Ebony, Champion of Cosmos

Jean held the bloodied knife in hand, squeezing his eyes with regret. He was too ashamed to turn around and face the mage's corpse, knowing that he killed her without mercy.

"Damnit..."

But even with his regret, a part of him was happy that he could act mercilessly, akin to that of a monster.

The adventurer took a few steps forward, gazing at the ground below, and dropping his knife into a patch of tall grass.

"I had no choice."

Shuddering from his shameful actions, a multitude of twitches occurred throughout his body. Anxiety filled him at a drastic rate until he was unable to even stand; woozy as ever, the world began to spin, and his consciousness faded.

Everything was turning black... until he heard his father scream out to him during his last moments on Earth.

Jean stomped his feet, regaining his balance with a look of determination.

He remembered his reason for all of this.

"No... she was evil, that magician was working with Gunavoe, there's no doubt in my mind."

Jean convinced himself of the possible truth and ignored his doubts.

"She was only trying to manipulate me, nothing more."

Standing up straight, he balled his fists, frowning with fury.

"Is that so?"

A familiar voice echoed throughout the darkness, shocking Jean to his core.

He turned around with haste as a sudden light quickly filled his eyes.

"Wuaaaahh!?"

The young adventurer yelled in distress, witnessing the light become brighter until it consumed his entire body.

A fiery explosion went off, blowing up part of the rooftop, revealing Jean flying away with some mysterious dark entity by his side. They were filled with countless stars and galaxies, and had no visage but the figure of a woman.

"I-I thought I died... what was that just now?"

Jean was baffled with a face full of horror.

"Fronyir." Answered the dark entity.

"Do you mean, the strongest fire magic in Midgard?" Asked Jean, holding his twitching arm.

"Yes, she can use it without performing incantation, it seems." Levitating forward, the entity stood in front of Jean, saying, "Master, your anxiety is bothering you again, shall I fight your battle?"

"Ebony... are you sure you can beat her? She seems strong."

The dark entity, Ebony, turned around, nodding at their liege.

"I'm more than capable enough."

"Alright, I-I put my faith in you... I can't fight with my body like this." Said Jean.

She nodded, and without hesitation, Ebony hurtled at the witch with her arms by her side like a diving falcon.

Moving at great speeds, she cocked her fist back, throwing the first punch.

Grimhild lifted her arm, crafting a magic blueprint. "Fronyir." Casting the same spell, miniature suns shot forward, but this time, it was rendered useless.

"Hooooohh!!

Ebony slammed her fists into each attack, shrinking their dimensions infinitesimally before kicking at the witch.

"Gilfronta!"

Erecting an anti-magical barrier, it blocked her kick, until it shattered like glass, having her leg break through.

"It won't work!"

Ebony shouted with confidence, missing Grimhild by a hair.

The witch evaded, and took flight via Flonta, escaping Ebony's clutches, but they only pursued.

She chased after Grimhild with multiple black orbs appearing around her body, akin to that of black holes.

"You will not escape me! My master wishes you dead, and so it shall be!"

"Your ability, you can manipulate the fundamentals of the universe, is that it?"

"What?" Despite having no facial expressions, Ebony was astonished by her intuition. "I'm impressed, you know of my ability only from a few punches."

Grimhild was expressionless, and virtually unreadable to the entity, until she came to a stop, lifting her palm.

A multilayered magic circle appeared, gathering immense power.

"Litrunta!"

Purple lightning shot forward, aiming for the entity.

"Miel Granda!"

Ebony launched the black orbs, and absorbed the purple lightning, consuming all matter into its deep, dark abyss.

"Magic holds no weight before me, mage."

Grimhild lowered her brows, saying, "Well my magic is no joke." At those exact words, the black orbs exploded with purple lightning, engulfing Ebony inside a hundred billion volts.

"Guhhnnn...!"

She tried resisting its effects, but her body gave out, and she fell.

"Ebony!" Jean called out to her, but she landed safely on her feet, regaining her composure.

"Master, I am fine." She looked at Jean for a brief second before focusing back on Grimhild. "I'm naturally immune to magic, and it shouldn't have an effect on me, yet you've managed to damage my body. Who are you, mage?"

The witch drifted to the ground, landing softly on her feet before gazing upon the dark entity.

"I am Grimhild Yorgana, a wandering mage, nobody special."

"Pfft, Pwa haha! 'Nobody special' you say? My name is Ebony, I am a champion of my master, Jean Parolette."

