Chaos / Buying Equipment

The black dragon known as Takemikazuchi could only be seen by its head; the rest was hidden within the thunderstorm clouds.

The rumbling of thunder was incessive. Thunder also rolled across the sky above Changkong City, while here, faint explosions could still be heard.

Several sparks appeared above Takemikazuchi's head. No, they weren't sparks—it was simply because they were too far away that they looked like sparks.

They should have been the flames of exploding missiles.

"Looks like the subjugation has begun."

Kiana withdrew her gaze. She couldn't fly over there right now, and she had no way to contact Yae Sakura. Worrying would be meaningless.

Since Izumo had managed to make it this far, that proved they could get through this hurdle. Her most urgent task was still to finish arranging everything at hand.

"We..."

"Waaah! What is that?! What is that?!"

A shrill scream came from downstairs.

It was followed by commotion and screams from the crowd. Kiana and Raiden Mei didn't hesitate and hurried downstairs.

The thunderstorm had blocked out the light, leaving Changkong City with extremely poor visibility.

The streetlights seemed to be malfunctioning as well. In such a dim environment, not a single one had come on.

"Lightning Flash!"

Raiden Mei reached the ground before Kiana. She moved faster than Kiana, and without even clearly seeing what kind of creature was moving through the darkness, she predicted the monster's position and drew her sword, eliminating the danger before Kiana could risk herself.

Her blade swept smoothly through the air.

It was a monster similar to yesterday's Octopus Demon. It had a lizard's head, and Raiden Mei killed it with a single slash.

With the enhancement from her Stigma, she no longer needed to deliberately search for a Kishin's weakness to kill it. Against a weak Kishin like this, she could use the power granted by her Stigma to wipe it out in one strike.

After the Kishin was killed, its entire body vaporized into black smoke, which tried to burrow into the sword in Mei's hand just like the Kishin they had encountered yesterday.

Raiden Mei frowned. Electricity covered the blade, and the power of the Honkai blocked the Kishin's strength from corroding the sword.

Unable to enter the blade, the black smoke twisted and transformed into a black crystal before falling to the ground. It rolled to a stop beside a corpse whose blood was still warm.

She had still arrived too late.

This Kishin had just killed someone.

Chapter Twenty-Six: Chaos

"Are you all right?!"

Kiana finally reached the ground. Panting, she looked at Raiden Mei, who stood beside a corpse with an electrified sword in her hand.

"Unfortunately, I was too late."

There was a trace of regret in Mei's voice. No one could have expected a Kishin to attack the crowd at a time like this.

Was it influenced by Takemikazuchi's descent?

"It's the Narukami Shrine Maiden!"

Among the terrified people nearby, someone recognized Mei, who had not changed clothes today and was still dressed in the red-and-white shrine maiden outfit.

The Narukami Shrine was not particularly far from here. Most of the nearby residents had visited it out of curiosity or for some other reason.

The Narukami Shrine Maiden, whose electrified blade had forcefully cut down monsters all along the way, perfectly matched people's image of a savior descending from the heavens.

"What just happened?"

Kiana saw the corpse whose body had been ripped open by claws, its blood covering the ground. She turned toward the others, who were so frightened that their legs had gone weak, yet were slowly edging closer to Mei.

She knew the person on the ground.

He was a middle-aged man from nearby who had one lame leg and sold sushi from a street stall. Sometimes, after finishing a day's work, Kiana would pass his stall and buy a few servings of sushi for dinner.

The bright red blood and gruesome corpse made her unwilling to look a second time. This was the first corpse she had ever seen—the first time she had watched someone she knew become a mangled body.

She wasn't particularly nauseated or weak in the legs. She only felt a lump of pent-up anger clogging her chest.

"I-I don't know."

Someone answered her question, their voice still trembling. It was obvious they hadn't recovered from the shock.

"There was suddenly a loud noise from the sky, and then the entire sky darkened. We—we only heard Uncle Osaka scream, and then we saw a monster. A monster with a lizard's head..."

Although terrified, the person still described what had happened in an orderly manner, afraid of leaving out any detail.

"I...I...I saw..."

A frail girl slowly raised her hand. She stammered, her body still trembling. "It appeared out of nowhere. It had a pair of very red eyes. I saw a pair of very red eyes appear behind Uncle Osaka, and then... aaah! It's standing up! It's standing up!"

The girl pointed at Raiden Mei. Terror nearly overflowed from her face as she backed away as if she had seen a monster. Even when she tripped over something and fell, she didn't seem to feel the pain, scrambling backward on all fours.

Raiden Mei's eyes narrowed. She slashed the sword behind her, but just before it struck the creature there, she froze slightly.

It wasn't a Kishin.

It was Osaka, who had just been killed.

The blade cleaved through Osaka's body. Raiden Mei leaped backward, but the expected spray of blood never came.

"Monster! Monster!"

