"Found you." Kesshō mumbled as she used her wings to launch herself towards the earth, appearing like a shooting star from the distance as flames covered her body. She slammed her leg downwards, colliding with something and being stopped as the flames dispersed. Kicking off the object Kesshō landed a few steps away with the help of her wings, surveying her surroundings with her ears.
"So we finally battle, no need to hold back, or this won't be any fun for me," Sapphire smirked.
"Are you certain you don't want me to hold back?" Kesshō inquired as she closed her eyes, preparing to activate the Demonic Eye of Destruction.
"Yes, let's go all out from the beginning," Sapphire replied. A barrier appeared in front of her in the shape of a semicircular dome, as if she sensed the incoming attack.
"Then it shall be as you wish." Kesshō responded as she opened her eyes, the sclera of her pink eye turning black as the Demonic Eye of Destruction unleashed it's might to the surroundings.
Many of the humans near her instantly burst into nothingness, leaving dark particles behind, having been completely destroyed by the Demonic Eye of Destruction. Kesshō glanced momentarily at them, not having meant for them to be caught in it. The barrier cracked under the power and pressure of the eye, shattering completely in just a few moments.
You have grown stronger, but not strong enough for me to go all out yet. We will fight again some day hopefully. Let's have that fight we desire in the future. Kesshō sighed as she deactivated her Demonic Eye. Unsheathing her katana slowly, she raised it to the left of her head with her hand going from overhead, a stance she prepared for a specific technique, though she figured using it here would be overdoing it.
Kesshō took in a deep breath as Sapphire lunged forwards, going for the kill from the start. Bringing her hand down to her neck level Kesshō gripped her katana with both hands and dashed forward. She performed a wide horizontal slash aimed at Sapphire's neck, having improvised a different technique at the last second. Sapphire slid on her knees and slashed Kesshō's legs as she unsheathed her second katana, one Kesshō failed to notice earlier due to it being hidden under her coat.
Sapphire instantly jumped back to her feet and sheathed her second katana back, not taking her eyes off Kesshō the entire. Kesshō fell to her knees but quickly got back up, healing the slash in an instant, a lethal injury for most, but barely a paper cut for her. She faced in the opposite direction from Sapphire at first, slowly turning with the shine of enjoyment clearly visible in her eyes as a slight smile crept across her face.
"We are just getting started," Sapphire grinned.
Kesshō dashed to Sapphire at full speed, seemingly teleporting right in front of her in the blink of an eye. Sapphire brought her katana downwards and blocked Kesshō's upwards slash, followed by a moon blade. It tossed Sapphire in the air from the impact, the moon blade dissipating right after.
Just as Sapphire landed, Kesshō slashed at her neck with a horizontal slash, but Sapphire ducked under it. Changing directions mid-swing Kesshō brought her katana downwards, straining her muscles to do so. Dodging sideways and getting back up Sapphire spun around and slashed at Kesshō's neck with a Shadow Slash, but Kesshō managed to bring her katana behind her back, blocking the attack.
Pushing Sapphire's katana away Kesshō side kicked Sapphire, but she slammed it away with her left hand while slashing at Kesshō's neck with her katana, using just one arm. Kesshō barely dodged it by using the momentum from Sapphire's hand to spin around and duck under the slash. Right after dodging the slash she kicked Sapphire in the chest, getting blocked by Sapphire's right hand but only to a slight extent.
Sliding backwards Sapphire groaned in pain as Kesshō pointed her katana back at her. Drawing a breath Kesshō prepared to attack first this time, but Sapphire didn't do the same. Planting her katana in the ground, Sapphire raised her fists in a fighting stance. Kesshō looked at her for a moment in bewilderment before realising her intention.
Sure, I don't mind what we fight with, she thought with a shrug. She did the same without any hesitation and prepared to battle.
Sapphire teleported behind Kesshō, jumping up from the shadows, and threw a punch at her neck. Kesshō grabbed her hand and swung Sapphire over herself, slamming her into the ground, slightly cushioned by the snow below, allowing her to quickly roll back to her feet.
"How are you so skilled in both sword and hand to hand combat?" Sapphire growled.
