Chapter 36: The Blue Plum Blossoms (Part 2)

"Not interested. Get in your stance… or you'll die." 

As he heard this, he clicked his tongue and his grin faded. 

"Come on now, don't be so cold… think about it, the condition to passing this exam is to make it to the checkpoint. We don't have to fight-"

The swordman was interrupted, as Ava kicked off the ground, dashing at him with a downward swing in motion.

With an upward swing, he parried the smooth arc which her sword traced. 

*Clang!*

He was pinned to the spot when the two swords collided, barely holding back her swing.

"Looks like you have no intentions of talking, do you?" He asked, nervously. 

'Her swing is heavy, I can't push it away-' 

Suddenly, he was hit on the stomach by a kick, knocking him off his balance as he slid back. Ava followed through, stepping in with another swing in motion heading straight for the hand which held his weapon.

Off balance, he had no way to avoid it. But at that moment, he grinned-

[Speed Manipulation: High Speed Bursts.]

*Swoosh!*

His figure disappeared, causing Ava's sword arc to miss as it cut through nothing but air. Her eyes darted left and right, barely catching glimpses of him as he moved around her.

He was fast so much that it was impossible to keep up with her eyes alone.

'A high speed ability…' 

*Slash!* 

Taking a step back, she barely avoided his swing as he zoomed past her. Blood trickled down her her shoulder as he'd managed to get a shallow cut in.

It didn't stop there, as he continued to zoom past her, accumulating cuts as she struggled to avoid the swings.

His laughter could be heard all around her.

"I gave you an offer, you should've taken it when you had the chance… no matter how beautiful you are, I won't hold back." 

Now that he had weakened her, he had planned to finish it all in the next attack. A single strike to end it all.

*Fwoosh!* 

Veins bulged from his leg as he blasted off a tree behind her, moving faster than a speeding bullet. He cut through Ava's torso without giving her a moment to react. 

Her body was sliced in half dropping to the floor and he who had landed in front of her didn't even bother to look back. 

"There were no rules against killing people, but It still feels like shit to cut down such a beautiful girl… Haa…" He muttered as he sighed.

'Huh…?'

It was only at that moment that he finally noticed it. The blue petals flowing down the sky around him.

'What's this…?'

They were glowing petals which belonged to plum blossoms. There shouldn't have been any flowers like that around the forest they were at. 

Confused, he quickly turned back to look at Ava who he had cut down. Much to his surprise, there was no corpse, only a bundle of flowers in the shape of a person which had been cut in half.

Beside the bundle of flowers, Ava stood quietly, looking down at the field of glowing blue flowers blooming around her. 

He had never cut Ava down, he had only thought he had. 

"That attack just now… you truly intended to kill me, didn't you? If that's the case, it's only fair if I do the same." 

"How… When did she-"

[Floral Manipulation: Burning Blue Plum Blossoms.]

He was interrupted as one of the blue petals which made contact with his arm suddenly lit up in blue flames. His shirt's sleeve had caught on fire.

"Wha-!?" 

He tried to get away from the area after activating his ability, but the thorny flowers that had risen from the ground wrapped themselves around his legs, making it impossible for him to move.

He was forced to stay there as more and more petals began to make contact with his body. His entire upper body erupted in flames within seconds. 

"Aaaah!!" He screamed, as he desperately flailed around trying to put out the flames. "It burns!!" 

Despite his best efforts, the flames weren't being put out. As a last resort to spare his life, he grabbed the chest tag and pulled it off.

In that moment, the chest tag beeped red on the floor and a strong ray of light enveloped his body before he vanished. 

*Step.* *Step.* 

Slowly, Ava approached the chest tag before crouching down to pick it up. 

Upon touching it, the chest tag beeped red once more and a veil of light engulfed it before it disappeared. During that same time, her own chest tag, number [381], beeped green and a single digit '1' appeared beneath it. 

Now that she was all alone, Ava slowly got up and closed her eyes.

She took in a deep breath, inhaling the sweet captivating scent of the flowers whilst also feeling the wind as it brushed against her body.

"Ah~ It's been a while since I've felt this free." 

While she was distracted, a snake twice her size, attracted to the noise, silently crept up on her. It was surprisingly quiet for something its size. Blood ran across its mouth, indicating that it had already killed other candidates-

"And once again my moment is ruined." She muttered as she turned to it.

It's threatening appearance or size didn't seem to scare her. She only frowned, annoyed by its sudden appearance. 

Having been discovered the snake had given up on its silent approach and instead lunged at Ava with its mouth wide open. 

Ava on the other hand quickly reacted, raising her hand to counter with her ability. But just before she could-

*Crash!*

In an instant, a figure came crashing down from the sky, pinning the snake down with a black sword.

There was blood splattered across the area from the snake's head. On top of it was a single young man with curly black hair. Number [378], Julius.

"Ah- I was able to stick the landing this time. I knew angling it higher was the key." Julius muttered excitedly he gazed at the corpse of the monster below him. "Looks like this monster broke my fall too, thank you." 

When he looked up, his eyes widened as he saw Ava standing on the grass field.

"Ava!" 

Her figure was surrounded by glowing blue blooming flowers in the middle of a flowery field. The sight left him awe-struck. He couldn't help but be reminded of how gorgeous she was.

Her midnight blue hair and dark blue eyes looked even more dazzling than usual. For some reason her cheeks were also a bright shade of red.

After leaping down from the snake's head, Julius sheathed his cursed blade and crossed the flower field, making his way toward Ava.

"Ava, are you okay?"

Without saying anything, Ava silently gazed at him, her cheeks still reddened. Julius who noticed this, placed his hand on her forehead to check her temperature.

"You're quite red, do you have a fever or something?"

Again, she didn't respond, instead she silently stared at him. 

"It doesn't look like you're burning u-"

*Smooch!*

At that exact moment, where he had least expected it, Ava had leaned forward and kissed him. 

"Hmph!?" 

The two stumbled, falling onto the flowery field. Julius who was surprised reflexively, tried to move away, but he was pinned to floor by Ava as they engaged in a passionate kiss.

As she pressed her chest against him, their tongues intertwined. Their hearts pounded, feeling like they would burst. 

Julius's mind began to spin, it felt amazing but it had caught him completely off guard.

Once their lips had finally parted, the two breathed heavily as they stared at one another. 

"Ava… wai-"

*Smooch!*

The two engaged in yet another kiss as even more flowers bloomed around them.

-

While rushing towards the cliff, Lyra noticed that someone was quickly gaining up on her. Shortly after stopping to see who it was, she let out a sigh of relief when she noticed the [Cloak Of Disguise].

"Lyra, so it was you. I thought I noticed a familiar scent." 

"Ruby! I thought you'd be further ahead." 

"I figured I could catch up whenever so I took my time searching for Julius. Since he's slow I thought he'd be behind but surprisingly he found a method to pass us." 

"Julius is up ahead?" Lyra asked worriedly. "Then we have to hurry." 

After saying that, Lyra sprinted off and Ruby chased after her.

"I wouldn't worry about him, I doubt an exam like this will be able to stop him."

Lyra shook her head. 

"No, it's not that… It's just I'm sure Ava is up ahead too. There's a chance they'll encounter each other" 

"Isn't that a good thing?" 

"Not if she used her ability. I'm worried about what she'll do to Julius."

"What happens if she uses her ability?" 

"About that… Her other side comes out."