Isher Notra

Stella's words were no mere exaggeration.

Her body, which was plagued by fatigue and pain seconds ago, was renewed by the golden fires of hatred, fueling her running feet as she closed the gap between her and the poor target of such feelings!

Speaking of, Yuki-onna readied her battle stance, lunging one of her icy kunai at the young child! Although her senses were clouded by violent intent, her instincts wouldn't allow her to be caught by such a predictable move.

The Human ducked just in time, the air shifting around the blade caressing her scalp! Then, she hastily counterattacked with a mighty knee, jumping all the way up to her chin!

The Yūrei grunted, jumping backwards with formidable speed! "How?"

Stella's momentum restarted once her feet reached the ground, propelling her forward!

"Pay attention, whore!" Her blazing fist swung at the sorceress's chest, who successfully bent her spine back so the child's entire body went past her!

Shit.

Yuki-onna flung one of her kunai at the Human, who successfully crouched once again!

"Second time, bitch," Stella taunted, her smirk also twisted by resentment. "You better give up and-"

The Yūrei pointed two fingers at herself with a serious expression. That didn't look good.

One more point to the girl's instincts. Once she sidestepped, a sizzling sensation rushed past her cheek! While she watched the weapon returning to its creator's hand, she rubbed the wounded area.

Blood painted her fingertips, except her thumb. Even now, the sorceress never ceased to be one successful move from claiming her life.

"You're gifted, Stella," Yuki-onna relented, her kunai dissolving and merging into a watery orb before resolidifying as one katana, held by both her hands. "This duel is a fitting end for you."

"Watch your mouth!" Her Saniya radiated stronger, her muscles bulging with seemingly unending power! "I'll tell you one thing! I ain't perishing until I make you pay for the friends of mine you froze!"

"Do as you wish." The sorceress spun her sword in a dramatic flair before assuming a battle stance. "As the only token of goodwill I will ever give your kind, die a warrior's death!"

Yuki-onna swung her katana at multiple angles, complicating Stella's charge with horizontal air slashes!

Still, she wasn't a stranger to those, having fought the Kamaitachi previously. Jumping, sliding beneath, sidestepping, jumping over! Over and over again, the Human eluded the barrage of projectiles by a hair, rarely losing momentum! It didn't take long before they were back at close range.

The Icy Sorceress's fighting style was a lot more restrained and defensive than earlier, focusing on evading and parrying the girl's ferocious punches and then countering with swings that had a nasty reach!

"Argh!" Stella hissed when a superficial cut tore through her wrist, forcing her to back down for the first time since the start of her frenzy. She wasn't sure if this sensorial anchor to rationality would be beneficial or not. She speculated this "second wind" of hers was dependent on her rage.

"The end of your tantrum, I reckon?" Yuki-onna taunted, her exhaustion perceptible through the heavy bags under her eyes and her heavy breath. Nevertheless, her resolve seemed to be as bottomless as Stella's.

The Human's mind, although still stormed by fury, was slightly cleared. Her eyes were adequately transfixed on her opponent's weapon, the elongated, thin blade looking... distorted.

...

"Nah." She spat on the thoroughly besmirched grass. "Call this Round Three."

She pushed through the pain, one more to the pile that ravaged every inch of her, and assumed her stance - a mixture between the Knight's closed fists and Lien's deceptive looseness on her limbs.

...Speaking of, where was Lien?

The question, however, couldn't afford to be answered in this life-or-death situation. This time, Yuki-onna took the offensive, dashing with her sword close to her side, pointed in the opposite direction! Stella took a deep breath, calming her heart and hoping her energy wouldn't deplete along the way.

The sorceress had turned a complete 180° when it came to her combat. Her flurry of strikes was practically drenched in bloodthirst - slashes so fast and containing such an impossibly narrow window between them, Stella couldn't do much but evade and pray that the katana wouldn't pierce anywhere vital!

The Human's feet danced through the song of the pseudo-steel carving the air, barely pushing forward as another, deeper gash was created on the arm opposite from the previous wound! She forced her mouth shut to not utter a single moan.

"This is it, child!" Yuki-onna cried triumphally, extending her katana to the side in an uncharacteristically slow motion. "Your end!"

