The Moonlight Swordsman

Aizel's clones pursued Maximine mercilessly across the battlefield. Their lightning-like pupils narrowed as they approached the evasive dark elf.

Maximine, with an infuriated grin, jeered, "Is this the best you can do, Aizel? Pathetic!"

Aizel, his voice resolute, retorted, "You'll soon find out what I can do!"

Maximine was aware that he required an exit strategy. By muttering an incantation, he summoned the darkness and held it in his hands.

With a sinister grin, he unleashed a spell. A dense blanket of darkness shrouded him, and he was no longer there.

The clones looked around in confusion for a second before locating their intended victim. Maximine, though, had escaped and was preparing a counterattack.

Maximine, hiding in the shadows, unleashed a swarm of shadowy tentacles. Each one reached out to attack a random clone. His evil cackle resounded through the fog as clone after clone met their end.

*Tsk* Aizel sneered.

"Impressive trick, but it won't save you!"

In response, Aizel conjured a bolt of lightning that crackled and zigzagged through the darkness, revealing Maximine's position. 

He struck, but Maximine transformed into a smoky form, dispersing the lightning's force.

Maximine reassembled and started firing shuriken-like pieces of darkness. Aizel responded with deluges of water, dousing the incoming darkness with projectiles.

"You're persistent," Maximine sneered and asked, "But can you handle this?"

He gathered the darkness into a massive whirlwind around himself. He released it with a gesture, and a dark, whirling storm swept out.

The clones faced a dire challenge as the darkness tore through their watery defenses, with torrents of water extinguishing the dark projectiles mid-air.

"Hmm let's try this then," Aizel murmured.

He called forth a ball of lightning, which grew in size and power.

The lightning sphere collided with the dark tempest, producing a brilliant show of power that lit up the battlefield.

A violent battle raged between the two sides for a brief second, but Aizel's will ultimately prove decisive. The storm faded away into vanishing darkness.

Maximine wasn't the type to remain defensive for very long.

He conjured up a shadowy sword and charged towards Aizel. Blades clashed in a tumultuous storm of sparks and magic.

"You are not half bad," he said, looking towards Aizel.

Meanwhile, Aizel tapped into the elements, turning his blade into a tool for his spellcasting. With a single move, he released a torrent of water, which soaked Maximine's black sword and briefly blinded him.

But Maximine retaliated with a wave of darkness that formed a protective barrier around him.

Aizel's fire explosion met the dark wall, sizzling and dissipating upon contact.

Their swords clashed again and again, each strike charged with elemental power.

Aizel's lightning danced over the blade as he called it forth, while Maximine tempered his blows with the might of the darkness.

"It is all you got, "WAR GOD?" Maximine mocked him again. 

[This guy is starting to irritate me]

You bet,"

As they clashed, Aizel's water magic surged. Through the manipulation of atmospheric moisture, he produced frozen fragments that encircled Maximine. 

The dark elf's movements slowed as the shards began to encase him.

But Maximine wouldn't be so easy to keep in one place. With one more surge of blackness, he broke through the ice that had tried to encase him.

He suddenly became much faster and made a lunge at Aizel, who blocked with a barrage of fire. The flames erupted in a roar that created a wall of intense heat.

In the heart of the inferno, Aizel and Maximine locked eyes. Their swords crossed one last time before they both leaped backward, creating distance between them.

With a sinister chuckle, Maximine said, "This isn't over, Aizel. Not by a long shot."

"I know; I am just getting started," Aizel replied.

[Master, we should end this quickly. First darkness can be very tricky.]

[We might end up getting stuck in a difficult situation. Second, we don't know how Seraphine is doing. If she loses her battle, we have to face another mage]

Ummm... you are right. I will try to end this quickly now."

The scars of Aizel and Maximine's intense combat remained on the battlefield as they readied for their next showdown. 

The snowy landscape was scarred by scorch marks, and the air was thick with the residue of magic. 

With a wave of his hand, Maximine summoned a sphere of darkness.

By the power of his hushed incantation, the spherical missile disintegrated into innumerable smaller missiles. He released them with a flick of his wrist, and they sped toward Aizel like a blizzard of black arrows.

