"Honkai?"
Mei pursed her lips. Her speed instantly surpassed Kiana's, and she moved ahead of her, ready to see what exactly was going on.
As they neared the place where the flames were erupting, the ground began to thud with the muffled impacts of something heavy striking it. There were also roars that belonged to no known creature, along with flickering flames.
Mei arrived within a few breaths and saw a hulking green monster standing over five meters tall.
It had a humanoid form and was gripping a thick tree trunk, swinging it down at a girl in a black cloak.
Distinct patterns covered its green skin. Those patterns were related to Honkai.
"Unaffiliated civilians, leave!"
The agile girl noticed someone approaching. Her eyelid twitched, and she immediately issued a cold warning.
The newcomer wasn't wearing the black robes that concealed mutated body parts, so she probably wasn't one of her comrades.
In other words, she was most likely an ordinary, curious person who knew nothing and had no ability to defend herself.
Mei remained unmoved. She glanced at the blade in the girl's hand, its edge burning with orange-yellow flames, and at the hand gripping it. The hand was inhuman, black, and resembled the sharp claw of some creature.
Someone from Sirin's side.
Two birds with one stone?
She placed her hand on the blade she carried with her. Thunder roared past. The girl, who had been struggling to dodge the Kishin's attacks while looking for a chance to counterattack, saw a flash of lightning pass before her eyes. Then electricity exploded across the mutated Kishin's body.
With that single move, the monstrously strong, incredibly durable Kishin was blasted into countless pieces. The black Kishin curse also surged toward the warrior who had slain it.
One slash... and it was over?
Confusion filled the sword-wielding girl's eyes, and the flames on her blade slowly went out.
This level of strength...
A name surfaced in the girl's mind.
"Raiden Mei?!"
### Chapter Fifty-Eight: The Honkai-Corrupted Demon God in the Mountains
"You know me?"
Holding the fresh energy crystal, Mei sensed how its core differed from the previous one. Then she heard the unfamiliar girl call out her name in a startled voice.
The face beneath the girl's hood was unfamiliar.
Mei was certain she had never met her before, much less attended school with her.
That left only one possibility.
"Mei!"
Kiana finally caught up after falling far behind. She was fuming inwardly. If she had known this would happen, she wouldn't have waited for Sirin's five hundred thousand credits to arrive. She should have bought herself some speed-boosting badges first.
It wasn't as though the badges would go to waste once she no longer needed them. She could simply let other people use them.
Following Raiden Mei's gaze, the girl turned and saw Kiana, who was still looking grumpy. A white-haired girl, unfamiliar, with no sword—an ordinary person.
That was the conclusion she reached.
While the black-robed girl examined Kiana, Kiana also noticed the stranger. She saw the black robe she wore, which was styled much like Yae Sakura's, and then took in the scene of fierce battle.
From the black robe alone, it was clear that this girl was an Oni Slayer working with Yae Sakura.
"Where's the Kishin?"
"It's been slain."
Since there was an unfamiliar person present, Mei put away the crystal. Her gaze swept over the girl's mutated hand as she asked, "How do you know my name?"
She knew Mei's name?
Kiana blinked. She suppressed her urge to continue asking questions and quietly listened to the conversation between Mei and the girl, while also surveying the battlefield.
Raiden Mei knew that the other party most likely came from the organization where Sirin and her own father were, but she still needed the girl to confirm it herself.
"You're the Blade Master of the Resonating Blade."
The girl took a deep breath and moved her arm, easing the stiffness and discomfort caused by the Cursed Sword's erosion.
"Tanaka Nao. I'm responsible for clearing the Mirror Lake area of Changkong City." She spoke up. "I heard you refused to rejoin the group, but almost no one is unaware of your name or the Resonating Blade."
"Refused to rejoin the group?"
Mei was slightly taken aback.
She could understand why people knew about the Resonating Blade and her name. She could sense the power of the Edict Blade—a terrifying force that, once fully unleashed, could destroy an entire city.
But "refused to rejoin the group"?
She didn't understand.
What was this "group," and when had she refused to return to it?
Seeing the strange look on her face, Tanaka Nao said seriously, "Lady Sirin informed the Command Center of your decision. Don't worry. As long as you're willing to participate in the upcoming battle against the remaining Twelve Oni Gods, no one will hold it against you."
Mei: "..."
What decision of hers had been reported to the Command Center?
Sirin?
Kiana immediately realized that Sirin had made the decision on her own. To give Mei time to react, she took the initiative and asked curiously, "When you said 'clearing,' did you mean that you've been patrolling this area and slaying any Kishin you encounter?"
"Mm." Tanaka Nao nodded.
Though this girl might be an ordinary person, she had come with Raiden Mei, so there was no need to worry about her spreading panic.
"A few of my friends are with me as well. We're responsible for defending eastern Changkong City and clearing out every Kishin we encounter."
"No wonder I hardly ever see Kishin normally."
So people were hunting them outside the city, which explained why they were so rarely seen.
"Most of the time, they hide in the shadows. Preventing the Kishin from destroying the peace and breeding more fear and despair is what drives us to slay them." Tanaka Nao continued, "You encountered Kishin in the city earlier, didn't you? That was because Takemikazuchi triggered the Night of a Hundred Demons. At the time, we all received orders from the Command Center and rushed to the battlefield."
