(Esdeath's Army)
Beautiful. Sadistic. Powerful. Unstoppable. Those were just a few of the many words used to describe Esdeath, the strongest general of the Empire and wielder of the powerful ice manipulating Teigu, Demon's Extract. Esdeath was a tall, beautiful and slender woman with porcelain skin, long light blue hair and blue eyes. She wore the General's apparel with long sleeves, a blue scarf on her neck, and high-heeled boots. She also had a unique tattoo on her chest.
She hailed from the now extinct Partas Clan, a clan that specialized in hunting Danger Beasts. From that lifestyle and her father's philosophy "The strong survive and the weak die" is what made Esdeath the woman she is today. To her, battles were her life, especially when she fought against powerful opponents before eventually breaking them and making them beg for mercy at her feet.
Seated on her horse, Esdeath looked over a wide snowy field from a hill that was currently occupied by her army, having set up camp, with a round wooden wall circling it. Right now her army was traveling in the northern lands. Their goal was to subjugate the Northern Tribes and its hero, Prince Numa Seika. The tribes had recently increased their military forces to the point that the Prime Minister, Honest, had decided that they must be eliminated before they became a threat to the Empire (in other words his power). So naturally he sent Esdeath, the strongest general, to destroy the Northern forces and ensure that they never try to go against Honest and the Empire again.
Her army had just entered northern territory a few days ago and was setting up camp. They had settled themselves on a flat terrain with only a few hills around them, as they were taking the fastest route to their destination. There was however, high mountains just a few miles away from the campsite. That area was avoided by travelers due to the dangerous Danger Beasts that occupied it.
"Hopefully this 'Hero of the Northern Tribes' can give me a challenge." Esdeath said to herself as she ushered the horse to take her back down to the camp. Around her the snow blew harshly but she paid it no heed, long use to the harsh weather of the North.
After going pas the guards, Esdeath made her way back to her tent. There she saw three men waiting for her. They all wore matching black uniforms. At the head was the leader, Liver, a former General whom Esdeath had released from prison. He had grey hair tied into a long ponytail with a mustache and blue eyes. Behind him was Daidara, a large muscular man with long spiky blonde hair and wore a black headdress with horns on it. His eyes were a pure white and pupil-less. And finally was Nyau, the youngest and shortest member of the three. He had short blonde hair and eyes with slit-like pupils. He had fanged teeth and just like Daidara, he wore a horned-theme headdress. These were Esdeath's Three Beasts, her strongest subordinates as well as bodyguards and enforcers, and were also Teigu users.
"What is it Liver?" Esdeath asked the older man. Said person bowed along with the other two. He then stood up straight and looked at Esdeath.
"Esdeath-sama, I thought you should know that the scouts you sent out earlier have yet to return." Liver reported.
Esdeath frown at that bit of news. Not too long ago she had sent a squad of ten men to scout out the smoke rising up to the air several miles away behind some hills that was in between the camp and the taller mountains. That had been two hours and still no word from them. She knew that all of her soldiers were competent warriors, she had no weaklings in her army, but the chances of them being killed was not too far off. Esdeath was about to respond when a ruckus from the entrance caught her attention. Immediately the General made her way towards the entrance, the Three Beasts behind her. Already a crowd had gathered around the source of the commotion, but automatically parted to let Esdeath past.
When she got through, she saw that several of her army's medics were tending to a soldier, one of the scouts she had sent earlier. The man looked like he just came out of an inferno; his uniform was badly burnt, he was missing his headgear, burns, bruises and blood covered his body. But what really caught Esdeath's attention was the look in his eyes. They had the look of someone witnessing death and the image would not go away.
"What happened?" Esdeath ordered a nearby officer, wanting an explanation.
"We're not sure ma'am." The officer replied. "He just got here a minute ago, shaking like a leaf. It's a miracle that he was still alive. When we tried asking him what happened to the rest of the scouting party, he just kept muttering about flames, death and monster. I think the team ran into a Danger Beast of some kind."
Esdeath raised an eyebrow, wondering what kind of Danger Beast could spark such fear into her men when suddenly…
"ROOOOOOAAAAARRRRR!"
