Kaori gripped one of her sickles, whipping her hand outward. The chain that connected the two seemed to magically lengthen. By the time Ryu had reacted, the second blade had already appeared before his throat.
Ryu's grin didn't fade, only becoming wider. Everything in this world was slow to him. Catching him off guard while his gaze was trained on you? Wasn't that nothing more than a fantasy?
Ryu's silver blade appeared before him, deflecting the sickle away. A sturdy sword light enveloped it, giving the weaker weapon a strength one could have never expected from a treasure of the mere Black Grade.
Ryu's arm trembled. Despite the casual flare of Kaori's actions, the power behind it was impossible to deny. To make Ryu of all people able to feel the strength of her body… it could only be said that Ryu was immediately intrigued.
Feeling a fiery gaze on his, Ryu turned his head to find Sephare staring intently at him.
Ryu's grin softened, becoming a bright smile. Sephare didn't know how to react for a moment. She had just been scared that Ryu wouldn't recognize her, and now he was suddenly giving her a big smile. Her heart couldn't help but be both lustered and warm at the same time.
Somehow, the Awoken Moon Sect suddenly felt as though it had gained an enormous blanket of protection. Until this point, they had been forced to be nothing more than pawns in a political game.
They had originally escaped from the Pedestal Plane so that they could survive, but they had ended up right back in the midst of war and turmoil the moment they got here. An order that commanded all powers to join up with the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect became something they couldn't ignore. Even if they wanted to, the would have ended up getting wiped out by the griffins first. They hadn't had a choice in the matter.
In truth, it was only thanks to Guiot that they could maintain some of their dignity. In the time he had spent here, Guiot had managed to become a prominent figure and had even become a valued disciple of the Black Winds Kingdom. Without him, a Sect filled with women and beauties like their own would have been swallowed up from all sides.
However, there was only so much Guiot could do. While he was in the Immortal Ring and had become a greatly valued disciple, even before the odd changes to this world there had been Path Extinction Realm and Dao Pedestal Realm experts. Now, the problem was even more exaggerated. Guiot was already beginning to feel the pressure of being the only backer of a Sect that had seemingly popped up out of nowhere.
But now… it felt like they could finally sign a breath of relief.
Logic told them that Ryu couldn't have possibly become powerful enough to make them relax so much, and yet that was their innate instinct. So long as he was here… Everything would be alright.
"Hold your head up high." Ryu's voice boomed. "You are the Awoken Moon Sect. By the power vested in you by the Ice Phoenix Clan, these lands, this sky, even the air they all breathe, is yours to control."
Ryu's palm flipped over, revealing a familiar ring that the Awoken Moon Sect Matriarch had given him long ago. The moment it appeared in this world, it released a sonorous cry.
The walls of the Awoken Moon Sect shook and trembled, a mighty deity hidden within its depths suddenly soaring up.
It felt like, that moment, the qi of the Moon World had all frozen over, unwilling to take even a single step in any direction.
The Awoken Moon Sect was suddenly completely enveloped by a white light.
In that moment, the older individuals of the four powers that ruled the Moon World in their absence froze, a sudden understanding overwhelming them all.
Ryu Tatsuya. Awoken Moon Sect. Ice Phoenix Clan.
It all clicked at once.
Another sickle tried to take Ryu's head off. But, rather than succeeding, it found yet another blade in its path.
Kaori was getting antsy. She didn't just want to kill Ryu, she wanted a battle. Obviously, a distracted Ryu wouldn't give her a very good battle.
"Why haven't you attacked yet, I have things to do." Ryu spoke as he sent a glance toward Ailsa who's Spiritual Qi was flourishing. Whatever kind of demonic monstrosity his wife was now summoning… Well, let's just say that once it appeared Ryu wouldn't get the chance to have much more fun.
Kaori's head tilted in confusion. She was… being looked down upon?
It was quite a novel feeling. Usually, most couldn't even stand in her presence without their knees buckling. She really did have the aura and momentum of a T-rex. Being before her made one feel as though an ancient dinosaur was bear down on them from above, chunks of raw meat and globules of blood dripping from her teeth.
This feeling though… She kind of liked it.
Kaori sickle snapped back into place, one balancing on each of her palms.
Her bare feet dangled in the air before, but at that moment they suddenly became rigid. As though she was pressing onto the balls of her feet upon solid ground, her calves flexed and a rouge fog erupted from her body, her canines seeming to lengthen, her black hair becoming wilder as the muscles of her toned torso flexed.
This… This she would enjoy very much.
Kaori vanished, appearing before Ryu in the blink of an eye. One sickle was raised high into the air while the other swept across horizontally. She had no thoughts of defense at all as the chain that connected them rattled to her back, snaking about like a silver river.
Ryu met her gaze and her blades. The power of their exchange caused what remained of his upper robes to shatter and scatter into the wind, revealing a robust body that glistened like chiseled marble.
The pause only lasted for an instant before they erupted into a flurry of strikes.