A Person in Izumo, Making the Collapse Great Again Chapter 15

"No wonder she fobbed you off with an excuse like that."

Sirin repented in her heart—she shouldn't have thought that unfamiliar girl was crazy, because the one who was clearly crazy was Yae Sakura. These people had killed so many oni they'd gone stupid.

"Kiana didn't fob me off. That request was one I made myself." Yae Sakura stopped walking and sized up Sirin. "Do you have nothing to do right now?"

"I do!"

"Then why are you bothering me?"

"Isn't this what I'm doing?" Sirin planted her hands on her hips and said with righteous indignation, "Adjusting my mindset. That's what I need to do right now."

Yae Sakura fell silent.

So Sirin's method of adjusting her own mindset was to wreck other people's mindsets and moods?

With a light sigh, she returned to her temporary quarters here, and Sirin followed her in.

"If you ask me, nobody wants to be friends with someone who stole their friend's sword." Sirin made herself at home, found a seat, and maliciously ruined her mood. "They just can't beat you, so they gave you a brush-off."

Yae Sakura didn't want to argue with her. She treated her as if she didn't exist, ignoring the words she'd just spoken.

To convince Raiden Ryoma, she'd have to figure out his real thoughts—why he refused to see Raiden Mei. He hadn't even made a phone call.

Remembering the letter she'd delivered for him, Yae Sakura thought to herself, Could it be that he thinks since he's already written a suicide note, seeing her or not doesn't matter?

"Hey, next time you meet her, if she brushes you off and acts like your agreement doesn't count, what will you do?"

Yae Sakura frowned. "She won't."

Kiana was the kind of person who would chase after her at great risk for Raiden Mei, and after learning the truth from her, would even fight her despite injury just to let a friend see her father again. She was clearly a pure-hearted person.

Someone like that wouldn't go back on her word.

"Oh, then let's say 'if.'"

"She won't."

Sirin stared at Yae Sakura with suspicion. "Come on. Isn't this your first meeting? You don't have some ability to see right through people, do you?"

"You wouldn't understand." Yae Sakura thought for a moment, then said, "If you could meet her and talk with her, maybe you'd understand what I'm feeling right now."

"Is it really that amazing?"

Sirin, who hadn't been interested before, now felt a flicker of curiosity different from Yae Sakura's after hearing her keep praising Kiana.

"Then after this is over, once we've killed Takemikazuchi, take me along to see her."

Kiana wasn't some exhibit.

Yae Sakura frowned, but considering that neither of them might survive the battle, she said, "If we can survive."

Sirin's face instantly changed.

"What do you mean, 'if we can survive'?" She snorted coldly. "Can't you say something nice? We will absolutely win, and I will definitely not die here!"

"Every battle might cost anyone—maybe him, maybe me..."

"But definitely not me!"

Yae Sakura nodded in acknowledgment. "True. You living is more valuable than all of us put together."

"You!"

Sirin glared at her.

A call came through her earpiece. Suppressing her anger, she shot Yae Sakura another dirty look for her tactless words, then hurried off.

Looked like it was time for Sirin to work.

Chapter 23: I Really Hate That Word

"Damn it, can't I get a break?"

Sirin looked at the dragon that could burst out of the thunderclouds at any moment, cursed under her breath, drew the blade at her side again, and hurled it into the sky, chanting a Word of Power.

"Void Descent!"

The summoned blade responded to its master's Word of Power, and the Word varied with the master's adaptability. The Word they learned from the blade was the most suitable way for them to wield its strength.

As the Word was released, the Heavenly Blade's body turned ethereal, binding the space around it. With the summoned blade at its center, pitch-black spatial shackles spread to all directions at a speed imperceptible to human eyes.

The illusory black dragon, which should have retreated by now, fixed its crimson eyes on Sirin controlling the Heavenly Blade and let out a piercing roar. It even gathered the thunderclouds and charged straight at the spatial barrier.

Sirin had thought this strike would be similar to yesterday's collision, but under Takemikazuchi's impact, the spatial barrier controlled by the Heavenly Blade shook violently.

Her face changed—she had calculated there was still some time left, but no one knew better than her, the blade's master, the force of this collision.

How could this be?

"Quick, tell the others to get ready! Takemikazuchi is about to break free!"

Had that beast been holding back all along, not using its full strength?

Not daring to leave the observation point, Sirin manipulated the Heavenly Blade's power to repair the spatial barrier that had nearly been shattered by Takemikazuchi.

But Takemikazuchi's assault did not cease. It too seemed to sense that this space was no longer as sturdy, and so, just like the day before, it began to ram the barrier with wild abandon.

Visible to the naked eye, cracks like glass fractures spread across this space. Takemikazuchi's dragon head grew from illusory to increasingly solid. Sirin, her face cold, strained to repair the barrier before her.

Takemikazuchi's impact against the spatial barrier sent out deafening peals of thunder, mingled with the storm and the roar of lightning—and woven through it all, the sound of spatial fissures spreading.

Just hold out a little longer!

She had to hold out a little longer!

The longer she delayed, the more people could react. If Takemikazuchi broke through this obstacle, the nearby encampment might suffer a devastating blow!

"Get back where you belong!"

The gold in her eyes blazed brilliantly against the pitch-black thunderstorm.

