"By the way, who is he? Your friend?"
Bianka shifted her gaze back to Lucian and asked Mei with curiosity.
Mei immediately explained some of Lucian's deeds to Bianka, but of course, she skipped over the awkward and embarrassing first meeting at the hot spring.
"Hmm, Izumo doesn't have anyone as strong as you," Bianka said with a smile. "You must be from outside then. Being able to break through the barrier created by Sky—that's impressive."
"Well, yeah. I come from far away."
Lucian replied with a nod, keeping a friendly smile on his face and giving off the aura of a harmless, good-natured man.
"Umu, my name is Bianka Duran, by the way. Just call me Bianka," Bianka nodded in response, then drew the white sword from her waist. "If you have time, you have to tell me later what it's like outside. Is it the same as Izumo, or different? Now, I need to go help the wounded."
With that, she turned and headed toward the injured people gathered nearby.
Lucian's gaze lingered on Bianka's white sword, trying to recall memories from his original world.
If he remembered correctly, the Sentinel 'Fate' in Bianka's possession took the form of two swords, one black and one white, with the former bearing the power of death and the latter bearing the power of life.
And the white sword she had just drawn was clearly being used to heal injuries.
As someone who once played Honkai Impact 3rd, it reminded him of one of the Divine Keys known as 'Abyss Flower.'
"You've been staring at her so intensely because she's pretty, haven't you?"
Mei suddenly spoke into Lucian's ear, giving him a look full of implication.
Lucian shifted his gaze to her, and when he saw her face, he could tell that she was clearly hinting at his 'pervert' label, so he merely smiled and replied calmly.
"Yeah, she's pretty, but not as pretty as you."
"..."
Lucian's sudden flirtation left Mei momentarily dumbfounded.
Years of combat and training had never prepared her for words like that, especially when they came from a man with an unnaturally handsome appearance—it was deadly.
"What nonsense are you talking about..."
Mei immediately turned and walked away, pretending she had something to do, but in that very moment, the alarm suddenly blared again!
*WOOO—!!!* *WOOO—!!!* *WOOO—!!!*
*WOOO—!!!* *WOOO—!!!* *WOOO—!!!*
However, this round of alarm not only rang out in Wagatsuma but also rang out across the other cities.
"No way, the other cities are being invaded by kami too?!"
Mei, looking at the small device in her hand that alerted her to the kami invasion, shouted in disbelief, causing everyone to tense once more.
"I don't know why, but it looks like the kami are suddenly planning a full-scale invasion..." Bianka approached and spoke with a hint of gloom. "Be prepared—this will cost more lives than before..."
Every battle against the kami always brought countless sacrifices, and sadly, there was no way to prevent that.
"Never-ending, like a swarm of flies, huh..." Lucian commented lightly.
"You're right." Mei nodded in agreement. "Izumo's resistance has lasted over a thousand years without pause, but the kami are like maggots in the bone—impossible to eradicate."
"Hmm, then meeting me must be a blessing earned over your eight lifetimes."
"Heh, narcissist. You—"
Mei glanced at Lucian with a faint smile, wanting to retort, but before she could finish her words, Lucian began stepping into the air, one step at a time.
Seeing this, everyone on the ground was stunned.
"Hey, what are you going to do?!" Mei called out anxiously.
"What else? Exterminating all those flies, of course," Lucian responded calmly, not even turning back.
Just like Bianka had said, for some unknown reason, the kami had suddenly launched a full-scale invasion.
He didn't know whether this was originally meant to happen like this or if it was because of his arrival, but no matter what, to ensure this script completed smoothly, he needed to destroy them all.
As the desperate alarms echoed across nine cities, above them the gloomy sky of Izumo was torn open, forming countless rifts from which kami poured out like a black flood, attacking the cities simultaneously.
Each city's distress alarm sounded like a death wail, echoing continuously across the Izumo Kingdom and causing all the guardians to rush into battle.
===
In the central capital city known as 'Amatsukuni,' there stood a tall red building resembling a Japanese castle at the heart of the city, serving as the headquarters and government building of the Izumo Kingdom, called the 'Shuten Castle.'
In the command room of the Shuten Castle, the wielder of the Sentinel 'Truth' coordinated the entire situation, commanding the other guardians from the back.
