One thought made Yuriko hesitate just before the blood warrior attacked. Her Radiant reserves were full. Damien hadn’t spoken at all since the first time they got here: something had forced him deep into her mind. She could feel him still inside but nothing she did could bring him out.

Was it Damien himself that was suppressed, or her Radiant energy? After all, he used it to speak to her. She didn’t know where it went after being used but it was reasonable to assume that some part of the Radiant energy was vented out into the air. If she tried to use it now, would she also be repressed by whatever that was?

A moment of hesitation, not to mention a momentary paralysis, was fatal.

The fourth sword dance slowed her perception of time enough that it seemed as though everything moved through mud. Unfortunately, that included herself and it left too much time for her mind to wander. And, her Animus drained away alarmingly fast.

She slowed down the circulation of the pattern to match her body’s natural speed so that she didn’t have to watch helplessly as the warrior’s spear thrust slowly inched towards her eye while she tried to move out of the way.

She ducked under the strike and focused on the sensations she received from her flared Anima. Her eyes were pointed towards the ground and she had lost sight of the weapon, but within the golden flames, she could feel it pulling back. She could feel the displaced air from the thrust, strong enough to cut, as though the waves were absorbed and redirected by her Anima to the ground, causing little puffs of dust to fly from where her feet were planted.

She twisted her waist, bringing Fri’Avgi to bear, and let the third dance rise to the forefront, causing a jagged edge of golden flame to form around the artefact’s body. The warrior’s spear was nearly three paces long, half a length longer than the greatsword, and she would have to take a step forward to reach the warrior’s body. Or she could shatter the weapon instead.

Fri’Avgi twirled lithely at the twist of Yuriko wrist, and the edge sliced into the spear haft, shearing through it in the blink of an eye. The spearhead, and a good part of the haft, spun in the air, carried by the momentum of her blow.

Yuriko’s right foot stomped into the ground and she used it as a pivot to advance and deliver a punishing sideways swing. The warrior leapt over her strike even as he flung the useless bottom half of the spear straight at her. The speed of his throw caused a massive displacement of air, clearly visible from the dust rings radiating away. The moment the haft entered her Anima, she could feel the underlying force and she knew at once that no matter how tough her skin had grown from the Body Forging or Radiant Refinement, the broken wooden haft would easily penetrate and possibly pierce through her body.

Fri’Avgi was lighter than a feather and was more manoeuvrable than a side-blade. Another twist of her wrist turned the blade broadside, and she spun it to block the throw. When the spear haft struck, the force disintegrated the wood.

“Ah!” Yuriko screamed as she felt the force transfer from Fri’Avgi to her body. She staggered back, creating furrows in the earth. The thongs of her sandals broke and flew off as she took several steps to bleed off her momentum, while her Anima created spikes beneath her soles to stab into the earth.

“Watch out!” Reinhardt yelled even as her Anima recognised a blade slash coming from above, her vision covered by her voluminous hair. She jumped back.

Rip!

The grey robe she wore split against the edge as she spun around. She swung Fri’Avgi, but the feel of the enemy disappeared from range. Once she regained her composure, she tore the remnants of her robe from around her shoulders and flung it off to the side.

The blood warrior merely stood three paces back, and the blood veil covering his face faded away, revealing his features.

“Rhain Hervard?” Yuriko muttered in confusion. She was sure she killed the Sorcerer back in Bella! But…

Like putty, the face changed into a different set of features. Another human man though one with a scar across the cheek. A human woman, with elfin features and delicate cheekbones. A Kutin warrior, with grey fur and white streaks. An Oskan man, with heavy brows and silvery hair.

Features changed within one blink of an eye and the next. Most blending into one messed up whole than anyone else recognised, or maybe it was her mind that just played tricks on her. She was sure Masa wasn’t here and remained in the Bella plane, so why would her face appear on the blood warrior?

Still, her fingers tightened on Fri’Avgi’s hilt.

The blood warrior was strong. The difference between this one and the weak multitudes a while ago was as wide as Rumiga City.

The wind of his passage nearly cut through her Anima, and it was all she could do to avoid the strike. The blade he carried looked like a side-blade except the body of the weapon had had a slight, graceful curve.

“Chaos and the Ancestors,” Yuriko glared and focused on the fused blade dances.

The past year she’d fought using her fists, her sunblade, or the Animus blades. She had barely practised with her greatsword and her neglect was showing. Still, the dances adjusted, and in just a couple of exchanges, she fought as if she’d been born with a greatsword in hand.

Powerful, whirling blows that made use of momentum and reach blocked off the blood warrior’s approach. But none of her swings even came close to hitting the warrior!

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Fri’Avgi ate too much of her Animus while in use and even now, she had already consumed a third even if she only used the sword dances.

Thunk!

A hastily raised guard caught the warrior’s thrust, though this time, Yuriko flexed the blade and bled off the force. She twisted the weapon, channelled the third dance and used the resulting edge to cut the warrior’s arm. A metal band, hidden under the man’s robes, caught the Animus edge. Sparks flew as she drew the blade across the band, but it was enough to protect the man’s limb. The resonating shield was already broken from an earlier strike. While Fri’Avgi had not tasted blood, Yuriko slowly denuded the warrior of his protective gear. Soon, the artefact would taste flesh and blood, and the duel would be over.

______

Reinhardt’s eyes were drawn to the artefact blade like flies to honey. He couldn’t bear to look away, and greed reared in his heart.

No. He knew foolishness when it appeared. To try to acquire an artefact for himself would be nothing but suicide. Even if, by some twist of fate, he succeeded, he was sure that the Anima Telum had a different sort of lock within. Most powerful artefacts required a key to activate. Bloodline, Animus technique, or an actual physical key. Without it, the things were more than useless, as they would actively work against their new ‘owners’.

