A Person in Izumo, Making the Collapse Great Again

The situation was resolved without further incident, and Kiana followed Mei back along the path they'd come, dragging along the unlucky guy who was still unconscious and hadn't woken up yet.

"Mei, you never answered my question, did you?"

"...It's nothing. I brought the sword because I felt things might get dangerous lately, and I wanted to give it to you for protection."

Kiana was startled, then glanced at the young man she was dragging and praised, "As expected of Mei!"

A hint of worry lurked beneath Raiden Mei's smile.

How many more of these Kishin were there?

Would they keep attacking people?

If Kiana ran into danger like this again, and she couldn't get to her side in time...

Chapter 15: Disaster-Ridden Changkong City

Raiden Mei didn't think much further.

All she wanted was to protect the people close to her from harm. No matter what, she was still only seventeen years old.

Saving the world...

That kind of thing wasn't part of her plans for the future.

But Mei's concern for Kiana was obviously a little overblown, conveniently ignoring the fact that Kiana was a monster who could beat Kishin around like punching bags.

"Sister Kiana!"

As they neared Zhuohua Street, the kids who hadn't gone home yet spotted them and came running out.

"It's you little rascals."

Kiana loosened her grip on the young man and patted the little ones on the heads.

"Were you scared?"

"Not scared at all!" Xiaoji, the boldest, shouted, "We weren't afraid at all, right, Xiaofeng?"

The boy named Xiaofeng, wearing glasses, helplessly adjusted the frames. "Your legs were shaking so badly, it was that sister next to Sister Kiana who told us to run. Zaoxue and I had to drag you to get away."

"Yeah, yeah."

Xiaoji's face flushed red as his friends exposed him, whether from embarrassment or anger unclear.

"How could you guys do this? You promised to keep it a secret! Damn it, I'm not playing with you next time!"

"Like I don't know you, you little brat?"

Kiana gave him a tap on the head and said, "That giant octopus has already been dealt with by me and Sister Mei here, but remember to tell everyone not to go near the river."

Xiaoji rubbed his tapped head. "Got it, got it."

After a pause, Kiana added, "Also, for the next while, tell everyone to stay away from remote, empty places. Stock up on supplies, especially medical ones, and keep them at home."

"Forget it, I'll tell Granny Zhuohua myself. You kids forget what just happened and go home for dinner."

"Why should we forget? Sister Kiana just killed such a huge octopus!"

"There's no 'why' about it. This isn't something you kids need to worry about. Go on, get back."

"Oh, and send someone to deal with this guy. We went through the trouble of saving him, don't let him die on Zhuohua Street."

Irresponsibly dumping the young man on the kids, Kiana planned to go find Granny Zhuohua, who managed the street.

This was Izumo.

And Izumo's fate could be pieced together roughly from Yomi's backstory.

The more you killed, the more came.

Every battle was a pyrrhic victory.

By the time you finally won, there probably wouldn't be many people left in this world, and then victorious Izumo would welcome Black General.

Everything would be swallowed.

In the end, only Yomi would survive.

Speaking of which...

"This is Changkong City, right?" Kiana suddenly turned to ask Mei.

"...Huh?" Mei nodded in confusion. "Yeah, the area we're in is Changkong City in the nation of Izumo."

Kiana nodded with a heavy heart.

That name didn't sound auspicious at all.

The Honkai-ravaged Changkong City was destroyed by the Third Honkai Eruption. So would Izumo's Changkong City be the exception?

The possibility was infinitely close to zero.

Thinking about the fate of Changkong City in other worlds, a sense of urgency rose in Kiana's heart.

In her view, since this place was called Changkong City, it was very likely to be destroyed by Takemikazuchi. But Yae Sakura had taken Narukami to other places to hunt down Mikazuchi.

That meant Mikazuchi wasn't nearby.

Not in Changkong City.

"Mei, I have a feeling." Kiana grabbed the only connection she had in Changkong City and said, "The Kishin disaster might affect Changkong City."

"Affect Changkong City?"

Raiden Mei frowned slightly. If anyone else had said this, she might not have believed it, but since it was Kiana speaking, she began to think it over.

"Takemikazuchi."

Recalling the Takemikazuchi from the PV, it was a dragon-like creature whose domain was undoubtedly the sky.

This also meant that trying to seal it off and kill it within a single area was nearly impossible.

Whether victory or defeat, it could still end up within Changkong City's borders, because in the world of Honkai, there was no Changkong City that had ever been free of disaster.

No Herrscher now, but there was Takemikazuchi!

"Kiana, what are you suggesting?"

"Does Changkong City have underground bomb shelters?"

"Underground bomb shelters?"

