Getting to her feet with difficulty, Esdeath grabbed her ice sword anyway and aimed it at Frieza.
" Tell me it's a joke ! This guy… I gutted him earlier and managed to force him to use a lot of his power! So how come he's still so powerful ? "
Just staring at her, Frieza chuckled.
" I imagine you're surprised to see me still standing. " He asserted, while running his hand over the wound Esdeath had made in his abdomen. " In fact, I'll tell you a secret! If I hadn't met Goku-san, I would have lost to you. "
" What ? "
" Before my meeting against Goku, I never found it necessary to train! I saw myself as the perfect being! The supreme being of my universe! My power was innate! I never needed to train to crush my enemies! And yet, when I met Goku… all of that changed. "
Suddenly, Frieza made a red aura appear around his right arm, and a blue aura around his left arm, before floating above the ground.
" Since my defeat against him, I have never stopped training, both physically and mentally! I have exceeded the limits of my power, and even of my lineage! No member of my family has been able to obtain a power as great as mine! This is why I feel like invincible. "
Staring at him silently, Esdeath could only tell himself he was telling the truth. Frieza was truly the most powerful being she had ever been able to fight.
"How could I beat him? I can't even use MAHAPADMA anymore. "
Suddenly, like a torpedo, Frieza flew at full speed towards her. Seeing him appear in front of her, Esdeath jumped back in extremis, while Frieza hit the ground forcefully, shattering it, creating a cloud of dust.
Continuing to back away, Esdeath then saw Frieza extricate herself from the cloud of dust, with a golden aura around his fist. Seeing him do it, Esdeath covered her abdomen with a layer of ice to defend himself. Striking protection, Frieza's fist created an explosion, which knocked the two opponents back. Falling to their feet, Frieza and Esdeath still remained standing. But while Frieza showed no sign of fatigue, Esdeath's face betrayed her pain, as she winced.
" How can he damage it so much ? " Wanted to know Wave. " Esdeath's defense is nearly invincible. "
" Frieza's attack is simply superior. " Budo growled. " This guy has no limits! And again, he no longer uses his Golden form! If Esdeath is to have a chance of defeating him, now is. "
Rushing towards each other, Esdeath covered her fists in ice, while Frieza again made a golden aura appear around his hands. Immediately, the two opponents gave each other violent blows, which created shock waves with each impact. However, while Frieza took the blows of Esdeath without flinching, the young woman was forced to create an ice helmet around her head to take his attacks. Managing to fight on his equal, she declared.
" You are strong, Frieza! But if you are not able to pierce my defenses, your power will be of no use to you. "
" It's been a long time since I surpassed your level. " Retorted the tyrant.
Suddenly pulling back, he let his entire body shrouded in an aura, before propelling himself into the sky. Then, once at the top, he raced back down like a comet before hitting the arena, where Esdeath was.
Trying to create a shield of ice, Esdeath saw her defense pulverize the instant Frieza crashed into it. Then punching Esdeath, Frieza pierced her body with his arm. Yet he couldn't hide his surprise when he saw her opponent's body turn into an ice statue.
" What … ? "
Lying to his left, the real Esdeath already created ice spears which she hurled at Frieza.
" GRAUNHORN ! "
" It's useless. " Retorted Frieza, creating DEATH BEAMs.
Equalizing the two attacks stopped. Nonetheless, taking advantage of Frieza getting away from her, Esdeath put her hands on the ground.
" COLD DEATH ! "
Immediately, she created a layer of ice that covered the ground and spreading at full speed. Barely having time to see it, Frieza felt his feet freeze, as the ice spread over his legs.
" Even this technique…? "
" ICE CAVALRY ! "
Creating various ice creatures, armed with spears, swords and bows, Esdeath pointed at them at Frieza, whose body continued to freeze.
" Attack him ! "
Immediately, her soldiers ran towards Frieza, ready to strike him. Unable to move, Frieza pretended to be frightened.
" I can not move ! What a pity. "
Still smiling again, he declared.
" As I said, it's been a long time since I exceeded the limits of my body! 120% ! "
Creating a greater aura around him, Frieza made his body grow slightly, as his energy managed to break the ice that surrounded him. Then, directing his hands towards the ice knights, he created red spheres, which disappeared inside their bodies.
A moment later, the ice creations exploded. Smiling at that, Frieza wanted to know.
" Do you have something else to offer me ? "
Just staring at him, Esdeath had already created her next attack. With her open hand, she now held a sort of little sea urchin in her palm.
