The kingdom of Luminus is a land of vibrant magic and stunning landscapes. Snow-capped mountains ringed lush valleys, where sparkling rivers meandered through tranquil villages. At the heart of this magical kingdom, the capital city of Lumia stood like a shining jewel, with its tall towers and bustling markets. It was a place where ancient traditions met the wonders of magic.
Yura, an energetic and determined boy, despite being judged by everyone for possessing the fearsome magic of darkness, normally associated with demons, along with his twin sister Yuzuriha, who, despite having no skill with magic in a world where it is essential for everyone, possessed a limitless genius and brilliance, assured by a high physical capacity in hand-to-hand combat and with the aid of instruments and weapons. Beside them is Taren Sage, a warrior who despite his youth is already considered a hero, admired by everyone in the kingdom and recognized by those outside. After a sudden attack by demons in Aran, Taren saved his brothers from death and then dedicated himself to training them.
Far from the capital...
On the outskirts of the city of Aran, in an open field, a young group of future warriors was being trained.
The sound of clashing swords echoed through the training ground. Yura spun quickly, dodging Taric's attack with surprising skill for her age. "Good job, Yura," Taren said, a note of pride in his voice. "But remember, always keep your feet moving."
As Yura struggled to hit Taren in combat, Yuzuriha watched closely, mentally noting each move. "Yura!!," Yuzuriha shouted, running towards Taren with a combat spear, "Let's attack together now!" Okay, guys? ", says Yuzuriha confidently.
At that moment, Asuna, Dan and Lisa, Yura and Yuzuriha friends's and also students of Taren come out of the trees in a combined attack, "This time we're going to hit him, Master Taren!!", says Asuna jokingly, "Let's all come together then", says Taren with a smile on his face, "I don't feel like we can beat him yet", comments Dan, even though he is one of the most skilled among them, "It makes sense, especially since he is one of the greatest warriors in our kingdom, right?", Lisa answers embarrassed.
The battle then intensifies, everyone's quick movements are impressive, however, they aren't enough to match Taren who easily dodges, defends and counters all the furious blows of his students.
They are good, however, there is still something missing, perhaps if I push them to the limit, they will show me their true natures, thinks Taren during the sequence of blows.
At that moment, in a brief moment of Taren's distraction, Yuzuriha in a quick movement looks away from her brother, at the same time using her spear, she sticks it in the ground and throws it towards Taren.
"Now!!", she shouts with determination, Taren in turn, in an agile reflex jumps back to get away, however, what he didn't imagine was that Dan was immediately on his back.
"I got you!", says Dan confident of his attack.
"Kinchi style, dragon kick!", Dan spins at speed striking Taren's back with his right foot, throwing Taren forward.
He was fast, how good Dan, he's evolving as I expected from someone with his talent, thinks Taren while smiling.
As I imagined, it won't be easy at all to take him down, thought Yuzuriha planning her next steps.
"Okay guys, let's follow the plan okay?".
"Okay, leave it to me!" says Asuna while facing her friends.
A new attack begins, Yuzuriha and Dan advance on Taren with a sequence of kicks and punches in mid-air, their speed is so great that the others can barely keep up.
They are very fast, Lisa thought as she prepared an attack.
"Here I go guys, plant creation magic Restrictive Roots!!."
A series of roots sprout from the ground with the aim of immobilizing Taren, but he cuts them quickly. With no time to react, he advances towards Asuna who was standing still, preparing an attack.
"Aaaa, no," she screams as he approaches.
"I got you," Taren says with a confident smile
"Not in my dreams!!", shouts Yura, jumping into the air with his katana imbued with darkness, even ancient, still threatening.
"Black Slash: Dark Lightning!!", says Yura, excited about the fight.
Taren looks at his student in surprise, defending himself with his sword still in its sheath, he thinks:
It wasn't as simple as I thought, hahaha, now I'm really getting excited, come on Yura, you of all of us here have the most reason not to give up, fight with all your strength!! .
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The clash between the swords pushes them both away from each other, but determined not to let Taren recover, Renji enters the battle, throwing Yuzuriha's spear at his master, who in turn not only defends but also breaks the weapon into pieces.
