[22:45] "Ah," she interjected, giving the vampire the slightest of smiles as those empty, unblinking eyes of hers scanned over every detail. His form. The suit. The top hat. The sword. She was right to bring Insatiable, then; she disliked using such a vile weapon, but it would unquestionably be able to match Malentine's own sword in a way that her staff and ceremonial blade could not. "So you are the shapeshifter," she muttered, the slightest bit of intrigue shining through her ordinarily robotic tone. "I was looking for you. I... intended to deliver you to Leland Lelhua, once I found you. But..."

The letter was carefully folded and stuffed into her pocket.

"The situation has changed. You are... mine now, Malentine Invidia." It was a simple declaration, words as mechanical as ever, but the conviction behind them was completely unmistakable. Because of the letter, because of the situation, and partially because of the sword Satsuki gripped so tightly in her hand, she aimed to take Malentine's life right here.

"But yes," she conceded, "Shaden is fine - how nice of you to tell me his name. Once we are... sure that no traces of his condition remain, he will be freed. Eming is... in my care - and the darkness within him will soon be gone."

Her right hand rose in something of a half-shrug as she just continued to stare - she had more strength, more conviction than she had the last time the two met, years ago atop the mountain. "...Once upon a time, I... took pity on you, Malentine Invidia. You screaming so helplessly about your sister... did strike a chord. I wanted to end your suffering - I wanted to reunite the two of you. But, as I said... the situation has changed. I do seek to end what you call a life, but... not for your sister. For your actions in Gehenna. For the hunts your kind perform nightly. For the letter. For my flock."

Her eyes narrowed.

"You were always a child, and now you look like one, too," she prattled on. She could feel traces of his Sin seeping outward - she identified it, and seemed to be deliberately set on aggrevating it as a response. "You should have let an actual adult like Torham Draskovic write your letter for you, instead of trying to play a game you are not... equipped for."

She held the wretched sword aloft in her hand, leveling it at the vampire- at Envy. "We have no intention of keeping our prisoners. Let them go, Malentine Invidia. This matter is... between us, is it not?"
(Satsuki Shimasu)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[23:00] Malentine's smile twisted. It was still very much there, but the anger and rage behind it matched the day they had first met. It was a terribly ghoulish thing, forced and painted and very, very wide. Satsuki knew the words that would anger a monster that had given itself completely to its Sin, and a vampire made him all the more inhuman. Though there was still something that echoed around that empty heart.

Malentine's eyes flashed pink and widened in a brilliant frenzy. "Don't you fucking dare talk about me." The voice that escaped the vampire was now high pithed, feminine. It was nearly a shriek and the child rose higher into the air. His eyes flashed back to red, though it was a bit darker than before, and a commanding, deeper voice came out. "You trespassed upon our lands once before, and your crime went unanswered. Payyour dues now, or perish."

Malentine gripped his head and his own voice came out in a shrill laugh, just as forced as his smile. He was trying to get a grip over whatever had come over him, and the assault was terrifying to witness.
"Yooooou. You you you… This. This is a good thing..." Now he drew his blade, the Black Curtain as some up north would call it, and Satsuki could see for the first time what made it so heinous. If it weren't for the arcanium conduits coiled around the nyeshk blade that were thrumming with vampire blood, it was the purple gem inlaid into the hilt, something that cried out to the Virtue to be saved.

It was like a voice, a physical embodiment of goodness and creation, staring back at her from the chains of enslavement that bound it to the horror before her. "I need a new... enemy. What is progress without opposition? Andwith Ithaca Blackwater dead well...

I find myself in need of some." Now the vampire's own innate magic took hold of him. In this warm area, the temperature suddenly plummeted and icy walls swathed across the grass in seconds, cutting through trees and rocks alike. A nightmarish arena with jagged tipped structures that Satsuki would find all too familiar.

