What a mistake.
In a blast of something black, both of them were shot away. Seiki was pushed away by the impact of the dark shape on the blade of his sword, narrowly holding it from his chest, till he hit a tree with his back. The very sword, harder than steel, in his hands bent...
Then the shape broke. Seiki almost collapsed to his knees, regaining his balance in the last moment, when something attacked him again. Another black blast. This one seemed to be far stronger...
He was frozen, he couldn't move. The crescent of shadows was drawing near too fast.
In an attempt to create a barrier, he raised his hands, and used the whirling petals, which were actually shards of his sword, to create a body shield for him, enveloping his form.
It was actually a little more than the blink of an eye when the shining white was broken by the black, but he could see the shards of his sword cascading down from his body in this form.
Then, he felt the pain. One of his white gloves fell down, and if his eyes followed it, he could see a huge hole, opened in his right wrist. If it was broken, he would be lucky. Like this, there was just a big part missing, bursting with crimson blood. It was a miracle that that hand was still capable of holding the sword - by all means, it should not be, not with missing tendons and bones. His white haori was torn at the shoulder, stained by blood, and thin rivers of red were running by the left side of his jaw, though they may have just been a result of other wounds he took.
Yet, he remained standing.