Grey watched as Kaito twirled his blades, but did not pay heed to the show. She knew his tactic would disorient her, and put her off balance. Instead, she watched the faces in the audience, trying to interpret their opinions of the situation. Most of them seemed to admire Kaito- indeed, he was the superior fighter- while pitying the poor girl without armor. Her ambivalent expression turned to a slight frown, as she refocused her attention, back onto Kaito.
He swung at the snakes at the perfect moment, as they became solid enough to destroy. The two attacking snakes melted into the shadows, dissipated by the swing of his blade, with a hiss of steam. Grey stepped back into her shadow, turning ethereal just in time to let the sword pass through her body. Her eyes widened as the metal flew through her, landing outside of the ring. The four snakes on her chest clung tighter, the sounds of steam growing angrier, as she faced Kaito head on. They turned their heads to hiss at the approaching figure, but Grey spoke before they could act for their brethren.
"Four. Blades."
The four snakes slithered immediately to her arms, locking themselves into constricting spirals around her forearms, and twirling around each other to create two long and blunt blades. They extended directly from her forearms, as though extensions of her limbs, clinging to her through her robe. Knowing she was much slower than the elf, and that choosing to evade would only delay the inevitable, she locked the two blades before her in a blocking formation, and sang.
"En fo ti, el la co, pe ke no fo te."
With each syllable, her blades grew more solid. Shadows crept up from her feet, swirling around her robe into thin shields, like armor, covering the vital areas of her torso, and neck. Patches formed over her vital organs, strengthening with each passing moment. She relaxed her knees and elbows, breathing deeply, preparing for his blow, and ready to block.