Prior to the ‘reclamation’ of the Clam Palace…

Sharley showed Hikari two pictures — one of a young man in a tunic with his hair tied in a pony and a tan woman with flaxen hair.

“These two are Elric’s Guild-member,” Sharley explained. “The guy is Yamamoto. He is a prodigious wandering swordsman from the Yulong Empire. His skill is on the level which even the Dragon Scion envied.” Sharley nodded to Su and Nuan. “I heard your brother failed to recruit him.”

“The First Prince tried,” Su confessed. “That guy has the nerve to tell brother that he has no future to his face. The surprising thing is that Shura walked out of that confrontation alive.”

Following that statement, Sharley then put up the picture of a young woman.

“Aside from him, this girl — Shura — will pose a problem,” said the Mermaid. “She is the heiress of a lost assassination guild that operated for hundreds of years in the East.”

“Huh, the Assani Clan,” Hikari said, recalling the old stories. “I believe they were a major power before Borbonsi chased them out of their land. The previous Gold Leader said their skill is real, and highly outdated.”

Sharley didn’t like Hikari's relaxed tone.

“I know you are not afraid of her, but the girl is a born monster in terms of assassination,” warned Sharley. “She has been killing people since eight, and the current count is over a hundred bodies.”

“Hundred?” Hikari blinked. “They keep count? I already stopped counting mine after fifty kills.” The Reaper then turned her attention to the more important question. “Caislean, is my Battle-Suit ready?”

From the crack in space, Ciel’s assistant walked out with a folded skin-tight bodysuit in hand.

“Yes,” Caislean answered. “You are lucky we recovered your previous equipment. Sure, it is broken beyond usability, but it serves as a basis for your new gear.” She tossed Hikari's bodysuit. “Before going over the gear, we need to make sure your Modular Armor fits.”

Hikari went over her suit.

…

Modular Armor (Reaper)

Rank: Unique

Function

• Module Interphase

• Parameters Magnification

• Life Support

Awakening: Thought Acceleration

…

Hikari recognized the setting.

“Isn’t this the same as Ciel?” queried the Reaper.

“Every Modular Armor has the same setting, aside from the Awakening,” Caislean explained. “Yours have the same Awakening because both you and Rem both benefit from that option the most.”

“Well, I will take that as a compliment,” Hikari said. “What about the rest of my gear? The EXOS?”

For that, Caislean responded with a smile.

“Oh, you will love it,” said the porcelain's pale secretary.

…

In the present, the Reaper blitzed the fleet of ships from the skies with no opposition.

The black armor cladding on Hikari’s body pierced through the air-resistance as she flashed through the winds. Ether cruised through the suit, enhancing both the speed and maneuverability. As a streak of black, she dipped and dove through every attempt to halt the raining rampage.

Caislean wasn’t joking when she advertised the Battle-Suit.

…

EXOS: RAITEI

Rank: Unique

Function

• Hypersonic Frame

• Kinetic Distribution Circuit

• HUD-linked Processor

Awakening: Friction Control

…

Designed from the parts of her previous Battle-Suit, the new edition was purely specialized in hypersonic speed movement, and Kinetic energy handling. Everything from the runes coding to streamlined design and material coating were built for speed. Its Awakening function allowed her to manipulate friction such as drag, allowing her to fly even faster.

But just flying alone wouldn’t be enough, Ciel also gave her the power to hit back at full-force.

…

CODE: RAIDEN

Rank: Unique

Function

• Octo-barrels Blade Launcher

• Reinforce Winged Booster

• Dimension Link

Awakening: CODE BREAK_STEEL FALL

…

SERENE MATRIX

Rank: Unique

Function

• Ether Jammer

• Decoy Projector

• Stealth System

Awakening: Presence Erasure

…

CODE: RAIDEN was a steel-wings that function as both a blade launcher and jet-engine. With it, Hikari could raise her speed further, loaded several varieties of blades straight from the House of Lord’s [Workshop] and fired them like a cannonball.

The battle was completely one-sided. The ships below were a sitting duck before the hypersonic blades sinking them in record time. The existence of the SERENE MATRIX attachment and its variety of support options made things even worse for the defenders.

Among these defenders were Shura and Yamamoto. In what could be called a sadistic demonstration, Hikari left after their brief initial clashes, flew out of their reach, and sank their comrades from above. The two could do nothing. They didn't have the reach or the speed to catch Hikari.

Upon witnessing, another ship fell apart in the water — her crew diving overboard. Yamamoto finally admitted that the scant remaining vessels, the water-paddling sailors, and their underpowered anti-air defense would accomplish exactly nothing against this new threat.

Shura rushed to meet Yamamoto.

“What are we going to do now?” said the assassin.

For once in his life, Yamamoto had no idea. They weren’t expecting an attack from the most advanced aerial combatant they had ever seen in this expedition. Technically, there was only one option left for them to survive.

“Tell everyone to retreat,” said the swordsman. “Our entire fleet will be lost if we stay here.”

In one rushing wind, that order was rendered impossible.

Yamamoto shielded his face from the draft created when Hikari landed on their ship. The Reaper face wasn’t fully visible, being hidden by the black visor, but the savage grin of her mouth couldn’t be hidden.

