Chapter 66 - Sadistic woman with Spirt Slayer Magic

Inside the oldest looking house in the village is a tall man with a long face, broad chin, and pronounced cheekbones sitting in a chair, seemingly meditating. He has long black hair, which reaches to his lower back, and reddish-brown eyes with thin eyebrows. He has well-kept mutton chops and a connected mustache, but is otherwise clean-shaven and is wearing an attire consisting of a white, double-breasted trench coat.

(A/N: Reference is Yhwach from Bleach.)

In reality, he looks way younger than he is. His real age is over 80 years old.

He opened his eyes as he could feel his granddaughter's magic signature.

"Interesting. It's been a long time since anyone provoked her. I can feel she has heeded my words to not prolong painful battles." The man talked to himself when he felt his granddaughter using the spell to make a giant ice ball.

But quickly after he felt his granddaughter's opponent releasing a ton of Magic Power that blew all the surrounding houses away and was about to do the same with his house.

"Whaat?" The old man was surprised by the power behind the attack and quickly ran out of his front door and used magic to create a sword out of blue light before grasping it tightly. When the big shock wave was before him he slashed the air in front of him horizontally with only one hand on the sword. A second after the shockwave was cut in two and only blew the neighboring houses away, leaving his own intact without a scratch.

"Interesting." Thought the man before he saw someone run in his direction and yelling.

"Grandfather! You gotta stop her. Help me stop Esdea, or she will kill my friend." It was Rofta who came running panicky with Gina over his shoulder. If you asked him the person he feared the most, it would be his own elder sister without a doubt. She could send the cruelest shiver down his spine.

"…You are back Rofta. Seems like it was the right decision to leave the village as I can see you have gotten much stronger than before." The man revealed to be Rofta's grandfather, evaluated Rofta a little before answering him.

"We can talk later. Please stop her- no please stop them." Rofta wanted his grandfather to stop his sister, Esdea. But when he thought about Marc's personality, he knew that he had to be stopped too.

"Don't be so hasty. Let's go take a look first. I take it it's your friend that's fighting Esdea?" Rofta's grandfather asked while touching his mustache while reprimanding Rofta.

"… Yes." If Rofta feared his sister the most, then the person he respected the most would undoubtedly be his grandfather whether it be strength or world belief. He's a self-proclaimed lover of peace, hates conflict, and believes painful battles should be ended as quickly as possible. But if you didn't know him, you wouldn't know that he also one of the biggest killers in the world between humans. He taught his granddaughter the basics and told some of his beliefs so she could find her own route in life.

The blue light sword then disappeared in his hand before he began running lightly with his hands in his trench coat's pockets. Rofta let go of Gina and hurriedly followed after his grandfather, leaving the bewildered girl behind. Though she chose to follow shortly after.

…

[Shock Cannon]

After being blown away from his own spell's recoil. Marc quickly got up and ignored his trembling arms as his opponent was already charging at him with her big rapier.

"Forget Mater Roshi. I will be Team Rocket if I don't control that recoil. Though, I gotta say— this beauty is hot in those high heels. Should I let her step on me- no what am I thinking."

*Slap*

Marc slapped himself to focus and not get distracted. His every action was watched closely by Esdea and she couldn't help think about the guts he was showing.

"He's checking me out in the middle of a battle? This little man has guts, and…he's cute." Despite thinking positively about Marc, outwardly her expression showed her murderous grin.

When she reached Marc she stabbed at him through the cold air. Marc ignored the pain in his arms and lifted his palm, and met the sword head on.

*Pa…!!*

Marc slid 8 centimeters back in the snow by the force, but despite that, he still stoped the attack which made Esdea lift her eyebrows in surprise as she thought her sword would go right through his hand.

Other than being a little surprised, she still broke the stalemate and kicked at Marc's head with her high heels-- as she was higher than him, it was easy to reach and aim at his right eye.

In response, Marc met it with a hook kick. Esdea's high heel met Marc's paw under his foot.

*Pa…!!*

Esdea who had thought she would have no equal in physical strength at her age was forced to slide back in the snow more than 10 meters and would have slid further if she didn't force her high heel and sword into the ground.

"Interesting." Some of her and Rofta's grandfather's personality had clearly rubbed on her when she thought that, though he wouldn't show such a sadistic smile she was showing at this moment.

Seeing her smile, Marc took this chance to stomp the ground hard to raise a boulder of snow to cover her view while quickly using [One Goal] to remove his unnecessary thoughts. He touched his head repelling the thoughts in a silver bubble before absorbing them into his chest near his heart and silver devil fruit-like swirls began growing over his left chest and up to his shoulder. The overall atmosphere around Marc turned calm.