"Do send a letter back to the Baron if you don't want those boys to die because of your own hubris. If it's a rivalry you want, then you've more than found it, Chancellor. Though if we may point something out...

You may be correct. We are Children Maybe. But At Least We Aren't. Alone."
(Malentine Invidia)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[23:09] Just the same as before, the unforgiving cold was met with a whirlwind of flame shooting outward like a warning shot as the Kitsune's bare foot stomped against the ground. Insatiable was brought to her front so that she could more easily grip it with both hands, crouching slightly in the closest facsimile of a feral battle stance one could assume while gripping a sword with two hands.

She knew her usual vine tricks wouldn't work here; as Malentine had said the first time, a spiderweb couldn't trap a spider. All of the magic here, all of the fighting - it would be her own.

"Look at you," she said, a smile of her own creeping onto her face. It could never hope to match Malentine's terribly fake, terribly nightmarish one - but in her own way, Satsuki smiling was unusual in its own right. "You can't even keep yourself together anymore. Imaginary friends. That's what this is. Do you even know who you are anymore?"

She laughed - a hollow little thing, as fake as Malentine's own. She, too, was more than a little bit empty. As far as rivals go, Satsuki Shimasu and Malentine Invidia may have actually been a perfect match. But, of course, it wasn't typically in her nature to taunt. There was work to be done. The white flower petals danced around the Kitsune once more, and a supernatural green glow lit up in her eyes, piercing through the darkness of the night.

"Jiuweihu... give me strength to end this threat," she whispered to herself. "Allow me to... end what was started years ago. It is... fate that I win, and Malentine falls here. I can feel it. So- lend me your strength."

The briefest moment of silence passed. Time seemed to slow in the same way as it always did before a battle, and...

"BEGIN!" she roared, charging forward with Insatiable with all the fury of a feral beast.
(Satsuki Shimasu)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[23:24] The first time the two crossed metaphorical blades, Satsuki preferred to play support as Moriya put in the hard work. She opted to hang back and weave webs of flaming vines, seeking only to trap Malentine without getting her own hands dirty. As she said twice before: the situation had changed. She charged forward to meet Malentine head-on, her own childhood experience with swordfighting coming in handy as she lunged forward, parrying or deftly avoiding Malentine's own assault.

She was aggressive - she was feral. Insatiable's onslaught never ceased, and with each swing the Kitsune let out a furious roar. But still - she was making no ground. Jiuweihu seldom rewarded those who acted without thinking, and she wasn't using her Wisdom to the best of her ability.

It was only after Malentine used a technique Satsuki herself had mastered - creating a chain of explosions at her heel to rocket herself forward - that she seemed to snap back into reality. She raised her sword to block his strike, but the strength of the blow sent her flying.

She could never cross blades with a vampire head-on, and the shock of the blow briefly interrupting the whims of Insatiable helped her realize that. She blinked - just once.

"No, no- no- Mei was... right," she muttered to herself, a sudden wave of conjured fire creating a wall between herself and the vampire to give her a moment to breathe. "This sword is... a crutch. I don't need it. I..."

Insatiable was swiftly planted into the ground and brandished her claws, the glow in her eyes strengthening. Each sharp fingernail ignited with white, sacred flame. "All I need is my own strength. All I need is my Faith." With that quiet declaration, she opted to returnthe attack Malentine just delivered - and show him how a real master uses it.

The sound of explosions heralded her approach; flames erupting from her heels, she cleaved through her wave of flame, seemingly with the intent to take Malentine by surprise. Instead of striking him head on, however, she pivoted mid-launch and the flames which propelled her changed direction.

The Kitsune quickly slid into position in Malentine's blind spot and properly lunged, clawing at the vampire's face with both hands - a more powerful, drastically more painful version of a blow she had delivered to him in their last encounter.
(Satsuki Shimasu)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[23:26] The Virtue's light made the Sin hiss. It was not the first time he had been shown this type of power, a benevolence that matched or perhaps even superseded the Warden Malentine had slaughtered within the Spirit World. Satsuki's own fire is quickly turned against her, or at least licks of it are. Though he fough with ice, some of the kitsune's flames coiled around his arms and legs and launch the vampire directly at his foe.

