Mock Fight: Esdeath vs Ballad

[Lubbock]

A bout of coughing and spluttering exploded from Esdeath's mouth as she pushed herself up weakly on the drenched sand... Wait, sand? Esdeath scrambled up, narrowly halting a forwards stumble, before sweeping her gaze behind her; an endless blue landscape, filled with rolling waves and the occasional disturbance in the smooth, serene ocean. A downwards glance heeded a blinding flash of snow-white sand, not exactly the best terrain for the heels the General was wearing. Before she posed a threat to her own well-being, she reached down and slipped them off, her ice-cold feet slipping into the blistering, glowing sand.

The heat was certainly evident, but the cold witch simply shrugged it off as her cold blood fended the increased temperature off. Not exactly satisfied with her findings, but her curiosity sated nonetheless, Esdeath spun around to gaze upon the view at her rear... a mass of green and brown, swaying gently with the light, tropical breeze. Trees offered well-needed shadow upon the soft beach, and as such the General made a clumsy beeline for the cool solitude.

Her dainty, queen-like feet sunk into the dark sand, and a breath of relief escaped her pale lips as the cool shade washed over her. It didn't make too much difference to the ice witch, but it was pleasant nonetheless. She wasn't just going to sit around and do nothing on the beach though - as much as she'd enjoyed that one time with Tatsumi, she didn't plan on spending leisure time in such a place, she had to explore her surroundings and get a feel for the atmosphere.

She took a single step forwards, and sharply retreated as a sharp pain shot into her foot and up her leg. Cradling her injured limb, she cocked her head to the left to take a glance at the injury; a colossal thorn had impaled itself into the ball of her slender foot, and seemed to have injected some form of paralysis poison. Agitated, soon to become well and truly pissed, Esdeath grasped the lengthy assailant and tore it out, chucking it aside. Giving her leg a light pat, she could easily feel the muscles in her calf and knee tightly locked up.

Okay, maybe she was going to be spending some time at the beach.

Esdeath seated herself in the shaded sand, staring out at the boundless sea beyond the blinding field of alabaster. The warm breeze teased the blanket of azure hair flowing down Esdeath's back, and she removed her hat, allowing the rest of her hair to freely drift in the light wind. She reminisced over her beach journey with Tatsumi once more... it was one of the best moments in her life... a pleasant change from the torment she doled out to the citizens of the Capital. Sorrow overcame her, however, when she remembered how Tatsumi had fled the scene after being transported back to the mountain. She pulled her knees close to her well-endowed chest and dipped her head into her lap, a blush exploding into her cheeks. Oh, how she wished that boy had come to the Omniverse with her...

Her head shot up as she heard a large mass shift the sand upon the beach before her. The overbearing sunlight made it a difficult task, but she attempted to catch sight at whatever oversized fish had hauled itself to shore. A man... wearing all green... no way was it Lubbock of Night Raid... but could it have been...?

Her thoughts were shot down when she spotted a scarf around the figure's neck, and some form of firearm at his side and he pulled himself to a haphazard squat. Nonetheless, the General stayed wary of the strangely clad man in the sand; he could have been aiming to kill her for all she knew. Yanking her dead leg up with her, she stood and leaned on a nearby tree, the feelings in her leg gradually coming back.

As soon as both her legs were in working order, she carefully strode out to the green man, silently summoning her rapier at her side; thanks to Omnillium, she was able to wield it and stow it at will like that. Her dainty hand enveloped the cold steel of her blade's handle, but she refrained from shifting the blade from its sheath for the time being, at least until she knew the danger she was possibly about to face.

A green face peered up at Esdeath as she came to a halt before the man, her legs square to his shoulders and her body blocking the sun out of his vision - she had to at least be somewhat kind to him, after all he just washed up to this searing hot environment in such stuffy clothing.

"Who are you?" She questioned threateningly.

[Corporal Light]

As if my day couldn't have gotten any worse...

