Crossing the border between the Cat and Dog clans, the leopard cat yōkai finally halted within a stand of trees near the foot of the mountain, not far from the Dog Clan's watchpost.
All around was silence, broken only by the occasional whisper of wind stirring the leaves.
Signaling a stop, Tōran slowly turned her gaze toward her side.
There, Shunran was fully concentrated on maintaining her white mist barrier. Tiny beads of sweat had formed upon her small forehead, glimmering like scattered crystals in the dim light.
Concern flickered in Tōran's eyes, and she asked softly.
"Can you still go on?"
At her words, Shunran exhaled slowly, her gentle, youthful face calm.
For an ordinary low-ranking leopard cat, a distance of ten kilometers would have been exhausting. But for her—a mid-ranking yōkai—it was nothing.
Maintaining a barrier while guiding more than forty comrades undetected, however, was a far greater strain.
After swiftly assessing her remaining strength, Shunran lifted her head. Her clear gaze met Tōran's, and she answered softly, "Leave it to me, sister. I'll be fine."
"Good. We'll rest for a moment, then make one last push together."
Looking at her younger sister's determined expression, Tōran chose to trust her without hesitation.
Her eyes lifted to the Dog Clan's watchpost in the distance. From where she stood now, it was no different from the view she had that night, gazing through the falling snow.
And there—just as before—stood the dog-demon who had unsettled her heart, calmly stationed before the gate alongside a few patrolling guards.
His long silver hair, bound into a high ponytail with an ornate golden coronet, revealed a face flawless in its beauty.
He wore a resplendent battle robe adorned with floral patterns, layered beneath gleaming silver armor that reflected the dim light with a cold brilliance.
A jeweled sash girded his waist, lending him even greater dignity.
Even as an enemy, his striking presence demanded attention.
"If he had been born among the Laopard Cat tribe, he would have become the very root of chaos…"
Narrowing her eyes, Tōran thought of the motley males in her clan. The most gifted among them was Shūran—but his brutish frame, despite its strength, hardly suited her sense of beauty. If Shūran were replaced by this Dog Clan warrior, Tōga, she had no doubt every female of the tribe would battle to the death to claim him.
Time passed. Shunran glanced toward her elder sister.
Their eyes met, and in that instant, they understood each other.
Under the watchful gaze of her comrades, Tōran slowly raised her hand, as though grasping an unseen sword—then brought it down in a swift, silent cut, issuing her command.
"Charge!"
The leopard cats surged forward behind her, like arrows loosed from a bow.
From his vantage point on the mountainside, Tōga watched. To him, their blind rush resembled the suicide charges of the eastern kamikaze pilots—rushing headlong to their fated deaths beneath the Dogs' sharpened fangs.
As the Leopard cats burst onto the snow-covered clearing, their footprints marked them clearly.
Tōga tilted his head back and loosed a resounding howl.
His voice, laced with threads of demonic power, surged outward as tangible soundwaves that crashed against Shunran's barrier.
The concealing white mist wavered, its shape exposed—and then shattered like fragile glass.
Dozens of snarling Leopard Cats stood revealed.
The mist barrier could hide them well, but it was fragile against force.
"Too late for discovery now!"
Anticipating this outcome, Tōran showed no panic.
Her expression steady, she stretched her arm forward, fingers spread. Moisture from the air condensed at her command, forming into a long sword of ice in her grasp.
Its blade was slender and transparent, gleaming with a frigid light as though it contained the chill of all winters.
Gripping the sword, she let her killing intent flow like mist around her, and her voice thundered like rolling stormclouds:
"My kin, with me! Slaughter the dog whelps!"
Her cry was met by the deafening roars of her comrades.
And then—the snow at their feet exploded outward.
At the sound of the Dog Clan's barrier breaking, the cats' elation turned instantly to shock.
Panic flared in their eyes. Then fear.
From all sides, Seiten and three patrol units of dog-demons descended like soldiers from the heavens, encircling the panthers in an instant.
"It is you who are doomed!"
The Dog Clan shouted as one, their voices shaking the snow from the trees.
With Seiten at their head, thirty dog-demons surged forward.
"An ambush?! When did they—?"
"How could we be the ones caught in a trap?"
Though startled, Tōran kept her composure. A dozen thoughts raced through her mind, but she cast them aside.
A glance revealed the enemy's strength: aside from Seiten and two mid-level warriors, the rest were mere foot soldiers. Hardly hopeless.
What's more, their elder still waited, hidden in reserve. That knowledge steeled her heart.
Stepping forward, the icy tips of her long blue hair flashing, Tōran unleashed a burst of frost-chilled demonic power.
"Ice Tornado!"
Snowflakes gathered as if summoned, twisting into a whirling vortex of ice and snow.
The tornado howled forward, its bitter cold forcing the charging dog-demons to falter.
Seiten flung out his arm, dragging back comrades who nearly met their deaths in the storm. Turning to Tōga, he found only a calm, reassuring smile.
Behind Tōga, Shirayuki stepped forth.
"Elder sister, what should we do?"
Shunran's anxious voice trembled with tension; never had she imagined facing such a reversal.
Before Tōran could answer, fiery-tempered Karan burst out:
"We came here to kill, and now these dog whelps are right before us! Of course we kill them all!"
Beside her, Shūran smashed his fists together. Lightning crackled across his knuckles, sparking and snapping in the cold air.
His booming voice rang out in excitement, "Karan's right! The four of us together against one squad of dogs—it's almost beneath us. But now? Perfect timing!"
"Good."
Tōran's voice was steady, carrying calm assurance.
"Shunran, support us. Use your illusions to create openings. Karan, Shūran—each of you take a captain. That Tōga is mine. Together, we'll wipe out the dog whelps here and now!"
Her command struck the Leopard cats like a battle-drum. Their shaken spirits rallied, surging with fresh resolve.
Shock gave way to bloodlust and fury.
As the ice tornado faded, the panthers roared and hurled themselves against the enemy lines.
Karan and Shūran each locked onto their chosen foes, charging like arrows loosed, their voices carrying taunts into the air.
Lifting her gaze to the mountainside, Tōran's eyes narrowed—For at Tōga's side now stood a silver-haired maiden, a sword poised in one hand.