Chapter 2 | Lesson
Shinjuku | Subway
The platform at Shinjuku Station trembles as a silver subway train dives into the tunnel. When the rumble barely faded the rosebud on Mai's ear tips and every trace of Lucil's magic vanished … only for him to appear right next to her.
Mai blinks. "Where did he go? He's taking forever…"
A hand taps her lightly on the shoulder.
"Hey - I'm right here." Lucil's voice slips past her ear.
She flinches. "W-Woa… H-how did you… ?"
Lucil gives a crooked laugh then turns serious and snaps his fingers. "Magic."
Mai giggles and none of the waiting commuters surrounding them take any notice.
"Up for a little detour?" he asks.
"Hmm … why?"
"I want to try out a few new things. And you're the perfect partner."
A spark lights in Mai's eyes. She slides her hand into his and together they leave the station. The spring air from Shinjuku is thick with neon glare and exhaust gases; streams of people push through the streets. In the middle of muted business suits Lucil's crimson jacket glares like a shot flare.
Mai eyes the rose vines on his back. "Lucil, why roses of all things?"
"A friend thought they were pretty," he answers simply.
Mai nods thoughtfully.
They turn into a narrow side alley. Between dumpsters and brick walls lie two rusty crowbars. Lucil picks them up and tosses one to Mai; she snatches the iron bar cleanly out of the air.
"She loved being surrounded by roses." he explains while inspecting the second bar in his hand. "At some point we build magic upon it."
"But… why roses?"
Lucil's smiles vaguely. "Remembering that is hard for me."
Mai laughs brightly - the echo dances across the wet cobblestones while the streets behind them pulse like a heart.
She nudges her brother with her elbow. "Eighteen and already Alzheimer's...?"
Lucil just smiles but his gaze shifts inspecting the narrow alley.
"What do you see here?"
Mai blinks into the shimmering darkness. "An... alley?" The word sounds uncertain as if she's recalling an answer that isn't quite right.
Lucil's voice grows quieter. "And what did I teach you?"
Mai nods in understanding, placing a flat hand on her chest. "Focus the mana within the body."
She closes her eyes. Beneath her white dress a light begins to flare up at her chest; ruby-red threads run through her veins gradually discolor to sapphire blue and finally pooling in her irises. Her pupils begin to glow like a reflection of Lucil's briefly flared ruby-red eyes.
In Mai's inner gaze a magic circle takes shape with a stylized rose. A scarlet radiance cuts through the alley's shadows - and when she opens her eyes again they no longer stand in the back alley but in a stone arena..
Thorny vines rise up the walls and a rushing waterfall pours into a basin, foaming up and creating a fine mist around the basin.
"A Domain?", Mai asks.
"Yes", Lucil confirms.
She pouts. "How many of these do you still have in Tokyo?"
"Several."
"Hrr… You're a mystery Lucil."
He walks to the center of the arena, his rose embroidered cloak drifting behind him. Mai touches her throat and draws out a blue chain. The pendant shows a delicate rose out of lapis-lazuli.
"What are you going to teach me today?"
Lucil smiles gently. "Try to wound me."
Mai backs away. "No - why?"
"You have a pure heart. But if you want to be a mage, you can't hesitate in battle. Showing your feelings are fine, little one, yet while casting only the target matters. Drop the restraint the moment you use magic."
After a moment Mai squares her shoulders and raises the crowbar. Crimson filaments flowing under her skin shifting to a cobalt blue.
"Rose Petals - Accelerated!", she shouts.
Thousands of blue-shimmering rose petals materialize out of thin air swirling around Mai like a rising storm.
The waterfall pounds like a pulse while Lucil and Mai face each other at the center of the arena. Thorn vines twitch on the walls as if they sense every motion.
Lucil grins draws breaths in and the air turns blood-red.
"Rose Petals Stringendo."
