The air seemed to be holding itself in a state so still that there was no sound except the breathing of her opponent. The sound of their swords crossing had echoed for a long moment, but when they had parted the silence reigned. It was a silence that waited for someone to die. Eden watched her with care, noting the stance of her body, the slight extra weight applied to her left leg and subtle shift of her right shoulder that meant she was getting tired. They had been fighting without speaking, injuries had been taken on both sides, but when their blades crashed together and they pushed back they had finally paused.  Eden knew that Yubari Tanaka was holding back something. She just wasn't sure if Yubari knew that she knew. one little detail could make all the difference in the world.

Holding her katana in a soft right hand the blade hummed in the darkness where it was crossing her body. Like a statue she held the sword aloft, and knew that she could stand there still as stone with her sword raised until moss grew on her. Her opponent was not so blessed. As the moment drew out Eden saw a fine tremor run the length of the other womans blade and it made her smile sadly to herself.

"I have no wish to see you dead Yubari. You and I are too much alike for me to wish to destroy you, but I have to know why the Cult would send an executioner after the new Primogen."

Eden had killed the assassin, assuming that he was sent by the Vatican, and assuming that the man he had been sent to kill was worth a seat on the throne of the city. That was alot of assumptions to make. At least they were largely based in some kind of logical sense. The Vatican ruled the city from behind the scenes and swept through Rome like the plague. There wasn't much that happened that didn't have their handiwork somewhere in it. She was a creature without fear, yet even she was wary of the Holy Mother Church.

"Fuck you motherfucker. The Cult has nothing to do with this. We wouldn't waste our time on vampire scum."

For a delicate Asian blossom she had a hell of a mouth on her. Yubaris words were a mingling of truth and lies, and it made Edens lips turn down in a frown for the first time. Which part of what she'd said was truth and which the lie. Dual colored gold and blue eyes watched Yubari shift weight to her right foot and reangle the sword point to the left just enough that Eden knew a strike was coming. It was only a matter of time, the woman couldn't stand there forever as she could.

"Even though it wasn't my Masters who sent the kill, there are powers in this city even you don't know about. And you never will, because I'm gonna slice open your fucking head and put it on a spike for the tourists to see."

"So be it."

Muscles calm and relaxed she sprang into action just seconds before Yubari came running towards her. The woman was so silent that no doubt against a mortal attacker it was like being stalked by death itself. With a sharp crack and a resounding echo their katanas met and flashed silver in the moonlight. Around them the Colloseum rose up in ruins with the ghosts of silent watchers keeping an eye on this display of strength and bravery. It was something the Romans would have enjoyed, though those people dead so long ago had never seen weapons like these, or a fighter like her.

Eden widened her strokes, getting closer. Her arms swept to the left to block a downward slice from Yubaris sword and as she pushed at the other blade she stepped in and landed a full force front kick to the delicate asian womans chest. The toes of her foot curled up so that she hit with the sole of her foot in a blunt attack. It sent Yubari moving backwards, their sword blades singing as they slid along one another. Eden never paused, she slashed upward with her sword, forcing Yubari to put her strength into her right arm.

Then spinning slightly to the right she swung the sword overhead and down, Yubaris defense came too late and the edge of Edens blade sliced through the tendons of the upper biceps and deltoids muscles, severing the axillary nerve and artery in her stroke. A gush of blood sprayed as the artery was severed and she knew the womans right arm would be nearly useless in a matter of moments. Blood splashes her face and Edens snow white skin was painted a rich crimson. It dripped down her chin, sliding inside the leather of her vest, but there was no time to wipe it away. With a return stroke she easily disarmed Yubari, the womans thousand year old katana whistling as it went end over end through the air and fell into the dust.

Eden gripped the sword in both hands and circled the girl who would be her prey, watching her carefully, like a soldier on the defense. Every sense was opened, and her beast prowled beneath the surface at the heady smell of blood calling to its hunger. But there were other hungers at play here, both sides of her thirsty for that red fluid that plastered the small womans right side. Yubari dropped to her knees, head hanging low as she snarled at Eden.

"Finish me quickly you fucking hag or I'll find a way to rip your throat out."

"Who sent the assassin."

Sheathing the blade at her waist she reached out to grab Yubari by that right shoulder, fingers curling into the open wound and moving deftly. She was rrewarded with a scream and then the wounded knight spun on her heels and tried to throw a punch with her left arm at Edens face. Faster than seemed possible Eden ducked it, her own hand moving outward to clench on Yubaris throat and lift the girl off the ground, dangling her a foot in the air. Those dual colored eyes glared into Yubaris black eyes, and Eden let the whisper of her power loose. It pressed at the other woman, fighitng to get through her shields and press their advantage.

But the truth was there in Yubaris angry glare. This woman was one of the most feared human assassins of the Cult. If the Cult was responsible it would be an insult that she was not chosen to execute their plan. She didn't look insulted. She looked......frustrated. Yubari didn't know. And the only reason she wouldn't want to try to save her own skin by admitting she didn't know was because she thought the Cult itself didn't know. That alone gave the whole thing an interesting new deminsion. What power was in their fair city trying to make a killing that even the mighty Vatican Cult didn't know about? Eden was going to find out.

Lips peeled back and she flashed a brief second of canines before she pulled the smaller woman to her and struck at her neck. Engorged fangs punctured the skin as smoothly as a knife through warm butter. They invaded Yubari, filled her and then as that life blood began to flow Eden listened to the sound of the womans screams. Help would not come. they were alone in the bubble of protection provided by the sorcerors who had long ago put a spell of illusion on the Colloseum. Tourists could be walking through the place right now, and not see or hear a thing. You had to pass through the wards and be a creature of magic yourself, but once you did those things you could hide right out in the open. It was a powerful spell, death magic. And as Yubari bled out and began to die in Edens arms that death too would strengthen the spell.

As eden fed the sorcereis hands touched her face and she felt magic spark between them. A last ditch effort by the dying to try to escape. Eden felt a pressure building in her chest, her lungs closing up. It was like drowning, fluid in the lungs and a pressure around the heart that caused her pain in her sides. But what Yukari didn't know was that Eden didn't need to breath. The mages little trick wouldn't work on her. It hurt, pain stabbed at her head and she felt the panic wanting to rise from the beast at the lack of air and the tension around their heart, but she knew this was mostly illusion. This was the power willing them to believe they would die from lack of air when she knew it wasn't true. As Yubaris blood flowed down her throat the spell lightened.

Ripping her head back her fangs tore out the superficial muscles of the throat. A last splatter of blood arched and slapped against the sand where it was quickly soaked in, fed upon by the magic of the place just as Eden herself was fed. She dropped the body, letting the young sorcerei fall to the ground. Then slowly she unsheathed her sword again. Yubari Tanaka was a true warrior, and Eden would show respect by striking the final blow in a traditional manner that the Japanese fighter would have preferred. Lifting the sword overhead she angled herself for a single strike that would remove the womans head from her body.