Klarissa took a deep breath. The lich had not taken the fight seriously up to this point. To make things worse, she already used a good part of her strength trying to break through the dimension.
The situation looked bad.
If anyone else had been in her place, they would have already given up. Witnessing the lich survive the fire cyclone unharmed. Finding out it didn't go all out. Very few people—if anyone at all—would still be determined to fight the creature. However, Klarissa wasn't just anyone.
Her hands went up and her leg moved forward, assuming a fighting stance.
'Can't she just melt the sword if it's made out of ice?' Ciel wondered.
His theory instantly put to the test. The lich charged towards Klarissa, fiercely swinging its sharp translucent blade at the brunette. Her leg trampled hard on the sable quartz floor, jumping out of harm's way.
Then, she quickly outstretched her arm, targeting the radiant icy sword. Heat exploded through her palm, a scorching assembly of flames coming to life and enveloping the blade.
Ciel had his answer. A large chunk of the sword now melted. However, before he had the chance to celebrate, the surroundings sizzled. The blade swiftly returning to its original form—no signs of the previous damage.
As a result, the two entered a stalemate. The lich, continuously swinging its sword—not giving Klarissa any chance to attack. And the chief—gracefully evading every attack aimed at her.
The stalemate went on for a while, the wind yelping in pain with every slash. Suddenly, the lich stopped attacking and clenched its fists.
"Wretched pest, are you capable of anything other than dodging?"
Klarissa had enough of its condescending blabbering. She spat, her voice filled with loathing:
"You foul creature… Daring to hurl insults when you only grew strong by sacrificing others. Killing men! Killing women! Killing children! For what? To become a filthy skeleton?"
Her teeth gnashed tightly, glaring at the monster standing before her. She took a couple of steps back as her eyes zeroed in on the space around the lich.
Klarissa's hand raised slightly, thumb pressing against her middle finger.
"I haven't used this in a battle before… But you're a sturdy scum."
She snapped her fingers.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Three terrible explosions combusted on top of the monster. The ground trembled beneath their feet, a black cloud of smoke completely engulfing the creature—keeping its fate hidden.
Klarissa's legs were shaking. Her knees dropped to the ground as she briskly grabbed her chest—desperately gasping for air. Her lungs were burning, becoming harder and harder to inhale. Each breath turned into a sharp, intense nip.
Eventually, the smoke surrounding the lich began to clear, revealing its condition. Fortunately for Klarissa, its state seemed to be as dire as hers—half its body blown to smithereens and its tattered robes now gone with the wind.
For a few breaths, neither of them could move—once again entering a stalemate. Both unable to defend, yet also unable to attack.
The first to open its mouth was the lich.
"...How did you do that? Combusting air particles."
Klarissa just glared at him, not interested in giving him a reply. However, sadly for her, the lich began recovering faster than her—its missing bones gradually regenerating.
Before long, the monster was back on its feet. However, it now seemed to regard the chief with a newfound respect.
"Do you truly believe you're so different from me? That you wouldn't have made the same choices in my position?" He asked.
She scoffed, her expression turning scornful. Nevertheless, Klarissa was aware that—at the moment—she couldn't defend against the lich. Making conversation until she recovered was her only chance at survival.
"I would never sacrifice others. My duty is to protect, even at the expense of my own life!"
The lich gnashed its teeth at the response. He recalled all the screams he caused, all the lives he sacrificed—all to attain true strenght. Was he wrong? Did he cause all that pain for nothing? Of course not! His head shook violently as he let out a deranged, barbaric laugh.
"Do you have any shame spouting that nonsense?!"
Klarissa stayed silent. No matter what she would say—it would be labelled as a lie by the creature—who kept madly shaking its head.
"This... this is just too good! Alright, let's see if you can back up your words."
The lich's bony palms swiftly joined together in front of its ribs.
Suddenly, an array of blue light exploded around it. The array spread. And spread. And spread—until it finally reached Ciel, standing about sixty meters away from the battle.
He tried moving. Nothing. He tried again—still nothing—his body lodged in place. Klarissa wasn't faring much better. Though she recovered some of her strength, she still had a hard time moving without using her Lumen.
"Perfect!" The lich declared—strolling effortlessly through the array.
Its gaze landed on Ciel, then back on Klarissa.
"Here's what we're going to do. See that boy? He cannot move from where he's standing. And this…"
A swirl of frost burst outward from its chest, drifting towards the sky like dead embers caught in the wind.
The next moment, it solidified. A huge, unfaltering icicle forming above its hand. The weapon's tip was razor sharp, yet radiating a cold so dense the air crackled around it.
Klarissa's eyes widened. No. He wasn't going to do that... Was he?
"This is my strongest attack," the lich said. "Let me see how well you can defend the boy. Protector."
The lich aimed the weapon towards Ciel, who had no idea what the two were talking about. Still, the huge, pointy chunk of ice was a telltale sign of the terrible incident about to happen.
'He wants to kill me?!'
The icicle darted away from the lich, approaching Ciel like a falcon upon its prey. He tried moving his legs, but to no avail. His body was frozen in place.
Klarissa's mouth dried. No… Did this bastard really attack Ciel just to prove a point?!
In the blink of an eye, heat burst from within her, flames surging to life and violently burning through the array. Once again, she could move freely.
The ground beneath her heels cracked as she lunged towards the sharp chunk of ice, gathering every bit of strength within her to try and intercept the icicle before reaching Ciel.
Her body begged her to stop.
You don't know him! The ice might not even reach him! How can you protect others if you're dead?!
However... she ignored it.
The sound was wet and sharp.
For an instant, time stopped. Klarissa's eyes darting downward, watching the icicle pierce clean through her abdomen—bursting out the back in a mix of blood and frost.
She coughed a mouthful of blood.