Hundreds of rose petals rise upward, dancing like sparks in a thermal. Carmine red light rains from every side.
"Rose Accel - Step Five!" Lucil's voice slices through the roar of the fall. His silhouette blurs as though he dives into the petals himself.
Mai mirrors him immediately: "Rose Accel - Step Five!"
An azure bolt zips through her veins; the crowbar in her grasp glows like a sapphire. Then she kicks off - a streaming blue banner of petals travels behind while she bolts towards Lucil with superhuman speed.
Lucil doesn't move a millimeter: Only at the final moment he lifts a bare forearm. Metal meets Metal - CLAANG!
The red and blue petals detonate into a cyclone as the impact of their collision vibrates the floor. Stone splinters, fine cracks form across the arena slabs.
Mai grits her teeth. "Argh!"
Lucil's counterattack comes in like a thunderstorm. He draws back - his arm lengthening and gaining weight, as though spreading wings made of sheer force.
Mai whispers a single word. "Rose Switch."
A solitary blue petal flashes - and suddenly she stands at the other end of the arena. The blow slams into the stone, carving a fist's depth crater.
"Wow … insane." Mai sees the debris of a boiler; her heart hammers. "What a power…"
Lucil's gaze stays calm. "I'm holding back. If you want to be taken seriously, give me everything Mai. Otherwise you're only a disappointment."
She smiles - not in defiance but with full blaze. "Then let me surprise you."
Mai bows her head then she inhales slowly. The crimson colour of her veins flare up to a radiant blue again. From her clavicles thorns begin to spiral to her shoulder blades. Flower chalices bloom along the thorns bursting open -
-and unfolding into two sweeping rose wings made of luminous blue leaves. The crowbar in her fists becomes a beam of light and every swing vibrates in the air as if it were slicing fine glas.
Lucil nods in approval. "I never taught you that."
"I tried compressing my mana in one spot - so close combat fighting would matter again." The wings twitching, throwing around cobalt blue dusk.
"Just like that." Lucil nods. "Back then Mages used magic and body one-to-one—until firearms got cheap. Melee spells almost vanished… but not completely. Know why?"
Mai giggles while her wings flap once thus lifting her by hand's length off the ground. "Because someone was stubborn enough to keep passing it on."
Lucil starts brandishing his crowbar. "Then show me what you've reinvented little warrior."
Her blue and red colours begin to circle into one another and as they collide it makes the whole arena tremble.
The thorn-covered walls pulse like veins. The waterfall roars as Mai spreads her wings of blue-rose light. Her gaze burns.
"Back then, mages didn't need firearms," she says, thrusting the crowbar forward. "With you at my side, Lucil, I'm stronger than any bullet. Brace yourself—this time, I'm hitting for real!"
She inhales the mana like fire-laced air.
"Rose Angel—Final Acceleration!"
A storm of azure petals spirals from her wings, propelling her forward. The ground cracks beneath her feet as she leaps — one thunderbolt arc directly aimed at Lucil.
Lucil closes his eyes. His mana surges. The crowbar in his hand blazes a deep red, his irises glowing like burning coals.
"Rose Break—"
Mai crashes into him like a meteorite. Stone slabs shatter. The thorny vines around the arena snap. In seconds, red roses bloom around Lucil — a living shield absorbing the blow entirely. The force sends Mai stumbling back; for the first time, surprise flickers in her eyes.
Lucil vanishes. Only a whisper remains: "Switch."
Suddenly he's behind her. Blue rose petals swirl at his feet.
Mai reacts instantly by snapping her fingers. The roses around her glow ominously.
"Switch!"
They swap places — but she feels her strength fading.
"Grr... fine control's not my thing." she growls.
A blinding flash detonates. A shockwave tears through the arena. Thorn walls buckle into each other. Foam from the waterfall sweeps through the air like mist. In the roaring white, Mai sees—nothing.
"Lu–Lucil!" Her voice trembles.