" Hum? A sea urchin ? "
Simply throwing her creation away, Esdeath threw it at Frieza. Not knowing what to get along with, the white alien leapt into the air, the instant the ice object hit the ground, where it was.
Immediately, the ice sea urchin grew in a tenth of a second, to a size of three meters tall, and possessing peaks so sharp that they pierced the ground as if it were butter.
" What ? " The fighters of universe 9 were astonished.
" What is she doing ? " Wanted to know Sidra. " With this kind of technique, she could kill Frieza. "
" We do not care. " Rô retorted. " She'll just have to throw it off the field before that happens! Go on, Esdeath. "
For his part, falling back on the ground, Frieza affirmed.
" Decidedly, we don't get bored with you! You would have done better to join me! You could easily have become my second! Now I'll have to use more power to crush you. "
Feeling his aura, Piccolo couldn't help but feel a drop of sweat run down his cheek.
" That is no longer any doubt! Frieza is much more powerful than the last time we fought him! He might even be on the same level as Goku. "
" If so, do you think there is a chance that he will win this tournament ? " Tenshinhan asked him.
" No one can say it." Muten Roshi declared. " But if that happens, I'm afraid the end of this tournament will ultimately become the beginning of the end of our universe. "
Having nothing to give up on the idea of winning, Esdeath created more sea urchins, which she threw at Frieza. Simply jumping from boulder to boulder, the white alien seemed to enjoy watching Esdeath's attacks grow larger, destroying any boulders that were pierced by their peaks.
Seeing him do it, Esdeath couldn't help but taunt him.
" What's wrong ? Are you running away now? Don't tell me you've already used up all your energy ? "
" Hum? I can stop if you want. "
Immediately, Esdeath was astonished to see Frieza come to a stop and stretch his arms out to the sides, prompting her to attack him.
" Go ahead ! Try to hurt me. "
Groaning at the feeling of being belittled, Esdeath immediately directed her hand towards him and tossed him a new urchin. Heading towards Frieza, the creation of ice stopped in front of him, before lengthening the size of its peaks which slammed into Frieza's chest… before destroying itself.
" What ? " Esdeath wondered.
Having simply used his aura as a protective shield, Frieza had managed to destroy the sharp peaks of her attack without a hitch. Then, smiling mockingly, he disappeared to find himself in front of Esdeath. Putting his hands on her chest, he created a torrent of black flames that burned the body of the Ice Queen.
" AHHHHHHHHHHH ! "
" ESDEATH ! "
" COLD DEATH ! "
Putting her hands on her own body, Esdeath enveloped her body in a huge block of ice, managing to remove the flames that burned her. Then the ice vanished, revealing Esdeath, whose skin was covered with burns.
" I see that you are resistant. " Remarked Frieza. " However … "
Kicking Esdeath in the stomach, Frieza ejected her against a boulder.
" That is useless against me! None of your attacks will have any effect on me now! In fact, only one thing could defeat me. "
Gripping Esdeath by her throat, he brought her face back to him, before telling her.
" I saw you do against Toppo! You used a power very similar to that of the Gods of Destruction! Do you want to hope to defeat me? Fight me with this power! And it is only by fighting you with this power, that I would take pleasure in slaughtering you. "
Roaring in rage, Esdeath created an ice arrow above her. Then, before Frieza could react, the arrow went up to him and hit his eye.
" AHHHHHHHHH ! " He yelled, stepping back, as he let go of Esdeath.
Putting a hand over his eye, he felt blood flow as his eye had just been gutted.
" YOU ... APE ... "
Suddenly Esdeath covered her body in ice, which was meant to create perfect armor for her. Then, making her sword disappear, she replaced it with a battle ax, which she twirled in her hands.
" Hum? What are you hoping to do ? "
In response, Esdeath made a quick movement with her battle ax, and managed to create a gust of wind, which moved towards Frieza. Taken with a bad feeling, the alien leapt into the air, and the gust of wind hit a boulder behind him, which was found to be pulverized, before turning to ice.
" What is this again ? "
In response, Esdeath directed her hand towards him and created numerous blocks of ice above him.
" Hum ? "
" It's finish. " Esdeath shouted, creating spears around her. " GRAUNHORN ! "
Immediately, the ice blocks and spears rushed towards Frieza, who protected himself by creating an energy shield around him. Hitting the shield, the projectiles were simply destroyed.
" What do you think ? Your attacks won't do anything to me. "
Nonetheless, he suddenly fell silent, catching sight of Esdeath towards him, while squeezing the handle of her ax.
" AHHHHHHH ! " She shouted, before hitting Frieza's energy shield.
