"…That's not really necessary, is it?"
She had never expected Yae Sakura to show up together with Sirin. Other than muttering a few times about how hard Yae Sakura had hit her, she hadn't really thought about the woman since their last encounter.
Judging by the blade she carried, Yae Sakura clearly had no intention of returning home before Heaven's Winter Cloak was complete.
"I hope you'll accept it," Yae Sakura said, removing an extra sword from her waist and offering it to Kiana.
Kiana had assumed that the second sword she carried would be Narukami—that she had come to return it.
But no—it was a gift.
"I'll take it, but only if you promise never to bring up that incident again. If you agree, I'll accept it."
Honestly, getting pinned down after being overly persistent was a bit of a dark mark on her record. Whenever someone mentioned it, she couldn't help but feel embarrassed—remembering not only what happened that day, but also how powerless she had felt.
From her perspective, Yae Sakura had simply run out of patience and had no choice but to subdue her.
"No problem," Yae Sakura replied.
Kiana exhaled in relief, accepting the apology gift while glancing at Mei's expression.
Mei gave her a small nod.
If the apology was sincere, she had no reason to hold onto anger. Her earlier sharpness had been intentional—a way to test Yae Sakura's attitude, to see whether she had acted out of malice.
Kiana was far too trusting.
Mei didn't want her to place faith in the wrong people—and end up hurt again.
"Then let's talk about that 'decision' again," Mei said, effectively closing the chapter on past grievances—the stolen blade and everything that had followed.
[Cursed Blade (A+): Forged at the cost of fifty-six Kami lives. The conflicting powers within the blade cause tenfold corrosion to its wielder.
Special Effects: Hundred Oni (The blade can contain the power of up to one hundred Kami, each granting a 5% damage boost); Spiritbound (Unleash the blade's curse to temporarily increase all stats by 300%. During the effect, corrosion doubles, and the user continuously suffers from curse erosion).]
[Recycle Value: Due to fusion loss during the forging process, reclaiming this weapon yields only 38,000 Honkai Cubes.]
Just from the description, it seemed quite powerful—up to 500% in stacked effects, plus a 300% all-stat bonus.
But looking closer…
Good grief. Tenfold corrosion baseline, and when the active skill was triggered, it doubled again—twentyfold corrosion.
Who could possibly endure that kind of punishment?
"You can offer it as a sacrifice or keep it as a collection piece, but don't use it," Sirin warned, noticing Kiana's awestruck expression as she examined Yae Sakura's gift.
"Normally, to forge a cursed blade, you start by slaying a powerful Kami with an ordinary sword," Sirin explained. "Then, you use that same blade to kill weaker Kami—feeding their energy to the first, letting their essence become nourishment for the stronger one. That method does increase the weapon's corruption on the body, but at least it stays manageable."
Sirin gestured toward Yae Sakura, signaling her to explain the rest to Mei. After all, Yae Sakura had sat through plenty of command briefings—she knew just as much as Sirin did.
"I don't know how many Kami she killed with that blade," Sirin continued, "but I do know it wasn't made from any of Command's standard materials. Which means it definitely wasn't forged the conventional way."
No reports had surfaced of any high-tier Kami nearby at the time, so Yae Sakura must have started with mid-tier ones—and slain quite a few of them in quick succession.
"There's that much to it?" Kiana gaped. "That sounds like a nightmare. Doesn't that mean you guys barely have any usable swords?"
"Exactly," Sirin said with a wry laugh. "If not for that limitation, Izumo would've long outnumbered the invaders from Takamagahara. Even discounting the blades that wore down over the centuries, the number of cursed blades forged over a thousand years would've been massive—enough to arm millions."
"You've probably heard Yae Sakura mention the story of the Yaoyorozu no Kami, right? The 'Eight Million Gods' isn't meant literally—it just means 'countless.'"
"Tch. And then there are the ones who willingly turned into Oni themselves, those who were corrupted by their power. Even after a thousand years of fighting, they're still not gone. Every now and then, new pests crawl out—and I have to go deal with them myself."
"But as long as the Twelve Kami are all defeated, Izumo should finally find peace from this calamity," Sirin said, her tone brightening as she spoke.
"…Why do you say that?" Kiana asked.
"It's what the pioneers left behind," Sirin explained easily. "They said that once the twelve most powerful Kami are slain, all the invaders will be driven back to Takamagahara."
"So you all believe that once the Twelve Kami are completely eradicated, Izumo will have won, right?"
"I know what you're trying to say, but think about it—if we can even defeat the strongest twelve, what could the weaker ones possibly do?"
"…"
That was true.
But Izumo's true enemy wasn't only Takamagahara—it was also the shadow that had already fallen over the land.
'We held in our hands the hope for tomorrow, claiming victory after victory—'
'Until… all of them were broken.'
For some reason, Kiana suddenly recalled those two lines from Acheron's PV.
"What's with that look?"
Sirin leaned in close, her face full of curiosity as she peered at Kiana's pursed lips.
"Don't tell me you disagree?"
"What if I said… it's not the end at all, but rather—"
"Oh, I get it! You're talking about the Honkai, right?" Sirin slapped her forehead, realizing what she'd forgotten. "But don't worry so much. We can handle Kami, so the Honkai won't be a problem either. If we can't even deal with Kami, then worrying about the Honkai is just asking for more headaches."
No… what I'm worried about is the kind of void that clings to you once you're tainted—something you can't escape, no matter where you go.
"Alright, enough of that. I brought everything I promised you. Come on, let's head outside—I'll give it all to you now."
"Really? Great!"
The moment Kiana heard that Sirin had brought the things she wanted most, her eyes lit up, and any thoughts of the void vanished instantly.
There'd be time to worry about that later.
For now, the most important thing was getting stronger—becoming the One-Punch Woman.
She'd already thought it through: for her, becoming a one-punch powerhouse was the most cost-effective path.
Happily, she followed Sirin out of the shrine to the open courtyard, while Mei merely glanced their way before returning to her unfinished conversation with Yae Sakura.
Through Yae Sakura's detailed explanations, Mei had come to understand what kind of organization the godslaying Sentinels truly were—and what the so-called "decision" everyone mentioned yesterday had actually been.
Kiana was right: Miss Yae really was quite a good person.