Akame ga Kill versus BlazBlue! The sadistic general of ice returns in her first proper matchup! Now, faced with the legendary, icy hero of Ikaruga, will she finally claim a victory? Or will she once more die trying?
*~*~*~*~*~*
Wiz: When one leads a war, they are usually set on emerging victorious no matter what the cost, and thus, they are constantly devising new ways to prevail over the opposition.
Boomstick: Whether it be science, magic, or just straight-up murder, generals will constantly find ways to one-up their enemies. And in this episode, we're featuring two generals who use ice...and sadism...to give their opponents the cold shoulder!
Wiz: Esdeath, the Empire's Strongest...
Boomstick: And Jin Kisaragi, the Knight of the N.O.L.. He's Wiz and I'm Boomstick!
Wiz: And it's our job to analyze their weapons, armor and skills to find out who would win a Death Battle!
*~*~*~*~*~*
ESDEATH
Wiz: The weak will be weeded out. Only the strong will prevail. Only the fittest will survive. That is the philosophy of the sadistic general of the Empire...Esdeath.
Boomstick: Esdeath's story isn't exactly normal. But should we expect that for like, almost every anime villain? Little Es was raised in a northern villains and trained to gut animals, taught by her father that "the strong live and the weak die." Needless to say, Esdeath's backstory is pretty metal, if not Berserk or Attack on Titan level.
Wiz: And it doesn't end there. After her village was leveled by an attacking tribe and, well...everyone was murdered, Esdeath swore to become stronger. To do this, she would join in the Imperial Army, quickly rising through the ranks and becoming the strongest general of the Empire in no time at all.
Boomstick: And for good reason! She's strong enough to kick people's faces off, dodge lightning, is faster than foes who can create sonic booms while fighting, and curbstomped many of the members of Night Raid - who are supposed to be the main characters - and she was holding back!
Wiz: Esdeath is also an extremely capable swordswoman, using a style reliant on precision strikes and power-blows. She is also a capable leader and strategist, having led two separate groups, the Three Beasts and the Jaegers, and her nigh-unmatched military prowess has won the Empire a lot of conquests.
Boomstick: But most of all...she's sadistic. Like, very sadistic. And her rapier seems to be perfect for bringing on the pain, striking at their vitals and ensuring they die a slow, painful death. And that's just one of a kajillion different ways this ice dominatrix can bring the pain!
Wiz: The true reason why Esdeath is such a force to be reckoned with in battle is her Teigu: Demon God Manifestation: Demon's Extract.
Boomstick: This drink is just one of the four Teigu that Esdeath was made to choose from. You see, Teigu are really super powerful and cool-as-sh*t weapons that are supposed to be rare, and having three of them basically cements you as a badass, buuuut seeing as the other three Teigu didn't really float her boat, Esdeath decided on mystery Insaniteigu Number Four!
Wiz: This particular Teigu had not been wielded by anyone. However, several others have tried to drink it-keyword, tried. All of them went insane and killed themselves.
Boomstick: So what does our sadistic ice general do, knowing full well of this? She STRAIGHT UP CHUGS THE ENTIRE THING LIKE HOW I DOWNED THAT LAST PITCHER OF BEER LAST WEEK!
Wiz: ...so that's why my lab was destroyed...
Boomstick: ...wait, what happened?
Wiz: This is coming straight out of your paycheck... *clears throat* Anyway, contrary to expectations, Esdeath did not fall insane after drinking the Demon's Extract. Rather, the Extract granted her power over ice, and the power to create it out of thin air. With this power, Esdeath can shoot shards of ice at the foe; trap her foes in ice; create a gigantic chunk of ice, great for crushing numerous enemies; create a giant horn of ice to pierce the enemy; and use ice as armor.
Boomstick: And she can even use ice to F*CKING FLY! And as a bonus, she can create an army of ice...centaur...things! And she can create a snowstorm that basically spans an entire country to replenish her powers and boost 'em! What else has this ice dominatrix got up her sleeve?!
Wiz: Oh, this chick has one more ability, my co-host! Through sheer willpower...and obsession over a certain young man...Esdeath gained access to an ability known as the Mahapadma. Or Makahadoma, if you wish.
Boomstick: What does this odd-sounding ability do, you ask? Why, it STOPS TIME, of course! Just like-
Wiz: BOOMSTICK! What was it that we discussed about JoJo's references?!?
Boomstick: B-but ZA WARUDO!
Wiz: Listen, if we're gonna keep throwing JoJo references around in our fights, it's gonna get stale and boring over time!
Boomstick: Do you doubt the power of JoJo's?!?
Wiz: No, I just-
Boomstick: Then...that's GREATO!
Wiz: *groans in annoyance* ...shall we move on...? In any case, Esdeath gained the power to freeze all of time and space for a short period of time, giving her the edge when she's in a pinch...sometimes.
Boomstick: With all of this crazy sh*t, Esdeath sure has some impressive accomplishments under her belt. She froze an entire river; broke the sanity of Prince Numa Seika of the northern tribe by killing 400,000 people and burying them alive; curbstomped some of Night Raid's strongest and even killed one of them; took on an entire army, a drug boosted Akame, Tyrant Tatsumi, and a horde of Danger Beasts; and she could've and very well would've killed Akame if she was serious in their fight.
Wiz: However, Esdeath does have her fair share of faults. First off, Mahapadma can only be used once a day, and certain individuals can resist it, such as Tatsumi. And Esdeath absolutely loves war, and will do anything to prolong it.
Boomstick: She's also crazy obsessed with Tatsumi, and when she sees him and fights him, she'll always hold back! Plus, the Demon Extract drains her of her power, but considering she's gone from freezing an entire river to spamming the sh*t out of icicles and creating giant spheres of ice, I doubt this is a major factor. Plus, she's got that power boosting snowstorm to help counter this.
Wiz: That move isn't exactly a perfect counter to the Demon Extract's drawbacks, though. The last time Esdeath used it, it had to draw power from an army of ice-made soldiers that was created in days - in short, it kind of hinges on prep time.
Boomstick: Regardless, Esdeath's powers and sadism make her scary as sh*t to face in combat. She's got a hundred different ways to bring the pain...and that's when she's not using her powers. Lord knows how much pain you'll be feeling when you cross her.
Esdeath: I don't understand the feelings of the weak. The law of the world is survival of the fittest. It's how the weak are weeded out. It just means those people that die were too weak. It's only natural for the weak to perish.
****
ESDEATH:
Alias: Empire's Strongest, The Ice Queen
Age: Mid-20's
Height: 5'7''
Weight: Unspecified
Physicality and General Abilities
· Superhuman Strength and Speed
· Peak Human Durability
· Enhanced Stamina
· Extremely High Pain Tolerance
· Skilled Swordswoman
· Skilled H2H Fighter
· Excellent General and Leader
· Heightened Senses
· Immense Killing Aura
· Immense Willpower
· Well-versed in Human Anatomy
· Cruel and Sadistic
Imperial Arms: Demon God Manifestation: Demon's Extract
· Grants Esdeath power over ice
· Makes the drinker insane upon consumption, though Esdeath was unaffected even though she basically downed the entire thing
· Can create ice from thin air, ice potent enough to freeze entire rivers within mere seconds
· Manifests itself as a tattoo on her chest
Ice Techniques
· Weissschnabel: Creates icicles to fire at the foe; can use at the hundreds
· Grauhorn: Creates a massive horn of ice
· Hagelsprung: Creates a giant sphere of ice to crush enemies
· Flight: By wrapping her wrists and ankles in ice and making them float, Esdeath can fly
· Ice Armor: Exactly what it says on the tin
· Ice Entrapment: Freees foes entirely
· Ice Cavalry: Creates ice golems shaped like centaurs
· Ice Storm Commander-in-Chief: Draws power from the Ice Cavalry to create a country-spanning snowstorm that replenishes Esdeath's powers while in effect
Trump Card: Mahapadma/Makahadoma
· The power to freeze time and space
· Esdeath gained it due to her obsession with Tatsumi
· Can only be used once a day
Feats
· The strongest Imperial Arms (Teigu) user and strongest soldier of the Empire
· Has emerged victorious in her campaigns to decimate the tribes opposing the Empire
· Froze an entire river
· Drove Prince Numa Seika insane by killing 400,000 people and burying them alive
· Curbstomped some of Night Raid's strongest, even killing a powered up Susanoo
· Took on an entire army of soldiers, a drug boosted Akame, Tyrant Tatsumi, and a horde of Danger Beasts, and she was calm and collected throughout
· Nearly overwhelmed Akame, and could have and very well would have killed the assassin had she been serious
Weaknesses
· Loves war
· Mahapadma can't be spammed, and certain individuals can resist it
· Obsessed with Tatsumi
· Demon's Extract drains her of her power over consecutive uses
· Ice Storm Commander-in-Chief is reliant on Ice Cavalry, which is created within days
*~*~*~*~*~*
JIN KISARAGI
Wiz: In one's early childhood, one might rely on his siblings the most, and this is the case for the childhood of one Jin Kisaragi.
Boomstick: You see, little Jinny's childhood wasn't exactly the best. He and his siblings were confined in a laboratory because E X P E R I M E N T A T I O N, but were then rescued by this cat-ninja thing...who happened to be one of the most powerful kitty cats in the world! And who somehow got it on with this hot piece of ass! And then they made some science half-kitty gal who can SUMMON METEORS! You're a badass, Jubei, you're a badass.
Wiz: Regardless, Jubei took the siblings to a church, where they were taken care of by a nun by the name of Celica A. Mercury.
Boomstick: From there, Jin's childhood seemed pretty decent...uuuuntil his sister Saya grew sick and his older bro Ragna had to take care of her, and so Jin didn't have anyone to play with anymore.
Wiz: Naturally, Jin grew jealous of Saya, due to the fact that Ragna was more focused on taking care of her than spending more time with him.
Boomstick: How does little Jinny solve this, you ask? In the most peaceful way, that's what! With mindf*ckery from a hipster villain named Yuuki Terumi, Jin let Terumi impale Ragna through the chest, and cut off his own arm for good measure. The result? Two kidnapped siblings, a dying, armless white haired dude, a dead mother figure, and a ruined church. Great plan, Jin! Great plan.
Wiz: Adopted into the prestigious Kisaragi family after his memory was cut off from these events, Jin would soon rise up in the ranks of the Novus Orbis Librarium, but his adopted siblings weren't exactly the biggest fans of this, chalking up Jin's promotions to his adoption. Due to this, Jin felt empty, despite being showered with numerous awards and rankings and even scoring some victories for the Librarium.
