Youmu opened her eyes, finding herself meditating in front of one of the statues that Kasen had sculpted.

The walls of the fortress is high, but her ghostly half can still reach it. Using her ghostly half as a hook, it then pulled her up to one of the roofs, the one that supported probably the third floor, or whatever floor it is, since the fortress is towering.

Youmu walked along the roof, and turned a corner before quickly returning and hugging the wall, as she sees a patrolling Lunar Rabbit walking around as well.

The rabbit couldn't detect Youmu's presence nor hearing her, even her breathing as Youmu used her newfound ability, to become one with her ghostly half so that she can erase her voice.

Once the rabbit is close enough, Youmu returned to her normal form and grabbed the rabbit by the collar of her shirt, dragged her in front of her, and used the blade of Hakuroken to slice her throat from behind.

Youmu then went around the corner for real this time, and then she heard a voice from behind.

"WOOOOO!!!!"

A shouting is heard, and Youmu turned around to see another Rabbit doing a nose dive towards her as she glided through the air using some sort of silk sash.

Youmu just sighed, and took a step to the side, as the rabbit then crashed herself right through the stone wall, creating a man sized hole in the process.

"What the... Who are you? I... Intruder!"

It turns out that one of the Lunarian elite officers are resting behind that wall, and he unsheathed his sword.

"You're planning to fight me without armor?"

The elite then raised his sword to the top of his head using both of his hands before he swings it down. A loud crash was heard, and as the smoke dissipates, the elite looked at the phantom swordswoman in a fearful expression.

Youmu had used her right index and middle finger to catch the blade before it could reach her.

"Naive."

Youmu then thrusted Hakuroken into his stomach, before pulling it out making blood spray out from the wound.

The elite stood back up after kneeling down in pain, before he dashed towards Youmu while slashing in a fast speed, in a wild manner. Youmu deflected each slash without effort, and when the elite tries to thrust his sword forward, Youmu sidestepped the attack, stomped on the blade before climbing up to his back to thrust Hakuroken through his back, hitting his spine. Once she pulled out, the elite fell down, lifeless.

Youmu went inside the hole in the wall, to see that the Elite's room has a large scroll hung on the wall.

"The lightning of the Oarfish, better known as the Way of Nagae's thunderclap... Can only be deflected using an immense skill in swordsmanship."

Youmu is intrigued. She knew many fighting techniques, but she never heard about this Way of Nagae. Perhaps she may see it later?

She opened the sliding door leading to a hallway, went out and took the stairs until she reached the top floor. She went inside a room to see an altar, perhaps to worship Tsukuyomi.

Youmu clasped her hands, and bowed her head down in front of the statue, before she then walked over to a door. She tried to push it open, but it is locked from the other side.

Youmu looked to her right to see an open window, and she hung herself on the ledge and went around to see that the door leads to the castle roof balcony.

She heard voices from there, and she eavesdropped.

"Is my sister alright, Reisen?"

"She is still with us, Toyohime-Sama. It's a miracle she's still standing."

Youmu widened her eyes at who replied.

"Good."

A few footsteps were then heard, and Toyohime's voice is speaking again.

"Divine Miko. I need your blood, right.now."

"I told you already, Toyohime-Sama. I won't, even if you wanted to protect your territory so much. Using the Hakurei blood is not getting you anywhere."

It was then when Youmu jumped over the fences, and the entire roof looked at her.

"You..." Toyohime raised a brow.

"You're still alive after all... Youmu!"

"Get away from the Young Mistress, if you value your safety, Toyohime-San."

"I guess my lesson to you failed back then, huh? Well then, prepare yourself!"

She quickly pulled out a sword and dashed towards Youmu, grabbing her right shoulder, pulled her towards herself, and delivered a knee to her stomach.

Youmu feels the air being knocked out of her body, and the pain from the kick is unbearable. As she knelt down, Toyohime thrusted her sword through her back and pulled out, as she sees that Youmu's body went limp.

死
Death

However, Youmu's phantom half then flew around the body, before going inside her. Youmu stood back up, with her left eye glowing in a bluish white flame.

"So this is a half phantom's ability..."

Toyohime took a few steps back, before she marched forwards with a few slashes of her sword, which all missed because Youmu stepped backwards on each slash, until Toyohime stopped on her tracks to pull out a bow and arrow from her back, and aimed at the Swordswoman.

However, all of a sudden sparks of light were lit on the ground which stuns Toyohime. They were coming from a pack of firecrackers which Youmu had brought with her.

"What was that just now!?" Toyohime asked.

"I don't know! I'm just trying stuff!"

An anger vein popped on the side of Toyohime's head as she felt the anger from being made a joke of herself.

"I'm going to tear you limb from limb, Swordswoman of The Divine Miko!" She shouted as she swung her sword dozens of times at Youmu who just deflected each one while back stepping.

She then jumped into the air, and tries to slam her sword down, which Youmu dodged.

"It's no use. I need to study her moveset from a correct range--"

A few arrows were then seen flying towards Youmu, all of them hitting her chest, and one went through her left eye, popping it out.

Youmu fell to the ground, lifeless.

死
Death

Youmu opened her eyes, finding herself back at the altar room. It turns out that beside the statue of Tsukuyomi, is a statue that Kasen had sculpted before. She thought to herself.

'Maybe I should be more aggressive?'

Youmu then went over to where she would fight Toyohime, and the latter widened her eyes.

"What!? I thought I..."

"It took more than a few shots of arrows to stop me."

Youmu and Toyohime then clashed with each other again. However Toyohime is surprised as Youmu seems to have been reading her moves even before she executed them.

As a result she got thrusted by the blade of Hakuroken twice, but she still stood.

She took a couple of deep breaths before asking. "Impressive, Swordswoman of The Divine Miko... How about if you serve a different lord?"

"...Heresy."

Toyohime then chuckled.

"Heresy... You say? If it's for the sake of defending our territory... I'll do anything."

A huge gust of wind blew her hat off her head, and the skies darken. One of the shoulder strings of her outfit fell off, exposing her right part of her white shirt which covered her right breast.

"Even if it means I have to turn myself... Impure."

Thunder begins to clap behind her in the darkness.

"Behold! The Way of Nagae!"

- To Be Continued