Akame Ga Kill - Garou

Esdeath blushed a little, unable to hide her joy she said "I have just started looking for someone like you, who would have thought I would find my match so soon. Originally, I wanted my lover to have an innocent smile, but seeing yours isn't bad either."

Garou's facial expression became eerily similar to a certain baldy's "ok" face as he listened to this woman. What lover? What smile? He just wanted the prize, why did it have to end up like this?

"Now dear, don't resist and come with me, I will take good care of you. I guarantee you will live the best life you could ask for" Esdeath said again as she tried to push her hand further toward him, but his iron grip didn't allow her to move.

Garou didn't want to deal with this woman anymore, he pushed her back and said "Stop fucking around. I want my prize, which is gold, not some lunatic bitch."

Esdeath stiffened upon hearing his words, as did her subordinates and everyone who knew who she was. To call the empire's strongest a "lunatic bitch" was the same as committing suicide.

Esdeath looked at Garou darkly as she spoke "It seems you need a lot of training before you could act as a proper lover."

She pulled her rapier out and pointed at Garou. Garou snorted in contempt without moving, he simply replied "You should know I believe in equality, which includes the right of beating up women. Keep pointing that thing at me and you will have a bad time"

Esdeath eyes gleamed, he first insulted her openly, and now he is threatening her, he was far more courageous than she thought. She liked him even more, she was going to enjoy taming and shaping him into her ideal lover.

In the stadium, the three assassins wanted to jump with glee. The two most dangerous enemies they had were about to kill each other. If the two died there, that would be even more perfect. Hell, If one of them died and the other survived, they might attack them depending on the outcome. This was a golden opportunity for them.

On the other side of the stadium, the children were cursing Esdeath while screaming for Garou to beat her while Himiko tried to calm them down before they get in trouble for insulting a general, luckily for them, no one paid attention to them as they were focused on the middle of the arena.

Back in the arena, Garou observed Esdeath calmly, he could tell from her heartbeat and breathing rhythm she was about to attack him. He waited for the attack calmly as he wanted to straighten this bitch's attitude.

Esdeath pierced forward with her rapier toward Garou's shoulder, but Garou casually deflected the attack with a lazy, backhand strike. But his deflection didn't slow her down; she rotated around and sent a high back kick toward his head. Garou caught her leg, stopping her momentum. He sent a thunderous kick toward her stomach, but she used her arms to block the kick. Despite blocking, the power of his attack launched her back a few meters.

Esdeath's body rotated in air a few times in rapid succession before landing gracefully on her feet. She stood, and as if she had not been hit, she smiled at Garou. Garou narrowed his eyes slightly, he barely used 10% of his full power. However, his simple attack could still take down most instantly. This woman was somewhat better than what he expected.

The audience held their breath as they watched the initial clash between the two, many were amazed that Garou managed to get the upper hand in the first clash but still believed it was a losing battle for him.

"You are pretty good, this is going to be entertaining" Esdeath said as she kept her smile.

Garou didn't bother to reply, he began walking slowly toward Esdeath, while the latter braced herself for the battle. The next instant, the arena was a blur of movement, a black shadow crowned with silver danced with a white shadow crowned with blue. It would have been a beautiful show for the spectators had it not been for the tiles breaking, and the sound of trading blows echoing throughout the stadium.

It was only for a few seconds, but the two shadows exchanged over a hundred blows before separating again. Garou stood back in his place, calmly and unharmed. His expression is showing a hint of boredom, just as he had before the clash. While Esdeath stood covered in scratches and her breathing was slightly laboured. The victor of this skirmish was quite evident.

"You are far better than what I expected and far better than anyone that I have met since my arrival. But you are still far from my equal" Garou spoke honestly. He didn't go all out against her, in fact, he doubted he used more than 15%. That said it was still more than he typically used against people. Garou believed this woman before him had strength equal to the four bandits he met on his first day. She was as strong as the four of them combined, and she didn't have some bizarre weapon like them to boost her strength. Maybe he had to re-assess the power of the people in this world.

Esdeath straightened herself and laughed out loud. Garou frowned at her and asked "Did I knock your brain loose, or are you just nuts?"

Esdeath smiled madly at him "On the contrary, I have never been more sane. You are far more entertaining than I thought. In a fight of brute strength and speed, I have no chance of winning. You are probably the strongest person in this empire when it comes to unarmed combat."

Garou showed slight interest in her words "I assume you still have things to show me."

Esdeath laughed back "Ooh! We are far from done here"

Esdeath charged at Garou, Garou was about to move forward when his legs suddenly froze. He took a peek down at his feet and saw ice covering them, now this was not something he expected to see. He looked back at the fast-approaching Esdeath, when she was about to enter the range of trading blows she jumped back and high in the air as she pointed her palm toward Garou. A big spear of ice came out of her hand and hurtled toward Garou with great force, the speed of the spear was nearly equal to that of Esdeath herself.

Garou showed no fear; he simply punched the spear in an uninterested manner, shuttering it to pieces. This kind of trick wouldn't work against him, or so he thought.

"Oh as expected of you. But look at your hand, injured already, we barely began this game" Esdeath's voice rang arrogantly in Garou's ears.

Garou looked at her then looked at his hand, there was a small scratch on it and a thin line of blood seeping out of it. Garou kept staring at his hand without responding. The ice was a lot tougher than what he expected, it even scratched his skin.

Esdeath laughed, seeing him not reacting, she spoke again, "What? Surprised, please don't be. I don't want you to give up so early, it is only a small scratch not even worth mentioning."

Garou looked back at Esdeath, his expression was blank, he blinked twice as his eyes kept moving between her and his hand. Finally, he spoke "I'm actually impressed, I was really not expecting much from you. Just slightly better than the rest of the trash I have been fighting so far. But It seems I was wrong. Maybe you can give me a decent warmup."

Garou said these words in a calm voice, but for some reason, every person in the vicinity felt a shiver running down their spines. This feeling intensified as Garou's blank expression turned into a maniacal grin directed at Esdeath. Even Esdeath herself felt something was very wrong. Every fiber in her being screamed danger, the look Garou gave her didn't resemble that of a fighter, but that of a predator. A primal predator watching his prey. She hasn't experienced this kind of feeling since she was a little child, the sense of danger and the rising threat to her life.

For the first time since his arrival to this world, Garou actually felt excitement, this woman might be able to at least make him fight a little seriously. He crossed his outstretched arms before him, palms toward Esdeath, fingers curled like claws. His knees bent and back forward lowering the centre of his body. He was going to introduce the old jeezer martial arts.