Boomstick: But Jinny wouldn't get all of these achievements if he wasn't fit for the job. Thankfully, he is! He's strong enough to trade blows with powerhouses like Ragna and take on giant bio-weapons which can destroy entire countries!
Wiz: Jin is also fast enough to dodge lightning, and react to the laser beams of the Gigant: Take-Mikazuchi at point-blank. And despite what his slender frame might lead you to believe, Jin can take a lot of punishment, being able to survive beatings from the top tiers of BlazBlue, such as Ragna, Hakumen, Hazama, and in Centralfiction, the god Susanoo himself. He's even survived Tsubaki Yayoi's Immortal Breaker, a move that's supposed to be able to slay beings outside of the reason and place death in their minds.
Boomstick: His willpower's also strong enough to release the fabled Power of Order, which we'll get to in a bit.
Wiz: But what makes Jin a true force to be reckoned with is his signature weapon: the Nox Nyctores Causality Weapon, the Mucro Algescro: Yukianesa.
Boomstick: Given to him by his sister Saya ten years prior, Yukianesa is one sweet ice blade. It doesn't really have a blade, but when Jin unsheathes it, it absorbs nearby seithr and water particles to unseal the locks and create a blade of permafrost. And it has the power to freeze everything it touches!
Wiz: Yukianesa alters the mental state of its wielder, and is the result of Jin acting...well, the way he's acting.
*cue montage clip of all the times Jin creepily says he wants to play with/kill Ragna*
Wiz: Rrrregardless, Jin's proficiency with Yukianesa is definitely not something to be scoffed at. Jin can manipulate ice to his will with his Drive, Frost Bite, which freezes the foe on contact. One attack option creates a wolf...head...out of ice to freeze foes in their tracks.
Boomstick: Jin can also summon ice swords to launch at foes, ride on a f*cking ice skateboard blade, summon a giant snowflake to float around him, create a tombstone out of ice, summon flashes of ice in front of him, and a few more cool sh*t!
Wiz: Aside from those, Jin possesses three heavily damaging moves known as Distortion Drives. Jin's first Distortion Drive is known as Ice Fang, which allows him to fire off a bladebeam of ice. His second, Moonsong, fires a giant arrow of ice point-blank at the foe, and his third, Judgment: Snowstorm, allows him to counter an attack with an iaijutsu quickdraw slash that freezes foes and lands additional hits when the ice shatters.
Boomstick: When things get real heated for Jin, he activates his Overdrive, the Frost End. This increases Jin's strength and makes all of Jin's sword-based attacks apply the Frost Bite drive. This basically means that all of Jin's sword attacks can freeze the enemy! He also has a move called the Empty Sky True Form: Crystal Moonstorm, which traps his enemy in an icy tower and leaves them open for a nice, fresh bout of PAIN!
Wiz: And when Jin wants to finish the fight with style, he uses his Astral Finish, the Arctic Dungeon. With this move, Jin stabs into the ground to freeze the foe, regardless of wherever he is in the arena. Then, he snaps his sword back into its sheathe, and with that, the ice - along with the unfortunate opponent inside - is shattered to pieces.
Boomstick: But that's not all the tricks Jin has up his sleeve!
Wiz: Right. Many characters in BlazBlue possess an "unlimited mode", which increases their strength and durability by a fair margin and grants the user a plethora of new abilities. In Jin's case, his unlimited mode increases his durability by 30.4%; applies Frost Bite to many of Jin's attacks, including his non-blade attacks; and the effects of his Overdrive, Frost End, are now active by default.
Boomstick: And he's got a sweet-ass extra power: the Power of Order! This cool-sounding ability is the ability to hold true to one's convictions, no matter what the cost. This also provides Jin with the ability to nullify Phenomenon Interventions, whatever the hell they are, and this made him literally will away the concept of death that Tsubaki's Immortal Breaker tried to force into his brain!
Wiz: With all of his crazy abilities, Jin has accomplished a number of noteworthy feats under his belt. He was the one who ended the Ikaruga Civil War and was dubbed the Hero of Ikaruga as a result; dove into the Cauldron and became the leader of the Six Heroes, Hakumen; fended off the Murakumo Unit known as Mu-12 with the aid of Hakumen; battled his brother, Ragna the Bloodedge, multiple times; broke the Mind Eater curse on Tsubaki alongside Noel and Makoto; defeated the Gigant: Take-Mikazuchi alongside Noel and Ragna; assisted Hakumen in destroying the Monolith's foundation; and has even held his own for a while against the god Susanoo.
Boomstick: But sadly, ol' Jin ain't perfect. He's bloody obsessed with killing Ragna, for one thing! I mean, sure, the Power of Order sorta makes him think that Ragna's a threat, but it's still pretty darn creepy! And it certainly doesn't help that he can get a bit overconfident at times.
Wiz: Still, with these weaknesses aside, Jin may yet prove himself to become one of BlazBlue's greatest heroes, and may actually be on the path to purge himself of his twisted side. Hell, in Centralfiction, it was even shown that Jin is no longer antagonistic towards Ragna.
Boomstick: Buuut still, you might want to not cross this ice psycho. If you do...he will put a cross over the place you're buried. A cross made of ice.
Jin: Tsubaki, I am going to keep our promise!!
****
JIN:
Age: Presumably early 20s (Younger than Ragna)
Height: 5'10''
Weight: 134.5 lbs
Aliases: The Hero of Ikaruga, Major Kisaragi, Knight of the N.O.L
Physicality and General Abilities
· Superhuman Strength
· Superhuman Speed
· Superhuman Durability
· Military Intellect
· Immense Willpower
· Barrier
Mucro Algescro: Yukianesa
· Jin's signature weapon
· A Nox Nyctores Causality Weapon
· Alters the mental state of its wielder
· Doesn't actually have a blade, but rather, when it is drawn, it manipulates seithr and nearby water particles to unseal the lock and create a blade made of permafrost
· Wields the power to freeze all that it touches
Drive: Frost Bite
· Allows Jin to completely freeze foes with Drive attacks
· Drive attacks require astral heat, which is gained by landing blows or taking them, regardless if the hits are blocked or not
Special Moves
· Wolf Head: Summons an icy wolf head to freeze foe on contact
· Hishouken (Ice Blade): Throws a sword of ice forward
· Fubuki (Blizzard): Diagonal upward slash wave of ice energy
· Rehhyou (Violent Ice): Vertical quickdraw that projects an ice blade
· Musou Senshouzan (Crystal Strike): Rides a giant icicle above the ground to mow the opposition, ending with a slash
· Sekkajin (Snow Flower Storm): A combo of slashes ending with a kick
· Hishougeki (Flying Ice Strike): Creates a giant ice blade that slides along the ground
· Hirensou (Dual Ice Strike): Draws sword in a circular flash which freezes, then swipes at foe to shatter the ice and send them flying
· Musou Tosshougeki (Freezing Crystal Strike): EX move, two-hit version of Musou Senshouzan; freezes foe on first hit, shatters ice on second
Distortion Drives
· Consume 50% of Heat Gauge
· Touga Hyoujin (Ice Fang): Unleashes an ice wave at the foe at high speeds
· Hiyoku Getsumei (Moonsong): Creates an arrow of ice and shoots it point blank at the foe in a 35 degree angle upwards
· Kokuujin: Yukikaze (Judgment: Snowstorm): Blocks an attack and counters with an iaijutsu quickdraw slash that freezes the foe and lands extra hits when the ice shatters
Rengoku Hyouya (Arctic Dungeon)
· Jin's Astral Heat
· Consumes 100% of Heat Gauge
· Concentrates all power onto the sword and stabs it onto the ground, freezing the foe; after about 5 seconds, the ice shatters along with the foe inside; practically guarantees victory
Frost End
· Jin's Overdrive
· All hits landed by Yukianesa now freeze on contact
Empty Sky True Form: Crystal Moonstorm
· Jin's Exceed Accel
· Hits foe up, and summons a tower of ice to entrap them; Jin then leaps up to the opponent and unleashes a combo of strikes, the last strike shattering the tower
Unlimited Mode
· Adds 30.4% durability
· Frost End is active by default
· More of Jin's attacks apply Frost Bite
Power of Order
· The ability to hold true to one's ideals, no matter what
Feats
· Became the hero of Ikaruga after ending the Ikaruga Civil War
· Jumped into the Cauldron and became Hakumen, the leader of the Six Heroes
· Has battled Ragna time and again
· With Hakumen, fended off Mu-12
· Broke the Mind Eater curse on Tsubaki with Noel and Makoto
· Survived the Immortal Breaker with the Power of Order
· With Ragna and Noel, defeated the Gigant: Take-Mikazuchi
· Assisted Hakumen in destroying the Monolith's foundation
· Held his ground for a while against Susanoo
Weaknesses
· Obsessed with killing Ragna...at least until it toned down in Centralfiction
· Can get overconfident in certain occasions
*~*~*~*~*~*
Wiz: All right, the combatants are set. Let's end this debate once and for all!
Boomstick: It's time for a DEATH BATTLE!!!
*~*~*~*~*~*
BATTLE
Random-ass Unknown War-torn City in the Empire in Akame ga Kill...
The city had fallen without even an iota of resistance.
Of course, when the Empire had set foot into this remote town, its army immediately stepped up to defend...but it was pathetic. The Imperial Army had swept through them without so much as a fight. The opposing soldiers dropped like flies, and the Army wasn't even trying.
And of course, the merciless bastards that they were, some of the Imperial soldiers sacked parts of the city without mercy. They robbed and burned homes, crucified some of the occupants...To describe their acts as inhumane would be an understatement.
Luckily, some - key word some - of the civilians had escaped with their lives. While the Empire was successful in striking down any poor soul that escaped, more had fled the city, in fear and disgust of the sudden force that had attacked them.
And at the head of the Imperial Army...was a very, very disappointed General.
"Hm...such a shame," the General muttered to herself. "I'd expected them to at least put up even a tiny little fight...I suppose the Emperor was mistaken in sending me here."
To say that the General, Esdeath, the Empire's Strongest, was disappointed was an understatement. She'd always grown fond of war, and it always pleased her to fight a good battle. Of course, she paid little heed over the lives she so mercilessly stamped out, but it was to be expected from fighting a war. Now, it seemed, she hadn't fought a war. She hadn't even fought a battle.
