The black mist that rose with the ghost fleet engulfed the entire formation. Strange and twisted Kami swam within it, adding an even deeper layer of dread.
Captured on camera, this scene alone could serve as a perfect horror movie poster.
Kiana locked onto one of the specters, aimed, and fired. The bullet struck with terrifying force, blowing its head apart. But that wasn't all—the true power of her shot manifested afterward. The slain spirit turned into a reaper-like vortex, pulling every nearby creature into its center and devouring them whole.
That section of the sea was instantly cleared.
Not bad.
Too bad there was no indicator to tell her what class of Kami she had just destroyed.
Kiana leapt from the bow, landing lightly on the golden steps Sirin had conjured, and advanced toward the Whale of Transfiguration.
Mei followed close behind.
She didn't attack, merely shadowing Kiana while surveying the battlefield.
Screeching sonic waves erupted from the mist, but Kiana was quick—she spotted their source instantly. A barrage of bizarre, unpredictable attacks followed, yet she dodged each one with sharp precision, leaving trails of destruction behind her.
Then the Whale exhaled a vast cloud of green mist. There was no time to ponder how a creature made entirely of bone could even breathe.
The sickly green hue was clearly toxic.
Whatever it was, Kiana wasn't foolish enough to test it. She retreated swiftly, avoiding the poisonous cloud.
At that moment, several crescent arcs of thunderous swordlight sliced through the haze, cutting cleanly into the Whale's skeletal body.
Kiana ceased suppressing the lesser enemies, emptying the rest of her bullets into the Whale.
"Its defense is insane!"
Mei's thunderblade, which could easily obliterate other Kami, merely knocked the creature back—cracking none of its bones, only enraging it.
Kiana's bullets pierced through its ribcage but failed to bring it down. With no flesh, only bone, bullet holes alone couldn't deliver a fatal blow.
And without killing it, her passive couldn't trigger.
Its underlings kept their distance, surrounding the Whale like an honor guard.
Out of ammunition, Kiana prepared for the next step.
She launched herself high into the air. Reading her intent instantly, Sirin formed a temporary platform beneath her feet, giving her a foothold midair. Kiana used it to propel herself even higher, closing the distance rapidly.
Seeing this, Mei inhaled deeply. "Thunder shall descend."
Any Kami that tried to ambush Kiana from above was instantly obliterated by scarlet lightning, reduced to drifting black ash.
The Whale's defense was monstrous, and its poisonous breath made it even worse. For most people, this battle would have been hopeless.
But not for them.
Every obstacle was cleaved apart by Mei's strikes, leaving a clear path for Kiana.
She raced forward through chaos and death, and as she neared the creature, a sudden wave of psychic force hit her.
The Whale's eerie green eyes—its twin flames—carried mental energy that tore into the mind.
Kiana's vision blurred for a second, but she quickly recovered, leaping off the final step.
She was directly above the Whale.
No gimmicks.
No tricks.
Just one punch.
"Time to end this!"
Like the time she had jumped from a skyscraper, Kiana's fist came crashing down with full force.
A titanic wave erupted around the Whale—like something had fallen from the heavens themselves. The seemingly ordinary punch shattered its body completely. The Whale's steel-hard skeleton cracked, then collapsed, slamming into the depths below.
"Kiana!"
Mei unleashed her power, swinging Howl with a cry. Three immense arcs of swordlight slashed across the sea, exploding upon impact.
The ghostly fleet was consumed by the storm of lightning.
"Didn't I say Howl was made for offense?"
Sirin clicked her tongue in admiration as the thunderstorm devoured the phantom ships.
The fight hadn't even lasted three minutes.
"…You could do the same if you wanted."
"Please, I'm not the type to use a cannon to kill a mosquito. Let the curse corrosion stay your problem, not mine."
Ahead, Raiden Mei dove straight into the water, reaching for Kiana.
The Whale, shattered by that single blow, dissolved into thick black vapor—condensing before Kiana into a dark crystal.
Kiana drifted in the water, entranced, staring blankly at the pitch-black crystal in her hand.
Mei didn't care whether she was in a daze or not—once she found her, she grabbed Kiana by the shoulders and pulled her up to the surface.
"Kiana?"
She called again, but Kiana only frowned, unresponsive, until Mei snatched the crystal from her grasp.
It was far more disturbing than any cursed core they had encountered before—its touch evoked a suffocating sense of emptiness, as if existence itself held no meaning.
Yet, at the end of that void, faintly, there pulsed an unextinguished sorrow—an emotion so mournful it pierced the soul.
What… is this?
[Unextinguished Lament (Stigma Material)]
Kiana took it back, expressionless, and casually tossed the object that could erode one's will into her personal storage space.
"…"
With the crystal gone, Mei finally returned to her senses, though the trace of that hollowness seemed burned into her heart.
"Mei, are you alright?"
The thunderstorm had purged every last Kami. Those slain by Mei's blade dissolved into black energy, drifting toward her weapon, Howl, seeking to merge with it.
Rejected, they instead solidified into several black crystals, which Kiana collected one by one.
"…What exactly are the Kami?"
The thought struck Mei suddenly. She had never questioned it before—Kami were invaders from Takamagahara, after all.
But those ships hadn't been real—they were conjurations, manifestations of the Kami's power.
If the vessels weren't genuine wrecks…
Then what about the tattered banners fluttering upon them?
Could the Whale have once been a fallen Sentinel of Izumo?
"Maybe Sirin would know."
Kiana didn't have an answer either. The Sentinels had been slaying Kami for a thousand years—surely, they'd uncovered something by now.
When they returned to the ship—
"You really killed that Whale with a single punch?"
Sirin circled around Kiana in disbelief, eyeing her unremarkable hands.
She had thought Kiana merely smashed the creature into the sea—not literally to death.
How much strength did that even take?
"Would I lie about that?"
Kiana raised her fist proudly. "That punch hit with at least a thousandfold power!"
Sirin stared at her hand, then recalled the Whale's indestructible bones. She silently took a cautious step back.
Terrifying.
"But still not strong enough," Kiana said. "When I can punch an entire planet apart—that'll be real strength."
"…You really don't have to go that far."
She was already terrifying enough as she was. The idea of punching a planet apart was beyond comprehension.
The others needed the Edict Edge to slay the Whale. Kiana, on the other hand, had done it on her own—she was a walking calamity, a human-shaped dragon.
Or rather… a human-shaped Kami.
And seriously—who in their right mind would want to punch a planet apart?!