Chapter Forty-Four: Victory Is Within Reach

She followed Welt's orders and created an opening for him, but she never expected Welt to merge himself with the blade, stimulating the full potential of the "True" Blade and unleashing the complete Edict Blade, which slashed Takemikazuchi from the clouds.

Was this how the blade was meant to be used?!

The giant sword manifested by the "True" Blade pierced through Takemikazuchi's enormous body, slashing it from the clouds and pinning it to the ground.

The Kishin, over a hundred meters long, plummeted from the sky and slammed into the scorched earth, kicking up a vast cloud of dust.

Golden radiance followed close behind.

The sight was utterly shocking.

But shock or no shock, no one let this opportunity slip by. Abandoning the lesser Kishin that could never be completely slain, most of the stronger Bladesmen focused their attention on Takemikazuchi.

Strike while it's down!

Sirin had no time to search for Welt, who had disappeared after unleashing his full-power attack. She threw out the "Heaven" Edict Blade, causing it to stand directly above Takemikazuchi's head.

"Void Descent!"

Countless golden chains spread out from the void and bound Takemikazuchi's heavily wounded body.

But Takemikazuchi was only severely wounded, not dead. Naturally, it had no intention of waiting to be killed.

Sensing the threat to its life, the grievously wounded Takemikazuchi erupted with unimaginable might. The power belonging to the Kishin burst forth completely under the suppression of Sirin and the "True" Blade.

The strange patterns on Takemikazuchi's body deepened in color, and their area continued to expand.

Pain!

The pain of being eroded and transformed, together with the pain of having its body pierced by the giant sword, drove Takemikazuchi insane.

Its scarlet giant eyes were filled with madness.

Sirin's brow twitched, and she moved farther away from the enraged Takemikazuchi. The power leaking from its body turned the surrounding area into a lightning zone that no one dared approach.

The others also retreated one after another, using ranged attacks to weaken Takemikazuchi as much as possible.

Sirin was not doing nothing. Several thick golden objects shaped like spikes pierced through the lightning storm and nailed themselves into Takemikazuchi's body. Their powers linked together, unleashing extraordinary might as they tried to trap it there.

"Again..."

Sirin's eyes flickered.

She was certain that her earlier failure had not been a mistake, nor had Takemikazuchi been hiding its strength to catch them off guard.

Just like now.

Takemikazuchi was clearly different from the records. Perhaps this was an aspect of the Kishin that they had yet to uncover?

Its eruptive power had grown stronger.

And it was still getting stronger!

Was this a desperate struggle after sensing the threat of death?

But what about the opening it had shown earlier...?

The space suppressing Takemikazuchi began to tremble. Seeing this familiar scene, Sirin realized something was wrong and tried to act.

But Takemikazuchi erupted with terrifying power even greater than before. Endless lightning as dreadful as Heaven's punishment descended, turning an area within a hundred meters into a forbidden thunder prison.

It twisted its enormous body, and its power shattered the spikes Sirin had driven into it. Even the "True" Blade embedded behind it and piercing straight through its body failed to hold out for long under its strength.

Sirin reclaimed the Edict Blade and charged into the lightning storm.

Takemikazuchi flung away the Edict Blade lodged in its body, then rose into the air without hesitation and unleashed a devastating sweep of its tail at the ground. It then drew down the lightning storm above, sending it crashing over an area spanning dozens of kilometers. With no intention of continuing the fight, it flicked its tail and plunged into the clouds, vanishing from sight.

"Lock onto its position!"

The survivors shouted anxiously. Sirin chased after Takemikazuchi, and when it entered the clouds, she followed it in.

The worst had still happened. Takemikazuchi had dragged the battlefield elsewhere.

The area spanning dozens of kilometers had practically become a forbidden zone for humanity, and their forces had suffered heavy casualties under the widespread attacks.

But they had achieved fairly good results.

Takemikazuchi could not remain in its eruptive state forever. Once its power began to decline, that would be their true opportunity to slay it.

Compared with the previous subjugation, this one had involved many unexpected developments, but the result was unexpectedly good.

Their current losses were less than a third of those suffered in the previous subjugation, while the remaining damage was negligible by comparison.

During the previous subjugation of Amatsukami, which had appeared in the Far North, eighty percent of the Bladesmen had been killed or wounded, and many parts of the Far North had suffered devastating damage.

Amatsukami could move freely through space. To defeat it, they had been forced to make sacrifices, and the battlefield had expanded across the entire Far North.

The battle had continued for several days. When it finally ended, it would not have been an exaggeration to say that nine out of ten homes in the Far North were empty.

It was precisely because of that painful lesson that they had gone to such lengths to deploy their forces, hoping to confine the battlefield to this area.

Unfortunately, the large number of heavy weapons they had painstakingly prepared had found no use. Those that could hit Takemikazuchi had only weakened it slightly, without inflicting lethal damage.

They left some people in good condition behind to deal with the Kishin drawn there by Takemikazuchi and search for the vanished Welt and recover the Edict Blade. The others temporarily rested while waiting for the Command Center to locate Sirin and issue further arrangements.

"The smell of Honkai."

Kiana was certain that the thing that had just fallen was almost certainly Takemikazuchi.

Was Sirin really that incredible?

