Shiina vanished.
The space where she had stood split apart beneath the force of her movement.
Nathan barely had time to raise Kyomei.
CLANG!
Her katana struck from above.
The impact drove him into the ground hard enough to crack the earth beneath his feet. Dark power burst around him as he blocked, but Shiina did not stop at one strike.
The blue blade in her left hand came immediately after.
Nathan twisted aside.
The shorter sword passed across his chest, cutting through the outer layer of his gray kimono and leaving a shallow line of blood beneath it.
Shiina was already behind him.
Nathan turned.
Her katana came for his neck.
He blocked.
BAAAADOOM!
A blast of black and blue energy tore through the field.
Nathan was launched backward, his feet carving long lines in the dry earth before he stopped. He did not have time to steady himself.
Shiina appeared again.
Her two-sword stance had changed everything.
