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This article, Ice to Meet You, is property of DazzlingEmerald. |
 Ice to Meet You, belongs to Kasumi12346 and it should not be edited or used without the author's permission. |
The sound of the ocean's waves was but all the beach provided on a pleasant winter afternoon. Though there was no sign of snow any which where, certainly no fool would have ventured to a beach during such a season. However yet, there sat a single man, his spiked light-blue hair accompanied by a natural breeze. He was in a meditative stance, his legs crossed and his eyes sealed. The world at large feared the man as the notorious Silvius Alvar; a man so supposedly vile that his annihilation was a requirement to maintain the stabilization of the world itself. Though here he was now --seemingly with his guard down-- at peace with no one else around.
Approaching the edge of the forest was a very famous demon who was part of the famous Hyakki Yagyō, a group who supposedly walked around half of a Fiore. There were 100 demons in this group not including their leader: Nurarihyon. In Nuraihyon's ranks was a demon of great caliber and he named her the strongest of the Four Great Generals. This man was the reason this woman came to the beach in the first place, her job was to assassinate someone. Her name was Tsuki Uintā of the Uintā family. As she reached the edge of the forest the temperature dropped ever so slightly, but not as much as it usually did when Tsuki was around.
This meant only one thing, she had control over her Frigiokinesis. While still hidden in the forest, Tsuki raised two hands and made a fist with her right hand while opening her left hand had its fingers spread out. The hands were positioned so that the back of the fist was facing upward and the palm of the left hand was facing upward. She brought her to hands together so that the fist was on top of her left palm and concentrated magical energy into those hands. "Ice-Make....Lance" she whispered ever so quietly that it could fool someone into thinking that it was just the wind. As soon as she spoke those words multiple lances made out of ice shot out of her hands and flew toward her target, which was the man, at high speeds.
The lances connected with Silvius' backside, heaving the man forward some few feet. Judging by his reaction to the attack, he was definitely not expecting anyone to be around the area, especially not an assassin of the sorts. Silvius ended up with his face in the sand, not entirely sure what to make of the assault. Rising to his feet slowly, he patted his back --where the damage had been inflicted-- and turned his head around to look for his predator. The being was quite well hidden to say the least, whom ever it may have been. However, by following the path that the lance had traveled, Silvius came face to face with a distant forest, and he was sure that whoever attacked him was inside of it, as evident by the magical signature he was able to perceive in his mind. "You can come out now," He suggested, in a rather relaxed tone, despite having been attacked moments earlier. "I know you're in there."
There was silence for a while as Tsuki thought about what her next step should be. Finally, after a minute had passed she said, "Why should I? I have the upper hand. You don't who I am or what I look like. I can simply retreat and attack you day after day. Sooner or later paranoia will set in and you would start to lose sleep. Once that happens your death is assured." Tsuki's voice sounded confident as if she actually believed that when in reality she didn't believe it would actually be that easy. True paranoia might set in, but Tsuki believed it wouldn't be before three or four months of constant attacks.
Speaking was one of the worst mistakes Tsuki could have in regards to maintaining her positioning before a dragon slayer; with refined natural senses, Silvius was quickly able to discern her exact location. Upon doing so, he set off, before appearing within the forest with her appearance mirrored in his eyes. He had found her at last, and at once, the true battle could begin. "My death will be assured, huh?" He retorted, looking her over. She had the appearance of a child for the most part, though judging by the aura she was giving off, she was certainly not human. "What are you?" Silvius asked at once; taking his stance, he prepared for war.
Tsuki was surprised how fast the man found her, but in hindsight she should have expected it. Itsuki would never set off his strongest member for a weakling, in fact, Tsuki rarely leaves his side. Before, responding Tsuki jumped back a couple of feet before responding with a hint of a smile and lowering her hands, "A demon that is all you need to know." Tsuki looked at the man with her unusual eyes and tried to probably judge his strength this time. She guessed that this man had enhanced senses and probably had physical prowess above a normal human so she guessed that as long as she kept her distance she should be fine.
