Shinji Hirako was still running through his calculations when Yuko made her move.
She merely raised the Black Blade in her left hand and swept it lightly through the air. The inverted, disordered world instantly returned to normal.
"H-how is that possible?!"
The smile froze on Shinji Hirako's face. His Sakanade... had been forcibly undone?!
No, not undone. Had it been destroyed outright?
"She can even do that?"
Yuko had simply stripped away the effect Shinji Hirako had imposed on her senses.
"My turn."
Yuko ignored what he was thinking and stepped forward. The Black Blade in her left hand traced a dark arc, sending a black crescent slash surging across the ground toward Shinji Hirako like a shark's dorsal fin.
Not good!
Shinji Hirako tried to escape with Flash Step, only to discover in horror that the slash crossed more than ten meters in an instant. As though it had slipped through space itself, it appeared right in front of him.
At that critical moment...
"Cero!"
A crimson flash packed with concentrated spiritual pressure shot in from the side and struck precisely at... Shinji Hirako. Hiyori, now wearing her Visored mask, had made her move!
Boom!
Before the black blade could reach him, the Cero exploding at Shinji Hirako's feet sent him flying.
Hiyori was no slouch in a fight. She had acted the moment Yuko raised her hand, allowing her to beat Yuko to it and take Shinji Hirako out... ahem, blast him clear of the slash.
"Are you trying to kill me?!"
Shinji Hirako rose in the distance, grumbling as he dusted himself off.
Hiyori could not be bothered with that useless idiot. The moment she had saved Shinji Hirako, she spun around and fired a Cero at Yuko.
"Not bad combat instincts. A little better than