Raiden Mei was hearing this term for the first time. Izumo had external threats, and all weapons were made to kill Kishin; there had never been a civil war among humans.

"Are you talking about underground shelters?"

"Yes, exactly that!"

"There are." Raiden Mei recalled for a moment, then said, "Changkong City has underground shelters. There's one near here."

"That's good."

Kiana let out a sigh of relief and suggested, "I have a feeling Takemikazuchi might attack Changkong City. We need to prepare early."

"Kiana wants me to notify the others?" Raiden Mei thought for a moment and asked.

"Can you?"

Raiden Mei had contact information.

This was just Kiana's guess. There was no evidence yet to prove that Takemikazuchi would come to Changkong City.

Even the news about Takemikazuchi came from Kiana saying she heard it from someone else.

But after thinking it over, Raiden Mei still nodded, staking her reputation: "I can."

Even if Takemikazuchi didn't come, the worst outcome would be her losing all credibility. But if Takemikazuchi really did attack Changkong City, doing this would at least allow some people to survive.

Personal reputation versus the safety of an entire city—it didn't take long to decide.

Especially since this was Kiana's request.

However, the prerequisite for making this work was that those people knew about the Kishin. Otherwise, even if she was willing to bet her own name and the Shrine's reputation on it, it might not have much effect.

"This should save quite a few people."

Saving everyone wasn't realistic. She wasn't at 100% Finality Process, and she didn't have the power to instantly kill an enemy of this level.

Save as many as she could.

As long as she did her best, she wouldn't have regrets.

"I'm almost home."

Noticing she was near her building, Kiana stopped walking and looked at Raiden Mei.

"Aren't you going to invite me to your place?"

Mei, however, had no intention of leaving just yet.

"Huh? You want to come over?"

Kiana was stunned for a moment. Thinking of the one-bedroom apartment she had rented after earning some money, she scratched her head sheepishly.

"Are you sure you want to?"

It wasn't dirty or messy, but she hadn't cleaned it in advance, so she felt a little worried.

"Does Kiana not welcome a guest?"

"Of course not!"

Kiana grabbed Mei's hand and said, "Then let's go! This way!"

"But first we need to find Granny Zhuohua on the first floor and tell her what happened today, so she can notify everyone on Zhuohua Street to stock up on supplies."

"I'll go with you."

Having realized earlier that she knew nothing about Kiana's relationships, Raiden Mei now wanted to understand the people around her.

Chapter 16: I Absolutely Refuse!

"That's how it is."

Kiana found Granny Zhuohua on the first floor and explained the seriousness of the situation to her.

She hoped Granny Zhuohua could organize the residents on the street to take action, increasing their chances of survival when danger arrived.

But this old woman, who was usually easygoing and wise, refused her.

"A disaster affecting all of Changkong City..." Granny Zhuohua shook her head. "Kiana, it's fine to have everyone stock up on supplies, but getting everyone to move into the Shelter isn't realistic."

"Besides, you don't even have an exact date. If the disaster you speak of never comes, are they supposed to live in the Shelter forever?"

Kiana thought for a moment, then said seriously, "One month. If it's going to happen, it will definitely happen within a month. I hope everyone can take action—this is a matter of life and death!"

"One month?" Granny Zhuohua shook her head again at this, politely declining. "An unsubstantiated rumor—asking people to abandon their jobs, abandon their homes, and move into the Shelter—that's simply impossible."

"But if we do nothing now, when the disaster comes, it'll be too late!"

Mei sighed. At the root of it, this old woman still didn't believe what Kiana had just said. Still, she could understand—after all, it sounded like something out of a story. She patted Kiana, signaling that she would speak instead.

The Granny Zhuohua standing before Kiana was the old woman who came to the Shrine to worship at the start of every month.

She happened to know her.

"You remember me, don't you?"

"You're the Narukami Shrine Maiden of the Narukami Shrine, Miss Raiden Mei, yes? This old woman has been received by you every time she visits the Shrine to pay respects."

"I am willing to vouch for Kiana in the name of the Shrine and the Raiden surname." She spoke up. "Everything she has said is true."

After 'Narukami' was taken from her, Raiden Mei's feelings toward the Shrine had grown complicated.

Hearing these words from the lips of the Shrine Maiden Raiden Mei left Granny Zhuohua startled and somewhat convinced—after all, the Narukami Shrine had stood there for a very long time.

A guarantee in the name of the Shrine.

Could Changkong City really be about to face an unprecedented catastrophe?

"No matter how many people end up believing that disaster is imminent, I hope you can come forward and spread this news to the others on the street."

From complete disbelief to wavering doubt—but with age came a greater reluctance to invite upheaval into one's life. The old woman's heart fiercely resisted the disaster they spoke of.