Black Curtain clanged against Insatiable, two weapons made using the blood of Cain himself. Sin and Virtue topple through the trees that are both freezing and burning in a magnificent hell-scape around the two fighters.

"CRY TO YOUR FATE, MONGREL FOX!" Despite the holy flames charring his coat and the snow white skin broiling, Malentine bolted toward Satsuki, riding another wave of flames as a great entropic force concentrated within his palm. "I AM. FATE'S. END. You are but a pawn of my Greater Foe, and I will tear into it by tearing through you first." As he reached the kitsune, the chaotic blast cascaded forward, but not before the forces of nature itself battered him back.

He was blinded, and though he heard her coming, he didn't see where Satsuki aimed to strike from until she was upon him, tearing apart his face and turning the freshly fallen snow white red. A knee upward sent the kitsune flying off of him and Malentine's marred face now seemed painted in its own nightmarish war-paint.

With a roar the vampire found himself amongst ice that refused to melt within this golden inferno, and once more he rose into the air. "I watched you. You have no one. No Family. No real friends. You are nothing but a pup without a pack. And you will die as you lived; alone."
(Malentine Invidia)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[23:39] "fffffUCKING BITCH BITCH BITCHBITCHBITCHBIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITCH!!" That feminine, shrieking voice came forth as Malentine whirled around in the air. His eyes were shining that brilliant pink once more and the Black Curtain found its mark in digging into the kitsune's shoulder. It drew blood into the air that other vampire's may have gnashed at in desperation, but Malentine had no interest in it.

"You dare pity, US?" the deeper voice responded. "You are an animal. A fox of lesser breed, a creature shown pitiable mercy by a heathen deity."

Satsuki may have tried to show Malentine how a master utilized flame magic, and perhaps she did it perfectly the first time. But she would be surprised out how fast a learner one who was eaten by envy could be. An explosion of his own sent Malentine cascading toward the Chancellor once again, and before he could reach her, he too pulled another trick from her growing arsenal.

In a flash he is in her blind spot, though it is not using the same technique as she did. Where Malentine once was, there was now nothing but a gaping tear in reality. The void stared back at the kitsune, a darkness so absolute that even her virtue's light was beginning to become swallowed up into it. It isn't until Black Curtain's blunted, heavy, nyeshk edge collided with her midriff that the Darkness stopped calling.

As it was before though this time reversed, Satsuki found herself rolled across the ground before the vampire was upon her. He brought the hilt down hard onto the kitsune's forehead, causing a gash to open up, but instead of removing it, he kept the blade there. "Do you FEEL IT?" Malentine's own voice was back.

The gem that was now practically pressed against Satsuki's face was screaming. The sky ruptured and sundered above them as more of that void revealed itself and strands of light began to ebb out of the gem... and out of Satsuki herself. The inner core of her soul, the Virtue itself, was being manipulated by whatever power Malentine had found within that stolen artifact. "This is what the END. Feels like. This is what LOSING. EVERYTHING FEELS LIKE!"

While Chaos and Sin washed down upon Satsuki, the foulest presence by far was the mixture of Malentine's own blood thumping within the veins of his sword against the Warden's treasure.
(Malentine Invidia)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[23:54] Satsuki yelped as she was thrown off the vampire, but she quickly recovered as two vines erupted from the ground nearby to catch the flung Kitsune. As the vines lowered her back to her feet, she held her arms outward to her sides in a taunting gesture, letting out another odd little laugh in response to the vampire.

"You have not watched me well enough, then, Malentine Invidia - which makes me wonder... what mask were you wearing?" she probed, the glow in her eyes shining just a little bit brighter for a moment. This was her element; this is what she was most comfortable with. She worked far better when she had all her faculties - and the vampire's fury was proof of it.