Ballad was certainly not in the mood for some random woman to come out of the forest, hand on the hilt of her sword, and proceed to ask who he was in a way that made him think that the girl wasn't very nice to people. I can relate.. but I'm fairly certain she does it for different reasons..


Ballad kept his hands to his sides, staring at the woman. She was slightly taller than him, though only by a few inches, and she wore almost completely white clothing that looked suspiciously like one an army officer would wear. She had long, rather delicate blue hair from the looks of things, and a black sheath on her left that contained her sword. She looked a hell of a lot better than Ballad did at that moment in time. His normally green attire was more or less covered by the brown sand that formed the beachhead. His forehead had a good amount of sweat on it, with his frowning eyebrows soaking them up like sponges. His white and black snow boots also had a few layers of sand piled up on top of them, some getting into the boots themselves.

As for everywhere else, it was surprisingly quiet. Though that would be expected on a seemingly deserted island out in the middle of the ocean. The waves hitting against the beach provided a tranquil sound, which made Ballad almost forget about the fact the heat was ravaging his body each moment he was out in the sun. Sea shells occasionally washed up on shore, all with plenty of pretty colors and odd looking shapes. Some weird bird call cooed across the land, which served as a nice rhythm to the beat of the waves. If it wasn't for the fact this woman was here, he might actually grow to like this peaceful place. Assuming it was uninhabited.

"You haven't answered my question." said the militarily-clad woman, her hand tightening around the handle of her blade in anticipation for the green man's next move.

Ballad's yellow eyes darted towards her sheath, not planning on answering the question just yet. He noticed she did indeed come from the forest, as there were footprints behind her leading back to the leafy jungle in front of him. Once he got out of this, he'd have to go through that wilderness just to see if the place wasn't completely uninhabited. Actually... that wouldn't be such a bad thing..


Reverting his eyes back to the woman's face, he slowly replied "Depends. Do you plan on killing me if I don't say it?" in a questioning tone of voice, never taking his eyes off of her.

The lady smiled, bringing her other hand up to her chin as she lets out a soft chuckle, "Depends. Would you try to stop me?"

"Fucking course I would. And I'd succeed." Ballad stated, a disapproving tone ringing through his voice as he kept the staring contest going between him and the woman. He seemed to grow slightly taller as he told her this, with his chest pushed outwards slightly as if he was threatening some lowly gang member into submission.

"Really, now?" the woman sarcastically uttered, a look of mock impression on her face as she she gradually walked to her right towards the light-blue ocean. She kept her eyes on him, seeing the downright serious look on his face. Or rather in his eyes to be more specific.

"And what makes you think you would beat the great General Esdeath in combat?" Esdeath confidently sang, her hands gesturing to her sides like a high school girl would do after showing off her body or something like that.

Ballad rolled his eyes in an annoyed manner, shaking his head slightly as Esdeath's hands returned to her sides. As much as he wanted to say otherwise, though, it was kinda astonishing how similar they appeared to be. I mean, she's a gloater... and she's pretty damn rude, and...


Letting out an audible groan, he tightly closes his eyes, forcing the thought out of his mind. Esdeath apparently took notice to this, judging from her smile, and absolutely no indication of sympathy.

"Heat getting to you?" she questioned in a harassing tone, walking deliberately towards him. The waves continued providing its harmonious music, with the bird its solo singer.

Opening his eyes, he quickly, and angrily, responded with "No... its just that.." before parting his coat apart down the middle, revealing around two firearm-like weapons, both in holsters, as well as a belt with bags attached to them. Wasting no time, he removes his revolver as a look of surprise washes over Esdeath's face.

"You brought a sword... to a gun fight."

[Lubbock]

Esdeath's shocked eyes scanned the weapon held within the green-man's grasp. It was a firearm, although apparently primitive compared to the level of weaponry she had seen in her lifetime. Najenda's Pumpkin... that was a weapon to behold, and yet ownership had passed onto one of her underlings after General Najenda had lost her arm and eye to Esdeath. The ice witch compared the two weapons, and came to one obvious conclusion; the weapon pointed at her was harmless compared to Pumpkin.

