[color=gray][center][h2]Akeno Kudo[/h2][/center][/color]

[color=gray]“I can use it.”[/color] Akeno drew the sword with a sense of resignation, wondering how she’d gotten into this mess and whether it was too late to turn back. She wasn’t even sure what had compelled her to follow the instructions from the voice in her head up to this point, other than the fact that it was a literal divine mandate and ignoring those seemed like a bad idea. Even so, throwing herself into the jaws of a giant cobra was a bit much for a god to ask of her, divine retribution or not.

She didn’t turn to leave though.

[color=gray]“Stand back. Let me deal with it.”[/color]

Instead she eyed the walls of the corridor, judging the hidden chamber wide enough that it shouldn’t make swinging her weapon impossible but that she’d still need to be careful. There wasn’t enough room to dodge the snake if it lunged at her, nowhere to hide if she didn’t kill it on the first stroke; she would need to kill it either before it attacked her or as it was attacking her. That would have been impossible, even for someone with years or martial arts experience like her, but with the sword in hand and the skills it gave such a thing was possible even for someone like her.

Akeno could see the technique that would let her do it, the counterstroke that would sever the serpents head in the moment before its fangs struck her. Knowing how to do it and actually doing it were two different things however. She was just borrowing these skills from someone else, they weren’t her own; how could she trust that they would even work, or that she could do them properly? She wasn’t good at the whole ‘blind faith’ thing.

In the end it wasn’t necessary. Before either she or the snake could strike something took over its body as the serpent flopped over onto its back and exposed its belly to them. Another Communicator joined them a moment later, blind, being led by a… thing that looked like a dog. [color=gray]“You did that?”[/color] Akeno gestured towards the still struggling, yet helpless snake before realising that the action was likely pointless. [color=gray]“Thanks.”[/color]

She walked over to the creature, keeping her sword pointed at its throat the entire time, until she was standing over its body. [color=gray]“If we leave it alive, it might attack anyone who comes through here after us right?”[/color] Akeno held her sword out so that the blade was poised over its throat; it was too large to try and decapitate, so slitting its body open was probably the best way to deal with it. [color=gray]“We should kill it.”[/color]

The sword didn’t move. Akeno looked over at the others.

[color=gray]“We should kill it, right?”[/color]