Master of Jin

Valiesha and her bird fell onto the rebels as the Skelengels retreated to the mansion's bony barricade. They awaited the Enaga rebels' move with Edgemoth.

"Yo, Valiesha!" Firaga greeted her.

"Firaga, I tried to catch Senri and save Chirus, but I failed," Valiesha hugged her.

"Come on, no big deal. We're going to bust in either way! Cheer up!" Firaga patted her back. "An A plus for your chat with Chirus, by the way."

"You heard?"

"Yeah, it was cheesy, but I'm proud of you!"

The rebels, Shima Enagas, and spider tanks mobilized into formation under Valiesha's command.

We're so close. Valiesha thought. I'm not giving up, Chirus.

"Valiesha," Sunder scouted the mansion's barricade. "We blew up the Skelengel hovertanks, technicals, and aircraft. All that's left are the infantry and that butterfly creature."

Valiesha nodded, then turned to the surviving students that the rebel girls tended to. The boys were injured and exhausted from their earlier breakout and burly brawl with the Endromen and Makyuran guard. She then watched Shyrin take care of Tynan and Calyx, signing to them.

What's up, knuckleheads? Shyrin signed, helping Tynan to sit on the ground with his one leg and crutch.

Just fine, knucklehead. Calyx bonked heads with Shyrin.

Happy to be out of class, Shyrin! Tynan grinned.

Always a delinquent, huh? Shyrin punched his shoulder. So, you met Firaga, one of my craziest friends. I never thought she'd have hots for you.

What's that supposed to mean? Tynan elbowed Shyrin, who stuck her tongue at him. Firaga is so pretty! Tell me about her!

Idiot, talk to her yourself. It'll be meaningful. Shyrin rolled her eyes. What are you looking at, Calyx?

Who's that? Calyx pointed at Sunder with his one arm. Could you help me get a date with her?

Oh, my God. Shyrin yanked Calyx's ear. What am I? A wing girl for you two?

Both signed yes, to which Shyrin replied by scrubbing their yellow hair with her fists.

Valiesha did a headcount of the survivors. Fifty total boys remained. She then rallied Shyrin, Firaga, and Sunder together.

"I never realized there were so few men left. They look tired from their initial breakout. What should we do?" Valiesha crossed her arms.

"We can still fight!" Tynan jumped. "We're men! Ouch!"

He forgot his crutch, tumbling onto Calyx.

You two are missing limbs. Shyrin signed. Besides, I don't want to lose you two again.

"But shouldn't men fight?" Calyx tried to hide how tired he was. "I feel bad that the girls are fighting and we're not."

Valiesha sat with the boys. "Listen, you all did enough. You all broke out against impossible odds and helped us break through Dessix's shield. If you all didn't, we couldn't win."

"I don't want you all to think just because you're men; every burden has to be yours alone," Valiesha pat Calyx's head. "You've all been oppressed in Dessix for too long and deserve freedom. We want you all to be free. Alright?"

Calyx and the boys nodded while Valiesha signed Shyrin to video call Frion with her phone.

Hi, Shyrin! Frion signed. What's cooking?

Sup, my favorite chef. Can you do me a favor? Shyrin smiled.

Sure! Are you and the rebels alright?

We broke into the academy and freed the surviving students. They were tired and needed help leaving the battlefield. We didn't want them to get hurt in our final clash with Senri.

Want me to get some friends to pick them up?

Yes, please.

No problem. Hang on tight!

Thanks, remember that date we promised?

Yes, I do! Fingers crossed! Frion signed before hanging up.

Shyrin, you got a boyfriend? Tynan and Calyx tackled their sister.

No, he's not my boyfriend-

Liar! You're the one making fun of us for finding love! Calyx scrubbed Shyrin's hair.

Shyrin, can you stay with the boys until Frion arrives? Valiesha asked. I don't want anything to happen to them.

After Shyrin gave a thumbs up, the spider tanks and Shima Enagas charged at the barricade of bones.

"See ya after?" Firaga winked at Tynan before leaving with Sunder.

"Heck, yeah!" Tynan winked back, making Shyrin roll her eyes.

"Wha-wait! I didn't ask her out!" Calyx watched Sunder jump away.

Haha, you missed your chance, loser. Shyrin pinched Calyx's cheek.

Valiesha, Firaga, and Sunder rode on their birds to storm Senri's mansions, dodging rocket-propelled grenades and tornado strikes from Edgemoth. As Shyrin watched the spider tanks bomb the barricade into bits, the students slept in the sleeping bags the Enaga rebels offered. Shyrin loaded her sniper rifle and made sure her hidden knives were in place.

While Shyrin wasn't looking, the boys opened their eyes to the sky. Tynan and Calyx, along with the others, saw the night sky spiral in black and white like a yin and yang. In the S-shape between the halves was a beautiful woman with an alluring curved figure. The lady wore a metal robe and a yin-yang mask. The boys sat up to watch the lady who lifted her mask to reveal her luminous eyes and smile.

