The Samurai meets Fervene

(Moments after Fervis and Mimi left)

"Guild Master do you really believe that is..." Rumi's voice trailed off as another explosion of fire leveled a large building. The building was left with nothing, but it's concrete slab as the flames melted bricks down to the foundation.

"Rumi, there is no doubt. I have seen those flames before." The Guild Master clenched his fist tightly and turned to face Rumi with a face covered with regret.

"Then why would you force Fervis to kill her own sister again!" Rumi screamed at the top of her lungs with tears filling in her eyes. She could momentarily remember the despair that filled Fervis that grim day and never wanted to see it repeat.

"I know... I know already!" The Guild master punched and shattered one of the windows that Rumi had just repaired. The now-open window revealed the countless screams of civilians as the flames engulfed the city.

"All I can do is hope that with Mimi now by her side, Fervis won't have to make such a terrible choice again."

As Fervis and I arrived in the heart of the city, flames ravaged the nearby buildings and people ran for their lives while being lit in flames. Such a scene gave me vivid memories of a life that I had already experienced in the past.

'This is a proper battle.' The experiences so far in my current life could not be compared to what I had survived in the past. However, this was finally worthy of being called… "A Battle."

I jumped into the air and caught the sight of a pale-skinned young girl who shooting large pillars of fire directly out of her palms, 'Mythica Manipulation?' I heard a large shockwave form beneath me, and Fervis quickly arrived at my side.

Fervis visibly gasped when she saw the sight of the girl, which led me to believe my hunch was correct, but what I learned was even far crueler.

"Mimi…." Fervis's eyes filled up with tears as she observed the girl. As I slowly started to fall back to the ground, she spoke once more.

"That girl is my sister…Fervene."

Instantaneously I jumped, with all the force on my legs. I strained my legs with Mythica and traveled over countless houses and buildings in seconds and suddenly I was flying right by a young blonde-haired girl. Despite her dire situation, she was not fleeing and instead clasped her hands together tightly. 'Is she praying?'

I quickly unsheathed Minami and swung a wide slash towards the pale-skinned girl that I now knew by the name of Fervene. 'Don't kill her.' I reminded myself and I released Mythica into my arm.

"Water Sword: Ripple."

A calm yet fierce jet of water enveloped my Katana as I cut through the flames that surrounded the blonde-haired girl. The flames were extinguished by the powerful gusts filled with water, but as I blinked, I felt warm water splashing against my feet. 'Where am I?'

As my eyes analyzed the landscape, I saw the beautiful ocean shore. The sun was completely parallel with the vast ocean, and the water glowed with the color orange. 'Beautiful.' Was the only way I could describe such a picture; it looked like something I would see out of a fairy tale. I was then caught off guard by a tiny rock that was descending out of the sky and into the ocean. Even from my distant position, I could see the tiny rocks impact as it crashed into the expansive sea.

'Splash,'

Gentle waves followed the tiny rocks' impact and rippled throughout the sea. It was finally upon this that I realized… 'Is this the essence of Water Sword?' Such a peak was only rumored to exist because no one had ever reached such a skill with the technique. 'I remember now. This was where I learned the style of the Water Sword for the first time with my grandfather.' The teachings of the water sword were based on gentleness. If the techniques were performed at the highest level, the person you battle should not even notice that they have been killed. All they will feel are the graceful ocean waves as they perish happily.

"I understand now." As I closed my eyes and absorbed myself in the landscape. I tried to picture every single wave that splashed against the shore. I tried to picture the distant orange glow of the sun that illuminated the sea.

I pictured the squawking seagulls that flew well over my head as they disappeared into the distant sunset. I pictured the sand that morphed around my feet as I walked across the shoreline. Lastly, I pictured the tiny rock crashing into the sea as it punctured the water, leaving it with ripples.

'Splash,'

This was the true meaning of the Water Sword, and only now had I understood it. All of these intricate details of the landscape were placed together in my mind like puzzle pieces, and within moments, they were all pieced together in my consciousness.

I took a deep breath of the beautiful landscape of the ocean shore and when I opened my eyes; I was back. The smell of charcoal and blood was apparent, and I realized I had completely closed in on Fervene. Without any delay, I unsheathed Una and swiped the Katana gracefully right in front of her neck.

If I extended my arms any further, the blade would have surely beheaded her, but because I limited my reach, the girl jumped backward and avoided the slash. I instantly sheathed Una after the attack and chased the girl as she did a backflip and landed with a nasty snarl plastered on her face.

Fervene tried to fight back and outreached her hand, which was illuminated with a blue glow, but I nimbly shifted my feet and ducked under it, to which an enormous explosion bellowed behind me.

"Ripple."

I unsheathed Minami and the water droplets surrounded the blade once again, and I swung upwards and severed the girl's arm from her shoulder, but I wasn't splashed with her blood. The water from Minami's blade dispersed and showered the surrounding area with water, extinguishing the flames.

I raised my foot and kicked the white-haired girl into the sky, which resulted in a loud grunt from her, but she had obviously not been beaten yet and more blue flames whizzed by my face.

'Splash.'

I danced around her flames gracefully as I jumped repeatedly creating dazzling puddles in the path I traveled. Fervene noticed my approach and violet-colored wings sprouted from her back. The wings flapped violently, creating large gusts of wind that tried to push me back down to the ground with immense force, but I stayed on course and jumped once more time.

'Splash,'

The final jump was infused with much more Mythica than usual, and I closed the gap that Fervene had created between us, and I struck her with my leg once more. Sending her crashing into the concrete with a loud boom.

I followed her back to the ground and landed like a feather. Fervene who was now aware of my landing, tried to stand once more, but when she strained her legs, nothing happened. "Why can't I move!?"

Fervene's panic-stricken shout was full of confusion, but she was unaware I struck her on the knee and I had broken her leg with the impact. 'She won't be running around, at least for a while now.'

"How can a human like you be this strong…Name yourself!" Fervene asked in fear as she clutched her bleeding shoulder tightly.

"My name is Mimi... a Samurai."

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