The Moonlight Swordsman

Aizel has had numerous thoughts during the last five days. There was also a clash with Larisa.

He had considered many methods of escaping from her. He obviously didn't include Henry in his strategy because he knew he was a deadweight. Despite the fact that he has helped Aizel, his life comes first. He was not sure whether it was a dream or reality, still, he won't take any chances.

Aizel sprinted for the weapon rack near the tent. He knew that a one-inch punch could kill a normal person, but it would barely hurt a magic user who could use mana.

Meanwhile, Larisa, who was still stuck in the cave walls, finally moved, noticing a small amount of blood dripping from her lips.

"How is he able to use mana?" Larisa was astounded by Aizel's power at such a short distance. "What technique did he use? I couldn't block it from that close."

Larisa spotted Aizel, who was staring at the double-edged sword in his hand. The sword was grey in color, with a black handguard at the hilt.

"So you know how to wield a sword, huh?" Larisa began approaching Aizel slowly, and her body started brimming with mana. "Do you think you can defeat me with a sword? I am a fucking fire mage," Larisa said with a grin.

Aizel looked up at Larisa and smirked, "Finally, I can practice my technique on you, fucking bitch."

Before Larisa could say anything, Aizel had rushed up close to her, moving so quickly that it appeared he had used teleportation.

Aizel raised his sword upward and performed a vertical slash toward his enemy. Larisa jumped backward, her eyes widening as she threw out her hands and unleashed a wave of flames from her palms that headed straight toward Aizel.

Using his right hand, he performs another vertical slash, this time from below to above, slashing flames in the process. As he slashed the air, the flames parted and extinguished, leaving him unscathed while Larisa gasped in surprise.

"You not only know how to use body enhancement but can also manipulate mana in a sword. What more secret have you kept from me, huh?" Larisa asked, her interest growing.

"Why is she babbling in the middle of a fight?" Aizel stood there, carefully observing Larisa. "I'm terrified here; fuck is she trying to distract my attention; such a dangerous lady."

"Let's get serious then," Larisa replied, licking her lips. She raised her hand slightly, then vanished, only to reappear near Aizel.

Aizel had already sensed danger and raised his blade to parry another sword aimed at his chest. "Where the fuck did the sword appear from? Did she take it out of her ass? No, no, no, what the fuck am I thinking? Clearly, she must have some storage device or dimension, like in fantasy novels."

Larisa immediately lifted her left palm, shooting five crimson fireballs in quick succession, evidently not wanting Aizel to relax for even a second.

Aizel evaded rapidly by rolling down to the right repeatedly while boosting his body with mana to accomplish quick motions. Despite the danger of the situation, Aizel could not help but be amazed by Larisa's ability to summon fireballs so quickly and accurately.

"How much mana can she use? Do the people in this world have a mana core, or can they draw it from their surroundings indefinitely?" Aizel knew he needed to learn more about it because his life might depend on it.

"If you start thinking about something else in the middle of the fight, sweetheart, you might get burned," Larisa chuckled, moving her hands.

Aizel noticed that the ground beneath him was glowing red and jumped aside to avoid the attack, but he was clearly a second too late as a bright crimson color pillar rose from the ground where Aizel was standing. Fear began to rise in Aizel's chest as he was faced with the reality of the situation.

Aizel just avoided death after having a little burn on his left leg. "Fuck, I got careless." While picking up some stones from the ground, Aizel began running in zigzag patterns while increasing his speed with mana.

Aizel had been thinking about using mana in various ways to enhance his body for a few days. One of them was a speed boost, which gave him a short burst of speed.

Aizel gathers mana and directs some of it towards the stone, flinging it one by one at Larisa. The stone shot ahead like a bullet fired from a pistol.

Larisa dodged them one by one, but when she turned around for Aizel, he was already gone.

Before Larisa could respond, Aizel was already behind her, utilizing speed enhancement to quickly close the gap while she was occupied dodging the stones.

He slashes horizontally toward her torso. "I finally got you, bitch."

But just as his blade was about to contact Larisa's body, she burst into flames as his sword slashed nothing but flames. After a split second, Larisa reconstructed herself from the flames, a grin on her face.

"Not bad, kid. For starters, you are pretty smart and know how to use mana efficiently, but yet it is not enough to beat me." Larisa laughed as she saw the look of surprise on Aizel's face.

"Oh, it won't be much fun if you die like that, because I was only getting started," Aizel smirked as his eyes sharpened and the air around him became dense. "It's going to hurt from now on, since applying these techniques fucking stings my head." Aizel pondered.

He has no idea what power system is used in this world, but he has devised something for himself. A sharp pain began to appear on his skull whenever he attempted to do complex dagger skills from novels or anime he had watched in his world. It's as if applying those techniques depletes some kind of mental energy.

Larisa raised both hands while keeping her sword back, and crimson-colored spears started appearing above her head.

One, two, four, six... the count increased until there were over 100 blazing spears hovering above Larisa, waiting for her command.

Aizel took the inside sword stance, bending his legs slightly in preparation for his showdown with Larisa.

"This is gonna be fun."