Taren advances towards Renji to strike him with a punch from above, but ends up being hindered by Yuzuriha and Dan who put their arms in front of Renji's face, avoiding the attack. The four then engage in another series of blows, but the difference is still very clear, without any major problems. Taren dodges with ease and agility and maintains his constant speed, until...
Taren lands a quick and accurate punch on Renji's stomach, then a kick to his ribs, throwing him away on top of Lisa.
"You need a little more than that if you want to be gentlemen of Luminus."
Then he grabs Dan by the shirt, dodging a kick from Yuzuriha and throwing Dan away.
The fight continues with Taren and Yuzuriha exchanging blows, until suddenly an iron pillar comes out of the ground in the middle of the two, followed by several others.
"What is this?!", thinks Taren.
"This is what you always demand of us in training, master, teamwork!" - says Yuzuriha.
At that moment, Yuzuriha returns to attack while Renji's magic pillars appear non-stop, dodging and attacking as quickly as possible. The pillars become narrower, but Yuzuriha still uses them in her strategy. When Taren tries to hit her, a new pillar appears.
Incredible, this synchronicity is unexpected, as if defending myself from the blows wasn't enough, I still need to worry about this magic - he thinks.
I imagine that she feels the vibrations of the ground, and then dodges with such impressive ease, despite her lack of magic, she has evolved to a level that is on par with the others, or rather, I would say that in physical combat she is the most proficient.
Then Taren moves away from Yuzuriha in a quick movement and advances towards Asuna, landing a left hook on her, however, Taren realizes that it was a water clone that suddenly turns into ice, trapping Taren's left arm and then his right arm when it tries to break free.
Asuna and Taren emerged from a curtain of water after the clone’s explosion, reflecting off the falling drops around them. As she felt the refreshing breeze from the stream, Asuna lost herself in thought, remembering a significant moment in her training with Taren.
Years ago, on a training ground surrounded by tall trees and the sounds of nature, Taren and Asuna were practicing combat techniques.
“Be unpredictable in combat,” Taren said, watching Asuna as she attempted to land a direct hit during the training. “Even if you can’t do anything, make your opponent think you can.”
Asuna, panting, paused for a moment and looked at her master. “How do you surprise someone like you?” she asked, frustration evident in her voice.
Taren smiled, placing a gentle hand on Asuna’s head. “In time, you’ll learn,” he said, his voice firm and encouraging.
Coming back to the present, Asuna smiled as she remembered Taren’s words. The lesson about unpredictability had been deeply ingrained in her mind over the years. She looked at Taren, who was standing beside her, and realized that this moment had finally come.
Taren smiled and thought...
Hmph, you remembered, didn't you? Even in that early training, I knew you had that potential, and now you've shown me that I was right to believe in you, in all of you.
Meanwhile, hidden in the trees was Yura...
Yura leaned against the tree, allowing his memories to transport him to a simpler time. Years ago, on a similar day, he and his sister Yuzuriha were still learning the basics of combat from Taren.
“Hold the sword tighter, Yura,” Taren said, walking around the young man. “You need to control the blade, not just hold it.”
“I’m trying,” Yura replied, his fingers aching from the effort. “But it’s so hard…”
Yuzuriha, standing nearby, laughed. “You seem to be fighting the sword more than you are with it!”
Yura frowned, determined to improve. “I can do it. I just need more practice.”
Taren placed a hand on Yura’s shoulder, his gaze serious but encouraging. “You have potential, Yura. Don’t give up. The path of the warrior is long and arduous, but rewarding.”
Coming back to the present, Yura smiled to himself. Those days of hard training under Taren’s watchful eye had been instrumental in shaping his skill and determination. He looked around, seeing his friends rising from the ground after their last exchange of intense blows.
“We’re ready,” Yura murmured confidently. “Thanks to him, we’re ready for any challenge.”
The training ground was thick with tension, the air charged with the electricity of the impending battle. Yura and his friends were lined up against Taren, ready to give it their all.
