While Inaba Tsukiyo and Seele were fighting together, Kiana had already arrived at the entrance of the Nine Realms, where she met the already arrived Himeko and Fu Hua.
"Kiana, what happened with you two? Why have we been unable to contact you since earlier?"
As soon as Himeko and Fu Hua arrived at the entrance, they continuously tried to contact Kiana and Inaba Tsukiyo to inquire about their situation.
Because Kiana was carrying someone, Himeko was very worried whether Kiana and Inaba Tsukiyo would be caught by the Honkai Fish swarm behind them.
"That idiot! That idiot... She, she unfastened the chain, Aunt Himeko."
Kiana, who had finally calmed down, showed the chain on her body to Himeko. The chain had been unfastened from the other end; Inaba Tsukiyo had actively unfastened her side of the chain.
The reason Himeko couldn't contact Kiana was because Kiana's diving suit's device was temporarily affected, which prevented contact with Kiana.
"What? What did you just say? What do you mean she unfastened the chain?"
Himeko grabbed Kiana, pulling her by the collar, and questioned her.
"Major Himeko, don't be impulsive. The chain was unfastened from Classmate Inaba's end, which means Classmate Inaba voluntarily unfastened it."
Fu Hua stopped Himeko. Not staying calm at this moment would only cause unnecessary trouble.
Himeko put Kiana down, held her head, and thought about what Theresa had told her before they set off.
Kiana and Inaba Tsukiyo were both students Theresa thought highly of. Theresa had specifically instructed her to pay close attention to the safety of Kiana and Inaba Tsukiyo during this mission.
However... now, the mission hadn't even been completed, and Inaba Tsukiyo was left there alone, facing so many Honkai Fish. This... Thinking of this, Himeko walked towards the entrance, but before she had taken a few steps, Fu Hua grabbed her shoulder and stopped her.
"Major Himeko, please remember our mission. This time, we are here to retrieve the divine key."
"Of course I know! But… that guy!"
"Of course… I understand Major Himeko's thoughts, but this is Classmate Inaba's wish. She stayed there alone to buy us time. Even if you went back, so much time has passed that it would probably be useless."
Fu Hua's composure was terrifyingly calm, but her words made Kiana and Himeko break out in a cold sweat.
Even if they ran back to save her now, given the number of Honkai fish from before, they probably wouldn't even find a trace of Inaba Tsukiyo.
"…Let's go. I will explain everything to Theresa when we get back."
Her tightly clenched right hand relaxed, and Himeko calmly left these words before walking towards the depths of Nine Netherworld.
She had seen too many people sacrifice their lives to fight the Honkai. The deaths of her comrades had made her accustomed to such scenes.
To ensure their sacrifices weren't in vain, she had to complete this mission and find the legendary divine key.
At this moment, Inaba Tsukiyo, who the three had presumed sacrificed, was panting heavily, looking at the blood-stained seawater, and recovering her strength.
Even with Seele's help, dealing with so many Honkai fish at once was still a bit too much.
Although she was somewhat injured, her life was still intact, and that was enough.
"So amazing…"
Seele had been keeping her mouth wide open since the beginning, the battle just now completely exceeding her comprehension.
Seele had originally planned to fight alongside Inaba Tsukiyo, but halfway through, she realized there was nothing for her to do; her role was simply to replenish Inaba Tsukiyo's Honkai Energy in time.
What exactly happened just now? Why did Inaba Tsukiyo's weapon turn into a long sword that could burn even underwater? Why could Inaba Tsukiyo use instant transmission in the water?
'Is this… is this Big Sister Tsukiyo's true power?'
Recalling when she had entered Inaba Tsukiyo's body earlier, the Honkai consciousness inside Inaba Tsukiyo had mentioned Inaba Tsukiyo's uniqueness. This made Seele very curious if Inaba Tsukiyo was hiding some secret she didn't know.
Now it seemed Inaba Tsukiyo had indeed hidden many secrets, and these secrets were even more numerous than imagined.
"Seele… please take me to the entrance of Nine Netherworld next. I need to rest properly now."
"Ah? Oh! I… I understand."
Seele nodded and used Honkai Energy to carry Inaba Tsukiyo's body, rushing towards the direction of the trench.
Without the threat of Honkai fish, Inaba Tsukiyo quickly arrived at the entrance of Nine Netherworld.
Here, Inaba Tsukiyo saw the helmets left by Himeko and Fu Hua, indicating that they had all arrived safely.
"This place feels so strange to me… It doesn't seem like a cave, but more like the inside of a giant creature."
Inaba Tsukiyo had felt strange since the beginning. Why did this cave almost entirely emit faint Honkai Energy, just like some kind of creature?
