Chapter Fifty-One: There's Nothing Wrong with Making Use of Waste / Chapter Fifty-Two: Are You Going to Become an Arms Dealer?

Kiana briefly lost herself in thought, then avoided the question. After opening Pandora's Box, she had no way back.

"But people with resistance to Honkai energy can use Honkai's power. Like me, and Mei..."

Mei said, "The power I just used to block the Kishin's corruption was exactly that."

"People without resistance to Honkai energy will be corrupted into Honkai Beasts. Like Takemikazuchi just now. Perhaps it came into contact with Honkai energy willingly. Most of the power in its body had been corrupted by Honkai, throwing its strength out of balance, which was why it didn't seem very dangerous. But if it were completely corrupted and became a Honkai Beast, it would be a disaster beyond your imagination. The Honkai outbreak caused by its transformation alone would be enough to corrupt and transform ninety-nine percent of the people in Changkong City into high-intensity Honkai energy victims—Dead Apostles."

"It's very dangerous, more dangerous than the Kishin. But if used properly, it might still become a force that can help save Izumo."

"Like the medicine I gave you, and the equipment just now—they're all manifestations of Honkai's power. If you insist on putting it that way, Honkai energy can do anything."

Kiana rambled on, nodding along as if she strongly approved of her own argument.

Even the equipment from Honkai Impact 2 had appeared. Wasn't her Honkai truly omnipotent?

After listening to her ramble, Sirin only remembered the last sentence: "Honkai energy can do anything."

She had originally wanted to pick a fight, but Kiana seemed to have said that the medicine she used to treat Sirin was supposedly a manifestation of Honkai's power.

Sirin shook her head, shaking the things she couldn't understand out of her mind. She couldn't be bothered to think about them. Besides, every field had its specialty, so it was better to leave these matters to the people who researched the Kishin.

"The Kishin and Honkai aren't the same thing, right?"

Kiana looked embarrassed at her words, her guilty eyes darting around. "...At least not for now."

Sirin had been about to ask Kiana why she needed the Kishin's power from the Cursed Sword if they weren't the same thing, but she paused.

"What do you mean, 'at least not for now'?"

Mei, who had encountered Honkai earlier, understood what Kiana meant. She raised the Resonating Blade in her hand for Sirin to see. "Because Honkai energy can corrupt the Kishin."

The spider earlier and Takemikazuchi had both been in that awkward half-transformed stage.

Mei felt some pressure regarding the Honkai Beasts Kiana had mentioned. But she wasn't standing still, either.

Whether it was the improvement brought by the Stigma's evolution after slaying Takemikazuchi, or this Resonating Blade that allowed her to use Takemikazuchi's power, both had greatly enhanced her strength.

Sirin fell silent.

All this time, it had been the Kishin's curse that corrupted humans and transformed them into evil spirits. Aside from the Edict Blade, all the other blades had extremely severe side effects. Humans had no choice. In order to slay the Kishin, the power of Oniification was also an important part of what gave them the ability to kill them.

To slay the Kishin, humans had no choice but to exchange the price of eventually falling into mindless evil spirits for a brief burst of power.

P.S. I went to bed early yesterday, but the quality of my sleep was hard to describe.

I woke up dizzy and nauseous, so unsteady that I could barely stand. Once I confirmed it wasn't heatstroke, I panicked.

The doctor said it was caused by pressure on the nerves and blood vessels from my cervical spine...

I felt a little better after taking medicine in the afternoon. It was truly hard to describe.

Chapter Fifty-One: There's Nothing Wrong with Making Use of Waste

Those things could be corrupted too?

How should she put it?

She wanted to say it was impossible, but with such a huge Takemikazuchi right in front of her, she had no choice but to believe it.

So it was true.

Retribution had come for those Takama-ga-hara invaders. Sirin's mood was complicated, but there was also a certain satisfaction in it.

"Letting them taste the feeling of being corrupted and falling into depravity doesn't seem like a bad thing, does it?"

"It isn't a good thing, either." Kiana lowered her head and said softly, "Honkai Beasts attack every living creature, and they also destroy civilization."

"If nothing changes, will those Kishin stop killing people, stop doing evil, and return to Takama-ga-hara?" Sirin snorted.

The Kishin had always wanted to kill.

"Against the Kishin of Takama-ga-hara, our only option has always been to fight until one side dies."

There was nothing wrong with what she said.

It was just that after being completely transformed, the Kishin's destructive power, combined with Honkai, might grow stronger and cause an even greater disaster.

"Do you need assistance?"

Kiana made up her mind.

Those Kishin would be corrupted by Honkai energy, expanding the scope of the original disaster and turning it into the situation she had been most worried about from the beginning.

But that didn't mean there was nothing she could do.

One person's strength was ultimately tiny. If Honkai energy could strengthen the Kishin, it could naturally strengthen the Demon Slaying Bladesmen as well.

Izumo was going to die sooner or later anyway.

Adding a little Honkai would merely raise the level of the battle and strengthen the upper limits of both sides.

That was a good thing.

The Kishin were only the difficulty before them, not the final death sentence. Their true goal should be to defeat—no, to escape the shadow of the void.

"I can provide assistance to you."

Kiana's thoughts gradually took shape. Although she was still somewhat nervous, she maintained her smile.

"I can provide comprehensive assistance related to Honkai. In exchange... all you need to do is provide some energy crystals."

She showed Sirin the black crystal in her hand, becoming more fluent as she spoke. "Healing, weapons, or boosts to your strength—I can provide all of them."

Kiana's offer was tempting.

But Sirin wasn't stupid. Faced with Kiana's temptation, she barely managed to maintain her reason.

"That's truly hard to refuse."

"After all, Honkai..."

