Four Days Later (Y1010年 07月 29日)
They say this country closed itself hundreds of years ago. Its status remained to this day, but the one question that always came to fruition was when and how their katanas or weapons were made within their borders. Katanas were born in Yamahiryu. That wasn’t the main issue, though. Their geographical border was a spectacle. Mountain ranges for many miles and kilometers, making traveling by foot impossible without assistance. Everyone that came along went through multiple detours, separating from each other. Only five thousand cultivators came along on this hopeful diplomatic trip. Because Yamahiryu was closed off, mail delivery was impossible, so forcing a way in was the only option. Julius prayed that nothing bullshit happens while heading to Yamahiryu’s capital.
ROAR!!
You gotta be shittin me!
Too soon of a thought. Screeching roars overwhelmed the high sky at around twenty-thousand feet. Tiberius, Agent Sleep, Laura, Dale, Solomon, and Celeste came along with him. Empress Cai, Father Kang, and Feng stayed behind at Longyue to get some duties finished. Hóng returned to her village to monitor the reconstruction’s progress. So, it was only the six that tailed along. The few cultivator captains directed five thousand to various spots minutes earlier. Hence, the seven are alone in dealing with the upcoming beast. It sounded like a dragon, as Julius had already heard them many times to differentiate between it and the other beasts. His Skoltor System flashed a health percentage bar, forcing him to deter from the planned path. The seven took a minor detour, and as they were, their view was facing up to the sky, witnessing a lengthy dragon in golden shades of yellow. Wait a fucking minute. Julius thought, feeling suspicious of this golden dragon.
“You guys prepare for the way ahead! I’ll deal with this bastard,” Julius ordered.
“Are you sure?!” Celeste asked.
Hence, he allowed her to be by his side and ordered the rest to do it immediately.
“That dragon! It’s so fucking huge. Do we kill it?!”
Julius grimaced. “I need to see its fucking face…It reminded me of the day of the swamp. When I banged the drums in the night sky, these dragons appeared. Attacking me is one thing, but trying to kill me was unforgivable,” he said with absolute hatred.
“It’s turning around.”
The dragon’s head turned in their direction, and Julius glimpsed its eyes. Afterward, it triggered him. He grabbed Celeste’s arm and flew right under the dragon. It’s him. It’s that fucking Yellow Heavenly Dragon.
“I’m going all out,” he muttered to Celeste.
“I’ll be your barrier.”
Celeste summoned Vesper right under her feet, summoning a platform for her to stand on. She summoned her bow with brightening purple eyes. Julius, with dark qi enveloping both of his fists, launched right into the dragon’s body and punched it, inflicting darkness on it.
--
Yellow Heavenly Dragon (黄色天龙) HP: 100%
--
The Yellow Heavenly Dragon groaned loud like a stereo speaker; it echoed from its mouth to miles away, where bits of the tallest peak in the mountain range were chipped off. It got stronger. Julius thought. Oh, you son of a bitch! He punched it again, but at an angle where the force was directed to the dragon’s head.
“Owohh!”
--
Yellow Heavenly Dragon (黄色天龙) HP: 92% ↓
--
That punch knocked it off its flying path, and the dragon went a little bizarre. Celeste yelled out, prompting Julius to dodge the incoming tail. He flew to Celeste, and the two moved away. Within the safe zone, the former took a couple of steps away from her and released his darkness qi out of his body, transforming into his Heian-Juren 1 (黑暗巨人一) form. He ascended to the dragon's point of view.
“Do you remember me?’
The dragon shook his head, not recognizing him. His face was frowned like an angry cat, attempting to hide the pain he received. Any attempts were withdrawn when Julius reverted to his old face, causing the dragon to turn furious. Smoke forced out of its nostrils like a cooked teapot. Then it fired out its monstrous breath of flames. Julius pulled out his greatsword, Licht, and struck right at the flames, dispersing it easily. At the last flame, he gave an upward slashing motion, thrusting the flames right back.
Kaboom!
Pew!
Celeste launched an arrow simultaneously as Julius' attack obliterated the dragon’s face. The latter watched the arrow whiff through the smoke. Celeste, with her left hand, snapped her fingers, summoning a load of spikes through the smoke. The dragon's anger turned into a dreadful cry.
