature, it had landed with enough force to scar the very legacy her ancestor had forged.

To someone of imperial blood, someone raised on stories of the First Emperor, it wasn’t just an insult.

It was blasphemy.

The Dowager’s blows hammered the lunatic again and again, her wolf form a blur of claws and white fury.

Yet something was off, and Leon caught it before she did.

The creature never struck back.

No matter how many times it was sent tumbling, there wasn’t a scratch on its ash-pale skin.

And worst of all,

The harder she beat it, the wider its crazed smile grew, yellow teeth flashing in the dim light.

The creature was a corrupt being, she couldn’t kill it no matter how hard she hit.

And the crater it left earlier, that alone should have told her something terrifying.

Then, at last, the lunatic decided to show its hand.

The Dowager slammed her massive paw forward again—

—but this time the creature didn’t move.

Not an inch.

It stared straight into her with that deranged grin, chains rattling softly.

Leon felt the shift instantly.

The same moment the Dowager finally calmed down enough to realize her mistake, the creature’s arm had already blurred.

It was a strike faster than before.

To the Dowager, time stalled.

Leon saw the sharp flicker of instinct in her eyes:

’Something’s wrong.’

And then, impossibly, her law of infinity flickered out.

One instant it cloaked her like a shield, the next it collapsed without warning, leaving her completely exposed.

The lunatic’s fist tore through the air toward her skull.

It was a burst of motion: clean, decisive, and terrifyingly fast, connecting with cold brutality.

Red exploded across the steps.

For a heartbeat the world froze.

The lunatic’s fist was buried in a chest, but not the Dowager’s.

A slim figure stood between them, black hair falling over ember-bright eyes that didn’t even wince.

Her expression was calm, almost detached, even as blood soaked through her uniform and down the chains hanging from the lunatic’s arm.

The creature blinked, confused.

The Dowager stared, horror draining the color from her wolfen face.

Nikko Yakomoto,

the Supreme Heir of the Federation,

had taken the blow meant for the Dowager.

The Dowager’s voice came out as a whisper, raw and disbelieving.

"What... have I done?"

****

The current emperor, Alexander, and his sister, Genevieve, watched from the platform behind the armada with the other rulers, Elaine and Francis.

Only the Arman siblings felt that spike of near-mad fury the instant they saw the crater the lunatic had carved into the Steps of Liberation.

Like their mother, they had been blinded by anger.

They’d felt a fierce sense of retribution as they watched Luna thrash the creature.

But the moment it absorbed her final blow without so much as flinching, both siblings felt the shift.

They weren’t the ones delivering judgment.

They were the ones about to receive it.

And when the lunatic’s fist snapped forward toward Luna the very instant her law affinity sputtered out, their pupils constricted.

But what happened next froze the platform in absolute silence.

Luna’s head didn’t explode.

Someone else had taken the blow for her.

The stillness that followed felt heavy, crushing, as every ruler realized exactly who had intervened. Even Alexander and Genevieve, who were moments away from leaping through the orb if they could, didn’t speak.

The beast chief, Francis, and the elf queen, Elaine, stayed silent as well.

It was the beast chief’s mother who finally broke the quiet, her voice trembling.

"I remember that young girl... she was the one I gave the gem to."

Francis turned sharply toward her, stunned by the revelation.

He faced the orb again and muttered,

"Sorry, mami... but she’s—" he stopped himself and corrected,

"—she was already someone’s mate."

The chief’s mother heard him; yet, she still stared at the orb, mourning the loss of such a talent.

No one replied.

All their eyes stayed fixed on the viewing orb.

Until Alexander finally found his voice, low and strained.

"She saved her... but at what cost?"

Genevieve didn’t look away from the orb as she whispered,

"But why isn’t Leon doing anything?"

Alexander focused on Leon’s figure.

A beat later, shock colored his tone.

"He’s... smiling?"

Every ruler locked onto the orb at once.

A laugh suddenly rolled out of it, deep, wild, unfazed.

"Hahahahahahaha!"

Down on the steps, Nikko’s hair began to bleach into pure white as her Primal Fury took hold.

The lunatic’s arm was still shoved through her chest, yet her muscles tightened, sharpening with predatory definition.

Her ember eyes lifted, animalistic, blazing and she smiled like someone who had finally been given permission to bite back.

Her voice came out low and crazed.

"Rock always beats scissors."

Behind her, Racheal’s expression tightened with wounded pride at the jab, but she didn’t argue.

Nikko’s fist clenched, packed with dense primal energy.

Her arm moved so fast it blurred, cracking across the lunatic’s face with a sound like a mountain splitting open.

The blow staggered the creature backward, forcing it to yank its arm free of her chest as it shook its head like someone fighting off a concussion.

Through the torn flesh across Nikko’s torso, a beating heart pulsed visibly.

Her organs were exposed, yet she didn’t even wince.

Instead, she tapped into her Supreme Authorities.

The torn flesh began knitting together, bones sliding back into place, muscle weaving shut until the last trace of the wound sealed completely.

Nikko rolled her shoulder, blood still steaming from her skin, and smiled at the lunatic like the fight had finally become interesting.

"You’ll have to hit harder than that," she said, voice steady and fearless,

"if you plan on killing me."

****

-Authors Note-

Let’s say the Armans questionable breeding traditions didn’t give them a genetic flaw, rather it gave them a furry flaw ^^