A grin split Esdeath's face, sinister and judging. "It seems I have..." She agreed tauntingly, yanking lightly on the handle of her weapon, the steel of the blade crying against the bony holding. With a wave of her free hand, a trio of sharpened ice shards formed in a triangle around her head. "But who ever said a gun was required in a ranged fight?" She asked, and the soldier, realising the gravity of his position, leaped off to his left in an attempt to clear the icicles. The weight of his clothing, however, marginally decreased the speed of his side-wards evasion, thankfully only receiving a glancing strike to the heel of his boot.

"Tch..." Esdeath hissed as the ice shattered upon the foliage, her gaze turning to find her opponent's weapon ready once more, barrel square to the General's chest. Sighing, Esdeath followed her opponent's lead and dodged to the side as the thunder of a gunshot caused birds of various species to screech and take flight into the open air. However, the General wasn't so lucky; although her speed was twice that of the gunner, his accuracy trumped her evading ability and tore a crimson trench in her forearm, soaring into the distance and leaving a small trail of scarlet in the sand.

Esdeath skidded across the shore, spraying sand upwards, before washing back over her. The snow white grains drifting before her eyes planted an idea in her head. With a dashing flourish, Esdeath twirled on the spot, scraping the tip of her blade through the sand, spitting the whiteness up into the air, before it rained back down upon her, obscuring the gunman's vision of his target.

"Come out you bitch!" He barked at the cloud of sand, but his attention was brought to the sky as a crystalline ringing was emitted above his head. The glare of the sun posed a challenge to see the oncoming danger, but the object registered in the end; a colossal spike of ice, plummeting down towards him. "Oh, fuck..." He cursed, backpedaling in a sluggish manner, narrowly escaping the wave of sand the frozen horn kicked up as it pierced the beach.

The soldier scrambled up clumsily, only to gasp sharply at a cold pain in his left foot. The golden embers under his hat glanced downwards, and he shuddered at the sight of his own blood pooling around an azure shard of ice. Grunting, he swept his firearm in a low arc, shattering the icicle out of place. "If I'm up against ice, then I guess..." The green man reached inside his coat and whipped out a second firearm, lighting the wick at the barrel in one swift movement.

"I'll just have to fight ice with fire!" He shouted as Esdeath swiftly began closing in. Unaware of the imminent threat, she continued to rush, only to cop a face full of flame, forcing her backwards as she covered her head. Coughing and spluttering, she dropped to a knee, planting her blade in the snowy sand.

"How'd you like that, 'General'?" The soldier taunted, his glowing eyes expressing his smugness. Esdeath spat out a wad of smoky saliva into the sand, struggling to empty her mouth of the burning taste. "Speechless, huh?" The gunman commented, striding up to Esdeath's face and pressing the barrel of his revolver to her forehead, the woman's sapphire eyes staring up into the burning spheres looming above her.

"I have an ace up my sleeve yet." She spat back, her tone similar to a snake's hiss. The soldier harumphed and placed a thumb to the hammer of his weapon, cocking it back and spinning the chamber. The trigger began to ease back...

The gunner's eyes shot up above him once more to find a sphere of ice, several feet in diameter, growing above him. "Shit... not again!" He cried, and the distraction was all Esdeath needed to flourish her rapier out of the sand and spear it through the gunman's leg. The man in green hollered out in pain as he hobbled from the scene, trailing blood behind him as impending doom continued to fall; Esdeath had flown the coop moments before, placing herself at the edge of the thick, green mass in the shadows, watching her 'weapon' plummet from the sky.

800 Words on wordcounter.net

[Corporal Light]

Ballad had no time to acknowledge the gigantic amount of pain coursing though his left leg as he staggered towards the nearby palm tree, the vast hail ball speedily descending down onto him from high in the light blue sky. Just as the sphere of freezing doom was about to touch down onto the man of green, he suddenly picked up the pace of his limping, managing to narrowly avoid a certain death as the huge snowball plunged into the bloody sand behind him, launching him forward next to the palm tree.

