CHAPTER 509: CHAPTER 507: THE EXTRAORDINARY TEACUP USED BY DIO_1

Aozawa did not choose to disappear silently. Since he intended to make a statement to Kochou, his exit naturally had to be flashy and grand.

He directly activated his Element Replacement ability, switching himself into an electrical element, then combined it with the Infinity Big ability.

CRACKLE! POP! The electrical energy surged, yet it did not reach the limit of Infinity Big.

The current limit of Infinity Big was expansion up to a kilometer.

He just wanted to show off; there was no need to become that large. The electrical discharge was intense but damaged nothing, simply flashing in front of Kochou before vanishing.

She looked at the empty office, her gaze falling on the ink painting on the wall. She felt her mood shift from that of a colorful Ukiyo-e print to a monochromatic ink painting.

The initial joy of becoming Prime Minister, the swelling sensation of holding national power—all of it had dissipated upon meeting Dio.

A thorn in her side. The idiom suddenly flashed through Kochou’s mind. Her right hand clenched. She both feared and respected Dio.

She looked at the black tea he had left behind, picked up the cup, and took a slow sip.

This cup of tea seemed utterly different from the tea in the teapot.

A flame surged upwards from her stomach, incinerating her previous thoughts.

I was still too attached to superficialities, she realized.

National power and the like were, in reality, just fleeting illusions.

What truly mattered was becoming an Angel Envoy, possessing immense power, eternal life, and beauty.

Those were the things she should pursue.

The position of Prime Minister, the power it held, were merely stepping stones in pursuit of those greater goals, not the destination itself.

Kochou drained the warm black tea. She decided to have the cup sent for testing to see if any of Dio’s power lingered on it.

Previously, to gain a more tangible impression of the extraordinary, Kochou had deliberately read some novels. In these books, it was often written that items used or simply passed by powerful beings would become imbued with their power.

Whether it was true or not didn’t stop Kochou from trying.

What if Dio’s teacup actually contained his power?

Without testing, I can’t rule out that important possibility, she thought, rising and walking towards the door.

「...」

Shinjuku, Kabukicho.

The Big Fat Sheep Bar’s sign glowed with neon colors. Every night, the sign and the staircase leading to the bar would light up, though the door itself remained closed.

Occasional patrons who mistakenly wandered in would, upon seeing the burly bartender, silently choose to close the door and retreat.

Katerina, seemingly indifferent, continued to stand there, wiping the square-shaped glass in her hand.

Even if no customers came, she repeatedly wiped the glass, solely to welcome a certain guest who might visit.

Emily lay on the rocking chair inside the bar area, gently swaying. To her, this movement already counted as a form of exercise.

As long as my body is moving, it means I’m exercising, was her reasoning.

In Katerina’s eyes, Emily’s behavior increasingly resembled that of an old lady ready for retirement.

"Emily," Katerina warned, "if you continue to be so lazy, be careful you don’t cough and break a bone again."

"Don’t say such unlucky things," Emily replied. "I feel fine now."

Emily closed her eyes, finding the rocking chair incredibly comfortable. This up-and-down motion both exercised her body and allowed it to relax.

Seeing Emily close her eyes, seemingly enjoying her twilight years, Katerina chose not to press further.

A gentle breeze wafted through the bar. Katerina caught the sound of it and quickly looked towards the entrance.

A bewitchingly handsome and robust man was sitting sideways on a high stool, his left elbow resting on the bar. He wore a black tank top paired with golden leather pants, and the heart-shaped belt around his waist was particularly flamboyant.

Aozawa, legs crossed, drawled lazily, "Give me a ’Snow Country’."

"Certainly," Katerina replied. She put down the glass, turned, and began to prepare the cocktail for him.

Katerina had taken the time to seriously learn some of the bartender’s duties.

Emily, who had been on the rocking chair, quickly got up and hurried over. "Dio, you’re finally here!"

"Short-lived humans are truly troublesome," Aozawa said casually. "They can make even a short wait sound so urgent." He then shared an old story, "Speaking of which, I recall a friend I hadn’t seen for eighty years. The last time I went to visit him, his granddaughter only came up to my knee."

"It’s been eighty years; it’s perfectly normal for him to be gone," Emily retorted. She used to complain about Dio visiting her so frequently.

Now that I think about it, I’m actually quite lucky, Emily mused. If she were like that friend, having to wait eighty years for their next meeting, Emily couldn’t guarantee she would live that long. In fact, it’s questionable whether I’ll even live to sixty.

These thoughts flashed through Emily’s mind, but she quickly pushed them aside to focus on the important matter at hand. "The Emperor has made a demand," she said. "He wants the Aze Red Stone you have. If you don’t give it to him, you can forget about him returning the ritual altar."

"The Aze Red Stone?" Aozawa intentionally showed a hint of surprise on his face, then quickly concealed it. He mused thoughtfully, "How would he know I have the Aze Red Stone? Could it be..."

