It was finally the moment of truth. Takae was walking onto the steps and approaching her. As she did, Yuriko couldn't stop her thoughts from racing.
"Takae's Saro-Sere, the ability to nullify incoming attacks and ongoing abilities. As long as she has a sense of what the ability is and her assumptions aren't too off, the effect is guaranteed," she thought. "It's our ace in the hole. With their impersonation ability gone, they'll just be sitting ducks waiting for the slaughter."
As she watched Takae reach into her robe and pull out the spell tag with her sword in it, she clenched her fist, tense.
Then she heard Miyuki say, "Here it comes," and it threw her off enough for her to miss it.
When she did turn back, her sword was already lodged into her shoulder and the signature pattern of her ability had already spread onto her.
Looking at her, Kiyohara thought, "Damn, is she fast. She barely gave off any bloodlust before she switched up so suddenly."
"So she's one of them, huh? I was careless, but it's fine. I can just break away and blend in with the crowd," she said as she looked down at them. "Then I'll give the signal to the imposters and we'll clear this place out, her included."
"Huh, wait. Something doesn't feel right," she thought as she pulled back. "Why am I starting to sense them? I haven't given the signal yet. Is something wrong?"
Before she could say anything, Takae pointed her sword at her and said, "It's already too late for you, imposter!"
"That girl just attacked the priestess!" A voice yelled. "She stabbed her with a sword!"
The crowd erupted in outbursts, but just when they were planning to capture Takae, it started. At first, it was just a spark in her eyes, then the shade of her hair turning green.
The skin on her face started peeling off as if lit by a small flame, then it stopped halfway. Half of her face was the face they all knew, and the other one they had never seen.
The same was true for her hair, which parted down the middle into black and green. Before the crowd could process what they were seeing, a large pulse of energy surged out from her and spread out.
Then suddenly, it wasn't just her. Amidst the crowd, several people started undergoing the same effect, all of different ages and backgrounds, but the half of their face that peeled off was almost completely the same.
The uproar was instantaneous. People began to flee; some hovered around confused. Taki held on to Leina, her face buried in her chest as she shivered. Leina just stood there and watched, wondering what had just happened.
Kiyohara was also confused at what was going on, when she turned to Takae and yelled, "You're the one who did this, you brat, but how? How did you disable it?"
Takae only answered with a faint smirk, but underneath, a question gnawed at her. "Why did it only turn off half of their disguise? Did I miss something?"
"Answer me!" Kiyohara shouted, pulling her back into her senses.
Takae gripped the hilt of her sword hard, and from it a black, foam-like substance oozed. It spread and took over her white and red robes.
Once it settled, it revealed her uniform, a white kimono with a black hakama and a waist-long sleeveless black robe over the kimono tied to the waist with a white belt. Inscribed in bold white kanji on her back was the word Honor.
"This ends now, 'Mistress' Kiyohara!" She yelled. "We won't be letting you or your group kill a single person here."
"We?" Kiyohara muttered before a large septa circle appeared in the air.
Looking down in the crowd, there were two others dressed in the same robes, with one of them holding her hand out at the sky.
"Sudden change of plan has made the imposters freeze, and now I'm up against three of them," she thought. "I have to retreat and buy some time until they can get back in commission."
Before she could think of anything else, Takae lunged at her, ready to strike. She aimed a downward swing at her chest, but she blocked it with her arm.
The swing tore off her sleeve, revealing a blood clot already placed along with traces of some blood circuits.
"Get off me!" She yelled before forcing her arm back into the temple.
Then the blood circuits spread onto the palm of her hand, and energised blood condensed in front of it into a small sphere.
She shot it straight at Takae, but she swung her sword, intercepting it and diverting it upward. It tore through the upper levels of the central temple as it set it on fire.
Takae only barely got out before it crumbled and fell onto the ground. Looking behind her, it seemed that Miyuki was almost ready to cast it.
"Do it now!" She yelled.
"Right!" Miyuki replied before curling her fingers into a fist and yelling it out. "Tower Series Number 35: Eight Layered Sea Sphere!"
At each of the points of the eight-pointed star in the septa circle, large columns materialised before shooting down into the ground, creating a perimeter around the entire shrine.
"With this, you won't be able to escape!" she thought before freeing her fist and pointing her open palm onto the ground.
A bubble-like sphere appeared in the air at the center of the columns, and it began spreading outward, but before it could engulf the inner courtyard, something shot out of the now-collapsed and burning central temple.
Once the smoke on it cleared, Takae identified it as the priestess trying to escape.
"I'm going after her!" She yelled before sheathing her sword and getting into a sprinter's position. "You guys stay here!"
Then she shot off at incredible speed in the direction her trajectory was leading to, and as she did, the expanding barrier followed until it engulfed the entire shrine.
Though strangely enough, the people who were running away from the chaos were able to slip out of it.
Miyuki took a deep breath as she straightened up, only to find Yuriko with her sword already unsheathed.
"Whatever it was that stalled them before, it's gone now," she said. "And it looks like they're all targeting the two of us."
"Good," Miyuki said as she drew her sword. "That means we succeeded. All we have to do now is buy some time until all the people escape, then we can take them out in one spectacular finish."
"I like how you think," Yuriko replied. "Let's hurry up 'cause Takae is waiting."
Kiyohara landed outside the shrine in an open clearing in the forest, only to meet Takae already waiting for her.
"You're quite persistent, I'll give you that," she said as she turned to face her.
"I have to be when you're so slimy," she replied.
"I just thought I'd even out the odds a bit," Kiyohara said. "Now that I've left, your friends won't be having as much trouble, but whether they fight at their best or not, taking on the imposters won't be a walk in the park."
"You should focus on yourself," Takae said as she eased into a stance, "because you're facing me now."
"I really should focus," she replied as she curled her fingers. "There isn't much time to waste, and my prey is scattering."
"The hunt is still on, and you're just the first bite!"