"New Shadow Style: Simple Domain—Draw!"
Kasumi Miwa closed her eyes, unleashing her strongest strike through sheer muscle memory.
Though the attack was born of fear, its speed was anything but slow.
As a student of the Kyoto School, her fundamentals were rock solid.
Blue cursed energy coated the blade, slicing through the air as it aimed straight for Yoru's chest.
Meanwhile.
Seeing Miwa charge forward, Mai Zenin gritted her teeth and pulled the trigger once more.
"I can't lose either!"
This time, she aimed for Yoru's legs, attempting to pin him down to support Miwa.
One in front, one behind.
Blade and bullet.
Any ordinary Grade 1 sorcerer would have had to take such a combination seriously.
But Yoru only let out a soft sigh.
"Too slow."
His voice was faint, yet it rang clearly in the two girls' ears.
In the next heartbeat.
The aura that had been as scorching as the sun abruptly vanished, replaced by a ripple as gentle as water.
Yoru's figure became a blur.
He didn't brace for the hit, nor did he parry.
Instead, like a droplet merging into a stream, he swayed effortlessly along the trajectory of the blade.
Water Breathing, Third Form: Flowing Dance.
Miwa's vision flickered.
The strike that should have been a guaranteed hit struck nothing but empty air!
That sensation of weightlessness from a full-power swing caused her to lose her balance instantly, her body pitching forward.
"Eh?"
Miwa opened her eyes, looking utterly bewildered.
'Where is he?'
At that moment.
A light breeze brushed past her ear—the wind stirred by the hem of Yoru's cloak.
While evading Miwa's slash, his body rotated with the fluid grace of running water, naturally dodging the bullet Mai had fired.
His movements were as elegant as a waltz.
There was no earth-shaking collision, no shower of sparks.
Yoru wove between the two of them like a phantom from another dimension.
By the time Miwa realized what was happening, Yoru was already standing behind her.
"Careful not to fall."
A gentle voice whispered in her ear.
Then.
*Thwack.*
A soft sound echoed.
The scabbard in Yoru's hand tapped lightly against the back of Miwa's neck.
His control of power was flawless.
It wasn't enough to injure her, but it was perfect for instantly severing her nerve conduction and knocking her out.
"Ugh..."
Miwa let out a muffled groan as her vision went dark, her body going limp.
Before she could hit the ground, a strong hand caught her shoulder and lowered her gently onto the grass.
Having dealt with Miwa, Yoru didn't pause.
His toes tapped the ground, his silhouette rippling like water once again.
This time, his target was Mai.
"Don't come any closer!"
Seeing the boy appear before her in an instant, Mai tried to fire again in terror.
But before her finger could squeeze the trigger, a slender hand pressed down on the barrel of her gun.
That hand was warm.
It even carried a faint, pleasant scent of soap, nothing like the hand of someone who had just been through a slaughter.
"A girl shouldn't play with such dangerous things."
Yoru looked at Mai, a helpless smile playing on his lips.
His red eyes were clear as a mountain spring, reflecting Mai's panicked face.
Mai froze.
Looking at Yoru from such a short distance, her heart began to race uncontrollably.
Not out of fear.
But because of the aura radiating from him.
Powerful, gentle, yet possessing an irresistible dominance.
*Thwack.*
Another light tap of the scabbard on the back of the neck.
Mai followed in Miwa's footsteps, collapsing softly.
Yoru caught the revolver from her hand and tossed it casually, hanging it on a nearby branch.
From the moment Miwa launched her attack to both of them being incapacitated.
The entire process took less than three seconds.
Furthermore, Yoru hadn't even drawn his sword; using only the footwork of his breathing style and basic martial arts, he had instantly neutralized two of the Kyoto School's main female members.
"Miwa! Mai!"
High in the air, Momo Nishimiya's eyes turned red at the sight.
Though they argued often, they were still comrades!
Seeing her companions struck down, Momo's rage overcame her fear.
"You bastard!"
"Give them back!"
Riding her broom, Momo dove recklessly from the sky.
Her broom stirred up violent currents of air, as countless wind blades converged into a massive tornado that swept toward Yoru.
This was the strongest attack she could currently unleash!
"Die!"
Yoru looked up at Momo in the sky.
Facing the towering tornado, his expression remained as still as a stagnant pool.
"Did you think you were safe just because you were in the air?"
He murmured softly.
In the next instant, Yoru's figure vanished.
He truly disappeared.
Even though Noritoshi Kamo was staring intently at him, he couldn't see how he had vanished.
All that was visible was a shockwave erupting on the ground, as if something had been launched at supersonic speeds.
"Where is he?"
Momo's heart skipped a beat as an intense sense of crisis washed over her.
She looked around frantically.
Not in front, not behind, not left or right.
Not on the ground either.
'Could it be...'
She snapped her head up toward the sky above her.
And then, she saw him.
High above her.
The boy in black was suspended upside down in the air, his back to the sun.
The sunlight was blinding, making it impossible for Momo to see his face clearly.
She could only see his silhouette, looking down like a deity, and the Hanafuda earrings fluttering in the wind.
"Right here."
The boy's voice came from above.
It carried a hint of a smile, yet it made Momo's blood run cold.
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