A piercing whistle suddenly tore through the air from point-blank range, without warning!
The instant it reached their ears, the attack had already landed!
The expression on Tanaka Kenzō's face suddenly froze. He hadn't even had time to react; only a flicker of confusion crossed his eyes.
The green motes that had just surrounded him—how had they suddenly... scattered?
Then he saw a pitch-black blur, fast beyond measure, like a streak of ink, flash past his eyes...
No—from the place where his neck had been.
Pfft—!
Warm liquid sprayed into the air. His vision abruptly spun and rose.
He saw his headless body slowly crumple. He saw Shimizu Akari beside him, her adorable little face still wearing the happy smile she'd had for her younger sister's birthday, now overtaken by shock and confusion. Then... her head, too, parted from her neck.
Two heads traced two ghastly arcs through the air before rolling onto the ground, coated in dust and blood.
Their eyes still held the last traces of bewilderment and terror.
Time seemed to stretch, then freeze for an instant.
"Shimizu!!! Tanaka Kenzō—!!!"
Tawada Kanae's scream, like the shriek of a wounded beast, tore through the brief silence!
Her eyes turned bloodred in an instant, nearly bulging from their sockets!
Even in the depths of grief and shock, the instincts of an S-Class Hunter made her swing both swords!
The two wind-rune-engraved katanas became a dense storm of blades, slashing wildly toward the black blur that had flashed past her senses!
The blades cut through the air with a piercing whine!
But they struck nothing but air!
The shadow was too fast for her eyes to follow!
Even an S-Class Hunter's attack had missed completely!
Clang—!!!
The next instant, the shrill crash of metal striking metal rang out!
A force