The Moonlight Swordsman

"MIMOSA!!…

"MIMOSA!!…

"MIMOSA!!…

"MIMOSA!!…

In anticipation of the impending fight, the crowd went wild with chants that included the name of the woman who had cracked her neck.

Aizel sent cherry blossom petals toward Mimosa as a cautious way to start the interaction.

She displayed her extraordinary expertise, though, by quickly slicing the petals in two before they reached her.

Although Aizel discerned the nature of her ability, it remained somewhat unclear.

[Master that was fast, are they like invisible slashes?]

No, it's something different."

Mimosa raised her right hand and threw something at Aizel. He tilted his head slightly as his instincts sparked. He suddenly had a tiny cut on his mask.

[TOO FAST]

Aizel's eyes shrank as he concentrated on his opponent.

In a ninja-like motion, Mimosa folded her hands. Upon seeing this, Aizel quickly took a defensive position.

As her hands unfurled, numerous small things, as fast as lightning, were hurled toward Aizel.

Aizel quickly summoned a whirlwind of cherry blossoms surrounding him, deflecting the approaching objects.

He arched an eyebrow as he determined that they were paper shurikans upon closer examination.

In the blink of an eye, Mimosa materialized in front of him, approaching from a low angle.

With a sharp, mid-sized paper blade in hand, she slashed upward toward him. Aizel swiftly leaned back, avoiding the paper blade that was about to slash.

His gut told him he would have gotten his head sliced if he hadn't ducked.

Swiftly recovering, he supported himself on his hands and delivered a forceful kick to Mimosa's ribs.

To his surprise, Mimosa exhibited unusual flexibility, her body contorting like paper, effortlessly absorbing the impact of the kick and propelling her a short distance away from Aizel.

What the fuck, what sort of ability is that?" Aizel thought as he saw Mimosa coming back in human form.

[Master, watch out]

Aizel observed a paper-like explosive bomb beneath his feet.

*BOOOOOOOOM*

Powerful shockwaves resounded throughout the arena when the paper bomb went off.

Much to everyone's surprise, Sir Blossom stood unscathed in the aftermath of the explosion. His robes remained pristine, devoid of any dirt or scratches.

Witnessing his unharmed state intensified Mimosa's scrutiny of him.

Thanks for the heads-up. It seems she has recently reached Grade IV,"

[But still, her powers are pretty unique]

In an instant, Aizel gave the command for Sekki to become a bow, and using the delicate petals of cherry blossoms, he made an arrow.

With precision, he released the arrow toward Mimosa, prompting her to sprint away.

Glancing back, she observed the petals gradually shift to an orange hue, emanating a soft glow.

In a relentless onslaught, he unleashed a barrage of arrows, scattering them in pursuit of Mimosa.

But she dove and slashed through them with deft precision, wielding twin paper blades.

She saw Aizel, helped by lightning, quickly drop from a low angle in front of her as she sliced through the two arrows on her left and right.

With his bow fully drawn, he unleashed an explosive arrow directly at Mimosa's face.

*BOOOOM*

The arrow erupted instantly.

However, Aizel witnessed Mimosa's upper half getting torn like paper. It drifted away, only to reform into her original shape.

Now this is handy," he thought.

Mimosa summoned a swarm of paper blades and released them into the sky, all directed towards Aizel.

As a countermeasure, Sir Blossom let off a barrage of explosives, immediately engulfing and destroying the blades.

Suddenly, Mimosa changed the approach.

She stepped up her attack as they were fighting in close quarters, throwing a barrage of punches and kicks.

Aizel adeptly evaded and deflected her attacks, maintaining his defensive stance. All of a sudden, Mimosa's right arm spiraled around Aizel's right hand like a sinuous paper snake.

Quick on his feet, Aizel cast water spells, soaking the paper and driving Mimosa back.

Mimosa leaped backward, avoiding a razor-sharp cherry blossom petal that sliced through the air.

If she hadn't dodged, it might have severed her hand.

However, what followed left Aizel stunned.

Mimosa replicated Aizel's cherry blossom petals and directed them toward him.

While in flight, the petals started to glow orange and burst with unexpected power. As the replica petals imitated his methods, Aizel discovered himself in the middle of a stunning, explosive show.

Did she copy or steal it?" He quickly thought as he dodged the explosion.

In the renewed bout of close combat, Mimosa and Aizel clashed once more. Aizel's thoughts were racing with a new idea - maybe Mimosa could imitate or even steal an opponent's actions just by touching them.

"So you realized it?" Mimosa spoke.

