Saki staggered to her feet, wiping blood from her split lip with the back of her hand.
Her body screamed in protest, but fury burned hotter than the pain.
”You monster… I won’t let you hurt anyone else!” she snarled.
Gashin simply stared at her, that same bloody smirk plastered on his face.
He began clapping slowly, mockingly.
“Bravo.
Most humans would be crying on the ground by now.
How entertaining.”
Without warning, he dashed forward.
The movement was a blur.
Saki’s eyes barely registered it—she had no time to raise her blade, no time to dodge.
CRACK—CRACK—CRACK!
Multiple windows in the surrounding buildings shattered from the sheer pressure.
Gashin’s fist slammed into her stomach like a cannonball.
The impact launched her violently—first right, smashing into a brick wall, then left into a metal dumpster, and finally down onto the cold pavement.
Blood spurted from her mouth in a thick arc.
She gasped loudly, clutching her abdomen, voice hoarse and broken.
“Guh—!
It… it hurts… damn you…”
Gashin threw his head back and laughed, the sound echoing through the alley.
“Pathetic, yet stubborn.
I like that.” His smirk deepened as he took another step forward.
But Saki forced herself up again, legs shaking.
“You… you think this is a game?
I’ll wipe that grin off your face even if it kills me!”
Gashin’s eyes widened slightly, genuine surprise flickering across his features.
“Impressive endurance, girl.
Most warriors from my time would have already begged for death.
You have spirit.”
Saki didn’t reply with words.
Instead, she raised both hands and began weaving through a series of complex, rapid hand signs—fingers twisting into intricate patterns that made the air around her hum with power.
Her voice rose in a low, rhythmic chant:
”By the sealed pact of the forgotten shrines…
By the blood of the guardian stars…
I call upon the forbidden light—
Heavenly Annihilation: Seraph’s Descent!”
The ground trembled.
Golden cracks of light spiderwebbed across the alley as the technique neared completion.
Just as the final syllable left her lips, a calm voice cut through the tension.
”I’m not letting you summon that, Saki.”
Kairo descended slowly from above, gliding on faint waves of spiritual energy, hands in his pockets.
His ponytail swayed gently in the night breeze.
Saki blinked in confusion, the chant dying on her tongue.
The glowing cracks faded.
“Kairo-sensei…?
But why—?
That thing is—”
”It’s suicidal,” Kairo said simply, landing between her and Gashin.
“You’d burn out your soul along with the demon.”
Saki stared at him, still breathing hard.
“Sensei… this demon… it’s not normal.
Its power—”
Kairo turned his gaze toward Gashin.
The ancient entity tilted his head, staring back in open confusion.
”An exorcist?” Gashin asked, voice laced with curiosity.
“Or perhaps a non-registered one?
You don’t smell like the usual dogs they send.”
Kairo smiled, easy and confident, though his eyes remained sharp.
“Neither.
I’m her teacher.”