"Kiana." Mei suddenly placed a hand on her shoulder, interrupting what she wanted to say.

She knew what Kiana was about to say.

It was nothing more than that Honkai had been brought by her, that everything was related to her, and that she should therefore step forward.

Her feelings were somewhat conflicted, but she supported Kiana's thoughts and actions. She had already prepared herself to help her.

But thinking was one thing, and doing was another.

Having lived on her own from an early age, Raiden Mei was more mature than most people her age.

Sometimes, there was no need to make everything so clear. They shouldn't give people an opportunity to vent their resentment on her.

It was enough for her and Kiana to know the truth. There was truly no need to tell anyone else.

"Let me talk to Miss Sirin."

She acted completely normally, and her words flowed smoothly, as if she hadn't deliberately interrupted Kiana.

Kiana thought about it, then nodded. "No problem. I'll leave everything to Mei."

"After all, Honkai is completely unknown, unlike the Kishin, which have physical forms." Mei looked at Sirin and repeated what Kiana had said before. "Honkai has many forms of manifestation. What Kiana described is only one of them. Even more frightening are natural disasters, plagues, and many other methods we don't yet know about."

"Something like this has already disrupted your balance, hasn't it? Kiana... can use Honkai's power to create items that resist Honkai. If you want to resist the combination of Honkai and the Kishin, the only correct choice is to use Honkai's power to defeat Honkai."

Kiana stared at Mei in shock.

"I believe Kiana." Sirin shook her head as she spoke. "But Raiden Mei, even I can't completely believe your explanation."

She had to say first that she wasn't suspicious. She was quite willing to believe the two of them, but she wasn't the only one who had to make the decision.

Honkai was something they had only just encountered.

Whether it was truly as frightening as they claimed remained open to discussion.

It was better to be cautious with something completely unknown. Their war with Takama-ga-hara had continued for so long, yet even then, they couldn't claim to truly understand the Kishin that had come from Takama-ga-hara.

What exactly had they come here for?

To this day, they still couldn't reach a truth that convinced everyone.

"I believe Kiana, but the others... They'll ask why Kiana possesses the power to use Honkai to resist Honkai."

"Because of the Stigma!"

Afraid that Kiana would reveal the truth, Mei had been waiting for Sirin to ask something like that. Then she answered without hesitation.

"Weren't you curious about where my power came from, too? It's because of the Stigma. The Stigma gave me the power to control lightning. I don't need an Edict Blade to turn lightning into the power to slay evil spirits and protect everything I want to protect."

"The Stigma is a gift from Honkai."

She lied with her eyes wide open, refusing to drag Kiana into the matter.

Although her own father was also one of them, Raiden Mei was highly wary of unfamiliar organizations and unfamiliar people.

"Everything has two sides. Honkai, this double-edged sword, is no different."

What Mei said wasn't wrong.

But how should she put it?

Kiana felt a little embarrassed and guilty, but she was also somewhat happy.

"You know what kind of person Kiana is. Neither she nor I want to see more deaths in Izumo."

Sirin nodded. "You make a good point. Kiana really is a good person."

"A good person..."

Kiana smiled awkwardly. She felt undeserving of the praise. It was true that she had saved Sirin, but it had only been a simple favor—and she had also scammed Sirin out of five hundred thousand.

Her morals hadn't sunk that low yet.

She needed a little more practice before she could face her merchant behavior without changing expression.

"Don't sell yourself short, Kiana." Sirin smiled. "I trust my judgment, and I trust you."

"Forget it. I won't ask anymore. I have a headache. This feels like interrogating a criminal, even though one of you is my savior and the other has been recognized by the Resonating Blade and will be my comrade in arms in the future."

There was no point in continuing. After Kiana had saved her and helped her recover so quickly, Sirin's feelings had already tilted somewhat toward Kiana.

No matter how much she asked, she couldn't bring herself to be suspicious. She had asked so many questions mainly because she was worried about the doubts others might have about Kiana.

"I believe you." Sirin said, "It doesn't matter if the others don't. I'm willing to be the first to buy things from you."

"Besides, they're only Kishin. They're things that should be wiped out anyway. There's nothing wrong with making use of waste."

The others were the others. She was herself.

Sirin thought that even if the others were suspicious of Honkai and Kiana and unwilling to engage more deeply for the time being, she could still become Kiana's customer.

She was much faster at killing than ordinary Demon Slaying Bladesmen.

Oh, and there was Yae Sakura too.

Judging from her attitude earlier, Yae Sakura seemed to have a very favorable impression of Kiana. She definitely wouldn't mind making use of waste and supporting Kiana.

Chapter Fifty-Two: Are You Going to Become an Arms Dealer?

"You spoke too hastily just now."

On the way back, Mei walked beside Kiana and shared her thoughts.

"Whether it was Honkai or your decision to sell things to them, you didn't need to reveal either so quickly."

Being too eager might make it seem as if she had ulterior motives. Mei felt it would be better to ease off a little and let the others grow curious. Then, it would be better if they came knocking when they needed something.

It was fortunate that Sirin had a good impression of Kiana. No matter what Kiana said, she only raised a few questions about things she didn't understand.

"Because the situation has become more serious."

Kiana knew she had been a little too hasty, but who knew how much time Izumo had left? She was currently waiting for Sirin to pay her medical fee, after which she would use it as capital to wholesale a large batch of practical badges and weapons and sell them to the others.

Never mind the damage.

Weapons with automatically regenerating ammunition—what difference was there between those and weapons that refreshed every day?

If Honkai didn't increase in strength across the entire planet, making the battlefield too vast, Kiana wouldn't have dared to sell the low-level equipment in the system on a large scale.

Wait, she should probably control the number of ranged weapons.

...Or should she only sell low-level badges and melee weapons?