In the forest by the end of the shrine, Takae and Kiyohara were standing face to face with each other. Takae was already in her stance, but she hesitated to make the first move, mostly because she was lost in thought.
As she looked at Kiyohara's strange new look, all she could wonder was why her Saro Sere had disabled only half of her disguise.
Thinking back to before they left the shrine, all the imposters in the crowd were experiencing the same thing. This could only mean one thing: one of her assumptions was way off the mark, but which one?
"You look distracted," Kiyohara said, drawing back her attention. "A mistake like that could be fatal."
"If you noticed it, then why didn't you take advantage of the opportunity to take me out?"
"I could, but then I would lose my chance to get the information I need out of you," she said, "about how you managed to break our disguises."
"Couldn't you call it luck?"
"Come on, even you don't believe that," she said.
"It's in your best interest to tell me now before things escalate."
"Why? So you can just kill me and move on?"
"You getting killed is already a fixed outcome," she said, "but it's up to me to decide how painless it will be."
"How are you so sure that the outcome won't be reversed?" Takae said as she took a step to the side.
"It's highly unlikely," she replied. "I can see from the way that you carry yourself that you're still green."
"And why does that matter?"
"If you're going to play the fool, then maybe I'll show you why it matters."
"Bring it on!"
By then, they were already circling each other, moving closer and further away as they spoke. Then Takae saw it: a blood circuit pattern running down Kiyohara's arm.
That was when she charged, her speed boosted by the spell Shatter Step. Once she was close enough, she swung at Kiyohara, but she retracted and dodged.
As she did, the small bits of energized blood coming off the circuits condensed into the shape of a glowing crimson sword. Once she took it in her left hand, she coated its outer layer in a thick clot and used it to swing back.
The two swords met with a violent clanging sound before the two of them retreated. Takae's speed was still enhanced thanks to the spell, so she used it to quickly circle around Kiyohara in the hopes of catching her off guard.
She leapt in and swung from multiple directions, but Kiyohara always countered her, no matter where the attacks came from, sometimes without even looking.
The constant bombardment was weakening the blood sword, though, and soon it shattered. In the same swing that shattered it, Takae also managed to slice at Kiyohara's arm, forcing her back.
"The gap isn't looking so big, is it?" she asked.
"Just by the amount of effort you're using, you should know the answer. But if you still want to keep playing games, I'll indulge you," Kiyohara replied as the remaining pieces of the blood sword energized again.
She pointed it at Takae, and then they shot out like speeding bullets. Takae barely got out of the way and had to watch as the thin streams of energy tore through the trees behind her, making them come crashing down.
When she looked back at Kiyohara, she was already in the process of making a new one from the energized blood coming from the circuits that were still running down her arm.
Once she noticed this, she smiled and said, "You like using those blood circuits, don't you?"
"So what if I do?" she replied. "The methods I take in killing you should be the least of your concerns."
Takae got back into her stance and, with her smirk still there, said, "I was only making an assumption."
By then, the ensuing chaos had bled into the rest of the town, and news was spreading that there was a djinn attack on the shrine.
The people who had escaped commented on how the guards there needed support to calm the growing tensions at the gate, but reinforcements from the headquarters were delayed.
That was because the headquarters was also under its own attack. In the back courtyard, where physical evaluations and guard training were done, two unknown figures were facing off.
There was little the guards could do to intervene, considering how one of them had just come crashing into the courtyard from the first floor and stood up as if he were unscathed.
The other figure had also leapt into the courtyard without a scratch, and the two of them were now standing in a face-off as they exchanged a few words.
Until that point, all they could do was watch, but then news came from another guard of a similar attack on the shrine and how the guards there needed reinforcements.
The bulk of the guards there decided to leave, feeling powerless in the situation in the courtyard. The few who did stay were no more than spectators.
After their exchange, Zeiros gripped the handle of his giant axe hard as a pulse of red energy surrounded him.
His sleeves tore, and the force of his presence intensified. A red glow emanated from the veins in his limbs before he yelled, "Blood Manipulation: Black-Blooded Armour!"
The glowing blood inside his body leaked out through his veins and covered his arms, legs, and neck before hardening into a thick, dark clot.
He smeared a bit of blood on the side of the axe and turned to Izumi. Izumi steadied his stance and braced himself before he charged.
Before he could reach him, though, Zeiros charged as well, and their weapons met with a violent clash that forced Izumi back.
"He's fast," Izumi thought, "and his swing isn't half-assed either. I'm going to have to play defence."
Zeiros charged again, this time with a downward swing of his axe. It was slower than Izumi expected, so he moved to counter it, but then the blood he had smeared on it flashed and became volatile.
The force of the tiny explosions that followed propelled the axe as it swung down. Izumi didn't have enough time to react, and the axe sliced at his forearm.
Instead of retreating this time, though, he swung for Zeiros's neck, but his sword clashed against the dark, black clot, leaving Zeiros unscathed. Before Zeiros could brace himself to strike again, Izumi backed away.
He initiated his Shatter Step and used his newfound speed to zoom behind him, but when he swung his sword, Zeiros's legs gave off the same glow as before, and suddenly he disappeared, only to reappear behind him.
Izumi reacted just in time to counter his swing, but the force of the impact rang sharply through his wounded arm. This time, for his counter, he went for the eyes, finally forcing Zeiros to back away.
Izumi did too, and in an effort to buy time to catch his breath, he said, "I never knew that blood manipulation could be used from inside the body."
"Well, now you do," he replied, "for all the good that's done you."
"You're way faster than you look, I'll give you that," Izumi said as he got back into his stance, "but your counters are embarrassingly slow."
"I guess I'll have to up the difficulty, then, if someone as green as you is mouthing me off."
"Bring it!" Izumi replied before the two of them charged at each other, clashing their weapons once again. But this time, Izumi felt a bit faster.