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With a sharp motion, she tore her hand free.
A stream of hot blood splattered across the ice.
Uraume gasped for breath.
Her legs trembled beneath her, but she refused to fall.
Not yet.
She could still—
BANG!
A monstrous kick crashed into her side.
Pain exploded through her ribs.
A vile crack rang out as her body was hurled like a ragdoll.
She slammed into a concrete wall.
BOOM!
Bricks shattered on impact.
A gaping fracture split the structure before it collapsed into a cloud of dust.
Uraume rolled across the frozen ground for several meters before coming to a halt.
Her body lay still.
Her breathing was ragged, blood streaming from her lips in a crimson thread.
Pain throbbed in every fiber of her being.
She tried to move. Her fingers twitched.
But the black silhouette was already approaching.
Slowly.
Calmly.
Uraume forced her head up.
Her eyes met the woman's.
No hatred there.
Just a cold, empty gaze.
The woman exhaled, lifting her hand.
The wind gathered around her.
A vicious vortex spiraled in her palm.
Uraume knew she couldn't dodge it.
She clenched her fists, the frost beneath her fracturing slightly.
The woman tilted her head.
Then she brought her hand down.
BOOOOOM!
A hurricane of destruction slammed into Uraume.
Her body was swept away by the monstrous gale.
The ice beneath her shattered into a thousand shards.
Her scream was swallowed by the storm.
The ground disappeared beneath her feet.
Her body spun through the air like a dead leaf.
Then—
CRASH!
She hit violently, a shockwave lifting snow and dust all around.
Silence.
The wind died down.
The woman advanced slowly, watching Uraume's motionless body.
She rested a hand on her hip, tilting her head slightly.
"Is that all?"
No answer.
The frost around Uraume was broken.
Her breathing faint.
Her blood pooled across the ice, staining the white with deep red.
The woman sighed.
"Pathetic."
One last glance at the kneeling figure in the snow, back hunched, chest rising with uneven breaths. Blood dripped from her mouth, trailing down her chin in fine scarlet lines.
The woman stepped back, then turned slowly, ready to leave.
But—
She froze.
Her eyes slid across the frozen ground.
And there it was.
Beneath Uraume's body, the frost was forming again. Slowly. Insidiously.
A smile crept across the woman's lips.
"Tsk."
She turned back, her cold eyes glinting with cruel amusement.
"My master warned me about your kind."
Uraume's breath hitched weakly, her fingers trembling against the blood-stained ice. Her body no longer obeyed her. Her strength was gone.
But she felt the intent.
A chill crawled across her skin.
The woman looked at her the way one looks at an insect about to be crushed.
"Even at death's door…"
She stepped forward, frost cracking like glass beneath her feet.
"…you cling on like fucking cockroaches."
Uraume tried to lift her head.
But there was nothing left.
The woman tilted her head slightly, a predatory gleam in her eyes.
"I'll make sure to finish the job my master gave me."
Her shadow stretched.
Black. Detached from the ground.
A shiver twisted through Uraume's gut.
Then came the pain.
Pain that lasted only an instant.
A black line split the air.
SHLACK.
At first, Uraume felt nothing.
But her world tilted.
The snowy sky spun violently above her.
The cold bit into her skin.
A dull thud echoed somewhere far away.
And then—she saw it.
Her own body.
Still kneeling on the ice.
But atop her neck—
There was nothing.
A geyser of blood erupted in a thick spray.
Her face struck the ground, rolling slowly across the ice, leaving a red streak against the flawless white.
Her lips parted faintly, but no words came.
She had wanted to say something.
But it was too late.
Her empty gaze fixed on the horizon one last time.
Then everything went dark.
The woman exhaled slowly.
She flicked her hand, the shadow blade still dripping with Uraume's blood retracting and vanishing.
She lingered a moment on the decapitated corpse, then turned on her heel.
Behind her, Uraume's headless body finally collapsed.
---
The daylight waned, painting the sky a deep, burnt orange.
The abandoned cinema loomed in silence.
A figure appeared in the open doorway.
Geto Suguru.
He descended the crumbling steps of the ruined building. He lifted his gaze to the darkening sky, inhaling deeply.
The woman stood there, holding a closed fan at her hip.
Her eyes narrowed slightly as she noticed Geto.
Then, with a measured motion, she bowed her head in respect.
"It's done?"
Geto halted before her, slipping his hands into the wide sleeves of his monk's robe. He didn't answer immediately. His eyes drifted downward, as if weighing his words.
At last, a sigh left his lips.
"Yes… But his last moments were pathetic."
The woman's brows drew together slightly.
"Kenjaku?"
"Hm."
Geto closed his eyes briefly, shaking his head with feigned weariness.
"I should have taken my time."
He reopened them.
"A figure like him deserved a more fitting end."
The woman studied him for a moment, her slender fingers tightening almost imperceptibly around the fan.
Then she smiled faintly.
"You let people think you're a psychopath, master."
Geto raised a brow, then scratched the back of his head with a boyish air.
"I'm just a little disappointed."
A quiet laugh slipped from the woman's lips.
"A little?"
He didn't answer, only sliding a hand into the inner pocket of his robe. His fingers brushed against an object.
"But I'll make it up soon."
His eyes drifted past her, slowly.
There, on the hardened snow, lay a headless body.
Uraume's corpse.
"You remembered my lesson, Ayanami."
The woman—Ayanami—hid a fleeting smile behind her fan, bowing her head slightly.
"As always, master."
"Hm."
He cast one last glance at the decapitated corpse.
"It's time to go."
But at that moment—
"Wait."
The rustle of fabric.
Ayanami moved in a blur, suddenly stepping between Geto and… something.
Her fan lowered slightly, revealing a sharp gaze fixed on an unseen point in the air.
Then—
A breath.
An imperceptible shiver in the atmosphere.
BOOM.
Her body was hurled backward violently, as if struck by an invisible force.
The impact roared as she was thrown across the distance in an instant, crashing into a concrete wall. A shockwave cracked the ice around her before silence fell once more.
Geto didn't move.
Slowly, he narrowed his eyes.
Someone had arrived.
And it was no ordinary someone.