Kesshō shrugged and took her stance again, not knowing the answer to it herself. Sapphire stood still for a moment, stabilizing her breathing and preparing to attack again. Taking a deep breath Sapphire launched herself back into action, doing the very same thing she did earlier.
Kesshō again grabbed her hand without turning, but this time the results were different, much unexpected by her. Using some shadowy matter Sapphire planted her feet to the ground as she grabbed Kesshō tightly and slammed her onto the ground behind. Kesshō looked upwards in bewilderment, finding the trick to be quite interesting, though she failed to see it well enough to fully understand it.
Sapphire charged her fist and punched at Kesshō's head, but Kesshō managed to roll out the way and jump back on to her feet. Before Kesshō could stabilize herself Sapphire used her fist as a hinge and spun her body, kicking Kesshō in the abdomen, blue lines visible in her leg, and knocking her backwards.
Coughing some of the blood from the internal bleeding Kesshō readied herself to fight again, a slight stream of it visible by the corner of her lips. Wiping her face with her sleeve she fixed Sapphire with cold eyes, willing to fight completely seriously now, knowing they were almost equally as skilled in hand to hand combat. Sapphire walked towards Kesshō with a smirk, not afraid in the slightest. Kesshō punched at her but she grabbed it with ease, not slowing in the slightest. Grabbing Kesshō's neck with her other hand Sapphire locked her in place.
"You are more skilled than me in every way, and better than me," Sapphire snarled. Kesshō hit Sapphire on the lower jaw with her knee, knocking Sapphire's head all the way back. "But," Sapphire continued, "I am still bigger and stronger than you."
Sapphire headbutted Kesshō, disorienting her before lifting her and slamming her into the ground. Not letting go she dragged Kesshō through the snow towards the side and flung her away. Using Shadow Movement she teleported there and axe-kicked Kesshō into the ground. Sapphire then kicked Kesshō with another charged attack, sending her flying away again.
Bouncing from the ground once Kesshō got back up on her feet and planted her claws in the ground to stop herself from sliding. Standing back up she glared at Sapphire, half of her blue irises becoming slightly brighter than the rest. She bled from her head and her lips were split, but the pain barely affected her, having been through far worse.
Kesshō spat some blood out and wiped her mouth with her sleeve before getting back into the fight. She dashed in front of Sapphire and performed a simple roundhouse kick, which Sapphire dodged by backstepping, but Kesshō performed another without any break while stepping forward, forcing Sapphire to back up more. After doing this twice more she jumped into the air using the momentum to spin her body and land a tornado kick at Sapphire's temples, knocking her to the ground.
Kesshō closed the distance to punch her again, but Sapphire used both her hands to support herself as she turned her body, hitting Kesshō with one leg and knocking her slightly to the side, having been caught completely off-guard. Then, using her other leg Sapphire slammed her into the ground.
Sapphire quickly got up, attempting to gain some distance. Pushing herself up towards Sapphire, Kesshō punched her with a charged attack, not letting her stabilize herself. Sapphire used a greater barrier and both her hands to block the hit, but Kesshō easily broke through the barrier, though she failed to knock Sapphire back even though the impact nearly made Sapphire cough blood.
Kesshō glanced down to notice the same shadows holding Sapphire in place, focusing her eyes on them as she used her ears to focus on Sapphire as well. Kesshō noticed the blue lines in Sapphire's arms from the corner of her eye, turning her attention to them instantly. Sapphire slammed her head into Kesshō's, catching her off-guard and hitting her with an uppercut right after, and then a hook punch right at her solar plexus to knock her away.
Kesshō rolled back to her feet as she hit the ground, standing straight up instantly and staggering a couple steps backwards. She tilted her head to the side, breathing in through her fangs, emanating a hissing sound. Flames ignited at the corners of her mouth as she prepared to get back in the fight, a slight smile on her face.
Strong and skilled, this is fun, Kesshō panted.
