One week later.
On Aeon's first day in the capital, he was able to visit all of his friends in his old school. His reunion with them was truly emotional.
However, that was the only thing he achieved in his stay.
He had tons of work to do, most of those related to sorting his father's possessions in his study to see what he could still use. Unfortunately for him, something was getting in his way.
"These damn plants!" Aeon said while swinging a machete at the overgrown vines, shrubs, and bushes.
The seeds he had planted a week ago were now fully grown. Not only that, but it also has tiny fruits already. This was good news, yes. These were plants that could grow and produce food in a short amount of time. However, maintaining it was a pain in the ass. They grew too fast! The edges of Aeon's backyard now looked like a jungle. A little more and they would go over the fence and invade his neighbor's backyard as well.
I don't have time for this.
Aeon was frustrated, but he couldn't do anything about it. If he let them grow out, there would be no area behind his house left. It would all be consumed by the plants.
At that moment, a middle-aged woman suddenly entered the backyard. She was the helper assigned to him by the Emperor to cook and clean for Aeon. She knew about the weird plants, so when she saw Aeon, she thought it was a bad time to disturb him. The woman was about to turn around and leave when Aeon called out to her.
"What is it, Miss Ledger?"
Startled, the woman turned towards Aeon. "Your swords, young master. They have been repaired."
Hearing this, Aeon beamed with joy.
When Aeon and Lucian returned to the capital, Lucian pointed out that his swords were no longer in their best condition. This was plain to see. There were lots of chips and nicks on their edges. It wasn't as sharp as before too. And so, he offered to fix them for Aeon.
"Where are they?" Aeon asked with a wide smile. He then put down the machete and walked towards the house.
"Uh, young master. They are still in the castle. The Emperor says he wants to speak with you, so you would have them to get them yourself," Miss Ledger informed.
Aeon was quite puzzled. His uncle had something to tell him? Well, they really didn't get to talk much because there was an emergency. Aeon shrugged. "Alright! I'll be there after tidying up."
….
Meredith Empire's Capital City, Mistfall. The palace.
Aeon walked through the corridors without a guide. He didn't need one because he knew the castle back and forth. Why wouldn't he? It was his playground when he was still young.
Not long after, he arrived outside the throne room guarded by two soldiers in white armor. Aeon nodded at them as he casually entered. The door creaked as they opened.
"Ah, Aeon," someone greeted from the side of the room. It was the Emperor.
"Hey, uncle!" Aeon greeted back. Then, his eyes fell on the box laid on top of the table right in front of the emperor. The box was not that long, but it was long enough to keep his swords. "Are those my swords?"
Lucian chuckled. As impatient as ever. He patted the box then said, "Indeed. They're great swords."
"Aren't they?" Aeon agreed as he ran over towards the table. He was about to grab the box and pick it up when a hand suddenly slammed down.
Thud!
"Not so fast!"
"Eh?"
Aeon looked up towards the emperor.
"Let's have a chat first," Lucian said with a smile. "How are you feeling?"
Aeon was slightly bothered by his uncle's sudden concern, but it shouldn't hurt responding. Aeon answered, "I'm still kind of uneasy about the whole situation right now. I'm also creeped out that the citizens are a little too carefree."
Lucian nodded and said, "Ah, that should be our fault. We informed everyone that the remaining six empires would band together to drive the invaders away. The calmness should stem from their confidence."
"Ah!" Aeon yelled. He was now enlightened and a little bit surprised.
Lucian smiled then asked a few more questions without a particular topic.
For each and every question, Aeon would respond. Sometimes he'd ask one himself and the emperor would then talk about it. It was a casual chat for the two to catch up through the years that they haven't seen each other. It was also through this chat did the emperor know about how Aeon and his father were treated in the Florentine Empire.
It seemed to be the end of their conversation when Lucian suddenly asked one more question.
"The clothes you wore the day we met, where did you get them?"
Aeon was left speechless by this one question. It was the only one he couldn't answer right away and he was sure that the emperor saw his weird reaction.
"You don't need to answer that. I was just curious," Lucian said as he pulled his hand away from the box. He knew that those clothes had a story, but if Aeon was not comfortable talking about it, then he wouldn't pry.
Aeon looked down towards the box. He didn't want to talk about the labyrinth in any way. Just the thought of it gave Aeon the feeling of being surrounded and attacked at any time.
I'll surely tell uncle in the future when I'm over it.
Aeon opened the box without a word. It revealed two shortswords with pearl-white blades placed side-by-side.
It looked almost exactly the same as when Aeon had just received them!
Aeon smiled subconsciously. Then, he picked them up. As he pulled, he realized that it was a bit heavier than before.
"Oh, the blades were reinforced so it should be heavier. We can't have it damaged anytime soon, can we?" Lucian said as he laughed merrily. He was pleased by Aeon's reaction. "The additional weight should suit you more, even, in my opinion."
Aeon swung both of his swords to test them out. With their new weight, it indeed felt better than before. He looked at the emperor and asked, "How did you know?"
Lucian shrugged. "A lot can be told with a few exchanges."