Her name was Houraiji Kyuusyou, a noble young woman with long dark-purple hair, dressed in a sharp military officer's uniform with an open coat draped over her shoulders and a monocle on her right eye.
Unlike Mei and Bianka, she didn't have horns, but when one looked carefully, both pupils of her eyes were surprisingly not those of humans but those of reptiles, flaring with a sky-blue hue.
As she heard reports coming in from all cities, where dense swarms of kami poured in like ants, her face tensed as she realized that a massive sense of crisis, the worst crisis that had ever happened, had enveloped Izumo.
"Don't know how much we'll have to pay this time to fend off a kami invasion this big…"
===
In 'Soukyuu,' a city surrounded by mountains where the most rifts had appeared, a young woman with long, bright purple hair flowing behind her back, with two dark-purple horns rising from her head, and wearing an elegant white-and-purple kimono already stood ready atop a mountain.
Her name was Sirin, one of the twelve guardians, the wielder of the Sentinel 'Sky,' and also the one who had erected the barrier surrounding Izumo.
"Come at me and die!"
With an arrogant gaze, Sirin exclaimed as she released her Sentinel's power, shooting countless golden spears of light that pierced the incoming kami like birds being shot down.
Unfortunately, such continuous release of light spears drained her energy quickly, and gradually her breathing grew heavy while her movements steadily slowed.
===
In Wagatsuma, a while after Lucian disappeared into the sky, Mei had just finished cutting down a horde of kami when another horde suddenly descended from rifts in the sky.
"Tch..."
Seeing yet another horde of kami invading the city she guarded, Mei clicked her tongue in irritation before quickly advancing with the crackling Howl, slashing kami after kami with her purple lightning.
===
Wendy Amor, a short, black-greenish-haired young woman clad in a white dress, with glowing green horns rising from her head, was the wielder of the Sentinel 'Mist,' and she was the one who guarded 'Kazetani,' a city surrounded by a vast valley.
"Troublesome... I need to take it seriously this time..."
Even though she looked somewhat listless in both her tone and expression, her attack was deadly and powerful as she unleashed invisible, giant wind blades from afar that easily cut countless kami to pieces, while those approaching her were cut to pieces by the storm that protected her.
As time passed, however, the storm that was circling her body began to shrink, while the wind blades she unleashed grew fewer and smaller.
Realizing her weakening power, Wendy's forehead began to grow slick with sweat.
"I'm screwed..."
===
Ana Mistilteinn, a young woman with long, soft ecru hair that trailed into white at the tips and icy blue horns on her forehead, wearing a white dress and brown fur coat, was the wielder of the Sentinel 'Frost,' a guardian who protected the snowbound city known as 'Hyoufuu.'
From her appearance and demeanor, one's impression of her would be that of a noble, sheltered woman, timid in nature, yet her gaze, as she faced the horde of kami, was unwavering and determined.
As the kami approached the city she guarded, she raised Frost without hesitation and chanted a mantra, creating a massive ice dome that not only covered the entire city but also froze many kami that were caught in its path.
Unfortunately, the combined assault of the countless, ever-increasing kami quickly cracked the ice dome, weakening the cold that sustained it.
"No! Too many! I can't hold them alone!"
Ana complained in distress and gripped her Sentinel anxiously.
===
Bianka Duran, the wielder of the Sentinel 'Fate,' had drawn the black sword of death from her waist, and any kami struck by it evaporated instantly without even having the chance to scream.
"Where did he go?"
As she slashed one kami after another while running and jumping from one building to another, Bianka couldn't help but wonder as she glanced up at the gloomy sky from time to time.
===
Akabane Himiko, the wielder of the Sentinel 'Flare,' guarded the volcanic mining city called 'Shakugan.'
Aside from her quite different-sounding name compared to the Nameless Himeko, Himiko's features truly looked remarkably alike—except that Himiko looked slightly younger.
Adding to that, unlike the lady-like Himeko, Himiko not only had a fiery temper and a brazen nature, but she also styled her long crimson hair in a ponytail, which made her appear heroic and valiant rather than possessing Himeko's refined elegance.
Like Mei, Himiko also had two red horns rising from her head, though her horns looked slightly distorted and brighter due to the extreme heat they emitted.
Whenever Himiko swung Flare, the ground erupted in flames, forcing the kami that were struck to roar in agony.
