The Vanished Enemy. / Progress at One Hundred Percent.

Safety... at least it's guaranteed, right?

The system is quite reliable.

Kiana thought to herself.

"Let's do it now."

Yomi said, "I talked to Sirin. The time flow in the Stigmata space is different from that in reality, so we shouldn't take too long."

153

Chapter 153 The Vanished Enemy.

This so-called Stigma Trial was troublesome for her before the Great Honkai, but it's not a problem for Yomi now.

It only got to the point where she had to take it slightly seriously.

After all...

The enemies in the trial were all opponents she had faced before, powerful foes who had once given her trouble and even left her helpless.

It even contained the Kishin that left the deepest impression on her— Takemikazuchi!

Their strength was much greater than that of Takemikazuchi, whom they had encountered before. They were not in a weakened state, nor were they the ones who had been lucky enough to kill them.

But no matter how strong she is now, it's nothing more than a matter that can be resolved with a single strike.

Having passed through many levels in the Stigmata space, Yomi felt a strange sense of déjà vu.

My current behavior gives me the feeling of a max-level player going back to the newbie village to swarm fish.

This feels... not bad.

This feeling dissipated when she reached the top of the Tower; the stairs she had come up with had disappeared, and the environment on the top floor was completely different from that on the floors below.

But the feeling of stepping into another space, another world, remained.

Just like the Izumo in real life, the weather seemed to have been affected by something, becoming gloomy and gray, carrying a strong sense of oppression.

The surroundings didn't seem to be somewhere in Izumo.

It's different from the previous floors.

It seemed that a great battle had taken place here. Yomi had impressions of battles of this scale, so she was certain that this battlefield was not Izumo.

It doesn't look like the marks left after a fierce confrontation, but rather like the marks left by some powerful being who unilaterally crushed it.

This is the last floor.

Although the previous challenges hadn't posed any real danger to Yomi, noticing the traces left behind by the war, she became more cautious and alert.

Perhaps the enemy on the last level.

That's what caused these traces to exist.

With that thought in mind, she cautiously observed her surroundings, wary of the possibility of an unexpected attack.

If things go wrong here because of carelessness, Yomi doesn't know how he'll explain it to Kiana and the others after he gets out.

Was this place... once a school?

After walking a distance and still not seeing any enemies or encountering any attacks, Yomi realized that the situation on the last floor of the Tower might be different from before.

But surely there are still enemies, right?

It can't be that she has to decipher the last layer, right?

Information about Stigma appeared in her mind, and she recalled the conversation between Kiana and Sirin back then.

Special Stigma...

Only those with special Stigma can enter the Tower within the Stigmata space to undergo this incomprehensible trial.

Non-special Stigma, according to Bronya, seem to be 'blank,' which can be filled by an individual's will and Remembrance.

Could it be that the special nature of these special Stigma lies in the fact that they are not Stigma, but rather conceal a hidden past?

Yomi frowned, having yet to find any trace of the enemy. So, she needed to actively search for them?

This place looks very big.

The answer to the final level lies in exploring a possible past, or in finding and defeating the enemy.

There was no notification.

After pondering for a moment, Yomi decided to continue forward and see if he could find some clues when he reached the middle.

In the real world.

Kiana was sitting at the entrance of the shrine with Yomi. Yomi was sitting upright and did not look like someone who had temporarily lost consciousness.

Kiana was very curious about the trial's contents.

She learned about the existence of the Tower from Sirin, but the only Tower she could think of was the Tower of Honkai in the game.

Kiana, resting her chin on her hand, stared at Yomi's calm face, lost in thought.

If she had succeeded back then...

That would be wonderful.

Recalling the heavy past, Kiana lowered her eyes sadly, then looked up at the gloomy sky.

In the past, we could still see that Black Sun, but now, not only can we not see the sun in Izumo, but we can no longer even see the stars.

Thick, dark clouds obscuring the sun and frequent rain have become the norm in Izumo.

Even shrines.

Although it hasn't collapsed yet, it's vastly different from Remembrance. Withered cherry blossom trees, a dilapidated shrine...

It makes one think of how things have changed and people are no longer the same.

She doesn't like that word.

Kiana looked at the withered cherry blossom tree, and suddenly stood up, as if she had thought of something.

She doesn't care about other places.

Shrine...

