The entertainment village of Higashimura never saw it coming.
From the empty main avenue, a woman appeared, cloaked in deep black, her hood pulled low and her mask reflecting the faint glow of the night city signs. Iserra, one of the Null Handmaidens, stood still as if she had been there all along.
She clapped.
The shockwave that followed was a sphere of silent implosion that turned the air to waves and reduced buildings to rubble. The road beneath her feet caved into a crater. Concrete folded like parchment. People screamed. The bells began to blare, but even with the chaos, their sound was swallowed by the trembling shockwave emanating from her.
She performed another clap.
The second wave split through the street like a ripple on still water. The ground groaned and the nearest block dissolved into dust. She exhaled softly, lowering her hands and gazing at her palms. A small smile flickered under her mask.
"Enheduanna's blessing is perfect."
The Void Attribute wasn't Flux. Thanks to Enheduanna blessing them with the Void attribute with their master's permission, they could use partial void capabilities. Her Xana now carried that void signature.
She named her art Null Hands. Every motion of her palms carried the same authority of summoning shockwaves using her Xana.
The city guards rushed down the street, shouting orders in Japanese. Iserra lifted her hand and flicked her fingers. The space in front of her shimmered like a thin sheet of glass struck by invisible force and then folded. A narrow crescent of dark Xana rushed and when it passed, the world behind it was simply gone. All the guards around there were incinerated to pieces from the shockwave from that flick.
Overhead, Naelle's voice came through their communication earpieces.
"Iserra. Status?"
"Main avenue cleared. Phase one complete."
"Good. Syraleh's handling the shrine perimeter. Don't let your guard down. I understand you went to try to do this but please don't use it too much."
Iserra gave a soft laugh.
"Why are you acting so responsible all of a sudden? This isn't you."
"You're right. Time for me to kill!"
"And I spoke too soon..."
She raised her hands again. The remaining soldiers braced themselves, but Iserra was already moving. She clapped again but harder this time. A shockwave erupted outward. Every building within sight tilted, cracked, and crumbled, folding into the crater that spread beneath her.
However, more guards still charged at her, giving orders and showing malice for ber.
Her biological weapon shimmered into existence. From the tips of her slender fingers, thin black darts appeared. The air rippled with distortion as her Null Hands activated.
The first dart flicked forward.
It tore through the air faster than sight, slicing cleanly through three armored guards before detonating into a silent, concussive implosion. The blast sucked in nearby debris before violently expanding again. By the time the shockwave dispersed, there was no street left, only a crater of pulped stone and scattered armor fragments.
"Seventy-one..."
Another squad charged from the east side. Iserra crouched low and rotated her wrists, conjuring another dozen darts, and flicked her hand with a fluid twist of her body. Each dart curved mid-air, guided by her Null Hands, and spun like miniature storms. One cut through a soldier's neck and another embedded in a chestplate before detonating inward. The rest pierced walls, columns, and debris, setting off chain implosions that folded the architecture in on itself.
She moved through it all like a dancer in a killing waltz. When the nearest soldier lunged too close, Iserra caught his arm, twisted, and crushed the joint with ease. Her elbow came up, shattered the helmet, then she snapped his neck and let the body fall before spinning into the next target. There was no wasted motion or hesitation.
Her kicks could shatter bones. Her fingers could pierce armor. And her voice, calm amidst ruin, was the only constant.
"Seventy-nine..."
She ducked beneath a blade swing, pivoted, and drove her knee into the attacker's ribs. She flicked her finger against the corpse's temple, launching another dart that impaled the last guard attempting to flee.
"Eighty-four."
The entire avenue had been reduced to molten ruins. Buildings were hollowed out, people crushed inward from implosion shockwaves and the streets were warped into unrecognizable terrain. Her biological weapons retracted into her arm, dissolving like smoke.
From the comms (thanks to Esmodra's Archeon, communication using earpieces was easy), Rielinne's voice crackled through the static.
"Iserra. Enough."
Iserra exhaled slowly, wiping a splatter of blood off her cheek with her thumb.
"Containment achieved. Eight guards neutralized. Collateral damage is uncountable."
There was a pause on the line. Then came the voice of Enheduanna.
"Iserra, change of directive. Rielinne and Syraleh are proceeding toward the shrine. Your role shifts to defensive. You're on standby to protect both of them at all costs."
"Understood."
"Naelle and Esmodra are decoying eastward. Expect visual diversions within the next minute. We need the enemy command's eyes off the shrine until the sword is secured."
The corner of Iserra's lips twitched.
"Then I'll make sure no one even looks in their direction."
She raised her right hand, flexing her fingers. The skin shimmered as her biological weapons flickered faintly beneath.
"Good. Move."
The connection cut off and was replaced by the hum of distant explosions. Naelle and Esmodra had already started their decoy assault. Iserra stepped over a collapsed building, her boots crunching through rubble. A gust of hot wind brushed past her as another building collapsed behind. She looked around once, scanning the aftermath she left.