Kesshō slowly walked towards Sapphire as she resumed her stance and prepared to attack. Blue-pink lines glowed in Kesshō's legs as she dashed forward, standing right beside Sapphire as the wind from her movement reached Sapphire, blowing both of their hair by the force. Turning on her feet Kesshō threw a charged punch at Sapphire's chest. Responding just as fast, Sapphire turned in a flash and barely blocked it with both her hands, being pushed some distance from the force of the blow and knocked to the ground.
Sapphire pushed herself back up, having been able to minimize the damage from the attack. Just as she got back on her feet Kesshō dashed right in front of her, directing a punch at her face. Sapphire dodged it by tilting her body sideways and jabbed at Kesshō's head, but Kesshō deflected the hit with an upper block. Bending her body forwards Kesshō hit Sapphire in the abdomen using a charged attack with both her hands, sending her flying and knocking into a human knight.
Death touch: Red, I really compromised this one. Kesshō sighed as she straightened her body.
Sapphire quickly got up even after the blow, using her Shadow Manipulation to devour the knight as she prepared to continue the battle. Kesshō walked towards her with a sigh, knowing it would take a few moments to kick in. After glancing around for a short while Sapphire returned her attention to Kesshō. She took a step forward, falling to her knees instantly.
"W-what?" Sapphire gasped as blood leaked from her mouth.
I accidentally broke her core. Kesshō sighed as she looked at her hands, realising she channeled too much energy through them. Master told me not to play for too long, I guess I will just finish this and return, she would die a painful death otherwise anyways. Kesshō approached Sapphire to finish the battle, drawing her katana from the ground where she stabbed it earlier.
As Kesshō got closer a strong looking person wearing all black blocked her path, coming out of nowhere. "If you wish to finish this then you will have to finish me first," He snarled.
"No!" Sapphire exclaimed, the bleeding making her choke and cough before she could say anything else. The Midnight Wolf slightly turned his head towards her with a reassuring smile, focusing back on Kesshō right after.
She simply kept looking up at him, not attacking him and not moving for about forty seconds. He seems close to her, killing him in her last moments won't be a nice thing to do, and he won't let me get to her if I don't, Kesshō sighed. I will just have to wait for her to die I guess.*
"Just a bit longer." Sapphire panted, the pain in her body slowly subsiding.
Her patterns haven't dimmed at all, they seem to have gotten brighter if anything, Kesshō thought. Fi's feather, she realised with a gasp.
Kesshō dashed right past the Midnight Wolf, straight towards Sapphire, having already planned for this to be the end. The Midnight Wolf turned as she passed him, the look of shock clear on his face, even to her echolocation. Sapphire's face also changed to one of horror on seeing her approach, her jaws dropping as her eyes widened, her ears dropping to the sides.
Kesshō noticed the light reflecting from several ice crystals in the air behind Sapphire. She skid to a stop, using her tails to stop herself as she charged her breath attack, a blue-pink glow slightly visible as the flames travelled up her neck. She unleashed her breath attack, aiming it right above Sapphire. The flames pulverized the icicles, vaporizing them in an instant as Kesshō prepared to go ahead.
In that moment the Midnight Wolf caught up with Kesshō, slamming his fist into her and sending her flying away from Sapphire. She used her wings to stabilize herself and planted her tails in the ground to stop herself from sliding any further, glaring at the Midnight Wolf for a moment before thinking better of it.
I took too long. Kesshō sighed as she sheathed her katana. She charged a breath attack, planning to deal slight damage to those in the way and clear the path, neither wanting anyone to disrupt the one on one battle, not wishing to kill any more than she needs to, or has.
Sapphire launched herself towards Kesshō, grabbing her own katana from the ground as she passed it. Noticing her Kesshō directed more energy to her breath attack, a Shadow Slash forming behind Sapphire's katana just as she opened her jaws to unleash the blast. The Shadow Slash and the breath attack collided, knocking back both Kesshō and Sapphire and creating a cloud of smoke between them.
Kesshō shook her head, the ringing from the close proximity blast slowly fading away. After making sure her body did not take any damage, using her Soul Seer's Eyes Kesshō spotted Sapphire through the smoke left behind by the attack. She charged another breath attack, on the weaker side, blasting it ahead to clear a path through the smoke.