Metal touches her throat: Lucil's crowbar. He stands behind her, unscathed but fully coated in a thick layer of dust.
"That was quite the explosion," he says, his tone as soft and sharp as steel. "You were ready to kill me. Your brother is proud of you right now."
"I… I just wanted to—"
Lucil smiles confidently.
"Good. But there's one lesson you forgot."
Mai squares her shoulders.
"Which one?"
"How long have I been standing here?" he asks almost rhetorically.
Mai's eyes widened as she caught her breath.
"What? I thought—"
Lucil tilts his head slightly, raising his hand just enough to seem like he's holding something invisible in it.
"You know how to break… this world—my world, sister."
She inhales deeply. Her blue wings dissolve into sparks. Her eyes shimmer—and the illusion melts away. Where an untouched arena had stood now only fragments remain. Not a single red rose petal in sight.
"Incredible…" She replays the memory: after Lucil's counter within the blast he cast Switch and wrapped the world around them in an illusion.
"Good girl," Lucil says.
A sudden smell wrinkles Mai's nose.
"Now go take a shower already."
Lucil laughs. "You're right."
Mai tosses the crowbar aside and loops her arms around him. Amid the ruined rose realm, brother and sister embrace — a brief peace in a war of magic and memories.
Mai jabs his shoulder with a fist, nose scrunched heavily.
"Stinker… were you actually serious just now?"
Lucil brushes dust from his coat. "When I fight for real, Mai, I play dirty. I kill. But this was sparring, so I held back. And you were good—actually very good."
"What should I practice next?"
"Mana control. And more agility," he says. "After each Switch, you're paralyzed for nearly a minute. You can't use teleportation constantly. Only jump when it's absolutely necessary."
Mai taps her chin. "Hmm… but a minute is long."
"With a clean Switch, some evasive footwork, and better mana control, you'll manage."
She sighs. "Last time I tried ranged combat—that was a disaster."
Lucil raises an eyebrow. "That's actually your strength: versatility."
Mai thinks for a moment. "Father says a mage should master one thing—but you show me everything."
Lucil snaps his fingers. The shattered arena dissolves into light. They stand once again in a narrow alley. Together, they toss their rusty crowbars into a dumpster.
"What have I taught you?" Lucil asks.
Mai pouts, but recites: "Relevance—focus on the key twenty percent that determines eighty percent of the outcome."
"Exactly. Master everything. Combine only what truly matters."
Mai throws her fist in the air. "That's Rose Magic!"
"Good." Lucil smiles.
Together they stroll through Shinjuku. Neon signs shimmer in the puddles on the asphalt.
Lucil pauses in front of a clothing store. In the display window hangs a deep-red jacket, adorned with a single blue rose.
"Wait here," he says, disappearing inside.
Mai leans against a brick wall, her eyes drifting up to the bright evening sky above the high-rises and skyscrapers.
"One day I'll be as strong as you, Lucil," she whispers. "I love this world of mages."
A shadow passes over her smile.
"This war is so pointless… Silver is cool. Ruin too. I know you've got a plan, brother. You were always a genius. The magic you show me isn't in any book on Earth."
Still a laugh escapes her lips as neon light reflects in her ruby-red eyes.
Mai rests against the shop window still transfixed by the red jacket.
"The Rose Magician…" she breathes out as if searching for a spell inside the word.
At that moment Lucil reappears beside her with a jacket in hand. He slips an arm around her shoulders and gently drapes it over her. Deep carmine with a single blue rose over the heart.
"Oh, thank you!" Mai's eyes shine, then blink sleepily. "Did you buy perfume?"
Lucil whistles innocently looking away. "You can lean on me."
"Mhm… dear brother."
The scent is rosy with a hint of opium poppy and it acts faster than she can question its origin. Lucil gently leads her through Shinjuku's night bustle back to the estate. The main gate stands open; Ryujin is still out. Quietly Lucil slides open the panel to Mai's room and lays her on the bed. Roses everywhere — on curtains, cushions, even the pink bedsheet is woven with thorny vines.