Ballad landed face first into the dirt, his scarf unexpectedly slipping off of his head, barely hanging on by his right shoulder. Lifting his head from the ground, he expectorated a good amount of chunky saliva into the earth, a gagging noise escaping from his throat. The bisque ovals serving as his eyes bulged out of their sockets, red nerves serving as the only contrast of color to his otherwise normally yellow-black eyeballs. He thrust his right hand towards the palm tree, the gloves sliding down the bark of the tree before a firm grip could be established. Trying again, he clawed his way back onto his feet, drool dribbling from the bottom of his lip as a wicked glare contorted his face.

Wiping his face with his free right hand, he removed the dribble from his mouth, lifting his left hand again, drawing the hammer of his flamethrower back. He stumbles behind the palm tree, placing his back against it as a sharp spasm of pain sour through the hole in his left leg, earning a hiss from Ballad. The hole was still bleeding, evidenced by the red liquid flowing down onto the edge of the forest, feeding the foliage its sweet nectar.

Gripping his flamethrower tightly with each hand, he carefully leaned to his right, looking back to where he last saw Esdeath. He managed to catch a glimpse of white before he saw a series of icicles hurling towards him. He quickly took cover back behind the tree, a loud yell of shock and agony escaping hi lips as a single icicle managed to impale his right forearm. Scarcely holding onto the flamethrower in his right hand, he pulled out the magical winter tool of destruction, gazing at the crimson colors flowing down the end of the knife-like object.

Then, without warning, his face changed. A fire burned inside of the glowing spheres that he used for sight.. His left hand quivered in tension as something primal overtook him. His teeth clenched together, and he almost started gnashing them together like a snow cat about to feast on the corpses of the things it had murdered. Foam seeped from both ends of his mouth as he clasped his left hand closed, breaking the icicle into several different pieces, some piercing his left hand, but no injury was stopping what was about to happen next.

---------
Esdeath continued hiding within the shadows of the forest, her left hand raised and poised for another attack as soon as the green flame man popped out of his cowarding place. She started to hum to herself, a confident tune ringing throughout the song she wasn't singing. She knew for a fact the man would come out eventually like a good little mole. She expected him to do it. He must've been really stupid if he thought he could beat me.

She didn't expect the roar. A roar of an animal unleashed from its cage, and thirsted for the blood of its captors. The sound resonated across the island, with whatever birds that were courageous enough to spectate the brutal fighting now flying off into the ocean. It took her a few moments to comprehend what had just happened, and before she knew it, the green man was charging from his tree, flamethrower aimed at her. He was moving fast, unexpectedly fast. Fast enough to cause her retaliation to only barely graze his left shoulder before a heap of flames were blasted in her direction.

Without thinking, she dodged to the left, inadvertently heading deeper into the forest.

--------
Ballad smiled insanely as the woman barely avoided his fiery shots. But you've only killed yourself, General! he thought to himself as he aimed his flamethrower upwards, lighting up the leaves above him. Backing up, he proceeded to set the forest in front of him ablaze. Before too long, a massive inferno had formed at the edge of the forest and a little ways inwards, with Ballad standing in front of it, laughing triumphantly.

"No surprise I bested you! All soldiers are dumbasses, believing everything propaganda told them! No sense of will!" he shouted, tone brutally honest.

Unbeknownst to Ballad, however, Esdeath could escape... provided she acted fast.

[Lubbock]

The General began to break a sweat in her frantic panic, drops of cool liquid plastering her forrid underneath her symbolic headwear. This man... his sadistic tendencies closely matched those of Esdeath herself. The popping and cracking of blazing foliage followed terribly close behind her as the flames seared a catastrophic path towards the fleeing ice witch. The sizzling amber inferno crackled and licked at her heels; of all things, she'd rather flames not lick her shoes.

