The atmosphere in the arena shifted dramatically, the night air growing cold as Winifred summoned a massive pair of gleaming scissors. Gasps echoed through the crowd as everyone turned their attention to the screen, captivated by the intense battle unfolding in the mock Edo Kyoto stage. Excitement and tension crackled in the air, making it unbearable to look away from the spectacle.
"Now then, Tomoe," Winifred smirked widely as her gloves radiated violently with a malicious red aura as she rushed forward at the samurai. "Let us begin to Act 2!"
"W-what a turn of events, folks! Jack the Ripper, who has been keeping her distance so far in the match, is now entering Tomoe's range!" Hermes announces from above, as all gasp while Tomoe readies an attack on Winifred.
In the viewing box, Hachiman narrows his eyes suspiciously at the sudden change of tactics from Loki's champion. "What's the meaning of this, Loki? Even though I want that filthy killer dead, why would she sacrifice her advantage like that?" Hachiman demanded, while Loki, still levitating in the air with his drink, replied with a knowing, devious grin. "Oh, but why reveal the game when we can see it, hmmm?"
Back in the arena, Tomoe's naginata clashes with Winifred's giant scissors with a thunderous strike, cracking the ground beneath them. "I don't know what your plan is with engaging me in close combat, Jack the Ripper, but you've made a fatal mistake," Tomoe sneered, preparing to overpower her to another strike to end this vile creature.
"Oh? You think you have me in a corner, samurai?" Winifred giggled lightly as Tomoe noticed the red energy from Winifred's gloves flowing into the scissors. "I do believe you have your theory entirely false, Dear Tomoe."
As the red energy surged into the scissors, they began to transform, the blades expanding and morphing into jagged, serrated edges that gleamed menacingly under the arena lights. Tomoe's eyes widened in shock as she realized the true extent of Winifred's power. "This is just the beginning," Winifred taunted, her voice dripping with malice, as the crowd watched in awe and fear at the unfolding spectacle.
Before the Tomoe could react, the blades closed around Tomoe, severing Tomoe's naginata in half, closing in on Tomoe. Despite Tomoe leaping back to avoid the attack, she's met with both of her sides lacerated, with her wounds leaking out.
"Tomoe...!" Amaterasu and Hachima yelled at the screen in the VIP box as she witnessed the horrifying extent of Tomoe's injuries. While the other gods watched in disbelief, only Athena heard Amaterasu's concern and looked at her with a sideways glance.
"What a sinister trap set by Jack the Ripper! She transformed her scissors into gnawing blades of death and has shredded across Tomoe's ribs.
Tomoe gritted her teeth, wincing at the searing pain that shot through her body with every movement. Her mind raced, desperately trying to formulate a new plan as blood trickled down her sides. "I can't let it end like this," she thought, her resolve hardening despite the agony. "How did you do it!"
"Pardon? Oh, that's right. I forgot to mention why my gloves could make any tool to my discretion, to whatever I desire. By carefully enhancing its lethality, any object made by my gloves becomes a tool of execution. These are my Divine Invocations. I call them...The Hands of the Macabre Artist." Winifred stated as she produced three sets of throwing knives in each hand. "They have one caveat, though, I can't create a weapon that's not from my timeperiod. Still, with how creative I was dispensing justice in London, I can be very resourceful, Ms. Gozen."
As the audience gasped at the reveal of Winifred's Divine Invocation. Among the crowd, Crazy Horse, with his wound bandaged up from his battle with William Wallace, looked up at the astral projection screen with a stern expression. "Hmmm, a fitting name for that demon. I can't fathom what would make the Great Spirit breathe life into that woman."
Meanwhile, Benkei watches with a slight concern on his face, and even Nōhime understands that Tomoe may be in a more dire situation than I like to admit.
Returning to the proxy battlefield of Kyoto, Tomoe smiled as she dropped the broken ends of her naginata, her head lowered. "I see. Seems your sponsor has given you a vile Invocation, fitting of your moniker." As Tomoe expresses this, she presses her hands in a prayer-like manner, much to Winifred's confusion. Then, she looks up towards her crimson eyes, burning with the literal flames of righteous fury. "THEN I WILL UNLEASH MINE AS WELL, RIPPER!!!!!!"
