Chapter 49
Artoria's furious shout had absolutely no effect.
Under Kushida's control, the people inside the hall continued their frenzied slaughter.
The bloody scene made the police officers behind Artoria feel a chill run down their spines.
Meanwhile, Ye Yu—looking at Artoria in her police uniform at the doorway—thought about her strength.
He immediately canceled his concealment ability.
Then, still carrying Ibuki in his arms, he directly revealed himself.
Concealment could only make those weaker than him ignore his presence.
He wasn't arrogant enough to assume he could definitely beat the Knight King.
If his concealment was broken, it would mean exposing his supernatural abilities.
It was better to cancel it first and approach as an "ordinary person."
At the same time, Kushida—seeing Ye Yu suddenly appear from the side—lit up with joy.
Just as she was about to walk toward him—
Bang…
A gunshot rang out, startling Kushida.
It was Artoria who ultimately chose to fire.
A single shot struck the arm of a man holding a knife.
Because just moments earlier, his blade had been about to plunge into another person's chest.
The situation was far too chaotic.
The people inside seemed to have collectively taken drugs—attacking each other indiscriminately.
But as a police officer, she couldn't just watch the tragedy continue.
She shouted loudly:
"Save them!"
Then she strode quickly into the hall.
Seeing Artoria move forward, the other officers exchanged glances, gritted their teeth, and followed.
Her right hand held the pistol, while her left swiftly drew a baton from her waist.
One controlled subordinate was wildly swinging a knife.
When he saw Artoria, his target immediately shifted to her.
Facing the ferocious assailant charging at her, Artoria's expression remained unchanged.
Bang
The baton struck precisely on his knife-wielding wrist.
Then her right foot kicked hard into his thigh.
The man—already uncoordinated under Kushida's control—collapsed instantly from the kick.
The officers behind her quickly pinned him down and cuffed him.
Artoria didn't pause—her pace only quickened.
Her baton moved like lightning; every swing knocked a weapon from someone's hand.
From the corner, Kushida watched this scene with an extremely ugly expression.
Because Ye Yu's order had been to kill them all, but this suddenly appearing woman had already taken down three people in just a short time.
That meant her mission had failed.
Thinking that Ye Yu was watching from nearby, she felt overwhelming shame.
Damn it—all because of you! You made me lose face in front of Lord Ye Yu!
With that thought, Kushida immediately redirected the remaining controlled people, abandoning their current targets.
All of them charged straight toward Artoria.
Originally there had been nearly forty yakuza members in the room, but under Kushida's control, more than half had already died.
Now the remaining dozen or so—covered in blood—rushed toward her.
Artoria saw so many blood-soaked, ferocious faces charging at her and felt a chill in her heart.
But she showed no fear—because her teammates were right behind her.
The fight lasted less than ten minutes.
Under Artoria's lead, the police subdued the situation with only a few minor injuries.
Everyone present was quickly cuffed.
Kushida felt like she was about to explode with rage. Her eyes glared deathly at Artoria's back.
In her palm, a single gu insect appeared, then slowly flew out.
Since you love meddling so much, I'll just control your body and make you kill them.
Let's see how you ruin my plans then!
Ye Yu—still holding Ibuki—watched the gu insect slowly approach Artoria.
He made no move to stop Kushida.
Just now, though Artoria had been very brave, against the true Knight King, her performance was somewhat lacking.
But there was still the possibility she was hiding her real strength.
Kushida's gu insect was the perfect test.
While cleaning up the scene, Artoria suddenly felt a palpitation in her heart.
Since childhood, she had possessed an extraordinary intuition for danger.
This instinct had saved her life multiple times after becoming a police officer.
The feeling grew closer and closer, almost suffocating her.
Then, almost on pure instinct, she raised her baton and swung hard behind her.
Whoosh…
But strangely, there was nothing behind her.
Was it a false alarm?
Artoria's eyes flickered with uncertainty.
Then she lifted her head and looked toward the corner—straight at Kushida.
At this moment, Kushida's eyes were filled with disbelief.
My gu insect… was actually killed by this policewoman? How is that possible?
While Kushida's mind was in turmoil, she saw the female officer slowly walking toward her.
Did I get discovered?
Though Kushida had already killed many people, having her proud power broken like this still filled her heart with panic.
Artoria looked strangely at the girl in front of her.
From what she saw at the entrance, this girl should also have been one of the kidnapped victims.
But why did she give off such a strange feeling?
"Miss, hello—are you also one of the people who were taken by these men?"
While Kushida was at a loss, a large hand suddenly gripped hers tightly.
"That's right—we were all kidnapped by Ryuuen Santarou."
Artoria turned her gaze to Ye Yu, her brows furrowing slightly.
A police officer's memory was sharp—she recognized him instantly.
She had seen him before at a barbecue restaurant, eating with a girl.
But now, he was holding another girl in an extremely intimate position, while tightly holding this girl's hand.
The scene instantly brought two words to her mind.
Scumbag?
But Ye Yu didn't care about her opinion at all right now.
Because Artoria's performance had temporarily convinced him that she possessed the power of the Knight King.
The reason was simple:
The gu insects that controlled others were fragile in body, but ordinary people couldn't even see them.
Yet she had struck and killed one with perfect accuracy.
That proved she was definitely not an ordinary person.
With so many girls around, why would he provoke her?
Other girls might play with knives—he wasn't afraid, because they couldn't kill him.
But she wielded Excalibur—one swing and who could withstand it?
"Come with me. We still need you to come back to the station to give a statement!"
Suppressing her discomfort, Artoria turned and walked away.
Kushida looked at Ye Yu with fear and whispered:
"Lord Ye Yu, I failed in my task. Please punish me."
Seeing Kushida's terrified expression, Ye Yu gently stroked her hair.
"Sigh… you can't even handle something this small. Looks like I really do need to punish you properly."
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