Aizel didn't reply, as he was concentrating on dodging and trying not to get touched by her.

Suddenly, a magic circle materialized beneath Aizel's feet, prompting Mimosa to swiftly retreat from the ongoing combat.

"Arcane magic circuit, so quick!" She murmured.

"Wait a minute." She noticed it was just a plain magic circle without any power properties in it.

With a hint of annoyance on her face, she dashed back toward the still Aizel, who seemed to be waiting for her.

Swiftly, she manifested two substantial paper swords in her grasp. Aizel, though, raised his right hand as she drew near him and spoke words that stunned everyone in the arena, even the elders.

"Anti mana domain,"

The magic circle, which had been white before, suddenly expanded and turned a deep black.

With the disappearance of mana from the platform, the paper sword faded away. Sir Blossom suddenly appeared in front of Mimosa and pounded her against the platform.

As she lifted her head, blood trickling from her forehead and nose, she glimpsed a cherry blossom blade perilously close to her neck. Sir Blossom then uttered, "You were strong."

"Hahahahah….. Another victory!!!" The dwarf man shouted and laughed.

While the whole arena was stunned.

"I think this is enough for today; if you want, you can come to our clan, which is situated near Frostspire City."

"It has been newly opened, and everyone can come to become a member," Nina said politely.

"Yes, and you can seek guidance from Sir Blossom too, hahaha,"

After finishing their conversation, the three of them left the Thundering Clan. As they tried to make sense of what had happened that perplexing day, the elders stayed in a state of shock.

On their way back to the clan, the trio traveled together in the carriage.

"I never knew you could even use the arcane magic circuit," Randalf spoke.

"I wasn't even using my half-power on her," Aizel replied with a smirk.

"WHAT!" Nina exclaimed in shock after hearing that.

"But why didn't you use that in the tournament?" Randalf asks, stroking his beard.

"So you know?"

"Of course, I immediately went to search for your origins when the Queen brought you to us."

"What do you mean, old man?" Nina asked.

"He is the next war god of the Felgura Kingdom who won the tournament."

"WHAT! WHAT? What are you doing here then?" Nina asked, looking a little scared.

"I am training under the queen," Aizel replied.

"Bullshit, don't lie to me, master. I know how much Queen hates the Kingdom."

"Do you think she would have invited me daily to her castle?"

Hearing that made Nina question herself.

"Don't speak about this to anyone. No one knows about this, and I have to keep this a secret."

"So that's why you wore a mask and took on a persona."

"Yes,"

"So do you think it worked?" Aizel asked, looking towards Randalf.

"Probably that magic circle was the nail in the coffin. I am sure many would think twice before coming to a decision.

"Hehe, then we can consider this mission successful," Aizel replied.

"We just now have to wait and see if the mages arrived at our clan. I know some instructors that we can recruit now," Nina said proudly.

"Then I will leave it to you."

Upon returning to their clan, Aizel made his way to his room, where a magic circle awaited. Utilizing magic crystals, he teleported back to the Rias castle.

"My my, you already started to make a name for yourself, Sir Blossom," Rias said as she arrived at the room.

"Well, it was quite fun. I am sure that soon we are going to make some noise in the whole kingdom."

"How was your day?" He asked.

"Umm… how should I tell you…"

Aizel raised his eyebrows when he saw Rias acting suspiciously.

"Okay okay, we are going to attack."

"Attack? Whom and where?" Aizel asked.

"The lands that I have given to Felgura Kingdom. There are still people in the midst of relocation.

"This will mark the start of our long-running war against them," She said, as she came closer to Aizel.

*Tsk*

"That means I have to do something for you now."

"Absolutely,"

"So what is it?"

"There are some people who are searching for you. 7 mages have been dispatched from your kingdom to the Beast Kingdom.

"While the other 7 have quietly sneaked into our kingdom,"

"Your job is to kill them or, if possible kidnap them and bring them to me," Rias said.

"Which grade?" Aizel asked.

"Some Grade III, Grade IV, but one of them is Grade V," Rias lips come closer to Aizel's ears as she whispers, "He is the brother of Yotum,"

"Do you think you can handle a Grade V on your own?" She asked.

"I don..

"Before you say no or don't even try… if you do this for me, I will give you something that will make you reach Grade IV,"

Hearing that made Aizel's eyes sparkle for a second.

[Master, that thing might not even work for us

"If you are worried about something, then let me be clear. That thing will work 100%, it doesn't matter if you have three cores, five cores, or six. Or even something unique."She smirked and said,

[Master, this is getting out of hand]

"I am in,"