"Perhaps it's because Chiyou is sealed here. During Chiyou's slumber, Honkai Energy spread throughout the entire cave, which is why it feels this way."
Moreover, this place didn't look like the inside of a creature at all; it just felt like an underwater cave.
If this place truly were inside a creature, then this creature's kidney stone problem was far too severe.
She advanced, searching for suspicious footprints around her.
[There is nothing here…]
[Why must I endure such loneliness?]
Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice appeared in her mind. This voice seemed to be lamenting something, and the sense of loneliness in its words greatly concerned Inaba Tsukiyo.
[The people I wanted to protect are all gone? Then, why do I still do these things? Why… do I still protect this world?]
'What… what is this voice about?'
Is this Chiyou's voice? Is Chiyou female? That's impossible. Even if this really is Chiyou's voice, did Chiyou really have people to protect? And wanted to protect this world?
Regardless, this was impossible. Continuing forward, Inaba Tsukiyo gradually reached the depths of Nine Netherworld.
Here, Inaba Tsukiyo saw Kiana and the other two, but their situation was not good.
Himeko had already obtained the divine key—xuanyuan sword, but she was using the xuanyuan sword to attack Kiana and Fu Hua, as if she were being controlled.
The blade of the xuanyuan sword burned with scorching flames, and each slash caused immense destruction to the ground.
'Is she controlled?'
Given Himeko's personality, she wouldn't casually attack people with a weapon like this. The only explanation was that she was controlled, controlled by the xuanyuan sword in her hand.
'Should I go out and help? But… I was just in the sea. If I appear here, will I be suspected?'
Although the possibility was low, to prevent exposure, Inaba Tsukiyo couldn't take any chances; she had to figure something out.
'Let's just watch for now. With Fu Hua there, there shouldn't be too much of a problem.'
At this moment, Himeko, holding the xuanyuan sword, was still attacking Kiana and Fu Hua. To avoid being caught in the crossfire, the two continuously dodged Himeko's attacks.
"What's going on? Why has Aunt Himeko's condition become so strange! Class Monitor! What exactly is happening?"
"She must be controlled by the xuanyuan sword. I didn't expect this to happen; I was careless."
Fu Hua dodged Himeko's attacks. Fortunately, Himeko was using sweeping, wide-open attacks, which left large openings for her to evade.
Although xuanyuan sword clones would occasionally appear around Himeko and shoot at them, she could easily dodge these attacks.
Unlike Kiana, Fu Hua dodged while approaching Himeko.
The controlled Himeko noticed Fu Hua approaching and shifted her attacks towards Fu Hua.
However, each of Himeko's attacks was narrowly dodged by Fu Hua; she was looking for an opportunity, an opportunity to incapacitate Himeko.
Her rich combat experience allowed Fu Hua to dodge Himeko's attacks repeatedly, as if Fu Hua were dancing, her movements incredibly graceful.
The controlled Himeko was very displeased that her attacks were being dodged by Fu Hua. Suddenly, she clutched her head, groaning and howling in pain.
'A chance!'
Fu Hua, who had finally found an opening, stomped her right leg on the ground and charged towards Himeko.
Just as Fu Hua was about to use [Inch Punch: Heaven-Shattering] to strike Himeko's abdomen and incapacitate her, the controlled Himeko suddenly lifted her head.
Immediately after, a large amount of lightning continuously spread outwards from her. Fu Hua, being the closest to Himeko, watched as the lightning approached.
"Class Monitor!"
Kiana, watching the scene from afar, couldn't help but shout.
This feeling was like an online raid where you were doing well against a BOSS, but due to insufficient information, a warrior went in for the final blow, only for the BOSS to unleash a last-minute instant kill, wiping out the entire party.
Now Inaba Tsukiyo had fallen behind, Himeko was controlled by the xuanyuan sword, and if Fu Hua got injured here, only she would be left.
What could Kiana do alone? Her original role was… eating? Rescuing people and… taunting?
Thinking of this, Kiana's vision suddenly went dark. This was definitely a party wipe in the making.
Just as Fu Hua was about to be struck by lightning, feathers suddenly fell around her.
At the same time, Fu Hua dodged the lightning attack, instantly appearing before Himeko, landing a fierce punch to Himeko's stomach, sending her flying.
[Thud!]
Himeko's body slammed heavily into a stone pillar, then collapsed to the ground, showing no signs of waking up.
"Aunt Himeko!"
Completely surprised by how the script had unfolded, Kiana rushed to Himeko's side to check on her.
She found Himeko's eyes tightly closed, with blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.
"Aunt Himeko was beaten to death!"
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