Aeon was astounded. A lot can be told with a few exchanges? Sure! But did that include how much weight to add? Aeon couldn't fathom the man's knowledge.
"Want to test them out?"
Aeon beamed. "Yeah!"
The two left the throne room. After a few twists and turns, they arrived at an open field with a platform at the center. The area had a roof, but it was brightly lit because of a magic stone attached to its ceiling.
"Where's your weapon, old man?" Aeon asked impatiently. He couldn't wait to start.
"Oh, I won't be facing you. Your opponent should be here in a bit. You're going to have a fair duel," Lucian said as he sat on a chair by the edge of the platform.
Just as the emperor said those words, another person entered the field from the side opposite to Aeon's, a young woman. Strapped on her back was a gigantic black scythe.
Seeing her now, Aeon almost couldn't recognize her. "Leona?!"
The woman named Leona had a pissed expression. Although she hadn't seen Aeon in a long time, it appeared as though she didn't even miss him. She stepped onto the platform and yelled, "Come on up, idiot!"
Lucian's palm was on his face. Four years and they still wouldn't get along.
"You are Leona right?" Aeon asked, emphasizing every word. "But where are all your pimples?"
A vein popped out of the woman's temple. She grabbed her scythe and yelled all sorts of profanities at Aeon while swinging her weapon.
Aeon burst out laughing. As he was doing so, he slowly approached the platform. With a jump, he stepped on it.
This scene was fairly familiar to Aeon. He'd fought with Leona countless times before, though his previous weapon of choice was a halberd.
The match started with the agreement of both parties.
Leona charged forward with her scythe held behind her. It was a normal approach, good for prying. She was probably doing so because she was unfamiliar with Aeon using two swords.
Aeon naturally wouldn't let himself get cornered. He also charged forward, matching Leona's speed.
The two met at the center of the platform.
Due to the length of her weapon, Leona attacked first with a horizontal sweep.
Scythes have always been troublesome to defend from due to their shape. One could not carelessly block it because the window to defend from which was the blade could not be easily kept at bay. And so, Aeon could only dodge. He jumped back, letting the scythe sweep past him. Aeon smiled while taking two small steps to readjust. He attacked.
Seeing her attack miss, Leona didn't panic. She simply retracted her weapon while stepping back to keep some distance. Defend!
….
Lucian smiled seeing the children exchange blows.
He was particularly happy about Leona's performance because it highlighted her combat intuition. Enemy techniques were always something unknown to you in your first battle, so the only thing you could do is to learn them on the spot while creating solutions for them. And she was performing excellently. No matter how hard Aeon tried, he couldn't enter the area fatal to scythe users.
Aeon's performance was equally exceptional. He had experience fighting Leona before so he knew some of her techniques. Although he couldn't gain a steady advantage, Leona couldn't bully him either. His response was just as sharp. Though Lucian couldn't help feeling like Aeon was fighting against a beast instead of a human. His battle stance, his attacks… In Lucian's eyes, there was barely any finesse in them.
Lucian was still bothered by this when there was suddenly a shift in the battle.
….
Aeon suddenly burst with power, striking Leona's scythe out of the way. He took this opportunity to close in on his opponent.
Leona was clearly startled by Aeon's sudden increase in strength, and she momentarily staggered. However, she was able to collect herself immediately. The scythe that was pushed away headed straight towards the platform. With a schik, the blade buried itself on the floor. Then, Leona simply let go of her weapon.
No weapon?
Aeon was caught off-guard by the sudden act, but since the emperor did not call the battle off, he didn't pull back. Aeon was already a meter away from his opponent, his sword would fall in an instant. Verdure slashed downward.
Completely outside of Aeon's expectations, Leona, instead of dodging, closed in on him. Because of this, his aim was thrown off by just a bit.
But this small opening was enough for Leona.
A palm slapped away Aeon's hand holding onto Verdure. Then, another palm headed straight towards his neck mercilessly.
There was no time for Aeon to defend using his Zephyr.
Aeon had no choice but to pull back.
Jumping away, Aeon saw Leona pick up her scythe as if nothing happened.
Aeon couldn't help laughing. He didn't think that Leona would patch up the fatal weakness of her weapon by learning hand to hand combat. She didn't do that four years ago. At least not yet.
No matter, Aeon thought.
If that's the case, then he should just up the tempo. He had been holding back too much anyway.
Aeon inhaled, focusing.
Leona who had been charging at Aeon thought that it was the best time to counterattack. It was a chance she couldn't miss because Aeon now knew about her technique.
However, what she experienced next momentarily made her legs go weak.
In a blink of an eye, Aeon charged back at her, carrying an aura that made her feel fear. Behind him was a shadow of a beast.
Leona was taken aback, but she immediately dispelled those thoughts. She was able to refocus in an instant, but then she became furious.
Her? Someone who was able to become a C-ranked mage at the age of 20 was afraid of someone the same age?
Leona gritted her teeth as she enchanted her weapon.
The spell was about to manifest when a figure suddenly covered her vision.
The man held onto her scythe, breaking her concentration and effectively stopping the spell.
The battle was over.
Lucian called the fight off.
Aeon was the winner.
….