149 Endless Fights (1/2)

The freezing hail stung Ed's face as he made his way forward on the slippery ice. Not even his purple water could protect him completely from the extreme weather. Before long, he reached the center of the icy tundra.

The same ice giant as before stood with its two-handed sword embedded in the ground. It was easily five times the size of Ed. Its icy body was smooth, as if it was made of mirrors. Its glowing eyes opened, staring at him. Small chunks of ice bounced against the floor as it lifted its sword from the ground and pointed it forward.

Scales covered Ed's entire body as he prepared to fight. 'Everything in this world has a limit. I'd like to see just how many ice giants this training room can make.' He shot his arm forward, a sharp stream of purple water firing forth from his hand like an arrow leaving the bow.

The ice giant hurriedly used its thick sword like a shield to attempt blocking the attack, but the water arrow broke straight through, penetrating its chest. Surprisingly, the ice giant still stood tall, though it now wielded a half-sword and had a giant hole in its body. However, both the sword and hole quickly expanded with ice, healing completely.

”Tsk.” Ed clicked his tongue. 'I didn't notice last time but looks like I have to melt them completely.' He waved both hands forward, sending a tall wave of purple water over the ice. The ice giant melted nearly instantly, vanishing into the icy floor.

Suddenly, over a dozen new ice giants rose from the ice to replace them. ”No. Purple. Element.” Their voices echoed like a chorus. ”Cheating. Means. No. Exit. Must. Use. Path. Escape.” They simultaneously pointed their swords towards the snowy area from which Ed had come. ”Leave.”

Not waiting for them to finish speaking, Ed sent waves in all directions. The ice giants quickly melted again, only to be replaced by 100 more. ”Leave.” They demanded. ”Come. Back. Two. Days.”

”I've heard it before!” Ed shouted as he sent more waves out. He could no longer kill them all at once, forcing him to focus his firepower into a single area at a time. After sending a large tidal wave in one direction, he slowly turned and repeated the process. Once again, he easily melted them all.

Shockingly, an uncountable number of ice giants rose from the ice. There seemed to be no end of them in sight, their towering bodies blocking everything. Their collective voice now sounded like a roaring hymn. ”LEAVE!” The voice echoed from all directions, bouncing off the ice and repeating itself like a shout in the mountains.

Ed felt a bit dizzy from the sound and cold sweat covered his back. 'Going to have to change combat styles...' He knew he didn't have unlimited purple mana. It was much more limited than his usual fighting style. He would have no choice but to fight conservatively and efficiently in an attempt to save as much mana as possible. He took up a defensive stance, planning to drag the fight out while only fighting those that came close.

The first group of ice giants rushed forward. With their humongous bodies, only three or four would be able to attack him at once. They didn't seem to have any type of special combat style, just swinging their swords crudely like barbarians.

Four two-handed swords came swinging down towards Ed's head. He hurriedly sent out four thin wire-like blades of purple water, severing the ice giant's hands, causing them to drop their swords. He controlled the threads to repeatedly dance back-and-forth, dicing the ice giants into hundreds of pieces. He watched the chunks of collapsed ice, hoping his plan would work. But he was soon disappointed, as the chunks of ice began reforming into ice giants. 'Damn, I really do need to melt them entirely.' He sent a wave of purple water swirling in a circle around him, melting the collapsed chunk of the giants. 'Still, this'll help conserve mana at least.' He opted to no longer send attacks away from his body, as it was a waste of mana. He would chop and dice them up before cleaning up with the same wave over and over again.

The ice giants' stomps thudded against the ice as they moved forward in waves. Some swung their swords from up high. Others swung from the side. Interestingly, some even abandoned their swords and jumped at him with their giant feet.

Ed's thread became a butcher's knife as he repeatedly chopped the ice giants to bits and pieces. Occasionally, one would break past his defensive line, forcing him to block the blow with his body. Fortunately, the wounds taken from doing so were minor at best.

...

Time continued to pass as Ed defended against the waves. 'That's 500.' He thought as he diced another one. His breathing was growing heavier, and his wounds were starting to accumulate. Even a small scratch could become deadly when received enough times. Fortunately, he still had plenty of mana remaining.

...

Ed's concentration slipped for a moment, allowing four two-handed swords to cleave down towards his head. He forcefully blocked the attack with his arms, causing small gashes in his arms which bled lightly. Half-panicked, he hurriedly sent out a dome of purple water in all directions, eliminating dozens of the ice giants waiting their turn to fight. ”FUCK!” He cursed aloud in anger. 'That was what, 2,000?' He was beginning to lose track as he grew more and more tired.

...

His mana starting to run low, Ed could no longer sit still. He was forced to weave and dodge within the mass of ice giants, like a ship trying to avoid icebergs in the northern seas. He relied on his bat wings to continuously block attacks. His thread continually cut any ice giants that got close, but he didn't finish them off. Instead, he had to wait until he recovered enough mana to create a wave large enough to melt him. ”Huff. Huff.” His breathing grew even rougher. 'That's 5,000.' He eyed the remaining ice giants. 'About 5,000 left?'

...

Ed's entire body was covered in dark red blood. Some blood even looked black as it froze solid on his body. The only good thing was the freezing weather slowing his bleeding. He had completely lost track of the number of minor wounds he had suffered, but he was starting to look reminiscent of the old days when he had just survived Luny's lab experiments. It was hard to tell he was even human between the blood, torn wings, and broken scales.

In front of him stood only a single ice giant. But even facing just one felt like an exhausting endeavor at this point. He forced his little remaining purple mana out, his body aching and burning as he did so. A purple thread of water split the ice giant in half down the middle, each half of its crystal-like body falling to the ground. A small ball of water appeared in his hand and he tossed it forward. The ball rapidly spun on the ice, moving across it like a spinning top. Wherever it passed, the ice giant's body melted, and soon, it was completely gone.

”Finally... done...” He sighed in relief, feeling himself ready to collapse atop the ice. He felt his vision swaying, likely due to blood loss. Only his fear of another soul takeover allowed him to forcefully stay awake. 'This should've been enough, right?' He wondered as he looked over the vast ice. No new ice giants were spawning, so it appeared he had finally won. 'So, the limit is 10,000. I got lucky. Any more and I'd be finished.' Disappointment flashed in his eyes. 'Even after reaching the limit, there's no exit?'

Suddenly, the entire icy tundra began to tremble and shake. The movement was so bad that even Ed couldn't keep his balance, causing him to collapse to his knees. He hissed in pain as his bloodied knees came in contact with the ice. 'What's happening?!' He hurriedly looked around. 'Is the training room destabilizing? Or maybe a boss ice giant of some type is spawning?' He forced himself to stand back up despite the quakes increasingly growing in intensity.

After several minutes, the trembling finally stopped. Everything grew eerily calm, nothing looking out of place from before. Ed frowned. ”The hell was that ab-” His words stopped as he immediately went speechless. A sight far more terrifying than any new type of ice giant ever could be appeared. He couldn't even find the will to curse aloud at what he saw.