Sirin looked at Kiana with a strange expression, hesitating to speak. Because Kiana was her lifesaver, she didn't let her thoughts wander, but she still felt that something was odd.
"Is it that obvious?" Kiana scratched her head awkwardly and said, "The more oni I kill, the stronger I become. If I put it that way, you should understand why I got a little excited, right?"
The more oni she killed, the stronger she became?
Sirin thought of the Kishin's curse. The deeper the Oniification of the body, the greater the power one could unleash.
But the risk of losing control would also grow greater.
Was she planning to use her own health to constantly slay oni and become stronger, exchanging that for other people's right to live?
"Actually..."
Thirty-Ninth Chapter: What a Suck... What a Big Patron!
"Personal strength can't change the overall situation on the battlefield."
Sirin wanted to persuade her to give up. After all, Kiana was her lifesaver, and she didn't want to see this white-haired girl again someday—
with all the laughter gone from her face and things that humans shouldn't have growing from her body.
"Unless that person is..." Sirin paused there and lowered her head. "A wielder of the Edict Blade like me."
"Edict Blade? An Edict Blade like Narukami, the one Yae Sakura took away yesterday?"
Unfortunately, she hadn't activated the system before, so she didn't know Narukami's rank or abilities.
Of course, even if she had activated the system, what she saw at the time still wouldn't have been Narukami's true attributes.
Because the one at the shrine was only a half-finished product.
Sirin nodded and stated her purpose. "What I'm saying may sound unpleasant, but instead of disregarding your own body and slaying Kishin while enduring enough of the curse to make someone lose control, you should find a way to help me recover my mobility as soon as possible."
Her words might have been harsh, but this was the truth. During the battle against Takemikazuchi, if someone wasn't one of the twelve Edict Blade wielders, then they were... cannon fodder who could die at any moment.
"Healing? That won't work today. You'll have to wait until tomorrow." Kiana shook her head.
The healing spray could only reach two stars at most. Buying another bottle wouldn't let her raise its rank; it would only restore its ammunition.
Besides, healing wasn't as simple as spraying Sirin once more and having her fully recover.
Kiana didn't even know how much more healing Sirin needed before her body could completely recover.
What she urgently needed now was Honkai Crystal.
"Why does it have to wait until tomorrow?"
Sirin's voice was somewhat urgent.
"Because I'm out of money."
Kiana refused with complete justification.
"...How much do you need?"
"What I need isn't currency, but energy crystals—the black crystals left behind by the Kishin after they're killed."
"What are you talking about?" Sirin looked puzzled, and her expression became even stranger as she stared at Kiana. "What black crystals? After a Kishin is slain, doesn't its power fuse into the blade?"
When other people slew Kishin, had no cores dropped? Were they unable to refuse the power's erosion of their blades?
"The Kishin's power. I need a blade containing Kishin power, sacrifice it, and then use that to heal you."
"Sacrifice Kishin power?"
Sirin's eyes widened slightly. Izumo had studied Kishin for a thousand years, yet it had never figured out how to extract Kishin power and apply it elsewhere.
The moment it was extracted, the power inside the blade would run wild, erode the human body, and turn the person into a mindless oni.
Besides, could Kishin even be sacrificed?
She had never heard of anyone sacrificing an oni!
"Ahem, I spent quite a lot to save you..." Kiana wanted to tell the truth, but as she looked at Sirin, she thought that she couldn't make a loss on this deal. So she named an outrageous price. "The energy of ten low-level Kishin!"
I'll fleece this pufferfish first!
As she spoke, Kiana even nodded. "I spent quite a bit of effort bringing you back from the brink of death."
Only ten low-level Kishin as the price?!
"Heal me!" Sirin looked at Kiana with determination and pleaded, "As long as you're willing to continue healing me, I'll repay your kindness tenfold!"
Low-level Kishin?
Those things that vanished with a casual slash—she could kill as many as needed.
Recovering her mobility now was more important than anything else. She had to return to the battlefield as soon as possible and rejoin the fight.
Although she had always resisted death and wanted to retire on the spot, she would never retreat at this critical moment when Izumo's survival was at stake!
Kiana's eyes widened.
Ten times?!
Ten times ten was a hundred, wasn't it?
A full ten thousand Honkai Crystals!
"Now?"
This deal seemed doable...
A cost of two hundred, in exchange for ten thousand in the blink of an eye. That was the reward she would have needed to kill ten Beauty Head Spiders to obtain!
Ten thousand crystals were enough for her to choose a four-star-limit piece of equipment to arm either herself or Mei.
"Now!"
Sirin looked at her and promised, "Heal me. No matter how much it costs, I'll repay you tenfold. I swear on the Heavenly Blade!"
