"Are you alright?!"
Kiana finally burst onto the ground floor, panting heavily as she saw Raiden Mei standing beside a corpse, her long blade crackling with lightning.
"Unfortunately, I was a step too late," Mei said with regret in her voice. No one had expected a Kami to attack civilians at a time like this.
Was it because of Almighty Thunder's descent?
"It's the shrine maiden of Narukami!"
Among the frightened crowd nearby, someone recognized Mei—still dressed in her red and white shrine maiden robes from earlier that day.
The Narukami Shrine wasn't far from here. Most residents had visited at least once, out of curiosity or for worship.
Seeing the shrine maiden slay a monster with a lightning-imbued blade, many instinctively saw her as a savior sent from the heavens.
"What happened just now?"
Kiana's eyes fell on the corpse—a man whose chest had been ripped open, his blood pooling across the ground. She recognized him.
He was a middle-aged man with a limp who ran a small sushi stand nearby. Kiana sometimes bought dinner from him after work.
The sight of the body turned her stomach. It was the first time she had ever seen a corpse—worse, someone she knew.
But rather than fear or nausea, what filled her chest was a suffocating sense of anger.
"I… I don't know," someone answered shakily, clearly still in shock. "There was this huge sound from the sky, and everything went dark all of a sudden. Then we heard Osaka-san scream, and we saw… we saw this monster with a lizard's head…"
Despite the terror, the witness tried their best to recount what had happened clearly, afraid to miss a detail.
"I… I saw it…"
A frail girl raised a trembling hand, her voice stuttering as she pointed forward. "It—it appeared out of nowhere… red eyes, I saw a pair of red eyes behind Osaka-san and then—ahhh! It's standing up! It's standing up!"
The girl screamed and pointed at Mei, terror flooding her face as she stumbled backward. She tripped over something, hit the ground, and scrambled away on hands and knees.
Mei's eyes narrowed. She turned sharply and swung her blade behind her.
But just before the strike connected, she froze.
It wasn't a Kami.
It was Osaka—the man who had just died.
Her blade cut through his body, and Mei leapt back—but the expected spray of blood never came.
"Monster! It's a monster!"
The bisected body collapsed into a pool of black liquid—but it didn't stop there. The dark ooze twisted and reshaped itself into a faceless humanoid creature.
It was met with another of Mei's strikes.
"Ordinary slashes don't work?" Mei muttered, frowning as she noticed the creature's resilience. Her blade crackled with renewed lightning.
Her figure blurred—her movements too fast to follow—as a flurry of strikes rained down, cutting the monster into countless fragments.
"Lightning Flash!"
The final strike fell. Thunder roared.
The black creature disintegrated into nothingness, leaving behind only a single dark crystal that clattered to the ground.
At least it could be killed.
But that crystal…
Was it the remnant of the Kami she had slain earlier?
So refusing that strange energy caused it to solidify into these crystals? These cursed blades really were strange.
"What's that? I'll go check."
"Don't!"
Hearing Kiana's voice, Mei immediately grabbed her arm, stopping her before she could step forward.
"Don't worry about me," Kiana said, patting Mei's hand. "It won't affect me. But we can't just leave it here—what if it attaches to someone else?"
"But…"
Kiana shook her head, lowering her voice slightly. "Relax. I have Honkai Energy too. And I'm… well, probably stronger than a Kami."
"…Let me handle it."
Mei released her grip and started forward, but Kiana quickly caught her wrist. "Don't take unnecessary risks, Mei."
"You know it's dangerous—so why are you still doing it?" Raiden Mei chided softly as she patted Kiana's hand, crouched down, and picked up the black crystal.
Its surface was solid—like some kind of gemstone.
But the moment it touched her skin, a wave of repulsion ran through her body. Every instinct screamed to let go of it, to get it as far away from her as possible.
It felt just like yesterday.
So this was the root cause—the reason the blade had become a cursed weapon.
It didn't seem immediately dangerous, though.
Before Kiana could say anything, Mei extended the black crystal toward her. "See if it's useful."
"Mei…" Kiana puffed her cheeks in protest, clearly unhappy with Mei's impulsiveness.
"My feelings are the same as yours," Mei replied, seizing the opportunity to lecture her. "Now you understand how I feel, don't you?"
"…It's not the same," Kiana muttered, shifting her attention to the crystal. It felt similar to the corrupted blade from before.
[Inferior Energy Crystal (C): Energy crystal, usable for upgrading the 'Cursed Blade' series equipment]
[Suggestion: Recycle for decomposition]
There was nothing worth keeping. She'd already dismantled the cursed blade yesterday—keeping this shard served no purpose.
She whispered the command in her mind: Recycle.
Golden light shimmered around her hand. The dark crystal lifted into the air, trembling before shattering into countless golden particles.
[Inferior Energy Crystal (C) recycled. You have obtained 100 Honkai Cubes. Honkai Cubes can be exchanged for goods in the Shop.]
The unpleasant aura vanished instantly.
Kiana gained another hundred Honkai Cubes. This time, instead of ignoring it, she decided to check the so-called Shop.
She needed a weapon.
Two hundred cubes probably wouldn't buy anything impressive, but even the smallest gain was still progress. She had to at least see what the cheapest weapon cost.
Open Shop.
Rows of glowing panels materialized before her, just like a game interface. Each box displayed equipment and items—every single one of them in green.
"Kiana?" Mei called softly.
"Don't worry, Mei—I'm just checking the offering results…"
Offering results? Mei's brow furrowed slightly.
Which god did Kiana serve?
The God of Honkai, perhaps?
Sliding her blade back into its sheath, Raiden Mei turned her attention toward the nearby civilians still hiding behind walls and vehicles. She knew what Kiana would do next—escort them to the shelter—so she decided to calm them down while Kiana finished.
Once Kiana was done, they would lead these people toward safety, then move on to scout other areas for any remaining Kami.
Mei cast another glance toward the storm-filled horizon. Her keen eyes caught faint flashes of artillery fire striking the monstrous silhouette far away—the battle against Almighty Thunder had begun.
She silently prayed—hoping her father was safe.