--
Yellow Heavenly Dragon (黄色天龙) HP: 43% ↓
--
It's weak. Julius, with plenty of stamina to spare, transformed into his new giant form. Now, he has become colossal compared to the first half of the Yellow Heavenly Dragon. His wings flapped, and he flew right through the last remnants of the smoke, reaching his arms out. He grabbed the dragon's head in an immensely tight grip. Like dealing with the wolves, he attempted to pull the dragon’s jaw open. Julius roared out his dragon voice while in this form, and his wings flapped aggressively.
Celeste summoned a barrier after Vesper got a little deterred from the gust generated by Julius’ wings. She prepared something after generating an arrow right in her bow. Her eyes were focused on the Yellow Heavenly Dragon. Her hands naturally did the thing, and once it was a tight grip, she raised her bow up, eyeing the dragon’s inner mouth. One up in the hole. She breathed in. Open it up more…A little more…More…Perfect. Her hand let go of the bowstring, and the arrow flew to its destination. The dragon, who saw the arrow sprinting at him, thrashed his head to deter this. Julius moved his hand downward, letting his big forearms do the handling. Hence, one jerks forward to pull the dragon’s head right at the arrow’s trajectory. It went inside its mouth, and Julius let go, quickly flapping away.
The two then watched the Yellow Heavenly Dragon forcefully burp through its mouth like a violent sneeze. Before it could react, flames and smoke burst out through its skin, eyes, and all openings.
--
Yellow Heavenly Dragon (黄色天龙) HP: 5% ↓
--
Julius showed no reaction as he disabled his Heian-Juren 1, but Celeste grimaced a little, watching the dragon dying from the inside out. The next second, they heard yells from behind, getting louder and closer. Julius’ Lich Emperor Armor was generated and wrapped around his body. He turned around with his longsword formed in his right grip.
“Woah!” One samurai blurted in reaction to his longsword being so close. He had to pull his flight brakes. He wasn’t the only one. There were multiple at the scene, and they drew their katanas. “Stop!”
Kaboom!
--
Yellow Heavenly Dragon (黄色天龙) HP: 0%
--
“Noo!” the other samurai yelled in a Japanese-like language. Everyone stood still in the air and watched the Yellow Heavenly Dragon crashing down on the mountain ranges. Its body lay flat along the ranges, and because of its weight, a drop easily tore through the mountain peaks and rocks. That was it, and Julius doesn’t know what his nemesis' dragon represents to the Yamahiryu. And he was about to find out.
“Are you with the Yamahiryu?” Julius asked in Japanese.
The samurai who was confronted by the former’s longsword glanced at Celeste and backed at him a couple of times before answering. “Yes…But why the hell did you do that?”
“He’s my enemy. Does he hold any significance to Yamahiryu? To its culture? Explain!”
“I will, but can you lower your blade?”
Julius looked at the multiple samurai. “Only if your men, I assume, lower their katanas…Then we'll talk.”
The samurai’s action confirmed that he was the leader of this group. When he half-turned and raised his palm, Julius noticed the kanji 力 on his shoulder pads, forearms, and legs, specifically on his right. Every other samurai has the same kanji at the exact placement. The many samurai reluctantly put their katanas back into their scabbards. When the last one did, Julius lowered his blade, and his helmet formed over his head. “Let’s hear it. What do they mean to you?”
“We are absolutely fucked!” The samurai said, almost he has to break out a horrific cry. “There’s an omen that killing the dragon will bring hell onto us! Because you killed our protector, we are screwed! Everybody in the city was watching!” He then looked at the mountain ranges where the Yellow Heavenly Dragon’s body lay. “And you destroyed our fucking border! Hell is going to come at any time soon!”
“What do you expect me to do? Nobody can even cross into your country, and in fact, it’s necessary for everyone living on this continent to be aware of what’s going on right now. So, I’m going to give you the news. Days ago, the Moon Empire declared war and started the Second Great War to close up the past. Since you are our western neighbor, you have the right to know.”
“The Moon Empire?”
“It used to be the West Cai Dynasty,” Julius said while summoning a black scroll in his empty grip. He then handed it over to the samurai.
The latter’s eyes expressed recognition of the scroll and pointed at it. “That’s the new leadership scroll!”
“Exactly, and you know what that means?”
The samurai grabbed the scroll and opened it, reading out loud, word for word. “The seals, the emblems, and in our language…Handwritten.” Afterward, he looked back at Julius. “You’re not from here?”
Julius shook his head. “No. My ancestors are from the Tang.”
“Alright—”
Kaboom!
“Oh, crap!” The samurai closed the scroll and handed it back to Julius. “It’s your friends. They’re causing havoc…Let’s go!” He and the multiple samurai flew to the battle site.