Ah, oh well. This wasn't even Esdeath's prime objective.
She had been assigned to take over this unnamed city, as it held a great deal of resources that would be very useful for the Empire's quest for greater power. Of course, expecting such a valuable source to be protected by a vast, powerful army, the Empire sent Esdeath to lead the charge in invading the city that held the source.
Esdeath sighed...had the Empire known that this city's army was going to be so pathetic?
Still, she decided to head down to the war-torn city herself. She'd ordered her soldiers to keep this town's leader alive, and now she was heading down to...meet him, whoever the hell he was.
As a myriad torturous thoughts flooded Esdeath's mind...the strongest of the Empire let out a savage smirk. If the army hadn't posed a challenge, she'd at least have fun here...
****
Around the same time
The relative silence of this part of the war-torn city was broken by a strange man setting foot into it.
The man, wandering into this town, resigned himself to his thoughts. It had been a week since he'd fallen into the Boundary, and now he was aimlessly wandering throughout this strange land. He hadn't found any sign of the people who'd fallen with him just yet, but then again, he didn't know if he'd seen everything in this strange new world.
The man, otherwise known as Jin Kisaragi, sighed. If he was going to have any luck finding them, he'd best double his search. This town was as good a lead as any, so it seemed.
Keeping a hand on the hilt of the sheathed blade on his side, Jin walked down the cobblestone, looking over at the strewn corpses in a show of disgust. He walked on, shooting his gaze at the side often, until he happened upon a marketplace. The fresh fruit was still out there, seemingly untouched by whichever outside force razed this city.
The stalls, however, were not. They were splintered in places, and a particular "Meat Shop" was still on fire. This did little to faze Jin, however, as he continued his stride.
...One that would be interrupted right there and then, as Jin spotted a figure walking...towards him.
It was a pale white woman with blue hair, her cap tilted slightly downwards to hide her eyes. Yet, the small hint of a smirk in the woman's mouth was enough to...unnerve Jin.
And what served to solidify this feeling was how the woman had stopped, as if she was glaring daggers at him through that cap of hers.
"Hm...I never thought I'd find any more souls in here," started the woman. "Am I right in assuming that you're this pathetic city's trump card, or does it proclaim you as so?"
Jin looked at her, quickly burying his unease with coldness that matched the woman's own. "You're incorrect. I have no affiliation with this city whatsoever," replied Jin. "And am I right to assume that you're the one who did this to this city?"
"You're...surprisingly perceptive," complimented the woman. "But I should have figured that, considering your outfit."
And at that moment, Esdeath's gaze fell on the sheathed sword at Jin's side. "That sword...I sense...something out of it," said Esdeath. "Almost as if it wishes to pounce at me and run wild..."
Jin raised a brow, but kept his overall composure. What was with this woman?
"Hm, that sword's successfully managed to intrigue me," said Esdeath. "I say I test what it can do. I haven't had a fine fight in my entire time in this pathetic town. Entertain me."
Hearing this, Jin...sighed. "I have no time for you, woman," he spat. "I'm trying to search for something. Get the hell out of my way."
"Oh, but you don't understand," replied Esdeath. At this, she raised her arm into the air, and before Jin could comprehend it...a number of ice spikes had materialized seemingly out of thin air, and were primed to kill. "I'm not giving you a choice."
With the last word, the icicles suddenly launched themselves at Jin...who made no effort whatsoever to keep every icicle from hitting him. With his sword swinging in a blur, Jin absolutely obliterated each and every icicle.
As soon as Jin's sword clicked into place into its sheath, Esdeath's grin grew wider. "Ah! It seems this may be a fun experience," she chuckled. "Let's see how long you'll last until I break you and feed your bloody corpse to my dogs."
"Don't get too ahead of yourself," snapped Jin, as his hand fell on the hilt of his sword. "You got in my way. I'm going to be the one cuts you into bloody pieces, bitch."
(cue Lust SIN (Theme of Jin Kisaragi) - BlazBlue Calamity Trigger OST)
Jin Kisaragi fell into his signature battle stance, only serving to satisfy Esdeath all the more. She drew the rapier sheathed in her side in a flash, declaring, "Impressive words. I'm certainly going to note them. In the meantime...let me show you how I, Esdeath, am the Empire's Strongest."
The wheel of fate is turning
At this, both combatants tightened the grip on their respective swords. This was going to be a duel of two ice-cold swordsmen, of two beings of power...and only one would be given the cold sting of death.
Rebel 1...
Action!
FIGHT!
Esdeath made the first move. She swung her rapier at the air about six times, forming and launching six icicles at Jin. The hero of Ikaruga ran forth, making no effort to counteract them, and closed in, drawing his fabled sword, the Mucro Algescro: Yukianesa, and swinging upwards with incredible speed.
CLANG!
Esdeath was barely able to bring her rapier in front of her and parry the blade of permafrost that was Yukianesa...and couldn't help but feel a tiny bit surprised. Never before had she faced an opponent with such speed...but it didn't matter. Soon, her face of surprise turned into one of satisfaction as she and Jin were locked in a bladelock of sorts.
"Interesting..." said Esdeath. "Perhaps I won't find you as boring after all."
Jin said nothing; he merely swung Yukianesa sharply to the side, prematurely breaking the lock. He then followed up with a series of eight swift slashes, which Esdeath all defended against. The strongest of the Empire then leapt back as Jin concluded his combo by kicking at her.
Still keeping that smug smirk on her face, Esdeath swung her arm, and in a flash, three more long, sharp icicles formed in midair, and with a flick of her wrist, all three launched themselves at Kisaragi. The hero of Ikaruga rolled to the side to evade, allowing the icicles to break the wooden stall behind him into splinters and countering by pointing a finger forward and launching a sword of ice at Esdeath. The general, in theatrical display and nothing else, intercepted the ice blade with an icicle, and the two projectiles exploded into shards of ice as they clashed.
With a flick of Esdeath's fingers, the shards quickly reformed into one long icicle, and was at an instant launched at Jin, who sliced it in half with a timed swing of Yukianesa.
Skewering Jin with repeated icicles wasn't Esdeath's plan, however.
As soon as Jin stood right back up and gazed at Esdeath...every single nerve in his body had screamed DANGER! all at once. Eyes widening, the hero of Ikaruga looked up...only to see a massive sphere of ice thunder down on him. Reacting to this, Jin ran forth as quickly as possible, and he managed to avoid death via being squashed...but the impact of the sphere had thrown him off his feet, shards of ice flying everywhere.
In an instant, those shards reformed into icicles, which Jin, upon his recovery, dashed away from, as he closed in for the kill, the blade of frost that was Yukianesa glinting and hungry for flesh. Esdeath, slightly caught off guard by her opponent's speed, had no time to form another icicle, and thus had no choice but to defend herself from the wide-arching swing than Jin unleashed...and the force actually managed to make her stagger back.
Still, Esdeath regained her balance quick enough, and countered with a swing of her own. A shower of sparks ensued as her rapier clashed with Yukianesa, but the two commanders of ice soon pulled back. They swung once more, and soon enough, a duel ensued, blurs of silver and blue the only things visible to the naked human eye as the two commanders clashed with all they had. The two constantly changed positions, kicking away the debris from the stalls strewn about, as the sheer kinetic force from their clashes pulverized the weaker shards of wood that lay strewn across the marketplace, as well as crushing any unfortunate cabbage to paste.
(As this happened, a certain man, who had somehow made business in the war-torn city and fled with his life, shook his fist to the heavens, screaming at the top of his lungs, "MY CABBAGES!!!")
The intense ten-second clash ended when Jin threw his palm forward, a wolf head made out of ice bursting out of his arm and launching itself towards Esdeath. Her danger sense screaming at her to get the hell out of the way, Esdeath leapt back, narrowly avoiding the icy wolf head.
This gave Jin the opening to launch another blade-shaped ice projectile at Esdeath, but this time, the general made no attempt to counter it. Holding her palm up, Esdeath caught the sword in midair, as if she were using telekinesis, and redirected it. Clenching his teeth, Jin threw his own palm forward, a green barrier of sorts materializing in front of him and shattering the ice blade upon contact.
This gave Esdeath enough time to flick her wrists, and the moisture in the air around her hardened - and then three icicles, three times longer than herself if she were lying on her back, materialized in the air. With a savage smirk, Esdeath shot the colossal spikes forth in an attempt to skewer her enemy.
Jin's response? He leapt into the air and materialized a sharp-tipped board of ice, and as soon as the board solidified, Jin hopped on top of it, and with a simple mental command, he shot himself forth, miraculously weaving around the icicles which promptly ground the stalls behind him to dust.
As soon as Jin was an inch away from Esdeath, he leapt off the bladed board, and swung down on the General. Esdeath was, of course, more than ready to leap back to avoid Yukianesa thundering down on her head. However, this had left her open for Jin's next move.
Before Esdeath could block or step out of the way, Jin, having sheathed his blade, twirled it in front of him, scabbard and all, and struck Esdeath right in the chin, opening her up further for Jin's next attack.
Kisaragi quickly grabbed Esdeath by the back of her neck, and before the general knew it...
...She'd been hit by two spikes of ice bursting out of the ground. As a result, she was shot high into the air, and Jin, not wishing this opening to slip from his fingers, swung his sword upwards as it slid off its sheathe, the icy tip of Yukianesa slamming against Esdeath's chest as she fell and blasting the general back ten feet.
Esdeath landed on a wooden cart, cat-footed, and despite the attack, she smirked. This man wasn't bad; unlike so many of her former foes, this man had actually succeeded in landing the first direct hit.
"I'm even more intrigued at you," complimented Esdeath. "I never thought you'd be the one who'd land first blood against me for the very first time."
"And for the very last time," countered Jin. "Have you any tricks left?"
To this, Esdeath simply chuckled, and with a flipkick, she leapt off the cart she was standing on and kicked it at Jin. The hero of Ikaruga, in response to this, drew Yukianesa and swung it at the cart, splitting it in half. Splinters flew from the split cart, as its flying halves were encased in ice that shattered them completely.
Jin scoffed as he squinted through the wall of smoke and sawdust the split cart formed. This was his foe's trick? If she was going to catch him off guard with such a trick as this, she was sorely mistaken.
Except for the fact that, you know...she wasn't. And that was certainly not her plan.
"-what the?!"