Sapphire barely dodged to the side in time as the jet of pink-blue flames tore through the smoke and hit a tall frozen rock pillar in the distance, blowing it to pieces. Kesshō dashed forward before Sapphire could turn, lowering her body as she drew in a breath. As Sapphire turned back Kesshō unsheathed her katana, slashing upwards. Tilting her body sideways Sapphire dodged the attack, readying her own katana to strike.
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
Spinning around Kesshō slashed horizontally, but Sapphire deflected it with an upwards slash and jumped backwards to gain some distance. Kesshō exhaled again with a hissing sound as the flames again lit ablaze at the corners of her mouth. She raised her katana and pointed it towards Sapphire, prepared to start the final phase of their duel. Sapphire did the same and the two stood like that for a moment, collecting their wits and focusing their minds.
As if on a signal both of them launched themselves forwards at once, Kesshō's katana infused with her crescent moon blades while Sapphire's infused with a Shadow Slash. Kesshō brought her katana downwards towards Sapphire as Sapphire slashed horizontally, both colliding and stopping each other.
Withdrawing their katana they slashed at each other again, striking, deflecting, blocking and even dodging with slight movements. Kesshō's white (with a hint of pink) Moonblades and Sapphire's black (with a hint of blue) Shadow Slashes flowing over and around the two as they clashed, getting faster and faster, trying to overwhelm each other with every attack.
Sapphire managed to keep up with Kesshō in both speed and precision as they kept getting more in sync and faster, a smile on both their faces. With a charged upwards slash Kesshō knocked Sapphire's katana upwards, a bit over her head but not out of her hands. Drawing a deep breath through gritted teeth she placed her left leg forward, aligning her katana with its scabbard.
Tsuki Kenjutsu, Second Form: Lonely Moon.
Drawing a breath Sapphire unleashed her own technique. "Shadow Sword Style: Encasing Darkness," she whispered to herself.
Both of them slashed five times within the blink of an eye around themselves, creating half a dome in front of themselves, no gaps visible in it as the white and black slashes covered each other's openings. After unleashing their techniques both of them jumped backwards to recollect their wits and prepare for another clash, breathing rapidly as blood and energy rushed through their bodies.
While Kesshō remained completely unharmed, she managed to slash Sapphire's body at seven spots. One at each of her arms and legs, two slashes at her chest, and one at her neck. While she failed to make them deeper as her technique's offensive form is supposed to, she still felt quite satisfied with herself. She smiled at Sapphire, knowing how the technique she used countered Kesshō's, every single gap in the Lonely Moon technique being exploited.
I won't stand a chance against her in a battle of strength, and she is catching up fast in terms of skills, I wonder how powerful you will be a few years from now. Kesshō wondered as she breathed heavily, her heart racing.
"A change of scenery will be good afterall." Sapphire panted before dashing away, towards tall stone pillars some distance away.
Kesshō followed after Sapphire, slowly catching up with her, knowing the battle would stretch far too long if they reach the stone pillars, and then Kurai might be displeased. Being much faster, Kesshō knew she would get to Sapphire first, being very correct. With a burst of speed on reaching close Kesshō dashed in front of Sapphire, directing a horizontal slash right towards her. Sheathing her katana Sapphire fell to the ground, sliding past Kesshō and under the slash, even when Kesshō turned it downwards. Skidding back to her feet she grabbed Kesshō's leg and tossed her away while focusing energy in her arms. Kesshō flew through the air, spinning, failing to use her wings to slow her fall. She landed far into the stone pillars, behind some of the first lines of them, crashing into the side of a pillar.
Kesshō used her wings to launch herself to the top of the pillars, crouching down and camouflaging herself as she used her ears to scan the entire area. She found Sapphire a few moments later, barely some distance away, and launched herself towards her. Sapphire disappeared from her place as Kesshō landed and slammed her katana into the ground, having been replaced by a shadow person, the strange one she met in the forest. The shadow somehow managed to block the attack, locking Kesshō in a clash with it. Kesshō sensed Sapphire above, descending as Kesshō remained locked in a clash with the Shadow Warrior.
Shadow Swordstyle: Shadow Rain.
