The Construct drove the katana towards Kesshō's heart, pinning it into the grass as Kesshō rolled to the side. Blue-pink lines glowed in her hands as she raised them upwards, clapping them together right in front of the construct's face and unleashing a shockwave which knocked it away, raining dark particles on her. Kesshō quickly got back to her feet, drawing her katana from the ground as she turned to the construct, watching it getting up from the ground, it's head completely destroyed.
The construct raised its hand towards Kesshō, grabbing it's katana which flew to it, a spray of blood trailing the katana as it landed in it's hands. Kesshō coughed some blood as she healed her abdomen again, a small hole visible in it from the katana. The piercing pain causing her head to spin ever so slightly, causing her to breathe heavily.
Wasting no time, the construct dashed to her, slashing upwards with its katana. Kesshō sidestepped the blade, spinning her body as she slashed towards the construct, which it ducked under. Ramming its body into her and knocking her onto the ground, the Construct pinned her down. It's tails sliced off Kesshō's hand which held her katana, dropping it off the path as the construct raised it's katana in the air.
Before the Construct could bring it's katana down all of Kesshō's tails wrapped around both of its palms, igniting as they ripped its arms off from the shoulders through the use of brute force. As the Construct turned to it's arms Kesshō punched it in the face, grabbing it's long hair with one hand as she continued to punch it, eventually causing it to topple over to the side.
The Construct regenerated it's arms, attempting to grab Kesshō's leg as she got up. Kesshō stepped away before slamming her leg into the construct's chest, blue-pink lines glowing in it as she did, sending the Construct rolling away. The Construct rolled back to it's feet, stepping to the side as Kesshō landed where it stood, dispersing the blue-pink flames that coated her.
The construct drove it's fist upwards, slamming it against her chin, causing her head to reel backwards as three teeth shot upwards. Blue-pink lines glowed in Kesshō's hand as she steadied her legs, not moving from her place even after the punch. Leaning forwards she drove her fist into the construct's face, slamming it into the ground with all her strength and shattering the path.
Flames engulfed Kesshō as she fell downwards, taking the shape of a bird as she slammed her leg into the Construct, smashing it's body into the path below, somehow not breaking the ground. Opening her jaws Kesshō unleashed a breath attack, right at the construct from close to no distance, burning up the path as they fell even lower, leaving behind no debris of the path as it all burnt up completely.
As the two fell lower the Construct managed to grab Kesshō's collar out of nowhere, flinging her towards the path below and slamming her into it with a charged axe kick as it fell, indenting the path. Kesshō pulled the construct's legs to the side from above herself, causing it to fall, allowing her to punch it in the chest, blue-pink glowing in her hand, sending the construct flying into the wall. Getting back on her feet Kesshō drew in a breath, relaxing her body, allowing the Construct to make the first move and get closer.
Kesshō stepped backwards as the Construct landed in front of her, dispersing blue-pink flames just like her. Dashing ahead the construct kicked at her, allowing Kesshō to drive a knife hand strike to the back of its knee, then it's ankle, ending it with snake-hand strike to it's thigh, causing it to stumble a few steps backwards.
It punched at her, allowing Kesshō to drive her thumb into the back of it's elbow before striking it's upper arm in quick succession, tugging it to the side and sending it stumbling right after. It stepped back towards her, nearly tripping as it punched towards her and missed, being struck in the same manner once again as a result.
Without any delay it kicked towards her head, only to be struck in the back of the knee by a knife-hand strike, then it's ankle, and a snake-hand strike to it's thigh right after. As the Construct attempted to pull back Kesshō twisted it's leg all the way around in an instant, striking it's neck with a snake-hand strike before it got out of reach.
The Construct seemingly choked on it's breath, stopping in its tracks as it attempted to reach for it's neck. Before the Construct could move again, stepping forward Kesshō leaned into it, driving both her fists into it's chest and sending it sliding back. The Construct stopped a few steps away, falling to it's knees and reaching for it's chest as it's slightly twitched and writhed on the ground.
Death touch: chaos.