Only the Narukami Shrine, Kiana hopes can be restored to its former Remembrance.

Even if it's just for a short while.

"Honkai energy do that?"

Standing beneath the tree, Kiana looked up at the withered yet still standing tree, her heart filled with uncertainty.

She had never done anything like this before, and this was the first time she had such an idea: to preserve the most important parts of her Remembrance.

Taking a deep breath, Kiana placed her hand on the tree, trying to revive it.

Even if it can't, it should still bloom.

With this in mind, Kiana wanted to restore the shrine to its former state before Yomi woke up.

Yomi, still undergoing trials, was unaware of Kiana's thoughts. She was still searching for clues to clear the final level of the trial.

Aside from the traces left by the war, Yomi found nothing of value on his search.

There wasn't a single word in it.

The pristine environment made Yomi abandon his initial idea; the place was too clean, there was nothing there, and it was impossible to decipher the mystery.

"So... in which direction will the enemy be?"

It's not about deciphering what happened here; it's about finding out what the enemy was. She's been walking around here for so long and hasn't seen anything that could be considered an enemy.

Perhaps the solution to the final layer is actually to break through this space? Perhaps I can unleash a full-force attack on this space?

Yomi touched the hilt of his sword, thought for a moment, and decided to put aside this somewhat dangerous idea for the time being.

If that weren't the case, then this strike would definitely cause her to fail this trial outright.

Walk a little further ahead.

If we walk a little further and still find nothing, then we can consider making a cut.

With this in mind, Yomi gradually left the ruins and walked to a more open area.

This time, it wasn't a complete loss.

After walking straight for about four or five minutes, passing through the ruins, Yomi finally saw a different scene in the open space in the distance.

However, she felt no joy at all after ending this aimless search.

The scene before her was so shocking that even though it wasn't real, her pupils trembled violently, and her reason and caution collapsed in an instant.

Even breathing became difficult.

"Kiana..."

154

Chapter 154 Progress is 100%

The final enemy.

How could it be Kiana?

This was an unexpected turn of events for Yomi, and she stared in disbelief at the scene that was threatening her reason.

The beings appearing in this space are, without a doubt, the enemies she is about to face.

The 'Kiana' before my eyes...

She was in her Herrscherization form, her body pierced by a spear, pinned to this ravaged land.

This was the only person Yomi had seen in the final trial after searching for so long.

She must be the final enemy.

Kiana...

Yomi's face was somewhat gloomy, a mixture of disbelief that Kiana was the final enemy and anger at seeing Kiana's body pierced by a spear.

Even though he knew everything in the Stigma Trial was an illusion, Yomi couldn't help but think about what would happen if this scene really occurred.

"What... is going on?"

So the person who turned this place into ruins was Kiana, right in front of us?

Is this Great Honkai?

Yomi's heart was not at peace; she thought of the final Great Honkai in which she had not participated.

I initially thought this place contained a piece of the past inherent in the Stigma, but upon seeing Kiana's figure, I was reminded of the final Great Honkai of Izumo.

With extremely mixed feelings, I approached the figure until I was within a hundred meters. Then, as if some condition had been triggered, a deathly silence fell, and the space itself seemed to change, as if time had stopped.

The motionless figure, which could have been mistaken for a corpse, moved. The spear that had pierced her body shattered into specks of golden light and disappeared, only to reform in her hand.

She slowly landed on the ground, opened her eyes, and her bright golden eyes were devoid of any emotion. They possessed an inorganic quality that was different from indifference, like... a walking corpse puppet.

Anger flashed in his eyes and disappeared in an instant.

With a somber expression, Yomi slowly drew the long sword that had not been drawn for a long time. The moment the sword was drawn, everything in her sight, including herself, lost almost all color in the influence of nothingness.

But Kiana was an exception.

Kiana, whether a projection or a puppet, did not lose her color in the black and white, nor was she affected by this gloomy world.

As if receiving some kind of command, she raised her spear and pointed it at Yomi.

"The enemy... is destroyed..."

To use Kiana's appearance to do such a thing is... unforgivable!

In the black and white world, a blood-red blade, carrying the force of thunder, slashed towards the Herrscher; the ominous blade almost cleaved the world apart.

However, the Herrscher was unaffected by her attack and even blocked it.

The blood-red thunderstorm collided with the dazzling golden energy, and Yomi could even hear the lament of space itself.