"This world doesn't welcome you! You fiends—can't you just die quietly?!"

"Imaginary Realm!!!"

Once more, she stabilized the surrounding spatial barrier.

It was at this critical moment, gripping the Heavenly Blade, that Sirin grasped a new way to manipulate space.

Where Takemikazuchi had smashed cracks into the barrier, fragments of space turned into the sharpest blades in the world, slicing across its massive dragon head.

Though there were many fragments, they were all too small. Even with Sirin's reinforcement, the damage they dealt to Takemikazuchi inside the space was limited.

Steady!

She had to stay steady!

Yet no matter how frantically she patched the damage, Takemikazuchi's attacks never stopped. The spatial barrier at this node grew thinner and thinner.

Should she retreat?

Perhaps with Takemikazuchi's next charge, this space would shatter completely.

If she didn't evacuate the mountaintop now, and the space was breached, freeing Takemikazuchi...

She would be the first to face it.

Struggling to maintain the crumbling barrier, she pressed her left hand to her earpiece, connecting to a nearby liaison: "Can you hear me? Listen—Mikazuchi is stronger than our readings showed. This position can't hold!"

"Stay calm. I've received the report. Reinforcements are on the way!" A hurried female voice came from the other end, speaking rapidly: "Hold it off a little longer! No matter what, don't let it leave those coordinates. There are still people in the nearby cities who haven't evacuated. The Anti-God Weapon is preheating—it needs another minute to fully activate!"

Sirin wasn't surprised by this news.

She was one of them, after all. She had been fully involved in the plans and arrangements against Takemikazuchi.

Contacting the liaison now was just to relay this irreversible information, so others could prepare as much as possible.

"I know what to do."

She lowered her hand from the earpiece and took a deep breath: "Damn it, Yae Sakura—not a shred of storytelling talent. Even at death's door, I'm left with nothing but confusion."

"She knows I hate it when people say things like that before a fight, and she still had to go and say, 'If you can make it back alive...'"

Sirin gritted her teeth, watching Takemikazuchi on the verge of breaking through. Gripping the hilt of her Imperial Edict Blade with both hands, she charged straight toward it: "If I do make it back alive this time... Yae Sakura, you jinx of a woman, just you wait!"

Ripples spread across space. Countless golden spatial blades slashed from those ripples into the space within.

In the blink of an eye, Sirin used the power of the Imperial Edict Blade to transfer herself into that space—cracked and crumbling under the force of Takemikazuchi's assault.

"I must be insane."

She muttered to herself in complaint.

If it were just her alone, the best choice to hold Takemikazuchi for a few minutes was inside the space itself.

But facing Takemikazuchi alone...

Lightning like divine punishment rained down from the storm surrounding Takemikazuchi. Sirin's Imperial Edict Blade generated a thin barrier, blocking most of the bolts.

"I really hate that word, but..." Sirin raised the blade, pointing its tip at Takemikazuchi: "Sorry, but until I die, you're not leaving this place!"

"Imaginary Realm! Descend!"

Within the Imaginary Space, Sirin fully unleashed the Imperial Edict Blade named 'Heaven'—forged from the slaying of Amenotokotachi.

The Imaginary Space, shattered like a post-apocalyptic wasteland, transformed under her power into something else entirely.

A golden cage, like a palace, trapped both her and Takemikazuchi together. The power of the Imaginary Space turned into countless blades, all flying toward Takemikazuchi.

The raging Takemikazuchi fixed its beastly eyes on Sirin. Endless lightning surged against the barrier protecting her.

This wave of energy, exceeding the barrier's capacity, sent cracks crawling across it, just like the space itself.

Though wielding the Imperial Edict Blade allowed her to replicate the power of a god, a human body could never fully unleash such might.

Heaven's ability activated. Sirin, protected by the barrier like a golden orb, dodged the unending divine punishment.

Occasionally, an attack aimed at Takemikazuchi sliced through its scale armor, but the wounds were instantly covered by the thunderstorm manifested from its own power.

All useless damage!

Until its power was drained to a critical threshold, it could keep regenerating. That was one reason every battle was so brutal, demanding so many sacrifices.

"Damn that thunderstorm!"

The crimson lightning on Takemikazuchi was utterly terrifying. Sirin felt that if her barrier shattered, she might not be far from death herself.

Calm down, she had to stay calm now!

Don't think about anything else. Focus on stalling it for now, buying more time for the rescue team evacuating the residents!

Chapter 24: Emergency Notice

The Command Center at the disaster site.

"What's the situation now?"

"Sirin's signal has disappeared. We suspect she entered the Imaginary Space to block Takemikazuchi."

"What about Welt? Where is Welt?"

"Welt has already arrived at the scene with his team. They're discussing with the Command Center whether to move the battlefield into the Imaginary Space."

"What Imaginary Space?! That's just wasting troops! Without firepower suppression to create an opening for them, what are they going to use to face Takemikazuchi head-on?!!"

"Report! All Anti-God Weapons are fully prepared."

But the residents nearby who had earlier refused to evacuate in groups still hadn't all been forcibly relocated yet.

Estimated number of people still in the vicinity:

At least ten thousand.

Yet relying on Sirin alone to face Takemikazuchi could very well result in her being lost in the Imaginary Space.

What choice to make?

There was no need to choose at all!