The Moonlight Swordsman



The two groups made their way toward the stage as chants and cheers went off all around them.

The crowd's enthusiasm, focused mostly on Aizel, was apparent; they were clearly looking forward to further demonstrations of his abilities and the introduction of new tricks and strategies.

"They really love you," Daisy said with a giggle while walking with Aizel side by side.

"Hehe, they only love me because of my performance," Aizel replied.

"So now both the groups from the Felgura Kingdom are here.... It's timeeeeeee....

"FOR THE ULTIMATE TEAM BATTLEEEEE......

"YEAHHH!!!!!

"YEAHHH!!!!!

"YEAHHH!!!!!

"YEAHHH!!!!!

"Let's decide first which type of battlefield we should select. 

"Now to keep it fair, we will roll the battle stages on the screen."

Suddenly, a holographic screen from a small box appeared in front of Shoka.

Mountains loomed, hills stretched, oceans stretched, islands dotted, cities sprawled, chasms yawned, and countless more varied landscapes were vividly displayed before them.

"Roll it roll it and rollll....

With a small movement of his fingers, the battlefields began to roll after each other in a fast-moving parade of different terrains.

After a short break, the frantic pace slowly slowed down until they could see a single battlefield clearly in front of them.

"SEWER CITYYYYYY..... Well, this is going to be interesting," Shoka said.

"Now come forward and take your belts and wear them, everyone."

Each person stepped forward, in turn, to receive the belt from Shoka. Their eyes were drawn to the simple but slightly interesting design.

When it was Aizel's turn, he noticed the belt's simple beauty, but what really caught his eye was a small compartment hidden inside the buckle.

The recipients buckled the belts around their hips, waiting expectantly for the forthcoming instruction.

"Now, wearing this belt, you will not die in the battle. Instead, the belt will work and will bring you out of the battlefield when you get killed inside the dimension." Shoka explained.

"Interesting," Aizel thought.

"Now good luck and give us a good battle," Shoka said, and then clapped his hand. 

Once more, a veil of mystic energy encircled the stage, and in the blink of an eye, the dimension underwent a swift transformation.

The two groups found themselves in a large, poorly lit city that had a mysterious air about it.

Aizel, looking up at the dark sky, could see that night had fallen over the area. The cityscape sprawled out before him, its streets intertwined with a network of winding sewers.

There was a stench in the air, and the sound of scurrying rats could be heard throughout the streets.

"So how should we move?" Aizel asked.

"Daisy and Raven will go ahead, while we will follow them from far away.

"Raven will use her darkness veil to shroud Daisy and herself. Daisy, your job is to find mages' presence. It doesn't matter if it is one or many.

"Once we find them, we will attack them," Zareena explained.

"Nice," Aizel replied and nodded.

"So where should we head first princess?" Raven asked.

In the maze-like streets, the princess looked around with a thoughtful look. 

She observed the remnants of buildings, their structures bearing the scars of destruction, and the scattered remains, now concealed within the depths of the sewer city.

At the same time, Aizel spread his mana sense around the surrounding area.

"They should head towards the east," He said.

Everyone looked at him at the same time.

"I have a feeling. Consider it luck or something," Aizel replied.

"Well, we have to decide anyway, so why not? Let's go with the east. 

"Daisy and Raven, you can go now; we will follow your lead," Zareena said.

Both Daisy and Raven nodded and quickly left, heading towards the east side of the city.

In the shrouded shadows of the night, Aizel, Soren, and Zareena walked carefully through the streets, their heightened mana senses acutely attuned to their surroundings. 

They kept their distance from Raven and Daisy, who moved quickly across the roofs of broken-down buildings while being concealed by the darkness and continued on their own way.

"So you can copy and learn any techniques and spells?" Zareena asked.

"W-Who said that to you?" Aizel asked after hearing her question.

"Do you think I am a fool? You used the same type of spell that the Sword Emperor used in your battle," She said.

"Maybe the Sword Emperor would have taught me," Aizel replied.

"What about your concentrated fire explosion from your weapon? Who taught you that?" She asked, staring intently at him.