"Is that right?" Silvius said, as an aura of magical energy surrounded his being and began to resonate around him like a wild fire. A chilled gust of air enveloped the forest and the trees instantly started to become covered in frost. He offered the demon girl a smile as he showcased a hint of his true power. "So how do you like it? I've always wanted to test my strength against a demon. Ready yourself now, here I come!"
With a resounding flash of white light --produced from the fabric of his speed alone-- Silvius surged forward to deliver a blinding fist to the girl's stomach. The cold temperatures of the forest would have made it a bit more difficult than usual for Tsuki to react normally, making it likelier for him to make contact than it was for her to evade.
When Tsuki felt the chilling air she smiled. Now she was in her element, her territory. The cold didn't hinder her at all, she was born in Antarctica after all and she isn't known as the "Winter Demon" for nothing. Her life in the Antarctica has caused her to be completely immune to the cold. Compared to Antarctica, this felt very warm. She quickly dodged to the punch with almost equal speed, but the punch grazed her left rib cage. Immediately after she got out of the way she aimed a powerful side kick to the man's right rib before jumping back once again. "This air feels nice. Can you do me a favor and lower the temperature even more?", Tsuki asked with a smile.
As the punch he had met her with managed to graze her slightly, Silvius was met with an incoming kick, which he then responded to by quickly grabbing a hold of it with both hands. He then proceeded to lifting the girl high over his head --credit to his gruesome stature-- and then went to slam her down onto the ground hard with all his might. For her to break loose from the attack would have been very difficult, seeing as though she would have been in a leaned back position after evading his earlier punch and sending her own attack forward. This sudden movement was how he had managed to grasp her in the first place, and because he was larger than her --both in height and build-- she would not have encompassed the same physical strength he did, leaving her at a clear disadvantage. The slam would have possessed enough power to shake the ground and leave her dazed, and Silvius kept his eyes on the prize while being watchful of the demon girl's every move, ensuring she did somehow cushion her fall at the very last second.
Tsuki was caught off guard and she couldn't find a way to dodge the attack. Soon after that, she found herself quickly falling toward the ground. Due to the speed that she in which she was falling she knew that it would hurt and probably knock her unconscious. "Forgive me, Itsuki I have failed." she thought to herself as she quickly took a deep breath and released the breath in the form of very cold air and snow that rushed toward her opponent's face at very high speeds. Due to the power of the attack her descendant to the ground quickened. Her head was the first thing that made contact with the ground and it caused her vision to grow blurry. She wasn't unconscious, not yet. But she knew she would be very soon.
The ground trembled as Tsuki was slammed down against the ground; a cloud of smoke appeared, surrounding the two wizards. Silvius had not yet removed his hands from Tsuki's ankles, and was suddenly met with a beam of cold air. Without being able to utilize his hands, Silvius opened his mouth and allowed the snow inside, before engulfing the entirety of the attack. He then looked down at the girl, a large grin appearing on his face. "That was refreshing!" He said, in a tone which suggested he was almost thanking her for a meal.
Upon engulfing the girl's magic, he had increased his own magic several times. With his hands still fitted around her ankles, and Tsuki herself losing consciousness, Silvius looked to finish the fight. His chest began to expand into a sphere, before the stored energy climbed like an elevator up his throat and finally into his mouth. His cheeks puffed out on both sides of his face as if he were holding something back. "Roar of the Frost Dragon!"
A large blast of magical energy was emitted from the dragon slayer's mouth. Given her current condition, Tsuki would have had no choice but to take the full force of the attack within point blank range.
Tsuki winced and grabbed her head as the blast of magical energy raced towards her. "I guess this is it, I always thought I would die doing something Itsuki wanted correctly and not failing." she thought to herself. She took the full brunt of the blast head on and was immediately knocked unconscious.