A fiery aura erupted around Tomoe, swirling with an intensity that seemed to challenge the very air around her. The flames coalesced into fiery crimson and gold Yoroi armor around her shoulders, waist, and legs, with elongated pronged horns manifesting on Tomoe's forehead, and the flames trailing behind her like a hagoromo. In her hands is a new, fiery red and iron naginata with the emblem of the Minamoto on the blade.
Divine Invocation: Wrathful Ashura of the Minamoto
The crowd erupted into a mix of awe and shock, their eyes wide as they witnessed the magnificent transformation. Gasps and murmurs filled the air as the sheer power of Tomoe's Divine Invocation became apparent. Even the most battle-hardened observers felt a chill run down their spines, knowing they were witnessing a clash of legends.
In the VIP booth, Amaterasu watched the transformation of one of her Star Generals in wonderment at Tomoe's new form. "Tomoe..."
"T-this is incredible! Both Jack the Ripper and Tomoe Gozen have revealed their Divine Invocations!? This fight is starting to escalate before our very eyes!" Hermes announces as Tomoe rushes at Winifred with her new form, preparing to tear the murderer apart.
As Tomoe lunged forward, her movements were a blur of speed and precision, each step leaving a trail of flickering flames in her wake. Her eyes locked onto Winifred with unwavering focus, the air crackling with energy as she closed the distance. With a swift and immense strike, Tomoe unleashed a series of slashes with her fiery naginata, each swing aiming to overwhelm Winifred with the relentless force of her Divine Invocation. Winifred leaps back, narrowly avoiding the slash and unleashing a flurry of throwing knives at her opponent. Tomoe parries the knives as she continues the advancement. But Winifred evades again, and she again unleashes another torrent of knives in a variety of throws and pitches.
"Jack the Ripper is unloading at Tomoe with a series of knives! From fastballs, palmballs, sinkers, and sliders, they are being blocked effortlessly by the newly transformed Tomoe Gozen as she goes in for the kill!" Hermes announced that Tomoe is now inches from Winifred.
"Begone, you demon," Tomoe bellowed, preparing to deliver a cleaving downward strike upon the Ripper. "If you insist, Ms. Gozen," Winifred smirked as her gloves lit up in the same red aura as she manifested a red and black parasol. As if by some invisible wind, the parasol lifted Winifred in the air.
"W-what? Jack the Ripper barely managed to evade by using her parasol as an impromptu glider?!" As Hermes announces, Tomoe crouches down, and the ground beneath her cracks. "You won't escape from me." Tomoe hissed as she launched herself from the ground, soaring toward Winifred. Tomoe yelled out a primal roar as she went for another arching swing. Winifred quickly used her parasol to quell the strike with a satisfied grin.
"It seems even with your new power, your attack is-" Before Winifred could goad, she felt the massive force from Tomoe's powerful strike from her naginata destroy her parasol and burrow into her right clavicle before sending her careening to the ground. Winifred's eyes widened in shock as the naginata's force shattered her parasol and pierced her defenses. A sharp gasp escaped her lips, pain radiating from her clavicle and spreading through her body. Despite the agony, she managed to twist her body mid-air, attempting to regain control before crashing into the ground below, leaving a large crater. She used the remains of the parasol to absorb most of the damage from the fall, say for a dislocated right elbow and a few broken ribs.
As the killer dropped to one hand and knee, Tomoe emerged from the shadows, her armor shimmering in the moonlight like a celestial beacon. The flaming hagoromo billowed around her, radiating power and ferocity—she stood before her adversary like a fierce goddess of war, ready to claim her destiny.
"Do you see now, Jack the Ripper? No matter how many tricks and schemes you bring, justice will always triumph over evil. Now, your legacy ends here!"
The Samurai's Strength Without Equal...!
A Justice That Was Ingrained into the Woman's Heart...!