Suddenly, the ground trembled. She quickly looked up above the rooftop, staring in fear and bewilderment at a tall woman who blotted out the sunset. She was barefoot, with one arm and both legs completely metallic. Raising a massive sword with both hands, the woman roared from above.

"Kongbu zhijian!"

She leaped over the girl and descended in a downward slash toward the ground. "Shān Bēng!"

The earth cracked, and the entire neighborhood shook. Rising to her feet, she had her foot planted on Karin's face, a rock pinning her there. The princess sat sprawled on the boulder.

"Karin! Are you okay?!"

The young lady, groaning in pain from the weight on top of her, asked the girl in red robes. "Who are you?"

"Me? Hmm, call me the Sword Empress! You don't deserve to know my real name."

With a quick twist of her foot on Karin's face, she shouted a spell. "Shuizhijian!"

Trails of water emanated from the sword's blade, aiming at the rock and slicing through it. "Pò hǎi zhǎn!"

Ripping apart the stone above Karin and kicking her in the stomach, she sent her flying back and declared loudly, staring her down: "Heiress to the throne of Tsugaki! Show me who you truly are!"

"I... Why should I prove myself to you?!"

"Shut up! You talk too much and do too little." — With an angry roar, she gripped the sword and held it straight in front of her.

In a thrust, she yelled. "Kongbu zhijian!"

She soared forward and pierced the sword into the ground, opening a chasm. "Duàncéng Chuāncì!"

Karin caught the edge of the chasm with one hand, her face twisted in shock at such overwhelming power. The Sword Empress closed her eyes, frowned, pointed her sword skyward, and cried out.

"Fūsaku ryū, shunrai ranpo!"

Lightning flashed even at the tip of the blade. Keeping her eyes shut, she asked Ryukuro in her mind.

"Ryukuro, is there any technique you know that can help me in this situation?"

"Yes..." — He answered nervously. — "I'll give you this technique, but only this once. And you saw your aunt use it once in the past..."

"Wait... that's... You don't think I'm capable of winning? Are you trying to kill me?"

"Your opponent is infinitely stronger than you, and I can't possess her right now. This is what you'll have to do if you don't want to die."

The Sword Empress burst out laughing, then shouted at her: "Giving up already? What's wrong? Aren't you going to avenge your pathetic father's death?!"

Karin opened her eyes, scowling in fury with her teeth bared. "What did you say? Say that again!"

"Karin! Don't fall for her provocation!" — shouted the princess from a distance, battered and dirty, clutching her left arm and still staggering.

"This isn't your business! Stay out of it, Alice!"

Alice stared in shock, seeing Karin's sharpened eyes, making it perfectly clear that her nerves were raw.

"I'll say it once more, dear. Your wretched father was the scum of the earth. He was good for nothing but being a punching bag for..."

Karin snarled with a piercing glare, sheathed her sword, and crouched down, concentrating all her spirit into her chest.

The gravity around her grew much heavier. From her surroundings emanated a powerful aura, gleaming like a full moon. In the background, Yunna screamed.

"Karin! Don't use that technique! There will be terrible consequences!"

The air began to swirl like a hurricane. The ground shook from the accumulated energy. Finally, she invoked it.

"Angetsu ryū Ōgi! Mangetsu!"

A blinding flash temporarily blinded the Empress. She felt an intense heat near her stomach, and a whisper.

"Hikari..." — Karin continued with an X-shaped slash — "Jūji!"

Just as she was about to finish, the Empress caught the sword with her left hand and held on tight. She ground her teeth and kicked Karin backward.

Karin's luminescence gave way to a fierce wind that pushed against the Empress, trying to sweep her away. The young lady pressed on with her technique.

"Jogen!"

Lifting her sword skyward, she invoked another technique.

"Shumatsu kishoken!" — The sky darkened. Clouds formed above her. With her left hand, she swept the air in front of her with a commanding gesture.

"Kyōfū!"

The Empress raised her sword in front of the gale and conjured another technique. "Shuizhijian!"

"Wùzhì zhǎn!" — With a lateral slash, she carved a path forward.

She charged, only to be stopped by a downward palm command that buried her in the ground.

"Furue!" — Then, raising her arm and lifting her left index finger toward the sky, the thunder above illuminated everything around. She brought her finger down sharply, pointing at Karin.

"Inazuma!"

A bolt of lightning tore across the sky, electrifying Karin and making her convulse. She stood there, head hung low. Then, expressionless, Karin collapsed straight to the ground.

"Karin!" — cried the princess.

Her mother rushed over to help. The pavement grew wet as the first raindrops began to fall.

The sharp, wet sound of footsteps made their desperation clear.

"Yunna! What technique is that?"

"It's a power-boosting technique. You gain immense strength for a short period, but the more you obscure the moon, the more your body suffers... This technique can kill if you use the Shingetsu stage..."

Tears fell onto Karin's chest. Alice stood up and realized her arm wouldn't move.

"Damn her! She broke my arm! Lucky for me I can't feel the pain..."

"Alice, let's get out of here. We need to heal her as soon as possible."

Just as Yunna lifted her daughter into her arms, an intense burst of laughter echoed from ahead. They stared at the woman who had just been electrocuted. Still laughing, she grumbled.

"So that girl does have power... what a cheat! You'll see what's what!"

Her face wet from the rain, she grew more and more breathless. With dilated pupils, she grabbed the sword to her left and crawled out from under the cracked pavement.

Sword in hand, she stomped down hard with her metallic foot. "You're about to have the worst day of your lives!"

Someone walked up wearing a black suit and carrying an umbrella. He raised a hand adorned with many rings and, with his index finger, beckoned the Empress with a glowing red light.

She calmed down, rested the sword on her shoulder, and walked over to him. He placed a hand on her left shoulder as they left, saying:

"Be very careful... Umbras is no child's play."

And so, the mother and princess sighed in relief, then ran down the corridor in terror. The clouds dispersed, and the sun shone once more.

The sound of Hunter's car approaching could be heard. A letter fell from the sky into Alice's hands. Yunna glanced at it, puzzled by the small round charm hanging from it and the strange composition of the paper. She opened it.

"Congratulations on showcasing the power of Umbras Trinity's second colonel, Yumiko Hu. The goddess who lends her strength isn't even close to what my mother or father can do... let alone me... Keep this Solarian Pearl. Wait for me. In the future, I'd love to smash that Queen's face... I mean... Princess Alice's face. Signed, Terasu Sunshine."