"About that... I had a dream where I thought, Why can't I do something like this?" 

"You should find someone else who can at least believe you," She replied, pouting with an angry face.

[Master, this bitch is acting like a tsundere]

"Haha, buddy, what happened to you? Why are you so quiet for the past few days?" Aizel asked, thumping the back of Soren, trying to change the topic.

"I am concentrating. I don't want someone to play tricks on me again." Soren replied with a serious expression.

"By the way, I wanted to ask something. How will Daisy and Raven alert us if they find someone?" Aizel asked.

"Leave it to Raven; she has a method to notify me," Zareena replied. 

Aizel's brows raised for a second. 

What type of spell or technique can she use with darkness?" Aizel thought.

[Maybe they have some kind of device or artifact that can let them talk like a magic crystal?]

So why not use Magic Crystal?" Aizel tried to summon the magic crystal but noticed that he wasn't able to do so.

I can summon many things, but why can't I summon the magic crystal? Is this due to dimension restriction or what?" He thought.

At the side of Raven and Daisy,

Daisy's mana senses spread out like a wide-ranging radar, opening up in a 360-degree circle to cover everything around her and reach far away.

"Did you spot something?" Raven asked, currently a dark veil was around both of them. 

"Nothing for now," Daisy replied.

"Hmm... we should head forward again then,"

"Wait...

Daisy's attention grew sharp in an instant, and she fixed her mana sense eagerly in a certain direction.

"Two mages, and they have detected us," She replied.

"What.. how but, let me inform the princess...

Before Raven could do anything, the two had reached the roof, where Daisy and Raven were hiding. One of the mages came out of the shade of a building pillar, while the other was wrapped in lightning.

"I never thought I would find someone who could compete with me in mana sensing," The shadow mage said.

"Raven, go and quickly get in touch with the princess; till then, I will hold them," Daisy yelled.

"Damn it... Stay safe, Daisy." Suddenly, Raven vanished into thin black smoke, leaving both the Kingsley Mages bewildered for a second. 

"Monga, take care of her; I will try to find Raven," the shadow mage said.

"Alright, Kageri," Monga replied.

But Daisy's quick response stopped Kageri from doing anything. He pulled his two daggers out of their sheaths and blocked Daisy's three wind-boosted arrows with great skill.

"This Grade II little girl thinks he can stop the two of us, hahaha what a joke, lady," Monga said, as he quickly charged toward Daisy in lightning speed.

His blade gleaming with deadly intent, he unleashed a lightning-fast slash aimed at Daisy. She raised her bow in an attempt to defend herself, but the Grade III mage's attack was too swift, and she suffered a terrible gash across her arm. 

"Oh, using mana sense for predicting attacks, nice lady," Monga said. 

He meant to strike her with the lightning-charged blade, but fate had other ideas. A sudden uprising of wind beneath his feet disrupted his balance, creating a precious window of opportunity for Daisy.

With swift determination, she hurled a small container in his direction.

As the object hurtled through the air, Monga's eyes grew wide with fear.

But quickly, a ghostly hand reached out from his own shadow, grabbed the container, and hid it in the shadows, making Daisy's attack useless.

"I just saved your life, Monga," Kageri said from behind. 

In the meantime, Daisy backed away, creating some distance. 

"W-What... I was ready for it," Monga replied.

"Don't waste time playing and get rid of her quickly, I am leaving now,"

"Okay,"

In an unexpected turn of events, a small wind tornado picked up Daisy and made her weightless for a moment.

Seizing this magical advantage, she swiftly unleashed a rapid onslaught of arrows, each one following the next in a relentless barrage aimed at both adversaries.

Monga's eyes crackled with electric intensity as he hurled a lightning bolt toward Daisy, its path disintegrating every arrow it encountered.

The crackling bolt surged forward, racing directly at Daisy, who swiftly ascended to another rooftop, her body suspended in the air as if guided by the unseen hands of the wind.

But then suddenly Kageri appeared from behind her shadow and said ,"Playtime is over lady,"