"Damn..." Esdeath irately cursed under blistering breath, smoke and ash flooding the air in which she breathed. A coughing fit was obviously subsequent, and the sapphire-haired General stumbled like a blind panda, every breath searing her eyes and damaging her lungs. Through sheer will alone, Esdeath pushed her legs to the limit, until her calves were burning as hot as the apocalypse gaining on her. She had to find high ground.

But to her dismay, she was faced by an immense stone wall. With fearful but determined eyes, she scanned the jungle around her upon sliding to a clumsy stop and whirling around. An orange haze was all her sapphire oculi were filled with, and she fought the raging desire to drop to her knees and accept defeat; she was stronger than that.

The strong live and the weak die. Countless times the Ice Queen had repeated this mantra. Stiff determination coursed through her veins, her head began to pound as she flicked her gaze over every inch of the cindering landscape.

Regardless, no exits were in sight. Esdeath released a defeated breath, but yet refused to die. She still had an ace up her sleeve, as much as she dreaded using it. Instead, she set her cold gaze upon the flames creeping in front of her, as if attempting to freeze the storm with a look. A lumbering, juggernaut-like figure shambled through the surging swath of death, as if simply wading through a knee-high swamp. With a swift, sharp swipe, Esdeath flung the crimson haemoglobin off of her steel blade, and the life liquid bubbled and hissed by her foot as the heat swamped it.

A wicked, maniacal grin had gripped the green man's features, as foam steadily flowed from his mouth. The outraged bull before Esdeath had lost his grip on the burning world around him; he had one mission, and he was aiming to accomplish it with blazes and bullets. The General had to stop the soldier before he could bring further harm to her, but that required a post closer to death.

Nonetheless, Esdeath made a mad dash for her mortal enemy, gripping her weapon vertically as the distance between the two rapidly closed. If she was going to finish the man, she had to do it right there and then.

As the soldier raised his weapon of sizzling destruction, Esdeath swung her blade upwards, a crisp clang ringing out into the roar around them as the weapon was deflected. A spurt of flame shot upwards into the canopy, but Esdeath gave no more than a carefree grunt. She thrusted forwards, aiming to spear the soldier's abdomen, but his enhanced reflexes bested her blade's accuracy, and he simply sidestepped the possible impalement.

A foot from the encroaching doom, Esdeath managed to pirouette on a single heel, bringing her momentum around and smashing the soldier's jaw with a haphazard spinning hook kick. The green man stumbled away, almost roaring in pain, and the Ice Queen used the chance to roll away from the heat at her rear, coming to a stand in the clearing...

Or at least what was once a clearing. Presently, Esdeath stood encircled by roaring flames... but her expression warped to a smug grin, and her eyes shut.

"It seems the cat has driven the rat into a corner..." Esdeath mused, sheathing her rapier and dusting herself off casually. Her eyes flew open and pierced the man. "But the cornered rat bites the cat." She finished, before muttering a single word;

Mahapadma.

Everything around Esdeath - the burning jungle, the swaying trees, the minimally shifting soldier - all came to a shunting halt and the Ice Queen's arena's spectrum all faded into an icy blue.

I only have five seconds.

Esdeath bolted, dashing off as quickly as her burning legs could take her. She reached out with her rapier on the way past her opponent and slashed a deep trench in his side, but she held no brakes. Over the frozen flames she pounced, the light of the beach evidently racing closer...

Three...

Two...

One...

The world spun back into motion, and Esdeath was flung into the sand as the flames engulfed her legs, sweeping them out from under her. All feeling had left them, and she lay helpless on the sun-bathed sand, dropping black charcoal in the white.

Exactly 800 words again... every press of the backspace button was sheer agony as I cut almost 200 words off...

[Corporal Light]

Before his mind could process what just occurred right in front of him, he was on the sandy floor, his right side plagued by unbearable pain. Red blood gushed from his right flank, spilling out onto the ground as he bit his lip to prevent cries of agony. He instinctively swiped his left hand to his wound, cupping it as the liquid dripped onto the ground. A small pool formed underneath him, almost removing the dark green color from the cloth, the fur-like texture morphing into a slimy mess of crimson.