What a silly and predictable attack! Even with this wound, Stella could easily back away-

...The blade started looking funny again, almost like...

Oh... Interesting.

To feed the deception, Stella quickly gathered her Saniya and concentrated it on her legs.

"Here I am, bitch." Her eyes narrowed as she bared her teeth at the witch. "A delicious fish, ready to eat your bait."

She bent her knees as her opponent swung the liquefying weapon. Then, watching the long blade shape into an extension of the hilt, and more water coalescing on its tip in the form of a crescent moon, Stella wound up her foot, waiting for the new construct to solidify.

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Once it did, the Human slammed her boot against the thinner, lengthier handle, producing a loud crack as it was torn in half! Then, she quickly spun, taking advantage of the momentum, to face Yuki-onna, whose expression of shock signaled the opportunity she desperately craved.

"You're..." Stella stomped the ground, forcing a boulder to come out. "DONE!" She kicked it, flinging it at the Yūrei as if she were competing in the deadliest dodgeball game!

"Wait," Yuki-onna breathlessly uttered, helplessly holding her arms at the projectile before it connected painfully on her chest, dragging her all the way to a tree entirely covered in her own magical ice - the same one she had frozen to its core previously!

The girl carefully approached the seemingly fallen Yūrei, expecting anything from her once her back faced the wall. Good to know her rationality didn't cease her sudden rush of power, whatever the reason for its origin was.

Buried under a pile of ice shards, the sorceress shifted. As expected.

Yuki-onna, clinging shakily to the frozen bark, spat red once she was back to her feet. "Curse you, relentless child..." Her bulging eyes quivered in intense emotion as they locked on the Human. "What is the source of this strength? You shouldn't de adle to cast a grain of sand, let alone a rock."

"Beats me." Stella's tone was calmer, her thirst for retribution mostly sated. Although just gazing at the witch faintly poked her nerves. "I guess I wanted to teach you a lesson so much my body gave me a handout."

"It natters not..." Yuki-onna lifted her sleeve to expose her skeletal arm. Thick, repulsive veins popped through her pale skin as she let go of the tree. "You are not the only one with a way to draw out additional Saniya..."

Suddenly, the halves of her scythe were pulled into her hands. With a quick motion, she slammed them together, rapidly liquefying them in a watery orb, then reforming them as one - the same weapon she used to dispel Gentō's misty trap, only now pristine and clear as crystal!

"Healing yourself again?" Stella scoffed. "How are you pulling so much power from your ass?"

"This technique risks ny own life further with each usage. I'll see this through, even if it costs everything I have." Before the Human's eyes could follow, Yuki-onna was closing in on her by sprinting alone. "Your resolve is nothing against nine!"

The girl's heart raced as she utterly understood the full extent of the depths her opponent would go to ensure victory. She was consuming her own blood to obtain more Saniya; she hinted at it since the first time Stella damaged her.

...

......

Stella dodged amidst the rhythm of the icy links, carrying a hard weight that dents the earth with each slam, and a sickle that comes too close to hitting the target too many times!

And yet... Here was the funny thing about this... This frenzied flurry... was considerably slower than the previous one.

Of course, that could mean the sorceress was better with one weapon than the other. But why bother using the kusarigama in the first place, then?

Finally, at the rare break Yuki-onna gave Stella, she used it to expand the distance between them with a few jumps!

"I have to say..." A cocky smirk twisted her lips. "You talked too big for what you're giving me right now..."

"Dissatisfied?" Yuki-onna snarled, rippling the chains before dashing at her. "I'll fix that!"

The blunt end of the weapon was brought down to the ground, prompting Stella to jump back again! Yet, the sorceress did not let go of her momentum to use the full length of the links to send the sickle to follow the child! Luckily, the curved blade only reaped the rubber from Stella's boots before swinging back to its wielder!

"Hey!" Against the spooky chill across her spine, Stella's heckle resumed. "That's what I'm talking about! But I doubt you can do EVEN better!"

The Yūrei shook with sheer frustration, her gaze enough to kill a normal Human from a heart attack. "We are NOT frolicking! How dare you go this far to RIDICULE ne!"

