Chapter 33: Dawn

Muffet’s eyes darted across the battlefield. The replications sent waves of frost flowers toward her in perfect unison. She responded instantly and unleashed her own ice flowers which clashed mid-air in a storm of frost. Despite her skillful counter, two-on-one was left her outnumbered which forced her to weave around the arena and search for an opening.

In a flash, Yokuni moved behind her as silent as the falling snow. Muffet’s eye flickered to the side and caught sight of Yokuni’s movement just in time. Without missing a beat, she redirected her remaining ice flowers backward, creating a shield that intercepted Yokuni’s hand strike. The frost exploded into sharp shards, forcing Yokuni back for a brief moment.

Muffet spun to see their icy blooms racing toward her. She twisted and darted out of their path, though they were close enough to sting her skin. A light sweat beaded on her forehead, though she held a grin on her face.

“Well, Yokuni, you’re putting me through my paces,” she muttered under her breath.

The Yokuni replicas sent yet another barrage of ice flowers hurtling toward her. Muffet gathered her own remaining ice flowers and formed them into a spiked shield. The shield bristled with icy protrusions to meet and deflect the incoming assault and shattered them mid-flight.

Muffet continued on by twisting her wrist, and from the shield’s surface, jagged spikes shot out toward the Yokuni replicas. The clones quickly moved their own flowers in a desperate defense, but each frost bloom was sacrificed which caused their swords to revert to simple, powerless blades. Shock crossed the replicas’ faces just before the icy spikes struck and pierced their bodies. In an instant, the replicas shattered into shards of glass that glittered while they fell.

Muffet exhaled, steadying herself but the glass didn’t settle. Instead, it swirled around her and formed ring that hovered with a haunting intent.

“Handled that well, but…” Yokuni echoed from across the field with a playful menace lacing her words.

Without warning, the glass shards turned aggressive and sliced through the air toward Muffet. She reacted instantly and summoned every remaining petal of Isojari to shield herself. The petals whirled in a protective spiral, catching and deflecting the sharp edges of glass with a series of brittle clinks; however, after cancelling out the rest of the shards, Muffet’s Isojari lost its floral form and the petals dissolvled into shimmering particles. Her sword reverted to its solid state with the blade emitting wisps of steam.

She gripped the hilt tightly. “Not bad, Yokuni,” she muttered while glancing toward her opponent. “Your glass is certainly in a high class.”

Yokuni smirked, but this one felt different, more predatory. Glass began to coat her hands, catching the light in a way that made Muffet remember the light refracting power she possessed.

Muffet narrowed her eyes, taking note of the change in Yokuni’s stance. “Looks like you’re about to get serious.”

But even as she acknowledged the threat, a flicker of concern crept into her mind. ‘Unfortunately, with my ice flowers destroyed, I’ll have to wait a minute to use Isojari again. I could use 'it,' but..’ Muffet's gaze drifted toward her squad members, and then the few remaining lycans who were keeping their distance from engaging. ‘No. I’ll have to manage without doing that.’

Resolving herself, Muffet snapped her focus back to Yokuni, who now radiated a dangerous energy that practically hummed with menace. They both stood sizing each other up like two predators caught in a haunted mirror. The tension was thick enough to slice with a rusty old knife.

Muffet flexed her hands around her blade, feeling the solid weight of Isojari and preparing for a strike without the floral veil of her usual power. Opposite her, Yokuni raised her glass-coated hands, the shimmering layer gleaming under the fractured light.

Without another word, they launched off.

Muffet closed the gap with a swift, low movement. Her blade was launched forward with deadly precision. Yokuni deflected it with one glass-covered hand, sending sparks flying as their energies clashed. Muffet pivoted to aim a second strike from the side, only for Yokuni to counter with her other hand. Her glass cracked slightly but held firm.

The duo then traded blows in rapid succession leaving echoes of their collision ringing through the air. Neither gave an inch in their efforts of attacking the other.

Muffet hopped back lightly from the exchange then sprung through the air like a hare. She dipped and weaved through Yokuni’s strikes with a nimble elegance that was almost playful, though every step carried the intent of a predator. She soared in graceful arcs that kept Yokuni struggling to keep up.

Yokuni thrust a glass-coated fist forward, trying to intercept Muffet mid-air but Muffet twisted away at the last second with her blade flashing a blue aura. She used this momentum to slash across Yokuni’s arm, drawing a thin line of blood that trickled down.

Yokuni's eyes narrowed with only the barest flicker of annoyance in her gaze. Without warning, she thrust her hand out, and with a quick motion, the glass coating her fingers shattered into a whirlwind of sharp shards that surged toward Muffet in a torrent.

Muffet’s blade cut through the onslaught with precision but Yokuni wasn’t done. Her hands moved in a blur, launching shards in rapid succession. Muffet tried to move and stay just ahead of the deadly storm with her feet never touching down for more than a heartbeat. She was constantly on the move, leaping, rolling and slicing..

And then she noticed it. Her once steaming blade had returned to its calm, frosty state. A faint smile crossed her face.

‘Isojari’s ice is back.’

Yokuni abruptly halted her barrage. Her focus intensified, and a golden aura ignited around her radiating power that was like the sunlight refracting through crystals.

“Glass Storm!” she called out. She summoned a vortex of spinning glass. Muffet’s eyes widened in realization, but it was too late.

The vortex engulfed Muffet in a tempest of razor-sharp glass. She felt the air being ripped away from her as shards were now whirling around her.

Muffet gritted her teeth and instinctively raised Isojari to shield herself. The sword vibrated with energy as it deflected some of the incoming shards, but the force of the storm threatened to overwhelm her. She felt the sharp sting of glass biting into her skin, drawing blood that mingled with the snow of ice still swirling from earlier battles.

