The wind dragged slowly across the ruined yard, carrying heat from the earlier explosion and the faint smell of burned grass. Trees in the distance were still swaying from the impact of Tyouro's attack, some of them split cleanly as if something invisible had sliced through them. The sky remained dim, heavy, almost suffocating.
For a moment, everything was quiet.
Too quiet.
Reji's grip on his kusarigama tightened as he stared into the forest where Himiko had been launched. His instincts didn't settle. That hit… it was strong. But not enough. Someone like her doesn't go down like that.
Seiyan exhaled slowly, electricity flickering faintly around his fingers. "You think she's dead?"
Reji didn't answer.
Dracula crossed his arms, eyes narrowed. "If she was, we wouldn't feel this uneasy."
Tatsuo stood still, his gaze fixed forward. The ground beneath his feet felt wrong, like something was shifting beneath the surface of reality itself.
Then
A faint sound.
Footsteps.
Soft.
Calm.
Coming from behind them.
Reji's eyes widened slightly. No way…
Before anyone could turn
A presence slipped between them.
Himiko walked past Reji as if he wasn't even there, her naginata resting lightly on her shoulder, her expression unchanged. Not a scratch. Not a single mark from Tyouro's attack.
Kairo froze.
Seiyan's breath caught.
Dracula's eyes sharpened.
Tatsuo shifted his stance.
She stopped in the center of the yard, looking around slowly, almost bored.
"That fire…" she murmured softly. "It burned beautifully… but it lacked patience."
Reji swung instantly, his kusarigama slicing through the air toward her neck.
It passed through nothing.
An afterimage shattered.
"Too loud," Himiko's voice echoed behind him.
A sharp force exploded from her movement, sending Reji sliding across the ground. He caught himself, boots digging into the dirt, but the impact still shook his core. His thoughts raced. She didn't even try to block… she just moved before I could even think.
Seiyan reacted next, his grip tighten on his Joyeuse, as he use his Reikou energy enhancing his Joyeuse,aimed straight for her chest. This time he didn't hesitate.
Himiko tilted her head slightly.
At the last possible moment, she stepped aside.
Not fast.
Not rushed.
Just enough.
Seiyan's strike through the air, missing by inches.
A soft whisper brushed past his ear.
"You rely too much on speed."
His eyes widened.
A force attack hit him point blank.
The impact sent him flying backward, electricity scattering uncontrollably as he crashed and rolled across the broken ground.
Dracula moved immediately, his body cloaked in electric energy as he lunged low, aiming to cut off her movement. Tatsuo followed from the opposite side, creating spear weapon, their coordination sharper this time, more precise.
Himiko didn't disappear.
She stepped forward.
Their attacks collided with her in a burst of energy and pressure. The ground cracked beneath them, dust rising into the air. For a brief second, it looked like they had her.
Then
Crack.
The image broke.
Dracula's punch hit nothing.
Tatsuo's spear hit into empty space.
Both of them froze for a split second.
That was all she needed.
Himiko appeared between them, her naginata already mid-swing. The force behind it wasn't wild or explosive. It was controlled. Clean.
Dracula barely managed to guard, but the impact still sent him skidding back, his boots carving lines into the ground. Tatsuo crossed his arms, absorbing the blow, but the pressure forced him down to one knee.
"She's controlling distance…" Tatsuo muttered, breathing steady despite the strain. "Every step… every angle… she's already decided it."
Reji rushed back in, chain spinning faster, sharper. This time he aimed not for her body, but for the space around her, trying to restrict her movement.
The chain wrapped.
For a moment
It held.
Himiko stopped.
Reji's eyes narrowed. Got you-
But her expression didn't change.
"Interesting," she said softly.
The chain slipped.
Not broken.
Not cut.
It simply passed through her.
An illusion.
Reji's heart dropped.
Behind him-
"Still too loud."
A sudden force struck his back, sending him forward, the chain slipping from his control.
Across the battlefield, Shougo stepped in.
His presence alone shifted the air.
Dark energy gathered around him, yami forming along his arm, deeper and heavier than before. His eyes locked onto Himiko, calm but burning with intent.
He moved.
In an instant, he closed the distance, his fist aimed directly at her.
Himiko reacted.
This time, she didn't dodge completely.
Their movements clashed.
A sharp sound echoed as her naginata met his arm.
For a split second, everything froze.
Then-
Blood.
Shougo's arm was severed cleanly, falling to the ground as the force of the strike pushed him back.
Kairo's eyes widened. "SENSEI!"
But Shougo didn't stop.
Even as blood spilled, his expression didn't break. He stepped forward again, his remaining arm coated in yami, the energy pulsing violently.
"You talk too much," he said calmly.
He punched.
The impact landed.
Himiko slid back slightly, her feet carving into the ground for the first time.
For the first time-
She moved because she had to.
Her eyes shifted, just slightly.
Kairo saw it.
An opening.
Without thinking, he rushed forward, his body moving before his mind could catch up. His heart pounded, his fists clenched as he closed the distance.
I can't just stand here… I have to fight too-
He swung.
Himiko didn't even look at him.
A force attack exploded outward.
Kairo's body was thrown back instantly, the impact knocking the air out of his lungs as he crashed into the ground, rolling before coming to a stop.
His vision blurred.
His chest burned.
He coughed, struggling to breathe.
"…damn it…"
Back in the center, Himiko stood still again, her naginata resting lightly as if nothing had happened. Around her, the ground was broken, the air heavy, her presence dominating everything.
Shougo stood across from her, blood dripping from his side, his stance still firm.
Reji, Seiyan, Dracula, and Tatsuo slowly regrouped, their breathing heavier now, their movements more cautious.
No one rushed in this time.
Because now they understood.
This wasn't just a fight.
It was control.
And right now
Himiko was controlling all of it.