The moment Kouhei dashed forward, she unfurled her wings.
With a deafening whoosh, two massive wings burst out from her back—
They were feathered and radiant, yet darkened at the edges with the faint hue of corruption.
They shimmered under an unseen light, beautiful and terrifying all at once.
And then—she vanished.
In a blink, Yui launched into the air, leaving behind a pressure wave that cracked the stone beneath her feet.
She soared high, twirling once, her silhouette framed against the dim sky like a fallen star that had reclaimed the heavens.
"Try to keep up, senpai," she said from above, her voice mocking and melodic, as if she was enjoying this far more than she should.
Kouhei's eyes widened, and his body moved on instinct alone.
The blade of light missed his cheek by mere centimeters, the force of the swing slicing through the wind and leaving a sharp ringing in his ears.
He twisted to the side, feeling the warmth of her mana brush against his skin like wildfire.
He had no time to think.
Another attack came from behind.
A sweeping arc from above.
He ducked just in time.
A blur of silver and gold cut through the air, cleaving a gash in the earth where he'd stood half a second earlier.
Sparks danced across the ground as Yui's blade struck stone.
"You're just dancing around," she said, spinning mid-air with effortless grace. Her wings flared out again, giving her unnatural agility. "You're not even fighting back."
Kouhei was breathing hard now.
Sweat clung to his skin.
His heart slammed inside his chest like a war drum, beating faster with each dodge.
He leapt backward, rolled across the ground, then barely evaded another wing slash—this time not from the sword, but from her wing itself.
The feathers at the edge had turned razor-sharp, infused with her mana.
They sliced through the air like scythes.
Fwoosh—fwsssssh—claaaang!
Every time he thought she was done, she came at him from another angle.
A flurry of sword strikes.
A twist of her body mid-flight.
A whip of her wing with feathers sharp enough to cut through steel.
Skidding across the dirt.
He was surviving purely on instinct and sheer willpower.
He dropped low, rolling beneath her strike and feeling the pressure of her blade slash the air just inches above his head.
He came up panting, dust in his lungs, knees trembling.
Because despite everything—despite her sword, her wings, and her speed—he could feel something.
Behind all of Yui's fury, behind her blinding light and sharp words, there was hesitation.
Not in her movements.
She wasn't trying to kill him.
And that small window of hesitation… that was the only reason he was still standing.
He looked up at her again—soaring above, eyes glowing, wings spread wide like a goddess of war.
And yet... there was something broken in her gaze.
"I'm not here to defeat you!" Kouhei shouted, voice hoarse. "I'm here to understand you!"
"Then try harder!" Yui screamed from above, her wings flaring once more. "Because right now, you're just a man running from a woman!"
And Kouhei, with nothing but his body and his will, braced himself for another storm.
Yui descended like a meteor, her sword trailing light and fury behind her.
Her wings folded inward for speed, her body spinning into a drill-like strike aimed right at Kouhei's chest.
He barely had time to react.
He dove to the side, landing hard on his shoulder as a blast of pressure erupted where he'd just stood.
Debris flew in all directions, and a cloud of dust swallowed the clearing whole.
He coughed, lungs searing from the force of it.
Even though her sword didn't touch him, the impact alone rattled every bone in his body.
She was holding back?
If this was her holding back, then the full brunt of her power would've torn him apart.
Kouhei pushed himself up on trembling arms, dirt smearing across his face and clothes.
His breath came in heavy bursts.
His heart was slamming against his ribs, but his eyes didn't leave her.
Yui hovered above the shattered ground, wings spread wide, her expression unreadable.
"You're not even trying to dodge properly anymore," she said, voice calm now, too calm, in fact. "Are you planning to die here? Because if so, I'll gladly send you off."
She raised her hand again.
Another beam of light formed in her grip, this one larger than the last—
It was unstable and crackling violently, as if her own emotions were surging into it.
"I told you already," Kouhei shouted through the dust, staggering to his feet, "I didn't come here to fight you."
"Then why do you keep getting in my way?!" she snapped, her voice suddenly breaking through the composure. "Why won't you just run?! Why won't you just let me push you away?!"
She launched another strike.
The shockwave of Yui's strike exploded across the field, dust and wind scattering in every direction.
The earth cracked beneath Kouhei's feet as he narrowly slid past her blade once more, boots dragging through the soil as he twisted his body away from another wing slash.
His heartbeat thundered in his ears, vision narrowed, and yet—his eyes never left her.
She darted into the sky again like a bolt of light, wings unfurling wide.