Continuing to squeeze his trench, he slowly dragged his right hand forward, clenching his fist around the sand. Looking towards his right, he saw the General also laying down in the sand just a few feet away. She was making similarly pained noises as she tried desperately to get back up.

Seeing her struggle, Ballad carefully grasped the scarf still hanging from his right shoulder. He slid it down towards his laceration, slowly wrapping the cardinal calico around his maroon-colored slice, tightening it so as to prevent further blood loss. Letting out another groan, he gradually placed his left hand on the grime covered sand, standing back up.

The inferno Ballad had created continued raging behind the two combatants; its orange chroma absorbing the forest. Esdeath could swear that, as Ballad stumbled towards her, letting out sounds similar to a suffering cow, that his contrasting visage made him look like a demon emerging from the pits of hell.

Esdeath, still struggling to stand, feebly whirled to her side, swinging her rapier through the air as she spun against the ground. Her heart sank as soon as she saw a boot smash against her hand, mangling her fingers as they landed against the rough ground.

His wound dripping red, Ballad bent forwards, grasping the handle of the rapier as a look of fear washed over Esdeath's face. Without a single word, he turned and tossed the rapier into the sea of flames.

Ballad looked down towards Esdeath, his eyebrows providing a false sense of emotion. He had lost most feeling from his torso already, and it was getting progressively harder to walk without seeing black spots in his eyes. He had to finish this quickly, or get the General to leave him alone.

Looking down towards the woman, he placed his right foot on top of her stomach, his left foot remaining still on Esdeath's limb. Esdeath looked up towards Ballad in preparation for what was about to happen.

"Soldiers... don't know free will.." Ballad muttered, his voice occasionally faltering into a monotone state, "fighting... for causes they don't believe in. For leaders... who do nothing but exploit them. Who use others to kill for what they want."

Ballad delicately stooped down onto his right knee, removing his left foot from Esdeath's hand, so at least her fingers weren't being mutilated. "That's why you've lost here, General. You are either too gullible or too stupid to face the truth: You fight for a cause you don't believe in. I, however, fight for no one but myself. Everything I do is to benefit me, and me alone. Call it arrogance; I call it sanity. I can see the lies in leaders. I can see when a war isn't worth fighting for. And best of all... I'm able to walk away from my leaders without punishment; free to do what I've always wanted to do without someone telling me I should believe one thing over another. Can you say the same... General?"

Those last few words struck the woman harder than a bullet piercing her flesh. It was probably safe to assume something like that had never been said to her, let alone from someone like Ballad.

Her face contorting with anger and shock, she took advantage of her left limbs momentary freedom. She thrust her hand to her left, forming several small ice daggers a short distance away from her and the man. Ballad flashed his eyes towards her limb, slamming down on it in retaliation, though not before the spikes launched themselves towards him.

Ballad let out another loud yell as he dashed to his right, finding himself back on the ground as Esdeath swatted her other hand against his legs, sending him crashing into the sand. He rolled to his right, narrowly avoiding the frozen weapons as they impaled themselves into the earth.

Spitting into the dust, he adjusted his head to stare at the woman as she barely pulled herself up onto her feet, still not saying anything. Ballad glared at her as he repeated her action, malevolently stating "Figures. People like you deserve whatever demise you get anyway. So you know what? I'll bring your demise" as he raised his fists, ready for their final showdown.

Around 799-800 words.
Moves used for Esdeath: Weissschnabel
Moves used for Ballad: N/A

Moves unavailable for Ballad: Flamethrower Pistol
And I think the rapier is probs not going to be used by Esdeath.

Final post for me. Good Luck Esdeath!

[Lubbock]

The way the soldier had spoken to Esdeath... she wasn't sure if she even despised Night Raid in excess of it. How would he have the faintest about the reasons she fights? The General didn't require to fight for any reason but her own gain, either. But did she really believe in her motives? Did she give a single shit about what it was she killed, maimed and tortured for?

