The blademaster's sword whistled past my throat as I desperately threw myself backward. But even that near-miss felt deadly. His blade was sharp enough to cut through air leaving a cut on my shoulder.

  "Shadow Shield!" Lysa's spell manifested just in time to deflect a wave of petals heading for Tirion, but the impact made her stumble. "Those petals, they’re strong enough to break through my barriers!"

  "Move! Now!" Estella shouted, her chakrams creating silver arcs as she danced between the streams of deadly petals. But even she couldn't avoid everything - a few petals sliced through her sleeve, leaving thin red lines.

  The blademaster moved like water, each strike flowing into the next. His blade sang through the air in complex patterns that were difficult to follow. Each swing of his blade seemed to command the petals.

  "Noctus!" Tirion's warning came just as another wave of petals converged on my position. I tried to block with my sword, but the blow swept me aside.

  "Your blade betrays your hesitation," the blademaster spoke as he orchestrated this dance of death. "A sword wielded with doubt might as well be made of paper."

  "I wish swords were made of paper," I grunted, diving behind one of the sakura trees. The petals shredded through it like it wasn't there. "Metal is way too expensive. Do you know how many swords I've broken already?"

  "Less complaining, more fighting!" Estella called out, her chakrams creating a defensive spiral around her. "

  I analyzed the blademaster's movements, trying to identify a plan of attack. He was powerful, yes, but he was still just one opponent. "We have the numbers advantage - surround him! Cross formation!"

  Tirion moved first, shield raised as he took the front position. Estella flowed to the right, her grace making even tactical repositioning look like part of a performance. Lysa glided to the left, while I circled to take the rear position.

  For a moment, it looked perfect. Four-on-one, each of us covering the others' blind spots. In any normal fight, this would have been the turning point.

  But the blademaster simply said, "Such a simple strategy. The classic encirclement.Tell me…" He made a gesture and the petals split into four streams, attacking from all directions at once. "In all your battles, has anyone ever survived long enough to explain why this strategy fails against a true master?" The pink streams twisted through the air, each targeting one of us.

  "Allow me to demonstrate." He said. "This will be... educational."

  Before any of us could react, his voice rang out: "Getsurin no Enbu"

  The guardian's blade moved in a perfect circle, too fast to track with normal eyes. The attack traced out a ring of pure force, like a donut of death expanding outward. The petals synchronized with the slash, creating a layered attack that left no room for escape.

  "Up!" I shouted, my gamer instincts kicking in. I'd seen this pattern hundreds of times - a room-wide AoE attack that moved in two dimensions. Every MMO player knew the counter: when you can't dodge left or right, you go vertical.

  But even as the words left my mouth, I saw the guardian's blindfolded face tilt upward, his lips curving in the slightest smile. My stomach dropped as I realized my mistake. This wasn't some badly programmed boss fight - this was a master swordsman who'd probably spent decades perfecting his technique.

  The petals above us were already moving, forming a deadly ceiling of pink razors. He'd anticipated the obvious counter. Of course he had. What kind of master wouldn't cover the most basic escape route?

  Lysa cried out, straining to project barriers around all of us at once. The translucent black walls materialized just as the slash wave hit. For a split second I dared to hope-

  The barriers shattered like glass.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  "Tirion!" Estella shouted in warning as the bunny-knight's shield took the brunt of the attack. The metal screamed as the force pushed him backward, his boots leaving furrows in the grass.

  I brought my sword up in a desperate block, but the wave of force sent me flying. My back slammed into one of the sakura trees hard enough to knock the breath from my lungs. Through blurring vision, I saw Estella dancing between the streams of petals, but even her incredible agility couldn't dodge everything. Fresh cuts appeared on her arms and legs.

  "Is this all?" The guardian's voice carried disappointment. A few petals danced around his blade, reflecting what little light filtered through the canopy above. "You seek the truth of the night, yet struggle against a mere shadow of my power."

  "Mere shadow?" I coughed, using my sword as a crutch to push myself up. My legs felt like they were made of jelly, and every breath sent sharp pains through my ribs. "What's your full power then? Making two donuts? Maybe throw in some coffee?"

  The blademaster turned to face me fully, and despite the blindfold, I could feel his attention on me. The petals around him slowed their dance, hanging in the air like pink snowflakes frozen in time. "You face death with humor. Interesting." His blade came up again, its edge facing me. "Most who reach this point have already lost themselves to fear or rage. But conviction must be proved through more than words... or jokes."

  The sakura petals began to glow, dancing in the air like a snowy day.

  Damn it.

  The petals were an annoyance. We couldn't block them - Tirion's shield was already showing cracks, and Lysa's barriers shattered faster than she could cast them. Couldn't dodge forever - Estella made it look easy, but even she was collecting cuts like achievement badges.

  Think, damn it. There had to be a way. Every boss fight had mechanics - patterns you could exploit, weaknesses you could target.

  My vision zeroed in on the lethal petals. Each petal moved with artificial precision, leaving trails of light in the air. My mind automatically began mapping their trajectories - not random at all, but a carefully orchestrated sequence that repeated. The petals … they were synchronized with the music, repeating every eight beats.

  More interesting were the moments between attacks. For a fraction of a second, each petal dimmed slightly before brightening again for the next wave. The timing matched perfectly with the blademaster’s subtle hand movements and the musical transitions. A three-part system: controller, conduit, and catalyst. The petals themselves weren't the weapon - they were just the visible part of a much more complex technique.

  "The pattern-" I stumbled, a petal slicing my cheek. The pain helped focus my thoughts. "There's a pattern!” Another dodge, my legs burning with exhaustion. "Guys! We have to break his timing!"

  "The petals aren't just weapons," I explained between dodges. "They're part of a performance. Three-point control system - his movements, the music, and the petals themselves. Break any part..."

  "And the whole thing falls apart," Estella finished, her eyes lighting up with understanding. "Like when a dancer loses the beat."

  I watched the next sequence carefully. There - when the music swelled, the blademaster's hand moved in a specific gesture, and the petals brightened before attacking. Perfect synchronization.

  "Lysa!" I called out. "Can you use your shadow magic to muffle sound?"

  "I... maybe?" She raised her staff uncertainly. "It's not really meant for-"

  "Just do it!" Tirion shouted, his shield barely deflecting another wave. "Whatever Noctus is planning, it has to be better than this!"

  Lysa began to chant, dark energy pooling around us. The haunting battle theme started to fade, becoming distant and distorted.

  "Estella!" I called out. "The petals - they're dancing! Can you create a counter-rhythm?"

  "With these?" She spun her chakrams. "They're weapons, not instruments-" She stopped, a grin spreading across her face. "Oh. Oh, that's clever." Her chakrams began to move in a new pattern, one that matched her stage experience rather than her combat training. As a performer, she'd know better than anyone how rhythm could be disrupted.

  The chakrams began to spin faster, their metallic hum creating a discordant note that clashed with the battle theme. Immediately, I saw the petals' glow flicker, their perfect synchronization breaking down as competing rhythms filled the air...

  "Interesting. You saw it," the blademaster said. The petals around him wavered as Estella's chakrams continued their discordant song.

  "Yeah," I grinned, watching more petals fall out of sync. Some drifted aimlessly, while others clashed against each other in their confusion. "Your technique is amazing, but it still follows rules. And if there's one thing I'm good at, it's figuring out mechanics."

  "Your disruption was clever," the blademaster acknowledged. "But a true master's technique transcends such simple limitations." His free hand moved to his waist, where a second sword had been concealed beneath his robes.

  "Now let’s see if you can survive this." He brought both blades into a cross before him. “Nitoryu : Onigiri”