Pacifist

A memory resurfaced.

A night much like this one—cold, merciless, unforgiving.

Rin stood bloodied and beaten, the weight of her failure suffocating her as she faced The Harvester of Unity.

His mask, a grotesque blend of porcelain and rusted metal, concealed a face that reveled in suffering. Behind him, Rulaze watched, silent yet amused.

And in chains—Natsuki.

Her little sister, barely breathing, wrists raw from the iron biting into her skin.

Rin had fought, again and again, but her body could no longer keep up.

She was going to lose her.

Until—

A storm tore through the battlefield.

A whirlwind of destruction.

Kairi Saigeru.

Not a savior. Not a hero.

But in that moment—a force of nature that turned the tide.

Rin remembered it all.

The way Kairi's fists shattered bone like glass.

The way she moved like a demon dancing through carnage.

The way she carved through Rulaze's men like a wild beast unleashed.

And in the chaos, Rin had found the strength to rise again.

To fight.

To take back her sister.

She owed Kairi her life.

And now—it was time to return the favor.

…

The memory shattered.

Rin's vision refocused.

Her body tensed.

Shatterwraith had returned to the battlefield.

Without hesitation—she dashed forward.

Mariko barely had time to react before—

CRACK!

A brutal uppercut slammed into her stomach.

Her body jerked violently, the impact forcing bile up her throat.

"Ghh—!"

Rin didn't let up.

Twisting her hips— she drove her fist in deeper, the sheer force lifting Mariko's feet off the ground.

The maid assassin's breath vanished.

Her body folded in on itself.

The world spun.

Rin's masked face tilted slightly as she watched Mariko stumble back, her breath ragged, her golden eyes now burning with something dangerous.

Pain.

Anger.

And, most satisfying of all—shock.

Rin finally spoke, her voice low and venomous.

"Not so scary when you're the one getting broken, are you?"

Mariko staggered, clutching her stomach where Rin's fist had just sunk deep like a blade.

She wiped the side of her mouth—a slow, deliberate motion. The pain was real. The humiliation was worse.

Her golden eyes flickered—calculating, assessing.

Then, she smiled.

Not in amusement.

Not in anger.

But in understanding.

This new masked fighter—this 'Shatterwraith'—was no ordinary opponent.

But it didn't matter.

Because Mariko never fought alone.

She lifted two fingers into the air and snapped them together like a guillotine's final decree.

"Kill them."

The maids moved like shadows uncoiling from the abyss.

Blades gleamed.

Boots struck pavement.

The air itself tightened, suffocated by the sheer killing intent.

And then—

Chaos.

A maid lunged at Rin, a dagger slicing the wind apart.

CLANG!

Rin twisted, barely dodging, her arm snapping up to deflect the blade with her forearm guard. She retaliated with a spinning heel kick that sent the assassin hurtling sideways into a steel railing.

Kasumi and Aiko moved like synchronized demons, their blades carving through the night.

Aiko drove her kunai into one maid's thigh, twisting it cruelly before yanking it out—letting the blood spray like a broken fountain.

Kasumi weaved through the onslaught, katana flashing as she severed a wrist mid-slash, sending a blade clattering to the ground along with the dismembered hand.

Unknown caught an assassin's wrist mid-strike, snapping it in one clean motion before driving a knife into their throat with zero hesitation.

Jin sidestepped a flurry of strikes, his revolver already drawn—

BANG!

A single shot between the eyes. The maid collapsed before she even realized she was dead.

But despite the bloodshed, the maids kept coming.

Each movement was calculated. Precise. Ruthless.

This wasn't just a fight.

This was an execution.

And through it all—Mariko watched.

Calm. Patient. Waiting.

Then, finally—her eyes locked onto Kairi.

Still unconscious.

Still vulnerable.

And just like that—Mariko moved.

Fast.

Too fast.

A blur of black silk and steel, her knife glinting under the moonlight—

Aimed straight for Kairi's throat.

Rin saw it.

And for the first time—

She knew she might not be fast enough.