Jin was barely able to leap back as the ground beneath him froze, catching whatever stalls of fruit and vegetables were still standing and freezing them entirely. And at the frost's epicenter was Esdeath, her hand on the ground.
Teeth grit, Jin bolted towards the nearest one-story shop he could find, and used whatever platforms were available to leap upwards and avoid getting caught in Esdeath's ice. Fortunately, the ice had stopped short at the bottom half of the building he was standing on just as he had leapt onto the roof.
"Whoa!!"
Jin, warned by his senses at the last second, leapt back, narrowly evading a spike of ice that had burst from the shop's roof. When he stood back up to full height...he saw Esdeath, floating in front of the building, her wrists and ankles encased in ice.
Without saying a word, Esdeath held her palm up, and an absolutely massive horn of ice materialized out of nowhere. Jin, his senses on high alert, ran to the side and airdashed out of the way, landing on the balcony of another building ahead as the horn of ice completely halved the one-storey shop he was standing on.
Upon landing, Jin immediately threw his hand forward, launching a blade of ice at Esdeath. The general made little effort to fly to the side and dodge it, and counter with an icicle. Jin, having faced faster and worse, simply ran forth, narrowly evading the icicle as he did. Soon, he was airdashing from roof to roof, launching swords of ice at his airborne foe. Esdeath flew in a bid to keep up, launching a stream of icicles at her opponent while dodging the ice swords.
The trade continued until Jin leapt off a particular two-storey building and onto an open area below. It was a fountain plaza, surrounded by a few abandoned houses and with one path leading away from the fountain itself.
His eyes darting around the sky, Jin spied for any sign of his opponent, his hand gripped on the hilt of Yukianesa. He knew that he had to watch out for his opponent, that she might have some trick up her sleeve...
WHACK!
Jin gasped in surprise and pain as something blunt hit him in the back. Fortunately, he had enough time to duck, narrowly avoiding the rapier that would have skewered him in the head, and whirled.
Jin only barely had time to swing Yukianesa and bat away an oncoming mace of ice, and swing it once more to parry a quick sword thrust aimed at his heart.
The assailant who wielded those weapons, Esdeath, leapt back acrobatically as Jin swung Yukianesa in a wide arc, threatening to dismember the fiercest of the Empire. She now held her rapier and an icy mace on each of her hands, and with a smirk, she affirmed that she was ready to bring the new pain.
Jin would have none of that. With a scowl, the knight of the N.O.L. dashed in, swinging Yukianesa once more. Esdeath countered, of course, with both of the weapons in her hands. Soon, the two had engaged in a heated - um, cool - duel, the icy Yukianesa refusing to yield to Esdeath's weapons. As the clash continued, Jin could now slowly feel the astral heat building inside him, ready to rise up like a well of energy. He now had enough heat to execute his planned attack...now he only needed to set Esdeath up.
Jin quickly lashed out, swinging Yukianesa at blinding speeds and nailing Esdeath with a vicious combo of sword strikes. The surprised General couldn't even counter as Kisaragi concluded his combo by kicking her in the gut, knocking her back.
Esdeath, despite being able to regain her balance and land on her two feet, grimaced. How could this man have the speed necessary to match her...?
It didn't matter. All that mattered was that she was facing a new foe, a new challenge, after all these years. Now, she only needed to see if this could stack up to Akame.
Grinning like a fox, Esdeath stood upright, snapping her fingers. Jin, witnessing this, narrowed his eyes. What was his foe planning now...?
Not like it would save her anyway. Jin now had more than enough astral heat to use that attack. All he needed was the perfect opening to utilize it-!
The ground rumbled.
Instantly Jin tensed, his grip on his sword tightening. After looking around in confusion, the hero of Ikaruga's eyes were fixed on Esdeath...
...and Jin, warned by his senses at the very last millisecond, leapt back as something burst from the ground. Walls and paved road were utterly demolished as a gigantic wall of ice suddenly burst forth from the ground, and some of the surrounding houses were unfortunate enough to get caught in the attack and get frozen.
Jin sprinted back, as fast as his legs could carry him, narrowly avoiding sharing the houses' fate. He looked up and saw no sign of his opponent, but he quickly snapped his gaze back to ground level, narrowly leaping back and avoiding getting skewered.
Panting, the hero of Ikaruga decided to hide behind a sizable house, hoping to protect himself from the ice...but his plan was short-lived.
The stone wall behind him cracked until it gave way to a massive wall of ice, but it didn't stop there. It closed in on Jin himself, and realizing that he was now stuck, Jin had little option left.
Drawing Yukianesa in a flash, Jin quickly swung it in one swift arc, unleashing an icy bladebeam that raced towards the ice wall. Upon the beam's collision, the ice wall cracked significantly, and then exploded entirely, sending sizable chunks of ice flying everywhere.
Jin resumed his posture, the icy blade of Yukianesa clicking into place in its sheath, as the chunks of ice fell all around him, not one of them hitting a strand of his hair. Still, some had moved close enough to create gusts of wind that blew against Jin's face and uniform.
And then Esdeath herself emerged from the wreckage of the wall, her cap tilted down to hide her eyes and her rapier sheathed at her side. Her cruel smirk still made itself present as she strode towards Jin, chunks of ice still falling around her.
"Impressive," complimented Jin. "So you can create ice out of thin air, like me..."
Esdeath stretched out an arm, and at that moment, a sword of ice materialized in her hand. "...like this?" she chuckled. "Oh, I've quite a few tricks up my sleeve to show how superior I am to you. Now, don't get me wrong, that blade of yours is impressive - it appears to be made of ice, yet has still not broken before my sword. But soon, you'll see that my power over ice vastly exceeds yours."
"You talk too much," snapped Jin, as he drew Yukianesa once more and tensed, prepared to strike Esdeath down where she stood. Esdeath's response was a mere smirk as she readied the icy sword in her own hand.
"Perhaps toying with you will get me nowhere," said Esdeath. "I think it's time I stepped up my game a little. But just a little~"
(cue Yami o Kiru - Akame ga Kill OST)
Rebel 2...
Action!
With that, Esdeath raised both of her arms, and beneath her, a massive tower of ice burst forth, carrying her up twenty feet into the air, out of Jin's reach.
With grit teeth, the frustrated Jin leapt onto whatever he could use on the tower as a platform, jumping from flat surface to flat surface as he did. When at last he reached the top, Jin quickly leapt towards Esdeath, and materialized another board of ice, ready to mow the General down and force her out of the tower...
But as soon as Jin zoomed at his target, he snarled in frustration as Esdeath easily leapt out of the way of his attack. And when Jin turned on a dime to meet his foe...
WHACK!
A bitch-slap to the face with the flat of the ice sword, and Jin was sent cannoning back into the ruined fountain plaza, its floor frozen and the surrounding houses already surrounded by ice. Esdeath was quick to follow, ice encasing her wrists and ankles, and with her icy sword glinting behind her, the General swung, only to be met with a swing of Yukianesa which, despite all odds, held against Esdeath's forceful swing.
Esdeath flew back as Jin jabbed at her with the tip of Yukianesa, and drew her rapier with her free hand. Crossing the swords in her hands, Esdeath zoomed in. Of course, Jin was at the ready, and the two decided to trade blows once more. This time, however, Jin found himself struggle against his foe, who'd decided to...lessen playing around. However, he still had the speed to catch up, and his defenses weren't faltering...yet.
That was, until Esdeath managed to catch Jin by slicing at his shoulder. Jin stumbled back, and thus, wasn't able to defend himself from the oncoming combo courtesy of Esdeath.
The General struck at Jin's chest with both flats of her blades, and then struck out with a four-hit combo, swinging both of her blades in vicious speeds. With an overhead swing, she brought Jin to her knees, and then she launched the hero of Ikaruga high into the air. Ice still encasing her wrists and ankles, she slammed the blades of her swords onto the airborne Jin's back, and then...
SLASH!
Jin gasped in pain as he was launched into the air, blood flying out of the wounds created by Esdeath's swords. However, Esdeath didn't stop there; raising her arms, she materialized a house-sized sphere of ice above Jin and let it fall.
His eyes widening, Kisaragi quickly put a palm forth, and a barrier of sorts materialized, stopping the sphere from crushing Jin like an ant. Still, the sheer force and weight of the sphere blasted Jin back into the ground, and the sphere's weight had begun to take its toll...
"Barrier Overload!"
With little choice left, Jin declared those words, and at that, the barrier protecting him exploded outwards, promptly shattering the sphere. The force of the sphere's explosion blasted Jin back ten feet, onto the path leading out of the fountain plaza.
Jin knew now that he was in a pinch. After using that move, he'd now entered a state of danger, and he had to wait until he was back to normal. However, he knew that that just wouldn't do, considering that he was fighting a foe who refused to let him escape.
Now, he had to be careful; until the state of danger wore off, he had to keep himself from getting hit. He knew that Esdeath wasn't going to let him do that, but it never hurt to try.
Sure enough, Esdeath was now zooming at him, twin swords in hand. Jin raised Yukianesa to block, and the force of Esdeath's strike actually forced him to take a step back. Still, Jin found the time to kick Esdeath away and swing his sword at the air in front of him, unleashing a wave of ice about as tall as him. Esdeath, warned by her senses, leapt back as to avoid getting frozen, and Jin, refusing to relent, leapt into the air, on top of a board of ice.
This time, Esdeath, despite her danger sense on high alert, wasn't able to react as Jin struck her in the gut with the sharp board, and was promptly blown back as Jin swung Yukianesa down on her.
Without relent, Jin closed in and swung Yukianesa once more, aiming to lop off Esdeath's head-!
CLANG! KKKRACK!
Alarm bells ringing within her, Esdeath brought her ice blade up, but with the sheer force of the permafrost blade Yukianesa slamming into it, the General's makeshift sword was promptly shattered, and Esdeath herself, despite escaping the full brunt of the swing, was caught across the chest with the tip of Yukianesa...and promptly hissed at the sheer cold of the blade that had cut into her.
Esdeath, refusing to fall, thrust her hand forward, an icicle flying at Jin. The hero of Ikaruga brought down Yukianesa to split it in half, but of course, that had left him open for Esdeath's next move.
The ground rumbled once more...
...and Jin, warned by his senses at the last second, could only move out of the way as a massive mound of ice burst forth from the ground! Eyes narrowed, Jin airdashed towards where Esdeath was, batting away an icicle with a swing of Yukianesa, and once he got close, a snowflake-shaped aura appeared around him, knocking Esdeath far back as she attempted to close in with a swing of her own.