The day had not even ended, yet she had not only returned to the battlefield but had also beaten Takemikazuchi down?

Before she could finish marveling, she saw the blue light in the distance vanish. Then, thunderclaps rang out without end, and even the thunderclouds above them exploded like firecrackers.

Takemikazuchi seemed to have fled.

This time, Mei did not need to remind her. Kiana herself sensed the Honkai energy reaction in that direction.

She thought it might be because of her identity. Or perhaps she had brought the Honkai energy on this planet with her.

Despite being so far away, she could actually sense the Honkai energy reaction over there.

"It disappeared."

Raiden Mei's expression was somewhat grim. Her already tense mood grew even more anxious.

There was no doubt about it. It had escaped.

Raiden Mei inevitably thought of what Kiana had said earlier: Changkong City might very well be attacked by Takemikazuchi.

If it had fled toward Changkong City and turned this place into a new battlefield...

She already struggled to slay those weak Kishin. Faced with the apex of the Kishin, the existence known as Takemikazuchi, she would only be helpless.

Looking at the sky sealed beneath the dense thunderclouds, Raiden Mei felt a chill in her heart. An enemy that could change the weather at will and hide within the thunderclouds while bringing down Heaven's punishment—she did not even know how she could attack it.

Her hands had lost their warmth from tension, but Kiana's warm little hands took hold of them.

Mei instinctively looked over and met Kiana's blue eyes, filled with determination.

"Don't worry, Mei." There was not the slightest trace of fear in Kiana's voice. She said confidently, "I won't let anything hurt you before it gets through me."

"If it dares come looking for trouble, I'll just blow myself up with it!"

Mei: "..."

No, Kiana. I'm not afraid of an enemy like that. I'm afraid you'll put yourself in danger, while I won't have enough strength to help you!

Chapter Forty-Four: Victory Is Within Reach

"...I won't do anything beyond the limits of my abilities. You can't do that either, okay?" Raiden Mei looked into her eyes as she spoke.

So Mei wasn't worried about anyone else. She was worried about me?

Mei's gaze was easy to understand.

It was worry.

Kiana fell silent for a moment. It wasn't that she was unwilling. Rather, Mei's repeated concern had finally made her realize that she might really have captured Mei's heart.

Her progress had reached at least ninety percent.

Her mind grew somewhat dazed.

"Kiana!"

Mei caught her hand with her other hand and squeezed it tightly, even carrying a hint of pleading in her eyes.

"Don't put yourself in danger."

"Sorry, sorry. I was distracted just now."

Kiana covered her thoughts with an awkward smile. She instinctively tried to scratch her head, but Mei was gripping her hand tightly, and she could not pull it free.

What determination!

"Please promise me."

It seemed Mei was genuinely worried that Kiana would impulsively run over to Takemikazuchi.

And really blow herself up with Takemikazuchi.

Kiana took a deep breath and simply said, "Don't worry. I haven't lived long enough yet. I won't do anything suicidal."

"...If you really have to do something to put your mind at ease, then please take me with you."

"Trust me." Kiana said seriously, "The person on this planet least likely to die... is me."

The changes in her status panel had nothing to do with slaying Kishin or recovering crystals.

After this day, she had formed some guesses about the changes in her panel.

Conviction—or perhaps the determination to grow stronger?

In any case, it was something mysterious and profound.

She felt that if she truly found herself in a life-or-death crisis, there was a high chance she could draw on her conviction to erupt with power.

She had not faced Black General directly, so she did not know whether the power of the Finality—or Honkai—could stand against the power of the void.

But if one had to name the person most likely to survive...

On this planet, it could only be her and Raiden Mei, who would clearly become Yomi in the future.

"...I understand."

It was a refusal.

Raiden Mei released Kiana's hand.

Kiana had her own thoughts and convictions, and she would continue forward according to them. That was a good thing.

What Mei needed to do was not restrain Kiana and turn herself into a burden out of worry.

She had already told herself long ago that no matter what Kiana wanted to do, she would walk forward alongside her.

So she should support Kiana.

Rather than try to restrain Kiana's thoughts and convictions here out of fear that she might be injured or even die, making Kiana stop moving forward.

"Um, Mei, I..."

When Kiana heard that Mei understood, she wanted to say that was not what she meant. Of course she was willing to listen to Raiden Mei.

But if she became the Finality or something when she got excited, how was she supposed to explain that to Mei?

Should she say, "We don't have to fear those bosses at all, because I'll become the final big boss"?

Mei would probably pat her on the head and tell her to stay up less and go to bed earlier.

"I was too nervous just now." A gentle smile returned to Mei's face. "We agreed that no matter what you wanted to do, I would support you. This time is no different."

"I feel the same way about you, Mei!"

Kiana moved close to her again, smiling ingratiatingly as she hugged Mei's arm. "But you really don't need to worry too much about Takemikazuchi, because the power I'm hiding is stronger than it is."

"It will just lead to some unpleasant consequences. You've also seen the effects of Honkai. If I use stronger power, Honkai's influence on Izumo will deepen accordingly, and Honkai disasters will occur. That wouldn't be any different from the descent of the Kishin."

"I won't use this power casually, but if a situation truly arises where I have to use it, I won't hesitate."

At that moment, a giant dragon fell from the sky and crashed heavily into the urban district in the distance.