A Person in Izumo, Making the Collapse Great Again

The black dragon named Takemikazuchi could only be seen as a head, the rest of its body hidden within the thunderstorm clouds.

The clamorous roar of thunder was unceasing; thunder also crackled in the sky above Changkong City, and here, faint explosions could still be heard.

A few sparks burst from the top of Takemikazuchi's head—no, those weren't sparks, just the sight of them from so far away.

They should be the flames of missiles exploding.

"It looks like the subjugation has already begun."

Kiana withdrew her gaze. She couldn't fly over there now, nor did she have Yae Sakura's contact information. Worrying was pointless.

Since Izumo had made it this far, it proved they could get through this. Her priority now was to quickly settle everything in front of her.

"We..."

"Waaaaaah! What is that?! What is that?!"

A bloodcurdling scream came from downstairs.

Then came commotion and the shrieks of the crowd. Kiana and Raiden Mei didn't hesitate; they rushed downstairs immediately.

Because the thunderstorm blocked the light, visibility in Changkong City was now extremely low.

The streetlights seemed to be malfunctioning too—in such dim conditions, they hadn't lit up.

"Lightning Flash!"

Raiden Mei reached the ground floor before Kiana, moving faster than her. Without even clearly seeing what the rapidly moving creature in the darkness was, she predicted the monster's position and drew her blade, cutting off the danger before Kiana could take the risk.

The blade sliced out smoothly.

It was a monster similar to the Octopus Demon from yesterday, with a lizard head. Raiden Mei killed it in one slash.

With the enhancement of her Stigma, she didn't need to deliberately seek out the demon's weak points to slay it. Against such a weak demon, she could use the power of the Stigma to achieve a one-slash kill.

After the demon was killed, its body completely vaporized into black gas, just like the demon from yesterday, trying to burrow into the blade Mei held.

Raiden Mei frowned. A layer of electric current coated the blade, and the power of the Honkai prevented the demon's energy from corroding the sword.

The black gas couldn't penetrate the blade. It twisted and condensed into a pitch-black crystal that fell to the ground, rolling to a stop beside a corpse still warm with blood.

She had still arrived a step too late.

This demon had just killed someone.

Chapter 26: Chaos

"Are you okay?!"

Kiana finally reached the ground floor, panting as she looked at Raiden Mei, who stood beside a corpse holding an electrified longsword.

"Unfortunately, we were too late."

Mei's voice carried a hint of regret. No one could have predicted that a demon would attack the crowd at this time.

Was it the influence of Takemikazuchi's descent?

"It's, it's the Narukami Shrine Maiden!"

Among the terrified crowd nearby, someone recognized Mei, who hadn't changed clothes today and was wearing a red-and-white shrine maiden outfit.

The Narukami Shrine wasn't too far from here. Most of the nearby residents had visited it out of curiosity or other reasons to pay respects.

The Narukami Shrine Maiden, whose blade crackled with lightning as she fiercely slew the monster, perfectly matched the image of a savior descending from the heavens.

"What just happened?"

Kiana saw the corpse torn open by claws, blood covering the ground. She turned to look at the others, who were scared stiff but slowly shuffling closer, wanting to get near Mei.

She recognized the person on the ground.

It was a middle-aged man with a limp who ran a sushi stall nearby. Sometimes, after finishing a day's work, Kiana would pass by his stall and buy a few servings of sushi for dinner.

The vivid red and the gruesome state of the corpse made her not want to look again. This was her first time seeing a corpse, her first time seeing someone she knew turned into a broken body.

Nausea and weak legs weren't obvious feelings; she just felt a stifling lump in her chest.

"I, I don't know."

Someone answered her question, their voice still trembling, clearly still in shock.

"Just now, there was a loud bang from the sky, and then the whole sky went dark. Then, then we just heard Uncle Osaka's scream, and we saw a monster, a monster with a lizard head..."

Though very scared, they still recounted what happened in an orderly manner, afraid of missing any details.

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

A frail girl tremblingly raised her hand. She stammered, her body still shaking: "It appeared suddenly. A pair of very red eyes, I saw a pair of very red eyes appear behind Uncle Osaka, and then... aaaaah! He's standing up! He's standing up!"

The girl pointed at Raiden Mei, her face almost overflowing with terror. She backed away as if seeing a monster, not feeling the pain when she tripped over something, scrambling backward.

Raiden Mei's eyes sharpened. She swung her blade behind her, but paused slightly just before it struck the creature behind her.

It wasn't a demon.

It was the recently killed Osaka.

The blade sliced through Osaka's body. Raiden Mei leaped backward, but the expected blood did not spray out.

"Monster! Monster!"

