"Hawawawawawawa[i]blerghle[/i] snaaaaaaaaaaaaaaakes!"

Is that the most refined battlecry? I mean, not really. But in Kat's defense, snakes! Just so many snakes. It'd be funny if they weren't--

"Gaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh they're in my hair! They're in my taaaaaiiiilllls! Get them out get them out get them EEEEeeEEeP~!"

Yeah. I gotta say as far as Hidden Blades go this evil goddess' got some good ones. Hiss Unlimited is nearly the end of Katherine's heroic ambitions all by itself before she realizes that by twirling her sword like a magical girl's baton (wand? Iono) she can harness the winds her foxgirl magic is constantly producing for the sake of making her prettier to start blowing the stream of serpents harmlessly off into space. 

I mean, they're... they're space snakes, right? They'll be fine, probably? Or else they're magical snakes and they'll all vanish when the energy creating them runs out. Either way I don't [i]think[/i] this is unethical. Pretty sure? Ok look it's not like I am any kind of lawyer here, I just happen to be the one on story duty today. The point is, it's working.

"Lady, you popped out of a giant evil crab. Could you please not with the 'dOeS YoUr CuLTuRe nOt ApPrEcIatE HArMoNy?' routine? Like, the [i]first[/i] thing you did was try'n overwrite all life in... Austria? And then you got mad when they fought back! Course they did! What the h*ck? This is why I said no thanks!"

With the snakes good and handled, Kat shifts to offense. And it turns out there's another use for her Pretty Sparkle Fox Winds besides the obvious. That's right, she can ride 'em! Instead of pushing her body and getting all sweaty or turned around in this weird gravity situation, Kat simply channels the air into small pocket-tunnel-whatsits and creates a current that pushes her gracefully and effortlessly anywhere she wants to go. 

And goshies, does she wanna go places. She comes at the goddess from one side, and then the other, from below and from above, from every conceivable diagonal, every time batting the hammer out of her hand before swooping off to start the next attack. Her turning speed is silly. Her precision mobility is a thing of awe. But the most amazing thing about it is that it's all a distraction. 

See, every time Kat knocks the hammer free, she doesn't go for it. That's Ten Tailed wisdom for you. She knows that if she holds it out of reach, if she commits to taking it away forever, that's when she'll get hit with a proper deathblow. Even as she is, the problem with that thing is right there in the name, y'know? But by giving the goddess the chance to retrieve her weapon each time, Kat buys herself opportunities to present new puzzles that need new Hidden Blades to counteract. She keeps the game going, see? 

And meanwhile every time, her beautiful spiraling motion carries her closer, faster, makes her more and more dangerous. Finally her sword lashes out not for the hammer itself, but for the fingers wrapped around the handle. She connects perfectly: the clonking sound echoing through the void is all the proof she needs of that. 

She smiles.

"These are!"

...Kat?

"The Wandering Tales!"

...Kat, what are you doing?

"Of Yue the Sun Farmer! The Fifth Secret Sword (homage): Picnics at the Sky Castle! Honestly lady if your idea of 'harmony' was anythin' to write home about you'da tried mailin' pamphlets. All I need to know about your civilization's idea of harmony I learned from you thinkin' you needed ta force it on us! If appreciatin' that means I've gotta fit in with you and yours, then nah! Let us be weird! We're [i]happy[/i], thanks!"

I am. The [i]most[/i] embarrassed. I have ever been.

But also? Prouder than anything.