Marias expression changed from happiness, to confusion, then finally back to that smiling happiness once more. Chuckle leaving her lips -- lips that were yet again hidden away by the sleeve of her habit. "He knows all and sees all, young Nayun.. He knows what is in the hearts of men. There is nothing you can hide from the Almighty." She'd turn. Looking through down at the district of Old Temple from their high perch. A sight of such beauty, of exquisite architecture design. Even at night, there was no denying this to her. Old Temple was something dear to Marias heart.

Perhaps it was why she didn't hear the light click that came from behind.. or the soft hiss that soon followed.

It would be then that Marias body lunched forward. Adenna steel pierced through her front, her own blood glistening and slowly dribbling from it. "... W..what..?" It was all she had time to say before Nayuns soft boot pressed to her back and gave its push. More blood graced the blade, but not from the original wound.. No - Maria had risen her hands to take hold of the weapon in shock, and it would be those palms that now wore the large gashes that followed when the razor-sharpness was pulled away. She crumpled, she fell. Her knees hit the ground in that instant while trembling, bleeding hands pressed to her wound. ".. B.. Baroness..?" Her startled expression turning to the girl who stood beside her.

". . . . ." Why was she not dead? Did her blade pierce the wrong spot? This was a problem when one had not killed before, these minor inconveniences could prove to be annoying. Not only that, but the look on Marias face caused the young girls heart to jump within her chest. The betrayal written all over her features.. Even Nayun could understand that expression. Her fingers loosened their grip on her blade, almost daring to drop it in that instant.. but she seized the weapon once more and held tightly to it.

".. You freak..." The Nun coughed out. Blood spitting out from between her lips before they curled back to expose gritting teeth. ".. That is what you are, you know that?!"

Silence. It was almost robotic - the way the next set of actions took place. Nayun quickly rose her blade. The metal of her left meeting under her right, the force of the jerking rise causing blood to fling from the steel itself and stain the bell behind her. Red eyes watched the kneeling woman. The way she sneered, the way she trembled at the face of death. She was scared - wasn't she? Scared, yet angry. "S.. stop.. Wait..!" The sneer left. It was panic that Nayun would now see - but words would not delay her. That blade fell fast, hard, and with the precision it lacked from its first assault against the woman. It cleaved through her skull and set itself within her neck.. and then, Nayun would twist the blade. That bone crunching, skin tearing, blood oozing squelch of sound followed.

Another twist, allowing that razors edge to face down once more.. and she'd pull back. Left hand passing through the split of her kimono to pull free a cloth hidden away at her chest. Nayun folded the white fabric against her blade and gave a single, slow wipe; gathering the blood from the steel before moving to set it back into place within its saya. Her brows furrowed and eyes set themselves on the sight of the blood soaked cloth.. and then the split head figure of Maria before her.

Reflection

"... Haa--aa.." That shaken exhale flowing from between parted lips.

It was over.
It was over.

She kept telling herself this. Her heart felt like it was about to jump from her chest with the way it beat so heavily, so rapidly. The figure of the life she took. It was right in front of her. Crumpled over with steady stream of crimson liquid spilling forth from it's split skull. No -- not an it.. it had a name; Maria. The girls lips pressed to one another while she gave a hard swallow.

The woman looked like.. like.. It was hard to describe, it was hard to explain. Nayun didn't know what she looked like. A corpse? A body without life? No.. a person. She could see the images of Maria within her thoughts. That smile, the way she helped her in the kitchen while cooking dinner. The way her face lit up when she tasted one of Nayuns dished for the first time. How they'd feed the doves together, how Maria'd tell stories of her God, and how willing she was so willing to listen.

And now? She was gone. Just a heap of flesh and bone. Nothing more.

".. Haa...nn.." She caught her breath in a bit of a gasp. Her chest heaving now. What was wrong..? Why was she feeling this way? It was easy, the act of killing. It was like the many animals she had hunted back in Adenna. They'd look to her, knowing their breath would be their last.. but this - why was it so different?

Dull yourself to the world, Nayun.
The pain will go away, Nayun.
Do what mother taught you, Nayun.

Become your blade, Nayun.

I'm steel.
I'm a weapon.
I'm a tool.

Her trembling hand rose up and pressed to her cheek. Something wet felt against her finger tips. She'd brush it along her flesh, causing a streak of liquid created from those tears. ".. Why.."

"Remember her face, Nayun. Remember the look. It will stay with you forever."

"I wish I could help you, kid.. but this is something you have to do alone. If Dyarhk was still here.. He'd probably tell you to do your best.. But also to not forget.. the person might have done something wrong, but they are still a person.. Remember that, okay?"

Become your blade.
Become your blade.
Become your blade.

"They are still a person."

Maybe that was why, before she left, the body of Maria had been laid out. Hands clasping one another in prayer. Split face hidden away by the same cloth that had been used to gather blood away from steel. Nayun kneeled there before the body. One last item held within her hand. That golden cross Maria had gifted her only a month before. She squeezed it to her palm and held her breath, but finally lowered it to rest the item close to the womans stilled heart.