In an instant, she created a wedge in the protection and found herself in front of Frieza.
" What … ? "
Lifting her battle ax again, Esdeath lowered it towards him and managed to touch him. Seeing this, Ro cried out.
" She got it. "
" So cool ! "
Nonetheless, a laser beam was seen the instant it pierced Esdeath's body, even through her ice armor. Spitting blood immediately, the woman fell to her knees, in front of Frieza.
Having raised his arm, Frieza used it to shield herself from Esdeath's ax. The blade had managed to sink into his flesh to the bone of his arm. Nonetheless, that was all and Frieza then directed his second arm towards Esdeath to attack her.
" Is that a joke ? "
" OHOHOHO! So you wanted to beat me with this kind of technique? Yes, of course, against a normal opponent you would have won a long time ago! However, I am not a normal person! Do you understand me ? In fact, you don't stand a chance against me, even though I'm not in Golden form. "
Then, wrapping his fist in a golden aura, he punched Esdeath's face, while creating an explosion that managed to pulverize her helm with ice. Coughing up blood, Esdeath felt her body lift into the air. Nevertheless, she didn't even have time to land on the ground, as Frieza rushed towards her, to hit her a second time.
" ESDEATH ! " Rô feared, seeing her collapse to the ground.
" It's impossible. " Ida affirmed, letting herself sit down. " Frieza… he's invincible. We can't win! We can't win this tournament! Not against a monster like him. "
Trying to get up, Esdeath felt Frieza's fist hit her again and the explosion destroyed what little armor she had left. Getting punched over and over again, she found herself helpless as her body became Frieza's new punching bag.
" Esdeath has no choice! She is forced to back down. " Leone remarked.
" And none of her attacks really had an effect on Frieza. " Bols remarked.
Standing up again, Esdeath felt blood run down her face.
" I ... I would not give up. "
" You're wasting your time. " Retorted Frieza, simply walking towards her." Whether it was you, me, or everyone else here, we all could see that you are nothing out of the ordinary! You are just a loser. "
" What did you say ? " Esdeath questioned.
"Now that you are unable to stop time or produce a shield strong enough to stop me, you have no way of defeating me, do you ? So no matter what happens, the victory is already mine! However, I don't want our fight to end too quickly. "
" I can still… " Began Esdeath.
" What ? Parading like the stupid general that you are and trying to find a strategy that can only be in vain? Give up! As I just told you, there is really nothing extraordinary about you. "
Hearing this, Esdeath raged inwardly, and began to run towards Frieza. Yet, suddenly freezing, she saw Frieza continue walking towards her, and let his evil aura surround him. Immediately, and compared to earlier, Esdeath had a strange feeling. Her body refused to move, and she began to feel her heartbeat quicken. In front of her, she had the impression of seeing Frieza grow taller. Very large. She felt like she was small. As tiny as an ant, facing this giant monster that seemed to be invincible. For the first time in her life, Esdeath was suddenly afraid to fight.
"What ... what's happening to me ? "
Sneering at her hesitating, Frieza ran over to her and created another explosion, hitting her.
" I am going to take out everything you have left ! Your pride, your confidence… whatever keeps you going. "
Getting hit again, Esdeath found himself forced to back down again. And no sooner had she straightened up than Frieza was already in front of her, enjoying hitting and humiliating her publicly. And to show how sadistic he was, Frieza, seeing Esdeath crashing not far from the void, moved behind and punched her so as to bring her back to the center of the pitch.
The fun was just beginning. Trying to get up, Esdeath spat blood, as she heard the footsteps and laughter of her enemy walking towards her. Lifting her face, she met the gaze of Frieza, who smiled at her like a gentleman. However, then raising his finger, he made her cry out in pain, stabbing her shoulder with a ray.
Barely having time to scream, Esdeath then felt Frieza's tail curl around her neck before placing it in front of him. Then, with a kick, Frieza kicked her against a rock.
Falling to her knees, Esdeath then saw Frieza walk towards her again. Seeing this, Esdeath immediately created ice spears which she hurled at him. However, not even trying to avoid them, Frieza allowed himself to be touched by her attacks, which had no effect. They shattered as they touched his body as he continued to move forward.
Seeing this, Esdeath put her hands on the ground and began to freeze it.
" COLD DEATH ! "
Again, her ice moved to Frieza's feet and began to freeze them. However, Frieza barely slowed down as he simply exerted light pressure to free his feet from the ice and continued to walk towards his opponent.
" No stop ! "
Immediately, Esdeath created a shield of ice in front of her.