Just then, a spark ignited inside her. She gritted her teeth, and with a fierce shout, she commanded, “Shatter, Isojari, Stage 3!”

In an instant, the air around her crackled with energy. Isojari began to dissolve in a flurry of snowflakes, merging with the very essence of her power. Muffet’s hair transformed before her eyes with strands turning a brilliant white, cascading like freshly fallen snow.

Countless ice flowers blossomed around her and swirled in a protective aura. The flowers looked like stars in the night sky and provided her with an organic shield against the torrent of glass shards still swirling around her. Muffet felt the energy enveloping her, bolstering her strength and reducing the damage from the vicious storm.

Muffet stood firm, deflecting the shards that sought to pierce her defense. While some broke through, they were dulled and dealt minimal to no damage.

.

The glass shards continued to swirl menacingly, but Muffet felt invigorated by the transformation. Her connection to Isojari deepened with every petal and shard harmonizing with her own resolve.

“Tsumetai Nagare!” Muffet shouted, channeling her ice affinity through the blade.

With a graceful sweep, she released a torrent of razor-sharp ice shards that flowed like a river. The shards sliced through the air with lethal beauty that cut cleanly through the swirling vortex of glass. The collision of elements created a dazzling spectacle of shimmering ice and shattering glass that filled the arena with a symphony of clinks and crunches.

The ice coalesced until they formed a massive tower of crystalline ice that surged upward like a glacier reaching for the sky. The tower loomed, casting a long shadow over the battlefield.

The remaining glass shards caught within Muffet’s onslaught began to freeze. With a final, resonant crack, the tower burst outward and shattered into countless particles that scattered like glittering stars in the wind. Muffet stood amidst the aftermath with ferocity in her eyes while facing Yokuni

Yokuni’s face shifted from confidence to wariness upon seeing the change in Muffet’s stance and aura. “So she’s brought out her sword magic to level 3,” she murmured with respect lacing her tone. “I expected no less from a Captain of a Divine Blade squad. But now...” She trailed off while narrowing her eyes.

Yokuni’s lips curled into a predatory smile. “This is exactly what I wanted to see…I’m going to enjoy crushing that so-called Sword Magic of yours.”

With that, Yokuni summoned the golden aura that enveloped her in sharp contrast to Muffet’s blue light. The air around them thickened with energy as their opposing auras collided, sending tremors through the battlefield.

Muffet could feel her own energy surge in response, the two forces pressed against each other like two massive waves about to crash.

She narrowed her eyes, focusing on Yokuni. “Bring it on,” she declared with a wicked grin creeping onto her face. “You’ll find this power isn’t so easily crushed. After all, I thrive on fear like a horror movie junkie at a midnight screening!”

Yokuni’s smile widened. “We’ll see how long you can keep that defiance when I break your spirit along with your magic,” she shot back with menace.

The two combatants stood poised, a palpable tension thickening the air as they prepared to clash. Muffet, grounded in her resolve, took a deep breath, feeling the rhythmic pulse of her power flow through her veins. Every shard of ice, every petal of energy, thrummed with anticipation, ready to respond to her command.

“Let’s end this!” Muffet roared, channeling the full force of her ice affinity into Isojari, preparing to unleash her magic in a display of raw power.

Yokuni mirrored her intensity, a glint of fierce determination in her eyes. “Then let’s see if you can handle the storm!”

Before their confrontation could ignite, a thunderous howl echoed across the battlefield. The sun began its ascent. In a flash, automatic portals to the dark realm of the Senodokidatsu erupted behind each Lycan, including the defeated Cerebro who lay still for a moment longer.

Panic flickered in the eyes of the Lycans who sensed the encroaching sunlight and one by one, they began to retreat. Yokuni looked annoyed. ‘Damn it…just when things were about to get fun.”

She knew her Lycans couldn’t withstand the sun’s rays without protection. Her gaze fell upon Colyrine who was squinting against the light and binded by squad 6 members.

“Hang tight!” Yokuni called, raising her hands. Glass shards coiled around Colyrine and formed a protective barrier while also sliced through the bindings. Colyrine spoke with eagerness. “Thanks! Now it’s time to rip—”

But before she could finish, Yokuni swept her up into her arms. “We’re leaving,” she said firmly.

Muffet shouted defiantly, “Oh no, you’re not getting away with the divine blade that easily!” She thrust her hand forward, unleashing a torrent of ice that surged toward the portal.

To everyone’s surprise, Cerebro rose from the ground with a jolt, despite his massive size. His eyes blazed with ferocity. He sliced through Muffet’s icy attack with a swipe of his claw, sending shards flying in all directions and raising a massive wave of sand that billowed into the air like a storm.

“Not today, Captain!” he growled.

The chaos created an opening for Yokuni who quickly stepped back into the portal, clutching Colyrine tightly. They vanished into the dark realm of the Senodokidatsu.

From the sidelines, Hyorine emerged fiercly. “Cerebro! You’re still alive?!” she barked, ready to draw her sword

Cerebro turned to her with a dangerous glint in his eye. “Things won’t end the same way next time,” he warned while pointing directly at Hyorine. With a final growl, he plunged through into the portal.

Muffet’s eyes flickered between Hyorine and the portal which was vanishing. She spoke with urgency. “Lieutenant Hyorine, report back to the Divine Blade Society! Tell them I’ll be gone for a while!”

Hyorine’s brow furrowed in confusion. “What are you going to—”

Before she could finish, Muffet dashed into the portal just before it closed.

“No, wait, Captain!” Hyorine shouted, thrusting her hand out in an attempt to stop her but it was already too late. The portal snapped shut with a finality that echoed in the silence left behind.