The attack had also served to encase Esdeath in ice, and exploiting this opening, Jin swiftly unleashed his eight-hit combo once more, juggling the Empire's strongest into the air. As the ice encasing her shattered, Esdeath could do little to counter as Jin sent his boot flying at her face. Following after her, Jin swung Yukianesa overhead, prepared to split Esdeath's skull in half-!
CLANG!
In the last second, Esdeath had turned to her side in midair, the icy blade of Yukianesa meeting an ice-armored shoulder. Still, while this maneuver protected Esdeath from getting her skull split, the force of the blow sent her cannoning back to the ground, on her feet.
After evading another overhead swing, Esdeath materialized a mace of ice and swung, only for Jin to bat it away with a diagonal swing of Yukianesa. Drawing her rapier, Esdeath pressed the assault, swinging at Jin with both weapons in her hands. Kisaragi grit his teeth as Esdeath swung at an alarming velocity, and the hero of Ikaruga could actually feel as if this duel was driving him to the edge.
In desperation, Jin thrust a hand forward and attacked Esdeath with a wolf head made of ice, but the General, wrapping her wrists and ankles in ice once more, made no effort to leap back. In retaliation, Esdeath rammed into Jin at top speed, earning a gasp for breath from the hero of Ikaruga. Esdeath didn't end her attack there; with amazing strength, she caught Jin in a piledrive through the path leading from the fountain plaza, driving him into the cobblestone and basically dragging him through it.
Esdeath continued her flight until they reached a particular place: the foot of a long staircase leading up to an extravagant building with a clock tower. There, Esdeath hefted up Jin and hurled him to the sky, firing off three icicles at the airborne hero of Ikaruga. Jin, unable to properly react in time, was promptly gashed at his sides as the three icicles hit him, albeit indirectly.
Jin fell towards the staircase, but managed to land on his feet, and managed to look in time to see Esdeath raising a palm towards him. The earth trembled once more...
...and a massive horn of ice materialized out of nowhere, threatening to shish kabob - no, extra large overkill shish kabob - Jin. Fortunately, the hero of Ikaruga was able to leap away in time, landing stylishly atop the spike that pierced and destroyed some of the stair steps.
With a flick of her hand and a clench of her fist, Esdeath willed the giant ice horn to shatter, forcing Jin to leap into the air. The shards of the ice horn were then reformed into a group of icicles, and Jin had little trouble evading them at all.
As he airdashed ever closer towards Esdeath, Jin smirked. He now had the opportunity to bring the pain by using one of those moves, and his astral heat had built up enough for him to do so.
Narrowly avoiding a precise thrust from Esdeath's rapier, Jin landed behind the General, and before she knew it, Kisaragi had forged a bow and arrow made of ice, and was primed to shoot at his foe, point-blank.
As soon as Esdeath was truly within range...Jin strung.
"Arrows of Ice...!"
Jin fired, and the arrow struck. Had Esdeath not formed a protective layer of ice around her chest, she would have been punctured like Swiss cheese right there and then. Still, even her last-second conjuring of ice armor couldn't protect her much from the force of twenty-three arrows striking her right in the chest, the last one shattering the ice armor for good. Jin strung one last icy arrow...
"Let everything freeze!!"
As soon as the last arrow connected with Esdeath's chest...the General was promptly blasted into the building far behind her, and was forced inside due to smashing through a weak wall.
DISTORTION FINISH!
(stop music)
However, Jin did not sigh in relief. He had to run over to the building on top of the stairs himself, to confirm his kill, to confirm if his attack was successful or not. With that in mind, he sprinted up the stairs, weaving through the piles of debris left behind by that last ice attack.
And sure enough, once he reached the top...he spotted Esdeath, alive and well, but not unscathed in the slightest. She wasn't pissed, but the look on her face seriously told Jin that she was going to take this battle a tad bit more seriously than she had been doing before.
"I have to say, your power is greater than I anticipated," complimented Esdeath. "Very few have driven me to the edge like this."
With a sarcastic edge to his voice, Jin replied, "The pleasure's all mine."
"But let's not keep this up, shall we?" Esdeath said. "This battle has to end, with your mangled corpse on my feet and ready to be feasted upon by my dogs."
"We'll see about that," snapped Jin. "Going into Overdrive!"
(cue Blazing Ashes II - Fate/stay night Unlimited Blade Works OST II)
Rebel 3...
Action!
With that, Jin Kisaragi activated his, well...Overdrive, the Frost End. Now beefed up, Jin dashed towards Esdeath, who put up a palm and began firing icicles at her enemy in the rate of machine gun fire. With swings of Yukianesa, Jin shattered some of the projectiles, and with timed weaves and dodges, he evaded the others. Once he was close enough, Esdeath didn't take any chances this time; she instantly materialized a spear of ice, fortifying it further with her power.
Like an expert spearman, Esdeath twirled the spear in her hand before her, and with new strength and swiftness, she swung at Jin, the latter countering with a flurry of blows from Yukianesa. This time, Jin could feel that Esdeath was actually trying, since he couldn't find any openings in her assault, and he could certainly feel the weight behind each strike dealt by the General.
Still, powered by Frost End, Jin pressed on, eventually matching Esdeath's strikes with his own until finally, with a good vertical swipe of Yukianesa, snapped the ice lance in half.
Her brows furrowed, Esdeath drew her rapier and swung at lightning speed...but the moment it made contact with the Frost End-amped Yukianesa...ice began to form around Esdeath's blade.
Still, not allowing this to unnerve her, Esdeath pressed her attack, focusing on power-blows and precise strikes in a bid to get the upper hand. Eventually, the duel of the Empire's strongest and the hero of Ikaruga had taken them inside the empty palace, its lamps still shining overhead, as if to suggest that this city's governing family had just fled.
Noticing this, Esdeath sighed inwardly. Oh well. Perhaps fighting this man had taken too much of her time.
The General was promptly brought back to reality as Jin's boot came rocketing at her. Esdeath snapped her head to the side to evade the kick, countering by grabbing the leg and tossing Jin to the side, causing him to stumble.
As Jin moved to regain his bearings, Esdeath examined her sword, and saw that it was now almost entirely encased in ice, the frost creeping all the way down to the handguard. Being the mistress of ice that she was, Esdeath knew...that this did not bode well.
Unfortunately for her, she wouldn't be given time to think as Jin unleashed a vicious, wide-arced swing at her. Esdeath, with her lightning-quick reactions, raised her rapier on instinct to defend...but having been encased in ice, the sword was helpless underneath the force of Yukianesa. With a well-placed hit, Jin had finally broken Esdeath's weapon in twain.
Snarling, Esdeath leapt out of the way of another strike, raising her arm into the air and materializing a multitude of icicles out of the moisture in the air. With a flick of her wrist, Esdeath commanded the icicles to race at Jin, who weaved around them and batted them away with ease. As he rounded Esdeath, Jin scoffed. Was this bitch planning to continue using that same predictable ranged attack against him?
However, this wasn't the case at all. Esdeath, knowing of her foe's speed and power, had anticipated this, and was merely using this attack as a diversion.
Jin's gaze snapped back to Esdeath as he heard the General utter:
"All will freeze before me..."
The moment Esdeath's hand touched the palace floor, a thick sheet of ice spread out, freezing anything unlucky enough to be caught in its path. Jin, his eyes widening, made to sprint away from the creeping ice and onto the palace staircase, but the edifice wasn't safe.
The ice froze over the steps of the stairs as it crept up at an alarming pace. Esdeath, wasting no time, materialized a rapier made of ice in her hand and ran after Jin, seemingly not slipping even as she ran across the ice she had created. By the time she let go of the ground, the ice had already frozen half of the palace.
Her eyes glinting like a predatory snake in the night, Esdeath eventually caught up with and swung at Jin...but this was an opportunity that the knight of the N.O.L. had been waiting for.
"Empty Sky Form..."
The moment Esdeath's ice sword was within an inch of his head, Jin bobbed, and before the General could even register it...she'd been struck in the gut with a full swing of Yukianesa. What was more, the attack had completely trapped her inside a block of ice.
But Jin wasn't done. He struck once more, passing through the frozen Esdeath as he did so, then repeated the process again, and again, and then again, before finishing with
"Winter's Reposte!"
And then, as Jin finished his final slash and Yukianesa clicked into place in its sheath...the ice trapping Esdeath promptly exploded, and the General encased within was blasted ten feet into the air, gasping in pain and for breath.
Still, with teeth grit, Esdeath wrapped ice around her wrists and ankles before she hit the ground, and was able to raise her ice sword in time to bat away an oncoming sword-shaped ice projectile. Quickly, she brought up the flat of her sword to defend as Jin closed in, riding atop a board made of ice, and kicked off the board, swinging Yukianesa overhead. As the ice sword clashed with Yukianesa, Esdeath and Jin were engaged in a bladelock.
Not letting the pain show any longer, Esdeath prematurely broke the lock with a sharp swing of the sword in her hand, forcing Jin back into the ground, and shot her foot up, striking the Major right in the face and sending him cannoning through the nearby window. Esdeath flew after him, and once she exited the window and sighted Jin, she raised her arms.
Jin, still in midair, looked up, and saw a massive sphere of ice falling upon him. Without hesitation, the hero of Ikaruga held his arm up, and the ice sphere was once more halted in its tracks by a transparent barrier. Still, the force was strong enough to threaten to break his arm, and its weight was still sufficient to threaten to crush him once they hit the ground.
Jin's course of action? Not hit the ground before the ice sphere did.
Jin lowered his barrier arm, and before the ice sphere was a mere inch above his head, he airdashed towards the floating Esdeath. Behind him, the ice sphere continued its fall...for all of half a second.
KER-CRASH!
The ice sphere was cracked in half the moment it hit the ground, and a few small, stray shards flew to the air. Esdeath, with a flick of her hand, caught the shards as if she were using telekinesis, and instantly lumped them together to form an extra-large icicle to launch at Jin, who had landed on the ground below.
As would be expected, Jin dodged out of the way of the icicle, which shattered into shards once its tip hit the ground. Still, Esdeath, with yet another gesture of her hand, commanded the shards to launch themselves at Jin at the rate of machine gun fire. Kisaragi, his teeth gnashed and his eyes narrowed, blocked some of the projectiles and weaved around the others, though one extra-large shard, while it missed any vital spot, gashed the side of Jin's leg, forcing him to stop running for a second.