Her hubris would get the best of her here, though - no amount of arguing with friends, or spiritual journeys, would ever change Satsuki's wretched kitsune overconfidence. Her taunts had doubtlessly proven too much. Malentine's swiftness had gotten the best of her - she swiped at the air where she anticipated him to be as he rushed forward, but...

She locked eyes with the abyss, the tear in reality- what was that-

...Her blind spot- she whirled around and raised her hand to stomp on the ground to conjure flame, but that brief moment of distraction had given enough time for Malentine to take the upper hand. Before she knew it, she was struck by Malentine's evil sword...

...The blunt end. He meant to make her suffer, didn't he?

The Chancellor let out a gasp, failing in her attempt to scramble to her feet as she was struck by the hilt. She screeched - a mixture of pain and rage - and blinked. She couldn't even process what was happening - but she couldn't hear Jiuweihu's voice. She couldn't feel the course of fate.

That gem - something about that gem...

"...Lesser breed...?" she muttered. "I am... Satsuki Shimasu. I am... Jiuweihu's chosen. I... can hear Her voice, I... can feel Her thoughts. She is my Goddess, and... I am Her angel. I am... agent of Her will," she stammered - and as proof that Fate smiled upon her, her eyes darted off to the side. Insatiable was right where she left it.

She clawed at the ground, and a vine erupted from the ground and whipped at Satsuki's sword, unsheathing it from its place on the ground and sending it flying into Malentine's own sword. The swords clashed and Satsuki was freed from her pinned position, rolling away and rising to a stand in an instant.

Insatiable was back in her hand.

"...And I will show you just how worthless Cain's 'blessing' is when confronted by Her Light personified."
(Satsuki Shimasu)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[23:58] ** Satsuki Shimasu has inflicted an injury upon Malentine Invidia. ("Permanent Injury", "Permanent Injury", "Permanent", "Severity: MODERATE (-20 Vit)") **

[00:22] Insatiable in her hand once more, the Kitsune lunged forward once more. She already knew that clashing blades with the vampire wouldn't end well for her, but it would provide a suitable distraction as she recovered from the blow Malentine dealt her. She sought only to keep him at bay, swinging her sword in one hand and clawing at the vampire with the other. Whatever she could rake with her flaming talons, she did - clothes, face, hat, the edge of the Black Curtain itself on occasion.

And, little by little, the gash on her head began to mend. Earthy green threads knitted it all together, and some of the petals from her aura gravitated toward the wound, seeping in. In time, the blood stopped flowing down her face, and she could feel the guiding hand of fate again.

Cease, it whispered - and Satsuki obeyed. With one last swing of the blade - angled at Malentine's eyes but just barely missing - she forced distance again.

Her eyes widened as the glow in them intensified for a moment, and her left hand stiffened, terribly long fingers splaying outward as Insatiable hit the ground once more. It looked for all the world like someone yanked the puppet strings attached to her hand - and that someone didn't want her to have anything to do with that sword.

Her now-empty hand rose and swiped through the air, runic tattoo glowing as some of the snow was simply erased - the magic itself absorbed into the elaborate tattoo before being deleted entirely.

"A child raging against Fate..." she muttered. "Have you ever considered... that everything has gone wrong for you because you spit in the face of Fate? Jiuweihu has decided the victor here, Malentine, and..."

Vampires were horrifyingly fast, and even at her best - when she wasn't still suffering the aftereffects of her folly earlier in the fight - she knew that Malentine's reflexes were more than a match for her own. This was the deciding blow, but...

There were so many options. So many paths Fate could take. So many ways she could miss and be slain. She closed her eyes and muttered one more silent prayer to Jiuweihu.