A malevolent sneer crossed Esdeath's lips. She pushed herself up, slow and steady like a sloth, but her posture matching that of a crazed zombie. Of course Esdeath believed in her reasons; weaklings perish and despair, while the strong thrive and flourish in glory. If the Ice Queen couldn't prove to herself that she was the latter, what was her point in trying?

"You're an imbecile." Esdeath insulted with a growl. "Who are you to question my desires... and my ambitions?" She asked, shambling towards the man in green, piercing, cold sapphire eyes peering into his soul. "If you fight only for yourself... you're going to find it very hard to survive when you need others most. I too, fight for myself... but I fight to show that I'm the strongest." Esdeath's voice plummeted to a low rumble. "And if I require help to do so, so be it... but in this situation, I will thrive; I am the stronger of us. You will perish on this island." She threatened, prior to lashing out with a deadly snap kick aimed at the soldier's face.

However, the golden-hued male simply raised his left arm as a wall, catching Esdeath's shin. He gave a savage push to her leg, causing her to spin, but little did he foresee the hook kick that crashed into the side of his face, splintering his right jaw as he staggered, roaring in pain. Recovering quicker than the Ice Queen had anticipated, the berzerker lunged with an outstretched fist; a technique Esdeath calmly palmed off, suffering a heaving blow to the hip instead.

Backing off, Esdeath watched as the disarmed gunman wheeled widely around and rushed in for another brutal assault, which she merely halted with an abrupt cut kick off of her front foot, the sharp heel of her shoe piercing the soldier's clothing, yet only grazing flesh. The outraged male roughly grasped the thin leg impaled in his warm wear and twisted it sharply, snarling. A terrifying snap echoed around the island, sending various flocks of birds into flight, squawking like mad animals.

The ear-grating crack was followed by a blood-curdling scream supplied by Esdeath as she backed off, favouring her grievously broken limb. She made a foolish attempt at limping on the dead leg, but the subsequent squeal was evidence enough that her leg was broken beyond natural repair... but she wasn't giving up.

Maybe she was disarmed and gravely handicapped... but she wasn't powerless, while her opponent was left with nothing but a measly pistol, a pickaxe and his bare fists. Waving her hands in a wide circle, shards of sky blue rapidly loaded the ring drawn before her, until soon the area was packed with icicles. The sound of ice ripping through the rippling, heated air filled the atmosphere cloaking the two as frozen spears were sent soldier-ward, the target catching more than a desirable amount in his arms; blood waterfalled from his wounds and he soon dropped to a knee...

But he was still moving. He was making the effort to finish Esdeath, no matter the cost, even if it meant an arm and a leg. A static-like sound played between fired spears, and the wall of icicles was shattered as the verdant hulk barged through, a black pickaxe held menacingly above his head. Esdeath raised her left arm to deflect the incoming crushing blow, but a precisely calculated strike ended with the sharp tip of the ebony tool spearing Esdeath's forearm, splattering crimson on the snowy sand.

Esdeath desperately ripped her arm from the weapon. Not allowing the soldier a moment to recover, the General swung a clumsy right hook at him, but thanks to his own disorientation, landing a smashing blow to his left jaw was no harder than the right. Esdeath's left fist narrowly followed the other, landing a sharp punch into the center of the gunman's half-concealed face, conceivably shattering the bridge of his nose. Esdeath was forced to back off as pain tore up her arm from the idiotic punch.

Rather than backing off from her opponent - who was clutching a bleeding nose, however, Esdeath strode up to the gunman and kicked him to the beach. She stood, looming over him, and asked with acid on her tongue, "What's the name of the man perishing this day?"

The downed soldier meekly, but sarcastically grinned; "Executioner Ballad."

800 Words exactly, and the fight is finished! Will find a judge soon, and may the best man win!

[Lubbock]

Forewarning: This post entails an EXTREMELY torturous death. Read at your own risk.
Also, the abilities used in this post aren't from her roster, they are simply for the purpose of the execution.