The body that had been cut in half collapsed into black liquid, but the matter did not end there. The black, liquid-like substance twisted and transformed once more into a faceless humanoid monster.

Mei greeted it with another slash.

"Pure slashes can't kill it?"

Seeing that the situation differed from yesterday's, Mei frowned slightly. Lightning once again coiled around her blade.

Only Raiden Mei's afterimages could be seen as several slashes fell from different angles, splitting the strange creature into countless pieces.

"Lightning Flash!"

The final slash landed, and thunder exploded. The black monster vanished into nothingness, while another black crystal fell to the ground.

As long as it could be killed, that was enough.

But this crystal...

Was it the remnant of the Kishin she had just killed?

After rejecting that strange power, it had transformed into this crystal. The Cursed Sword...really was strange.

"What's that? I'll go take a look."

"Don't!"

Hearing Kiana, Raiden Mei hurriedly grabbed her, unwilling to let Kiana risk herself.

"Don't worry about me. This thing can't affect me." Kiana patted Raiden Mei's hand and said, "Besides, we can't just leave it here. What if it parasitizes someone else..."

"But..."

Kiana shook her head and lowered her voice slightly. "Don't worry. I have Honkai energy too, and besides...I...um...I should be even more powerful than a Kishin."

"...I'll do it."

Raiden Mei released her hand and stepped forward, but Kiana hurriedly grabbed her. "Don't take risks, Mei."

"You clearly understand that you shouldn't take risks, so why are you doing it?" Raiden Mei patted her and crouched down to pick up the black crystal.

It felt hard, like some kind of gemstone.

But once she held it, her body felt repulsed and uncomfortable. Her instincts as a living being wanted to distance her from the crystal.

The feeling was quite similar to yesterday's.

It seemed this was the fundamental reason the sword had become a Cursed Sword.

It should be harmless.

Before Kiana could say anything, she handed over the black crystal. "See if it's useful."

"Mei..."

Kiana puffed out her cheeks unhappily, displeased by Mei's impulsiveness.

"My feelings are the same as yours." Raiden Mei took the opportunity to lecture her. "Do you understand what that feels like now?"

"...They're not the same."

Kiana muttered under her breath, then focused her attention on the crystal in her hand. Holding it felt much the same as holding the Cursed Sword.

[Low-grade Energy Crystal (C): Energy crystal, usable to upgrade 'Cursed Sword' series equipment]

[Recommendation: Recycle and dismantle]

There was nothing more to consider. She had recycled and dismantled the Cursed Sword yesterday, so this crystal was useless to her now.

She silently thought, Recycle.

Golden light shimmered across Kiana's hand. The black crystal flew up, trembling as it shattered into countless golden motes of light.

[Low-grade Energy Crystal (C) recycled. You received one hundred Honkai Crystals. Honkai Crystals can be exchanged for items in the shop.]

The unpleasant aura vanished.

Kiana obtained another hundred Honkai energy crystals. This time, she didn't ignore them. Instead, she found the so-called shop.

She needed a weapon!

Although she didn't think these two hundred crystals could buy anything good, even the thinnest mosquito leg was still meat. She would first check how many crystals the cheapest equipment in the shop cost.

She silently thought, Open shop.

Countless grids appeared before her, arranged ten across. The first things that appeared before her were rows and rows of equipment and items just like those in the game.

Without exception, they were all green.

"Kiana?"

"Mei, don't rush me. I'm checking the feedback from sacrificing it..."

Could she obtain feedback through the sacrifice?

Who was the deity behind Kiana?

The Honkai God?

Raiden Mei sheathed her sword and turned her gaze toward the people who had just hidden themselves. She knew what Kiana planned to do next, so she intended to use this time to help calm the others.

Kiana would definitely say later that she would escort them to the Shelter. For now, Mei would gather everyone together.

Once Kiana came back to her senses, they would take these people toward the Shelter, then check the other areas for any Kishin.

Raiden Mei glanced again at the horizon flashing with thunder and lightning. Her eyesight was excellent, allowing her to see artillery bombarding the so-called Takemikazuchi.

She hoped everything would go smoothly on her father's side.

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Buying Equipment

"A one-star piece of equipment can be upgraded to two stars, and the price is...only one hundred crystals? These prices aren't expensive."

"As expected, they sell badges and clothing-type equipment too. The price is actually the same as for weapons."

Kiana thought for a moment. What she lacked most right now was a handy weapon, and her first choice was a handgun.

It was simply the first thing that came to mind.

But she quickly rejected handguns. All these guns had limited ammunition capacity, and she didn't have an ammo box. More importantly, she didn't know Kaslana gun kata.

She would choose a melee weapon instead.

She could think about handguns later.

A melee weapon...

A baseball bat!

That's right. Since she was Kiana, why not get herself a hereditary baseball bat?

Kiana quickly selected her target. It was the only baseball bat she could afford and found pleasing to the eye.

[WR750 Baseball Bat (One Star)]