It had come before she could counter it, or parry once again.

She let out a gurgled gasp as the spear sank through her body, Sayaka's rapier clattering to the ground as her hands gripped and pulled at the weapon.

Despite the pained look in her eyes, they still shined with hope as Sayaka seemed to flicker in and out of existence. Maybe she'd been a hallucination? "Kyouko..."