In Izumo, Making Honkai Great Again

"Honkai?"

Mei pursed her lips, her speed surpassing Kiana's as she moved ahead of her, ready to see what it was.

As she approached the area where the flames erupted, a dull thud of a heavy object striking the ground echoed from below, accompanied by roars that didn't belong to any known creature and intermittent flashes of fire.

Mei arrived within a few breaths and saw a burly green monster over five meters tall.

It was humanoid, gripping a thick tree trunk in its hand and swinging it to strike a girl in a black cloak opposite it.

Distinct patterns were visible on its green skin, patterns related to the Honkai.

"Civilians, please leave!"

The agile girl noticed someone approaching, her eyelids twitching. She immediately warned in a cold voice.

The newcomer wasn't wearing the black robe that concealed mutated parts, so she was likely not one of her comrades.

This meant she was most likely an ordinary person who knew nothing, was incapable, and was merely curious.

Mei remained unmoved. She glanced at the sword in the girl's hand, which was burning with orange-yellow flames, and at her non-human hand gripping the sword—pitch black, like the claws of some creature.

Someone from Sirin's side.

Two birds with one stone?

She placed her hand on the sword she carried, and thunder roared past. The girl, who was struggling to dodge the Oni God's attacks and find an opening to counter, saw a flash of lightning before her eyes. Then, electricity exploded on the mutated Oni God.

Just like that, it was turned into countless pieces with a single strike, the incredibly strong and astonishingly defensive Oni God. The dark curse of the Oni God also moved towards the warrior who had slain it.

One strike... killed it?

The girl holding the sword looked bewildered, and the flames on her blade slowly extinguished.

This strength...

A name flashed through the girl's mind.

"Raiden Mei?!"

Chapter 58: The Honkai-Mutated Oni God in the Mountains

"You know me?"

Holding the fresh energy crystal, Mei felt how different the core was from before. She heard the unfamiliar girl call her name in surprise.

The girl's face beneath her hood was unfamiliar.

Mei was certain this wasn't someone she knew from the past, and definitely not a classmate.

So, there was only one possibility.

"Mei!"

Kiana, who had fallen far behind, finally arrived, grumbling inwardly. She regretted not waiting for Sirin's 500,000 to be transferred before equipping herself with some speed-boosting badges.

After all, she wouldn't waste the badges if she couldn't use them; they could be passed on to others.

The girl followed Raiden Mei's gaze and turned to see a pouting Kiana. A white-haired girl, unfamiliar, without a sword—an ordinary person.

She reached a conclusion.

As the black-robed girl sized up Kiana, Kiana also noticed the stranger's presence. She saw the black robe, similar in style to Yae Sakura's, and then the scene of intense battle.

Judging by the black robe she wore outside, this girl was an Oni Slayer, one of Yae Sakura's group.

"Where's the Oni God?"

"Already slain."

Because an unfamiliar person was present, Mei put away the crystal. Her gaze swept over the girl's mutated hand and she asked, "Why do you know my name?"

She knew Mei's name?

Kiana blinked, stopping herself from asking further questions. She stood quietly, listening to the conversation between Mei and the girl, and observing the battlefield.

Raiden Mei knew that the other party likely came from the organization her father and Sirin belonged to, but whether that was true or not, she would have to admit it herself.

"You are the master of the Resonating Blade."

The girl took a deep breath and moved her arm to relieve the stiffness and discomfort from the Demon Blade's erosion.

"Tanaka Nao, responsible for the cleanup operations in the Mirror Lake area of Changkong City," she said. "I heard you refused to rejoin the team, but your name and the Resonating Blade are known by almost everyone."

"Refused to rejoin?"

Mei was slightly taken aback.

She could understand the Resonating Blade and her name. She could feel the power of the Imperial Blades, a terrifying force capable of destroying a city if fully unleashed.

But 'refused to rejoin'.

She didn't understand.

What was this 'team,' and when had she refused it?

Seeing the strange look on her face, Tanaka Nao said earnestly, "Lady Sirin informed the Command Center of your decision. Please rest assured, as long as you are willing to participate in the upcoming battles against the remaining twelve Oni Gods, no one will hold this against you."

Mei: "..."

What decision of hers did she tell the Command Center?

Sirin?

As soon as Kiana heard it, she knew Sirin had made a decision on her own. To give Mei time to react, she took the initiative to change the subject curiously, "You mentioned 'cleansing' just now. Does that mean you've been patrolling around here, killing any Oni Gods you encounter?"

"Mm," Tanaka Nao nodded.

Although this girl might be an ordinary person, since she came with Raiden Mei, there was no need to worry about spreading fear.

"And some of my friends, we're jointly responsible for defending the east side of Changkong City, cleansing all the Oni Gods we encounter."

"No wonder I rarely see Oni Gods usually."

So that's why they were rarely seen normally – someone was guarding and hunting them outside.

"Most of the time, they hide in the shadows. Preventing the Oni Gods from destroying peace and breeding more fear and despair is our motivation for slaying them," Tanaka Nao said. "You encountered Oni Gods in the city before, right? That was because Takemikazuchi caused the Night of a Hundred Demons, and we all received orders from the Command Center then and rushed to the battlefield."

