'Good, the correction work is progressing very smoothly. This girl is gradually starting to rely on me.'
Inaba Tsukiyo was very satisfied with Mumei's performance; her being pinned was not in vain.
In fact, when the tunnel collapsed, Inaba Tsukiyo had enough time to use Shukuchi to take Mumei to a safe location, but she didn't do so.
On one hand, doing so would not be good for Mumei's correction work, and on the other hand, she wasn't worried about being crushed to death. Even if she were to die, it would definitely not be by being crushed by stones.
Mumei's situation was very clear: it was highly likely that she had been instilled with the theory of "survival of the fittest" by certain people when she was young.
Only the strong can survive; the weak will flee.
This was Mumei's theory of action. If she hadn't guessed wrong, it must have been a theory forced upon her by her so-called elder brother.
Simply put, Mumei had been brainwashed, and quite deeply at that.
To make Mumei break free from this mindset, she had to be stimulated by some strong method, and then that theory had to be negated; only then could she emerge from it.
After drinking the blood, Mumei stood up from the ground and looked at the stones pressing on Inaba Tsukiyo, scratching her head in a bit of a dilemma.
These stones were not made of plastic, and moving the ones on top might cause other stones to fall.
If even Inaba Tsukiyo's upper body were to be crushed, even Mumei couldn't think of a good solution.
"Don't worry, I have a way to get out. I've rested enough; it's time to act."
She took two deep breaths. She didn't believe she would stay crushed under the stones forever.
Since her goal had been achieved, there was no need to remain under the stones.
"Uh… how do you plan to get out? You can't move at all right now, can you?"
Her lower body was clearly pinned, so was there another way to move? Was she planning to burrow into the ground?
Under Mumei's gaze, Inaba Tsukiyo's body suddenly sank, as if the ground beneath her were water, slowly dropping down.
This phenomenon, completely defying scientific principles, made Mumei's eyes widen. What on earth was going on? Was she seeing things?
She rubbed her eyes and carefully observed the spot where Inaba Tsukiyo had been pinned, but found no trace of Inaba Tsukiyo.
"Alright, I'm out, Mumei."
Mumei felt a few pats on her back. She turned around and found Inaba Tsukiyo standing behind her.
Not only that, there was no blood on her clothes, and even her wounds were gone, as if she hadn't been injured at all.
"How… how did you do that? Are you a Kabaneri? No, I don't see your heart at all. What on earth is going on?"
Mumei was thoroughly confused. Her already not-so-bright little head became muddled, and the sight before her had a huge impact on her.
"Why? Of course, it's because I have special abilities. Otherwise, how do you think I could have escaped from there?"
She emerged from the pile of stones using the Second Herrscher's ability, and then used the First Herrscher's power to create a new set of clothes.
This was also why she always wore a miko outfit; to some extent, the First Herrscher's power had truly helped a lot.
The Second Herrscher's Imaginary Space could be used to store things, and the First Herrscher's power could be used to create things.
"…Never mind, never mind. Anyway, you won't tell me these things. Let's hurry and meet up with those people."
However, just then, Mumei suddenly turned around and looked at the dark tunnel, where a large number of Kabaneri were gathering.
And these weren't all the Kabaneri; given the length of this tunnel, there were definitely other Kabaneri behind them.
"There are quite a few, at least a hundred or so. You've used too much of the Kabaneri's power already, don't use it again, understand, Unnamed?"
"I... I understand. Can you let go of my face? It hurts so much."
Unnamed grabbed Inaba Tsukiyo's hand. Inaba Tsukiyo's hand was gripping her face like a vise, and no matter how hard Unnamed tried, she couldn't move it.
"Since you understand, then be good from now on. Retreating isn't necessarily a sign of cowardice; it's to recover your energy and allow yourself to fight in the best condition. Unnamed."
Patting Unnamed's shoulder, Inaba Tsukiyo drew mikazuki munechika as she faced the approaching Kabaneri.
There was no need to use Iaido Slash against these guys; it was too much trouble.
mikazuki munechika's blade, unlike other katanas, did not have the steel membrane from near a Kabaneri's heart. With Magic Power Release, mikazuki munechika wouldn't be damaged either.
Inaba Tsukiyo had a thought about mikazuki munechika. When she faced Durandal, mikazuki munechika had conveyed a feeling of weakness.
Legends said that weapons had souls, but this required a commonality between master and weapon, and these were just legends.
Could mikazuki munechika be starting to develop a soul, as the legends claimed? Perhaps it was limited by being a weapon, only able to transmit sensations but not communicate directly.
Bella, originally a Judgment-class Honkai Beast, gained the ability to transform into a human after Sirin bestowed Herrscher power and intelligence upon her.
If she also granted Herrscher power to mikazuki munechika, could it also gain the ability to transform into a human?
This wasn't impossible. Inaba Tsukiyo vaguely remembered weapons in a certain world that gained the ability to transform into an Animal under a special kind of power.
'Maybe it really can be done. Maybe I can try it.'
The more she thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. Inaba Tsukiyo gradually injected the lightning power of the Third Herrscher into mikazuki munechika.
She couldn't inject too much power at once, as mikazuki munechika might not be able to withstand the Honkai Energy injection.
