204. Second Only to One, Above Ten Thousand (一人之下 萬人之上) - (6)
204. Second Only to One, Above Ten Thousand (一人之下 萬人之上) - (6)
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As Serin used Final Performance, her blood-reddened skin and her eyes, which had gleamed blue like jewels, now took on a crimson light, as though they were being dyed in blood.
Riiiiing!!
Even as the resonant ringing of the Crescent-Moon Weight filled the grand banquet hall, Daji cast off her deep regret at the sight of Serin preparing to dance her final dance as a dancer.
"Watching your final dance, I cannot very well answer with a careless dance of my own."
With that, Daji smiled faintly and began to move.
Rustle.
With the sound of sumptuous black silk brushing against itself, Daji's slender arms slowly rose upward.
Swish.
Lifting both hands toward the sky, Daji raised the tip of her own Crescent-Moon Weight, the Black Moon, toward the full moon, while her left hand slowly gripped the golden cord connected to the weapon and let it hang.
Immediately after, a pure white cluster of light flared brightly along her hand, and Daji unfolded a skill.
—Moon Princess (月姬).
The black Crescent-Moon Weight slowly became suffused with light, and the black silk garments she wore began to change as well, as if transforming into pure white.
And at the very ends, even Daji's beautiful jet-black hair began to be dyed white from the tips.
Fwoooosh.
The pure white radiance transformed Daji's Crescent-Moon Weight, her silk garments, and even her hair entirely white, completing the skill's transformation.
Serin's eyes gleamed with interest as she took in Daji's appearance.
A dancer bearing pure white, the exact opposite of the all-black figure she had first encountered.
If the all-black Daji had exuded a bewitching, captivating, even fatal beauty just to behold, her transformed white figure possessed an elegance like a pure white flower—aloof, refined, and utterly graceful.
'But why not Final Performance?'
When Serin had first faced Daji, she had clearly seen her erupt with blood-colored light in a destructive surge. So Serin had been certain Daji would use Final Performance. Instead, she was revealing an entirely new skill.
The skill that had received the Dance of the Heaven-Filling Slaughtering Ghosts, and now this skill that had transformed Daji's appearance—both were skills Serin had never seen before.
"What skill is that?"
Serin's lips parted, overcome by immense curiosity.
"It is a skill called Moon Princess. You, Rin, are surely seeing it for the first time."
Daji, now dyed entirely white as she unfolded Moon Princess, answered with a radiant smile.
"Moon Princess..."
Serin murmured the skill's name blankly, then raised her Crescent-Moon Weight.
The Crescent-Moon Weight, dyed red by Final Performance, no longer bore any pure white.
Serin did not bother asking about the skill.
Questions swirled—what destructive power it held, what effects it possessed—but she simply nodded and spoke of something else.
"It's a beautiful skill."
"I have heard the word 'beautiful' countless times, but hearing it from you feels strangely different."
As Daji answered with composure, Serin decided no further words were necessary.
Swish.
Following Serin's light gesture, the blood-reddened Crescent-Moon Weight swiftly carved through the empty air.
It was only a light gesture, as if drawing a single line without even moving from her spot, but the massive blood-red aftermath that followed her hand was anything but light.
Whoooosh!
A colossal line of blood shot forth along the Crescent-Moon Weight's trajectory, as if to cleave space itself.
Step.
Serin stepped forward, and her hand once again lightly, swiftly embroidered the empty air.
The Crescent-Moon Weight, steeped in thick blood, wove through space without pause as though alive, and she began to dance freely, fluttering like silk.
In mere seconds, dozens of massive blood-red lines formed and filled the space, yet Serin's dance showed no sign of stopping.
A sight that seemed to manifest as an endless barrage of destructive lines.
FWIP-FWIP-FWIP-FWIP-FWIP-FWIP-FWIP-FWIP-FWIP!!
Countless blood-red lines tore across the empty air, surging toward Daji. The lines, radiating a chilling blood-light, seemed intent on seizing control of the vast grand banquet hall entirely.
Even as the massive blood-red lines carved deep scars into the floor and surged toward her with ferocious speed, Daji remained composed.
Just before the defenseless Daji was struck squarely by the blood-red lines, her slender hand moved.
—Moonlit Threads (月下詵線).
Following a gesture so fast it was impossible to see when she had swung, the Crescent-Moon Weight, now transformed to pure white, carved through space itself.
