“Closer than you think.” Himiko answered, rising from her throne and stretching her arms over her head, letting out a loud yawn.

“Where?” Nanashi pressed.

“Now, now, no need to sweat over the details. Just know she is safe and sound. I can bet your life on that. Now that you’re here, what do you say to a little light-hearted chat between us?” Himiko suggested.

“I thought you’d never ask. I must admit, it’s getting a little hot in here. I need to cool down,” Nanashi said, whipping out her fan and waving it. A fire tornado, with wind blades inside, blasted towards Himiko, creating a tunnel through the castle. Amidst the chaos, Himiko stood unfazed.

“Force field, I see,” Nanashi commented.

“Yes, it keeps the mosquitoes away. I must say, now that you mentioned it, I am getting hot too. Maybe I need to cool down,” Himiko said, drawing out a fan from her kimono sleeve. She flicked it open and began to fan herself.

“What?” Nanashi said, dropping her guard. As soon as she did, an unparalleled and crushing force of gravity descended upon her, smashing her through the floor into the ground, pressing her until she was six feet deep.

“Is that grave deep enough for you? I could make it even deeper if you like,” Himiko taunted, standing over the pit.

Nanashi let out a chuckle, raised herself up, dusted herself off, and wiped the blood from her mouth. “Thank you,” Nanashi said.

“For what?” Himiko asked.

“Clicking my back into place. Now I can finally sleep in peace again.”

“You know me, I cannot turn a blind eye to the needy, especially those born from a prostitute.” Himiko said, covering her face with the fan.

“Ano ne, just die!” Nanashi shouted, causing two colossal hands to burst through the floor, aiming to crush Himiko.

Himiko quickly put up a force field.

“I do not think it will work,” Himiko said calmly.

Nanashi remained silent, her eyes narrowing as she summoned two skeletal warriors. They materialized within the colossal hands, each wielding jade swords that shimmered with magic-canceling power. With a swift strike, they shattered Himiko’s force field, forcing her to flee upwards.

Himiko, her eyes wide with a mixture of shock and exhilaration, launched herself skyward. But escape wouldn't come easily.

From the shadowy rafters above, a monstrous serpent uncoiled itself. Its scales shimmered with arcane symbols, and its maw gaped to reveal not teeth, but a swirling vortex – a portal to the dreaded underworld. Souls of the damned reached out with ethereal hands, grasping for Himiko as she ascended.

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To her left and right, Kaze and Yama materialized, their forms crackling with electric energy. They nocked arrows to bows that hummed with power, the air around them distorting with the sheer force they were about to unleash.

A smirk played across Himiko's lips as she assessed her predicament. Certain doom from above, certain death from the sides. But Himiko was anything but certain.

As the arrows launched, trailing lightning in their wake, Himiko's body began to spin. Faster and faster she twirled, until she was nothing but a blur. At the last possible instant, her hands shot out, grasping the arrows mid-flight. Using her momentum, she redirected their course, sending them screaming back towards Kaze and Yama.

The resulting explosion was catastrophic. Where her assailants had stood, only smoldering craters remained.

But Himiko's gaze never wavered from the serpent above, its gaping maw drawing ever closer. As the hands of the dead stretched towards her, a crack appeared in the center of Himiko's forehead. It widened, revealing a third eye that pulsed with otherworldly power.

A beam of pure gravitational force erupted from this new eye, slamming into the giant snake with the fury of a collapsing star. The creature was catapulted upwards, smashing through layers of ancient stone and timber, until it disappeared into the inky blackness of the night sky.

Himiko hovered in the devastated chamber, surrounded by swirling debris and crackling energy. Her third eye slowly closed as she surveyed the destruction around her, a look of grim satisfaction on her face.

Impressive," Nanashi said, slowly applauding as Kaze and Yama instantly regenerated the other halves of their bodies.

Himiko's eyes narrowed, "I see you're still in the habit of playing with people's souls and corpses."

Nanashi scoffed. "I don't want to hear comments like that from a soul eater like you."

"At least they find peace inside my stomach," Himiko retorted, "unlike you, who uses and abuses them until they don't have a body even in the afterlife."

"I do not," Nanashi protested. "Right, guys?"

Kaze spoke in a whiny voice, "I agree with her. I just want to die already." Yama nodded in solemn agreement.

"Shut up!" Nanashi snarled, waving her hand. Kaze and Yama faded out of existence. "It's so hard to find good help these days."

Himiko raised an eyebrow. "So, you're going to fight me alone?"

"Nope, I've got more friends."

"I think you mean hostages," Himiko said coldly.

Nanashi's eyes blazed with fury. "I have nothing more to say to you. It's time to finish this." She pulled off her top, tying it around her waist. Her hair combusted into vibrant flames, and two plasma swords materialized in her hands, their energy crackling ominously.

Himiko stared at her opponent, a smirk tugging at her lips. "I won't lie, it's hard to take you seriously with that mask on your face," she taunted, her voice dripping with mockery. Her hands moved with practiced ease, drawing two curved swords that shimmered in the moonlight. Tattoos of lightning and wind snaked across Nanashi’s body, glowing faintly with untamed energy. The mask she wore bore a half-moon crest and a lightning bolt, symbols of her unparalleled power.

Nanashi leaned forward, eyes narrowing with deadly intent. In a blur faster than the blink of an eye, she launched her attack. As her foot left the ground, a colossal force erupted from her strike, disintegrating half the castle in a single breath.

The moment their blades met, the heavens responded with a fury. The impact dispersed the clouds, turning a starless, moonless night into a vast, open sky. Their swords clashed with a sound that echoed like ten thousand thunderbolts crashing down, rattling the very core of the city below. Each strike left imprints of destruction, raining slashes and cuts upon the remnants of the castle, obliterating anyone and anything that remained in the vicinity.

But the reign of chaos was short-lived. In a swift, precise move, Nanashi managed to disarm her opponent. Yet, Himiko was no fool. Anticipating the danger, she deftly avoided the plasma blade, grabbing Nanashi's wrists with ironclad precision. A sinister smile spread across her face as she believed victory was in her grasp. "Goodbye, it’s been fun," she sneered, attempting to unleash her dreaded Infinite Void.

But nothing happened.