Akaritori had no words for Allia - despite everything, she had not been driven to fury like she had in the past, and Zilant was now. It was impressive, in its own little way, that a small part of Naya lived on. The thought brought a happy smile to the Yamakage's face, despite the fury of Zilant being directed at her in its entirety. Akaritori had weathered far worse than a dragon's fire in her time - especially from a dragon like Zilant, that was comparatively a whelp - and that same resolute hardness was still etched deep into her very being, preventing her from saying anything back to the young woman.

She mustered up the will to speak, to say something - to tell her that no, she wasn't a child after surviving everything that she had survived, that she could be anrgy if she so chose, that... She didn't even know any more. The one regret in Akaritori's life that she had never been able to let go of had followed her even to Yamagakure, but in some ways she had expected it to happen. She had thought of it every night for five years after she burned the continent to the ground. 

Still - she was Yamakage, the Judge-Magister of Yamagakure, and her claims of power had been tested. It was something that she had to respond to. If she didn't, her titles and powers were meaningless. If she could be challenged, openly, with impunity, her reign meant nothing. That was something that she could not let happen, and even though she was gripped deeply by regret, she was a soldier. She had duties to attend to, even when honour was difficult, and she would attend to them.

"You doubt me." came the words, in a decidedly darker tone, as Akaritori stood up from her desk and unsheathed Masayoshi. She turned to face the dragon, in all of his fury, and let the breath wash over her. It was nothing that she could not take. It was nothing that she could not bear. Still, the appropriate response was not to take his rage - as much as she wanted to let him loose his rage upon her, she was a Kage - she had responsibilities, claims to defend, and people to care for.

[centre]"Shikōsai!"[/centre]

The burst of light was intense enough to temporarily blind even Akaritori (if she hadn't been wearing her goggles) as the wings of light that sprouted from her back suddenly vanished and her form was replaced by pure light - something only the Champion of Exae could do - and her elemental form was bathed in dragonfire to no avail. Zilant could not even burn Akaritori's mortal body, never mind her ascended form.

With a stern gaze, and an outstretched left hand, she pointed at Zilant and made a motion downwards with her hand, speaking as she did so: "Gijin no Shisen."

The Gaze of the Righteous, perhaps the least powerful of her ascended form's techniques, was one of the flashiest and most effective in situations where permanent harm was not desired or required. Zilant, in the space of less than a second, would be cowed - brought to the ground by some almighty force that squeezed at his body, forcing him into as close to a kneeling position that a dragon could be in. There would be some pain, but it would hardly be enough to penetrate the sheer hot-blooded rage of the dragon.

"I was a champion, once, Zilant. I had greater powers than I do now... I could tap into the very heart of the Lightforge, the very font of the Judge-Magisters' power! I carry with me a mere trace of that power now, of the forge that gave birth to Exae, and it is more than enough to lay you low before the power of Justice! I understand your rage, more than anybody, but I cannot let you contest my power freely. I am everything that I have claimed to be, and you will accept that. Do you understand?"

The celestial form of the Kage then turned to Allia:

"I would never kill him for succumbing to the same rage I did... And you are no child, to have survived everything that you have. Naya would be proud of you."