"Little one," he whispers, brushing her hair. "This flower has truly captured you."
As her breathing deepens he leaves and steps into the dojo. Tatami mats creak as he sits cross-legged. A single paper lantern casts warm gold across the floor.
He sinks into meditation. Mana pulses; ruby-red veins ripple beneath his skin, sliding up his neck, over his shoulders and arms. His irises ignite into molten red.
– And suddenly he stands atop a wind-blown mountain ridge. A tattooed rose mandala coils across his back. Beside him stands a woman with hollow eyes and a gentle smile.
"Lucil, will you kill them all?" Her voice sounds like cracked bells.
He nods as if the verdict has already been passed. "Silver will kill them otherwise."
"Lucil, please—" Her whisper breaks as she presses a hand to her heart. Roses burst from the stone winding around her legs.
"I'm sorry I can't see you anym—"
Before the word fades Lucil leans forward and kisses her. Cold lips, the bittersweet taste of tears.
"I will always love you." he whispers. "That's why I wear the roses—forever."
He jolts awake. Thorn vines sprout from the tatami. Blood-red buds bloom across the walls up to the rafters.
"Guess I drifted off." he mutters.
Rei stands before him, lantern in hand, her face caught between wonder and a quiet fear, her eyes fixed on the sea of roses his meditation has left behind.
"Wow… you looked so peaceful, my son."
Lucil straightens. "Hey, Mom."
She sits across from him watching the thorns recede.
"Why won't you accept your clan's teachings?"
Lucil leans back lazily. "My own magic is enough."
"You were just out with the White Dragons' son, right?"
"Yeah," Lucil shrugs.
Rei smiles faintly. "What if we all just ran away—together?"
He looks her over—and notices the blue bruises on her throat. His eyes narrow.
"What did Ryujin do to you?"
Without hesitation he grabs a kendo stick from the rack. Rei tries to follow but he's already burst through the sliding door.
Ryujin stands in the gravel garden fixated on the evening sky.
Lucil's patience snaps. "Rose Accel — Blood Break!"
Energy surges through his veins. He lunges.
Ryujin draws a steel fighting staff from his belt and raises a hand. "Lucil, calm yourself."
"What did you do to Mother?"
Lucil's voice trembles with fury.
Rei rushes out desperately gripping the doorframe.
"She refuses to obey." Ryujin says coldly. "The war, Lucil. The White Dragons…"
His voice fractures caught between old pain and disappointment. "They've slaughtered our family again and again, desecrated their bodies, forged weapons from their bones. Do you think I'll let that happen again?"
He speaks the words of a spell: "Tek to ma, se ta vi!"
Reddish-white smoke bursts from the ground, swallowing the garden in its entirety, the wall, the sky—all becomes a smoldering domain.
Lucil gasps. Raw magic fractures press against his skin like icy shards. Still he lifts the wooden sword. His veins blaze blood-red.
"You're going to kill everyone! You don't see where this ends. No matter how many times it happens—she's still our mother."
Rei offers him a desperate smile, one hand covering her bruises.
The smoke tightens. Lucil closes his eyes. His voice drops to a whisper:
"Endless Rose — Red World"
Rose vines tear through the gravel laden ground and into the air enclosing the smoke barrier like living chains.
The deep-red blossoms breathe in the haze like poison—and bloom even darker. The domain groans, fractures, breaks apart. Petals rise up in swirling currents.
Ryujin stares into the sea of roses. For a moment doubt flickers in his dark-blue eyes. Lucil stands at the vortex's heart, kendo stick lowered, shoulders square—every muscle poised for the next word, the next blow.
The domain unravels. Ryujin makes one last attempt: A jolt rends the air, fractured space-time tears toward Lucil like claws meant to flail him.
