"Roiso, if you will be a good girl and not fight that person, I will comply with a single wish of yours. As long as it will be in my power to fulfill it."

"...?!"

Zoemi leaned towards the hooded girl and whispered into her ear without taking his eyes off the shocked martial artist...

...he was so focused on the man, that he paid no mind to the sudden jolt that shook the small body of the neon-pink girl.

"...my lord, my lady... it is especially strange to me that the child in your company is the one to recognize me... What is the actual reason for your visit?"

The man slid one of his legs slightly back, not to escape but so that he could take a battle stance.

Honestly – such a reaction caused Zoemi to smirk – a devilish smirk that slowly bloomed into a villainous grin.

"Dad, young lady, Roiso, little ones... please, wait a moment."

The black-haired boy giggled maliciously while dropping down the horse's side before Mizoe could stop him.

"What is the meaning of this?"

The martial artist asked, furrowing his brows and looking between the light-blue-haired man and the blue-haired girl.historical

"Sorry for that. I do not know what this child is planning, but be careful around him."

"It seems that his appetite for battle was stirred by the monster. You look plenty capable of handling him, kind sir. Think about it as a way to repay him for dealing with the beast that terrorized this lovely community."

Rokiana sighed and apologized while shaking her head and Mizoe raised his hand and nodded at the martial artist.

None of the two even attempted to do something about the black-haired boy who started doing some light stretches as if there wasn't anything strange about his words and actions.

"You wouldn't be a part of the expedition if you weren't plenty strong, mister. This is a perfect opportunity to actually learn about the martial artists and their strength levels..."

|As I never felt any difference no matter who I faced back in the past timeline.|

Zoemi said out loud the first part just to shut his mouth and finish it in his mind while observing the man's reaction.

"I see... Are you a shadow magician, young lord? I will give you a warning, martial arts aren't something your attribute can copy."

George's father nodded and motioned at the other villagers to make room for whatever was going to happen while assessing Zoemi with cold, calculative eyes.

"Law of Aries."

The man said and his eyes lit up just a little bit.

"Law of Aries. Law of Taurus. Law of Sagittarius. Law of Capricorn. Law of Cancer. Law of Leo. Law of Virgo."

"..."

Zoemi said lightheartedly as if teasing the older martial artist – and it did seem to have some effect, the man squinted his eyes and seemed about to scold the child for being too lighthearted.

*BOOOM*

"!!!"

*SHING*

But right as the man was opening his mouth again, the boy kicked off the ground, adding even more speed by finding the foothold in thin air, and clawed straight at the marital artist's throat.

"You are a bit slower than I expected... I thought that you may be having the law of Capricorn active in secret already, but I was clearly overreacting."

Zoemi landed softly on the ground, right by the well at the center of the village square, and clicked his tongue in disappointment while shaking off a drop of blood from his fingernails that have transformed into black claws.

"You...?!"

The wide-eyed man gasped, clenching one of his hands to his neck, where a thin pink line appeared after the boy's claw came into contact with his skin.

"Have you not been training while you were here? The abundance of mana makes training a bit harder, but it also allows one to train a lot longer... ah. Wait. I think I understand."

Zoemi tilted his head and pointed out, a little bit confused and very much disheartened but then he suddenly perked up and his evil grin became a lot beastly as his teeth had become sharp like fangs.

"Law of Taurus. Law of Capricorn. I figured out that the Blood Star sect and the Great Ram sect would catch wind of their prodigy sooner or later, but to think they would catch wind of me too and even send someone to get me... Or are you from some other sect?"

The light-brown-haired man activated two more powers and asked in an annoyed voice, observing the boy's reaction.

"Oh. A well-informed gentleman, I see. You surely know that the beloved child of Aries, Nathan Ramis, had already been disposed of... If you knew about him, why didn't you extend a helping hand?"

Zoemi's face darkened and his wolf-like grin became actually threatening, which should be impossible for a child his age and stature.

"He knew about me but didn't do anything despite knowing my circumstances. Why would I even lift my... finger...?"

The man shook his head and scoffed mockingly, but he hesitated by the end of the sentence, as a sudden wave of chill hit him.

The black-haired boy was glaring at him all right, but then, standing behind the boy, was a light-blue-haired man whose body lighted up with a strange form of enchantment as he grabbed the handle of his shortsword.

"Mizoe...?!"

The young lady of the Perserios family tensed up and approached the ice magician, grabbing onto the sleeve of his sword-wielding hand, but got no reaction out of him, as Mizoe was too focused on the freezing-cold hand of anger grasping his heart.

"Oh, dear. Now you've done it."

Zoemi glanced over his shoulder to catch a glimpse of his father and shook his head at the other marital artist.

"What did I do?"

The martial artist also eyed out the light-blue-haired man, but still ended up scoffing dismissively.

*SHING* *SPLAT*

"!?!?!"

"You looked away from an opponent of whom you had no information whatsoever. That's for a start."

Zoemi explained while pulling out his bloodied hand out of the man's guts after using the perfect window of opportunity and rushing him while he wasn't paying attention.

"...urkhh...!"

The martial artist hasped and swayed - two villagers rushed towards him to catch him before he falls down.

"It's only a clone made with the law of Gemini, but it still seems kind of weak."

"Huh?!"

The black-haired boy clapped his clean hands together while the two villagers grasped at nothing when the body made out of the star power dissolved back into spiritual energy.