Esdeath, still afloat, quickly exploited this opening, raising her arm. Jin made to run towards Esdeath...but the ground shook.
His danger senses screaming at him to get the hell out of the way, Jin instinctively changed directions as a massive spiked wall of ice burst forth from the ground. The spikes missed Jin entirely, but they jabbed into the wall behind him.
What came next was a rumbling noise, one which prompted Jin...to keep running.
The ice wall had hit the rather brittle foundations of a clock tower, and with a loud groan, the entire structure toppled and fell, and the resulting shockwave from the impact forced Jin to topple.
It was only fortunate that Jin barely managed to roll out of the way when Esdeath stabbed down at him, the very force of the ice blade slamming into the ground causing it to crack. Getting up to his feet, Jin countered by kicking Esdeath away, and swung Yukianesa in a wide arc, intent to freeze the bitch and get it the hell over with-
And that was when Jin's Overdrive, the Frost End, popped out of existence with all the ceremony of discarding a candy wrapper. Esdeath, with her lightning-fast reactions, was able to tug her ice sword free from the ground and defend against the blow, though the force made her stagger a bit.
Still, Esdeath was fast enough to recover, and before Jin could so much as react...
...a sword had found its way into his abdomen.
Jin gasped in pain as Esdeath, having seen the slightest opening in the Major's attempt to attack, rammed the ice sword into his gut. Jin's face contorted further in agony as Esdeath, the sadist that she was, twisted the blade further in, all while her malicious grin widened.
"I must admit, you gave me quite the challenge," complimented Esdeath. With this, she let go of her blade, only to materialize an extra-long shard of ice and ram it at Jin's side, increasing his pain.
"But, as evidenced by the fact that you haven't truly forced my hand, you are still weak..."
Another ice blade impaling him in the side, and Jin doubled over, coughing up blood and resisting the urge to scream.
"And the weak shall be crushed..."
With both hands, Esdeath pushed the blades further and further in.
"Beneath the boots..."
And with an air of finality, Esdeath tugged the blades free, an explosion of blood flying from Jin's gut.
"...of the strong!"
With the last word, Esdeath tossed Jin towards the fallen clock tower, his body falling over like a sack of bricks.
To make damn sure that Jin wouldn't fight back again, Esdeath quickly materialized a multitude of ice shards around Jin, all seventy feet in the air and aiming to bore holes into the hero of Ikaruga like Swiss cheese.
"What a terribly disappointing finish..." sighed Esdeath, as she clicked her fingers and sent the ice shards flying towards Jin.
Kisaragi, still visibly in pain, looked up...and saw the ice shards rocketing at him, all set to skewer him right there and then.
Huh, so this is where it all ends...at the hands of some ice bitch...Oh, well.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
No...
Jin's eyes snapped wide open.
I won't let it end like this...
The ice shards drew ever closer, but even then, Jin stood himself back up, paying no mind to the icicles of death.
An inch...
I'm the knight of the N.O.L...the hero of Ikaruga...
During the next half second that ensued, Jin stared at the oncoming ice shards, a determined fire in his eyes.
I'm the bearer of the Power of Order, and I won't let it end like this!!
Meanwhile, Esdeath had just turned away, too disappointed at her foe's relative weakness to even look at whatever carnage she caused. Oh well. It was probably high time she got to finishing her mission-
"BARRIER OVERLOAD!"
The sound of Jin's determined roar and the sound of ice shattering, as well as the clock tower behind him crumbling, was enough to cause Esdeath's attention to divert. Sure enough, Jin Kisaragi was very much alive, though not uninjured, as blood ran down his mouth and gut wounds. Still, he was standing upright, and the look on his face suggested that the gloves were really off this time.
For Jin had tapped into his full power. To put it bluntly...he had tapped into his Unlimited Mode.
"Ah! Now this should turn out to be interesting," said Esdeath, materializing a sword of ice.
"No more words, you bitch," hissed Jin Kisaragi. "I am going to tear you to pieces!!"
Both ice commanders looked each other in the eye, staring each other down with the same determined gaze. Now, neither warrior was going to back down. If they were allowed to continue their clash...
...their ice would freeze over all nine circles of Hell!
IT'S THE FINAL ROUND!
Rebel 4...
Action!
(cue Akame x Esdeath - Akame ga Kill OST if rooting for Esdeath)
(cue Under Heaven Destruction II - BlazBlue Chronophantasma OST if rooting for Jin)
Esdeath quickly raised her arms and summoned an absolutely massive sphere of ice in a bid to crush Unlimted Jin. The knight of the N.O.L. wasn't about to let this happen, as he dashed forward with agility and vigor betraying his injured state, and swung once.
With that one good swipe, Esdeath's newly formed ice sword was snapped in half, opening its wielder up for Jin's next eight-hit combo. Unlike the other times it was used, however, this one completely froze Esdeath over, but the ice was soon shattered as Jin punctuated his combo with a kick.
Esdeath regained her bearings and landed, cat-footed, on the ground, but was forced to retreat once more as Jin swung. The strike narrowly missed, but the hero of Ikaruga was quick to transition into jumping onto a board of ice. This time, Jin was able to run Esdeath over with the board, and landed a total of three hits before he leapt off, blasting Esdeath five feet back.
General Esdeath, refusing to yield, let alone show any sign of injury, materialized another ice sword, and managed to successfully parry another blow courtesy of Jin's Yukianesa. The two dueled once more, the kinetic force from their clashes destroying any rubble that surrounded them.
The duel lasted for a good, long twenty-five seconds, and eventually took them inside the frozen palace once more, the force of their clashes cracking away some of the ice. That was, until Esdeath found a hole in Jin's assault and slashed him across the chest, letting a small explosion of blood fly from the wound.
However, this move only served to piss Jin off more than it hurt him, and the hero of Ikaruga was able to deftly counter by thrusting his hand forward, freezing Esdeath over with a wave of ice.
This gave Kisaragi enough time to tap into his Overdrive, Frost End, yet again. With a swipe of his sword, Jin struck at the frozen Esdeath, and then twirled his sword. He then proceeded to swing Yukianesa once, striking Esdeath directly with a bladebeam of ice, before reversing his grip on the Nox Nyctores. And then, to end his combo, Jin stabbed Yukianesa into the ground, and at that moment, two tombstones made of ice burst forth from the ground and struck the ice encasing Esdeath, forcing a slight, muffled cry of pain from the General. And when Yukianesa slipped into its sheath, the ice was promptly shattered, sending Esdeath flying backwards.
Panting and wheezing, Esdeath clutched at her side. This was a boost in strength she wasn't prepared for, admittedly, and it was starting to push her to her limits. And the guy hit hard, as well, and matched her in speed.
And the exhaustion from this battle was finally starting to get to her. She knew she had to finish this before things could turn out for the worse.
Esdeath hastily retreated, summoning wave after wave of icicles and blasting them at Jin with the rate of machine gun fire. Jin, of course, expertly weaved through all of them, and leapt into the air, the blade of Yukianesa ready to kill. Esdeath, in a futile attempt to defend herself, brought her ice sword forth in order to block...but it, under constant pressure thanks to Jin's enhanced strikes, finally snapped in half, allowing the strike to go through.
Esdeath was sent cannoning back as she was directly struck by Yukianesa, and while it had not cut deep enough to be a killing blow, the sheer cold of the blade of Yukianesa burning into her flesh made her hiss in pain.
Jin then twisted his blade around, and with a determined roar, jabbed the blade of Yukianesa into his opponent's heart before she could react.
Esdeath couldn't muster the strength to scream in agony as the ice-cold Yukianesa pierced her, and doubled over as it slid free from her body...but she couldn't react in time as Jin launched her into the air. And then, the hero of Ikaruga stabbed his blade into the ground...
...and just then, a massive tower of ice burst forth from the ground and wedged Esdeath within.
Still, Esdeath, despite her hapless situation...smirked. Opening her mouth whilst fighting off the immense pain, she whispered only one word. Just one. One that she knew would decide the match and leave her the victor...
"Mahapadma."
(pause music)
And just like that...everything froze as they took on a blue tinge. Everything. Esdeath, looking around at her frozen world...grinned.
Truly, this man was a magnificent warrior. However, he was, in the end, weak. In the end, her philosophy would be proven right, that only the strong survive in this world.
She looked down and prepared to shatter the tower, dead set on freezing the bastard below and ending the fight...
SCHLICK.
W-What?!
Esdeath's face contorted in pain as the whirling Yukianesa struck her, and she couldn't contain her surprise and shock as she saw the figure that had leapt into the air to her level.
Her trump card...it had frozen everything. Everything...except one Jin Kisaragi.
(resume music)
With a roar of determination and excitement, Jin caught the spinning Yukianesa that had struck Esdeath, and instantly unleashed a vicious combo on the helpless, trapped general. Esdeath nearly shouted in pain as Jin barraged her with a series of swift strikes, ending his combo with an overhead, one-handed swing that proceeded to shatter the entire tower of ice trapping Esdeath and blast Esdeath back into the ground, face-first.
Jin descended to the General's level, and proceeded to hoist her up by her uniform. Esdeath, bleeding profusely, uttered, "H-how...How can you resist...my trump card...?"
"I told you, I was going to tear you to pieces," growled Jin, a look of fury etched in his face. "Did you really think some 'trump card', whatever the hell it does, was gonna stop me?!"
With that, Jin unleashed a vicious knee to Esdeath's chin, sending the General flying ten feet into the air before falling to the ground unceremoniously.
"Well...I suppose...you were a truly great warrior," Esdeath managed to croak out one last time. "I guess a loss is a loss..."
Jin, not hearing any of this, whipped out Yukianesa one last time. "Let's finish this. Freeze eternally!!"
With that, Jin jabbed Yukianesa into the floor, and a giant mound of ice encased Esdeath entirely. Jin pushed the sword deeper and deeper into the ground, and the ice grew larger and thicker by the second, until...
KRACK!
The ice shattered once and for all - and took its prisoner with it. At long last, Esdeath, the Empire's Strongest...was no more.
ASTRAL FINISH!
(stop music)
As the shards of ice flew around him and time resumed its course, Jin at long last sheathed Yukianesa, uttering, "...too weak."
Seeing the cap of former General Esdeath slide at his feet, Jin...kicked it away into the distance. He then turned his back and flicked his arm, a misty angel's wing forming in his back for a second before slipping out of existence. He then began trudging away, not even so much as giving his conquest a sideways glance.
