Valetta Grede of the Thanatos Familia.
Level 5.
The gap in their power was too vast.
Their chances of winning a direct confrontation were less than twenty percent.
The best course of action should have been to flee.
That's right.
But this was a defensive battle, running away meant defeat.
They could only hope for reinforcements to arrive. Passive defense wouldn't hold... they had to attack!
Kaguya and Ryuu exchanged glances, understanding each other's intentions as they shared a knowing smile.
Then Ryuu activated her Shikai.
"Growl, Haineko!"
As she swung her blade, it dissolved into dust!
Valetta frowned.
'Huh?'
'What's with that sword? Why did it disappear?!'
Her instincts screamed danger.
Valetta raised her arm to shield her throat and face.
She felt countless tiny, sharp objects pierce her skin, though they failed to penetrate the muscle. A shallow cut opened beneath her eye from an unseen force.
Valetta was surprised. If that attack had struck her throat, it would have been dangerous!
She waited for her vision to clear before asking, "Hey, Elf, what's the deal with that bizarre technique?"
Ryuu remained silent. She moved to the left, while Kaguya darted to the right.
The two circled to Valetta's flanks.
Valetta glanced left and right before locking onto Ryuu and charging.
Seeing Valetta approach, Ryuu swung her hilt.
A massive cloud of dust and smoke billowed from the ground, forming a sandstorm that engulfed Valetta.
Valetta halted, with her vision obscured, she grew annoyed, raising her guard against attacks from all sides.
She sensed a presence above her and snapped her head up.
With Ryuu's assistance, the Far Eastern Princess had taken to the air, gaining a positional advantage.
"Takaoni!"
A sword strike descended down, leaving no room for evasion!
Valetta grinned, showing no fear to it. Facing the descending strike, she threw a punch.
The collision of fist and blade released a massive force, making Valetta's face contort.
Her fist was sliced open as the blade biting into bone!
Gritting her teeth against the pain, Valetta forced herself forward.
With the strike's momentum spent, Valetta straightened her legs and sent Kaguya flying with a punch.
Kaguya adjusted her posture mid-air and landed safely. The moment her toes touched the ground, Valetta appeared before her, a fist aimed straight at her chest.
Against a Level 5's strike, the Level 3 Kaguya would have been impaled.
But Valetta missed.
Her punch blasted through the air, compressing it into a shockwave that pierced the sandstorm and shattered three trees.
Kaguya evaded the attack by slipping into the shadows!
"Tsk, typical for a Level 5," she muttered.
The tactical outcome defied her expectations as Kaguya felt a surge of frustration.
'Damn it, if only I could use Bankai...'
Facing an overwhelming opponent, Kaguya yearned for that power. But she hadn't yet earned Katen Kyōkotsu's recognition, making it impossible to use it.
"Tsk, you two are wielding peculiar weapons. What are those things—Magic Swords?" Valetta's gaze fell on their Zanpakuto.
Kaguya and Ryuu had no intention of explaining.
They focused intently on the battle.
"What's with those expressions? Do you really think you can defeat me?!" Valetta's fury flared.
She shattered the ground beneath her feet and charged!
Ryuu tried to repeat their tactic of obscuring her vision, but Valetta was too fast, streaking forward like a black line as she threw a punch.
Ryuu held Haineko horizontally in defense.
Clang!
Ryuu was sent flying backward!
This time, she had no room to adjust her posture as she slammed into the ground and a hairline crack appeared on Haineko's blade.
Kaguya caught up to Valetta.
She aimed for the woman's coat and slashed from behind!
"Irooni! Red!"
Her strike was about to land... but Valetta didn't turn around. She reached out and grabbed Katen Kyōkotsu with her bare hands!
'What?' Kaguya was startled, her heart sinking.
Valetta kicked her shin, sending her flying through the air.
The agony of a fractured tibia contorted Kaguya's face!
Valetta snatched Katen Kyōkotsu and hurled it at the airborne Kaguya. The curved blade snagged Kaguya's clothing, driving her into a wall twenty meters away.
Her face slammed against the stone!
"Kaguya!!" Ryuu cried out.
She struggled to rise. But when she looked up, she met Valetta's savage grin.
Before Ryuu could react, Valetta's fist smashed into her jaw, sending her flying backward into a cargo cart.
The impact shattered the wood, spilling its contents across the ground!
Seeing them battered, the members of the Astraea Familia—Ryana, Neze, Celty, and Maryu—were filled with anxiety.
They were only Level 2, and against a Level 5 Evilus executive like Valetta, they stood no chance.
Yet, they stepped forward one after another, forming a barricade.
"Don't you dare touch them again!"
Valetta's expression twisted into a sneer.
"What can you trash protect?" she snarled.
Valetta prepared to slaughter the girls of the Astraea Familia when an Evilus member ran over in a panic.
"Valetta-sama! The Adventurers of Orario have charged in! We're about to be surrounded! You must retreat!"
Valetta glared at the man. "What did you say?!"
"Valetta-sama, you must hurry! There are too many of them—it's a combined force from multiple Familias!"
"And we spotted Elgarm among them."
"Elgarm?" Valetta's expression darkened.
'That dwarf from the Loki Familia? Damn it, the troublesome ones are here.'
"Fuck! Since i've obtained what I came for, I'll let you off this time. But remember this: you'll all turn to ash along with Orario! Soon!"
Valetta snarled her parting threat and vanished from the scene.
The moment she disappeared, Kaguya burst from beneath the collapsed wall with a thud.
A trickle of blood ran down her forehead, making her face look even more alluring and demonic.
Beyond that, she was unharmed since her blade hadn't cut her.
At the same time, Ryuu pushed through the splintered wood and stood up. Except for a scraped chin and a dislocated jaw, her injuries were superficial.
Though momentarily immobilized by pain, neither had lost the ability to fight.
"Where did that woman go?!" Kaguya roared, her voice filled with rage.
Upon learning that reinforcements had arrived and Valetta had fled, she snarled through gritted teeth.
"Tsk!"
She swore to repay this debt—and double it next time!
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