A Person in Izumo, Making Honkai Great Again

"Okay."

Kiana needed the crystals formed from the dead Oni Gods, and she also needed to improve her own strength. Picking up the Imperial Blades, all she had to do was kill some Oni Gods; these two goals weren't in conflict.

"Let's think about it some more?" Kiana whispered to Mei, "After we forge the Narukami Blade, I'll check it for you. If the side effects are too severe, we won't do it. Even without the Imperial Blades, I believe Mei won't be any worse than anyone else."

As she spoke, Kiana winked at Mei, reminding her not to forget about her Stigmata.

Chapter 46: Your Existence Has Caused a Change

"As long as the compatibility with the Imperial Blades is high enough, you won't be corrupted and oniified by the Oni Gods' curse."

Hearing Kiana's concern, Sirin began to explain, "It's like me."

She had killed many Oni Gods, but compared to Yae Sakura, Sirin showed no obvious signs of oniification.

However, Raiden Mei from the normal timeline was definitely influenced by the power of the Imperial Blades, as she showed signs of oniification.

Yomi, who appeared in the PV, bore some resemblance to the fully realized Herrscher of Thunder, with red oni horns on her forehead.

Speaking of which... once the Honkai Energy Concentration rises, will Mei be turned into the Herrscher of Thunder?

"By the way, Sirin, do you really have to kill Takemikazuchi with the Narukami to forge the Imperial Blades? Can't we just kill it first and then infuse its power into the Narukami?"

"There's only one chance to forge the blade, and it's best not to do it under these circumstances," Sirin shook her head. "The vessel is very important."

"Inferior materials won't affect the power of the Narukami Blade, but they will make it more aggressive. This is true for ordinary Oni Gods, but the backlash from an Oni God of this caliber will be even more severe, making it a true Demon Blade!"

Did she really have to kill an Oni God with one of the twelve unfinished items left behind to forge a complete Imperial Blade?

Some had questioned this, but it had been proven successful through a thousand years of verification.

The twelve unfinished items were the best vessels created by the pioneers a thousand years ago specifically for the twelve Oni Gods to carry their power.

The material of the sword and its compatibility with the Oni God would affect the formed Imperial Blade.

The most obvious point was to reduce the burden on the user, preventing those who didn't have heaven-defying compatibility like Sirin from being easily corrupted.

Using the Narukami to kill Takemikazuchi to forge a true Narukami Blade was for the sake of the blade's user.

Before the sword was successfully forged, no one could guarantee that they could find another wielder in Izumo with extraordinary compatibility with the Imperial Blades like Sirin, who was almost never cursed by the Oni God's power within the blade under normal circumstances.

"Inferior vessel?"

Kiana almost instinctively recalled the octopus Oni God they had killed by the river a couple of days ago with Mei. After the Oni God died, it attached itself to Mei's sword, turning an ordinary sword into an inferior Demon Blade.

Her memory was quite good; she remembered some of the introductions to the Demon Blade at the time, which indeed included a line stating 'inferior swords increased the price of using them,' so that sword would cause double the corrosive effect on the user.

"Does this mean the stronger the vessel, the stronger the Narukami Blade will be?"

Sirin shook her head, "The blade's power shouldn't change much. The vessel affects the corrosive effect on the person. The most important thing is compatibility. The Narukami was specifically made to kill Takemikazuchi, and there's no sword in Izumo more suitable to be the vessel for the Narukami Blade."

It's not that there isn't one, it's just that I'm too poor.

Kiana once again felt her need for Honkai Crystals. If she had enough crystals, she could buy a seven-star weapon right here and now to serve as the vessel for the Narukami Blade.

But she couldn't even afford a four-star equipment right now. Instead of daydreaming, she should think about when the sword Sirin mentioned would arrive and when Sirin would pay her back.

She couldn't wait to go on a shopping spree!

"Kiana."

Mei, who had walked up to Takemikazuchi at some point, suddenly called out to Kiana, her expression grave and confused.

"What's wrong?"

Hearing this, Sirin, like Kiana, looked at Raiden Mei, who had boldly approached Takemikazuchi. She certainly had guts to get this close.

Mei frowned. She first looked at Sirin, seemingly wary of Sirin's presence.

She did have something to say.

"Want to have a private chat?" Sirin seemed to see through Raiden Mei, raising her chin slightly with pride, "Fine, you two go talk over there. I won't eavesdrop."

What important things could girls her age discuss? Perhaps she was unhappy that Kiana was talking to her alone, so she spoke up to get Kiana's attention.

Raiden Mei wouldn't be so childish.

Although she did feel a little uncomfortable.

"Did you discover something?" Kiana walked with her, stopping after a few dozen meters.

Mei looked at the massive dragon's body beside her and whispered, "I feel the power of my Stigmata is slowly getting stronger. At first, I thought it was an illusion, but after carefully sensing it for a while, I found it to be true, and this increase is still continuing to rise."

She paused, then found a suitable way to describe it, "It's like winning one battle after another. The increase isn't much, but the accumulation is undeniable."

The problem was, she wasn't in a fight.

When she first approached Takemikazuchi and noticed something unusual, she didn't pay much attention. After all, when Takemikazuchi was still far away, she had vaguely sensed that its power wasn't pure.

It had Honkai energy on it, which wasn't surprising; she had discovered that early on.

"Honkai energy?"

Kiana's expression changed. She turned to look at the heavily wounded Takemikazuchi and the conspicuous patterns on its body.

She agreed with Mei; she didn't think it was strange for Takemikazuchi to have Honkai energy on it. She had already been shocked once and found it somewhat absurd.