Lucil takes a single step forward.
"Blood Unleash."
Every rose petal detonates at once. The shockwave condenses into a sphere—then hurls forward like rolling thunder.
Ryujin understands in a heartbeat: any movement means death. The hatred in Lucil's eyes freezes him.
Then a massive ruby-red radiance engulfs the entire estate. Behind Lucil rises a dragon made of rose petals. Its wings stretch into the night and its jaw sparks with blood-red fire.
Ryujin gasps. "Th–that can't be real. What are you?"
Lucil's voice is iron. "Touch Rei or Mai again and I will prepare for you the slowest, most agonizing death this world can bear."
Ryujin stares at the dragon. "You could end the war by yourself!"
Lucil raises the wooden sword like it bears divine judgment and roars: "Got it?"
The spell breaks. Ryujin snaps awake with sweat on his brows, knees collapsing—not in surrender but because his body won't obey any of his commands. Behind his lowered temple hatred smolders.
Rei rushes to him. "Lucil, what… what was that?"
Lucil's red veins fade. "Ah… sorry, Mom. Hot-blooded, you know. Lost it for a second." He shoots Ryujin a deathly glare. "I serve no pitiful weakling."
For a moment Ryujin thinks it was all a fever dream illusion. Lucil turns and vanishes among the cherry trees.
Rei kneels beside her husband. "Stop it, Ryujin. Talk to him. Without Lucil, we lose everything. But our children want to live—not wage war."
Ryujin lifts his head. The garden is now all quiet. No roses. No smoke. No cracks. Not a single soul aside from Lucil, Rei and Ryujin seems to have noticed.
He laughs soundlessly like a man doubting his own sanity.
Then Rei understands. "Wait… none of this happened."
She runs into the dojo.
Lucil sits with legs crossed, all relaxed as if he never moved a single centimeter. A single solitary rose petal floats over his open palm.
Goosebumps crawl down Rei's spine. Her son quietly lifts his head—and smiles.
Rei wipes sweat from her brow. "That illusion… it felt completely real."
Lucil tilts his head. "How did you know?"
"The explosion should've startled the whole clan," she whispers. "But no one moved. From the start, it was just us."
Lucil laughs softly — a sound like clinking glass rings everywhere. He snaps his fingers.
Rose petals flicker bursting into sparks — and the entire world flips upright. Sounds echo: wooden strikes, weapon clashes, muffled voices. Ten Red Dragon students freeze mid-motion and stare at Lucil and Rei.
Ryujin rushes from the main hall locking eyes with Lucil. The tremor in his hands betrays his rejuvenated hatred. More clan members flood past, glancing only briefly at the pair. Rei bears a razor-thin smile.
"Illusionist…" she murmurs.
An old man in a scarlet robe steps up beside Ryujin. A draconic magic circle burns in his eyes.
"Elder," Ryujin grinds out, "is there any illusion that can overwrite an entire domain?"
The elder stays silent until the quietness begins to burn around him. "No… at least not anymore." His voice falls quiet. "In forbidden apocrypha there are whispers — but that would be hocus-pocus. Such magic could tear the world apart."
Ryujin scans the untouched garden. Laughs — soundless, half sunken in madness.
Lucil slips into Mai's room. She blinks sleepily then hisses loudly "Stalker!"
But her mana flares for a heartbeat. Her eyes confirm:
No illusion between her and Lucil.
She exhales.
"Good girl," Lucil says.
"Only praise me if I manage to fool you." She grins.
Lucil chuckles, slides the door shut and walks the dark hallway to his bare room: cracked wall, scattered clothes, a futon hastily centered on the floor. He lies down, his eyes drifting to the full moon through a suspicious gap in the masonry.
A melancholic smile crosses his face. "I like life here…" A quiet sigh. "Please, this time… just let it be."
Outside the wind stirs up the trees — as if it knows wishes like these rarely come true in a world of mages.