Alphonse once joked, "Now I finally understand why your eyes are green. It's because you've seen too many of these lush, radiant magical plants."
But tonight, Alphonse couldn't find her here.
Just as I was about to leave, I happened to catch a whiff of fragrance.
Alphonse looked around until he used his magic and amplified it to his senses to find the source of the fragrance.
"Child! Watch out behind you!"
The perceptive Desfield alerted Elfons. He turned, and a sharp sword came hurtling towards him. Desfield nimbly dodged, and Elfons swiftly drew his sword, translucent magical particles forming the weapon in that instant.
Alphonse's pull followed by an upward thrust knocked away the dark weapon that was about to pierce his eyes.
After a crisp clash, the sword that had been knocked away suddenly disintegrated in mid-air, turning into particles and disappearing without a trace.
"This is... sword energy condensed from magic particles?" Alphonse thought to himself. To be able to use such a superior magical martial skill, it seems that the guy who launched the sneak attack is not an opponent that can be easily dealt with.
However, what exactly was this person's purpose in coming to the palace?
A mysterious, uninvited guest stood in the very center of the courtyard.
Alphonse couldn't make out the figure clearly, guessing that the person had used concealment magic to hide in this place.
If this person is there to carry out an assassination plot, why would they deliberately expose themselves and attack them?
This puzzled Alphonse. He ordered Desfield to jump away from him and fight alone.
"Who goes there?" The uninvited guest did not answer, but instead responded to the young knight's question by launching a second wave of attacks with three floating, magically formed void weapons.
The uninvited guest waved his hand forward, and a sharp blade flew out as if on command, its target the young knight in front of him.
Alphonse deflected all three swords with an arc strike.
The enemy's flying sword immediately scattered into particles after being severed. But at that moment, he noticed that even more magical particle weapons were gathering around the mysterious visitor.
This time, there were twelve swords, larger and longer than the previous two, yet their speed of attack remained undiminished.
Alphonse anticipated that it would be impossible to dodge all twelve swords unscathed in one go.
He then forcibly channeled his magic into the back of his left hand, instantly casting the emblem "Radiance of the North".
Alphonse, who had transformed into a white shadow in the midday sun before the mysterious visitor, leaped through the rain of swords and approached the attacker.
The mysterious man moved swiftly and reacted with lightning speed, drawing his weapon from his waist, preparing for a close-quarters battle that had never been anticipated.
A crescent-shaped silver light flashed before Alphonse's eyes. The mysterious man drew a mysterious weapon with one hand to defend himself, preventing Alphonse's sword from advancing even an inch further.
"A samurai sword?" He was secretly surprised again.
He discovered that the mysterious person was actually a slender woman, but she seemed to possess immense strength, easily deflecting his attack, which was enhanced by the emblem, with just one hand.
As he drew closer to the enemy, he once again caught that alluring fragrance.
Alphonse's attention shifted away from the smell.
The enemy's slender left hand deftly drew a rapier from behind him, its cold light gleaming, and thrust it toward Alphonse's abdomen.
Alphonse exerted force on his sword, using the elasticity to propel himself into the air, thus placing himself outside the rapier's attack range.
While in mid-air, he swung his holy sword Danlithel downwards.
The chilling air emanating from the sword's edge swallowed the earth like a ferocious beast, while the roaring ice pillars that rose from the ground resembled sharp teeth, devouring everything on the ground as their prey.
Nevertheless, the woman remained calm and composed, as if she had predicted the number of icicles and the exact locations where they would pierce the ground and rise, nimbly dodging them one by one like a dragonfly skimming the water.
Alphonse was well-versed in the strengths, weaknesses, advantages, and disadvantages of various sword-type weapons, as well as their attack range, and knew how to quickly devise countermeasures when faced with these weapons that became enemies.
However, it seemed that the enemy before him was more skilled with swords than he was.
Moreover, the woman seemed very familiar with Alphonse's attack methods.
This enemy is not easy to deal with. The people in the palace are in danger.
Realizing this, Alphonse intends to further unleash the power of the emblem in order to defeat and capture the enemy.
"Desfield... prepare for battle!"
The Holy Dragon is preparing to unleash the light it has been storing for so long.
But then, the mysterious woman's actions took an unexpected turn. She stopped attacking, but angrily ripped off her black trench coat, which had been treated with a concealment spell, and flung it with all her might toward Alphonse.
Alphonse dodged aside, his eyes filled with surprise as he stared intently at the woman, his sword still pointing forward, not daring to let his guard down.
Seeing his actions and expression, the woman seemed even angrier, and roared in a delicate voice, "Alphonse, you don't even recognize me!"
Alphonse was startled again. "What...you are...ah! No way?"
With her brown hair tied up, azure silk dress, and carrying a multitude of swords on her back, the woman who was dressed entirely in oriental attire was none other than Zeraya Sevensoz, the female master whom Alphonse had encountered in the Sea of Trees a few years ago after he and Priscilla parted ways.
Finally realizing who his opponent was, he cried out inwardly in alarm. He had unknowingly attacked his "master"!
"Master, you... this isn't my fault! Why did you disguise yourself as an assassin, sneak into the palace, and even attack me... Hey, wait a minute! Listen to me!"
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