Since he had no way to explain it, Shade did not intend to speak. He gripped the sword with both hands and felt that peculiar power. Day and moon, daylight and night, merged together within the colors of twilight. Though the nature of this power was entirely new to Shade as well, he felt that he could fully command it:
"So not only do I have an affinity for the Sun, I also have an affinity for merging the Sun and Moon into one?"
With that thought, the greatsword swept forward.
This strike imitated Moonlight Slash, and a red-gold sword trail threaded with specks of silver-blue light flew toward the witch through the courtyard like a shockwave. Unable to fly, the witch had nowhere to dodge, but she had only wanted to test Shade's strength, so there was no need for her to evade:
"Ha!"
Her right foot rose beneath her skirt, and her boot stomped heavily on the ground. Golden ripples immediately spread in every direction. The splashing solar ripples collided with Shade's sunset sword trail and annihilated one another, though they still melted the snow covering the ground into vapor.
The vapor obscured the view, and Shade's figure distorted and blurred beneath that intense sunset glow until it vanished completely. Knowing that the Outlander possessed spatial power, the witch immediately raised a golden shield. The next second, the greatsword bearing the hues of sunset smashed down upon it from behind her.
The index finger wearing an ancient golden ring—really just a witch's accessory—pointed forward, and a scorching ray pierced straight through Shade's chest, making the illusion disappear. The real Shade swung his greatsword from the witch's right side, but at the final moment, he was intercepted by the witch's duplicate, whose bright golden eyes shone while her hair