Unfortunately, while the flames caused by Flare were powerful and could kill the kami easily, maintaining such a wide-area attack repeatedly against their never-ending numbers still exhausted her, as shown by how she was now panting hard like a set of bellows.
"Hahh... Hahhh... Dammit... A bunch of pests! Bring it on!"
===
Senti, a slender young woman dressed in a stylish black and white sleeveless kimono, with two gray horns rising from her head and ashen long hair that flowed in soft, moonlit waves like twilight caught in motion, was now guarding Amatsukuni with her Sentinel, 'Thought.'
Unlike the other guardians who fought quite straightforwardly, however, her way of fighting involved creating illusions of light and shadow with her Sentinel, making the kami fight among themselves.
Unfortunately, the stronger kami could see through her tricks, forcing her to change tactics and leaving her brain, which was not good at thinking, exhausted.
"You worthless trash!"
Dodging left and right, Senti yelled angrily while giving the horde of kami the middle finger.
===
Azta Ishat, the wielder of the Sentinel 'Root,' guarded the city surrounded by rocky terrains called 'Iwayama.'
Unlike the other guardians, who looked like high-schoolers or young women in their twenties, she looked like a middle-schooler.
Azta had short, light-brown hair that reached her neck, with two little brown horns poking out from her head. Her body was short and slender, and she was clad in a white dress with a dark brown scarf covering her neck, which made her look quite delicate.
Despite her delicate appearance, however, her power was anything but delicate, since her Sentinel allowed her to control rocks, move mountains, and even reshape the terrain with just a wave of her hands.
Even so, with the seemingly never-ending and numerous kami, this was undoubtedly not a long-term solution.
"When will this end..."
===
Xuanyuan, the wielder of the Sentinel 'Form,' was the guardian of 'Mizunagi,' a port city built near a massive river crossing where countless streams converged.
Her small body, clad in a black armored kimono, along with a single black horn on her forehead, made her look intimidating, especially when combined with the dark aura that now covered her body.
Among the twelve guardians, she would easily rank within the top three in terms of combat power, thanks to her Sentinel, which could steal the kami's divine abilities.
At this moment, she wielded more than ten different abilities, making her an especially troublesome opponent to deal with.
"Such annoying nuisances..."
===
Theresa, the wielder of the Sentinel 'Bind,' was a white-haired girl with two golden horns on her head and a body so short that her Sentinel stood even taller than she did, making her the shortest and the youngest-looking among the twelve guardians.
Of course, this was only in terms of appearance, not age.
At this moment, she was guarding Amatsukuni like Senti, running through the streets while waving Bind, which spewed countless chains that allowed her to bind the kami and nullify their abilities, reducing them to powerless, ordinary beasts before she slashed them down with the blade of her Sentinel.
===
Yae Sakura, the wielder of the Sentinel 'Maw,' guarded the city surrounded by forest, known as 'Jakusei.'
She was a young woman with pink hair styled in a bun, and instead of having horns like the others, she had a pair of long fox ears poking out atop her head. Her body was clad in a white kimono laced with crimson and gold, with several red armor plates covering the vital parts of her body, while her face was covered by a white fox mask, making her presence exude an air of mystery.
Jumping from one tree branch to another, she silently swung Maw like an assassin, felling kami left and right and draining them until they decayed.
Still, just like the struggles faced by the other guardians, the kami she faced were too many and were pouring in too fast, causing her to have a hard time keeping up. It was only a matter of time before she got exhausted and got swarmed by the kami.
===
On different battlefields, the roars of kami, the cries of soldiers, and the collapse of buildings filled the air of the Izumo Kingdom.
Every guardian gave their all, yet the kami were endless, surging like an endless tide, for no matter how many were slain, another would always replace them.
In just several minutes, some of the guardians began to feel fatigue, while the kami not only showed no reduction in their numbers but instead seemed to increase even further, making the guardians unable to help but feel a deepening sense of despair.
As a shadow of despair began to hang over all of the Izumo Kingdom, and as the majority of people thought today was the end, those on the ground began to notice a black-clad young man high in the gloomy sky, walking among the horde of kami and reaching toward the biggest rift in the sky.
"Hey, who's that? How can he stand in the sky?"
"I don't know..."
"What is he trying to do?"
===
[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
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