CHAPTER 426: KIANA, KILL ME

"Hmph! So what if I was sleeping? Half the class was sleeping, so why am I the only one being punished!"

Kiana grumbled, half-heartedly sweeping at the non-existent trash on the track.

"Ugh! So annoying! There’s nothing on this field! What is there to sweep!"

After muttering to herself, Kiana looked over her shoulder with lingering fear at the principal, who was supervising her from the side of the field.

What’s wrong with her? As the principal, shouldn’t she be busy with a million things? Why does she have time to supervise me sweeping the field, and for a whole morning at that?

"Aaaah! Damn it! It’s already noon, Mei won’t be able to find me... Should I just... make a run for it?"

The thought crossed her mind for the eight-hundredth time. She unconsciously glanced at the idle principal again, who immediately sensed her gaze and shot her a fierce glare.

"Sigh... even if I run, I can’t get away..."

She swept a few more times, and was just about to take a break when a sudden, inexplicable palpitation shot through her body.

"Ah—"

"Mei!"

A familiar scream echoed in her ears, but it was as faint as a hallucination.

"Eh? Did I not get enough sleep this morning?"

Kiana touched her cheek, but the next moment, as the whole world plunged into darkness in an instant, she knew the feeling in her heart was real.

"This is... how is this possible?"

The dark clouds and lightning in the sky could still be explained as a sudden weather change, but the black and purple energy radiating through the surrounding space was something she was all too familiar with!

"How could this be... For Honkai energy to accumulate to this extent, it’s impossible..."

As soon as she said this, she had a realization—it was impossible under normal circumstances, but if someone had planned it, it might not be.

Kiana nodded in satisfaction at her own cleverness.

But then she remembered—if an ordinary person encountered such a high concentration of Honkai energy...

"Ah... ahhh... AAAAAH!!!"

Although it had been a long time since she had fought, Kiana’s muscle memory was still there. Hearing the screams behind her, she swung the dustpan in her hand along with her waist and arms, shattering it against the head of the now-blurry-faced principal.

"Damn it, if this goes on, everyone in Chiba Academy... no, everyone in Nagazora City will turn into Honkai Zombies!"

But she had no time to worry about such details. She quickly ran to the equipment room by the field, randomly picked out a baseball bat, and weighed it in her hand.

"Mei, and Bronya, Seele, you have to hold on until I rescue you!"

At this thought, she actually smiled.

"Hehe, you two, one a so-called Menkyo Kaiden in kendo, the other a so-called ’strongest mercenary in Siberia.’ You better not be all talk..."

Thwack!

The baseball bat completely smashed the head of the pursuing principal. Kiana glanced at the sticky flesh and blood on the bat, then bent down and casually wiped it on the principal’s white shirt.

"Alright! Next up... Kiana, attack!"

---||---

Bang!

A huge force shot through her wrist, and a long-forgotten soreness spread through her entire arm. On the line connecting her vision, the rear sight, and the front sight, a small hole appeared in the forehead of the charging Honkai Zombie.

The Tokarev pistol was not suitable for two-handed grip, and the force required to pull the trigger was too great to fire unconsciously. Even without considering the user was a young girl, it was by no means a suitable weapon for a mercenary.

But Bronya loved it. It was the first firearm she had ever used, and ten years of companionship had erased all unfamiliarity. The moment she held this gun, the girl felt an unprecedented sense of security.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

She kept pulling the trigger, leaving small, smoking holes in the foreheads of the Honkai Zombies in front of her.

"Clear."

There were no more standing Honkai Zombies in sight, but Bronya didn’t rush forward. Instead, she pulled Seele and ducked into an empty restroom.

"Bronya, this is..."

Seele’s hands and feet were cold, and she trembled at the sight of the blood on the floor.

"I need to reload."

Bronya said out of habit, then realized Seele wasn’t one of her former colleagues. It was wishful thinking to expect her to provide cover while she reloaded.

There was no other way. She could only gently pat Seele’s head and whisper comfortingly, "Seele, don’t be afraid. I’ll get you out of here. Now, give me the bullets in your bag, okay?"

"Okay, Bronya!"

Although Seele was scared, she still fumbled with trembling hands to open her schoolbag and handed Bronya a small oil-paper packet.

No wonder I could always hear a faint ’rustling’ sound from Bronya’s schoolbag every day.

Click—clack—click—clack—

Bronya didn’t care about the dirt. She sat cross-legged on the floor, her head constantly turning, her eyes warily watching the restroom door and the window on the side, while her hands reloaded with incredible speed.

"Bronya, can you give me one too?"

Seele’s faint whisper reached her ears. Before Bronya could agree, Seele took a magazine from her lap and began loading bullets one by one, mimicking her.

The situation was critical, and there was no time for more comforting words. Bronya could only take the two magazines Seele had loaded for her, briefly check them through the observation holes on the side to confirm they were full and had no problems, and then check the five magazines she had loaded herself.

"Seven eights are fifty-six, no, fifty-seven."

After engaging the safety, she first pulled back the slide, inserted a bullet into the chamber, and only then inserted the magazine.

