The winner has it all

Although the empire had declined, but if only seen from the surface it was no different from a prosperous city, every native of the capital knew how to live in a city that could swallow humans without spitting out bones, only those who came from outside the capital with dreams of a better life suffered a tragic fate at the hands of those cruel nobles.

Therefore, Noah's life in the capital was quite calm and relaxed.

One day, as the sun was setting and the sky was decorated with a golden orange, Noah and C.C sat at a cafe on the side of the empire's main street.

As they enjoyed their meal, they saw a crowd of people gathered on the main street and based as if waiting for something.

"C.C, look! There's something interesting over there," Noah said as he pulled C.C's hand, who smiled in response to Noah. During their time in the empire, this was the first time seeing the city dwellers have the slightest change in expression on their faces, so he was curious as to what made them like that.

As they approached, Noah realized that it was a welcoming event for Esdeath who had just returned from an expedition. Esdeath had made her name known throughout the empire thanks to her bravery and extraordinary combat skills.

Esdeath, who Noah had not seen for a long time, rode a horse and walked in front of the imperial army line filled with bloodthirsty aura. Her long blue hair fluttered in the wind, Esdeath wore a white long-sleeved military uniform with buttons on the upper arms, a blue scarf around her neck, high-heeled boots, and a peaked cap that had her clan's symbol on the front. She also had a tattoo on her chest, which was the sign of Teigu- demon extract.

After several years of not seeing each other, the little girl had become a beauty like a proud queen with a confident smile on her lips. Noah had to admit that Esdeath had a unique beauty with a cold aura and heroic spirit, like a flower on a high snowy mountain.

Esdeath who walked in front of the army immediately felt a dangerous aura nearby, Esdeath had a very strong instinct like a dangerous beast, so she could feel the dangerous aura nearby. In her memory, she had only felt that danger from one person, Noah Vermilion. The person who had trained her for several years. Even after receiving Teigu, the dangerous aura she felt from Noah did not decrease but instead increased.

Esdeath looked at the crowd and saw a young man with short red hair like fire standing with a green-haired woman with a mysterious aura around her. Esdeath immediately recognized them because their appearances had not changed for several years as if their time had frozen.

"Noah! C.C!" Esdeath called them while getting off her horse. Esdeath's soldiers were surprised to see the general they admired get off her horse to greet someone, but they did not dare to ask about something that exceeded their status as soldiers. Esdeath's soldiers were very disciplined and would obey Esdeath's orders without questioning her decisions, for them Esdeath's orders were even higher than the emperor's orders.

"I didn't expect to meet you here!" She said with a big smile.

"Esdeath! Congratulations on your return!" replied Noah, welcoming her warmly.

C.C smiled and nodded, for C C Esdeath was both a student and a friend. They spoke a few short words before parting ways because Esdeath had to report to the emperor, although Esdeath did not respect the emperor, but on the surface she had to show a little respect as an imperial general.

Before they parted, they promised to meet at a nearby cafe.

A few moments later, Esdeath came to the cafe where Noah and C.C were waiting. During the conversation, Esdeath told about her experiences during the expedition. She told about how she dealt with the rebellion in the south and how General Najenda rebelled.

"Noah, I want to fight you," Esdeath said suddenly. "I want to see how strong you are."

Noah and C.C looked at each other. "Of course," Noah replied. He knew how Esdeath loved fighting.

Esdeath nodded, her eyes sparkling with excitement. They agreed to meet the next morning outside the capital.

The next day, the fresh morning air greeted Noah and C.C as they walked to the promised place. They found Esdeath waiting, looking excited and ready to fight.

The next day, the fresh morning air greeted Noah and C.C as they walked to the promised place. They found Esdeath waiting, looking excited and ready for battle.

"Alright, let's start, you can attack first, Esdeath," Noah said as he stood calmly waiting for Esdeath's attack.

Hearing this, Esdeath did not hesitate to attack Noah by creating a giant cone of ice that fell from the sky at high speed.

Seeing the giant cone, Noah did not dodge and only fired a golden fireball made of the Sun's fire.

...Bang...

A loud explosion accompanied by fog occurred when the ice cone collided with the fireball.

