"Are you done explaining? If you are, then let's get started! Even though you're the one who woke me, I won't go easy on you.
"I've been asleep for hundreds of years. I'm hungry! You'll be my food!"
As he spoke, Ryukotsusei tore a boulder more than ten meters across from the cliff and hurled it at Yae Sakura.
"Zanshin!"
Seeing the boulder hurtling toward her, Yae Sakura swiftly entered a state of Zanshin. Everything around her slowed down.
She drew the Spirit Blade in an instant and slashed a massive crescent of sword energy at the boulder, cutting it clean in half.
The moment she split the boulder, she locked onto Ryukotsusei...
Flash Step!
She appeared directly above Ryukotsusei's head. The dragon had an ugly human face growing out of its skull. That face had taken a once-mighty dragon demon and made him look far less imposing.
As soon as Yae Sakura appeared atop Ryukotsusei's head, she thrust the Spirit Blade: Sakura Blizzard straight at that human face.
Not good...
Before Yae Sakura could stab it, the human face on the monstrous dragon head suddenly spewed a cloud of black smoke.
At that moment, countless Crimson Cherry Sword Qi erupted from Yae Sakura, relentlessly tearing into Ryukotsusei's head.
Mark of Killing Intent—activate!
The blast knocked the black smoke aside just enough for the Spirit Blade in her hand to finally pierce the human face.
But after it had gone in barely a foot, a powerful repulsive force erupted from Ryukotsusei and hurled Yae Sakura dozens of meters away. She began falling straight toward the ground.
Yae Sakura plummeted from several hundred meters in the air like a boulder, smashing into the earth and cracking the ground beneath her...
"As I thought, I'm fine..."
Gripping the Spirit Blade, Yae Sakura climbed to her feet. She'd fallen hundreds of meters, but aside from feeling a little uncomfortable, she was completely unharmed...
But then again, even Kiana, a B-rank Valkyrie, had survived a fall from high in the air. And Yae Sakura was an SSS-rank Valkyrie, after all.
Though that B-rank Valkyrie, White Comet, could also transform into Moonlight.
"Damn you! You dare hurt me? I'll kill you!"
Blood streamed from the human face on Ryukotsusei's head. He was furious...
The Spirit Blade dealt a hundred percent more damage to nonhuman creatures. Though it had only pierced a foot deep, the wound had still caused Ryukotsusei tremendous pain.
Ryukotsusei opened his monstrous jaws, gathering terrifying demonic energy inside. Layer upon layer of faint light enveloped the energy as it burst from his mouth, compressing it to one hundredth of its original size.
The white mass of demonic energy compressed into a dazzling point of light. The space around it showed faint signs of collapsing.
With a deafening roar, the compressed sphere of demonic energy shot toward Yae Sakura like a cannonball, traveling at least faster than the speed of sound.
But to Yae Sakura, who was in a state of Zanshin, it wasn't all that fast.
Though the attack was powerful, Yae Sakura didn't dodge. Instead, she immediately drew another sword—the Void Blade.
The instant she drew the Void Blade, she activated Ouroboros.
The attack slowed to a crawl as soon as it entered Ouroboros's domain. Yae Sakura swung the Void Blade in her left hand straight at the compressed sphere of demonic energy.
The sphere was devoured by the Void Blade before their eyes.
"What...?"
Ryukotsusei froze, watching Yae Sakura devour his attack with a strange katana.
"Take it back!"
Yae Sakura swung the Void Blade again, sending Ryukotsusei's attack straight back at him. The enormous dragon had no time to dodge. The blast struck him and the mountain valley above him.
A massive mushroom cloud rose like the aftermath of a nuclear explosion. Countless rocks blasted outward, and the shockwave swept through the area.
When the dust settled, the vast valley had become a giant crater thousands of meters across...
Ryukotsusei lay inside it, looking worse for wear—but still alive.
"For a great demon, is that all you've got? It doesn't match your appearance!"
Yae Sakura, holding a Spirit Blade in one hand and the Void Blade in the other, leaped onto a surviving ridge and looked down at Ryukotsusei in the crater...
"Half-Demon, you're strong! But this isn't my true strength. After being sealed for hundreds of years, I have less than a tenth of my power. Do you dare wait until I've recovered before we fight again?"
"What do you think?"
Wait for him to recover?
What a joke!
Yae Sakura was confident she could easily defeat him even at full strength, but she had no intention of letting him escape.
Ryukotsusei wasn't a good demon. If he were free after being sealed for so long...
It would be a disaster for humanity.
Of course, that was all just an excuse. Yae Sakura simply wanted to kill him now and get the Crystal. As for the main quest to defeat fifteen great demons, she'd already won her battle against Ryukotsusei.
"I knew it... But if you want to kill me, Ryukotsusei, this level of strength is nowhere near enough."
Ryukotsusei's wounds began to heal. In just a few seconds, he seemed to have recovered completely.
He flew into the air again and opened his jaws...
Countless demonic energy bullets shot at Yae Sakura like a barrage.
Faced with the bullets, Yae Sakura only needed to swing her twin blades. The energy bullets couldn't get anywhere near her.
At that moment, another enormous white sphere of demonic energy appeared right in front of Yae Sakura like a flash, electricity crackling around it.
"The same trick won't work on me."
Energy attacks like this only made the Void Blade stronger, no matter how many he fired.
Yae Sakura struck the sphere with the Void Blade, and it was swallowed up. Holding the blade, she could feel it brimming with energy.
She glanced at Ryukotsusei, who was moving through the dark clouds overhead, and used Flash Step again...
She appeared atop Ryukotsusei once more and brought the Void Blade down on his body, which was as hard as steel. The slash carved a huge wound into him.
"Damn!"
Ryukotsusei roared in pain and immediately reached for the "ant" on his body with his enormous claws.
"Sometimes, bigger isn't better. Wouldn't you agree, Ryukotsusei?" Seeing the claw reach for her, Yae Sakura activated Zanshin. Everything began to slow down, and just as it was about to grab her—
Yae Sakura performed an extreme evasion...
Flowing Sakura Slash!
She unleashed the sword energy around her and slashed at Ryukotsusei's claw. But his claw was incredibly tough, and the attack did no damage.
Yae Sakura looked at Ryukotsusei's head and charged again. But Ryukotsusei seemed to have realized her intention, and the repulsive force erupted once more.
Just as Yae Sakura was knocked back, she immediately used the Flame Sakitama's ultimate technique.
"Sakura... scattering!"
Before you continue