A Person in Izumo, Making Honkai Great Again

"Mei, I'm not a child."

Kiana awkwardly rubbed her face, which Sirin had just pinched. She felt Mei thought she needed too much looking after.

Regretfully retracting her hand, the thought Her face is so soft flashed through Kiana's mind.

"The car accident you mentioned?"

"It wasn't us. We ran into an accident on the road last night when we went out. A car suddenly caught fire on the street."

"Caught fire?"

Just this shouldn't be enough to make her sleep poorly. After all... she had already seen more gruesome things.

The day the Thunder Calamity appeared, some people were killed by Oni Gods. Kiana's psychological resilience wasn't strong enough, and she would have been very dazed that day.

But she wasn't.

She was a little sad, but it hadn't affected her state.

"It wasn't an accident. I saw something run away, but I didn't get a clear look at what it was."

Kiana said sheepishly, "I'm a bit concerned about that thing that ran away."

And then there was learning the identity of the deceased from Sirin, and the sin hidden beneath the flames.

Things like that were more upsetting than death.

"Just because of this? You're so curious, I'll find someone else to investigate further, and the truth will surface, won't it?"

"...I'm just curious about the thing I didn't see clearly. Let's forget it. That guy deserved to die."

As they spoke, they were nearing the sea area. It really wasn't far from Shanhai City.

Looking back, they could even see the outlines of Shanhai City's skyscrapers. Fighting here could affect Shanhai if they weren't careful.

On the sea, there was a very large cruise ship. This should be their place to stay.

They transferred to the cruise ship.

Walking on the deck at the bow of the ship, Kiana looked down at the calm sea but saw nothing.

Let alone Oni Gods, there weren't even any fish.

"We agreed, let me try my hand first."

Kiana was afraid Mei would go back on her word. This was, after all, on the sea, and a mistake could result in falling into the water.

She currently had no ability to fly.

"Don't be reckless."

"Don't worry, I'll be careful!"

"You want to join too?"

Sirin walked over after finishing her conversation with the others waiting on the ship.

"Yes."

Sirin looked at her and suddenly laughed, "For something like this, shouldn't you be discussing it with me? Raiden Mei can't let you fight on the sea."

"...Can you?"

"I can!"

Sirin placed the Imperial Blades in front of her, letting her see. "Use this."

"I don't use swords."

Kiana thought she wanted to lend her Imperial Blades and quickly shook her head. She was here to test weapons and unarmed combat.

What was the point of using Sirin's Imperial Blades?

Sirin took the sword back displeasedly and said, "So stupid. I meant I can use the Imperial Blades to create some steps for you to stand on, so you don't fall into the water without a place to stand."

"Step on air?"

"You can understand it that way."

"Having a place to stand means I don't have to worry about slipping and falling. It's indeed very practical."

"So, beg me."

Sirin looked at Kiana expectantly.

Kiana froze. She looked Sirin up and down, and before she could say anything, Mei said, "Ignore her. This is her job anyway."

The Whale Monster was followed by a large group of followers. The battle couldn't be resolved with a single strike.

"Ah?"

"You found out? You've learned quite a lot in one night, haven't you?"

"The chat is over."

Yae Sakura walked out from inside and said, "Get ready. They're about to launch torpedoes."

It was also to avoid any further complications.

They had collected most of the necessary data and could now eliminate this hidden threat.

Before long, the previously calm sea suddenly became turbulent, and even the ship they were on began to sway from the waves.

It wasn't until Sirin tapped the deck with her sword, sending out golden ripples, that the ship stopped being affected.

It was as if they were in a different space.

No matter how rough the waves were below, the ship remained completely unaffected.

"Amazing, Sirin!"

"There's something even more amazing coming."

The sea turned pitch black, as if some colossal creature was stirring up trouble beneath the waves. The sky was also affected, with heavy clouds shrouding the area.

A mournful cry, indescribable and akin to a whale's lament, echoed out. Then, a skeletal fish, as large as the ship, emerged from the sea.

Its entire body was reduced to bone, and where its eyes should have been, two clusters of eerie green flames burned. Dark energy, like resentment, coiled around the skeletal remains.

It looked like a ghost from hell.

The surrounding sea churned as if boiling, and then, a shocking sight unfolded.

Ship after ship, tattered and rotten as if they had sunk to the seabed for centuries, emerged.

On these ancient ships, only pairs of ghostly green eyes, formless within the black mist, could be seen. These were not things meant for the living world.

More strange Oni Gods and peculiar ghost ships formed a terrifying fleet on the sea in the blink of an eye.

"So many?"

Sirin frowned slightly, but then remembered she was only providing support this time, with Raiden Mei as the main force, and her frown eased.