Seeing that her attack failed, Esdeath attacked Noah with hundreds of small ice cones while running towards Noah. Noah ignored the ice cones because they would not hurt him at all.

Esdeath drew the rapier on her waist and stabbed Noah at a tricky angle. Noah greeted Esdeath's attack with his spear technique. Summoning Aeternum, Noah bent Esdeath's rapier thrust to the side and countered Esdeath's attack with a straight thrust.

Esdeath was about to dodge Noah's attack, but her sharp institution warned of danger, so she immediately blocked Noah's attack without dodging.

The strong force made Esdeath's hands tremble and she almost dropped her rapier but she held it firmly.

Ding...ding...ding...

The sound of metal clashing continued to echo in the deserted plains.

After a long fight, Esdeath's military uniform was full of tears and revealed her smooth white skin with faint scars.

Esdeath saw that she couldn't beat Noah in close combat and immediately moved away before crouching down and pressing her right hand on the ground.

When Esdeath's hand touched the ground, a very cold air spread with Esdeath as the center. In just a few moments, thousands of soldiers made of ice appeared in front of Esdeath. The thousands of soldiers stood Cavalry, archers, and infantry.

The ice soldiers lined up neatly in formation under Esdeath's control. This was one of Esdeath's trump cards,Where she released the cold air she had stored to form thousands of immortal ice soldiers, the ice soldiers would immediately form after being destroyed as long as Esdeath's stamina was still there.

Seeing Esdeath summoning troops, Noah immediately summoned his Unded army.

"I am the ruler of the underworld! The ruler of the dead! Come before me, immortal soldiers! Destroy all enemies in front of me"

After Noah's spell was finished, thousands of Unded soldiers immediately appeared. Without Noah's orders, they immediately attacked the ice soldiers. It could be said that this was a battle between immortal soldiers.

Esdeath's ice army was immediately destroyed under the terrifying power of the Undead army, but would soon rise again. The magicians among the Undead immediately used fire magic to melt the ice army so that the dead ice army would not rise again because the cold air that formed them was destroyed.

Esdeath frowned as she saw her ice army easily defeated.

"Mahapdama"

Esdeath crossed both hands in front of the Teigu mark and instantly cold air came out and froze time around them. The world turned crystal blue as time froze due to the ice.

"This is my victory"

Esdeath said as she stood in front of Noah while pointing the tip of her rapier at Noah's neck and smiling triumphantly.

"Really?"

Noah's voice was heard from behind Esdeath. Only then did Esdeath see that Noah in front of her was just a shadow.

"How can you move?"

Esdeath asked confusedly.

"Did you forget that controlling time is also one of my powers?, and besides your power is far from enough to stop my time" Noah answered lightly.

Only then did Esdeath remember that Noah had used his time power to freeze the dangerous beast.

"I lost, now I'm yours and you can do whatever you want" Esdeath did not feel depressed because she lost, instead she looked at Noah provocatively and said in a teasing tone.

"What do you mean?, isn't this just training?" Noah was stunned for a moment before asking doubtfully.

"Literally, the winner takes everything and the loser loses everything. Since I lost to you then I am yours, and if you lose then you are mine," Esdeath said firmly with a hint of hope in her eyes.

"If you won't acknowledge me, then someday I will challenge you again to conquer you and make you mine," Esdeath said with a hint of possessiveness.

Noah looked at Esdeath with a mixture of confusion and interest. Even though he already had a harem, there was something intriguing about the challenge that Esdeath was facing. She was a strong warrior, with a dominant and confident character. However, Noah knew that accepting Esdeath was not just about strength; it was also about a deeper relationship and dynamic.

"I never thought anyone would dare to challenge me like this," Noah said with a faint smile. "But, I guess it wouldn't hurt to play around with the rules you set a little."

"So, you're confessing to me? Alright, I'll make you not regret it!"

Esdeath smiled widely, a gleam of victory in her eyes.

She stepped closer, her aura of power enveloping Noah.

"But remember, I will not be a woman who just sits around. I will do whatever it takes to prove that I am worthy of being yours."

Noah knew that Esdeath was a strong and dangerous figure, but that was what made Esdeath so charming.

C.C in the distance saw their interaction and just sighed because she already knew that Esdeath had feelings for Noah during their journey together.