“Bullshit,” Julius uttered, and he followed. Celeste’s platform, Vesper, boosted her ahead, arriving at the battle in a blink. Julius teleported and flashed right in between the upcoming clash, gripping Solomon’s battleaxe and a samurai’s katana. “Enough!” He yelled in Japanese. Because of his giant presence, the whole clash came to a complete stop. His aura exerted from his armored boots, causing everyone within his proximity to get their legs fatigued.
“Yamero!!! (やめろ)” The Leader Samurai ordered the rest of his men to halt their offenses. Like his group that was with him, they were reluctant to stand down. He vocalized another command, which forced them to comply. Julius did the same to his group and they did it immediately compared to the reluctance of the samurai.
He let go of the samurai’s katana and Solomon’s battleaxe, switching off his darkness qi from his boots. A moment ago, everybody around him shook their legs involuntarily, like an extreme shiver from a brutal cold.
The Leader Samurai ordered his men to head back to the capital and tell the lady that Julius and his group had arrived. Lady who? Julius didn’t catch what he said at the end, but the Leader Samurai gestured to him and the rest to follow down. Hence, they did. As they all descended, ahead was a large walled city. It was like ??i Nam Cai’s capital, Hoàng thành Phong ??m. But more organized, epic scenery, and could be at least double or triple in size compared to them. From many thousands of feet, it looked pretty dense. There were so many clusters of uniform colors all around. No space between blocks could be seen.
“Where are we heading?!” Julius asked through his helmet. Winds and gusts began to pick up as everyone sped down. I
“The Hiryu Palace! But all of you need to get dressed properly first!”
“Do I have to?!”
“Yes, you will! That’s the general rule before meeting the ruler. An audience is always within the protocol, so we are taking you to the dressing barracks within the palace.”
“Fine! Lead the way!”
The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
An abrupt descent down as it appeared, everyone flew past the city’s walls. Julius’ eyes weren’t fooled. It was dense like modern Tokyo, where buildings were everywhere possible. Houses, shops, vendors, and any government buildings were within a walkable distance. He didn’t know about the regions or layout of the city yet, but assumed he was correct; there were a multitude of buildings that were six stories tall. These buildings were very decipherable, like a stack of the same books. Coincidentally, each was a replica of the Tō-ji (東寺). It was exactly the same except they had an extra floor and a story to tell. One theory was maybe they housed district leaders if the city had districts to begin with. Anyway, Julius thought of that, but he didn’t budge to ask the Leader Samurai, as he will be given many details soon, anyway. Perks for being a foreign ruler.
The gusts dropped when they reached down to the city’s skyline levels. Longyue overall was not dense or so tightly packed like this. District One was probably the densest it could ever be. However, Yamahiryu’s capital beat that record across the board. What was even worse was when the buildings were so tightly closed, and one wrong flight maneuver would decimate it into a blitz. Why the hell are we flying this fucking close?! Julius ranted.
Swoosh! Swarm!
Because they were going so fast, the side views were almost distorted like a timelapse bird's-eye view of heavy traffic, displaying the cars’ light trail effect. A diverse range of colors irritated his eyes. I can't get blinded by light but can still get dried and itchy like allergies. What an unfair trade. Wait a minute…I have my helmet on, so how's that possible?
Annoyance was true, but it simmered when he finally arrived at The Hiryu Palace’s perimeters.
“We are here,” The Leader Samurai said. He then turned around. “…And please take off your armor. It freaks people out with that thing on.”
“Not a problem,” Julius said, disabling the Lich Emperor's Armor. He shrunk back to his normal height, which was still tall in comparison with the workers and residents within the palace. At least 5’9” from his point of view. The supposed barracks he directed at, the doors opened. Behind it walked out two women in kimono. They greeted him in a bow, and naturally, he did. “Do I head in?”
“Yes sir,” The Leader Samurai said with a heavy nod. He then directed the rest to follow Julius inside.
The interior had many rooms, and the two women in kimono directed each to a room. Each entered at their own behest. Julius entered his room, finding the two women were his dresser for the time being. They closed the shoji and sat down on their knees in front of him. Qi. There’s concentration within their soul that is heating. Both of them. Julius reflected, recognizing their qi’s strength. It gave him a sense that the dress-up and preparation process would be through that compared to only physical clothing. Hence, he breathed before speaking a Japanese-like language. “So…What are the rules here?”
