In Izumo, Making Honkai Great Again

"Thanks to the help of two heroes, we were able to slay this monster."

The leader of the team, who came to negotiate with them, pretended not to notice the intimate gestures between the two girls and focused his attention entirely on the monster they had just defeated.

"No need for thanks," Raiden Mei said, having no time to waste on pleasantries or probing questions. "I am Raiden Mei, from the Narukami Shrine."

"I want to know what happened, why that spider appeared here, and if there are many such monsters in Changkong City?"

Raiden Mei asked all the questions she had, intending to gather information about the current situation in Changkong City from them.

"Mei, I'll go back and check on everyone and bring them over."

Kiana, seeing that Mei was about to talk to someone, figured Mei would clarify the most important matters at hand.

She might as well listen in while she was here. She could use this time to go back and check on the people in Zhuohua Street.

By the time she brought them back, Mei would likely have finished her conversation with these people.

She could just ask Mei then.

"Okay, be careful on your way."

The person who had spoken to them asked, "Do you need our help?"

"I'm just escorting ordinary citizens to the shelter. I can handle it alone, so I won't trouble you," Kiana replied.

Kiana shook her head, refusing their offer and not wanting to bother them. After saying goodbye again, she returned the way she came, back to the previous street.

There, she saw Granny Zhuohua.

Everyone was either resting or standing guard. It seemed that no emergencies had occurred during her absence.

Granny Zhuohua saw her and walked towards her, leaning on her cane. "Are you injured, Kiana? How are things over there?"

"I'm fine. A giant spider appeared, but we've already dealt with it. Get everyone ready, we're leaving."

They needed to get into the shelter quickly.

If they stayed outside any longer, they didn't know what strange Oni Gods might be waiting for them.

"It's already resolved?" Granny Zhuohua asked, concerned. "They said there was a bombing sound and gunshots just now."

"Don't worry, that was the armed forces bombing the spiders. The big spider is dead now, and all the smaller ones have been shot. The shelter is safe."

Speaking of which, the shelter was quite sturdy. At least there were no signs of it collapsing during the recent battle.

"Those people are guarding it too."

"Good, good, good. I'll notify everyone to move forward now." Granny Zhuohua, her doubts gone, turned to gather the others.

The group continued forward and soon arrived at the place where Kiana and Mei had just fought.

What greeted their eyes were webs and spider corpses scattered everywhere between the tall buildings and on the ground.

There were spider corpses as tall as a person, at least a hundred of them at a glance, densely packed and awe-inspiring.

There were also fully armed personnel with guns, searching for any small spiders that might still be hiding.

"Oh my god..."

Some of the more timid people's legs went weak upon seeing this scene. If someone hadn't been there to support them, they would have collapsed on the spot in fear.

Were the gunshots and bombing sounds from earlier directed at these spiders covering the ground?

These spiders were even more terrifying than the lizard-headed monster they had encountered before. Faced with such large spiders, their first thought was that they would eat people.

And the sheer number of them...

Who could guarantee that there were no stragglers?

"Are we... are we really going to..."

Some people began to waver, the spiders covering the ground making them fear those lurking in the shadows.

A search operative nearby had already noticed the group heading to the shelter, with Kiana leading the way.

She hurried ahead of the main group.

"Hero, do you need assistance?"

As someone who had participated in the entire operation against the spiders, this young lady had personally witnessed Kiana's bravery and strength.

She had punched the giant spider so hard that it fell to the ground, unable to get up. What incredible power!

To be able to exert such strength as a human was unbelievable.

"Ah? Please don't call me that," Kiana said, shaking her head repeatedly. "Kiana. My name is Kiana, just call me Kiana."

She didn't want to be called a hero.

"Miss Kiana? Then I shall take the liberty of addressing you as such. You can call me Suzuki. I am currently the magistrate responsible for Shelter Number Six."

"That's great," Kiana said, stepping aside. "Granny Zhuohua, this is the magistrate responsible for the shelter."

She then turned to Suzuki and introduced, "These are residents from Zhuohua Street and the surrounding areas who intend to enter the shelter. Could I trouble you to guide them to the shelter?"

"It's my duty, no problem!"

Chapter 34: The Girl Who Resonates with Subspace

With the help of a magistrate, Kiana quickly settled everyone down before finding Mei, who was spacing out after finishing her conversation.

"Mei, are you done talking? How did it go?"

"They didn't know much either," Mei sighed. She glanced at the overcast sky and said in a low voice, "Let's head back to the shrine first."

"No problem."

They had already sent the people to the shelter and dealt with the nearby Oni Gods; their mission was more than accomplished.

