Chapter 83: The Lunar Blaze
Meanwhile, in the World of a Thousand Moons.
The tension in the grand hall had become palpable, almost electric. The floating lanterns rose higher, casting a bright and dramatic light on the two opponents. Seth stood tall, his breathing still slightly uneven after the blow he had taken, while Seshomarû towered over him with overwhelming presence. His nine fennec tails swayed slowly behind him like living flames.
Seshomarû smiled with royal arrogance, crossing his muscular arms over his chest.
"You have no chance of defeating me, little human. And even less of defeating my mother, Goddess Vaeris. You are nothing but a vulgar insect that has fallen here. A temporary amusement."
Seth wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and replied with a provocative smile, his eyes shining with defiance:
"You shouldn't be so confident…"
Seshomarû suddenly struck a slightly theatrical pose, one hand on his hip, the other pointing at Seth with an exaggeratedly dramatic flair that contrasted with his crushing aura. His wives giggled around him.
"Hahahaha! You're really going to lose to a boy who's scared of girls! Look at you earlier… you were blushing like a tomato when they pressed themselves against you!"
Seth instantly turned scarlet, his cheeks burning. He pointed a trembling finger at him.
"That's not true! That's not the case at all! I was just… surprised!"
He then turned his gaze toward the half-naked women seated around Seshomarû and asked, still flushed:
"And anyway… what the hell are you doing with all these women?!"
Seshomarû burst into a powerful and sincere laugh.
"They are all my women. My wives. My chosen companions. They will be the privileged witnesses of your slaughter. They will see how I cut you apart slowly, piece by piece."
Seth thought quickly, his eyes narrowed. He was beginning to understand the cruel rules of Vaeris's game: defeat her sons one by one, cross their domains, and reach her. It wouldn't be easy far from it but he had no choice.
Seshomarû slowly drew his katana from its sheath with a smooth, elegant metallic sound. The blade was magnificent, slightly curved, with lunar patterns engraved along the edge.
Seth looked at the weapon in disbelief.
"A katana? What exactly do you plan to do with that?"
Suddenly, Seshomarû raised the blade above his head and murmured in a deep, resonant voice:
"Lunar Blaze."
The katana instantly ignited with a magnificent fire a hypnotic blend of deep red, blazing orange, and luminescent pink, like a flaming aurora borealis. The heat radiating from it was intense, making the air around the blade shimmer and sending colorful sparks across the entire hall.
"I fully intend to kill you, human. Slowly. Painfully. For my mother's pleasure."
At that exact moment, all the lights in the hall turned on simultaneously. The floating lanterns rose even higher, fully illuminating the space, which transformed into a true sacred arena circular and majestic. The red and blue pillars now shone with intense brilliance.
Throughout the domain, dragon-fennec hybrids appeared on balconies, windows, and terraces, watching the fight with excitement and greed. Their eyes gleamed under the light of the thousands of moons.
Yorozu, perched on a high balcony, commented with a carnivorous smile:
"He's going to get destroyed by Lord Seshomarû. He won't even last a second."
Yachimaru beside her nodded with confidence:
"It makes sense. Lord Seshomarû is the strongest and the eldest son of Goddess Vaeris. No one can match him in this world."
Cheers and cries of encouragement for Seshomarû rained down from everywhere in the domain:
"Lord Seshomarû!" "Kill him!" "Show him the power of the Lunar Blaze!"
Seth gripped the handle of his weapon tightly, a tense smile on his lips.
"If I lose in front of them… that would be humiliating…"
Seshomarû replied coldly, his flaming blade pointed at him:
"You won't lose… because you're going to die here."
A heavy, solemn silence fell over the arena. A single delicate pink cherry blossom petal drifted slowly down from the ceiling between the two fighters.
An absolute, heavy silence descended… and the moment the petal touched the ground
BOOM!
Seth and Seshomarû leapt forward at the same time with blinding speed, their silhouettes becoming almost blurred under the intense lights of the arena.
Seth had no weapon. He fought with his bare hands.
The first clash was brutal. Seshomarû swung a powerful descending flaming katana strike. Seth dodged with a fluid motion, leaning backward as the lunar fire passed just centimeters from his face, singeing a lock of his hair. Without losing a beat, he spun and launched a powerful circular kick that whistled through the air.
WHIIIIISH!
Seshomarû blocked the kick with the flat of his blade, but the force of the impact made him take half a step back. An excited smile appeared on his lips.
"Not bad…!"
Seth gave him no respite. He followed up with a wild, acrobatic choreography sliding into a low stance to avoid a horizontal flaming slash, then propelling himself forward with an explosive push from his legs. He struck with a rising knee followed immediately by a spinning elbow.
Seshomarû parried the knee with his free forearm, but the elbow grazed his shoulder, leaving a light burn.
CLANG!
The katana came down again. Seth rolled to the side, rose with an aerial twist, and unleashed a rapid barrage of powerful kicks a true storm of circular and direct strikes that forced Seshomarû to retreat while parrying with his flaming blade.
The first twenty exchanges were absolutely spectacular.
Seth fought like a dancer of death. He performed sliding ground moves, acrobatic dodges, one-handed pivots, and spinning jumps. Every time Seshomarû's flaming katana traced an arc of pink-orange lunar fire, Seth found an opening slipping underneath, sliding between his opponent's legs, rolling across his back, or leaping over the blade with forward somersaults before using the pillars for support.
WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!
