But despite the emperor's massive size, it retracted its blade and swung again from a different angle, then again from another, each strike coming in rapid succession with a second between them.
Eduardo parried the first strike and deflected the second, despite the overwhelming force behind each blow.
After the last deflection, there was a brief opening as the Emperor retracted its sword to prepare another strike.
It was in that moment that Eduardo brought the Kirisame around in a clean horizontal slash as reddish aura extending outward in a crescent-shaped arc.
The arc slammed directly into the corner of the Emperor's ribcage, striking the exact point where Lucien was positioned within the protective cage of bone.
The damage dealt left a crack on the ribcage and Emperor roared in what sounded like pain, then swung its blade down again with even greater force than before.