In an instant everything stopped. Everyone froze at the sound of the large roar. The soldiers were looking around frantically for the source of the noise, while the horses were also reacting, neighing wildly and shuffling about, ignoring the soldiers' attempts of calming them down. Esdeath's eyes widened at the sound, one filled with power and how it was causing the Danger Beast blood, the one that formed her Teigu, within her to react wildly, as if it was becoming anxious. Though whether it was bloodlust or fear she did not know.
"W-what the hell was that?! A Danger Beast?" Nyau stuttered, completely surprise by the loud noise.
"I never heard of one sound so terrifying, it must be Ultra-class." Liver commented as he looked around for the source of the roar. Daidara had pulled out Belevac, his Axe Teigu.
Esdeath was silent, her keen eyes trying to track down the creature. The Danger Beast blood was getting more and more frantic and she was having trouble keeping it tamed. However her sixth sense picked up a presence approaching from above. Snapping her head upwards, her blue eyes widened when she saw the clouds parted, making room for a large being. Soon everyone else looked up and gasped at the creature flying down.
Flying down from the sky was a gigantic western dragon covered in dark red scales, while the lower part of its body, mainly its belly, the inner portion of its legs and long tail were beige in color. It had a scar on the right side of its neck and a cross-shaped scar on the left side of its abdomen and finally another one on its right cheek, a jagged blemish. It had numerous black spikes on its back, reaching down from the back all the way to the end of its tail. Its head had a triangular shape with horns and large round black eyes with yellow sclera, and a sharp pointing upward just above its nose. Its mouth was opened, revealing sharp canine teeth and she could see that its claws had long, sharp red nails. Finally its large bony wings resembled bat wings, with rippled tips.
"Beautiful…" Esdeath murmured, her eyes staying locked on the dragon's form. She had hunted many Danger Beasts in her youth, but never had she seen anything as magnificent as this one. Everything about this one, from the look in its eyes, its form, and the way it carried itself, simply screamed power. Logic dictated that this dragon was no doubt an Ultra-class Danger Beast like Liver had said, but a part of Esdeath knew that even Ultra-Class did not suit this Dragon. In fact as she took closer look at it, the dragon sort of reminded Esdeath of a story she was told as a child. Her eyes widened as realization hit her, she knew this Dragon was not Ultra-Class, but something far greater.
Her thoughts were broken when the Dragon landed in the center of the camp. The action caused the tents nearby to fly away and scatter away from the gust created by the Dragon's wings. The men all shouted in surprise as they tried to organize themselves while getting a safe distance away from the large reptile. Esdeath took notice of how the snow around the dragon melted the moment its feet touched the ground. It paid no heed to the soldiers that were only a few feet away from it, as the dragon raised its head and began scanning the area. To Esdeath's view, it appeared as if the Dragon was searching for something or someone.
But that changed when it looked down where her soldiers were. The moment it saw the banner they were carrying, some having her own personal symbol as well as the Empire's, its mood changed instantly. Its eyes widened in what appeared to be realization before narrowing in anger. Another loud roar escaped it open mouth that literally knocked the solders off their feet. Panic filled them as the soldiers opened fire with their rifles while some used arrows and spears as projectiles, all towards the Dragon. However none of these even came close to harm the large Dragon as it reared its head back, followed by the chest area glowing red.
"Shit, run! It's going too-" A soldier tried to warn his comrades but it came too late as the Dragon opened its mouth once more. This time it released a devastating breath of searing hot fire. The flames struck the soldiers in waves, incinerating the closes ones until not even their bones remained. The others who were not in direct line of the flames were screaming in agony as the flames ate away their flesh. Those that had managed to avoid being hit could only watch in horror as their comrades were being burned alive. Their fear eventually took over and they soon spun around and ran, fleeing for their lives. The Dragon merely let out another roar to the sky, a stream of flames lighting up the sky.
"Everyone fall back!" Liver shouted, trying to get some order amongst the men. Daidara and Nyau were also trying to help. They had little success as the Dragon's roars and flames were overshadowing any other noise. Already the flames began to spread throughout the campsite, lighting all the tents and wooden walls aflame. Men who weren't fast enough screamed in pain as the flames consumed their clothes and flesh. Some were struck either by the Dragon's claws or tail, ripping them apart or sending them flying. As Liver kept trying to control the army, the former general caught something from the corner of his eyes. "Esdeath-sama!"
