<h4>Chapter 515: The Grand Opening</h4>


    Now that Kat had determined that Kamiko was fine for now, she let her focus return to her own fight. Focusing mostly on just avoiding strikes from all the rats big and small, ensuring that she had the chance to heal from the damage she''d taken recently. The smaller rats were actually the bigger issue as they simply clung to her legs, using their, rtively at least, impressive jaw strength to cling on as she moved. It wasn''t ideal, and as she moved the weight dug further into her skin. She was just lucky it was tough enough that it could withstand a bit of force and wasn''t being shredded.


    *Though now that I think about it… something weird has to be happening with their teeth. They shouldn''t be strong enough to pierce my skin now that I''m actually thinking about all this. Never mind. It''s not important. What matters is that they ARE damaging me.*


    Kat took a step to the side, intentionally mming her feet into the walls and felt oddly satisfied with the sound of cracking rat bones that signalled her legs being freed. Once that was done, Kat focused on dodging, making sure she was in perfect condition for the next stage. It was a good thing she did, as while it went unnoticed for the most part, the smaller rats had affected her legs quite a lot. Throwing off her bnce, and doing a bit of damage to her achilleas tendons when they were there slowing her slightly as well.


    *Now that I''m 100% let''s deal with this little guys.* Kat turned her next moves into a dance, ducking, weaving and prancing around the various attacks One and Two threw at her, while also making sure to shuffle her feet around so that none of the small rats got to close. One she wasfortable with that, Kat started to change things up little by little.


    First it was stomps. Using a bit of power, but mostly her weight tond her feet directly on top of the patrol rats as she moved, no longer avoiding them entirely but spending an extra bit of focus to take out one of the many every time she stepped somewhere. The hardest part was making sure she didn''t slip on the ground afterwards, but she was making some progress that way.


    Still, it wasn''t quite good enough. She could tell, when her tail just barely touched up against the Guard Rats Kamiko was fighting that she''d been moving back too fast. To rectify this, Kat started to move sideways more, and endeavoured to slide into more rats throwing them into the wall now in groups.


    It takes her only a few seconds of real time, though quite a bit more subjective time, to clear up the area around her. Kat has gotten all the patrol rats near her, now only the one''s near Kamiko remain.


    *The question is… what now? I can''tmunicate properly in this bullet time state. Everyone talks too slowly and I bet I''d be the same. Even if it worked somewhat, Kamiko would have to be moving at almost the exact same speed as my voice however that would match up with my mind, because I KNOW I can get that to run faster then my body which furtherplicates things.*


    *I don''t know what to do. We''re getting pushed back still. Should I try and make my way around Kamiko''s guards so that I can take out the patrol rats around her, or should I take out my own two rats and then attack the guard rats in the back?*


    Kat twisted around to avoid a strangely well coordinated strike from One and Two, and kept spinning so that she could take a brief look at the other two Guard Rats, Three and Four. When Kat briefly gazed upon them, no blood was immediately obvious. There might have been more at the front, but if there was, Kat wasn''t at the right angle to see, and her speed made it hard to spend the time to make a better guess.


    Dodging out of the way of another two strikes that One and Two were able to get off because of her spin Kat let herself sink back into her thoughts as she dodged. *What would be faster? I could try and get these two down, or I could try and clear the little ones. How would I get there though… wait…*


    Kat nced at the ceiling and realised she had the perfect route. *I can FLY. The ceiling is a little low, but my wings don''t really behave ording to conventional physics anyway so it''s not like I couldn''t… I''m still not sure if I should honestly.*


    Kat swallowed and struck out twice at One, getting blocked the first time, and letting another tail strike sneak in, but the rat was learning, whereas before it was a somewhat sizeable cut, now Kat only managed one a few centimetres in length. While this was happening, she tried to picture fighting the small rats. It was a mess.


    *No. No it just wouldn''t work I don''t think. Between what would then be four Guard Rats AND Kamiko I''d have a hard time just clearing them out. Ok. That''s settled let''s focus on these two. I''ll go for One the best I can, if I can take out it first, then the second should be much easier.*


    Kat renewed her focus and stepped up her game. She dodged a few more attacks and let off a few half hearted strikes in return. They weren''t a big deal though, none of this was what she was looking for. Until, a strike going for One''s temple caused the rat to jump back, and Two flinched, thinking her tail was going to follow up when for once it didn''t.


    Kat''s eyes glowed in the soft light as she started to rapidly spin her energy, pushing herself into a higher gear. Kat spun using the position she was in to release an uppercut onto Two, letting herself flow back up to full height. Nail''s out Kat tried to jam them into Two''s throat. Two wasn''t having that though, and tried to block using a cross guard with both hands. Kat''s fingers dug into the offered arms, digging deeply into the muscle. Kat let her instincts guide her, as she pulled forward, dragging Two off bnce and ripping the nails from the flesh pulling chunks along.


    Two would have screamed if it had the time, but Kat followed it up with a tail strike to the stomach as she was winding back for a final attack. Two dodged to the side, getting cut in the process and stumbling once more… straight into the path of that final strike to the back of the neck. Kat''s hand wrapping around its spine and crushing the bone before One mmed into her side with a full body tackle.


    Kat was pushed back into the wall, but it didn''t have enough force to do any damage. It wasn''t the best position, especially not for manoeuvrability… but there was only one rat left. Only One. Kat took a follow up strike to her stomach, not even trying to dodge, before bringing her own arms in from the side and tearing straight through One''s throat. As the rat dropped to the ground, Kat pushed it further away and turned to Kamiko''s fight.


    She could see the other demon was perhaps having some issues. Somehow Kamiko had been backed much further down the tunnel the Kat thought, even ounting for the previous error. *Shit. Kamiko''s being forced to dodge more. The patrols and guards must be working better now.* The worst part was that Kat was all but certain Kamiko had been forced out of thefortable range for her naginata.


    Kat ignored therge amount of blood slowly dripping off her and charged. Her energy reserves were fine, and she wanted to end this. There was no telling how much energy Sue had left for the shield.


    Kat dashed behind Three, and before the rat could react properly to her presence, as it was still focused on Kamiko, Kat smashed her fist into the side of Three''s temple sending it careening off to the side. Four saw this and turned, but that too was a mistake as Kamiko dashed forward, dodging around patrol rats, to run her sword straight through Four''s heart, and dragging her weapon out as she continued past.


    Once that was done, Kat quickly whirred her way through the patrol rats, not wanting to leave them around, but not expecting any real struggle. When Kat stood next, most of the blood had fallen off her… but that just meant there was arge ck trail where she had stood clearly marking her reckless charge.


    Kamiko stood tall, but a little uncertain. Sue looked about ready to copse, and Kat. Well… Kat stood tall as well and said. "That could have probably gone better"