"Mei! This way!" Kiana yanked Raiden Mei aside, then calmly aimed her gun at the head of the Assault-type Honkai Beast and fired.
The Colt Python was a large-frame double-action revolver designed and produced by the American Colt company. After undergoing special modifications, the gun had become her lifeline.
The Kaslana family's Gun Kata was a genuine battlefield martial art. Combined with the power of firearms and excellent physical ability, it was only thanks to this that Kiana could protect Mei, who had never experienced a life-or-death battle, and survive in this city that had become the end of the world.
The girl had never expected Honkai to arrive so suddenly. Decades of peace in this city had been shattered to pieces by Honkai in an instant.
Millions of lives had turned into Zombies because of Honkai Infection. Her usually strict yet tolerant homeroom teacher, the kind auntie at the convenience store, the old grandfather by the entrance with his failing eyesight, and her lively, cheerful classmates had all become Zombies.
To let their bodies rest in peace and prevent them from becoming Honkai's claws, Kiana killed the Zombies they had turned into.
There had been many lovely people in this city, but beneath Honkai, everything was as fragile as a fleeting illusion—beautiful, yet unreal.
What weighed even more heavily on the girl's heart was the absent Satou Yunona and the unresponsive Su Qing'an.
She understood that whether it was the missing Satou Yunona or Su Qing'an, they might simply be people whose bodies could no longer be found.
Kiana had already exhausted herself just barely stopping Mei from becoming a Herrscher and escaping the academy. She had no energy left to search the entire academy for Satou Yunona.
It had been a strange phenomenon. They had clearly still been in class before Honkai arrived, yet after everyone around them turned into Zombies, Satou Yunona had inexplicably vanished.
After trying to search for her, their stamina and ammunition had gradually been depleted by the endless harassment of Honkai Beasts and Zombies. In the end, they had no choice but to flee in a sorry state.
While preparing to escape, Kiana and Mei had both sensed a terrifying Honkai Energy reaction suddenly descending near the academy. The girl understood without a doubt that it was far beyond anything she could handle at present.
An Emperor-class Honkai Beast, Kiana guessed.
If they faced an Honkai Beast of that level with their current equipment, they would most likely die in battle.
Even a Temple-type was already beyond what she could handle. Kiana knew her own limits; with her equipment, she was already struggling against thick-skinned Chariot-class and Knight-class Honkai Beasts.
Even a specially made, high-powered pistol would be no more than an ant trying to stop a chariot against an Honkai Beast of that level.
Fortunately, that powerful Honkai Energy reaction soon moved away from the academy.
This allowed them to leave Senba Academy safely.
Afterward, during a brief rest, Kiana tried sending an email to Su Qing'an. Only about two hours had passed since Honkai descended upon the city, and the signal was still strong enough for mobile phones to communicate.
But she received no reply.
Her hand tightened around her phone. It was Su Qing'an's birthday present to her, and a cute rabbit charm hung from it—the gift Satou Yunona had given her that day.
She rarely received gifts.
Very rarely.
Raiden Mei, sitting beside her, seemed to understand and hugged the girl. She stroked Kiana's white hair and comforted her. "It's all right, Kiana. The shopkeeper's martial arts are amazing. He won't get into trouble that easily."
"Mm." The girl's reply was as soft as a mosquito's buzz.
It was a lie. Both Kiana and Mei understood that.
Men had very weak resistance to Honkai Energy. Kiana's father could barely be considered an exception, and that was only because the Kaslana family's bloodline was powerful.
In all her wandering, she had never seen a man survive Honkai Energy Infection by chance. Even if Su Qing'an's martial arts were highly advanced, Honkai Energy Infection was an overwhelming suppression. Without the corresponding resistance, none of it mattered.
Kiana had few friends. Su Qing'an and Satou Yunona had both already become indispensable parts of her everyday memories. The happiness she had found during her days in Changkong City exceeded everything she had gained throughout her four years of wandering.
Yet in such a short time, everything had already been destroyed, and memories could only remain memories.
Su Qing'an. Satou Yunona.
Honkai. Honkai.
The girl silently repeated those words. Pain and fury nearly twisted her will. She wanted to cry out loud, roar with all her strength, kill Honkai Beasts, and destroy everything.
But in the end, held gently in Mei's arms, Kiana felt a maternal warmth she had never received since childhood.
Kiana knew that Raiden Mei's inner torment was absolutely no less than her own. For a kind girl like her, the more than 2.3 million souls lost in this city had nearly crushed her completely.
The desire for self-destruction had taken root and sprouted in her soul. No matter who was behind the scheme controlling the Herrscher Core within her body, the girl had truly borne all the deaths in this city.
She could barely breathe. She no longer wanted to live. She wanted to abandon everything. But it was Kiana who had pulled her transformed self out of the abyss. So even if it was only to become Kiana's support, Raiden Mei could not collapse now!
For that reason, the girl, whose heart and will had both reached their limits, managed to hold on.
Raiden Mei and Kiana became the spiritual pillars that kept each other's wills from collapsing, allowing them to continue fighting.
They buried their sorrow and pain deep within their hearts.
But for the sake of helping each other escape this purgatory and survive, Kiana and Raiden Mei overcame their immense mental setbacks and continued fighting and struggling through this apocalyptic world.
After that, she and Mei fled all the way to the present. Many things happened along the way, and the journey had been full of hardships.
Yet neither Su Qing'an's usual Dojo nor the coffee shop held any sign of him, causing Kiana's spirits to sink uncontrollably for a time.
"Boom!" A miniature missile directly killed a Chariot-class Honkai Beast, and a petite girl descended from the air beside Raiden Mei.
The fourteen-year-old girl had light-gray curly hair and eyes. Not a trace of emotion showed on her adorable face. Only the Hoam doll she clutched tightly in the crook of her arm revealed a hint of innocence belonging to her age.
She was small, dressed in clothing with a slightly military style, and had detachable exoskeleton armor fitted to her legs.
"Mission complete." The expressionless girl spoke in a mechanical tone.
"You showed up at just the right time. Thank you so much, Bronya!" Mei affectionately rubbed the girl's little head, praising Bronya for defeating the Chariot-class Honkai Beast that had tried to approach them.
"Hmph. It was nothing. I could have handled a mere Chariot-class myself."
"You almost dragged me into it, you useless little runt."
Watching the two of them act so close, Kiana pointed at Bronya in exasperation.
To be honest, Kiana looked a little stupid like this.
But it couldn't be helped. After all, they had fought a battle to the death earlier, and Bronya had even brought a group of mechs to surround them. With such a massive disparity in equipment, the battle had been extremely dangerous.
Although both of them had judged that joining forces with Bronya would give them a greater chance of leaving Changkong City alive, and had formed a team for that reason,
it was still strange no matter how one looked at it that they had become so close so quickly.
But Kiana herself had not noticed that although she appeared to hate Bronya, deep down, she actually did not.
"Kiana safety priority... zero. System determines that life and death need not be considered."
"Are you trying to start a war?" Kiana bristled.
"Bronya's confirmed probability of victory is 99.999999 percent."
"Mine is 100 percent!" Kiana angrily retorted like a child.
Raiden Mei watched the two bicker and found it somewhat amusing.
But in a hell like this, how long could such warmth possibly last?
Before you continue