Within the spreading marsh, the poison’s sinister light and the blue radiance clashed with fierce intensity.
The first to grow weary of the stalemate was Kokujou, who leapt back to create distance.
But just as Rui pointed her index finger at Kokujou to give chase, the heavens exploded with thunder.
Cracks appeared across the sky, no, rather, the blue sky was overlaid with an even deeper, more violent blue as streaks of lightning tore through without pause.
Nature itself, an irresistible force no human could defy, loomed down upon Kokujou with contemptuous power.
「Fall!!」
Another furious roar from the heavens, and a bolt of lightning crashed down at tremendous speed, aimed directly at the enemy’s heart.
At the tip of the strike that sought to pierce the very earth was a weapon identical to the one Rui held in her hand.
Kokujou, moments before the sword could impale her, slashed sideways and deflected it with the flat of her sword. The redirected weapon was blown off course and stabbed into the rubble, unleashing a storm of blue flames.
Even after completing its task, the sword continued to emit searing azure fire, toppling the surrounding corpses in waves.
Strike after strike rained down.
Again and again, the swords of lightning descended upon Kokujou.
She parried them with both swords, her strength rivaling that of a thunder god.
Yet, when the number of swords embedded into the ground reached twenty, one of Kokujou’s own swords cracked under the relentless force and shattered.
With a growl and a flash of bared teeth, Kokujou quickly conjured a new weapon, but wary of a repeat, she bolted from her position.
Each sword that landed gouged out chunks of the battlefield with explosive force.
「Fall, damn you!!」
Rui roared once more. The thunder above howled like a dragon, while the flames below rampaged like beasts.
The blue lightning aimed at Kokujou now left even less time between volleys. As the number of simultaneous strikes increased, they cut off all avenues of escape.
The growing explosions resembled a carpet bombing.
With surgical precision and inhuman reflexes, Kokujou slipped between bolts of lightning and cleaved through the approaching walls of fire.
Aoi and Rui dove into the storm themselves, charging through the chaos of thunder and fire to take the fight to Kokujou.
Rui grabbed two of the many swords stuck in the ground and hurled them one after another.
Kokujou was forced to meet the approaching thunder swords head-on, knocking them aside with her twin swords. And yet, despite the overwhelming violence of Rui’s conjured storm, her face still bore a twisted smile of joy.
She dodged, deflected, and swatted down the flying swords with brute force.
Not for even a second did she remain in the same place.
Aoi pursued from behind and slashed at her.
But just as she leapt out of Aoi’s range, a swarm of insects burst from beneath the mire and clung to his sword.
They were quickly seared away, but the aftermath left behind a slash of black energy.
Aoi twisted his body violently to evade, but one of the strikes tore deep into his left arm.
The marsh churned at his feet, and this time tendrils emerged, only to be instantly incinerated by the flames of a fallen sword, returning to ash.
This place was the throne of the Sovereign of Integrity,
And the domain of the Queen of Malice.
Through the whirlwind of crossing lights, cutting down rising suits of armor and swarms of insects crawling from the swamp, they closed in on Kokujou.
This time, they had her back.
And at her front, Rui stood poised in an iaijutsu stance.
「Hmph…!!」
Kokujou perfectly deflected the twin swords, swung with absolute precision and in flawless sync, using both of her swords.
With movements resembling a deadly dance, she spun her body and unleashed a sweeping slash at both Rui and Aoi.
The two were forced to break away, repelled as if struck by a repulsing force. Around Aoi, dark vanguard troops had already begun to close in.
He brought them down in a single stroke and dashed forward through the blaze, holding his breath.
At Rui’s feet, tendrils writhed, snaking up her legs and crawling toward her thighs, but she paid them no mind and surged forward.
The lightning-fast movement tore the tendrils apart, and Rui and Aoi once again clashed swords with Kokujou.
They struck, disengaged, caught up again with nimble footwork,
Within a single second, countless life-or-death exchanges unfolded.
Even the blink of an eye saw the tides of battle shift, leaving no time to exhale the heat building in their lungs.
Rui barked at herself to absorb every piece of visual information, not missing even a flicker, and aligned her sword with the offensive rhythm of her fighting comrade.
「You there!! I’m not letting you die, so don’t you dare let go of your consciousness!!」
Rui shouted, snatching up a fallen sword and slicing through the void.
Her cry and the thunderous flame aimed toward Kiyosato were shattered by Kokujou, who rushed in with a grin plastered across her face.
「No, no, nooo!! This girl gave me a continuation to the only life I’ll ever have!! I’m never handing her over!! Ahahahahahahahahahaha!!」
Twisting her body, Kokujou unleashed a torrent of strikes with her twin swords.
Rui’s counter sliced across Kokujou’s cheek, but the demon didn’t flinch.
「Come on, more! Give me more!!」
Battle.
The act of surrendering half your life to death and dancing on the edge of madness.
The thrill of crossing swords with a formidable foe, the raw instincts they reveal, the warmth of blood, the terror of death,
All of it made her feel alive.
This venomous monster would only cease fighting once her life had truly ended.
Her obsession, her will….
Even if her limbs were torn off, she would never stop clinging to life.
「I can’t let go of this miracle!! Ahahahaha!!」
But Aoi and Rui, too, had something they would never yield.
They, too, could not afford to fall here.
There was no compromise, no scenario where both sides walked away alive.
And so, they danced a savage dance.
To satisfy their own desires.
To carry their hopes into the future.
No matter how strong, pure, or righteous one’s convictions may be.
Only a single will could survive.
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