From the white line Daji had drawn, a tremendous light erupted in an instant, illuminating the world steeped in pre-dawn darkness.
Fwoooosh!
A light so brilliant it dazzled the world.
Within that cluster of light, countless lines of radiance burst forth violently, colliding with the surging blood-red lines.
——!
The two starkly contrasting lines seemed to clash fiercely, but like a river's current seeping into a vast sea, the blood-red lines simply faded away, vanishing together with the streams of light.
Rustle.
Daji, having taken in the sight, stepped forward.
FWIP-FWIP-FWIP-FWIP-FWIP-FWIP-FWIP-FWIP-FWIP-FWIP!
Serin was gradually sinking into a trance, her gestures weaving through the air faster than before, and fierce blood-red lines continued to form.
But each time Daji's hand drew a few more white lines across the empty air, the blood-red trajectories—now numbering in the dozens, the hundreds—kept fading away again and again.
And in the meantime, Daji—
Rustle.
One step.
Rustle.
Another step—kept closing the distance to Serin.
Abruptly, Serin, who had been endlessly drawing blood-red trajectories, raised her hand high toward the sky.
The blood-red Crescent-Moon Weight, soaring high along her hand, emitted a sinister aura, and then, as if slamming it down toward the floor, she twisted her body sharply.
Whoosh!
A wave of blood drawn in a diagonal slash.
At that attack, clearly different from before, Daji stopped walking and unfolded a peculiar skill—the exact opposite of Serin's.
A technique that seemed to strike upward from below.
—New Moon (月朔).
As Daji's line of moonlight shot forth to meet the massive wave-like blood-red line surging toward her, an unexpected result followed.
Shatter!
The instant the massive blood-red wave met the small moonlight, it burst apart with absurd ease.
"...!"
Serin, about to gesture again to continue her next attack, instinctively twisted her head.
Slice!
The New Moon sliced cleanly through a few strands of silver hair that fluttered along her head, then carved deeply into one wall of the grand banquet hall.
'Is this really an Awakening Skill?'
Watching the result, Serin couldn't help but feel doubt.
Right now, she was dancing while releasing immense power in her Awakened state, but every time, Daji had met her with a peculiar counter.
It didn't look like Daji was releasing power in an Awakened state—it looked as though she was using a new skill each and every time.
Even amid her swirling thoughts, Serin continued attacking on instinct.
Slide.
Serin's pure white legs slid across the floor of the grand banquet hall, and her left hand gripped the red cord connected to the Crescent-Moon Weight with all its strength.
Creeeeak!!
As the blood-red cord, gripped at full force, stretched to its limit, Serin looked at Daji, who was now within the Crescent-Moon Weight's range.
At that moment, she released the cord she had been gripping in a single motion, and her right hand swung like light.
The blood-red trajectory that shot forth was like a single flash—a single point rapidly elongating as it surged toward Daji in an instant.
Unlike before, the blood-reddened blade of the Crescent-Moon Weight extended like a flash of light, emitting a bizarre sound as though tearing the very air apart.
The instant the blood-red Crescent-Moon Weight reached Daji's heart—
Daji's eyes flashed brilliantly, and pure white light shimmered around her legs.
—Moon Kick (月脚).
As if tracing a pure white crescent moon, Daji's body rotated once, and her leg struck the Crescent-Moon Weight with precision.
The clear ring of a successful Parry and a flashy effect burst forth, and Serin, watching the sight, immediately yanked her right hand back.
Whirr!
The blood-red Crescent-Moon Weight was swiftly reeled in, and the figure of Daji—standing in place like a noble, resplendent flower—crossed through Serin's vision.
And as if aware of Serin's gaze, Daji lifted the corner of her lips slightly.
"I can say with certainty that I have never seen a dancer of your caliber."
Daji looked utterly satisfied with the current situation, and she seemed quite taken with Serin, who was in her sights.
"..."
Even after hearing such high praise from Daji—words no one had ever heard before—Serin's eyes only grew colder.
The fact that Daji had just shown a Parry revealed a certain composure.
It meant she still hadn't shown her full strength.
"You're a monster."
As Serin's cold voice echoed through the space, Daji covered her mouth and smiled as if fascinated.
"Does someone of your caliber say such things?"
"What do you—"
"Are you not the same? You have yet to show your full strength as well, have you not?"