The body, cleaved in two, collapsed into black liquid, but the matter did not end there. Those black, liquid-like unknown substances twisted and reformed into a faceless humanoid monster.

It was met with another slash from Mei.

"Pure slashes can't kill it?"

Watching this situation, different from yesterday, Mei frowned slightly as lightning once again coiled around her blade.

Only a blur of Raiden Mei's figure could be seen as several slashes fell from different positions, splitting the strange thing into countless pieces.

"Lightning Flash!"

With the final slash, thunder roared, and the black monster was annihilated into nothingness. A black crystal fell to the ground once more.

At least it could be killed.

But this crystal...

Was it the remnant from slaying that demon god just now?

When she rejected that strange power, it had turned into this crystal. The demon blade... was indeed strange enough.

"What's that? I'll go check."

"Don't go!"

Hearing Kiana's words, Raiden Mei quickly grabbed Kiana, not wanting her to take the risk.

"Don't worry about me, that thing won't work on me." Kiana patted Raiden Mei's hand and said, "We can't just leave it here either. What if it possesses someone else..."

"But..."

Kiana shook her head, lowering her voice slightly: "Don't worry, I have Honkai energy too, and I... um... should be more than that demon god."

"...I'll do it."

Raiden Mei released her grip and stepped forward on her own. Kiana quickly grabbed her: "Don't take risks, Mei."

"You clearly understand the principle of not taking risks, so why do you do it?" Raiden Mei patted her, crouched down, and picked up the black crystal.

It felt hard to the touch, like some kind of gem.

But holding it in her hand, her body felt repulsed and uncomfortable, as if her life instinct wanted to stay far away from this crystal.

It felt about the same as yesterday.

So this was the root cause of the blade turning into a demon blade.

It should be harmless.

Before Kiana could say anything, she handed the black crystal over: "Can you use it?"

"Mei..."

Kiana was a little dissatisfied with her impulsiveness and pouted unhappily.

"My feelings are the same as yours." Raiden Mei took the opportunity to lecture her: "Now you know what it feels like?"

"...It's not the same at all."

Kiana muttered, then focused her attention on the crystal in her hand. Holding it felt about the same as the demon blade.

[Low-grade Energy Crystal (C): An energy crystal, can be used to upgrade 'Demon Blade' series equipment]
[Recommendation: Recycle and decompose]

There was nothing to think twice about. She had already decomposed and recycled the demon blade yesterday, so keeping this crystal now was useless.

She silently recited 'recycle' in her mind.

A faint golden light shimmered in Kiana's hand. The pitch-black crystal flew out, trembling and shattering into countless golden specks.

[Low-grade Energy Crystal (C) recycled. You have received 100 Honkai Crystals. Honkai Crystals can be used to exchange for items in the shop.]

The somewhat uncomfortable aura disappeared.

Kiana had gained another 100 Honkai Crystals. This time, she didn't ignore it but instead found the so-called shop.

She needed a weapon!

Although she didn't think these 200 crystals could buy anything good, even a mosquito's leg was still meat. She first checked how many crystals the cheapest equipment in the shop cost.

She silently opened the shop.

Countless grids, ten across, appeared before her eyes. What first came into view were rows upon rows of equipment and items, just like in a game.

Without exception, they were all green.

"Kiana?"

"Mei, don't rush. Let me see the feedback from sacrificing it..."

Sacrificing to gain feedback?

And who was the deity behind Kiana?

The Honkai God?

Raiden Mei sheathed her blade and turned her gaze toward those who had just hidden themselves. She knew what Kiana was planning to do next, so she intended to use this time to help Kiana look after everyone else's feelings.

In a little while, Kiana would definitely say something about escorting them to a shelter. For now, she should gather these people together.

Once Kiana came back to her senses, they would lead this group toward the shelter, then check other areas for any signs of ghosts or gods roaming about.

Raiden Mei glanced again at the lightning-streaked sky. Her eyesight was excellent, and she could see artillery fire bombarding the so-called Takemikazuchi.

She hoped her father's side would go smoothly.

Chapter 27: Buying Equipment

"One-star equipment caps at two stars, and the price is... only a hundred Crystals? That's not expensive."

"There really are Badges and clothing-type equipment for sale, and the price is the same as weapons."

Kiana thought it over. Right now, what she needed most was a suitable weapon. Her first choice was a pistol.

Because that was what instinctively came to mind.

But she quickly dismissed the pistol. All these guns had ammo capacity, and she didn't have an ammo box. More importantly, she didn't know the Kaslana gun-fu technique.

Better to pick a melee weapon.

She could worry about pistols later.

Melee weapons...

A baseball bat!

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

Kiana quickly settled on her target. It was the only bat she could afford and that caught her eye.

[WR750 Baseball Bat (One-Star)]