If an Oni God of this level didn't die, it wouldn't matter how well other places were defended, because Takemikazuchi could truly be called a natural disaster.

Kiana understood.

In peacetime, these sword users formed nets to strangle Oni Gods in places ordinary people couldn't see, killing them outside of their line of sight.

Except during the Night of a Hundred Demons or for extremely unlucky individuals, the chance of encountering an Oni God was about the same as winning the lottery.

"It must be very hard, right?"

Tanaka Nao's eyes softened slightly, and she shook her head. "This is our mission, and it's something that someone has to do."

So great.

Can we join?

The words almost slipped out of Kiana's mouth, but thankfully she didn't say them, or it would be hard to explain.

From what this lady just said, it seemed Sirin had made some kind of decision for them, and it was precisely because of this decision that no one had come looking for them until now.

"Are you injured?"

Kiana looked at her, and also noticed her Oniified right hand and the pool of blood on the ground where she was standing.

She quickly walked over.

"Don't mind it, my injury isn't serious."

"It wasn't caused by that Oni God just now, was it?" Mei noticed Kiana walking over and spoke again.

"I got injured accidentally while pursuing another smaller Oni God that was skilled at slashing," Tanaka Nao said, sighing. "I had some clues before the Night of a Hundred Demons. After the war ended, I immediately followed the clues, but that Oni God mutated."

Tanaka Nao raised her bloodless left hand. Traces of blood dripping down could still be seen on the back of her hand.

"Lord Sirin mentioned that the Takemikazuchi you killed showed signs of mutation. It's called something like Hon... Honkai? If I remember correctly, that's the name?"

Kiana, who had brought the Honkai, suddenly felt guilty and took out a healing spray. "Let me help you treat it."

"...Thank you, I'll trouble you then."

The wound did need to be treated quickly. If it weren't for Raiden Mei, she probably would have already fired a flare to gather her companions.

Just as Tanaka Nao was about to lift her clothes to expose the wound on her hand for Kiana to spray, Kiana aimed the spray at her uninjured body and pressed it a few times.

Tanaka Nao: "???"

Shouldn't the spray be applied to the wound?

While she was full of questions, the mist sprayed by the can inexplicably enveloped her for a second before quickly disappearing.

"So, all the Oni Gods in the mountains have undergone Honkaiification, just like the one I just killed, is that right?"

"Yes."

Tanaka Nao replied absentmindedly, wanting to tell Kiana that the spray wasn't used like that.

But she really didn't feel any pain!

She lifted the area where the wound was and looked, but couldn't see the bloody gash from the slash.

The wound is gone?

Tanaka Nao looked at the spray in Kiana's hand in shock. Could it be that the power of Oni Gods can not only be attached to swords, but also to spray cans?

ps: I wanted to say a few things, I typed and deleted for a long time, then silently deleted them.

I haven't dared to look at the comment section these past few days.

I finally mustered up the courage to take a look, and how should I put it, it's like a weight has been lifted off my mind.

It's good that no one is scolding me.

It gives me the motivation to continue.

And here I'll respond to everyone's questions about how much longer the Izumo arc will be.

My answer is still some time, but not too much. At most, it won't exceed a hundred thousand characters. After all, twelve thousand characters have been laid out here, and the plot has only reached Takemikazuchi. It's too difficult to finish the story in just twenty to thirty thousand.

My original idea was to introduce some Honkai Impact 3rd characters after this arc, but now I think writing it this way is too drawn out and doesn't advance the plot much.

This is a Honkai: Star Rail fanfiction after all.

I specifically want to start with Izumo and write so much about it because when I started this book, my mind was filled with the idea of a living Yama.

First, I'll establish the foundation in Izumo. Once Izumo is assimilated, I'll use Izumo as a base to spread the Honkai gradually throughout the entire universe. So Izumo is very important.

But the idea seems too much like a living Yama and too extreme. I'll go back and revise it to be a little gentler.

Also, I saw several people in the comment section mention Janna. I'm still considering whether or not to write about Janna.

I still want to see more opinions.

So, leave your comments.

You can leave your opinions here before the Izumo arc ends. Chapter 59: Special Honkai Crystal

"Do you have Sirin's contact information?"

Mei saw her staring intently at Kiana in front of her and instinctively spoke to draw her attention.

"Huh?" Tanaka Nao turned her head. "You don't have Madam Sirin's contact information?"

"I forgot to ask for it," Mei explained. "I need to find her about something right now and can't reach her."

"I can't help you with that either."

Tanaka Nao looked troubled. "Madam Sirin is famously averse to work and doesn't join groups. I can't even get a word in with her, so how could I possibly add her as a friend?"

Mei's lips twitched, realizing she couldn't find Sirin's contact information through Tanaka Nao. So even this method wouldn't work?

"I can ask some other friends I know at the Command Center for you, but you'd better not get your hopes up. I heard she hasn't even added people from the Command Center."

All communication during operations relies on issued headsets.