Princess Kaguya leaped high into the air, her eyes tightly shut. Against the blood-red moon, she looked like a nimble hare darting free.
She fell from the sky as though in free fall, landing among the angels, then instantly opened her eyes to gaze at them.
Princess Kaguya said, "You poor souls, forced to become such hideous things. Upon tender bamboo, kindle the fire of life. Let me grant you release."
"With the Heavenly Sword as my gift, I shall not return it. In the rift between the two primal forces, fade away between heaven and earth. Moonlit Manas-Night Fallen Blossom!"
As Princess Kaguya recited her incantation, four enormous figures suddenly rose from the east, south, west, and north.
They surrounded all the angels and stared straight at them, while Princess Kaguya raised her right hand above her head and drew a longsword almost as tall as herself from thin air.
This must have been the Heavenly Sword she had just mentioned. She swung it swiftly.
In a single instant, every angel around her froze in place. Moments later, they turned to ash and vanished between heaven and earth.
From Princess Kaguya's leap to her downward sword stroke, only a few seconds had passed. The battle had ended so quickly.
Everyone had only one thought: This isn't a battle. It's a harvest.
They had thought the battle was over, but suddenly, a blood-red rift tore open in the sky.
The first thing to emerge from the rift was a pair of immense wings.
Then came a golden body as massive as a mountain, with what looked like molten gold flowing beneath its skin rather than flesh and blood.
Through its translucent surface, they could glimpse surging vessels within, channels of energy swirling like galaxies.
Once its entire body had passed