Sapphire fell through the air with her hands holding her katana over her head and a Shadow Slash trailing the blade. She brought down the katana as she fell to slice Kesshō in half. Focusing energy in her hands and drawing a breath Kesshō pushed the shadow a step away, glancing briefly at Sapphire and the shadow.
Eighteenth form: Lunar spout.
Slashing the Shadow Warrior in half with a horizontal slash she curved her katana up towards Sapphire, a Moonwave following her blade. Sapphire's katana collided with Kesshō's, both their attacks being blocked and resulting in a slight shockwave that chipped away at the nearby pillars.
Landing on her feet Sapphire withdrew her katana slightly backwards and slashed at Kesshō's neck with a horizontal slash. Spinning on her heel Kesshō crouched under the slash, bringing her katana upwards as she stepped forward, the Moonwave still following the blade. Sapphire blocked the brunt of the blow with her katana, but the force of the Moonwave knocked her into the air, the Moonwave dissipating right after.
As her momentum died out and she started to fall back again she prepared to use the same technique again. As Sapphire landed she slammed her katana on the ground, slicing through Kesshō as she stood there motionless, drawing no blood or leaving any slash mark.
Sixth form: Disturbed Reflection.
Kesshō slashed horizontally at Sapphire's neck, but she managed to duck in time. Sapphire took in a breath before Kesshō swing her katana, the incoming attack being very clear to Kesshō.
Shadow Swordstyle: Rippling Shadows.
Sapphire swung her katana in a wide circular arc as she spun on her feet, creating a wide range Shadow Slash that slashed everything around her, inflicting deep slashes on the pillars. Kesshō managed to dodge by flying upto the top of a stone pillar, having expected the attack won't be easy to dodge otherwise.
Kesshō looked down where Sapphire stood, surprised to not find anything there. Sapphire's katana arced towards Kesshō's neck from behind her, but she blocked it by bringing her katana behind herself, her ears having noticed Sapphire right as she appeared. She slightly turned her head and smirked at Sapphire. Sapphire punched at Kesshō's spine, but turning around in a flash Kesshō sliced off her arm.
Not giving Sapphire any time to recover Kesshō slashed at her neck, and successfully landed a hit, easily slicing through and decapitating the shadow person. Kesshō's eyes widened as she realised Sapphire swapped places again, clicking her tongue in annoyance, knowing she would need to find her again.
It is natural to flee from a battle you can't win, but it still annoys me. Kesshō sighed as she sheathed her katana and planted her tails in the top half of the pillar she stood on, cracking it down the middle. Using her wings Kesshō launched herself through the air, her tails extending as she flew through the air, being able to see Sapphire not far.
Landing onto the ground, Kesshō planted her claws into the earth, using the full strength of her phoenix tails to break off the top half of the pillar about fifty metres away. Kesshō jumped forwards again as she flung the stone pillar towards Sapphire, still held by all nine of her tails to ensure there won't be any mistakes, causing them to tug her forwards from the force of the throw. Releasing the pillar her tails retreated behind her, retracting back under her coat.
Sapphire raised her katana above her head, dark blue lines flowing through her arms into her katana as she brought it down with incredible force. The Shadow Slash formed by her blade, lined with blue vein like patterns, seemed much stronger than any other to Kesshō. It sliced through the pillar with ease, along with Kesshō's right arm, the one she held her katana with.
Kesshō stared in shock at the sudden attack, not managing to heal quick enough, barely realizing as Sapphire appeared behind her in the panic of the unexpected attack. Sapphire slashed at Kesshō's head, a shadow slash trailing her blade. Blue-Pink lines glew through Kesshō's left arm as she created another katana, an exact copy, swinging it upwards and deflecting Sapphire's katana with ease. She didn't regenerate her right arm, not seeing any requirement for it at the moment.
Sapphire slashed diagonally with all her strength, but Kesshō again deflected it. Sapphire's eyes widened as she glanced at Kesshō's katana still in her arms. The impact from her blade still pushed Kesshō slightly away, not far enough to be out of the clash with Sapphire. Holding the handle of her katana with both hands Sapphire slammed it into Kesshō's, slowly pushing her down, little by little.