Moreover, it wasn't made of soul steel. Even if she enhanced the weapon's hardness through Magic Power Release, she still had to be careful.
As Honkai Energy was injected, a trace of electricity flashed across mikazuki munechika's blade. A purple gem appeared on the sword near the hilt.
However, mikazuki munechika showed no visible transformation; it remained dormant like an inanimate object, completely still.
'Did I think wrong? Does it have to be a living object to transform into a human?'
This was her first time attempting this, and she wasn't quite sure how to complete it. For now, she should deal with the Kabaneri in front of her.
The mikazuki munechika, flickering with electricity, possessed stronger penetrating power. Even with an ordinary swing, it could pierce their heart membranes.
This change greatly reduced Inaba Tsukiyo's pressure. Even without being surrounded by swarms of Kabaneri, Inaba Tsukiyo could easily deal with them.
Although a few Weapon Skills Kabaneri occasionally appeared, their skill difference was too great. Even when several Weapon Skills Kabaneri emerged, they were easily eradicated.
One after another, these reanimated monsters died again. Whether it was the Kabaneri nearby or those attempting to approach Unnamed, Inaba Tsukiyo took their lives.
Unnamed, sitting not far away and watching all this, even forgot to breathe.
Inaba Tsukiyo was stronger than her; she knew this very well. But she realized that the gap between herself and Inaba Tsukiyo seemed to be an entire dimension.
Having just escaped from under the rocks, she could fight such a large number of Kabaneri.
The number of Kabaneri steadily decreased. The Kabaneri, who initially held an overwhelming numerical advantage, gradually fell into a disadvantage.
Inaba Tsukiyo, using violence unrestrainedly, gradually let go of her restrictions. No longer limited to the Pill Self-Manifestation Style swordsmanship, when she wasn't using a weapon, she would even use her hands to pierce the Kabaneri's hearts.
Ryukyu Kobudo, a martial art from the Okinawa region, trains practitioners through striking to make their bodies as hard as steel.
During the training process, it also incorporates nukite for appropriate counterattacks.
"Incarnated Blade": By adopting a specific combat stance, one's body is weaponized. Even without a weapon, even with just bare hands, they can be as sharp as a blade.
It wasn't that Inaba Tsukiyo voluntarily trained in this martial art. Over these hundreds of years, she had already trained to the level of "Takemikazuchi."
Inaba Tsukiyo simultaneously mastered the pinnacle of unarmed combat and the peak of swordsmanship. Previously, she had merely sealed the former, completely refraining from using it.
After all, her own heritage was that of a Pill Self-Manifestation Style swordsman, and her pride prevented her from easily using other schools' sword techniques or martial arts.
However, having become somewhat 'demonized,' she no longer cared about such things. Her miko outfit was already stained with blood; she would just make a new one after the battle. It didn't matter anymore.
She killed Kabaneri with her sword while using her hand-blade to pierce the hearts of approaching Kabaneri.
More and more Kabaneri bodies accumulated, the ground was already soaked with blood, and even Inaba Tsukiyo's miko outfit was covered in it.
At this moment, Inaba Tsukiyo completely lacked her usual aura. She was like a Honkai Beast with bloodshot eyes, craving more combat, more blood.
Cloud Radiance: Instant Light
Cloud Radiance: Swift Thunder
Un'yō: Thunder Roar
Suppressing Thrust
Four-Finger Nukite
Inaba Tsukiyo's attack methods were diverse, and each move could eliminate a large number of Kabaneri.
A few minutes later, all visible Kabaneri had vanished, and the entire tunnel was completely filled with Kabaneri corpses.
After realizing there were no other Kabaneri, a heavy sense of fatigue washed over her. Inaba Tsukiyo, as if losing all strength, fell backward.
Just as she was about to collapse into the pool of blood, a pair of hands grabbed her from behind, preventing her from falling into the blood.
"You said not to overexert yourself, but aren't you overexerting yourself? You idiot Tsukiyo."
Unnamed, fighting back tears, looked at the exhausted Inaba Tsukiyo with some heartache.
She somewhat regretted her rash actions. If she hadn't caused trouble in the boiler room and attracted the Kabaneri from below, they might have already driven the Iron Fortress away from Yatsushiro Station.
"I'm not overexerting myself, Unnamed. You... you just fight purely for yourself, but I fight to protect you. We... we are different."
"That's not true! Anyway, you're an idiot! A total idiot! A complete idiot!"
Ultimately, her tears couldn't be held back. Unnamed, in a childish fit, yelled at Inaba Tsukiyo.
"Hey, I promise you I won't overexert myself. But will you also promise me not to overexert yourself too much? It's taken me so long to find someone who cares about me, and I don't want to experience that feeling again. So... please don't make me worry, okay?"
"...You're the one who always makes people worry, and yet you say that to me. It feels like being called an idiot by an idiot, a strange feeling."
She struggled to stand up from Unnamed, shaking her head with a bitter smile.
Under Unnamed's pleading gaze, Inaba Tsukiyo extended her pinky finger.
"I promise you. But we have to make the oath together for me to believe you, Unnamed. If you lie, you'll swallow a thousand needles."
... Hmm!
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