It was a small detail that didn’t make much difference—just one extra bullet. But sometimes, that one bullet could mean the difference between life and death. The Silver Wolf of the Urals would never make such a low-level mistake!

But the preparations were not yet complete. She pulled out a dagger from her thigh, almost a short sword for her, and gently ran her finger along the blade, feeling the slight resistance from the micro-serrations. Then she sheathed it again.

"Phew... Seele, are you rested? We probably won’t have another chance like this. Almost everyone here has been turned into... forget it, you wouldn’t understand for now. We have to rush out of this building in one go. We’re on the third floor now. If we’re lucky, it’ll take less than half a minute. If we’re not..."

"What about Kiana, Miss Mei, and Rozaliya, Liliya, and Sin..." Seele trailed off, biting her lip. If it were up to her, she would want to save all these people she knew if there was a chance. But she didn’t have the ability herself. She was just being saved by Bronya, so naturally, Bronya should be the one to decide the plan of action. She didn’t want her own wishes to interfere with Bronya’s choices.

Hearing these names, a flicker of worry crossed Bronya’s eyes, quickly replaced by a smile.

"Don’t worry, Rozaliya and Liliya seem to have gotten some incredible power from Mother Cocolia. I had them take Sin and leave first. Idiot Kiana was cleaning the sports field all morning. If she hasn’t turned into a Honkai Zombie, she should be fine for now. Miss Mei... Seele, I’ll take you out first, find a safe place for you, and then come back for Miss Mei."

"Okay, Seele trusts you, Bronya."

Bronya wasted no more time. She stood up silently, took Seele’s hand, and guided it to the utility belt hidden under her jacket.

"Seele, hold on to this. I might not have a free hand during the fight."

"Okay!"

"Alright, on my command. Three... two..."

Bronya’s left hand pulled out a spare magazine, while her right hand reached for her left thigh, pressing on the dagger sheath strapped there. Her right hand silently disengaged the safety of the Tokarev pistol...

"One!"

She charged out, her steps faltering slightly from the weight of Seele behind her, but she immediately channeled more strength into her legs and rushed out of the restroom.

Bang! Bang!

Two Honkai Zombies wandering by the restroom door fell. Bronya pulled Seele and took the opportunity to rush into the stairwell.

The gunshots echoed through the stairwell, piercingly loud. Many Honkai Zombies turned to look in the direction of the sound, just in time to see the two girls running.

They were about to instinctively give chase when the world around them turned red in an instant.

Rumble—

The sound of thunder, like tearing silk, shook the entire building, making the Honkai Zombies momentarily forget the gunshots.

This was a rare stroke of luck for Bronya and Seele. Firing under the cover of thunder was a safer option, but the timing of the thunder was completely uncontrollable, and she had no time to waste.

She had accepted a commission from Michael as a mercenary to protect Raiden Mei. Now, instead of carrying out her mission immediately, she was protecting Seele first, which could already be considered a "breach of contract." Of course, it was partly because she was too far from Mei to do anything, but she couldn’t make excuses for herself. A mercenary had to have professional ethics.

Since she was in a hurry, she couldn’t worry about anything else. She just had to fight her way through!

Seeing the three Honkai Zombies blocking the second-floor landing, Bronya’s eyes narrowed, and she didn’t hesitate to aim at one of their foreheads.

Rumble—

The thunder suddenly roared again, and even Bronya couldn’t help but be startled. Fortunately, her body reacted instinctively. The moment the thunder struck, her hand didn’t flinch like her heart, but pressed down slightly.

Bang!

The bullet shot out of the barrel, and the Honkai Zombie’s neck exploded. Its large head fell backward, and the dangling skin and flesh pulled its entire body down with it.

Bang! Bang!

Bronya’s reaction was incredibly fast. Before the sudden thunder had completely subsided, she had already pulled the trigger again, killing the other two Honkai Zombies.

"Just one more floor!"

The thunderstorm in the sky seemed determined to rage on, making Bronya’s heart a little anxious. But the thunder did provide excellent cover for her actions.

When they reached the first floor, there were five Honkai Zombies at the landing. She fired the remaining four bullets in her magazine without missing a single shot. As for the last one, which was almost on top of her, Seele saw her toss the spare magazine in her left hand upwards. The next moment, her forward-gripped dagger nearly severed the Honkai Zombie’s head. Bronya followed up with a front kick, sending it tumbling down the stairs. When it was all over, the spare magazine had silently landed back in Bronya’s hand.

Click—clack—click—bang!

After skillfully reloading, Bronya didn’t forget to put another bullet in the Honkai Zombie’s forehead.

"Eh? Bronya! Seele!"

Just as they rushed out of the school building, they heard a familiar shout. It could only be idiot Kiana.

"Kiana, where’s Miss Mei?"

As soon as Bronya spoke, she felt a lightness in her hand. She looked down and saw her right hand was empty. Looking up, she saw Kiana’s retreating figure, holding a gun in one hand and a baseball bat in the other.

"Sorry, Mei’s still in the building. You guys run first, I’ll go save her!"

"Kiana, you idiot!"

Bronya’s nose and eyes started running at the same time—from laughter.

