Honkai Impact 3rd: Don't Die For Me/ Book 3 Paradise

Chapter 32 Stabulum

<Casino Basement>

"Kill them."

Shadows filled the room, Sakura couldn't estimate her strength so she strengthened her body. The haiku of her fourth form Ten no Kitsnebi style sharpened her mind and weakened her opponents. Argon and Sasha were behind him so they wouldn't be affected.

Whetstone like one's mind

Blade's origin Fox Fire's steel

Mind like a clear pond

Time slowed and she could count the assailants within the office space. Three. Beyond the door, she couldn't tell. That didn't matter. Black fog engulfed the room and her senses shot to their peak. She crouched low and launched an explosive kick at the rapier-wielding assailant.

A groan escaped her lips but she stood her ground, knees bent to bear the pain. Light and energy condensed into the rapier but Sakura was more than prepared.

Using the woman's stomach as a foothold she spun, using her kicking foot as the axle. With a savage kick from her free leg, she disarmed the yapper.

Defenseless and clutching her stomach that had been speared and twisted by Sakura's foot the woman fell. Sakura raised her blade overhead in feint as the other two Valkyries jumped in her path to block her.

They were armed with a knife and a short short, they were prepared for fighting in cramped spaces. They crossed their blades to fend off Sakura's finishing slash but it came. The fog suddenly materialized and bit at their eyes. Suddenly they stood before the presence of a Divine nine-tailed ferocious fox the size of four houses. Vicious teeth snapped at them. A growl boggled their mind.

"An illusion! Stay calm!"

They held their position but Sakura changed hers. She sheathed her blade and drew it horizontally. The strength from her toes merged with the torque of her waist and condensed on her right shoulder. As sheath conflicted with the sword all the power condensed within the shoulder streamed down her arm into the sword. It was an instantaneous process. She cut through the Honkai woven fibers of their light armor and their flesh.

Blood erupted from their mouths as they clutched their open stomachs. Valkyries could survive worse but Sakura didn't bother herself with killing them. They couldn't fight and there were more to come.

Another cloaked guard entered the office just in time to see Sakura lining up another kick. It was a little low she thought until she thought no more. The skull of the Valkyrie who made the move collided with her chin. Together they flew back and destroyed the door. Weapons clattered to the floor. A few incapacitated the flying pair that collided with them.

"Get out," Sakura growled.

Sasha and Agon wasted no breath and scampered from where they came from. Strangely their presence disappeared again but that was a good thing. The guards focused on the lethal threat that Sakura was.

"Surround and flank!"

They encircled her and her mist that did little to impede their owl-like senses. Sakura relaxed her body and set her blade a flame. It was her Ten no Kitsunebi's sixth form, Kitsune's Fire. A set of green orbs rotated around her, contrasting the brilliant blue of her blade's flame.

Sparks on blessed earth

Reveal one's inner desire

Release unto plane

The haiku reverberated in her mind. Honkai energy constantly flowed through her body but even she could sense that keeping the buff from the fourth form and her divine key was taking its toll. Any longer and her body would suffer from the strain. Her stigmata burned at an uncomfortable temperature.