It's blank face continued looking at Kesshō, standing some distance away, her breathing heavy and rapid, her eyes widened and locked on the Construct as it stopped moving, it's body slowly dissipating right after. Her body shook uncontrollably as she clawed at her own chest, punching it a couple times.
Taking several deep breaths Kesshō calmed her nerves, using her ears to locate Kurai and The Creator. She leapt away on instinct as a large section of the path above fell to the ground, scattering the debris along with a shower of grass and dirt. Following the trail of the debris, she noticed the path seven levels above, where it initially broke off from.
Spreading her wings Kesshō launched herself into the air, flames covering her body and taking the form of a bird as she pierced through the rain, flying straight towards the path. Appearing from the edge of the broken part she barely glimpsed The Creator and Kurai, standing close to each other, blood dripping to the ground. Charging towards them Kesshō spun in the air, landing a kick on The Creator's head and knocking him away as she landed on the ground beside Kurai.
She heard a thump as she turned to the side, finding him laying on the ground, his breathing growing slower as a pool of blood formed around him, originating from his abdomen. Kesshō's eyes widened as she dropped to the ground, sitting beside him, staring into the gaping hole where his abdomen would have been.
"I am sorry for having to leave this to you," Kurai coughed. "I tried, but I am not as strong as you. No need to worry though, there are some other people you can trust as well. I am sure they will end what I started."
Kesshō slowly shook her head as her breathing grew rapid. She buried her face in his clothes as tears flooded her eyes, dropping into the shallow pool of blood forming around Kurai.
"I do wish I could have been there with you at the end of this journey, but I believe someone else will fill that role in my stead, and fulfil my wish to make this world a safer place for you." Kurai mumbled, his voice slowly fading to a quiet whisper. "Don't regret, the seeds sown today will blossom one day." He placed his hand on her head, gently caressing it before his hand slipped off, falling to his side, splashing some of the blood to Kesshō's face.
"These seeds will indeed blossom, but you won't be there to see them," The Creator sighed.
Kesshō got up on unsteady feet, steadying herself as she clutched her face with both hands, the rainwater flowing from her hair and face. "Awakening: rising darkness, fading light." Kesshō mumbled as she snapped both her arms down, unleashing a shockwave and causing The Creator to raise hand in front of his head as the rainwater got flung to the sides.
"I did not think you would have learnt it already," The Creator sighed. "You certainly look much more like an empress now." He observed, readying both his hands to fight once again.
Kesshō tilted her head at him, pink glowing veins visible in her black sclera, extending from her pink irises. In her bright blue eye, a darker crescent could be seen, slowly extending to cover half of her eye. Her hair blew to the side in the wind, showing more black streaks than earlier, a hairclip in the shape of a blue crescent moon placed in her hair, holding some of it in one of the twintails, the other held by a star shaped hairclip on the opposite side. The rest of her hair hung behind, a crimson red ribbon tied in it halfway down as her hair reached till her knees.
She walked ahead, her coat swaying slightly in the wind, the bright colors of her coat swapped with darker ones. Her sleeves now single layered, less fluttery than before, reaching only till her wrists and mainly black, dark-red and dark-pink draconic serpents wounding around her arms. The crossed swords on her shirt were swapped with a flaming bird in dark red, possessing nine tendrils below. The central part of her coat remained reddish-pink, darker than before, and open in the front. Dark wings on either side of it extended from the phoenix in the center, along with dark swirls that possessed dark-red sparks in them.
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The Creator punched towards her, sending a burst of golden light at her. Kesshō batted it to the side with her hand, continuing to stare at The Creator with an almost blank expression. He swung his arm in a horizontal arc, sending a slash of golden light towards her before another burst with a punch. Kesshō opened her arm, a wave of dark-blue and pink flames bursting forth from it, engulfing both attacks and incinerating them.
"Coating your entire body in dense energy to allow yourself to punch blasts of energy away," The Creator observed. "It is indeed a clever move, I suppose you learnt it from him?"
"It does not matter now," Kesshō mumbled. "Nothing matters anymore, the only thing that does matter is to end what has started." Taking a deep breath Kesshō spread all four of her wings, her phoenix wings also being dark-pink to dark-red in color now, dark-red lines glowing in her wyvern wings as well.