Then, without a sound, she vanished.
Naelle and Esmodra advanced side by side along the path to the giant shrine. The scent of ash and iron was heavy in the air and far ahead loomed their destination was the Hoshimaru Shrine, though calling it a "shrine" was an understatement. It was more like Japanese palace disguised in reverence. Lanterns still burned faintly, untouched by the chaos beyond, giving the whole edifice a haunting beauty.
Naelle cracked her neck as she ran alongside her.
"You ready for your first real mess, rookie?"
Esmodra adjusted her twin daggers.
"I was born ready."
"Yeah, that's what they all say before losing a leg."
"I'm not going to lose anything."
"Good. Try to keep it that way."
From Naelle's fingertips extended long, blackened claw nails more than a meter long. As they approached the shrine's outer courtyard, dozens of armored samurai appeared, standing in complete stillness. The samurai formed two parallel lines along the stairs. Naelle chuckled under her breath.
"Old-school types. Too bad we don't give a shit about honor."
Esmodra took a step forward, ready to dart into a fight but before she could, the entire ground quivered. A deafening boom erupted from the east. The shockwave slammed through the shrine entrance, flinging the samurai backwards as though they were nothing but sand. The courtyard cracked open, scattering armor and stone alike into the air. Both Naelle and Esmodra stumbled. Naelle blinked, then broke into a grin.
"Oh. That's our girl."
The comm-link crackled to life, Iserra's calm, monotone voice cut through the static.
"You're welcome. But don't thank me yet. You'll have to go into that oversized shrine on your own. I can't provide support inside."
"Noted. But I'll still give you partial credit."
"Partial credit will get you partially dead."
"Fair point. Still, nice throw, you show-off."
Esmodra blinked at the scorched crater left behind by the shockwave.
"She did that from how far away?"
Naelle shrugged. "You'll get used to it. Just don't get too attached to your surroundings when Iserra's around. They tend to stop existing."
They ran past the scattered samurai who were struggling to stand again. Naelle flicked one claw lazily, slicing a head clean in half as she passed. Esmodra followed close, weaving between falling debris and severed limbs. They reached the final gate that was reinforced with wards. Beyond it stood the main mansion. The shrine-palace glowed under the moonlight, reflecting crimson off its ornate roofs, but what really caught their attention wasn't the building itself. It was the army assembled before it.
Dozens upon dozens of samurai soldiers stood shoulder to shoulder across the gates. Their armor gleamed. Their katanas hummed faintly with Xana. There were even war monks among them, hovering slightly above the ground, chanting protective mantras.
Esmodra's breath hitched.
"That's… a lot."
Naelle just smirked and stretched her fingers, her claws clinking faintly like metallic whispers.
"A lot for you. This is a warm-up for me. Watch and learn, rookie. I'll show you how veterans clock in for work."
Before Esmodra could even reply, Naelle's body dissolved into a swirling storm of black smoke. The vapor rippled forward, sliding across the air like sentient mist.
That was her Null Smoke, her void attribute. She could disassemble herself into a semi-ethereal state of gas, moving undetected and untouchable.
The samurai raised their swords, startled, scanning for a visible form. But by the time they sensed her, she was already among them. In a blur of darkness, the smoke condensed. Naelle reappeared in mid-air, her claws drawn in a cross formation. Her claws sliced outward in a perfect cross-slash, forming an "X" of trails that glowed briefly before erupting.
Every samurai caught within the strike froze before the were split open.
The courtyard was filled with blood. Armor collapsed. Bodies fell in perfect symmetry, painting the polished marble in crimson arcs. Naelle landed lightly among them, wiping her claws clean with an unnecessary flourish.
"You boys should have stayed home."
She turned to Esmodra, who was still standing at the edge of the massacre, wide-eyed.
"Well? Go in, rookie. You wanted a debut, right?"
Esmodra blinked, then smirked faintly, trying to match Naelle's energy.
"I can handle what's left."
She rushed forward. She slid under a surviving guard's swing, drove her blade up through his ribs, twisted, and kicked him away. Another came at her, but she caught his wrist, elbowed his throat, and slashed across his chest. Naelle leaned casually against a fallen column, watching.
"Not bad. You're almost like a real killer now."
"I take that as a compliment."
"It's not."
"I'll still take it."
Naelle chuckled genuinely this time. Her smoke rippled faintly again, curling lazily around her. She seemed oddly cheerful amid the carnage.
"Ah, this brings me back. Blood in the air, blades singing, people trying not to puke. Perfect evening, isn't it?"
Esmodra gave her a sidelong look.
"You're insane."
"Thank you. Now quit admiring me and move. Rielinne and Syraleh are counting on our show to keep eyes here. Let's make this look fun."
She dissolved into smoke again, sweeping forward to clear the remaining defenders while Esmodra moved behind her.