She circled above him like a bird of prey, sword pointed downward, her figure almost ethereal in the distorted air of her mana.
Her breathing, though subtle, was uneven now.
"Tch... you're starting to piss me off."
Her voice cracked through the air like lightning—
It was sharp, irate, and barely masking the frustration bubbling beneath her tone.
She raised her sword once more, energy spiraling around the blade in radiant arcs of gold and violet.
Kouhei barely had time to register the movement before her blade came down in a violent cleave.
He threw himself aside, hitting the ground hard and rolling through broken dirt.
He coughed, choking on dust, but still, still, he pushed himself to his feet with his legs trembling, shoulders bruised, but standing nonetheless.
"You're not even fighting back!" Yui shouted, halting mid-air and flapping her wings in place, gusts of wind pushing away the rubble beneath her. "Why won't you just stop?!"
She dived again, this time leading with her wings.
Blades of hardened light feathered outward like missiles—projectiles honed to perfection.
Kouhei rolled left—barely avoiding a feather that embedded into the ground beside him and instantly exploded into radiant shards.
Another missed him by inches. One grazed his shoulder, slicing through his shirt and searing the skin beneath. He hissed, biting down the pain, but didn't stop moving. Not once.
He couldn't afford to.
Dodge. Roll. Sprint. Slide.
He moved like a cornered animal, battered and breathless, yet never retreating.
Yui landed hard, her sword gouging into the earth as she knelt low for a split second—then lunged.
Her blade struck the spot Kouhei had been a second before, leaving a crater behind.
She swung again, her sword now nothing more than a blur of light and wrath.
Kouhei leaned back, the edge of her blade grazing his jaw—just a line of blood, but enough to sting.
Still trying to reach her.
"Why do you keep looking at me like that?!" she snarled, voice rising with something unhinged. "Like you know me?! Like you care?!"
"I want to understand you," Kouhei repeated, voice hoarse but unwavering. "That's all."
"You don't know a damn thing about me!!" she snapped, wings flaring wide as she shot back into the air, fury surging in her aura like wildfire.
"Maybe I don't," Kouhei said, panting. "But I want to."
"Then fight me!" she screamed, eyes glowing with raw mana. "Fight back, damn it! Why won't you fight back?!"
"Because I'm not here to hurt you."
She swooped down again—faster than before, sword trailing pure destruction, her wings cutting gashes in the sky itself.
She was no longer measured or composed—her strikes were wild now, furious, and erratic.
Driven by something deeper than battle.
Her sword came in a heavy arc.
Kouhei dodged—but just barely. The edge of her blade grazed his side, ripping through skin, warm blood blooming across his ribs. He staggered back, hand clutching his side—but didn't fall.
He gritted his teeth.
"You're not trying to kill me," he said, his voice quiet under the wind, but steady. "You could've... but you haven't."
She screamed, diving again, her wings spinning with deadly precision as she slashed from the air—this time in three rapid sweeps.
Krrash—kshhhhh—THOOM!
One carved the earth open. Another shattered the wall. The third... barely missed his throat.
He ducked, breath hitching, and leapt backward just as another wave of light energy crashed against the ground where he'd just stood.
Yui stood there, panting now—really panting.
Her chest rose and fell quickly, the glow from her body flickering with her breath, her wings trembling slightly at the ends.
Her hands were gripping the hilt of her sword too tight.
Her eyes—flickering now between rage and confusion.
"You're still... still standing..." she whispered.
"I told you," Kouhei said, taking a slow, shaky breath. "I'm not giving up."
"You're bleeding," she said.
"You're going to die at this rate."
"Then at least I'll die trying to understand you."
A silence fell between them—heavy, tense, but not quiet.
The wind still howled around her wings. The energy in the air still pulsed from her mana.
But Yui's sword tip lowered just a bit.
Her face twisted—not in mockery or arrogance, but something else.
Something conflicted.
She grit her teeth and took a shaky step forward. "You're... such a fucking idiot, senpai."
"And you're still holding back, Himeno-san."
Yui growled low in her throat, wings flaring up as if she wanted to strike—but she didn't.
Her fingers tightened around the sword... then loosened.
Finally, she screamed, a roar of frustration that cracked the air like thunder. "Why won't you just break?!"
Kouhei stepped forward despite the pain in his side.
"Because I don't want to fight the mask you're showing me."
But from how badly she wanted to cut him.
And from how badly she wanted to stop.
The line between rage and something else—something deeper—was blurring now.
And Kouhei stood in that thin, dangerous space… still refusing to back down.