"This is your second time wanting to kill anyone to this extent. Remember this feeling, there are many more times you will experience it in the future." The Creator exclaimed, his fist covered in a golden glow.
He dashed ahead just as Kesshō launched herself forwards, his fist colliding with her kick, the shockwave breaking the path below them and scattering the rain. Kesshō's tails wrapping around The Creator's arm, pulling him closer as Kesshō turned her body, red-blue lines glowing in her leg as she slammed it onto his head, sending him flying through multiple paths to the side.
Blue-pink flames engulfed her body as Kesshō launched herself towards The Creator, bursting through the paths in front of her before flying upwards. The Creator got back to his feet after landing on a path, erecting a barrier above himself as Kesshō charged towards him. The barrier shattered on impact, The Creator only being able to watch as Kesshō descended less than a step in front of jim, red-blue lines glowing in her hand as she drove her fist into his chest, slamming him into the path below, destroying it and sending him falling through it.
The Creator clapped his hands in front of him, unleashing a shockwave of golden energy towards Kesshō. Blue-pink flames covered her body again as Kesshō launched herself downwards, the flames being extinguished as she passed through the shockwave. She flew past The Creator, wrapping her tails around his leg. Landing on the path below first she slammed him into it.
As her tails retreated back to her The Creator grabbed them, using them to pull her closer. He punched her chest, sending her smashing through multiple paths. Flames burst forth from her body after smashing through the first few paths, taking the form of a bird as she turned around, returning towards The Creator.
A golden glow enveloped his body as The Creator swung his arm towards her, missing the strike as Kesshō turned her body passing from just above The Creator as the flames dispersed. The force from his punch blew away the raindrops, destroying much of the path in front of him, failing to hit Kesshō however.
"Phoenixal Art: Hellfire." Kesshō mumbled as she pointed her hand towards him, her body upside down as she fell downwards from the side of the path.
Several of her feathers broke off from her wings as she fell, launching themselves towards The Creator. He sidestepped the first feather, being pushed to the side as it exploded beside him. The other three stabbed into his body, exploding a moment later and setting him ablaze. The Creator slammed his hands on the ground, the shockwave dispersing the flames and nearly destroying the path he stood on.
As he attempted to straighten his body Kesshō landed an axe kick on his head, the flames covering her body dispersing as The Creator smashed through the ground, landing on his back on the path below. The flames reignited as Kesshō descended again, taking the shape of an arrow as she landed on The Creator's chest, slamming him through several levels.
As Kesshō prepared to descend again a hand pressed onto her head, slamming it in the ground, a kick slamming into the side of her body and sending her flying over the broken path. She landed on her feet, jumping up and dodging a leg sweep from The Creator, raising her arms in front of herself to block the kick right after, being sent flying nonetheless.
Landing on the ground Kesshō extended her claws, digging into the ground and slowing herself, a blue-pink glow travelling through her body to her chest as she remained crouched on the ground. Opening her jaws she unleashed a breath attack just as The Creator appeared in front of her, an orb of golden light in his hand, which he drove into the flames, both attacks colliding and bursting together, sending the two flying away.
"Construct: Guillotine." The Creator called out as he got pushed away.
Kesshō twisted her body in the air as a blade of golden light passed by, slicing effortlessly through all nine of her tails which failed to get out of the way in time. She landed back on the ground, her tails regenerating in an instant as she charged ahead, blue-pink flames covering her body as she launched herself into the air.
"Phoenixal Art: Mountain crusher." Kesshō mumbled as she charged down towards The Creator, much faster than before.
"Construct: Diamond." The Creator mumbled, a dark figure forming in front of him as he stepped back.
The dark figure punched upwards with both it's hands, a cyan glow enveloping them as Kesshō fell towards it, landing an axe-kick at its hands. Both attacks collided, being locked in a draw for a moment. Flames dispersed from Kesshō's body, only remaining at the corners of her lips and her leg. The two wisps of flames turned white for a moment as Kesshō applied more force, breaking through the arms of the Construct, her leg landing on the ground and shattering it. As the path collapsed Kesshō turned and kicked at the Construct's chest, red-blue lines glowing in her leg, bursting right through it's body.