Ice cold smoke seeped through from Silvius' mouth as he looked down at the demon he had defeated. The ground around her had caved in as a result of the attack he has unleashed only mere moments before; the girl's eyes were sealed, suggesting she had reached her limit. Silvius finally let go of the girl's ankles and examined her physical condition from above; her injuries were quite severe, and with good reason, seeing as though she had taken a powerful roar based dragon attack head on. He felt sorry for her and guilty at the same time; it had been awhile since the last time he had fought a demon, and he just wanted to test his strength against her. It was his fault that she was in such a pitiful state, so it would be on him as well, to ensure she did not lose her life. Lifting the girl over his shoulder, he noticed she was rather easy for him to carry despite her otherwise demon physique. He then made his way back to the beach, where he began to heal the girl's injuries through the use of the sky dragon magic that had been made available to him ever since he achieved the dual dragon mode.
...
Some few hours had passed, and the sun was now setting in the distance. Judging off of appearance alone, it almost looked as though the ball of fire was drowning into the sea on its own accord. Tsuki would awake slowly, realizing first and foremost that she was still alive. She was now laying down on top of a thin layer of ice, and upon sitting up, she would be able to conceive the scenery in full. Silvius was sitting some few feet before her, with his back facing toward her. His shirt had been removed, and his body was drenched in the "perfume" of the sea, suggesting that he had taken a dip in the water not too long ago. Before him was a large cooking pot constructed from ice, and in his hand, a large spoon --which he was stirring repeatedly-- made from ice as well. Oddly enough, there would be very little of any sort of fragrance in the air, as the soup he was preparing was not at all hot, but rather cold, negating a scent.
Hearing the sounds a girl would make as she awoke from her slumber, Silvius turned around to greet her with a warm smile. In his hand, he presented a bowl made of ice containing a small portion of the soup he had prepared. Handing it over to her carefully, he crafted a spoon of ice from thin air. "I figured since you're an ice mage like me that you'd prefer cold soup." He said with a bit of a chuckle. He was completely relaxed, almost as if she was a long time friend of his, leaving no hints that the two had fought one another only some few hours back.
As Tsuki was asleep she was dreaming about her time in Antarctica and how and why she left. As soon as her dream showed her first meeting with Itsuki she found herself staring at the sea. She expected to be filled with pain, but she didn't feel anything. Now that she thought about it, she should be dead, her enemy should have finished her off while she was unconscious. When she heard the man's words she flinched in surprise. "Yes, I do. Thank you.", she said. The question why she was still alive was making her very curious so she asked, "Why didn't you finish me off?" she asked the man as she took it but, didn't eat it, not yet at least.
"There'd be no point," Silvius responded, as he casually got up and walked over to where his shirt was. "You can continue to get better through failures; learn from your mistakes, make adjustments. If you're dead, you can't take anything from it." He placed his arms through the holes in the shirt and pulled it down over himself, before taking a seat beside the large pot. "Anyway, do you have a name? I figured since you're an assassin, and we're bound to meet again, we should at least exchange names at the very least."
Tsuki realized that that response didn't answer her question, but she decided to not to ask again. As for the possibility of meeting him again, she didn't know whether or not Itsuki would send her to try and assassinate him again, but she had her doubts. After she reported Itsuki would probably send Gyūki who is more suitable for hand-to-hand combat. "My name is Tsuki Uintā." she said hesitantly.
"Silvius Alvar." He replied, before rising to his feet. "Your injuries should be healed completely within a day or two. Just make sure you get plenty of bed rest. In the meantime, tell whoever sent you to reconsider the consequences, otherwise they may not be so lucky the next time." He turned around and began to depart in the opposite direction.
Tsuki didn't like the fact that this guy was underestimating her guild, which means that he was disrespecting Itsuki and that is a sure way to get on her bad side. However, this man did save her so she decided to let it drop, this time. Tsuki was about to drink the soup when she felt an all to familiar magic power closing in on her. "I didn't know he would follow me. If he sees me drinking soup next to him, he will kill me.", Tsuki thought to herself. Despite being on death's door a couple of hours ago she quickly stood and said to Silvius nervously, "Do you have to go that way?"