“Well…before anything…all guests take a bath,” the left lady said, gesturing her hand to a vacant space at Julius’ left. When the latter turned, a poof effect hummed through his ears as his eyes watched a bathtub summoning.
The right lady snapped her fingers, removing all clothes from him. Momentarily, they looked at his war-ridden body. Smooth, but scared and abused. Then, Julius stood, not minding his presence, and carefully entered the empty, wide barrel-like tub. The two ladies then strolled to the tub, one occupying Julius’ left and right. Water was summoned into the tub, filling up to the edge. He watched them release their kimonos before starting the bathing process, and he didn't know what to expect from them. As long as there were some moments of internal peace, he was fine with it.
“Heika (陛下).” A messenger called from the shoji door.
“Come in…What is it?” Mizuhana (水花) asked while staring at the outside garden from her grand room.
The lady messenger walked into the room. “You have guests.”
Mizuhana turned. Her long, black hair flowed like a silken river, cascading in vibrant waves that reflected the sunlight within a glimpse. It settled back on her shoulders and her back down near the waist as if it were directed by her hands. “Guests? I don’t recall ever having one on schedule.”
“No, you didn’t. They came uninvited, and they’re in the Visitor’s Dressing barracks right now,” the messenger said. “Hatamoto Tadamasa said it was a foreign leader.”
Is she serious? Mizuhana doubted it, but then she looked into her mind for any fabrication. She wasn’t joking. Ginnoumi. “Did he tell us who?”
“His name is Julius Vaillant. Emperor Julius from the Moon Empire.”
“What’s this Moon Empire?”
“It’s what the West Cai Dynasty used to be,” the messenger answered.
Mizuhana’s eyes widened. She then walked up to the messenger. “How is that possible?! What to Empress Cai? Do they know anything?”
The messenger shook her head, expressing her bewilderment. “I’m sorry…I don’t know either. You're going to have to talk to him to find out.” She then pulled something out from inside her kimono. “He handed Hatamoto Tadamasa this.”
“I can’t believe it. It is the Golden Black Scroll of Leadership!” Mizuhana exclaimed, then took it off from the messenger’s grip. When she opened it, she was flabbergasted. It was written in perfect Hiryu. “It’s in our language. No errors.”
“Yeah…That made me wonder, too. I think we are all curious about what kind of man and a person Emperor Julius is.”
“Did Tadamasa give you a description of him?”
The Messenger turned towards the entrance. She then pointed at the entryway. “That shoji door…He would’ve to bend down to get inside.”
Mizuhana followed where her finger pointed, looking at her room’s shoji door and the entryway. “You are telling me he’s even taller than Empress Cai, but by that much?”
“That’s what he said,” the messenger said plainly. “However, I have some bad news.”
“Ok…Say it.”
“The Yellow Heavenly Dragon is dead…Emperor Julius killed it with a lack of a genuine struggle.”
Mizuhana’s heartbeat slowly rose, but her qi forced it to calm down. “I hope this one is a joke…Please.”
“It’s not a joke. His body lies on the Maru Tetsu Mountains (丸鉄山脈). Our natural border broke. We have a big problem, and you are going to have to talk to him face to face.”
Mizuhana sighed, much to her dismay at the news. She also finished reading the scroll and handed it back to the messenger, ordering her to give it back to Julius and dismiss her from the room. Now alone again, she had a moment of peace minutes ago, and it whiffed away. Mizuhana strolled around her room, processing everything the messenger had told her. Her mind was shuffling cards, imagining what Emperor Julius looked like. A giant and killed the Yellow Heavenly Dragon. No, he can’t be that big. But then how? Other than Empress Cai, there’s no one else who could be that strong from the West Cai Dynasty…Wait, the Moon Empire. Oh, what the fuck. He can’t be ugly. Why does he have a Kriegyu name? He has to be from there to be that tall. Square jaw, bulky, rough, and barbaric. But that can’t be because, if he was barbaric, he wouldn’t be writing this scroll. I hope it’s him who wrote it. Mizuhana took her mind off these bizarre thoughts and summoned her main clothing. Qi flowed up her body like water, as if the downpour was inverted.