“Sorry, but I cannot allow both of you to run,” Hikari said. “I already promised Sharley to make this a spectacle.”

Then in the move that defied every common sense. The steel wing behind Hikari vanished. The Reaper drew a dual black blade, styled in an image of crow’s feather, for this confrontation. She artfully twirled her swords and declared her intention loud and clear.

“Overwhelming you two with hypersonic flying blades will prove nothing,” declared the Reaper. “As your senior in wetworks and warfare, it left an unpleasant taste in my mouth to bully you with my equipment.” Hikari aimed at them with her swords. “Granted. These two swords are master-class, but it is a mass-produce piece meant to be a projectile.” She smiled benevolently. “Would this be enough of a handicap, or should I only fight you with one hand, too?”

Daggers slid into Shura’s hands. 

Yamamoto’s swords flashed.

“You underestimate us too much,” Yamamoto growled. His blade pointed steadily at the enemy. 

“You should better shut-up, old hag,” Shura said coldly before opening the fight by leaping at Hikari.

Aura-cladded footsteps thumped on the swaying ship. Two pairs of daggers danced along with the tan girl as she tried to cut into the visor hiding her enemy’s disdainful gaze. Tap and tap went two pairs of feet as the two women danced with death. Swords and daggers flashed and sliced in a furious exchange spanning a blink of the eyes. Alas, one of them was too young to keep up. Employing nothing but her natural reflexes and instinct honed for a lifetime, Hikari dropped her one sword to grab the wrist of Shura, throwing her over the shoulder.

Slammed onto the wooden deck, Shura was left open to a follow-up cut. Fortunately for the young girl, the cut never came. Yamamoto chose that moment to leap In with a slash, forcing Hikari into a blade lock. The young warrior forced the Reaper back with three mighty swings of a slash, a downward cut and a sneaky slice at the waist.

Swords clanged as the black feather-like blade blocked the last slice. Hikari seized the moment to kick the sword she dropped back to her free hand and swung, drawing an arc straight at her target’s neck.

Credit to Yamamoto, he evaded the attack by the hairbreadth. As a master of economic movement, Yamamoto knew his art like the back of his hand. Hence, the split of blood from the slash he surely evaded came as a surprise.

Refusing to let go of the tiniest second of advantage, Hikari delivered the cross-cut straight at Yamamoto’s chest.

Again, the swordsman evaded. Again, blood spilled out like a fountain. However, this time Yamamoto caught on to the technique being used.

“Aura Blade?” Yamamoto grimaced.

“You actually see through it?” Hikari commended, waving the blade coated in a thin layer of Aura. “Not surprising, given your prior dealing with the Yulong Empire.”

Yamamoto frowned, “It is not possible to unleash this much damage out of so little Aura.” His eyes widened. “That sword is an artifact.”

“My, my, you are a sharp one.” praised Hikari.

“What about the handicap?” Yamamoto whined.

“This is a handicap,” Hikari said. A tinge of sympathy was evident. “These swords are mass-produced pieces used as ammunition.”

…

CODE: KUROHANE

Rank: Unique (Batch)

Function

·High-Velocity Mass-Produce Blade

·Slash-Enhancement

·Dimension Chamber link

Awakening: CODE BREAK: ARRAY ERUPTION

…

“Handicap, my ass,” Shura said, returning to her feet. “Your swords are better than everything I own.”

“Really?” said Hikari, quickly realizing the vast wealth disparity. “My,” she paused to re-contextualize her words before settling with the agreed upon terms, “House pumped them out by a batch.”

Yamamoto’s face scowled at how much he had been demeaned. He turned to Shura. Their eyes met, and the two agreed they needed to push for 110% to succeed.

Shura leapt up in the air, while Yamamoto forged ahead and swung his sword to keep Hikari occupied. Each step Yamamoto took left a brutal indentation on the wood below as the battle resumed with much intensity.

Hikari swung her sword to parry Yamamoto’s attack, but the act left her arms numb. Surprised, Hikari was forced back by the samurai's relentless assault, resorting to intercept his blade with both swords instead of pressing offense. Her mind, experienced from countless battles, scrolled through the possible causes of Yamamoto's sudden surge in power.

A theory came to Hikari's mind.

“You have the Berserker Physique,” said Hikari. She focused on Yamamoto’s eyes, looking for confirmation.

Yep, there was no hiding the expression of shock in his eyes. Hikari silently cursed. This explained how he defied the Yulong Empire’s First Prince. The Berserker Physique gave the Aura-user a massive boost in power after receiving damage. This effect could be amplified by…

Yamamoto wiped the blood from his injury and licked it.

… Consumption of blood.

Hikari braised herself for the massive wave of Aura that tore the ship she was on asunder. She was tossed back from the sheer force behind Yamamoto’s slash. Feeling the sense of danger, Hikari rapidly searched for the stealthy assassin she lost sight of.

And their Shura was gliding in the skies with strings in her hand and mouth. Strings which were attached through rows of throwing blades. Using her body as a pivot, she flung those countless weapons. A rain of blades cladded in Aura and explosives fell endlessly, much to Hikari’s chagrin.

The explosion which commenced blew what remained of the ship to smithereens.