" Stop… I beg you. "
Finding himself in front of Esdeath's shield, Frieza simply put his hand on it and used his brute force to crack it. Then, within seconds, he exerted such immense pressure that Esdeath's shield shattered into pieces. Barely having time to notice it, Esdeath got punched again in the stomach and hovered in the air.
Once on the ground, she curled into a ball, while her whole body ached.
" Is there a problem ? " Frieza questioned her, as his feet appeared in front of Esdeath's face.
Startling with fear, Esdeath suddenly began to back away. Feeling her whole body shake, Esdeath saw the face of the man who was filling her heart with terror. It was not a man. Nor a human being. He was just an evil being who only wanted to hurt around him.
" Go ... ! Go away ! Don't come near me. "
" What's up ? " Frieza questioned, taking a step towards her. " Would you be afraid of me ? "
" MAHAPADMA ! "
However, no longer able to use her attack, Esdeath was unable to stop time. Smiling at that, Frieza smacked his chin with his foot. Falling to the ground again, Esdeath straightened up and tried in vain to escape.
" MAHAPADMA ! MAHAPADMA ! "
Again, nothing happened. Worse yet, two rays pierced her abdomen, causing her to fall to her knees.
" Ma… MAHA… MA…"
" So, the loser ? " Asked Frieza. " How does it feel to find out that you're not number 1 ? "
Trembling with terror, Esdeath whispered.
" I… I am Esdeath…! General Esdeath! The most powerful being in my universe. "
Immediately, memories of her old life came back to her.
" For me, beating my opponents is as natural as breathing! I… I always win! I have always been the best! I have always been at the top! This is where my place is: above everyone! I can not … ! I can't lose! At home, my universe must be mine! The gods must see me as their equals! I… I am destined to dominate you… all. "
In response, Frieza continued to hit her, relishing seeing her so scared.
Seeing this, the rest of Universe 9 could only witness the fight, unable to do anything.
" General ?" Wave wondered.
" This is the first time that I see her like this. " Bols asserted.
Even the former members of Night Raid found Frieza's behavior cruel. Esdeath was sadistic. Nonetheless, there were times when she showed humanity to people she liked or respected. Frieza was on a whole new level. He was evil incarnate.
" He has fun with her. " Leone remarked. " He no longer tries to get her out of the field at all. "
" Hey! Beerus makes this stop. " Sidra ordered him. " The fight is already over. "
He, too, worried, Beerus screamed.
" Frieza! Get her out of the field! Right now. "
Yet, deciding to refuse to obey him, Frieza continued to just watch Esdeath moan at her feet, as she found herself unable to move.
" You are nothing! And you will never be nothing! I tried to be nice by offering you to become one of my future generals but you refused! When you're not number 1, you can't refuse. "
Can only moan in terror, Esdeath closed her eyes, waiting to be hit again. Directing his hand towards her, Frieza said simply.
" Bye ! "
However, a cry was heard.
" ESDDEEEEEAAAAAATTTTTHHHHHHHHH ! "
Surprised, Frieza turned to the bleachers of universe 9. In the middle of his companions, Tatsumi had stood up, and was catching his breath having shouted the name of his enemy.
" Tatsumi ? "
" What is happening ? Can you explain to me what you're doing on the ground, Esdeath? Are you not the best warrior in our universe? Why are you terrified of fighting him? Before, you had never been afraid to fight, no matter what enemies presented themselves in front of you! You've always faced them, putting a confident smile on your face! So what's the matter with you? Is it the idea of defeating yourself against an opponent stronger than Night that terrifies you? Are you a coward who runs away at the first sign of danger! No, because that's not Esdeath's behavior. "
Staring at Esdeath, he asserted.
" The Esdeath that I know is a sadistic, violent woman who is addicted to fighting! Nevertheless, she is not a coward! She is courageous and always does anything to become stronger! Esdeath, I hate you! But I also believe in you! It was by knowing how strong you could become that I also trained like crazy so as not to be left behind! Esdeath, you said you were going to win this tournament! So what are you waiting for to win, against this garden gnome? "
" Garden gnome ? " Growled Frieza
Just staying on the ground, Esdeath suddenly felt Frieza's foot crush her head.
" This woodlouse annoys me! Is there no way to silence him? "
Appreciating Esdeath's cries, he asked her.
'' Say instead of resuscitating only you ... shouldn't you resuscitate your whole team and make you my slaves? And then, I would take pleasure in torturing this guy. "
Still still, Esdeath heard Frieza continue.
