When You Don't Know What to Name It, Just Forget It

Yae Sakura felt panicked now.

Just after she had fallen asleep, she felt as though something had been pulled out from inside her body.

She did not know how long had passed, but when Yae Sakura came back to her senses, she had once again arrived in the courtyard of Yae Shrine, just as she had during the day, and she saw the Divine Lord again.

But this time, it did not feel like a dream as it had before. She felt as if she had truly come to the courtyard of her own shrine.

The more than four-meter-tall Knight-type Honkai Beast beside her seemed to notice Yae Sakura sitting on the ground with her legs tucked to one side near its feet. It raised one huge foot high, about to stomp down.

Terrified by the Knight-type Honkai Beast's movement, Yae Sakura hugged her head and did not dare move. Even as that foot was about to fall, she showed no intention of dodging.

"You with the sword, chop them up."

A calm voice sounded from nearby, clearly reaching Yae Sakura's ears.

And, of course, Xu Yanwu's ears as well, since he had been standing there without moving.

When Yae Sakura raised her head at that voice, all she saw were fleeting afterimages.

It was even fiercer than the slash she had seen during the trial.

When the afterimages faded, Yae Sakura discovered that the terrifying giant monsters around her had already turned into specks of light and begun to dissipate.

'Knight-type Honkai Beast': Boss, our scene's over. Time to collect our boxed lunches, right?

Xu Renshuang: That's enough. Go on, today's boxed lunch is stir-fried Honkai Crystal...

'Knight-type Honkai Beast': Thank you, Boss.

"Main Body."

The sword-wielding Xu Yanwu had already sheathed his sword without even lifting his eyelids. "This little girl has appeared here for the second time."

"If she's an intruder..."

Yae Sakura felt as though someone had locked onto her. It was as if a sharp blade would slice across every part of her body the next instant. The sensation left her unable to make even the slightest movement.

Yae Rin shouted, "Don't touch my sister!"

"..."

Xu Yanwu leaped down from the courtyard wall, with Yae Rin tucked under his arm, and landed in front of the sword-wielding Xu Yanwu...

Then came a savage beating.

"Intruder my ass. What, did I fail to teach you before splitting you off, or did practicing your sword for over four thousand years turn you stupid? She's the Miko of this generation, and it should be your first appearance too."

Yae Sakura blankly felt the pressure around her vanish, then blankly watched a man who looked exactly like the person who had just wanted to cut her down. He held her sister under one arm while mercilessly pummeling the sword-wielding man with his other hand.

Though the sword-wielding Xu Yanwu was being beaten, his expression did not change in the slightest, as if he could not feel the pain at all.

"Main Body, even if you say that, we clones retain at least a tiny trace of emotion compared to you. We do not possess such things as emotions at all." The sword-wielding Xu Yanwu showed no intention of resisting. "I do not understand why you want us to teach these Miko how to fight. It is utterly meaningless for our battle against Honkai after our revival."

"..."

Xu Yanwu fell silent for a moment, then slapped the sword-wielding Xu Yanwu apart. "Enough nonsense. Come back. I'll teach them myself."

---A quarter of an hour later---

"So you're the Divine Lord of our Yae Village?"

Yae Sakura raised her little face and asked Xu Yanwu.

At that moment, Yae Sakura, Yae Rin, and Xu Yanwu were all seated inside the shrine hall of Yae Shrine, in front of Xu Yanwu's body.

"Mm, yes. But it has only been a little over a hundred years since I could speak with Miko like you."

Xu Yanwu nodded, then shook his head. "But calling me a god... I cannot bear that title.

It's merely the name you gave me."

"I am only a..."

"A piece of trash who mistakenly thought he could change the world."

As Xu Yanwu said this, though his expression did not change, his tone noticeably sank.

"Divine Lord?" Yae Rin called to Xu Yanwu with concern.

"Mm... it's nothing. I was just talking to myself."

Xu Yanwu looked at the Yae sisters.

"I should make this clear first. Although you can enter this place of mine, once you leave, your memories of this place will be sealed deep within your minds. The skills you practice here will not disappear, but you absolutely will not remember ever speaking with me."

Yae Sakura was a little disappointed. "Ah, why..."

The little girl had wanted to show off to her father.

"...Of course, you may retain the faintest impression. For example, your mother, the previous Miko—her spiritual perception was very strong. I only told her Chi Yuan's story once, yet after she left, she actually named her sword Kite Bird..."

"Huh?" ×2

So that was how Mother's sword had gotten its name?

"Though I do not wish to admit it, over these years, I could not go too far from my body. Only your mother could keep me company for a while..."

"I owe her a favor, so I will definitely fulfill the wish she left behind."

"Mother's wish..."

Both Yae Sakura and Yae Rin felt somewhat lost. Their mother had been dead for four years, after all, and in their memories, the part concerning her was nothing more than an exceedingly warm figure.

But Xu Yanwu paid no attention to the sisters' confusion. He looked outside at the sky beginning to brighten, rose to his feet, picked up the two sisters under his arms, one on each side, and headed straight for their room.

"What are you doing?!" Yae Sakura shouted.

Yae Rin, meanwhile, was too embarrassed to say anything.

"It's about to dawn... I'm sending you back to your bodies. Otherwise, sunlight will harm you greatly." Xu Yanwu directly carried Yae Sakura and Yae Rin through the wall, frightening both sisters into squeezing their eyes shut.

Behind the wall were the sisters' bodies, sleeping while embracing each other.

"All right... see you tomorrow night..."

-----Old Xu's Little Honkai Classroom, Part One-----

First, today we'll explain this thing called "Honkai," because someone asked in the comments, "Isn't Honkai only found in Changkong City?"

The world's "Honkai" was a type of disaster phenomenon that occurred periodically.

These phenomena were caused by Honkai Energy.

You could understand Honkai Energy as "harmful energy with corrosive properties."

The range in which Honkai Energy existed was like the spiritual energy in the concepts of our novels. Although it existed all over the world, it was extremely sparse in most regions, making a Honkai outbreak basically impossible.

Changkong City was artificially triggered, so it did not count.

There were also places where Honkai Energy was relatively dense, similar to Blessed Lands.