Regenerating her right arm in an instant Kesshō punched her in the face, realising she stood no chance in a battle of pure strength. Not being fazed from the punch Sapphire headbutted Kesshō, knocking her to the ground, with little resistance from her as she lured Sapphire closer. Sapphire's head came down from the force of the headbutt, just enough for Kesshō to hit Sapphire's head with her knee.
Sapphire's head jerked back as blood dripped from her mouth. Not letting herself lose the upper hand she raised her left leg and stomped at Kesshō's stomach.
Kesshō instantly punched at Sapphire's knee, bending it the opposite way, attempting to get some distance. Sapphire let out a pained cry as she fell to the ground, clutching her knee and whimpering. Kesshō got back on her feet without the slightest delay and kicked Sapphire with a charged attack, sending her dragging through the snow.
Stopping some distance away Sapphire got back up on her feet, tears visible on her face along with the pearl white snow in her black hair. She breathed heavily, mildly exhausted and in pain. "Don't you feel any pain?" Sapphire coughed.
Kesshō looked at Sapphire, thinking hard about it for a moment. "Yes, I do. I just feel like I have been through much worse than whatever injury can happen to me anymore. Broken bones, cut off limbs, smashed internal organs. They feel like nothing to me now, but I know I used to scream in pain for hours at some point in time due to them.
"Just what have you been through?" Sapphire questioned.
"Only those who have been through hell can face the most hellish challenges without hesitating." Kesshō replied and pointed her katana towards Sapphire. "So, are you prepared for this journey through Hell to reach for the Heavens?"
Sapphire didn't reply but pointed her katana at Kesshō and prepared to resume the battle. Neither of the two planning to hold anything back anymore. "Shadow Play," Sapphire mumbled, summoning twenty-five of her shadow copies, all of them charging towards Kesshō at once.
"Stop playing and finish this already." Kurai ordered, standing a short distance away.
Kesshō glanced at him, her eyes widening in shock, not having expected him to be here himself. "I wish this lasted longer," Kesshō sighed as she drew in a deep breath. "Tsuki Kenjutsu: Thirteenth Form: Lunar Vortex of Destruction." She whispered as she unleashed her technique.
Kesshō performed ten quick slashes in front of her, five horizontal, three vertical and two diagonal. Each slash formed a Moonwave, moving forwards and destroying everything in its path. The Moonwaves slashed all the shadows, killing many and injuring the rest, even slicing off Sapphire's left arm before she could even react. After a few moments, and having passed Sapphire and her shadows, all ten waves burst into a barrage of smaller moon blades, slashing and destroying all of her remaining shadow copies and knocking her to the ground, badly wounded. As Sapphire struggled to get back on her feet Kesshō dashed to right in front of her, her right foot raised behind her ready to kick Sapphire.
"Phoenixal Art: Celestial Flames Strike," Kesshō mumbled.
Her leg enveloped in blue-pink flames as she kicked Sapphire, sending her flying far away. Sapphire's entire body set ablaze and continued to burn as she bounced on the ground and skid to a stop. Kesshō noticed the steam from melting snow, most likely caused by spells Sapphire used as they contained traces of mana.
As Sapphire panicked the flames suddenly died out, a cold blade pressing to her neck. She paused with her mouth open and her eyes teary. Kesshō stood behind Kurai, a mildly ashamed and regretful look on her face as she glanced at Sapphire, the blade held by Kurai pressed against her neck as he decided to finish it himself.
"So," Kurai started, "I guess this is as far as you were meant to go," he sighed. Tears flowed slowly from Sapphire's eyes on hearing that, her jaws slightly open as her breathing slowed. "You are still very special while you are alive," Kurai pointed out. "The first one to last so long against Kesshō and give her so much trouble. I have never seen anyone with powers such as yours either. Very certainly my best student, and also the last Midnight Wolf."
Sapphire's eyes widened on hearing the last statement.
"Your species has met its end. I am sorry, but it was meant to be," Kurai sighed.
"B-but-" Sapphire gasped.
"It was going to happen even if they didn't participate in this war, they were too dangerous for the world it seems, and you are the last and most dangerous now." Kurai informed as he pressed the blade harder against her neck.