If a Kishin of that level remained alive, no amount of defense elsewhere would matter. Takemikazuchi could completely be called a natural disaster.
Kiana understood.
During peaceful times, these sword wielders formed layers of Kishin-hunting nets in places ordinary people couldn't see, slaying the Kishin outside the public eye.
Aside from the Night of a Hundred Demons and the occasional especially unlucky victim, encountering a Kishin was about as likely as winning the lottery.
"That must be hard, right?"
A gentler look entered Tanaka Nao's eyes. She shook her head. "It's our mission. It's also something someone has to do."
How noble.
Can we join you?
The words nearly slipped from Kiana's mouth, but fortunately, she held them back. Otherwise, she wouldn't have known how to explain herself.
From what the young lady had just said, Sirin seemed to have made some kind of decision on their behalf. That decision was probably why no one had come looking for them until now.
"You're injured?"
Kiana looked at her and noticed her Oniified right hand, as well as the pool of blood on the ground where she stood.
She hurried over.
"Don't worry about it. The injury isn't serious."
"That wasn't caused by the Kishin just now, was it?" Mei noticed Kiana approaching and spoke again.
"I was careless and got injured while pursuing another Kishin. It was smaller and skilled with slashing attacks." Tanaka Nao sighed. "I already had some clues before the Night of a Hundred Demons. After returning from the battle, I followed those clues immediately, but that Kishin had mutated."
Tanaka Nao raised her bloodless left hand. Traces of blood could still be seen running down from the back of it.
"Lady Sirin said that the Takemikazuchi you slew had undergone the same kind of mutation. It was something called Honkai... Honkai? If I remember correctly, that was the name, right?"
Kiana, who had brought the Honkai, suddenly felt guilty. She pulled out a healing spray and said, "I'll treat you."
"...Sorry for the trouble."
The wound did need to be treated quickly. If not for Raiden Mei, she probably would have already fired a signal flare to summon her companions.
Just as Tanaka Nao was about to lift her clothes and expose the wound on her hand so Kiana could spray it, Kiana pointed the spray at the uninjured part of her body and pressed it several times.
Tanaka Nao: "???"
Wasn't the spray supposed to be applied to the wound?
While she was full of questions, the mist sprayed from the canister unscientifically enveloped her for a second, then rapidly vanished.
"So all the Kishin in the mountains have undergone Honkai mutation, just like the one I slew earlier, right?"
"That's right."
Tanaka Nao replied absently, intending to tell Kiana that the spray wasn't used that way.
But she really didn't feel any pain anymore!
She opened the part of her clothing covering the wound and looked. Yet she couldn't find even a trace of the slash that had cut her.
The wound was gone?
Tanaka Nao stared at the spray in Kiana's hand in shock. Could the power of the Kishin not only be attached to blades, but also to spray bottles?
P.S. I wanted to say a few things. I spent a long time typing them out, then silently deleted them.
I haven't dared look at the comments these past few days.
I just gathered up the courage to take a look. How should I put it? It felt like a weight had finally been lifted from my heart.
As long as no one cursed me out, it was fine.
Now I have the motivation to continue. 1
I'll also respond to everyone's question here: how much longer will the Izumo arc last?
My answer is that it'll last a while longer, though not too much longer. At most, it won't exceed one hundred thousand words. After all, I've spent one hundred and twenty thousand words laying the groundwork here, and the plot has only just reached Takemikazuchi. It would be too difficult to wrap things up in just twenty or thirty thousand words.
My original idea was to introduce some Honkai Impact 2nd and Honkai Impact 3rd characters after this part of the story. But thinking about it now, writing it that way would drag things out too much, and it wouldn't advance the plot very much either.
This is, after all, a Honkai: Star Rail fanfic.
I insisted on starting with Izumo and writing so much about it because, when I began this book, my head was filled with ideas about becoming a living Yama.
I wanted to establish the foundation in Izumo first. Once Izumo had been assimilated, I would use it as the foundation to gradually spread Honkai throughout the universe.
2
That's why Izumo is so important.
But the idea seems a little too much like a living Yama and too extreme. I'll revise it when I go back and make it a little gentler. 6
Also, I've seen several people mention Jana in the comments. I'm still considering whether to write her in. 1
I'd still like to see more opinions.
So leave a comment.
Before the Izumo arc ends, you can leave your opinions here.2
### Chapter Fifty-Nine: A Special Honkai Crystal
"Do you have Sirin's contact information?"
Mei saw her staring wide-eyed at Kiana without blinking and subconsciously spoke up to draw her attention over.
"Huh?" Tanaka Nao turned her head. "You don't have Lady Sirin's contact information?"
"I forgot to ask for it." Mei explained, "I need to find her about something now, but I can't reach her."
"There's nothing I can do about that either."
Tanaka Nao looked troubled. "Lady Sirin is famous for hating work. She isn't even in the group chat. I can't get a word in with her, so how could I possibly add her as a friend?"
Mei's mouth twitched. She had thought Tanaka Nao might help her find Sirin's contact information, but even that route was blocked?
"I can ask some other friends I know at the Command Center, but you'd better not get your hopes up. I heard she hasn't even added anyone from the Command Center."
They relied entirely on sending messages through their earpieces for combat communication.
Before you continue