Due to technical problems on my side, I was unable to properly edit the chapter and make proper details and explanations. So if you come across any mistakes or parts that don't make sense, then please leave it in the form of a comment, thank you.
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Kaori's hands trembled as she stared at the approaching statue, its stone face cracking to reveal its dark body beneath. The cold air filled her lungs, her mind drifted to another cold day, thirteen years ago, when she'd first learned what it meant to be truly powerless.
At age ten, Kaori's peaceful life at the Yamashita clan compound was destroyed when the Global Powered Alliance attacked.
Her mother, using their family's crystal-based powers, helped Kaori hide beneath the floorboards before being captured. Though officially reported as an accident, it was actually a planned operation to kidnap people with crystal abilities.
Kaori spent the next six years in hiding, secretly learning to control her power to transform into crystal.
At sixteen, an underground combat school found her and honed her abilities, teaching her to turn her entire body into impenetrable diamond armor.
In a twist of fate, she joined the GPA at eighteen, earning the nickname "Crystal Queen" while secretly plotting revenge.
As she rose through the ranks, she discovered documents proving the GPA had planned her father's execution and conducted torture experiments on her mother to study their family's powers.
On her twentieth birthday, she took her revenge - burning down the GPA's western facility and encasing fifty high-ranking officers in crystal balls.
Now, facing death in this strange realm, that same feeling of powerlessness threatened to overwhelm her. But something else stirred in her memories, the countless hours of training, the lessons learned in dark dojos and underground fighting pits. Even without her crystal powers, she was far from helpless.
The shadow creature's strike came fast, but Kaori was faster. Years of combat instinct took over as she twisted sideways, letting the attack graze past her. She felt its cold body brush against her skin.
"The core!" Leo shouted. "They have some kind of nucleus. When they attack, it becomes visible!"
Neo's tactical mind immediately latched onto this detail. "That's their weak point! Kaori, can you force them to attack in specific ways?"
Kaori's eyes narrowed, her mother's words playing in her head. Stronger than them all. "Yes. Watch their movements."
She dropped into a fighting stance she hadn't used since her underground training days. The Shadow Form, a style developed for fighting multiple opponents in darkness.
"Leo, your marking affects them," she called out. "Can you make it flare on command?"
"I... I think so," he replied, exhaustion evident in his voice. "But it's getting weaker each time."
"Make it count then." Kaori began moving in a circular pattern, despite the uneven ground her footwork was precise. "Neo, when I give the signal, throw your knife straight up. Don't argue, just do it."
The shadow beings pressed their attack, but now Kaori saw them differently. Their movements weren't random, they always took the path where they are less likely to get hit. She could use that.
She launched into a complex series of movements, each stance flowing into the next. The shadow creatures followed her motion.
"Now!" she shouted.
Neo's knife spun upward. The shadow beings' attention followed it instinctively, their necks stretching upward. In that moment of distraction, Kaori struck.
Her hands moved in patterns learned in those underground dojos, striking at points where their bodies were thinnest. She couldn't hurt them physically, but each strike disrupted their form, forcing them to reform.
These beings were able to turn themselves untouchable for sometime, but certain things or sudden or complex movements such as the knives would force them to turn solid again.
"Leo, the marking!"
Leo's arm blazed with light, causing the nearest shadow beings to recoil. In that moment of chaos, Kaori saw what she'd been waiting for – the dark cores at their centers, briefly exposed.
"We need to hit the cores," she realized. "That's their weakness!"
Neo caught her knife as it fell. "But they're only visible when they attack!"
"Then we make them attack," Leo said, his mind racing. "But they've adapted to our previous strategy. Our options are few."
Kaori felt a surge of energy she hadn't experienced since entering this realm. This was what she'd trained for, not just fighting, but understanding the flow of the battlefield, seeing the patterns others missed.
"I have an idea," she said, never taking her eyes off the shadow beings. "But it's risky. Leo, how many more times can you trigger your marking?"
"Maybe three or four strong bursts," he replied. "After that..."
"It'll have to be enough." Kaori began moving again, but differently now. She moved less, but still did everything with intent. Each step aimed to draw the creatures' attention.
The shadow beings grew impatient. The one that had nearly killed Kaori moments ago was reforming, preparing for another strike.
"Leo, when I say now, hit them with everything you've got," Kaori instructed. "Neo, throw your knife at the largest one's core, but aim to miss by a few inches."
"Miss on purpose?" Neo frowned but readied her blade.
"Trust me." Kaori took a deep breath, centering herself. All those years of training, of learning to fight without her crystal powers, had prepared her for this moment.
The shadow beings surged forward, their bodies merging into one wave of darkness. This was it, they were committing to a final, overwhelming attack.
"Now!"
Leo's marking flared with bright light, causing the shadow wave to falter. Neo's knife flew through the air, deliberately wide of the largest creature's core. The being instinctively solidified to dodge the blade, just as Kaori had predicted.
In that moment of solidification, Kaori struck. Her hands moved in a pattern taught to her by a blind master in those underground dojos, the Shadow Lock technique. It wasn't meant to damage opponents, but to trap them in their own momentum.
They repeated the sequence again and again. Leo's marking pulsed, Neo's knife flew, and Kaori moved through the chaos, striking at every exposed core she could reach. Each successful hit caused the shadow to vanish with a shriek.
But victory was still far from certain. Leo's marking was growing noticeably weaker, and Neo's throws were becoming less precise as she grew more tired. The remaining shadow beings, though fewer in number, pressed their attack desperately.
Then something changed. A deep rumble shook the valley and the area surrounding them. The shadow beings' movements became panicked. Their cores began to give off a dark purple glow.
"Something's happening!" Leo shouted, his marking suddenly blazing brighter than ever.
The purple mist began to disappear, revealing more of the valley around them. In the distance, Kaori caught glimpses of other statues, but these weren't cracking open. Instead, they seemed to be making strange sounds, as if they were... calling to the shadow beings.
The creatures' bodies began to stretch, as if something was pulling them back to where they had come from.
"They're losing control!" Neo realized. "Whatever bound them to those statues is reasserting itself!"
Kaori saw their opportunity. "Leo, one more burst! Everything you have!"
Leo's marking flared one final time, the light almost blinding in intensity. The shadow beings recoiled violently, their bodies dispersing like smoke in a strong wind.
But as the creatures retreated, one of them made a final, desperate lunge at Kaori. Its core, now clearly visible, glowed with a deep purple light that matched the mist.
Time seemed to slow as Kaori watched death approach once again. But this time, she wasn't that helpless child hiding under the floorboards. She wasn't powerless.
She was her mother's daughter. She was the Crystal Queen. And even without her powers, she was still a warrior.
Her hand moved with perfect precision, driven by years of training and countless battles. As the shadow being's core passed within reach, she struck at it's core with a small pocket knife.
The creature's body exploded outward before disappearing.
The remaining shadow beings screamed as they were pulled back and turned to stone, their bodies turning to stone in the fearful expressions they had before. The purple mist began to dissipate, revealing the valley around them.
Kaori stood ready, her stance perfect despite her exhaustion, waiting to see if any threat remained. But the valley had fallen silent, the statues were still and lifeless.
Neo lowered her knife, studying the statues. "The cores were their weak point after all."
"And not just weak points," Leo added. "They were what anchored them to this realm. Break the core..."
"Break the being," Kaori finished, slowly relaxing her stance. Her mother's words played in her mind once more. Grow stronger than them all. For the first time since entering this realm, she felt truly worthy of that challenge.