Sapphire started to cry loudly, tears dropping to the ice cold ground below. Kesshō noticed the Winter Wolf girl appearing right beside Sapphire, stabbing a sword towards Kurai's face. Before the sword could reach it's target Kesshō deflected it with her own, slicing it into three pieces before grabbing Winter's arm, swinging her around to in front of her and then kicking her away.
Winter stumbled backwards and fell to the ground, coughing blood. Her white clothes were already blood stained, a large amount of it being her own. The elder rushed to Winter's side, worried about her but not batting an eye towards Sapphire, earning a snarl from Kesshō simply due to it.
"Kesshō! Don't hurt any more of them." Fi scolded from her position, some distance away from them. She sat on the snow, not seeming to have done anything the entire battle. Kesshō's ears drooped on being scolded and she lowered her head, the sadness clear in her eyes as she glanced at Sapphire.
"Anyways, I hope you have looked around for a last time, now, goodbye forever." Kurai sighed as he drew his katana backwards and stabbed for where Sapphire's core would be.
"Let's keep the toys aside." A voice whispered from right beside Sapphire, grabbing the katana before it could touch Sapphire.
Kurai jumped back, startled from the sudden appearance, Kesshō's eyes also widening as she stared at the stranger, not having sensed him appearing with her ears. The man behind Sapphire got up and walked ahead, stopping in front of her and seemingly inspecting the surroundings.
Kesshō found his attire to be quite familiar, as well as his black shadow of a face with no facial features whatsoever. She failed to figure out why she found him familiar, his patterns appearing very similar to Kurai's from her eyes, the same perfect balance of black and white, as well as the blue orb of light at his heart. Kesshō slowly calmed her nerves, her instincts telling her it's safe although she could tell that winning a fight would be nearly impossible for even her.
"The Goddess of Wolves would be extremely displeased with me for not properly taking care of her subjects." The man sighed, slightly bowing. "Even more displeased for letting such a young and brave Midnight die such a cruel death."
"Who are you?" Kurai questioned, confused by the man's sudden and weird appearance.
The man in black looked at Kurai for a short while, stopping and thinking for a short while, as if shaken. "I am no one of much importance," He mumbled after an awkwardly long pause. "You can call me as my acquaintances do, The Creator." He offered with a slight bow.
Kesshō tilted her head to the side, not recognising the name, but finding it to be quite important from Kurai's expression.
"You have grown so much and so powerful in such a short time." He sighed, patting Sapphire on the head. "You might even surpass your sisters in no time at this rate. Well, sister, the other I highly doubt you could."
Sisters? Kesshō wondered.
"You are very strong, and worry not, your journey doesn't end here, a shadow never dies." The Creator announced as he stood up. Everyone appeared to be slightly confused, Kesshō having no clue what his words referred to either.
He disappeared in an instant from in front of her and appeared walking slowly around, lifting Kesshō up in the air and looking at her with his blank face. She simply looked back at him, her head tilted to the side, a glimmer of curiosity in her eyes. Kurai seemed prepared to attack at any moment, though Fi appeared to be nearly as relaxed as Kesshō by now.
"While the others have been doing well too, I have high hopes for you, and I know you will not disappoint. I must also say I am proud of you for not following the order to kill. It still pains me to know everything that happens and not being able to do anything." He sighed as he placed her back down, only confusing her even more, which she portrayed by tilting her head even further to the side. "This time however, I could not sit quietly and allow it to proceed." The Creator informed, his voice turning aggressive. "If you wish to kill her here, then I dare you to try it." He announced, exerting his presence over all present there.
Kesshō's ears instinctively drooped down in fear from the pressure of the mana and energy exerted by him, her eyes narrowing as she glanced at him, straightening herself in alarm on reflex. Fi did not seem to be affected much, not being one of the targets. Kesshō understood The Creator did not like Kurai as he directed his pressure towards him, causing him to be completely on edge, something she has never seen before.
"I believe this warning would be enough for all those present here," The Creator sighed. "I will take my leave then, right after you." The Creator bowed as he turned to Kurai, the surroundings changing just as he finished his sentence.