" I would torture you all! I will break you, over and over, until you figure out who I am! And would take pleasure in educating this boy and making him understand that you should never call me a '' garden gnome ''! OHOHOHO! "
Suddenly Esdeath's hand gripped his foot.
" Hum? "
Pushing hard, Esdeath squeezed his foot so hard that Frieza winced in pain.
" What … ? "
At that moment he saw a purple aura surrounding Esdeath, as her odd tattoo on her forehead reappeared. Staring at Frieza angrily, the woman rose to her feet, asserting herself.
" You will never touch my Tatsumi! Because I would kill you before that. "
" What is happening ? "
" It starts again. " Sidra remarked, getting up. " This woman truly has the power of destruction within her. "
Simply staring at Esdeath and feeling her aura grow more and more powerful, Frieza finally smiled as well.
" Finally ! I will finally be able to prove to everyone that I am capable of defeating the powers of the gods of destruction. "
" Frieza, I will stop you here and now. "
In response, Frieza let out a cry before letting his body turn golden. Immediately, Esdeath's dark aura confronted Frieza's golden aura. Fixing themselves again, the two opponents once again went to show why they had been selected to participate in this tournament.
Immediately, Frieza lifted his finger and created a tiny little orange sphere. For her part, Esdeath raised both her arms in the air and created a small ice cube that floated in the air.
They stayed still and just looked at each other, as they knew the final confrontation was coming. In a few seconds, only one of them would remain on this land.
The next instant, Frieza's tiny sphere becomes a huge energetic sphere about ten meters in diameter with enough power to detonate an entire planet. For her part, the ice cube from Esdeath had transformed into a huge sword whose hardness could have equaled the strongest metal of all the universes united.
" DEATH SUPERNOVA ! "
" WHITE ESCALIBUR ! "
Immediately the two attacks charged at each other and the next moment the two warriors created another explosion that rocked the entire rear. As the high priest had feared, a gigantic crack appeared on the surface of the arena and a huge crevasse was created.
Being in a fight, Garou and Kaido saw the crevasse open between them, separating them.
" What … ? "
Almost falling inside, Kaido saw the void, deep in the crevasse. It was elimination if someone fell inside. Gusts of wind were then felt, while pieces of ice hit the stands.
Immediately, the angels of each universe slammed their staff against the ground to create a shield to protect the stands.
For his part, sitting cross-legged, Jiren felt a piece of ice hit his face. Simply opening his eyes, he turned his head to the explosion, not feeling it necessary to intervene.
Finally, as before, silence finally returned and the explosion was replaced by a cloud of smoke that covered the whole area.
Rising one after another, the spectacles attempted to see the outcome of the fight as the smoke cleared. First, they saw that the land was still in one piece. Nevertheless, a large crevasse was visible and almost separated the arena in two. Such a powerful new explosion could end up destroying the land completely.
Then, seconds later, everyone could see the silhouettes of Frieza and Esdeath appear. Staring at them in silence, several people finally widened their eyes as they saw who had won.
Still standing, Frieza was back to her normal form and breathing heavily as injuries were visible on her body. Still, smiling confidently, he gazed at Esdeath's body, which he held by her throat. Covered in wounds, Esdeath's body was unable to move, while the woman struggled to remain conscious.
Frieza had won. Still, he wanted to humiliate Esdeath further.
" Now I want you to say it! I want you to say you're a loser. "
Forced to fix his evil gaze, Esdeath felt her heart crush as tears rolled down her cheeks.
" I am ... I am … "
" What ? What are you ? "
" I AM A ... LOSER. "
Laughing at this, Frieza then hurled the woman's body with all her might at Universe 9. Seeing him do it, Mojito could have used his powers to stop her. Still, he just let Esdeath's body hit the bleachers hard and even smiled when he saw her coughing up blood.
" Esdeath-san is eliminated. "
1 = Universe 3 (8): Luffy, Katakuri, Kaido, Kizaru, Teach, Akainu, Shanks, Doflamingo (8)
2 = Universe 7 (11 ): Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, C-17, Frieza (5)
3 = Universe 4 (9): Saitama, Boros, Blast, Garou (4)
4 = Universe 10 (5): Natsu, Gray, Laxus, Gildarts (4)
5 = Universe 6 (7): Hit, Kefla, Saena (3)
6 = Universe 9 (7): Seryu, Mine (2)
7 = Universe 12 ( 6 ) : Midoriya, Bakugo ( 2 )
8 = Universe 11 (1): Jiren, Top (2)
9 = Universe 2 (3): Eliminated