Aizel pointed his fingers and cut through the arrows with the water jet cutter easily.

Maximine's eyes gleamed with malevolence. He was far from finished. 

With a wave of his hand, the darkness at Aizel's feet came to life. Darkness surged upward in long, snaking tendrils that threatened to entangle Aizel's legs and render him helpless.

Maximine's reply was a sneering smirk. Again he extended his hand, and a black sphere formed above him. He then plunged it downward with a sneering grin of malice, sending ripples of dark energy through the battlefield.

Aizel called forth a deluge of water, which he used to create a bubble to encase himself in. When the wave of darkness hit the watery barrier, it distorted and rippled. While Aizel's magical protections were successful, he realized he couldn't stay that way forever.

His concentration and intent allowed his power to emerge. The surrounding water began to freeze, and soon a solid wall of ice encircled the bubble. An icy energy vortex formed as the contained water began to whirl.

Maximine found the transformation of the icy bubble into a blizzard to be fascinating. This was something that he had not been expecting.

Aizel unleashed the tempest with a deadly surge of power before Maximine could react. The icy storm swept in the direction of Maximine, wrapping its biting cold around him in a whirlwind.

Maximine fought desperately to escape the freezing maelstrom, his dark magic ablaze. As he struggled to stay alive in the face of the cold, his body seemed to appear and disappear at random.

Aizel, though, was unrelenting. He made the cyclone worse by adding lightning. Crackling lightning lashed out at Maximine's body through the churning ice. 

The icy tempest dissipated with a final, deafening explosion, leaving Maximine bruised and exhausted. He stood wobbly, his once-confident face now one of frustration, his dark robes torn and bloodied.

The fire of rage returned to Maximine's gaze. He wasn't the type to go down without a fight. With a motion, he beckoned for shadows to envelop him, allowing him to vanish into the night. 

He became a phantom, invisible to the naked eye.

[Master be prepared]

Yeah, I know."

Aizel knew he had to rely on more than just his senses. He shut his eyes, using his mana sense to pick up on the slightest signs of Maximine's presence. The battle had entered a new phase, one of stealth and perception.

As Aizel and Maximine played a deadly game of cat and mouse, the seconds turned into minutes. With the use of his mana sense, Aizel was able to anticipate Maximine's moves and defend himself accordingly. But Maximine was a dangerous foe because of his expertise in darkness.

Suddenly, Aizel felt a shift in the shadows to his left. 

He reacted on impulse, calling forth a wave of fire to strike at the spot. The fire exposed Maximine, who had been lurking in the shadows in an attack attempt.

The sound of their swords clashing again echoed throughout the battlefield. Each strike was fueled by the elements—fire meeting darkness.

Maximine's mocking chuckle resounded in the darkness. 

"You can't defeat me, Aizel. I am the embodiment of darkness itself."

The response from Aizel was one of strong resolve. He focused his mana into his sword, giving it the dual properties of fire and lightning. He brought down a deadly blow, the blade crackling with elemental energy.

Maximine blocked the strike with his black sword, but the impact of the blow knocked him back. 

In a flash, Aizel had Sekki morph into a menacing bow.  He then carved three glistening arrows, each imbued with a distinct elemental force, in quick succession.

Aizel's intent imbued the first arrow with the very nature of fire, making it blaze with dazzling brilliance. He let go, and the arrow flew off into the darkness, leaving a wake of smoldering embers in its wake. 

Maximine barely had time to conjure a whirling vortex of shadows to deflect the flaming projectile as it hurtled toward her.

The second arrow arced into the air with a crackling sound of electrical energy. Aizel's command imbued it with the might of lightning.

Maximine's eyes widened as he realized the danger, and he tried to block the electricity with a wall of shadows. The arrow's impact on the barrier triggered a brief electrical spike that sent Maximine into a convulsive fit.

Aizel shot the third arrow before Maximine could fully recover. The azure sheen of this one radiated the strength of water. It sliced through the air, sending a stream of water behind it. 

Maximine attempted to evade, but the arrow struck true, enveloping him in a sphere of liquid restraint.

His shadowy form writhed and gasped for air inside the water cage. He tried to vanish into the darkness, but the watery bindings were too strong.