Esdea who saw Marc raising the ice boulder just charged and cut through it easily instead of going around. But as soon as she managed to see Marc, he was flying at her with a flying dropkick at her chest. With no time to move out of the way, she blocked it with the side of her big rapier.

It was easier to stop than she thought and before she could mock Marc, a shockwave went right through the sword and through her chest moreover it continued out of her back.

Esdea's eyes opened wide and were about to spit all the air in her lungs out, but forced it down before she made four tree-like sculptures out of ice around Marc that began extending in his direction. If hit, he would be impaled.

But Marc evaded them swiftly like he was dancing. Esdea created some distance between them before she released the air that wanted to come up from her lungs and looked intently at Marc before she straightened herself before she began communicating with someone.

Esdea has a little black tattoo on top of her chest and when she began talking it blinked "Come out my slave spirit and use [Spirit Assimilation] now!"

The black chest blinked and a voice answered with "Yes-yes. This slave spirit will do it immediately," before it turned light blue— almost white— and a silvery-gray serpentine being with a body made up of rock-like sections and a big head and wide jaw with fierce eyes in strict contrast to its earlier behavior. It had a long body compared to the rest that was covered with ice shards that had grown out of its body. Its overall size wasn't much bigger than Esdea's leg.

(A/N: Reference is an Ice Steelix from Pokemon)

"What are you coming out for? Are you defying my order? Use [Spirit Assimilation] now or I will stuff my heel down your throat later!"

The serpentine being made a shrill and did was he was ordered by his master. It turned into a light blue light and enveloped Esdea and almost immediately after it dimmed and Esdea's look had changed.

Over her shoulder was the head of the being she called forth and was wearing it like a shoulder guard. Her long white boots turned into ice. The last thing that changed was her big rapier. On the guard, shards appeared around it while the blade itself turned frosty.

The ice trees stopped extending and Marc stopped dodging to look at Esdea's transformation.

"What kind of magic is that?" Wondered Marc as he has never seen this kind of magic before. He thought about Take-Over Magic, but it didn't fit the description. Especially not when the head over her shoulder was still alive and could move its eyes and open its mouth.

Ice Spirit Slayer Magic. What would be called Lost Magic in canon. It's a magic that grants the wielders of its power the ability to transform the physiology of their body into a spirit— an extremely powerful type of legendary that's classified as a non-corporeal substance contrasted with the material body. They are similar to Celestial Spirits, which too does not have a physical body.

At the same time, Marc and Esdea made their moves. Marc raised his hand that revealed a shining paw and Esdea pointed her sword. A storm made out of tiny ice crystals that were incredibly shard flew forward from Esdea and met Marc's [Shock Canon]. The blinking paw exploded and sent an equal-sized shockwave. The two attacks collided mid-way.

*Boooom*

Before the aftermath of the two attacks could even settle, the two used their speed to appear at the side clashing again.

Marc was standing on Edea's sword and holding onto one ice dagger in her hand that wanted to go into his throat.

The two were looking intently at each other. Esdeath with a very sadistic expression, and Marc with an innocent one like he did nothing wrong. Though the situation said otherwise.

…

From the distance were Rofta and his grandfather watching. His grandfather couldn't help comment "Nothing is more dangerous than a person with a smiling face and a screw loose."

"What do you mean?" Asked Rofta from the side. He was greatly surprised by the power of Marc's new spell as he wasn't shown a full-powered version.

"Nothing. Seems like you might find out yourself in the future." Answered his grandfather to which Rofta just nodded.

…

Ending the stare-off. Marc and Esdea attacked at the same time again. As Marc was standing on her sword, she kicked with her heel first at Marc's balls without mercy. On the other hand, Marc thrust his free hand forward her face. It was a question about who hits first.

Marc would lose his reproductive capabilities, and Esdea would likely break her neck.

In the end, they stopped their attacks just 1,5 centimeters before hitting the targets. They stopped because none had the advantage. They would have hit each other simultaneously and both loose.

Esdea tried to move her heel half a centimeter forward, but the hand in her face also moved the same distance forward, making her frown.

Just before she was about to make an ice spike grow out from her heel and impale his family jewels and make him a eunuch. And before Marc could fire a [Pressure Canon] in her face, a voice stopped them.

"The fight ends here." A familiar black-haired man appeared beside Esdea and it made her frown because she didn't realize when and how he got there.

***

(A/N: It was either Phoenix Slayer Magic or Spirit Slayer Magic for Esdea(th), and I choose Spirit Slayer Magic as I have a little background story on how she got it ready that I think would suit her sadistic personality best.)

(Words: 1951)