Chapter 11: A Frozen Solution, The Fall of The Shadow

"Hi" ---> Conversation

"'Hi'"---> Multiple people talking

'Hi' ---> Thought

[Ember] ---> Magic

{Ember} ---> Non-Magic Techniques

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<3rd PoV>

"[Domain Expansion: Eternal Winter]!" Suddenly the space around everyone distort as the surroundings were changed. The once light snowing forest with tall trees and openings, now became an empty and cold winter wasteland. The sky that once only lightly snowed now showered the surroundings with blizzard. The green forest were now covered in thick white snow.

"?!" Yamikage widened his eyes at the sudden changes on the surroundings. The cold suddenly hit him like a sudden storm. He looked at the 'little girl' in front of him and when she stared at him with her icy cold eye he shivered and trembled uncontrollably. He carefully asses his surroundings and pick up an arrow.

"[Release a Surge of Darkness, Dark Spread]" He casted his spell releasing a huge spread of Darkness. The spread of darkness covered the whole area. But despite the apparent power behind his spell, the Darkness immediately vanished and the surroundings turned into the winter wasteland once again. He looked around only to see nobody not even the owner of the domain. He then began to think of a plan.

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<Meanwhile with Aster and the others>

"Brrrr, w-w-where are w-we?!" One of the goat demi-humans shivered from the cold.

"[S-Spark A F-Flame, E-E-Ember]" Aster casted one of her spells while shivering. A small yet enough fire burst out creating a small ember ball that radiates enough heat to atleast don't make them shiver.

"Based on the sudden change I theorise it's probably a domain.." The hawk demi-human said while fixing his glasses.

"A domain huh.." Aster thoughtfully said. Then suddenly darkness surged out of nowhere. But for the surged of darkness also vanished as fast as it appeared.

"What was that?!" They seemed surprised with the hawk demi-human just looked unfazed.

"I dont know...I'm not even surprised at this point.. but for now we could only pray for this to end fast.." The hawk demi-human said with a big sigh.

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<Nozomi's PoV>

"[Domain Expansion: Eternal Winter]!" Suddenly a white dome appeared from me and covered the whole area. Then the dome turned invisible and the area changed into a winter wasteland with powerful blizzards. The wind from the blizzards flutter my hair and clothes but it didn't cause any discomfort. Even I felt very comfortable of the environment. I then looked over to where Aster and the others was and saw they are fine so I focused on my battle.

I could not see much of him but I could discern where he is subconsciously even without me seeing him. In fact I could 'feel' everybody here even without knowing where they really are. I then suddenly saw a huge surge of darkness coming towards me. I without panicking just waved my hand and the darkness vanished instantly into thin air.

"What is he trying to do?" I pondered about his intention. I could feel he's thinking about something but I don't know what.

"*sigh* Let's just worry that later, for now.. we fight." I said while immediately running towards him. Little by little I could see his shadow and I prepared a little surprise for him.

"[Frozen Cage]" A giant Ice dome appeared around him and in an instant immediately shrinked but his reaction caught up and he barely escaped. He emerged near a tree or more spesifically near the shadow of the tree. I located him instantly and immediately appeared in front of him without a delay.

"[Ice Spikes]" Multiple sharp spikes made out of ice rose from the ground towards him. He didn't panic as he calmly jumped and used the ice as a stepping place. He leaped up quite high and took one arrow from his quiver.

"{Focus Shot}" He shot an arrow and it traveled in such high speed it created a shockwave which flutters my hairs around. 

"[Enhancement: Ice]" A thin layer of Ice and an almost transparent layer of icy blue magical energy formed around my right hand. The layer is so thin it's barely visible with naked eyes. 

I then focused towards the incoming arrow and when it's right on my range. I grabbed it with my Enhanced hand. I hold the arrow on my hand and glanced at it a little.

'It's just a normal arrow.. How does it flew so fast?' I thought about it for a while but ultimately decided to hold the thought for a while and focused on the much more important thing in front of me. 

I gripped the arrow tightly and threw it back towards him with pure force using my Enhanced hand. It flew at very high speed comparable to the speed of his arrow. But it missed by a lot.. 

He then smoothly landed on the ground and looked quite genuinely shocked at the speed that the arrow moved at. Even if it missed by a lot the effect of the arrow still is showed behind him. The entire landscape behind him on the way of the arrow was completely destroyed. The once tall trees now is buried flat to the ground..

"Are you even a mortal?" He asked with a calm tone yet has a surprised meaning inside them.

"I don't know what you mean?" I answered the question rather vaguely while tilting my head.

"What do you mean... forget it.." He looked annoyed which really confused me even more. 

He suddenly charged at me without his bow but with his bare fist. I readied myself to clash with him. But when he was in front of me, he suddenly was holding two daggers that came out from out of no where.

"Shit!" I quickly Enhanced my hand in Nature Energy but it's a very sloppy work.

