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[color=#736AFF][b][h1]Ranbu no Izayoi[/h1][/b][/color]
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At some point, the haze of magically-induced rage faded from her senses. It hardly mattered, not when the object of her ire was finally within her grasp. Already driven to the peaks of fury from her own naturally-driven anger, bloodlust, and need for vengeance, Izayoi managed to draw her wakizashi from her belt and drive it into Reisa's throat, finishing the battered captain with one last vicious thrust. 

The light left Reisa's eyes, and with it, so did the metaphorical burden upon Izayoi's shoulders. It was done. Finally. After seven long months, Isshin, Suzume, and all of Atsu had been avenged. She felt [i]lighter[/i] already. No longer did the mantle of justice, of vengeance, fall upon her. By her inaction had Atsu's fate been wrought, and by her hand they had been avenged. The samurai burst out into a peal of delighted laughter as she ripped both blades, long and short, out of her hated nemesis's body, only barely registering Galahad and Miina's twin magics slowing her fall. Reisa's corpse flew down farther and farther from Izayoi's vision, and she could but take a moment to truly breathe at last. 

[color=#736AFF][b]"Finally,"[/b][/color] She murmured under her breath, just close enough for her two erstwhile companions to hear. [color=#736AFF][b]"Finally, this bedeviled wretch has kept an oath she has made. May all of Atsu find final peace and rest with the death of their killer."[/b][/color]

___

Eventually, all among the Kirins managed to touch down upon the ground, a pulped mass of shattered bone, blood, and metal staining the soil a distance away from them. It took some time for them to receive the news, but for once, it was a triumph: Valheim had failed in their objectives and was in full retreat, though Zacharias had called off any pursuit in favor of controlling the damage to Brightlam itself. Notably, Valon had been spotted leading the retreat, looking little worse for wear.

The days that followed saw the Kirins being treated as heroes within Brightlam and the nation at large as the news spread. Both Zacharias and Neve were unreachable once the former had officially lifted the Kirins' bounties, with damage assessment and rebuilding as their top priorities. For now, they were free to rest and recover from the arduous series of battles that had punctuated their return to the city. 

At some point, a different title for those who cut the head of the snake during the invasion had sprung up. If anyone knew who had begun giving them the moniker "Warriors of Light", they were unwilling to say. But the title began to spread, and soon enough, many in Brightlam preferred to use the epithet over their official name as a group.

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[h1]ACT 1 - END[/h1]
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