A Single Strike of Setsuna

Gepetto crashed to the ground, its massive body an easy target. Sakura swung her blade, the Demon Blade becoming a ghostly blue blur.

Gepetto had stayed airborne until now, and its mobility had given Sakura trouble. But as it fell, it seemed to sense death approaching. The remaining scarlet threads lashed wildly toward her.

It braced itself on its forelimbs, trying to take flight again—but it was too late. Sakura's strike was already upon it.

[Setsuna's Single Strike—Karma Hunt]

[Setsuna's Single Strike—All Creation]

The blade moved lightly, like a cherry blossom falling from its branch, yet the force behind it was crushing.

The first strike severed the scarlet threads.

The second sheared away Gepetto's defensive shell.

Then frost burst from the Demon Blade's tip, threatening to freeze Gepetto's consciousness along with its body.

Gepetto shrieked and swept its long tail at the opponent before it.

Sakura immediately withdrew her blade and retreated.

Gepetto's shriek dropped from a piercing warning to a low hum.

As the hum spread, countless smaller Ethereals formed. Wrapped in scarlet threads like Gepetto's, they moved in perfect unison, like puppets on a master's strings.

"A last-ditch fight?"

Ten meters away, Sakura's expression chilled. Her Setsuna Signet lit up, and the Ether Energy around her surged.

As if sensing danger, a black hole appeared in the sky above Gepetto.

A piercing drone sounded as though it came from another space. Ether Energy then roiled around the black hole, and a startling beam of purple energy shot out.

The Ether beam tore across the ground toward Sakura, its overwhelming power destroying everything in its path.

"Setsuna—Floral Flurry."

Sakura dodged the Ether beam at the last possible moment and, in the blink of an eye, appeared behind Gepetto.

Slash!

The Demon Blade cut into Gepetto's back. Its