She clenched both of her fists and then unleashed her water blue qi like a power-up, revealing her outfit. It was called the Kageyama Koromo (影山衣). The outfit was composed of a red shitagi (下着, under clothing), a black kosode (小袖, small sleeve), a black hakama (袴), a red hakama-himo, and black boots. Mizuhana then went to a cabinet, grabbing and putting on her golden haori (羽織) before departing the room. When she exited and walked into the hallway, a sudden pressure struck, tensing her feet. It was somebody’s pressure. An immense one. It vibrated like an echo every two seconds. Sounds of commotion happened in response to this pressure. One thought came to Mizuhana. Could that be him? She wondered, but the sudden pressure stopped, prompting her to pant. What a strange way to start the rest of the day.
The Hiryu Palace’s ōhiroma (大広間)
Mizuhana sat in a very prestigious space. The Daimyos and many lower ranks of the samurai were present in the Great Hall. They sat with their legs crossed throughout the hall in rows. All the daimyos sat in the first two rows while the further rows down and all the way to the ōhiroma’s walls were the lower ranks and a few guests. Mizuhana eyed everyone who was present, before sensing the similar powerful pressure coming in through the shoji door. Everyone else shared the same reaction, breaking off from their stoic image. This was the first time it ever happened in her eyes. Yamahiryu’s samurais were trained vigorously and aimed at emotionless prospects only for them to be broken today. Here he comes.
A large man appeared at the opening with his head down first, showing his body bending down to reach inside. When he reached inside and raised his upper body up straight, Mizuhana got a good look at him as he walked to his designated spot. So, this is Julius. My goodness, why is he so handsome for committing such an action? The amount of surprises today was unusual. She never felt surges added in a short amount of time, whether it was good or bad. Emperor Julius’ presence distracted her. Even after getting his group’s first impressions, her mind couldn’t resist him. It was like a magnet. In a blink, she heard a humming voice followed by a grunt. Mizuhana’s eyes turned to him. Emperor Julius was silently admiring the Kageyama Koromo he was given. Over it was his plain black haori.
“Another telepath?”
Julius then looked up. “Wow indeed. This got off to a good start.” He then gave a closed smile. “I’m sure you want explanations. Tell us your time and we will get out.”
Mizuhana waited for a moment until the roll call and news delivery to the audience began. And therefore, she turned back to him. “This is the part that takes the most time before anything actually starts. So, we can chat and introduce ourselves in advance.”
“Not a bad idea…Did you receive the scroll?”
Mizuhana nodded. “I did. Did you write that in our language?”
“Of course. It’s a nice language but a little difficult in some words, but I got through it.”
“Who taught you the Hiryu language?”
“No one. I was only taught what was written on the scrolls, and Empress Cai taught me the order I go by.”
“Empress Cai?” So, she’s alive. Mizuhana felt a relief expressed in her chest. Hence, a little weight disappeared. “Why is she not the ruler anymore? You still call her Empress, is that right?”
“She handed me the scroll, officially transferring her role to me because she thought she was going to die or incapable of running her dynasty. I don’t know if your country has heard but a global conflict has already started…Also, yes. I still call her Empress.” Emperor Julius paused momentarily. “Many still do, even though her current title is now general.”
“A General? What an army?”
Emperor Julius nodded. “Yes, she and Father Kang are two of my top generals for now. They will set precedents for future generals because it will expand in the many days ahead.”
“So, she recovered. And you didn’t give her the role back?”
“Another one asking the same question.” Emperor Julius sighed. “I could and did. However, she had made it clear that she didn’t want it anymore. The stress on her was passed to me, and I cured it all, setting her free.”
Mizuhana scratched her right cheek. She heard the news was almost finished, so she paced. “Unfortunately, we have to continue our personal conversation elsewhere. But I have one question.”
“Go ahead.”
“The next time you come back here, or when we meet again, can you bring Empress Cai along? It’s been a long time since we have spoken in person”
“That’ll be easy. I want to remind you she’s a giant too now. Like me.”
“No way.”
“Yes, way. She’s only a little shorter than me.”
“What the hell are you guys doing over there?”
“I’ll explain later.”
“Please do.”
Mizuhana confirmed that the whole telepathic conversation with him was truthful. Hence, it was difficult to lie or hide because the mind was like an open ground with no walls. The two exited telepathy and joined with everyone else as the lady in her kimono concluded her news report.
One Hour Later.
