The Moonlight Swordsman

It was late in the evening, and the air around the town was somewhat dense. All the bustle was relatively quiet. Only noises of grasshoppers chirping could be heard every now and then.

There was no one on the streets. Everyone knew what was going to happen in a few hours and no one was stupid enough to get caught in the noble families' affairs.

Leah led her family with the hired hunters, her mother beside her in the same light blue leather armor with their family symbol on it.

Behind them was Yelena's brother, who stood out from the crowd not only because he was tall and attractive but also because his broad shoulders and big personality made hunters avoid making eye contact with him.

Yelena's father was walking beside him with his eyes closed, deep in thought.

Alisha and Aizel walked side by side, and Harry, Alisme, and Nathan followed them behind.

"This will be different from anything I've done before.

"I have to fight my way through a crowded area while looking for Emma. This time, I might have to kill a lot of people, which I really don't want to do. That explains Alora's odd behavior.

"But for Emma, I will do anything; I am not cruel, and I am not a psychopath; I am just saving Emma; I am not going to lose myself to the depths of hell and insanity." Aizel thought.

Everyone was in their own world, each with their own method of preparing for the battle.

Slowly, they approached the Paul castle, which was as magnificent as the Rosewell family castle.

The castle door was locked. Guards and hunters stood near the gate, and some stood over the walls.

"Would you do the honor, Uncle?" Leah said, bowing slightly to her uncle.

Her uncle nodded and walked slowly towards the castle. Aizel's attention was now focused on him. He wanted to learn everything he could to help him with his own power.

The only thing he knew was sword fighting and close combat. He had ideas and knowledge about magic from anime and novels, but real life was very different.

He had to focus a lot and imagine as clearly as he could to make it work. He didn't know how difficult it was going to be to learn higher levels of magic in the future.

"MAGES!!! ATTACK WHEN HE GETS CLOSE!!!"

One of the men shouted from the wall's highest point. All the mages were gathered near the wall.

As the mages prepared to shoot long-distance magic at Leah's uncle, he began running slowly towards the castle gate.

"What is he doing? Is he going to be okay?" Aizel asked with furrowed brows. This dude was basically running headfirst by himself into the magic spells.

"Don't worry, this level of magic is like throwing stones at a mountain," Alisha replied.

"What do..." before Aizel could finish, he saw something that blew his mind off.

While running, Leah's uncle's body gradually began to transform. His muscles began to grow in size as black fur began to cover his entire body.

Roooaarrr...

He roared as he ran on all four limbs, while enemy mages cast their spells from afar, some with fireballs, others with earthen boulders.

Some were hurling lightning bolts at the man getting close to the gate.

"Did he just transform into a gorilla, so people can transform into animals or monsters here with magic?" Aizel thought, he was very intrigued by it.

Leah's uncle dodged some magic spells while jumping; the ones that hit his body didn't even manage to put a scratch on him.

"How tough," Aizel whispered.

Leah's Uncle reached the gate as the hunters who were guarding it quickly rushed towards him. They started using their weapons against him, but he only needed to swing his huge right arm to send them flying like cannonballs.

He began banging on the castle gate with his massive fists, and after a few minutes, it broke into pieces. The power generated by those fists was comparable to that of massive hammers.

"EVERYONE, ATTACK!!!

Leah shouted, and everyone around her, hunter or mage, started running towards the entrance.

Leah's uncle had made them an easy way to enter the castle. Aizel also rushed as he enhanced his speed with mana.

The only thing on his mind was Emma; he just wanted to find her quickly and escape from this place.

As everyone entered the gate, they made their way to the garden area, where there were some flower fields with fountains.

Hunters and mages from both sides began to clash, and various types of spells began to fly around like fireworks. It was so cluttered and crowded that it was difficult to keep track of one's group.

Roar....

Leah's uncle roared as he rushed towards the entrance of the hall, wrecking everyone in his path.

Leah, Yelena, and her father started following him behind as Aizel noticed them. He quickly rushed towards them while using lightning to enhance his speed and reflexes.

His concentration was now on his surroundings; the attacks were coming from every direction and he was just dodging and shooting small compressed lightning bolts.

More mages and hunters attacked them as they entered the hall.

"Damn it, where should I go?" Aizel thought.

He ignored everyone, while someone shouted at him from behind.

"Aizel, come with me," Alisha said.

Aizel simply nodded and followed her. He didn't have time to think about anything else.

They both moved towards the corner of the stairs in the grand hall, dodging magic spells.

Aizel occasionally shot lightning bolts into the limbs of hunters and mages to immobilize them. He tried to avoid killing as much as possible.

They approached a room with an iron door. It appeared to lead into some sort of basement down below.

Two men were already waiting for them patiently.

One was Mathew, the spear guy Aizel met during the goblin raid; the hunter was quite strong and a master of the spear technique.

Another one was the guy who went missing on the same day, Lucas.

"Lucas, what are you doing here? Where did you go? Harry was searching for you everywhere," Aizel asked, as he walked towards them. Alisha quickly grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Aizel, they are on the Paul family side."