His kicks and punches resonated against Seshomarû's guards. Each impact sent visible shockwaves through the air. The heat from the Lunar Blaze made the atmosphere suffocating, but Seth kept moving nonstop, turning the arena into a stage of fluid and explosive combat. Seshomarû laughed while attacking, clearly impressed and entertained.
"You fight well for an unarmed human! But how long can you keep dancing like this… hmm, tell me, human?!"
He suddenly accelerated. His katana became a storm of fire. He unleashed a series of wide, powerful slashes, lightning-fast pink thrusts, and circular movements that created tornadoes of lunar flames.
Seth was struggling more and more. He continued dodging with his insane choreography slides, rolls, somersaults, impossible direction changes but Seshomarû's speed and power increased with every second.
Then came the decisive blow of this first phase.
Seshomarû feinted a low thrust before spinning and delivering a devastating horizontal strike charged with Lunar Blaze.
CRAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!
The flat of the blade struck Seth square in the chest. The combined force and explosive heat were monstrous.
Seth was hurled like a cannonball across the hall. He smashed through a partition in a spectacular explosion of lacquered wood, rice paper, and gold, before crashing heavily into an adjacent room.
He rolled several meters, coughing up blood, his chest burned and smoking. The pain was intense.
"…Shit… This guy hits like a real dragon…"
Despite the pain, Seth got up quickly. His eyes fell on dozens of ancient sabers lined up on the walls like sacred trophies. He grabbed one, spun it several times in his hand to test its weight, balance, and sturdiness, then a wild, determined smile appeared on his bloodied lips.
"It's sturdier than a regular sword… This should help a bit."
Seth ran back into the main arena, the ancient saber firmly gripped in his right hand. The blade was heavier and more solid than his usual sword, with perfect balance that gave him renewed confidence despite the pain radiating through his chest.
Seshomarû waited for him at the center of the arena, his katana still wrapped in that magnificent pink-orange Lunar Blaze that rippled like a living aurora. A carnivorous smile stretched his lips.
"You finally have a weapon? Good. I was starting to get bored."
The fight resumed immediately, even more violent and chaotic.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Seth parried the first blows with more resistance. The ancient saber held up against the flaming blade, but with every impact, intense waves of heat spread through his arms, burning his skin and making his clothes smoke. He dodged by sliding across the floor, pivoted fluidly, and counterattacked with fast, powerful slashes.
Seshomarû danced around him with ease.
"You're not leaving here alive…!"
He suddenly raised his katana high above his head, the lunar flames intensifying into a pink fire spiral.
"Ascending Phoenix Dance!"
The katana came down in a descending circular motion. A massive phoenix-shaped wave of flames erupted from the blade, rushing toward Seth with an almost living shrill cry. The attack was both beautiful and terrifying, illuminating the entire arena with blinding pink-orange light.
Seth's eyes widened. He dove into a desperate roll, but the tip of the wave caught his shoulder. The burn was excruciating. He screamed in pain while getting back up, his flesh smoking.
"Shit… That really burns!"
Seshomarû gave him no rest. He immediately followed up with a new technique, spinning like a tornado.
"Scarlet Lunar Whirlwind! Ascending Phoenix Dance!"
His body became a true tornado of fire. Nine tails of lunar flames swirled around him as he charged toward Seth with ultra-fast horizontal slashes. Each rotation created a new wave of fire that sliced through the air and the ground.
Seth blocked several blows, but the speed was monstrous. He was pushed back, sliding across several meters, his arms trembling under the pressure. His palms were beginning to blister from the heat.
Despite the suffering, he counterattacked with rage. He leaped forward, executing a series of rapid, precise strikes high slashes, low thrusts, powerful reverses. For the first time, he managed to land a hit on Seshomarû's flank, leaving a shallow cut.
Seshomarû took a step back, surprised, then burst out laughing.
"You're more resilient than I thought, human!"
He raised his blade, the flames growing even more intense, almost white at the center.
"Burning Moon Flower!"
The katana traced a complex pattern in the air, forming eight petals of luminescent pink fire. Each petal transformed into a flaming spear that shot toward Seth at incredible speed. Seth dodged the first, parried the second with his saber, rolled under the third, but the last four partially hit him. He was thrown backward, his chest and arms covered in burns, blood flowing from several wounds.
He fell to his knees for a moment, breathing heavily, sweat and blood mixing on his face.
"This guy… it wouldn't surprise me if he's dangerously close to Vulcan's level…" he growled between difficult breaths, his voice hoarse.
"Fuck, his fire hurts so much… I feel like his flames are burning my soul too… If I take another hit like that, he's going to kill me."
Yet his eyes still burned with fierce, wild determination. He rose slowly, gripping his saber tighter, ready to continue despite the pain.
The duel had reached new heights of intensity.
The spectators roared with excitement, their cheers echoing like thunder throughout the domain:
"Lord Seshomarû!" "Burn him!" "Show him the true power of your Lunar Blaze!"
The thousands of moons in the sky seemed to shine even brighter, as if they too were watching this epic spectacle with fascination. The Moon Festival was in full swing, and the battle between the Goddess's eldest son and the human from another world was becoming legendary.
Seshomarû pointed his flaming blade at Seth, his eyes gleaming with murderous excitement.
"Come on, human… Show me how far you can go before you burn out completely."
Seth spat blood to the side and raised his saber, a fierce smile on his lips despite the pain.
The battle continued, more brutal and more magnificent than ever.
To be continued….