It was perfectly reasonable to return and rest now.

Kiana had some things she couldn't say at that moment, and Mei's suggestion to return to the shrine was also what she had in mind.

The two returned to the shrine together.

Perhaps it was because they had defeated that spider Oni God, or maybe there weren't many Oni Gods in the city to begin with, and they had just been unlucky enough to encounter all of them.

They didn't encounter any more unexpected events on their way back.

Upon returning to the shrine, Kiana first went to the guest room Mei had prepared for her, where she had slept the previous night.

Kiana, who had the desire but not the courage, didn't manage to move into Mei's room, nor did she even enter it.

Because she was poor, she didn't have many belongings, so packing was quick. She just needed to put a few clothes in the wardrobe to be done.

After finishing these tasks, Kiana finally had the mental capacity to focus on something she had been ignoring.

The subspace connected by Phase Shift.

She had used Phase Shift several times today, but because it was during combat, she hadn't explored the subspace further.

Now that she had free time.

She could finally take the time to look.

During the battles, while connected to the subspace, she had vaguely sensed something was wrong.

Her figure faded from where she stood.

She arrived in a vast, pale gold space. The space was very empty, and she could feel that the Honkai energy concentration here was much higher than outside.

"It's this feeling..."

An indescribable discomfort, like a feeling of 'foreignness.'

Kiana couldn't ignore this feeling, so when things were mostly settled today, she returned here, wanting to find the cause of that discomfort.

"This direction!"

She closed her eyes and sensed for a moment, then quickly moved towards her right, wanting to see what it was.

Could it be that this subspace isn't mine alone, but a shared space?

Carrying her doubts, Kiana moved forward quickly.

The rules of subspace were different from reality, and so was distance. Yet, in this strange place that differed from reality, there was a boundary called an 'air wall.'

Touching the glass-like air wall that blocked her path and caused her to bump into it, Kiana was speechless.

This place actually has boundaries?

"It's a bit outrageous, but it makes sense..."

If it were boundless, what would happen?

She couldn't see what was behind the air wall; her vision was filled only with pale gold.

Kiana felt along the air wall for a while, but she couldn't find any place to exploit a bug.

"That's not right," she frowned deeply and muttered to herself, "Why did I feel like this outside?"

What is 'outside'?

She lowered her hand, pondered for a moment, stroking her chin, and finally, curiosity got the better of her.

"I'll know if I open it!"

Clenching her fist, Kiana punched the air wall in front of her fiercely. However, the solid air wall showed no signs of change.

To describe it would be like an ant trying to shake a tree.

Physical attacks were useless.

Kiana looked down and thought, If pure physical attacks don't work, what about Honkai energy?

With that thought, she uncharacteristically gathered all the free-floating Honkai energy in the subspace into her fist.

"Hah!"

Her fist hit the air wall, and cracks appeared in the pale gold in front of her.

"Honkai energy really works!"

Kiana's eyes lit up, but the cracks that appeared showed signs of healing. She repeated the same action, punching the same spot several more times, and before the fissure could heal, she punched a 'hole' in the air wall.

The appearance of the 'hole' allowed her to see what was outside the subspace.

It was another otherworldly space that bore some resemblance to the subspace she was in. The large hole she had punched created a temporary connection between the two spaces that were not supposed to intersect.

In plain terms, Kiana punched a hole through to another space.

But the space on the other side looked unstable and was constantly collapsing, seeming like a dying dimension.

Was it because the space next to the subspace was collapsing that she felt that awkward sensation?

Kiana frowned, observing the collapsing space on the other side through the passage she had created.

The black and red color scheme looked ominous.

Collapsing blocks, space fragments covered in cracks, falling into the abyss, and purple... purple?

Her eyes froze when they swept over a certain spot.

Kiana, who had almost passed it by, looked closely and saw a purple-haired girl not far from the passage, her condition unknown.

Someone?

There were humans in this hellhole?

There was no time to think further. Without understanding the situation, Kiana boldly leaped through the passage, landing in the collapsing space and running towards the girl lying on the ground on a precarious platform.

The atmosphere here made her uncomfortable.

And...

Honkai energy?

If she wasn't mistaken, there was Honkai energy here too, with a concentration similar to Izumo.

So this was somewhere in Izumo?

Kneeling beside the unconscious girl, Kiana reached out and nudged her shoulder. "Hey, wake up, are you still alive?"

Her body was burning hot!

Touching the abnormal temperature, Kiana's eyes widened slightly. Turning her head, she discovered the person looked like they had been struck by lightning.