She drew the Imperial Blades, and a golden path spread across the sea, forming sturdy roads.

"I'll leave these to you. Can you handle it?"

"I think we can."

There were quite a lot of them, but Kiana thought about it and felt it wasn't too troublesome.

They could handle it.

Mei also nodded, "Yes."

She alone was practically enough; numbers were not an advantage against her.

"Then it's up to you."

As Sirin spoke, she turned to Yae Sakura. "Go record the combat data with them. This is the first time we've seen Oni Gods appearing with ships."

70

Chapter 70: The Unending Lament

The black mist that accompanied them enveloped the entire ghost ship fleet, with bizarre Oni Gods mixed within, adding to the terror.

If this scene were captured on film, it could be used directly as promotional material for a horror movie.

Kiana spotted an Oni God and aimed, firing a shot. The bullet's power was terrifying, hitting it squarely in the head. But that wasn't all; its true power was just beginning to show. The defeated Oni God transformed into a death-like vortex, pulling all nearby creatures into it and devouring them.

That area was instantly cleared.

The power was impressive.

It was a shame there was no kill notification; she didn't know what level of Oni God she had just eliminated.

Kiana leaped from the bow of the ship, skillfully stepping onto the staircase Sirin had constructed, and moved towards the Whale Monster.

Mei followed closely behind.

However, she didn't attack, merely accompanying Kiana while observing the battlefield.

Kiana detected the source of a piercing sonic attack and other strange assaults, dodging them with extreme agility, causing casualties.

Then, the Whale Monster spat out a large cloud of green mist. There wasn't time to wonder how a skeletal fish, reduced to just a frame, could breathe.

This sickly green mist was clearly not healing; it was a potent poison.

Kiana didn't know how strong the poison was and had to retreat temporarily, unwilling to risk testing it.

A crescent-shaped lightning sword energy slashed out from several directions as she dodged backward, cutting through the poisonous mist and striking the Whale Monster's skeletal body.

Kiana also temporarily abandoned suppressing the cannon fodder, firing her remaining bullets at the Whale Monster.

"Such strong defense!"

The sword energy that Mei could casually use to eliminate other Oni Gods merely pushed the Whale Monster back slightly and angered it. Not a single bone in its body cracked.

The bullets did pierce the skeletal defense, but they didn't kill it. It had no flesh, only a skeletal body, so bullet holes couldn't inflict fatal wounds.

And as long as it didn't die, its passive ability wouldn't trigger.

There were no Oni Gods immediately beside it; those creatures and ghost ships formed a protective perimeter around it.

Her bullets were gone, so what next...

Kiana leaped, soaring high into the air. Sirin, providing support from behind, understood her intent and created a temporary foothold for her in mid-air, giving Kiana something to push off from as she rapidly closed in on the Whale Monster.

Mei took a deep breath, seeing this. "The thunder is coming."

The Oni Gods attempting an aerial attack on Kiana were struck by blood-red lightning falling from the sky, leaving only a mass of gray-black mist.

The Whale Monster's defense was astonishing, and it could spew poisonous fog. It would indeed be difficult to deal with for ordinary people.

Mei slew all the Oni Gods that ambushed them on the road. Kiana navigated through the danger, approaching rapidly, getting closer, and then her spirit was jolted.

The Whale Monster's eyes, adorned with ghost fire, possessed the power to attack the spirit.

But Kiana only faltered for a moment before leaping down from the stairs. She was now directly above the Whale Monster.

No other fancy moves.

She couldn't afford any fancy moves right now either, only using her own fists to deliver an astonishing blow.

"It's over!"

Just like when she leaped from the building before, Kiana's full-power punch landed precisely on the Whale Monster's skull.

An earth-shattering tidal wave erupted around the Whale Monster, as if something had been smashed down from tens of thousands of meters in the sky. With the fall of this unremarkable punch, the Whale Monster's body, countless times harder than steel, couldn't withstand the immense force. It was smashed into the seabed and shattered with a roar.

"Kiana!"

Mei also stopped holding back. She swung the Resonating Blade at the cowering ghost ship fleet, and three massive sword energies appeared out of thin air, slashing out rapidly.

They landed among the fleet and exploded with a boom, engulfing all the Oni Gods in a thunderous prison.

"I told you the Resonating Blade was suitable for offense, didn't I?"

Sirin marveled as she watched the Oni God fleet being shredded by lightning.

The battle hadn't even lasted three minutes.

"...I suppose you could do it too."

"No thanks, I don't have a habit of using a cannon to swat a fly. It's as if the one being corrupted by the curse is you, not me."