The Construct disintegrated as Kesshō launched herself forwards, bursting through the path towards The Creator, her leg aimed towards him for a dropkick. The Creator raised his hand in front of himself, a dense golden glow enveloping it. Flames dispersed as The Creator grabbed Kesshō's leg, slamming her into the ground before picking her back up with her leg and throwing her into another path.
"Construct: Guillotine." The Creator called out again before Kesshō could move, his hand raised towards her.
The slash landed on her torso, cutting it in half diagonally along with the path behind her, slightly above her core. The Creator clicked his tongue as Kesshō regenerated in an instant, kicking off the path right towards him, flames engulfing her body.
"Phoenixal Art: Torrent." Kesshō mumbled as the flames burst forth from her body, taking the shape of a bird, much larger than before and leaving a trail of flames.
"Construct: Brazen cage," The Creator called out.
A barrier of golden formed around Kesshō, encasing her inside, slowly shrinking as The Creator closed his hand. Flames engulfed the barrier a moment later, before bursting into an inferno, a part of the inferno breaking off and heading towards The Creator. A golden glow enveloped his hand as he punched towards the flames, his fist going right through it as the flames dispersed.
The path below him cracked as he realised the flames were a distraction, a massive jaw slowly closing around him as it crushed through the path. Several orbs of golden light formed around The Creator, shooting towards the closing jaw and destroying it, sending a shower of blood in the surroundings. The Creator gathered another larger orb on his hand, closing it in his fist and punching downwards, sending a beam of golden light through the chunk of the path he stood on.
Kesshō moved to the side as the beam passed by her head, already having been forced to halt her transformation. Flames engulfed her body as she flew to the side, landing on a path a level below and to the side, looking up at the dark figure of The Creator, standing at the edge of the broken path. He slowly extended his leg off the platform, dropping down as he looked at her with his empty face.
Kesshō did the same just a moment later, flames engulfing her body as she charged forwards towards him. The Creator raised both his hands into the air, a golden glow covering them as he slammed them downwards. Kesshō kicked towards The Creator, her shorter reach allowing his attack to land before hers, slamming her downwards and dispersing the flames.
Kesshō pushed back up with her wings, spinning her body as she got closer. The Creator punched towards her, missing as Kesshō spread her wings, being pushed upwards from the drag, allowing her to axe kick his head. The Creator grabbed her leg as he fell faster, slamming her downwards through a path.
"Phoenixal Art: Torrent." Kesshō mumbled as she burst through the path, slamming into The Creator at lightning speed, sending him flying towards a wall. "Phoenixal Art: Mountain Crusher." Kesshō mumbled as she appeared in front of him, landing a roundhouse kick at his chest and launching him through the wall and several more paths.
The Creator landed back on his feet, several levels lower as Kesshō circled above. "Time to end this," he sighed. "Construct: Echoes of Creation." He raised his hand above himself, starry matter forming in front of him. "Construct: World's End Spear." The Creator called out, the starry matter taking the shape of a spear in front of him, a golden glow creeping up from its bottom.
Kesshō spread all four of her wings, stopping herself in the air high above The Creator, all nine of her tails extending outwards, three to her sides and three straight down. "Phoenixal Art: Embers of Creation," Kesshō called out. Flames burst forth from her hands as she extended them downwards, taking the shape of a giant bow of flames, her tails holding its ends on the side, and the center at the bottom. A string of flames formed, extending from her tails to her hands, an arrow forming in it as she pulled it upwards with both her hands. "Phoenixal Art: World Shatterer." Kesshō called out as the flames burnt brighter at the corners of her mouth, blue-red lines glowing throughout her body, pulsating towards the arrow.
The Creator unleashed the spear upwards just as Kesshō released the arrow, unleashing her breath attack behind the arrow and turning it the orange-red arrow to pink-blue. Both attacks moved towards each other at great speed, the time almost slowing as the last drops of rain fell both Kesshō and The Creator. The two attacks collided with each other halfway, resulting a blinding flash, destroying everything in the vicinity as the impact reached the two, the bright glow engulfing them.