Julius found the meeting in the ōhiroma to be awfully boring. He was relieved when it was finally over. Ironically, it felt so slow despite only an hour passing. The boredom was horrific that paperwork would be mentally feasible compared to this waste of verbal charade. Mizuhana and the leader samurai who turned out to be Hatamoto Tadamasa were the only ones in this room that interested him. Every other samurai has a poor first impression of where he would be surprised if they even committed to their honor of code. Well, through telepathy, Julius requested a duel with Mizuhana after the meeting concluded. The latter took a moment and responded with a loud yes, ramming his brain and vibrating his skull. That was so not fucking necessary. Yinhai! My head! His mouth and throat refused to utter a sound, and he took the pain in.
He stood up from the hard wooden floor. His black haori was something to cherish. Hence, Julius took it off and sent it into his virtual inventory.
“Did you just throw that haori we gifted you away?!” Mizuhana asked, appearing baffled.
Julius shook his head. “No…It’s in my virtual inventory.”
“What the hell is that?” Hatamoto Tadamasa asked with a slight grunt.
Right. They don’t know what virtual means. “Think of it like a magical backpack. More space to put all my stuff than any physical backpack could do.”
Mizuhana looked unfazed. She didn’t buy it. Hence, Julius moved back a couple of steps. He raised his right hand, about to snap his fingers. “I mean, I could prove it to you right now,” Julius said while eyeing around the space to be certain no one was too close in his proximity.
“I noticed you are looking around the place,” Mizuhana said. She pointed at him. “Are you about to cause a mess in here?”
“I hope not.”
Snap!
Suddenly, everything in the Skoltor System was summoned above him and dropped to the floor. The heaviest being the swords and chests. A minimum of a thousand pages of paper lay all over the floor. He let them view the mess before he snapped his fingers again, and the hall was cleaned. A pop-up notification stated all his items were returned to his virtual inventory.
“I stand corrected. You need to tell me what kind of power this was.”
“It’s kind of hard to explain unless you experience it because this magic backpack is only a part of this powerful system that most of the Moon Empire’s cultivators now have,” Julius said while trying to get to the point without getting them confused. “Unfortunately, you can’t learn it here. You have to train and obtain it in Longyue.”
“You’re inviting me to Longyue?”
Julius smiled. “Sure. You’re welcome there.” He then looked at Hatamoto Tadamasa. “You too…I’m thinking only your men, Lady Mizuhana, and anyone she trusted, are invited into the Moon Empire. And that’s final.”
“What about the other Daimyos?” Hatamoto Tadamasa asked.
“I’m sorry…But they’re boring.”
“That’s very mean!” Tiberius stated.
“You don’t understand. I’m very honest right now. Considering the fact Lady Mizuhana has read everyone’s minds during this meeting,” Julius answered back with a loud tone. His eyes remained in contact with Mizuhana’s but briefly turned to Tiberius. “Do you understand now? Plus, our group, Hatamoto, and Lady Mizuhana are the only ones here, so we are free to say what we want to, bluntly.”
Mizuhana took a deep breath. Not expecting Julius’ disappointment immediately. “Personally. I think he’s right.”
Tiberius turned to her, not expecting that. “No way you’re agreeing with this?!”
“I mean…Culturally and by tradition, they’ve been trained to be emotionless synched warriors and listen to their superiors.”
“That sounds great on paper, but the lack of emotions outside of duty is very concerning. In that case, how are the ordinary people here? So far, the dressers and your trusted workers of this beautiful palace have more human connection than any samurai who aren’t under you or Hatamoto Tadamasa’s command.”
Mizuhana raised her hand. “I think I get the gesture, thanks.”
The ōhiroma got a bit quiet. Nobody said anything. Celeste, Solomon, Agent Sleep, Laura, and Dale stood there like in a trance. They probably shared Tiberius’ opinion but voluntarily refused to talk. Did I take this too far? The silence made Julius wonder if he really went too far. Hence, he switched subjects. “How about this? I have a suggestion.”
“…Speak away.”
“Tonight…I’ll take you all to the Moon Empire. However, before I do that, how do you think of a duel?”
Mizuhana’s eyes grew fixated. “A duel?”
Julius nodded. “A duel to test our strengths and our personalities. I perceived it as a way to get to know each other better. What do you say?”
“When do we start?”
Julius kept the Kageyama Koromo on, and he took his overcoat from his virtual inventory, putting it on. “Right now?”
Mizuhana smiled. “Alright. I’m intrigued.” She walked down from her platform. “Follow me.”
“Are you nuts?!” Tiberius said.
“Wow…This is the most I heard you talk ever since we met again,” Julius said, expressing his surprise.
Tiberius went silent, and Julius turned to Mizuhana, following her out of the ōhiroma. The rest tailed along.