Shyrin turned back to see the boys looking into the sky. She looked, but the sky was empty. Shyrin shook her brothers,' but they were entranced by the lady who danced in the sky and slowly undressed parts of her steel robe.

Shyrin was confused until she saw a gray fog envelope around a boy's neck. A metallic woman with a yin-yang face opened her S-shaped mouth with mangled fangs, licking her victim with ten tongues. Before Jinshu could take a large bite, Shyrin sniped her with a headshot, making the enchantress growl in pain.

Despite Jinshu's head bleeding, the bullet didn't kill her. Jinshu snarled at Shyrin before dispersing into a fog. The enchantress hid behind Calyx, trying to sneak her teeth into him, but Shyrin shot her again. Jinshu would then disperse into a fog again and sneak onto another boy. She tried again and again to evade Shyrin's sight, but she wouldn't give her a chance to take a bite of any student.

No matter how many times I shoot her head, she doesn't die. Shyrin observed Jinshu. The head is not the weak point.

Having enough of Shyrin's headshots, Jinshu unraveled her metallic hands engraved with the red Mandarin character "Jin," meaning metal or gold. The enchantress faced her palms at Shyrin to fire steel shards at her. As Shyrin jumped from the needles, Jinshu fired an accurate shard that pricked Shyrin's hand and disarmed her sniper rifle. Jinshu then blasted the rifle into bits.

Jinshu grinned with her S-shaped mouth, believing Shyrin couldn't fight without her weapon. She strolled to Tynan with a drooling mouth, but Shyrin drew a knife under her kyudo skirt and chucked it into her face. Jinshu wailed in pain with all ten tongues sticking out. Shyrin then jumped on top of Jinshu's yin-yang face, plucking the blade off and brutally stabbing her many times. Shyrin slashed at her throat, but interestingly, Jinshu's metal hand blocked her blade before shaking Shyrin off.

So it's the neck. Shyrin readied her knife.

Jinshu lunged her palms to fire shards at Shyrin. Shyrin jumped from the metal particles, drawing knives under her skirt to throw three daggers at Jinshu's neck. The steel sorceress gasped, blocking the knives with her palms. Shyrin charged forward and lunged her blade into Jinshu's neck, but the witch spiraled her hands into a giant yin-yang shield that deflected the attack.

As Shyrin was pushed back, Jinshu's red "Jin" hand engravings morphed into red Chinese shuang gou swords. They had hooked ends and deadly crest guards. Shyrin drew two knives, ready for battle. Jinshu laughed at Shyrin's knives, which were much smaller than her shuang gou. The two dueled as the poor boys were entranced by Jinshu's illusion in the sky.

Shyrin and Jinshu clashed blades in deadlocks at blinding speed. Jinshu slid her Shyrin's knives to the hooks, but Shyrin's shorter weapons made it easier to escape being hooked. Jinshu then used her crest guards to sneakily nick Shyrin multiple times. However, Shyrin's short blades also pricked Jinshu's body, who underestimated how deadly they were in Shyrin's hands. Shyrin and the witch both bled from their cuts, staring at each other in a standoff.

Jinshu lunged forward with her shuang gou, but Shyrin jumped high above the boys. The students watching Jinshu's alluring figure in the sky were interrupted by the sight of Shyrin. In midair, Shyrin drew knives under her Kyudo skirt, throwing them at Jinshu's neck. After seeing Shyrin's thighs, all the boys blinked awake from their trance, and Jinshu's illusory body in the sky faded.

When Jinshu blocked Shyrin's blades from cutting her neck, she noticed the boys weren't under her spell anymore. They were chatting about how pretty Shyrin was.

"That move drawing a knife under her skirt was just too sexy!"

"She's much hotter than that girl in the sky!"

"Yo, Ty. That was your sis? You got to hook me up with her!"

Jinshu blinked her top and bottom eyes in confusion, not understanding why the boys lost interest in her illusion and were attracted to Shyrin. She looked for Shyrin, but she was missing. Jinshu gasped, looking under her chin to find a blade slitting her throat. The enchantress let her guard down, and Shyrin snuck behind the witch to slice her throat clean.

The witch choked on her ten tongues, dropping her shuang gou. Jinshu's alluring body slowly melted into a mixture of steel and blood. Soon, only Jinshu's yin-yang head was left. Her eyes looked at Shyrin with her fanged mouth agape, still pondering as to why a simple peak underneath Shyrin's skirt for the boys was enough to break her spell.

Beauty is meant to attract men, not to deceive them. Shyrin signed. That's why you lost.

Shyrin stomped her foot into Jinshu's yin-yang mask. She then slid her knives back into her thigh holsters under her Kyudo skirt. Shyrin blushed when the boys applauded. Her brothers and the rest of the thankful students threw Shyrin up and down in celebration. Shyrin was their heroine, for they all would've been easy food for Jinshu if she hadn't guarded their lives.