“You’ve made incredible progress,” Taren said with a slight smile. “But to prove you’re ready for the journey to the capital, you’ll need to defeat me.”
Yura glanced at his friends, then back at Taren. “We’re ready! Let’s show them what we’ve learned.”
Yura took a stance, concentrating. Taren, watching every move, took a defensive stance. Yura then disappeared into the trees surrounding the training ground, using the shadows to hide.
"Yura, don't think I can be easily surprised," Taren said, his eyes scanning the area carefully.
Suddenly, Yura emerged from the darkness, his eyes shining with determination. "Dark Slash!" he shouted, launching a wave of dark energy toward Taren. The blade of darkness sliced through the trees, leaving a black trail.
"The same strike doesn't work twice on me," Taren said confidently.
Taren dodged deftly, but before he could reposition himself, Yura was upon him, moving with impressive speed.
"Dark Slash: Waning Moon!" Yura shouted, executing an arcing attack with his sword shrouded in dark energy.
Taren, caught off guard by Yura's speed, raised his sword to block the attack, but the force of "Waning Moon" knocked him back a step.
"Impressive, Yura," Taren said, regaining his balance. "You've really learned to be unpredictable."
Yura smiled, breathing heavily. “All thanks to what you taught us, master.”
Taren laughed and nodded. “Very well. If you keep this up, you’ll be ready for any challenge you face in the capital.”
The other students, inspired by Yura’s performance, joined the battle with renewed determination. Working as a team, they were able to push Taren in ways he hadn’t expected.
The training ground was lit by moonlight, but the tension of the battle made the air vibrate. Yura stepped forward, a confident smile on her face.
“You can relax, everyone. I’ll hold him off while you recover,” Yura said, casting a determined look at her friends. “It’ll be fun!”
Taren laughed, a hint of teasing in her voice. “I’m glad you’re excited, Yura. But remember, I’m nowhere near ready to use my power seriously.”
Yura tightened her grip on her sword, her eyes shining with determination. “If I push you to your limits, will I pass?”
Taren raised his eyebrow, a defiant smile on his lips. “Try it, Yura.”
With that, Yura charged forward, her sword slicing through the air with astonishing speed. Taren met her attack with ease, the two engaging in a rapid exchange of blows.
“New Moon!” Yura shouted, her sword shrouded in darkness slashing in a devastating arc. Taren deftly dodged, his expression serious. “Full Moon!” Yura raised her sword, creating a shield of darkness around her, blocking Taren’s follow-up attacks. The impact of the blows reverberated across the training ground, but Yura stood her ground.
“Black Lightning!” With a shout, Yura increased her speed, becoming almost a blur as she moved around Taren, searching for an opening.
—The Strongest Strike Undeterred
Taren raised his sword for the first time, creating a shield of brilliant light. “A Thousand Holy Slashes!” His blade multiplied into countless slashes of light, directed in all directions.
[07/08, 06:29] Gustavo: Yura dodged and blocked the attacks with difficulty, but his resolve did not waver. "Shattered Moon!" he shouted, his sword unleashing a wave of energy that created a massive domed sphere around them. Within the sphere, countless slashes of darkness shot out at high speed.
Taren defended himself with his shield of light, but the intensity of Yura's attack made him retreat. The sphere of darkness exploded in a spectacle of shadow and light, creating a vortex of energy in the training ground.
When the dust settled, Taren was still standing, breathing heavily, but with an approving smile on his face. Yura, exhausted, still held his sword raised, ready to continue.
"You surprised me, Yura," Taren said, his voice firm. "You passed. And not only passed, you proved that you are ready for any challenge."
Yura smiled, his strength almost drained. "Thanks!... I mean thank you, master."
At the end, Taren raised his hand, signaling the end of the battle. "You have passed. I am proud of you." The next morning, as they walked down the road, Taren led the group. "Remember," he said, looking at his young warriors, "the glimmer of hope must never fade, no matter how dark the night, be that glimmer," he said with a gentle smile.
With those words, they advanced, ready to face the challenges that awaited them in the royal capital.