"A champion?" Grimhild widened her eyes, baffled at her words. "Throughout Yggdrasil, there are only a handful of Champions, he must be quite courageous, despite standing idly about."

"My master may not be with me at the moment, but he is brave and willing to give his all to do what is right! We Champions are born from infinite willpower that must be awakened from our host to give birth to us." Ebony clenched her fists, before pumping her elbow, "My master has more willpower than even the Legendary Heroes! Therefore, I shall not fail him, no matter the cost. He will be the one to save this world!"

"Jean is a good man, but he's lost his path in life, so I'll be the one to change that."

Grimhild turned her head, glancing at the young adventurer.

"I'll give him what he deserves, that's my motto."

"Your motto is justice?" Asked Ebony.

"That's correct." Grimhild looked at the Champion, lowering her brows with a grim expression. "And if you stand in my way, you'll be an obstacle I'll have to destroy."

"My defeat won't be so easy, Mage of Justice." Ebony took a stance and connected her body to the universe for power. "Champions are naturally immune to magic and have extraordinary adaptation. I can evolve in battle, endlessly, until I'm strong enough to defeat my enemy, therefore..." A cosmic aura flared around her body. "Your magic will no longer have an effect on me! I'm leagues beyond your power!"

A magical aura flared around Grimhild, matching the Champion's energy.

"Even if you adapt endlessly, my magic will render it useless in the end." Their mana weighed the area around them, crushing parts of the village flat. "As long as there is a need for justice, then I will never die."

"And as long as there's a need for my master, I will never perish!"

Ebony's aura was emitting 100 billion Grays of cosmic radiation before clashing with Grimhild's aura, which absorbed the mana in the atmosphere, steadily growing stronger.

"Let us take this battle to new heights, Grimhild Yorgana!"

"..."

The witch remained quiet... and they both took off, bursting into the sky.

Jean could barely perceive their light-speed movements, he tried squinting his eyes, but it wasn't enough.

The two of them appeared as blurs.

A rain of fire, lightning, water, and earthly debris scattered across the landscape from above, missing the village fifty meters away.

"Too fast...!"

Jean could no longer perceive them.

They went well beyond light speed in mere seconds, entering a new territory of power.

Ebony's body adapted, and Grimhild's magic would overcome.

Adapt, overcome, adapt, overcome...

It was an endless cycle, but with Ebony's will to live for her master, she will never die.

Her body would constantly regenerate from Grimhild attacks and adapt to her magic, only to be met with new, and improved magic, superior to the last.

She was barely hanging on, but through willpower, she pushed through.

"Imulma!"

Grimhild cast a magic circle before launching a multitude of icicles, freezing the air around her.

"Diel Provando!"

Ebony held out her hands, manifesting a large clock, and reversing time in her local area.

Grimhild and her actions were reset to zero, giving Ebony the chance to attack.

Once time was restored, the witch of justice widened her eyes, realizing what had happened... but it was too late.

"Be banished into the zero dimension, Mage of Justice!"

With a single strike of her fist, Ebony expelled the magician from the third-dimensional realm, shrinking them infinitesimally.

With Ebony's ability to manipulate dimensions, measurements, and fundamentals of the universe, nothing was impossible for the Champion of Cosmos.

Infinitely small in every direction, you could practically say that Grimhild Yorgana no longer existed.

She lacked all dimension, and the axis of movement, denying her return.

Ebony had defeated the Witch of Justice!

"You fought well, Grimhild Yorgana, I will never again face a powerful opponent on your level."

Jean flew over to his Champion with the anxious twitches leaving his body. Hovering by her side, Ebony lowered her head, ashamed.

"I am sorry for disappointing you, Master Jean, forgive me for my insolence. Next time I will make haste of the enemy."

"Ebony..."

Raising her head, the champion lifted their nonexistent brow in curiosity.

"Yes, lord?"

Jean quivered in his lip, saying, "Who was she?" His voice was low and shaky. "That girl you just killed..."

"From my estimate... I believe she was one of the old Witches of Tales and part of the Three Calamities."

"Your guess would be right."

"What?"

Both Ebony and Jean turned their heads to the voice, witnessing Grimhild reforming her body from its nonexistent state of zero dimensions.

A feat that was deemed impossible, until the Witch of Justice came along.

"We are known as myths, in Yggdrasil, but you already know the truth of our existence, don't you?"

Grimhild returned to the third dimension, emotionless as if none of it ever happened.

"I do. I've lived long enough to see the world unfold from the very beginning."