*CLANK*

I blocked the incoming daggers with my hand but he didn't stop there. He send a powerful kick enhanced with darkness towards me. I noticed the kick too late and was hit by the kick in full force.

"ARGH!" I was send flying back by the force because of that the Nature Energy Enhancement was forcefully stopped aswell. He didn't give me any time to rest as he immediately appeared behind me. 

"{Twisted Shadow}" He spins in a 360º angle and used the momentum to launch an attack with his dagger. I quickly regain my focus and once again Enhance my hand to quickly blocked the attack. I successfully clad my hand in Nature Energy but the force of the attack was still very strong it pierced through my Nature Energy.

"Argh! That hurts, damnit!" I forcefully grabbed one of his daggers and crushed it into pieces with my bare hands. He was forced to retreat giving me a little time to recover myself.

'He has the advantages here. Even though I'm physically stronger than him, his techniques are more advanced.' I assessed my position.

'He also has the advantage over weapons as I only fight with bare hands as I have no prior experience' I looked at his arsenal of weapons. A bow and much arrows, daggers, I also saw some knifes that I will assume as throwing knifes, his magic and martial arts. He's clearly more experienced at fighting than me who just arrived in this world.

'How can I do this?' I scanned the surroundings of my domain and found nothing truly useful.

'Ahh! I need to think of a way' I was getting frustrated by each passing second. He noticed my frustration and launch another attack.

"{Arrow Rain}!" He shot one arrow up to the sky but suddenly that arrows multiplies into hundreds of arrows raining down towards me. What's more that he suddenly disappeared and I could feel his presence behind me ready to attack.

"Damnit! [Absolute Zero]!" Suddenly a powerful surge of coldness spread outwards and made an aura that surrounds me. This cold aura is so cold it completely froze all of the incoming arrow. But it didn't completely hit him as he reacted quickly and retreated. But even then he didn't completely get out unscathed as his left hand was completely frozen solid. He glanced at his frozen left hand and focused back on me with a solemn look on his face.

"Ha! I got you!" I mocked him a little but he stayed calm. Seeing this I decided to get full serious.

"Now then let's start a new round~" 

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<3rd PoV>

"[Ice Scythe]" A scythe made out of purely ice formed on Nozomi's hand. The scythe was clearly bigger than her and is very heavy yet she is holding it while swinging it with ease.

She spins her scythe and suddenly appeared behind Yamikage. He was taken by surprise as he didn't expect she could move that fast with the heavy scythe on her hand. 

She swung her scythe horizontally towards Yamikage's neck. Because he didn't expect she would be that aggressive he unexpectedly lowered his guard a little. He immediately raised one of his remaining dagger to try and block the incoming scythe. Unfortunately, it's not enough to block the scythe at all and he was send flying through the air.

Nozomi didn't let him recover for a single second and immediately went in for another strike. She spins her scythe and swung it diagonally towards Yamikage. Luckily, Yamikage's instinct caught up and dodged at the last moment.

"Tch, Lucky bastard" Nozomi whispered in a low voice. Nozomi retreated for a bit because her attack has been evaded. Yamikage also recovered himself and took out his bow once again. Yamikage started to draw his bow once again ready to open fire any second. Nozomi got ready and immediately charged in without any hesitation. She was moving so fast that only her shillouette was visible. But despite that Yamikage stood his ground calmly and shot his arrow.

"{Pulse Arrow}" The arrow flew towards Nozomi accurately but she already anticipated it and immediately parried the arrow easily. She then continue to charge in to Yamikage and when she's already in front of him suddenly her instinct rings danger.

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She trusted her instinct and leaped backwards when an arrow that flew in a very high speed almost pierced her on the back. She looked back towards Yamikage with an annoyed look.

"Can you stop pulling weird tricks?!" She yelled and tried to charge in once again. Yamikage once again drew his bow towards her.

"{Pulse Arrow}" He used the same technique as last time. Nozomi also parried it the same way as before but this time she raised her awareness of her surroundings to the max to avoid a fatal hit. Once again when she is right in front of him her instinct warned her about a danger once again. So she ducked down to avoid the arrow but suddenly..

"?!" Another arrow was suddenly already in front of her. She didn't have any time to react as she tried her best to dodge the arrow but ended up getting hit on the stomach.

"Argh!" Nozomi started to bleed a lot from the wound. The arrow pierced her quite deep as the speed of the arrow was incredibly fast. But it didn't end there as she subconsciously lowered her guard the second arrow also was suddenly already behind her and pierced her right shoulder.

"Ugh! Damn!" She grunted and complained in pain as she balanced herself once again. 

'She is trash at fighting..' Yamikage thought to himself. Nozomi is really really trash at fighting. How could she not be? She only arrived at this world just for more than 1 day and she already is fighting to the death with an enemy much experienced than her. Of course Yamikage didn't knew this and only thought of her as a beginner.

Nozomi successfully rebalanced herself after quite some time but her Ice Scythe dissipates into nothingness as she didn't have enough focus to keep materialising it.

