"Is that all you've got?" Malaliel taunted, a hint of a smile playing on her lips.
With a deep, guttural growl, Sergeant Bristle feinted right, then darted under the angel's guard, snapping his sword upward. Metal scraped armor but failed to penetrate. Malaliel spun, too fast to follow, feathers slicing the air, and slammed her own blade down toward Bristle's back.
Meanwhile, seven K9s surrounded Hawo, launching themselves at her with powerful, sweeping strikes. Hawo leaped just in time, landing lightly on the head of one K9, then with a single, swift slash, dispatched him. The remaining K9s, members of an elite unit trained in Nitoryu, the deadly Two-Sword Style, gripped a blade in each hand. Their breath misted in the cool air, tails low, ears pinned flat as they tightened the circle around Hawo.
Hawo stood alone in the center, her eyes calmly flicking from dog to dog. The pack leader barked a sharp command. In a single heartbeat, they moved—six shadows lunging at once, their blades cutting arcs of silver light from every side.
Hawo shifted one foot. Steel flashed.
In the same instant, two dogs fell, their throats cleanly opened before they even felt the cut. Hawo twisted like wind slipping through cracks, catching one blade mid-swing with her bare palm. The K9's eyes went wide as she turned his own sword through his armor seam. Another pair leaped together, crossing blades for a crushing strike. Hawo ducked, spinning low—their blades met nothing but air. She rose behind them, whisper-fast, her fingers tracing their spines. They collapsed before the echo of steel on stone faded. The last two lunged in a final, hopeless rush. Her hand moved once, twice. The final clang of metal died with them.
She stood alone in the ring of fallen K9s, not a drop of blood on her skin. Calmly, she brushed steel dust from her fingers and whispered to the dark, "Send better dogs next time."
Above, the K9s on the buildings began to unleash a volley of arrows. The other two girls had no choice; their wings unfurled, their armor appeared, and with swords in hand, they launched themselves toward the archers.
Arrows streaked through the night sky.
The angels moved like lightning wrapped in silk. Blades of light flicked left and right, slicing shafts mid-flight. Feathers drifted down, burning where the arrows shattered against holy steel.
Seeing their rain of arrows fail, the K9s drew blades, snarls rolling over the rooftops. Twenty warriors bounded from roof to roof, closing the gap, claws scraping tile and timber beams.
The first wave struck — steel against searing white light. Swords clashed in flashes that lit the port streets below. The angels turned and spun, wings flaring to knock dogs off balance. Two K9s leapt together, blades crossing for a killing blow — but one angel split their swords apart with a single sweep, sending them tumbling over the eaves with yelps swallowed by the wind.
From the next roof, more K9s sprang. Two fought side by side in perfect Two-Sword Style — left blade to parry, right blade to slash. The angels blocked each strike effortlessly, their glowing swords cutting arcs too fast for the eye to follow.
An archer still on a distant roof fired arrow after arrow, trying to find an opening
One by one, the rooftop warriors pressed in — fangs bared, blades flashing under the moon — but holy swords carved through sword and armor alike. Wings battered them sideways, tossing them from narrow beams to the cobbled street. The clash of steel and the snap of breaking tiles filled the port with an eerie, ringing chorus.
Finally, only a handful of K9s remained on the highest roof. They circled the last angel, battered but unyielding.
The angel's wings drew in tight. His blade pulsed with pure white flame. With a single slash, he sent out a shockwave — a ripple of force that tore the roof beneath the dogs' paws to splinters.
Thirty brave K9 warriors fell like storm rain into the alleys and market stalls below. Armor crashed, arrows spilled across stone, blades clattered into fish carts and crates.
High above, the two angels hovered on silent wings, swords dimming to a soft, otherworldly glow as they watched the port city lights flicker beneath them.
"Leave their leader, Cathie, alone!" Malaliel shouted, as Cathie herself was surrounded by the remaining K9s on the ground.
"Boss, don't pet them! They started it; they deserve what happened!" Malaliel called out.
Sergeant Bristle growled, "I will not accept any more insults from you!" He clamped his jaws around the grip of his short sword, then pulled out two other swords, adopting the Santoryu style. He rolled aside, paws skidding, then pushed off the ground in a burst of speed. He launched himself onto his legs, sword clutched tight in his jaws, and smashed it against the angel's blade with a crack that echoed off the chapel walls. Their faces were inches apart, Bristle's breath steaming, Malaliel's eyes burning bright as dawn. Neither gave ground. Steel ground on steel, locked in a test of raw force and will. The other two K9s joined him, each wielding two swords in the Nitoryu style. "Let's finish this!" Bristle growled.
Malaliel's speed increased as she fought all three of them without stopping, kicking one, slashing another. Blood splattered on the ground. She sped toward Bristle; he closed his eyes in fear when she was about to hit him, but she didn't. Instead, she struck another K9 in the back.
"Malaliel, stop playing with him!" Hawo called out.
Before Malaliel could answer, a scream erupted from the K9s surrounding Cathie. "My eyes! They're burning! Make it stop!" they shrieked.
"That's our leader," Hawo announced, a hint of pride in her voice, "gentle, but very powerful."
Above, K9s stationed on the building began to fall from the sky. "I should've brought my umbrella with me," Malaliel quipped, "it's raining K9s!"
"What's the meaning of this?" someone screamed, and suddenly, all fighting ceased.