He appeared, a dark green aura surrounding him, dressed in a black cloak, leaping from branch to branch amidst the trees of the forest, and through the flower-scented air. Black hair floated in the air, brown skin dully reflected the sun, but his hazel eyes reflected it brilliantly, conveying confidence and charm. His lips were pressed into a thin line, his hand firmly gripping the hilt of his sword. He kicked up into the air, the force of his motion generating shockwaves. 

After revealing his presence to Fate for just a moment, he surged towards the ebony orbs, faster than the eye could see. He reached them instantly, using iaijutsu to cleave a ball in twain. He then stood mid-air, resheathing his sword. His cloak fluttered in the air. The disrupted energy erupted into a black explosion tinged with purple. The forest had burst in black flames. Animals wailed in pain as the trees sighed silently as they expired.

Foiled somewhat, Crescent wasn’t defeated. The second ball remained in play and was lurching towards Vez’ teleportation circle. Midway towards its target, it changed course to eliminate Shesmu. This ebony monstrosity had grown immensely, disintegrating everything in its path. Trees, stone, animals, everything it touched… simply ceased to be.  

Despite this apparent menace, Shesmu was motionless, awaiting it. Like Crescent’s own, his eyes were cold, filled with disinterest. He raised his hand, and slowly swiped it horizontally as it reached him. He caught the rampaging dark spell. Upon its capture, there was no impact and no clash of tribulation. It seemed as though he was a child catching a goliath baseball. It gently rested against his hand, as though it snuggled it. Shesmu closed his palm, and in doing so, the ball ceased to exist. There was no fanfare or fallout to accompany its expiration.

Shesmu kept staring at his palm, finding the minute hairs and imperfections upon it more interesting than Crescent—or his works. 

Having witnessed this casual dismissal of his second massive orb which had caused Leo to sacrifice his own life to counter it for the sake of his companions... simply confounded Crescent. “How?!” was all he could utter in response.

Shesmu slowly raised his head and made eye contact with Crescent, despite the distance between their positions.

Crescent joined his mind telepathically with Shesmu. “I could understand,” Crescent answered that silent gaze. “that you could cleave apart my spell. What I can’t fathom is how you could have managed the second. No, considering how much energy went into creating that ball, even I’d have trouble were I in your place, simply attempting to mitigate it! To simply catch it and fondle one of my strongest spells like that! How could you?!”

Shesmu listened to Crescent’s dismayed words. In the end, he could only sigh.

“Your berserk spell is about to run out. Are you giving up on the match?”

Crescent gritted his teeth. In response to the challenge, he summoned six further dark magic circles, which generated this time a purple orb before him. It looked as though he might launch it in a last feeble attack on Shesmu, but instead he seized it, cramming it into his mouth. 

He bared his teeth and gnashed them even harder as the black aura enveloped him. Its pulsing became spastic and chaotic. It grew upwards, towering high above, becoming a dark pillar connecting the sky to the earth.

“When I ask questions!” A massive wave washed throughout the field menacingly. “You best answer!” With those words delivered, the world became monochromatic. Multiple white orbs appeared around Crescent one after the other, each imbued with as much energy the ones he’d spawned.

“You’ve greatly underestimated me. Perish in this domain you've created. All shall! The end of this farce has arrived!”

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

The orbs Crescent freshly summoned disappeared, to appear right before Shesmu as a challenge, and a finishing move. An immense explosion engulfed him, generating shockwaves which disrupted even the fabric of space and time. The rest of the Black Moon members braced themselves for the impact, understanding this would be an end to the fight yet they stood firm. 

Crescent then looked at them next, and summoned yet another orb, adequate enough to end them as well, to put an end to the battle. He reached back behind him and savagely cast it, to finish them off in a single stroke. The ensuing explosion engulfed all.

After having expended so much energy, Crescent was near to collapse. His breath came and went sharply and rapidly. His eyes glazed and dulled with exhaustion. He calmed his breathing with difficulty, looking at the massive dissipating cloud of dust that was all that remained of the field before him. Despite the apparent destruction of all, he knew he hadn’t ended the fight yet.

Shesmu walked unscathed into the clearing by Crescent from the chaotic dust filling the air, blocking all sight. His steps were measured and deliberate as he air-walked. His eyes darted to the direction of his teammates. A gust of wind dispersed all the dust to reveal them, as uninjured as he. They quickly gathered to Vez’s position before altogether teleported. After they vanished, a tall man wearing a robe walked to the fore. His sharp eyes met Shesmu’s.

“Cain,” Shesmu muttered. His eyes darted back to Crescent.

“It seems that you’re suffering under a severe misunderstanding, Crescent,” Shesmu announced raising his sword. “You seem to believe that because you’ve managed to achieve a Tier-VI mastery level of magic, we’re somehow equal. I’ll cure you of that delusion now.” He slashed the air before him, slowly. It seemed as though it was just a feint.

With that seemingly feeble half-hearted stroke, reality itself rended.

The monochromatic domain Crescent had created shattered into black shards. Color leached back into the world as those shards fell to earth, vanishing. Crescent watched with dismay as his domain ceased to be. The black aura which surrounded his body sickened and thinned, his eyes returned to their original blue coloration.

Crescent staggered, losing a meter of elevation, before he marshaled his strength, stopping mid-air. Doing so required great effort. His hand lifted to conjure a purple magic circle, but before it could fully take form, it shattered. Willpower meant nothing in the face of his exhaustion. He stared at his shaking hand and let out a self-deprecating laugh. He then looked at Shesmu, locking eyes with him. He closed his own, silently surrendering.

Knowing his opponent defeated, Shesmu flickered towards Crescent to finish him with a single thrust. He didn’t resist, his blade pierced Crescent's body, through his heart. Blood welled from the wound, spraying with steady pulses around the blade from front and rear. It showered down to the ground, nourishing the forest he’d damaged. Crescent coughed up blood, spattering Shesmu’s face with it. His body then slowly turned to naught but particles.

While Crescent’s body still clung to Shesmu’s, a dark frame appeared behind the latter. It was yet another Crescent. His body was filled to the brim with his dark energy, his pupils still blood-red. He opened a potion bottle to drink from it. He pointed his finger towards Shesmu’s back. An orb of energy no bigger than a pebble was conjured on the spot. Lightning wreathed around it. The amount of energy perceived within it eclipsed any single spell he’d used. He continued pouring yet more mana into the orb. Then—a blade pierced through his back.

Crescent’s sight faded again, unable to catch sight of his assailant. He no longer saw Shesmu before him. It had to have been him, yet again. He was outplayed. He crooked his neck towards one side where he knew he’d find Shesmu. He was right where he’d expected, a sword going through your back is probably a very good indicator that your attacker is there. Once again, his blade was stabbed through his heart.

“I must pay you a compliment, Crescent. That cracked magical circle trick was nice. You almost fooled me. I could believe you truly had run out of tricks.”

Crescent feigned shock at the grudging compliment before allowing himself to crack a smile. He had to ask something and hoped for an answer, this time around. “How did you notice?”

Shesmu looked at him with those same disinterested eyes before his face’s own composure broke as he smiled. “Consider these words as advice from your senior. The farther you thread into the sixth tier, the more attuned with the elements you become. Of course, spacetime is no exception to that rule.”

Receiving an answer was everything Crescent needed. A smile filled his face. He closed his eyes contented with how things had transpired. He became a thousand particles, which fluttered in the wind as they dissolved, raining down to the earth below as rainbow-hued light.