Esdeath threw the bloodied, battered gunman a sympathetic simper. "How ironic," She mused, placing a hand to her hip, "the executioner is being executed." She taunted, stepped forwards and pressing the sharp heel of her shoe against Ballad's knee. "You don't have to worry; it's going to be a nice, slow execution." She teased further, driving her heel in between his femur and his tibia; in other words, the gap in the knee behind the kneecap. "OH, FUCK!" He cried as Esdeath began twisting her foot like a drill, grinding against the man's bone. "You're a sick bitch..." He cursed, and in response the witch bent her foot forwards, the heel acting like a lever and painfully separating the bones from each other.

She reached down and pressed the tip of her index finger against Ballad's left forearm. After a brief moment of focus, he screamed in pain once more as the flesh of he forearm began to ripple, and shards of ice ruptured through, sending a cascade of crimson liquid splashing onto Esdeath's chest. "Torturing you will be highly entertaining~" She cooed savagely, giving her heel a quick flick, popping into the back of Ballad's kneecap and tearing it out of his knee.

"FUCK YOU!" He roared, before a squeal shut him up; Esdeath had placed her heel to his throat and began slowly pressing, drawing blood from the thin flesh there. "Now, if you don't play nice and scream without insulting me, I may just take away your right to breathe unhindered." She threatened. She removed the deadly weapon from his breathing apparatus and curled her fingers, a harsh crackling forming a clawed gauntlet. She clicked and clacked her fingers together to test her savage weapons and grinned in satisfaction.

With no prior warning, Esdeath ripped them across Ballad's torso, tearing from the top of his chest to his waist, and once more a bestial roar echoed into the blazing sky above. The witch shoved her thumb and index claws into one of the gashes, providing a cold, burning sensation to the pooling wound. She proceeded to spread her fingers, tearing the wound further open. She removed her fingers and did the same to the next wound, then the next, until all four covered most of Ballad's body. Of course, he was losing blood quickly; Esdeath had a simple cure for that.

Esdeath jabbed a claw into the ruby liquid, proceeding to cool it, spreading the chill down to Ballad's heart and slowing the blood flow. "Now, you won't bleed out before I'm done with you." She stated the obvious, licking the blood from her dagger-like fingers. "You're a fucking bitch..." Ballad groaned, the influx of cold slowing his brain processing and hindering his desire to struggle.

The witch's eyes flew wide at the quiet insult and she laughed evilly. "Now now, I think it's about time I shut you up." She teased, bringing her heel to his throat once more and puncturing a deep hole. With a wave of her hand, ice formed a husk over Ballad's nose and mouth. Esdeath reached down and grasped the back of Ballad's neck, tilting his body up so the little blood that ran from his throat could go down. "I wonder how long you can deal with breathing like this... it doesn't matter anyway, it's hard to stop breathing through a hole in your throat, isn't it?" She asked, before a roaring sound caught her ear. "Oh, I forgot we had a jungle fire." A malicious grin split her lips, and she grasped Ballad by the shoulders, hoisting him to his dying legs. She locked her arms in behind his and guided him towards the flames.

She shoved him to the ground before the raging inferno and pressed a foot to his spine, pressing his chest out. "The heat burns worse in the wounds..." She moaned, as if getting off from torturing him. Ballad tried screaming, but was unable to due to the mask, as his wounds began to fry, blood sizzling within. She left him there for a moment, the heat loosening his muscles and spreading the slice marks out further and further, until she grasped his head and dipped it towards the flames, removing her hand as swiftly as possible. No sound escaped the gunsmith as the flesh and clothing on his head was torched and burnt off, like liquid metal melting away the plaster in the casting of a metal ornament.

Soon enough, Esdeath hauled Ballad back and grasped the blackened skull that had once been a head with glowing, golden eyes. "The strong live and the weak die. That's how it has always been and how it always will be... Executioner Ballad." She whispered to the skull, coiling her fingers around it and contracting them, turning it into nothing more than soot.

ESDEATH WINS