He paused there deliberately, and Emily pricked up her ears, eager to hear who the informant was.

Aozawa deliberately avoided clarifying, simply moving on, "Since he said so, then I’ll give it to him."

Emily desperately wanted to ask who had revealed the whereabouts of the Aze Red Stone.

But that question wasn’t as important as what came next.

She asked, "The Emperor said that obtaining the Aze Red Stone will allow him to overcome his weakness to light. How is that possible?"

"I don’t know." Aozawa shook his head and pulled a piece of the Aze Red Stone from his pocket. It was shaped like a shield, so large that Emily’s small, clenched fist couldn’t cover its entire outline.

Then, he took out a pass to the Shadow World, identical in shape to the one he had given Emily before.

Both the pass and the Aze Red Stone were objects Aozawa had created using his Fate Weaving ability.

He handed the two items to Emily and said earnestly, "Tell the Emperor to place the altar back on Mount Fuji for me."

"A direct trade, just like that? Will there be any issues?" Emily asked. A hint of doubt flickered across her small face. In her view, the Emperor was a ruthless individual capable of slaughtering over three hundred thousand people.

Could such a ruthless man really be trusted?

"No problem," Aozawa replied calmly. "Just hand them over to him."

With that, he transformed into a wisp of breeze and disappeared inside the bar.

「...」

Soft music flowed like a gentle stream into every corner of the bar. Under the warm lights, the tall figure was no longer visible.

Even a perfectly prepared Snow Country cocktail sat there, untouched.

Emily really felt like rolling her eyes. It was always like this with him, leaving whenever he pleased.

"Damn it!" she muttered, placing the Aze Red Stone and the pass into her top’s pocket. She then reached for the square glass, intending to down the cocktail in one gulp.

She took just one sip and immediately spat it back out. "Ugh! Why is this Snow Country so strong this time? It tastes awful! Get me juice instead."

"This cocktail was mixed for Dio," Katerina said. "It certainly wouldn’t be sweet like your version of Snow Country."

Katerina felt a twinge of regret seeing the Snow Country ruined, but she still took a bottle of juice from the cabinet and poured Emily a full glass.

Emily took it and drank deeply. Sweet juice suited her tastes far better.

"That guy Dio really doesn’t consider my safety as his envoy at all, sending me into the fray so rashly. The Emperor is not an easy person to deal with," she sighed, her small face etched with worry.

Emily believed those people from the "flour" syndicate deserved to die, but if she were asked to kill so many people at once, she definitely wouldn’t have the courage.

Thus, she felt a genuine fear towards the Emperor, who was capable of such a thing. She didn’t believe he did it to punish evil and promote good; there had to be some other motive.

Perhaps the Emperor is also planning some kind of ritual or something similar, she mused.

As Emily pondered these things, she finished her juice with a GLUG! GLUG! and looked up at Katerina. "Later, if I’m taken away, you absolutely must not follow me."

"Emily," Katerina said, her voice filled with concern.

"Don’t worry, I’ll be fine," Emily said, lifting her chin with a smile and waving her hand. "I’ll leave this place in your care. I’m going upstairs now."

Emily turned and ran upstairs, worried that Katerina would also get dragged into this.

Her opponent was the Emperor, an entity capable of killing more than three hundred thousand people in an instant.

Even if Katerina were by her side, Emily doubted she could be protected if something truly happened. At best, Katerina would just end up as another cold corpse in the palace.

Katerina obviously understood this too. A shadow of dejection flickered in her eyes; she hated this weak self of hers.

But this feeling of weakness and helplessness would surely continue to plague her heart in the future.

The gap between a mortal and an Angel Envoy was truly despairingly large.

Emily ran to the ground floor, intending to lie on the sofa and scroll through some short videos.

From the shadows at her feet, a dark figure suddenly shot out, grabbed her shoulder, and yanked her down.

Before Emily could even let out a cry of surprise, she plunged into the darkness.

Impenetrable darkness enveloped her vision; the boundaries of time and space became illusory and blurred at this moment.

Only when Emily felt solid ground under her feet did she finally let out a breath. Her azure eyes blinked, gradually making out the silhouette of the dim palace.

Unlike the liveliness of her last visit, this time the palace seemed very empty.

Emily looked up. Atop a nine-tiered platform, the Emperor sat enthroned, wearing the Crown. On his right shoulder perched a three-legged giant bird, resembling an oversized crow.

An ink-black dragon coiled around the high platform. Its lowered head was as large as a house, and its pair of lantern-sized, blood-red eyes stared at Emily.

It sent a shiver of cold through her heart.

Aozawa tapped his index finger on the throne’s armrest. Using a voice reminiscent of Aizen’s, he said, "Welcome. It seems you’ve brought what I desire."

"Mm, here’s the Aze Red Stone for you," Emily said, taking the stone out of her pocket.

Time froze at this moment. A grayscale filter enveloped the dim palace.

Aozawa rose from his throne, deciding to start putting on a good show.