She ran a few steps and grabbed Kiana’s hand, stuffing her remaining five magazines into it.

"Idiot! At least pick a meeting point first!"

Kiana’s charge was brought to a halt. She tilted her head and thought about it. Bronya did have a point.

She had already taken the gun. Where could they run? The school was crowded, and too many people had turned into Honkai Zombies. Even now, she could still hear heart-wrenching cries for help. But was it safe outside the school? Of course not. This area was a densely populated commercial district. The number of Honkai Zombies...

"Ah!"

Seele beside her suddenly cried out and unconsciously tugged at Bronya’s clothes.

Bronya followed her gaze and looked up, then unconsciously grabbed Kiana’s sleeve.

"This... this... this..."

Kiana looked up, her lips trembling, unable to say another word.

The dark clouds that had enveloped the world had scattered a little, but the light didn’t shine down, because the clouds had been broken by countless "shooting stars."

If one ignored the white shells and long purple tails of the "shooting stars," perhaps one could wishfully think of them as such.

"Honkai Beasts..."

Kiana gritted her teeth and said. Bronya beside her first nodded solemnly, then a hint of doubt appeared in her eyes, and she glanced at Kiana without a trace.

But then her gaze moved down to Kiana’s standard pistol grip... It seemed the other girl was one of her kind. At this thought, she wasn’t so worried about letting Kiana save Mei alone anymore.

"There’s no time. Kiana, go save Miss Mei. Seele and I will wait for you in the small woods at the edge of the sports field."

"The place where we went to slack off during gym class before?"

"Idiot Kiana, you were the one who dragged Miss Mei there!"

Bronya took a deep breath and explained quickly, "If we run out the main gate, we’ll be trapped in the commercial streets. It’s a dead end. Going over the wall from the sports field leads to a wide road with fewer people. Also, idiot Kiana, while you’re saving Mei, we’ll call Mr. Michael. In the best-case scenario..."

"I know, I know! Let go of me! I’m going to save Mei!"

"Sigh... idiot!"

Kiana was caught by Bronya again.

"Do you know where Miss Mei is?"

"Huh? She should be in the classroom... uh..."

If Mei were really in the classroom, she would most likely be... As for whether Mei would be infected and turned into a Honkai Zombie?

"Don’t worry, Miss Mei has a Stigmata, just like Seele. At least she won’t become a Honkai Zombie."

"That’s good..."

"By the way, Miss Mei is on the rooftop. I saw your homeroom teacher take her there before this happened."

"Eh? Okay... thank you, Bronya!"

"Idiot, I was just... hmph!"

Kiana had already plunged into the senior year building.

Actually, before she met Bronya and the others, she had already tried to charge into the building once, but with just a baseball bat, she couldn’t make it.

As for now... she gripped the pistol, closed her eyes, and images of her stinky old dad fighting in the Siberian snow flashed through her mind.

Alright, time was short. Her stinky old dad had only taught her the basics, and a pistol wasn’t the complete package.

But it was enough.

"Let me show you the Kaslana family’s Gun Kata!"

Bang!

The Honkai Zombie in front of her fell. She didn’t even blink, spinning her baseball bat to smash the head of the Honkai Zombie to her left. Using the momentum of the spin, she launched herself into a whip kick, knocking down all the Honkai Zombies blocking the stairs, and then rushed up.

Bang—

The metal door to the rooftop was violently pushed open. Kiana had only taken half a step forward when a Honkai Zombie from behind grabbed her skirt.

"Shit! You’re dead and you’re still harassing me!"

The magazine was already empty, and the stairwell was dark. Kiana could only grip her baseball bat and swing wildly at the darkness behind her.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

The hand gripping Kiana’s skirt gradually loosened. She stumbled and almost fell. She pushed herself up with her hand, quickly got up, pushed the rooftop door back with all her might, and locked it from the outside. Only after doing all this did she start panting heavily.

Screech—

The sound of sharp nails scratching the door was terrifying. Kiana skillfully reloaded, then stood to the side of the door, unlocked it, and pulled it back sharply.

"Ah—"

As soon as the door opened, several Honkai Zombies rushed forward, only to get stuck in the doorway. Then, the gun fired.

Kiana emptied the entire magazine in one go. Watching the bodies of the Honkai Zombies roll back into the dark stairwell, she finally lowered her trembling hand.

The Tokarev pistol had a slide lock, but she didn’t even have the strength to change the magazine for now. She just gently pulled back the slide to make the gun look normal... although it probably didn’t make much difference, it was probably just her OCD.

"Mei!"

She squeezed out a smile and spun around, but the scene before her surprised her—

Mei was curled up in a corner of the rooftop, her arms wrapped around her knees. In front of her was a corpse that was barely recognizable as human. Its limbs and head seemed to have been ripped off, but there was no flesh and blood at the breaks. Instead, there were black data cables and green liquid.

"This is..."

Kiana was only confused for a moment before her attention returned to Mei. She rushed to her in a few steps, about to say something, when she saw Mei muttering something and slowly raising her head.

Her bright purple pupils were so unfamiliar, but they dimmed the moment they saw her. At the same time, she heard Mei’s request:

"Kiana... kill me..."