The true extent of Esdeath's power was revealed when a mere snap of her fingers conjured massive blocks of ice, each the size of a million, and a single strike instantly annihilated a giant Danger Beast that had pushed all of Night Raid to their limits.
All of this, however, began with Esdeath's chance encounter with Tatsumi.
Beneath the moonlight, beneath the firmament, Esdeath pulled Tatsumi into her embrace, unwilling to let him slip away again.
Esdeath questioned Tatsumi's presence there.
Tatsumi quickly fabricated a story about undergoing warrior training, to allay Esdeath's suspicions.
Just then, Esdeath sensed an enemy hidden in the shadows. The next moment, a man clad in peculiar robes emerged from the darkness. He marveled at Esdeath's abilities but also declared he had prepared a grand welcome gift for her.
The man immediately activated his Imperial Arm, Shangri-La. A colossal magic circle materialized beneath their feet. To their shock, a blinding beam of light shot towards the heavens. By the time they reacted, they found themselves on a deserted island.
Tatsumi pleaded with Esdeath to slap him, to prove it wasn't a dream. Esdeath, however, simply kissed him. Feeling the undeniable reality, he knew it wasn't a dream.
This was likely the ability of the mysterious man's Imperial Arm.
Among the Empire's forty-eight Imperial Arms, there existed ones capable of manipulating space. Such space-manipulating Imperial Arms were exceedingly rare.
Esdeath questioned the identity of the mysterious man. However, upon confirming their location, Esdeath promptly summoned a colossal pillar of ice that pierced the sky.
But here, they were surrounded by the sea. Simultaneously, a giant Danger Beast appeared on the shore, identical to the one Fashion Doctor transformed into.
Esdeath realized this was a rare opportunity to impress Tatsumi, so she immediately unleashed ice shards at the enemy, but they were dodged. Seeing this, Tatsumi drew his sword and charged at the Danger Beast, finishing it with a single blow.
Esdeath had intended to use this moment to make Tatsumi fall for her, but instead, Tatsumi's actions made her fall for him even harder.
However, the danger was not over. Another giant Danger Beast emerged from the sea. Esdeath, seeing this, descended from the sky and unleashed ice blocks on a massive scale, crushing the Danger Beast.
After a day of investigation, Esdeath had a rough idea of the island's location: an uninhabited island far to the southeast of the Empire. This meant it was just the two of them.
Esdeath then gave Tatsumi three choices.
Esdeath also had a general idea of how to return. The two then returned to their initial teleportation point. A small magic circle appeared on the beach. By continuously watching it, they could return to the Imperial Capital once the circle reactivated.
The uncertainty, however, was when the magic circle would reactivate. This was one method of return.
Another method was to capture and tame an aerial Danger Beast and use it to return to the Imperial Capital.
During this time, Esdeath also learned of Tatsumi's past. Long ago, a retired soldier, a former martial artist with exceptional skill, came to Tatsumi's village. Tatsumi apprenticed himself to him, learning swordsmanship.
Furthermore, his master taught Tatsumi many skills to help him prosper in the Imperial Capital.
Concurrently, Tatsumi also learned of Esdeath's past.
Esdeath was born in a northern border tribe that specialized in hunting Danger Beasts. She was raised as the chieftain's daughter. With Danger Beasts rampant in the vicinity, survival of the fittest was the only truth.
Raised in such an environment, Esdeath developed a penchant for killing from a young age. One day, after returning from hunting Danger Beasts, Esdeath found her village burned to ashes and her father pierced by arrows. The culprits were a tribe from the north.
However, Esdeath harbored no desire for revenge. She simply believed it was the result of natural selection; the weak deserved to die.
After that, Esdeath joined the Empire as an official, her targets shifting from Danger Beasts to humans.
Due to her outstanding achievements, Esdeath quickly became a general.
Meanwhile, the Minister took Esdeath to select suitable Imperial Arms.
Though there were many Imperial Arms, none caught Esdeath's eye until she saw a sealed lake. Within the lake was the blood of a super Danger Beast from the far north. If one could merge with the blood of this Danger Beast, they could gain its command-of-troops ability.
However, most who drank it lost themselves and went mad. This piqued Esdeath's interest. Most people only needed a single cup, but Esdeath swallowed the entire pot. The next moment, an endless urge to destroy surged into Esdeath's mind.
Esdeath now understood why normal people went mad, but it had no effect on her. Esdeath proceeded to tame this urge.
Just then, an aerial Danger Beast appeared. Esdeath immediately went to capture it.
After Esdeath left, the teleportation circle reactivated. Although Tatsumi considered slipping away alone, he felt Esdeath had taken good care of him. Thus, he informed Esdeath that the magic circle had opened and walked into it.
When Esdeath returned to her original location through the teleportation array, Tatsumi's presence had vanished.
Esdeath assumed Tatsumi had been teleported elsewhere. In reality, Tatsumi had used the invisibility of his Imperial Arm, "Alistair the Ghoul," to conceal his presence. Esdeath felt a pang of disappointment but also believed she would inevitably meet Tatsumi again.