"Oh, you're not playing around?" Stella let out a loud giggle. "Coulda fooled me! Your attacks are so limp now! It's like watching an old man trying to get his pee-pee hard!"

"I'LL CUT YOUR DIRTY TONGUE!!!" Yuki-onna bellowed, a quick surge of turquoise Saniya erupting before she pounced at the child.

The sickle spun around like a deadly helicopter blade, swerving around its creator with seamless, fluid elegance! Stella could witness the noticeable improvement in her combat speed, almost regretting teasing the witch to such an extent.

...Emphasis on "almost."

Ten seconds of genuine terror ensued. The sorceress wouldn't allow Stella the slimmest window for rest between slashes, forcing her to push every muscle in her body to the limit with jumping, crouching, and rolling in succession!

"Now!" The kusarigama's blunt end wrapped around the Human's leg, prompting her to stumble on her back with a single pull. With the other hand, the Yūrei held the sickle high in the air, the line of its curved tip glimmering against the moonlight.

Stella's heart hammered as her luck seemed to dry up. Should she set up a Saniya barrier? Did she have enough energy to pull it off? Would it even work?

It was too late to question her next move as Yuki-onna descended the blade at her. Following the silent voice of intuition, her hands grabbed the curved, sharp ice with her bare hands, covered with all that remained of her golden, shimmering vigor! Her fingers bled, spraying over her brow, but the weapon's cold nature ironically dulled the pain for her.

Yuki-onna's remaining hand let go of the chains to assist its sibling. Their arms were now locked in a battle of attrition, their muscles bulging as they struggled to gain the slightest inch of advantage over the other!

"Why...?" The pale witch's teeth clenched. Her scowl slowly twisted in despair. "Why can't you just lie down and die!? You should've never set foot in here if you cherish your life that nuch!"

Stella's eyes sparkled once the resistance of her opponent's deceptively potent strength wavered! She had found the wall that the Yūrei's resolve couldn't break through!

"You know the kind of people I hate most, Yuki-onna? People who think they can get away with whatever they want because they're strong, who quiet everyone else with their power, so only their opinions matter."

Stella's teeth clenched, cracking under the pressure.

"Assholes like you come in heaps back home! And, let me tell you, I'M TIRED OF LETTING YOU PEOPLE PUSH ME AROUND!!!"

With one last appeal to her Saniya, the girl pushed the sorceress away, making her stumble and lose her height advantage!

The Yūrei tried to get up, compelling her shaky arms and legs to do anything to no avail. Her expression, staring at the triumphant Human, now towering over her, was utterly taken by fear.

"Don't think I'm that stupid. I know you have your reasons to think I'm a danger to everyone here." Stella's frown softened. "I... even agree with you a little."

She stared at her open hand, which was vandalized by the cuts on her fingers, granting them an unwelcome coat of crimson. She closed it while taking a long, deep breath.

"Still, I'm fighting for my life," she proclaimed, her gaze intense at Yuki-onna with defined determination. "I've met many incredible Monoke over this month, folks I would NEVER hurt, even if you held a gun to my head! And I bet my two fucking arms, Asra is the same!" She leaned closer, her voice strengthening to a level not even herself was prepared for. "And if you don't believe us, too bad! You can shove your moaning up your ass, for all I care!"

Stella's head was struck by a lingering migraine after her shouting ended, like her fuse just short-circuited. Yet, she felt a liberating feeling of satisfaction throughout these quiet moments before the sorceress fought her way to her knees.

"Finish me, then..." Yuki-onna whispered, her head downcast in defeat.

"What?"

"Do you think I can live with two of your kind wandering around this forest? No. As long as I live, your life is in danger. I will cease at nothing. No jail will hold ne for long until you draw your last dreath..." Her statement, regardless of its content, came out as less of a threat and more of a fact. "I will vastly outlive you. If you show nercy tonight, I shall forever haunt your serenity, even as you turn wrinkly and weak."

Her arguments... sounded valid. Could Stella trust Sayama's prison system any more than Namadi's? Back home, the worst of the worst were bailed out of jail with connections and money alone. Who was to say if Yuki-onna wasn't influential enough to pull it off?

Not to mention, she was only a member of a larger group waiting to kill Humans at any cost...

...Could Stella truly afford to not take the most efficient path?