If he wanted that artefact, he would have to acquire the owner, too.

Foolish. His emotional side berated his logical mind. ‘You think she won’t be able to sense such duplicity?’

‘Well, we are in love, aren’t we?’

‘Too cold. You need warmth. Heat.’

‘This is as hot as things get.’

Reinhardt shook his head, undoing the technique that partitioned his mind, bringing him back to equilibrium. In times of distress, the technique activated itself without his direction. The sudden attack by such a powerful enemy had triggered all of his protective techniques and treasures. Miren practically quivered with anticipation.

Yuriko and the warrior moved so quickly that the only thing he could see was a blur. His heart pounded in his chest like a drum, half in fright and the other half, shamefully in arousal. When she threw her robe off, the clothes she wore underneath were quite revealing. The short robe on top had opened at the front, clearly showing her underwear and her belly. The wide pants she wore rode up almost past her knees whenever she moved too quickly.

The images burned in his mind, and he doubted he could ever forget them.

Ah, he and his bodyguards weren’t just watching while the girl fought. Another blood warrior emerged from the initial melee, though this one was quite a bit weaker than the one Yuriko faced. He knew since it hadn’t managed to overpower Kallas, Michi, and Devion.

The bulky guard had tossed Tiernan Hersal at Shara, who caught the boy easily and dumped him by her feet. She drew her bonded weapon, a small, narrow knife that was about twice as long as her palm and held it concealed behind her wrist. Her blue eyes were as cold as ice even as she bit her lip in frustration.

Shara wasn’t a fighter so much as a last minute defence for Reinhardt. She had some healer training, mainly to keep someone stricken stable enough for a real healer to get to them. But her greatest technique was one that allowed her to freeze an assassin, a small group even, in their tracks long enough for the prince to get away. She’d served him for so long, however, that he half treated her like family. Reinhardt wouldn’t allow Shara to sacrifice herself if there were any other choice and his standing orders had been to never do so unless he explicitly ordered it.

Anyway, the three bodyguards barely kept the blood warrior in check and only because they knew how to work together. The creature, Reinhardt was sure it was no human, could overpower any of the three if it fought one on one, but even as Kallas was thrown back from an overly powerful smash, Devion intercepted the killing blow. Meanwhile, Michi encircled the creature and attempted to cut it down from behind.

His bodyguards fought for his life but Reinhardt could barely spare them a single thought. He watched with bated breath as Yuriko and the other blood warrior spun in a deadly waltz. It avoided getting its weapon struck by the artefact, making awkward-looking dodges and spins.

In the meantime, Yuriko’s steady rhythm constantly pushed the creature back, but from the expression on her face, he could tell that all was not well. Even if his bodyguards fended off their enemy, if this one defeats Yuriko, then he would be no less doomed. He could escape, of course, but the blood warriors had covered every inch of land, and no doubt more of the empowered creatures were around.

Even in the midst of this life-threatening situation, he couldn’t help but admire her grace and power. Every time she swung the oversized blade, he could see the air distort from the force of it. Yet her every movement was lithe and graceful as if the blade she carried was nothing but a bamboo blade.

The way her blue eyes turned to gold while she channelled her power, the way that her long silky blonde hair flowed as she danced, every image, every expression, was etched into his mind. It was wildly inappropriate, but he fell deeper and deeper into her thrall.

So it was that he knew that things couldn’t remain as it was. Ambient Chaos gathered above his palms and formed into a trio of crystal shards–perfect brilliant-cut diamonds. Then another set formed above his other hand, and the six shards spun around in a spiral.

With a deft twist, the blood warrior deflected the greatsword aside, and just like that, the momentum of the battle shifted. Now, it was Yuriko who fought on the defensive. But she seemed as equally well versed in defence as she did in attacking. She coolly deflected, blocked, or dodged the creature’s assault, looking for a momentary weakness or mistake.

The flames dancing around her artefact weapon, and even the Animus technique she used to create a barrier around her, shifted and adjusted until it allowed her to return the momentum to balance. Then, she renewed her assault, but this time, her blows were stronger, fiercer, and faster. More desperate.

Sweat beaded on her forehead and dripped down her cheek. It was the first time he saw her break out in a sweat. It was the Season of Water, and it should have been freezing cold, but here, the temperature was lukewarm, at best. Maybe that’s why she was sweating, but Reinhardt couldn’t help but think that it was something worse.

Now!

The diamonds flew, striking at the creature as it tried to parry Yuriko’s strike. Reinhardt’s attack aimed at the gaps in its guard, and it would either have to shift its defence to guard or take the shards head-on.

Some instinct caused the creature to shift its defence and it managed to swat all six of Reinhardt’s diamonds away, figuring that by stepping back, it would avoid Yuriko’s blow. Reinhardt thought so too, and he cursed under his breath at the lost opportunity.

Then, Yuriko suddenly sped up and her figure disappeared. The next thing he knew, the greatsword had cut into the creature’s left shoulder and dug all the way down into its guts. Golden flame spread across the creature’s body, and acrid smoke burst from the stricken flesh.

“Alright!” Reinhardt yelled in jubilation, but he froze at Yuriko’s imperious glare. There was a tinge of disappointment and anger behind those golden eyes, and Reinhardt could only swallow his words.

But thankfully, the censure lasted for less than a moment, and Yuriko sighed and nodded. The creature’s body disintegrated into a puddle of blood, and would soon sink into the earth, where hopefully, it wouldn’t return until they were long gone.

But the blood pool…didn’t melt into the earth. It boiled and rolled, then burst, straight into Yuriko’s body. She only had time for a surprised gasp before the entirety of the blood pool engulfed her.