She could repay it by herself.
If Kiana was in urgent need, she could also retrieve some cursed swords with extremely severe side effects from the rear and give them to Kiana.
Kiana only needed them for sacrifice, anyway.
"Deal!"
Kiana's eyes lit up, and she agreed at once before opening the Equipment Shop again.
Besides sprays, there seemed to be throwable weapons that could heal, too.
This would be a good chance to expand her equipment variety.
HECO Healing Potion (One Star): Creates a healing zone lasting five seconds after use. Ammo: 8/8 (refreshes after 24h)
After taking it out, Kiana found a bottle filled with blue liquid in her hand.
She curiously examined the healing potion for a while. The bottle was tiny, only about the size of her palm.
"Do I drink it?"
"No."
Kiana smashed the bottle beside the bed where Sirin lay. The sound of breaking glass rang out. Before Sirin could voice her confusion, a healing zone roughly two meters across enveloped her on the bed.
Sirin raised her hand inside the mist.
She could feel her strength slowly returning. Kiana really did have a way to make her recover quickly.
If she could use this power on...
Before she could think further, another crisp sound rang out as a bottle landed beside her.
Once the healing potion bottle shattered, even the bottle itself would disappear. Otherwise, Kiana would have to find a broom and sweep up the glass afterward.
The effects stacked.
Her recovery sped up even further.
Sirin gazed brightly at Kiana, who had created this miracle.
There were professional healers among the blade warriors, but none were able to casually smash a small bottle like Kiana and produce such an immediate healing effect.
No wonder Yae Sakura couldn't stop thinking about her.
Sirin felt that she would soon be unable to stop thinking about Kiana, either. If this was the kind of friend she could have, she wouldn't mind having a few more.
Kiana smashed all eight refreshed healing potions in succession, then quietly watched Sirin, who was obscured by green mist so thoroughly that even her face couldn't be seen.
The healing effect only lasted five seconds.
Once the five seconds were up, the healing zone vanished without a trace, as though it had never appeared.
"Are your injuries healed?"
Sirin clenched and unclenched her hand. Her strength had indeed returned, and her body had recovered roughly seventy percent. "That makes eight hundred low-level Kishin, right? Can you give me a few more bottles?"
Eighty thousand?!
Kiana almost failed to keep her expression under control. She nodded stiffly, her heart trembling as she bought another healing potion.
But just as she was about to synthesize a two-star version, the thought of being a profiteer stopped her.
In her eyes, the purple-haired girl lying on the bed and gazing at her intensely was no longer a pufferfish.
She was...
a huge patron!
Holding the newly purchased one-star healing potion, Kiana smashed two more bottles for Sirin.
Keep the corners of your mouth down, Kiana! Keep them down!
This was a hundred thousand—a hundred thousand crystals!
Compared to her conscience, a hundred thousand crystals were obviously more important!
Kiana looked calm on the surface, but her mind was in a daze as she watched Sirin shrouded in healing mist.
Slaying oni doesn't seem as profitable as doing business.
Fortieth Chapter: Kiana's First Time Being a Profiteer
After all, there was no restriction on how Honkai Crystals had to be obtained. They didn't have to come from Kishin she had personally slain.
So why couldn't she take advantage of the situation?
If just the two of her and Mei worked hard, when would they ever gather a hundred thousand Honkai Crystals?
Kiana gradually opened the door to a new world. The way she looked at Sirin underwent an unmistakable change.
What a hopelessly slow thinker I am. Everyone's goals are the same, so why can't the people of this world become my leeks?
An investment of four hundred Honkai Crystals could yield a minimum return of one hundred thousand. That rate of return was so high that it felt unreal—and frightening.
"Kiana, are there any more?"
This time, Sirin addressed Kiana by name, because she had already decided to become friends with her.
It wasn't that she wanted to welsh on the debt.
Rather, she felt that she needed a beautiful, sincere, and capable young woman like Kiana as her friend!
Ahem, she absolutely wasn't craving her abilities.
"Yes!" Kiana's heart raced and her hands trembled, but she put on a serious expression. "Even if I use up all my stored strength, I'll definitely heal you today!"
Kiana smashed down several more bottles.
"How do you feel?"
"Just a little more."
Upon hearing that, Kiana added another bottle.
Five seconds later, Sirin's body had fully recovered. A relieved smile appeared on her face as she rolled out of bed and clenched her hand.
"Thank goodness for you."
She disdained putting on a pleasant expression for others, but that didn't mean she didn't know how to speak in a way that quickly brought her closer to them.
"Thank you, Kiana. If it weren't for you, I might already be dead."
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