"Fate... can twist and turn so much," she said to the Divine spirit. "Just this once... guide my hand, Jiuweihu." As if in response, light from the heavens themselves descended upon Satsuki like a beam. Each petal of white light that comprised her aura ignited in celestial golden flames, and without even opening her eyes she waved her right hand. Golden flames - different than Satsuki's own - shot forth, chasing and scorching Malentine no matter how he tried to avoid it.

But that was only the prelude: the Chancellor's eyes shot open and she swiped her left hand - and her prayer was answered. Jiuweihu's own sacred flames consumed the snowfield Malentine's very presence created, not only homing onto his present location but also appearing in every possible place he could have moved.

For that one moment, Satsuki could see every course Fate could take in an instant. Wherever Malentine thought to fly or dash to, the flames consumed. Wherever he could warp to - even cleaving through space itself to do so - the flames had already reached. Every possible snap decision he could have made was sensed and already countered - and no matter what he did, Jiuweihu's sacred flames would scorch the Sin's frigid body.

And, for the briefest of moments, it looked for all the world like Satsuki Shimasu herself bore nine flaming tails.

With one last explosion of flame at her heels, Satsuki was rocketed forward, left palm outstretched... and made contact with Malentine's face. The runes lit up red and a blast of fire erupted directly onto his face, scorching it with the mark of the nine-tailed Jiuweihu Herself. Satsuki was knocked back slightly by the recoil, while Malentine was sent flying in the opposite direction.

The blessed Kitsune crouched down once more, claws brandished and legs ready to pounce - but the distance was too great now. She doubtlessly couldn't catch up to Malentine if he chose this moment to make his exit.
(Satsuki Shimasu)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[00:44] The irony between the two fighters was that they were almost entirely wielding weapons that should be in the other's hand. Satsuki, the Virtue of Wisdom swinging a blade whose very power came from the blood of a vampire, and Malentine, a vile Sin of Envy and Chaos whose own blade called forth stolen power from the Spirit Realm and the Lifestream itself.

The fires and the Light itself beat the vampire back, and despite all his rage and fury against his enemy, the flames and radiance were something he couldn't stand against. But Malentine wasn't one to back down.

As the torrent began, the child-like creature roared out in pain and seething hatred. "You think I started this war?" The Black Curtain was brought up to slash a flaming wave that came toward him and the vampire's eyes were alight with flashing colors of all kinds. "FATE SPAT UPON US!" The trio of Invidias sang out and the One Envy grit its teeth against the oncoming brilliance.

Panting, burned and bloodied, Malentine opened his mouth wide, staring right back at the nine-tailed vision before him. Though her divinity was breaking through, his Sin and Chaos flared forth, and though she caught him by the face,

Reality Shattered.

Pieces of the sky and the air simply fell away, as if they were tarps put up for show, curtains that had been torched away by the kitsune's own fires. The Chaotic wave that was sent out in some great defiance to the brand now upon Malentine's face echoed through the clearing, killing weaker plantlife and animals in its wake. The void looks down upon the duo once more, greater than every before. And though Satsuki had landed a disfiguring blow, she was indeed now too far from where Malentine was floating amidst the wreckage of the world.

There, in the air, his shadow clutched at his whitened face where the mark had been left, and Malentine was absolutely trembling with rage... but then, of course, it shined; a brilliant, taunting, fanged smile that reflected the remainders of the Chancellor's flames. "I will be the End. Or I will find my own, Satsuki Shimasu. Release your prisoners. Don't toy with Voss. Don't march upon his city.

You're now a part of my game. I wonder if you will be its Grand Finale."

Through one of his tears, Malentine fell back and vanished, but while they all remained open, their ominous and eerie chorus echoed back.

"We'll be watching..."

And while the arena and pillars of ice that had been made shattered and twinkled down into melted puddles across the grass, Satsuki was left to watch in horror as the world desperately tried to heal the damage Malentine had done. Though the rifts did close, it was clear that the vampire had been fighting the earth and nature itself just as much as he had been fighting her.
(Malentine Invidia)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------