Still, he had to concede that this woman was a formidable enemy, and that this fight had taken a lot out of him. He wondered if there were any more warriors in this land who were as strong as her...
...It didn't matter right now. This fight had distracted him from his main goal. Now he had to search even more vigorously if he wanted to find the others. Ignoring the pain in his gut, he uttered,
"Prepare yourself, Ragna, Black One..."
KO!
*~*~*~*~*~*
Boomstick: Holy crap, that was cold!
Wiz: Let's not sugar-coat things here, Esdeath was fighting an uphill battle from the start. Sure, her feats of physical strength are impressive, but when you consider Jin's own feats of power, such as trading blows with the top tiers of BlazBlue and battling with the Gigant: Take-Mikazuchi, they simply paled in comparison.
Boomstick: Durability is kind of a no-brainer. Jin can survive extreme beatings from the likes of Ragna and Hakumen, while Esdeath has got far less feats under her belt.
Wiz: Speed is a bit tricky, but in the end, Jin simply takes it. While both have shown to be able to dodge lightning, Jin has reacted to Take-Mikazuchi's laser beams, and no, this is not aim-dodging. This feat alone trumps any and all of Esdeath's speed feats, so it's safe to say that Jin has the speed advantage.
Boomstick: Wanna talk power? Esdeath's ice powers are powerful, I can give you that. But unfortunately for her, ice isn't the only reason why Jin's so powerful. If he can trade blows with powerhouses like Ragna and even last a bit against the god Susanoo, then it should already clue you in on how much more powerful Jin is than Esdeath. "Oh, but Boomstick, you left out Ice Cavalry and Ice Storm Commander in Chief! And the latter move can freeze countries!"
Wiz: That is true. However, Ice Storm Commander in Chief requires days of prep involving the Ice Cavalry, and...we don't have to stress the prep time rule, do we? If Esdeath gets prep, Jin does too. And even if Esdeath somehow had access to Ice Storm Commander in Chief, it wasn't like Jin was just going to stand there and let her use it. With his superior speed and power, he'd keep Esdeath from actually utilizing this move to the fullest.
Boomstick: While we're still talkin' ice, yeah, it's true that Esdeath's ice powers have a lot of oomph behind them. But the thing is, not only are they easily avoidable by Jin, but Jin's own ice powers were pretty damn helpful. Many of his ice attacks are able to freeze people over, and considering that Esdeath hasn't really shown any instances that she was immune to ice...well, once she was frozen, there was little she could do whenever Jin locked her in a combo while she was frozen.
Wiz: And if we take into account the bonus effects of his Overdrive and Unlimited Mode, Esdeath just didn't have the options available to take Jin out before the latter froze her and locked her in a combo.
Boomstick: There's just one thing, though: the Mahapadma. I mean, it's a pretty damn OP get-out-of-jail-free card, and would enable her to cheat her way towards a win...but even the time stopping Mahapadma paled in comparison to the Power of Order!
Wiz: The Power of Order is a very formidable force, able to nullify many powerful Phenomenon Interventions. If it can make Jin literally will away the concept of death forced upon him by the Immortal Breaker, and if it can make someone like Hakumen survive full trips across the soul-rending Boundary, then it stands to reason that Mahapadma would fall flat against the Power of Order.
Boomstick: And even if Mahapadma worked, there's the fact that Jin's still too durable for her to take out, as he'd taken stronger hits before, such as Ragna's and Hakumen's attacks. Either way, there wasn't anything Mahapadma could really do but delay the inevitable.
Wiz: Esdeath was a strong foe, but in the end, she couldn't match Jin's superior power, speed, abilities, and Power of Order.
Boomstick: Will Esdeath ever get a win here? Seems pretty cold putting her in these matches. But hey, at least this one made sense...
Wiz: The winner is Jin Kisaragi.
Winner: JIN KISARAGI
+ Greater power and durability
+ Arguably greater speed
+ Frost Bite, while seemingly packing less power, was a valuable asset
+ Power of Order allowed him to resist the Mahapadma
> + Even if the Power of Order wasn't effective, the fact that Jin is still too durable for Esdeath still stands
+ Overdrive and Unlimited Mode were great boosts
Loser: ESDEATH
+ Impressive physical strength
+ Cunning and sadistic
+ Ice powers are very destructive
- Outmatched in power and durability
- Arguably less speed
- No means of defense against Frost Bite
- Mahapadma falls flat against the Power of Order
> - Even if it worked, the fact that Jin is still too durable for Esdeath to take out still stands
- Ice Storm Commander in Chief is reliant on prep
*~*~*~*~*~*
NEXT TIME ON DEATH BATTLE:
Pokemon against Aeons! It's time for a duel of the creature-commanders...
RED vs. YUNA!
*~*~*~*~*~*
DBX
DBX!
No Rules!
Absolutely No Analysis!
Just Bloodshed!
The field of battle awaits...
BlazBlue...
"If you've got a death wish, then you came to the right place."
Ragna the Bloodedge
versus
Monster Hunter...
*Descends from the sky and roars as it activates Frenzy Mode*
Gore Magala
The Everwood...
Ragna the Bloodedge...did not know how he'd stumbled across this place.
The last thing he had remembered was that he'd fallen into the Boundary with Kokonoe, Taokaka, Celica, Noel, Jin, Hakumen, and a newly-reincarnated Terumi, and he had somehow separated from them in this strange new world...and from the looks of it, they had traveled into the past.
Ragna was currently within a strange, forested ruin, and in his trek in this place, he'd seen nothing but bizarre creatures. Deer that were barely the height of his chest, raptor-like creatures barking at each other, armored bugs that could curl up into balls...
Well, of course, Ragna did not have the time to stare in awe. He needed to find his way out of here.
As the Bloodedge continued his trek, he heard a sudden scream. This wasn't a beast's scream, but a human's, enough to pique his interest and stride towards the source, his hand gripped on the impossibly large sword on his back.
When he had at last reached what he thought was the source, he saw three dead human bodies. Upon closer inspection, Ragna found that these people were not the ones that were familiar to him, but rather, men and women suited in bizarre, mangled armor, their weapons lying three feet from their cold, dead hands. He then saw that these humans were somehow tainted black, and so was their armor.
The Grim Reaper, disgusted at this sight, looked up...and saw the mangled corpse of a red dragon-like monster, its eyes open in pain and horror. Black smoke was leaking out of its mouth, its fire-patterned wings were broken and ripped in places, and its neck was twisted in an excruciating angle.
It was then that Ragna spotted another human, flying at him and screaming in protest and fright. The human - a female, coated in blue and orange armor and sporting a massive hammer on her back - skidded against the floor, alive, but very injured.
Before the Bloodedge could begin to question just what the hell was happening, the CRACK of a snapped fallen tree trunk sounded in front of him, and before him was a terrible sight to behold.
Standing on top of the dragon's corpse was a draconian monster, black as the starless night, walking on all fours and its wings seemingly forming a deathly black cloak and leaking black particles of sorts. It lacked eyes, but the way it faced Ragna, the Grim Reaper couldn't help but feel intimidated, as if the beast had eyes.
"G-Get out of here..." croaked the female huntress behind him. "That thing's...too strong...The Gore...Magala..."
"Hey, what the hell's going on?!" barked Ragna. "Where the hell am I?!"
At this, the hunter turned her back and limped away as fast as she could, not even bothering to answer Ragna's question.
"H-Hey, get back here!" shouted Ragna. That was when the beast behind him had raised its claw into the air and swiped. His senses alerting him in the last second, Ragna leapt away, rolling to the side as the dark monster lunged forward and clawed at him again. Finally, the beast reared its head and fired off an orb of dark...stuff at him, prompting the Bloodedge to whip out the large sword behind his back and swing, swatting the ball away in the nick of time. Ragna then got into a battle stance, his impossibly large Blood-Scythe gripped in a backhand.
(cue Rebellion II - BlazBlue Chronophantasma OST)
"So that's how we're gonna do this, huh?" hissed Ragna, clearly pissed at the fact that he already had a fight in his hands after he had just gotten into this strange world. "I'm warnin' you, beastie...I'm not exactly likable when I'm pissed!"
At this, the Gore Magala, the wyvern of the eclipse, reared its ugly, eyeless head and roared to the heavens. It would spread its dreaded disease upon this wretched world...but it would strike down this human first.
The terror of darkness descends!
HERE WE GOOOOO!!!
With a growl, the Gore Magala charged forward, only for Ragna to leap to the side, out of the way of the predictable move. In retaliation, Ragna swung the Blood-Scythe at the wyvern's face, and this attack was actually successful in making the beast stagger. Without letting up, Ragna reared his fist, coated with seithr, and charged forward.
"Hell's..."
The fist connected with the Gore Magala's face, but Ragna did not relent. With an upwards swipe of his arm, the Bloodedge summoned a wave of energy, resembling the head of a dragon, and struck at the Gore Magala with it.
"FANG!"
The Gore stumbled back, but soon recovered and took to the air, narrowly avoiding an overhead swing of the Blood-Scythe. Its mouth overflowing with Frenzy, the Gore Magala shot forth an orb of darkness at Ragna, who was barely able to roll aside and narrowly avoid a direct hit. Still flapping its wings, the Gore Magala spat out three more balls of Frenzy, and Ragna plowed through, batting the blasts away with timed swings of the Blood-Scythe. In an attempt to catch up with his airborne foe, Ragna leapt up and, rearing the Blood-Scythe, dove at the airborne Gore Magala with a declaration of
"Belial Edge!"
somehow landing seven sword strikes at the flying beast as he made his way back into the ground. The Gore Magala did not lose its balance in midair, but still growled in pain. On reflex, the wyvern reared its head and snapped its jaws, an explosion of Frenzy ensuing in its mouth as it bit to the side. Ragna looked up...
...and was barely able to raise the Blood-Scythe and defend himself at the last minute, the explosion of Frenzy blasting him a foot back.
His teeth grit, Ragna only had time to lower the Blood-Scythe and resume his battle stance as the Gore Magala charged forward in midair...and as a result, he was struck full by the Gore's charging move. Worse, he was being plowed across the woods, and at the end of the flight, he was blasted towards an open area surrounded by ruins.
The Gore Magala landed cleanly behind him, and turned, now ready for its next move. Ragna, having taken far worse, was ready as well, his sword behind him as he ran towards the beast. As the Gore Magala reared its head and snapped at Ragna, the Grim Reaper was more than ready to meet it with own attack. Swiping at the air with his free hand, Ragna declared,
"Chase This!"