After all, the Honkai Energy Concentration in this world wasn't that high yet. Logically, it shouldn't be able to corrupt an Oni God of Takemikazuchi's level.

But the facts were right in front of her; she had to believe them whether she wanted to or not.

When she first arrived, she had sensed that the Honkai energy concentration here was a bit stronger than in normal areas, but Takemikazuchi showed signs of erosion and was carrying Honkai energy. Now that it was dying here, a higher concentration was normal, and she hadn't paid it much mind.

However, after Mei's reminder, she also noticed something was wrong. The Honkai concentration in this area had indeed increased compared to when she first arrived, and if she felt it carefully, she could sense that the Honkai energy in this region was still increasing.

This scared Kiana, who immediately opened her status panel, afraid that the Finality Process had increased by several points without her realizing it.

Name: Kiana
Faction: [Honkai]
Talent: Power of the End
Skill: Phase Shift (Void)
Finality Process: 7.4% (↓)
Honkai Energy Concentration (Izumo): 11.5046% (↓)
Summary: Your existence has caused some kind of change.

Good news: her Herrscher transformation process hadn't increased. The change in Honkai energy here wasn't caused by her.

Bad news: the increase in Honkai concentration had nothing to do with her and everything to do with Takemikazuchi lying beside her.

Worse news: the summary text on her panel had changed!

Chapter 47: Chosen One?

These two pieces of news, one good and one bad, combined to send a not-so-good message to Kiana.

Her existence had caused a change.

The Takemikazuchi before her was the biggest change after Izumo's Honkai energy increased.

It had been eroded by Honkai energy.

And this erosion was continuously deepening.

Realizing what this meant, Kiana decisively walked towards Sirin.

"Sirin!"

Sirin, who was contemplating how to deliver the promised reward of five thousand Oni Gods to Kiana after dealing with Takemikazuchi, was slightly taken aback.

Why the rush?

She looked curiously at Kiana, who was running towards her, with Raiden Mei beside her.

"Are you two done chatting?"

Kiana shook her head and said, "Nothing else matters. The most important thing now is to deal with Takemikazuchi immediately!"

No need to wait for the Imperial Blades or worry about the side effects of being eroded by Oni God power!

Kiana believed that given enough time, the power she could unleash would definitely surpass that of an Imperial Blade.

The power Mei could unleash with the Thunder Soul Imprint fully developed would also be no weaker than Takemikazuchi, no weaker than the power of the Narukami Blade!

From the moment she appeared in this world, the Imperial Blades were no longer a necessity for Izumo.

Whether they accepted it or not, one undeniable fact remained.

The Imperial Blades could not redeem Izumo.

Honkai was the main theme of the future!

It was Izumo's only path to life in the face of death!

"What did you two talk about?" Sirin looked at them suspiciously, casting a glance at Raiden Mei. She said calmly, "Didn't I just say that Narukami is on the way and will be delivered to Changkong City in half an hour at most?"

"I know you're anxious, and I'm anxious too, but we can't rush now," Sirin said.

"Half an hour..."

Kiana's expression was filled with struggle. Judging by the signs of Takemikazuchi's erosion, after half an hour...

"No, we can't gamble!" Kiana shook her head fiercely and said to Sirin with determination, "The situation is dire. We must slay it here and now!"

Sirin frowned. If Kiana hadn't been helping her all along, she might not have been able to listen any further.

"Give me a reason," she said, suppressing her impatience.

"It's being eroded."

Kiana took a deep breath. "I don't know when it will be completely transformed into a Honkai beast by Honkai energy, but if that happens, you and I will have to face Takemikazuchi at its full strength, or even stronger!"

What level of Honkai beast would it become?

Kiana had no idea.

Although Izumo's Honkai energy concentration wasn't high, only around ten percent, if it all gathered in one place...

That was not a small amount.

"Honkai? Erosion?"

"I can explain the matter of Honkai to you slowly later, but for now, we must kill it and prevent its transformation!"

Never-before-heard terms.

But the erosion...

Sirin thought of the abnormalities during her battle with Takemikazuchi, and its fluctuating power.

"I'm not lying to you!"

Seeing Sirin's silence and apparent wavering, Kiana immediately assured her.

Sirin struggled inwardly.

If this were her own matter, she mused, she might have agreed.

But this wasn't just her own affair.

The Imperial Blades concerned the future wielder of the Meitou, a vital force for subjugating the other Oni Gods in the future.

Whether it was her Imperial Blades of Heaven or Welt's Shin Imperial Blades, their effectiveness in their hands was not that of a purely offensive weapon.

Meitou...

Once forged, the Meitou's power would undoubtedly become the main force for slaying the twelve Oni Gods.

"...If it completely turns into a Honkai beast, it will cause a huge chain reaction. This area, no, the entire Changkong City will be affected by the Honkai."

She couldn't escape the fate of 'Changkong City'.

The Herrscher of Thunder hasn't appeared, yet Takemikazuchi, corrupted by Honkai energy, is destroyed. That would be a cruel joke.

"If that's the case, then let me do it." Mei drew the Yamamoto Night Shadow Samurai Sword from its sheath.

She walked slowly towards Takemikazuchi, her voice calm. "Didn't Miss Sirin say before that the Narukami Shrine has worshipped Narukami for generations, and that I should deliver the final blow to Takemikazuchi?"

"The Meitou isn't yours yet." Sirin lowered her voice, warning her. "Your ability to wield the Meitou is just my guess. Until the complete Meitou is forged, there's no proof you'll become its master!"