The General ignored him, her focus only on the dragon. She dashed past her fleeing soldiers straight towards the Dragon, a wide malicious smile on her face as she felt the joy of facing such a powerful being. Her smile widened even further when the dragon turned its attention towards Esdeath. It had a look of surprise on its face before changing to one of anger. That was Esdeath's cue as she used her Teigu to create a wave of ice spikes. "Weissschnabel!" She yelled and launched them at the dragon. As she did memories of her childhood resurfaced, of a story her father once told her.
'Some say he came from the east, where no one has ever been before. While others believe he was sent from Heaven to punish mankind for their sins, or he arose from Hell to cover the world in flames.'
The dragon released a strong stream of hot air from his nostrils, which melted the ice projectiles instantly. Not deterred, Esdeath did an upward hand motion, which caused a large spike of ice to pop out of the ground and strike the Dragon's side. However it did little damage as the ice merely shattered against the dragon's scales.
'Destruction and death was all that awaited for its enemies. Even the mightiest of warriors and strongest of Danger Beasts fled whenever it was spotted. The flames the dragon released were said to be as hot as the sun itself and merciless as the fires of Hell. Many tried to defeat it but none had ever succeeded.'
A large claw thrust forward straight towards Esdeath at an impressive speed. The General had no time to dodge so she created a wall of ice to block the attack. Unfortunately the dragon's claws smashed the wall into pieces, the force causing Esdeath to fly backwards. She managed to recover but Esdeath saw that the dragon was gone. Confused she barely had time to react when a shadow engulfed her. Turning her head Esdeath was shocked to see the large red dragon now behind her. Clearly it was faster than it appeared. She tried to dodge an oncoming strike but was not quick enough. The dragon's claw struck her back, leaving a single large gash on her porcelain skin. Esdeath managed to bite down a scream and covered the wound with ice so it wouldn't bleed out. She also had multiple bruises covering her body now and her uniform was slightly torn but that did not stop Esdeath. For despite the pain, she was far too lost in the heat of battle, and the joy of finding a worthy opponent finally appearing.
'It went by many names: The Dragon of Destruction, Progenitor of Danger Beast, The Crimson Scourge of Man, The Demonic Dragon, and Danger Beast Emperor. Many worship it as a god, even today. However only one name sticks out from all of them. It's rather a simple name but it does suit the beast.'
The campsite was in flames, smoke and fire all around them. There were no other living beings besides herself and the Dragon. But this did not even seem to faze Esdeath as she swiftly created a pillar of ice under her feet, shooting herself upwards and towards the Dragon's face. But said creature simply swung its tail and smashed the pillar into pieces. In return Esdeath performed an impressive jump as the pillar fell apart. Now above the dragon she performed one of her stronger techniques.
"Hagelsprung!" She cried and suddenly a gigantic ball of ice appeared in the air, directly above the Dragon. Using incredible strength, Esdeath threw the ball of ice down towards the red Dragon. The projectile greatly dwarfed the creature, however the Dragon did not look the least bit intimidated. Instead it raised its right hand and covered it in flames. With a roar the dragon rammed its flame coated fist into the ice, smashing it to pieces instantly.
Esdeath managed to land safely a few feet away but was out of breath. The last few minutes of fighting the dragon were some of the intense moments of her life. She had several cuts, bruises and burns on her body, courtesy of the dragon's flames and overwhelming strength. Worse the heat it was emitting was hampering her Teigu's powers, making her use more stamina then she normally would in order to create ice. Despite that it did nothing to decrease the joy and excitement she was feeling at the moment. For as long as Esdeath could remember, no one has ever been able to fight her on even terms, let alone hurt her. However this dragon was overwhelming her easily and it barely looked like it was trying.
"You truly are worthy of your title." Esdeath murmured before she summoned one last wave of icicles. However it appeared that the dragon had enough and decided to end things. Flames could be seen building up in its chest. Seeing that, Esdeath immediately fired her attack just as the dragon released another breath of flames. The flames melted her attack and just as they were about to reach her, Esdeath remembered the last part of the story her father told her.
'The sole Supreme-Class Danger Beast, END'