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<Nozomi's PoV>

'How many tricks does he have?! It's really getting tiring and frustrating..' I was getting really tired as the fight already was stretched out long enough and with me constantly keeping my domain intact it really exhausting myself even more.

'Wait.. domain?' I finally remembered about my own domain. 

'My domain! Why didn't I think of that?!' I literally slapped myself mentally. With my domain I could turn my disadvantages to advantages. I just need to play my cards right.

'Then I shall start the plan' I smirked. He looked at me weirdly as of why I suddenly smirked with my wounded body. I pull out the two arrows that pierced my body forcefully.

"Ugh.. Argh!" The bleeding became more intense but before I could lose more blood I froze the wound to not cause anymore blood lost.

"Aren't those wounds painful...?" He widened his eyes when he looked at me casually pulling out the arrows.

"Well yes, of course." I casually answered him. 

"Well.. you do you.. I guess." He decided to not really question it anymore. He entered in a defensive stance without any intention on getting aggressive. I used this opportunity to launch a full attack at him. 

"[Freezing Chains]" Multiple chains suddenly launched up from the ground towards him. He tries to dodge the chains but the chains kept on following him.

"{Twisted Shadow}" He tried breaking the chains but only successfully shattered two of them. The rest of the chains kept on launching towards him. But even then the chains still can't bind him as whenever the chains got too close he will parry them away.

"Tch, [Winter Wind]" I tried breaking his focus by sending a basically harmless but annoying cold and dry wind towards him. I cannot really cast any complex spells as I'm still controlling the chains. But even then he's still deflecting all of the chains with ease without breaking a single sweat.

"Haaa.. I really underestimated him.." I sighed. He has an exceptional skill and focus and with his experience he is a very strong foe. 

'How can I stop him from deflecting the chains..' I tried to think of a reasonable solution.

*CLANK* *CLANK* *CLANK*

I heard the sound of him deflecting the chains with his dagger. His movement is very coordinated and relaxed it made him looked like he was dancing.

'Wait.. dagger?' My eyes light up when I thought of something.

'Ah! That's it!' I finally found the solution and the rest is just to actually to do it.

'Of course I'm not 100% sure on it but..'

"..There's only one way to find out" I smirked. 

I suddenly stopped controlling the chains and just let them flew uncontrollably towards him. He looked surprised at the sudden action but he acted calmly and dodged all of the chains. But he never expected that when he finished dodging all of the chains, I'm already behind him.

"[Frost Blade]" A curved and sharp sword resembling a traditional katana formed on my hand. The blade was shining reflecting the sunlight itself. I quickly swung my sword downwards with full power. But he acted quickly and raised his dagger to block the incoming attack, but..

'As planned!' I immediately proceeded with my plan that I just made. Just before my sword and his dagger will clash I quickly casted a spell.

"[Embrittlement]!" My sword and his dagger clashed. There's a clear difference in raw power as I'm much stronger than him. But his blocking stance was almost flawless he could almost block my strike if not for..

*CRACK* CRACK* 

His dagger started to crack just like thin ice. He widened his eyes when he looked at his cracking dagger. He still tried to block the strike with his cracked dagger but not long after..

*CRACK* *SHATTER* 

The dagger shattered into pieces by the force of my sword. The downward slash still have quite the power and it cut his chest making a large wound from his shoulder to his chest.

"Argh.." He let out a small grunt of pain as it really is painful. But I still didn't waste any time as I quickly launched another attack.

"[Freezing Chains]!" The same amount of chains launched up towards him binding him down completely immobilising him. The area where the chains bound him were frozen solid and he could only stay in one position.

"*pant* *pant* Did I finally won?" I said to no one in particular as I looked towards him. I slowly drag my exhausted body towards him to see if I truly won. When I'm in front of him I could clearly see he's unconscious somehow while still is bleeding hard from his wound.

"..." I looked at his pathetic state while contemplating with myself.

'He clearly wants to kill me.. but it really seems that his actions are very forced..' I thought when I remembered that he actually looked like he was forced to fight.

'But is that really a reason to save him?' I thought of the consequences. Well it maybe immoral to let someone dies in front of me but he tried to kill me. Is it really fair..?

"Ahhh!! Let's just think about that later!" I screamed in frustration. I approached him and gently touched his wound. I then slowly let my energy flow through his body freezing the wound the same way I froze mine. When I'm done completely freezing his wound I immediately fell to the ground exhausted. I could feel my domain and the 'Nature's Protection' cage slowly started to disappear. I slowly lay myself to the ground looking up to the bright sky with a shining sun.

"Did I do good..? I don't know.." I started to talk to myself.

"I don't know a lot of things.." I reached out my hand to the sky to block the blinding sun.

"But at least.. I know I saved at least someone's life.." I said before losing consciousness while smiling.

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(A/N: I'm very sorry about the long delay as school has been really annoying and I have an exam in 2 days. So this will probably be the only chapter I will make in this 2 weeks. So I'm really sorry!)

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