A wave of seithr, larger than the one he had unleashed before, emerged from the ground and struck the Gore Magala full in the chest, exploding on contact against it. The wyvern's bite was misdirected due to the Dead Spike, but the Gore Magala swiftly and seamlessly followed through by turning and swiping at Ragna with its long, whiplike tail. Ragna was promptly bitch-slapped ten feet back, but with acrobatic grace, the Bloodedge was back on his feet, looking up just in time to swat away an oncoming ball of Frenzy with the Blood-Scythe.
This, however, turned out to be a terrible idea.
As soon as the ball of Frenzy, larger than the ones the Gore had launched beforehand, promptly exploded into a dark cloud of Frenzy. The cloud reached Ragna, and before he could react...
The Frenzy had entered his system.
Oh, it didn't have an effect on Ragna, at least at the moment. But it was patient, a silent predator festering inside his body.
Of course, Ragna wasn't aware of this, for now. His eyes narrowed in silent anger, Ragna charged forth, and swung at the Gore Magala's chin with
"Inferno Divider!"
With unbelievable strength, Ragna blasted the Eclipse Wyvern into the air, earning a groan of protest from the Gore. Ragna did not relent, following up with an ax-kick that, surprisingly, forced the Gore back into the ground, chin-first. To conclude his beating, Ragna dove, once more bellowing
"Belial Edge!"
This seven-hit attack was enough to force the Gore Magala to its knees, and seizing his chance, Ragna quickly hopped onto the beast's back.
Ragna had mounted the Gore Magala. Feeling this, the Eclipse Wyvern bucked and thrashed, desperate to throw the pesky human off its back. Ragna held on for dear life, even as he began to feel his head swim thanks to the Frenzy that had infected his body.
When the Gore Magala stopped thrashing, Ragna quickly seized the opportunity and began hacking away at the monster's back. With a stabbing strike knocking the Gore Magala down, Ragna instantly leapt off the monster's back, and landing on his feet, he charged for the downed, thrashing Gore Magala, the astral heat having built up inside him. Ragna instantly swung at the beast, declaring,
"Carnage Scissors!"
The Gore Magala howled in pain as the Blood-Scythe clipped the claws on its right wingarm, but the Grim Reaper did not relent. Whirling, Ragna swiftly swung his blade at the Gore Magala...
"I'll devour ya!!"
...and just as the blade connected, a blast of seithr exploded and struck the Gore full on, the force actually blasting the dark beast towards the direction of a wall behind it.
The Gore Magala, all of its joints aching, slowly rose to its feet, pain flooding its system.
Pain that would soon be replaced with rage.
Dark steam started to ooze from the Gore Magala's mouth. Ragna steeled himself as the Gore Magala reared its head and roared to the heavens, and its eyes - if it had any - fell on the Bloodedge, an enraged growl escaping its mouth.
Ragna, undeterred by this display, simply dashed forth and swung his blade...but the Gore Magala had beaten him to the punch.
A direct blast of Freny struck Ragna full on and blasted him ten feet back, and the Gore wasted no time in dashing after him, its four feet making the very earth shake. The Grim Reaper recovered, landing on his feet, and leapt into the air, slamming his fist on its back and bellowing
"Gauntlet..."
immediately following up with a seithr-charged roundhouse kick that struck the Gore Magala right in the face.
"HADES!"
The Gore stumbled back as the seithr-charged steel boot collided against its face, but thanks to its rage, was able to recover immediately and strike at Ragna with its tail. The Bloodedge, despite successfully blocking the blow with the flat of the Blood-Scythe, found himself stumbling back, opening him up for the Gore Magala's next strike...a direct, point-blank blast of Frenzy.
Ragna was yet again blasted backwards, but this time, the Gore did not relent, flying into the air and plowing down the Bloodedge...
"Barrier Overload!"
The beast of darkness should have figured that Ragna wasn't going to fall for the same trick twice.
Upon Ragna's declaration, a burst of bright blue knocked the Gore off the air before it could slam its victim on the wall ahead of it, and sent it spiraling back to the ground below. Ragna followed after, unfolding the Blood-Scythe into its true scythe form, declaring,
"Blood Scythe!"
The crimson lightsaber-scythe nailed the downed Gore right in the face, cutting a deep gash and causing the wyvern to screech in pain. Upon landing on the ground, Ragna immediately let loose a series of backhand and forehand slashes, even as his vision began to swim and his arms grew heavy thanks to the Frenzy spreading inside him...
SHING!
A sudden surge of strength, and Ragna's eyes widened as his vision finally cleared. No longer did he feel like something was eating him up inside - no, now he could feel that that something had given him strength.
Ragna had overcome the Frenzy!
Ragna didn't know why this was the case, but he was thankful nonetheless. With this new strength, the Grim Reaper continued his onslaught, ending his assault by striking the Gore in its wounded face with
"Hell's Fang!"
following up by striking the Gore Magala with a wave of seithr. The Gore Magala, with a roar of rage and pain, was knocked back. It was quick enough to regain its footing, though, and it lunged forward. Jaws open, the eyeless monster struck, and hit...
...Ragna's open palm.
Immediately afterwards, the entire appendage transformed into a large, pitch-black claw...one that gripped the Gore Magala by the neck and hefted it into the air, paying no heed to the monster's mass.
Ragna asked his unfortunate foe one simple question, fully aware that it was incapable of speech: "Any last words?"
With that, the Bloodedge brutally channeled dark seithr at the hapless Gore Magala, forcing a roar of pain from the Eclipse Wyvern. Ragna then terminated his combo by abruptly tightening his grip on the beast and nearly crushing its neck.
(pause music)
With all the ceremony of discarding a candy bar, Ragna tossed the beast aside, and answered for it, "...Guess not."
Ragna looked on the prone form of the Gore Magala...and tightened his grip on his sword, as soon as he saw the beast twitch. The Grim Reaper knew that that attack wouldn't have finished it so easily...
...and he was right.
The Gore Magala, Freny oozing from its wings, slowly shuffled to its feet, never minding the overwhelming pain in its system. The underside of its wings had become completely purple...
...and with that, the Gore Magala, rising to its full height, slammed its wingarms onto the ground, now standing on all six of its limbs. Horn-like appendages had burst out of the top of its wounded head...and the Gore Magala was far angrier than it was before.
The Gore Magala roared its loudest, but what Ragna heard wasn't the bellow of a monster - no, it was like the damned were screaming in unison.
(resume music)
As the sky darkened...Ragna resumed his battle stance. With this beast, playtime was over!
"You're angry now, huh?" demanded Ragna. "Well, you're kinda pissing me off as well! Going into Overdrive!!"
With that, Ragna activated his, well...Overdrive, the Blood Kain IDEA. At this, Ragna seized the offensive, swiping at the Gore Magala with a swing of the Blood-Scythe...
...but the Gore wasn't having any of that.
With a swipe of its right wingarm, the Gore Magala knocked Ragna to the side, before following up by slamming both of its wingarms at the ground before Ragna, shaking the very earth beneath his feet and knocking him into the air.
The Gore then shot up into the sky, blasting Ragna point-blank with a powerful blast of Frenzy. Ragna, of course, batted the ball away...but it had left him open for another.
Ragna shouted in pain as the blast slammed him to the ground, and the Gore followed through, raising its right wingarm in a bid to crush the Grim Reaper into a paste. Ragna, of course, was able to barely roll away in time, and spring back to his feet, striking the beast in the chest with
"INFERNO DIVIDER!"
The Gore was sent careening back, and after landing a straight jab at the wyvern's chest, Ragna now attacked with all he had: sword, scythe, fist, and claw. The Gore refused to fall to Ragna's unrelenting assault, even as it felt its strength and...something...draining from its body.
Ragna, having chipped at the Gore's soul with Soul Eater, reared his blade, prepared to Carnage Scissors this bastard and send it to Hell-!
And that was when the Blood Kain IDEA popped out of existence, Ragna returning to his normal state.
Taking advantage of this, the Gore Magala snapped its jaws...and a series of explosions of Frenzy ensued.
Ragna was struck with the full brunt of the attack, and he cried out in pain as he was in the very epicenter of the massive blast...
...but he didn't get the time to recover as another merciless blast of Frenzy struck him full in the chest.
Ragna the Bloodedge was blasted back towards the wall with a scream of pain. Pain that would soon be replaced with rage, as the Gore Magala sauntered towards him, on all six, ready to pounce.
The Grim Reaper decided that it was high time he finished this. Coincidentally, the Eclipse Wyvern was thinking the same thing.
The Gore fell to its stance as Ragna dashed towards him, and snapped its jaws, prepared to unleash another blast of Frenzy...
Ragna, upon reaching the Gore Magala, swung the pommel of the Blood-Scythe upwards...
"BLACK ONSLAUGHT!"
The Gore Magala made to unleash the blasts...but it was too late. The pommel of Ragna's blade had hit it right in the chin.
(cue CHRONOPHANTASMA -Astral Heat Ver.- BlazBlue Chronophantasma OST)
The background was immediately turned black, with red criss-crossing lines decorating the air. As for the Gore... it couldn't react in time as Ragna once more unfolded the Blood-Scythe into its lightsaber-scythe form.
"HROOAAH!!"
And then...Ragna the Bloodedge set to work.
SLASH! HACK! SLASH! RIP! SLASH! SLASH!
The Gore Magala let out a deafening roar of pain as it was caught entirely in Ragna's Black Onslaught. Ragna slashed and slashed away, completely oblivious to the beast's screams of pain.
"NIGHTMARE RAGE!!!"
To conclude his vicious combo, Ragna stabbed downwards, and as he did so, his entire blade was coated in dark seithr. The Gore Magala was helpless before the ensuing channeling of seithr...
...and then Ragna, with a roar of determination, transformed his scythe back into its sword form and pierced at the Gore Magala's heart.
And then...there was simply nothing left of the once-mighty, once-dreaded Gore Magala.
ASTRAL FINISH!
The sky cleared...
...and dark feathers of seithr - the last remnants of the wyvern of the eclipse - drifted off into the air. Ragna, witnessing this...simply turned back, sheathing his weapon, and absentmindedly flicked his arm behind his back, a wing of seithr slipping into existence on his back for the briefest of moments before disappearing.
Now, Ragna wondered, how the hell do I get out of here and find the others?
****
This Bout's Winner Is...
Ragna!