Welcome back everybody, I tried to get this chapter out of the way as soon as possible but things turned out a lot slower than I had planned. I will try to be faster next time but I can't promise anything

Before we get into the chapter I felt like stating that this will be the end of the first arc, which was just meant to show the variant past that Kiana had in comparison to the actual story. A lot of things will change as the story progresses, but some will still stay the same.

Cannon stories may not be applied in the chronological order, such as the fact that I intend to put the Gem of Serenity Arc after the Gem of Desire Arc, and a few others that I will not go into detail unless I spoil the story. However, Key cannon stories such as the Battle of Schicksal and the Last Lesson will still happen with some minor differences due to how different the story is.

Anyways with all that being said I'm going to go ahead and dive into the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the cannon characters within this story, However all OC are mine!!


Chapter 3: The Promise I Made

Chita: With Fu Hua and Bronya

Fu Hua and Bronya stood in what could only be described as a battlefield, they had managed to counter the honkai beasts they pursued before they could arrive at one of the other bunkers within the city. It was mainly thanks to Bronya's long range of fire that they were able to stop them at all, otherwise the chase would have lasted for a while longer.

At the current moment the two of them were laying besides a building tending to some of the wounds they had gotten, more on Fu Hua's side than Bronya's though. The silver haired girl was fortunate enough to have a large mechanical robot that would both fight for her and protect her. If this bothered or annoyed Fu Hua in anyway, then the class monitor did not let it show.

"Bronya have you managed to reach Mei yet?" Fu Hua asked, though she hadn't wanted to separate group of four warriors, the situation had demanded it. In hindsight it may not have been the best of decisions for Schicksal. Mei's status as the 3rd herrscher made he a vital component for Schicksal, and she just let the girl waltz of with a stranger, who was a skilled fighter at that.

"Negative, Mei-nee-sama has yet to respond. However, the Bronya has pinpointed her location and all vitals seem operational." Bronya reported. Fu Hua sighed, Bronya was a skilled hacker, the likes of which even Schicksal HQ may not have. She had probably tapped into Mei's battlesuit in order to monitor her position and vitals at all times.

"Alright then we should probably go and join them, they might need the backup." Fu Hua said, as she finally stood up. She had done way too much fighting today, if she pushed her body too much it may have terrible repercussions.

Just as the two were about to leave, Fu Hua comm. Link displayed an incoming transmission message. The class monitor took a moment to look at Bronya who now stood beside her, before tapping the 'answer' button on the HUD screen in front of her. Theresa's face appeared on the screen, she seemed a bit tired, and anxious. It also seemed as if she was moving, judging by how her hair flailed against the wind, and the background image was blurred.

"Fu Hua, Bronya, I'm glad you guys are okay." Theresa said out of relief, while they looked a little worse for wear, they were in one piece. "What's the status report that side?" Theresa asked her expression becoming serious.

"We stopped the first and second waves from entering the city, however a third wave managed to slip past us during battle. The horde split and our squad was forced to split to protect the bunkers. Bronya and I are currently by the Western bunkers. As for Mei she left with another individual whom we came across to protect the central bunker of the city, the girl claimed to be……." Fu Hua reported but was cut off

"Kiana Kaslana." Theresa cut off, there was a bit of relief in her voice.

"….yes. How did you know that?" Fu Hua asked as she and Bronya looked at Theresa questioningly.

"Himeko and I ran into someone who informed us about her, and I have some personal history with her myself. Anyways I'm a few miles from the city, I'll be heading straight for the central Cathedral when I arrive. Unless you guys need some backup?" Theresa questioned. Bronya and Fu Hua could tell there was more to her relationship with Kiana than she was letting them know, the eagerness on her face was a tell sign to anyone who knew her.

"No, we were just about to head in the same direction as well, we'll see you when we get there." Fu Hua said professionally, to which Theresa responded with a quick nod of the head before cutting of communication. Fu Hua then turned to Bronya, "We should go, the quicker we catch up with them the better." She said.

"Da, the Bronya has already mapped out the quickest route." Bronya said as she hovered above the ground taking point as they ran towards the city centre…….well Fu Hua was the one that was running

With Kiana, Kasumi and Mei:

"Damn it, just how many of these things are there?!!" Kiana asked as she used her blade to cut another zombie into two. She stood in front of Kasumi protectively with Mei being a few meters in front of them. They were about a block from the cathedral, which should have been visible to the eye by now but wasn't, however the closer they got to it the more zombies and beasts that appeared. It seems as if a lot of people had gotten infected by the honkai.

"I thought you did this for a living!!" Kasumi shouted, seeing as the two warriors had cleared the current threats around her. It had been an amazing spectacle to finally see Kiana fight, the Kaslana had told her many tales of her fights in Ulan-Ude, but now she was able to see the girl fight first hand.

"I do, but usually there aren't lives on the line, and I only have to worry about myself. Right now, I have to look out for you and support Mei when she needs it." Kiana explained.

A Liability. Kiana was too kind too say it o her face but that was what Kasumi had understood from that. She was a liability to Kiana right now, especially since he girl was used to working alone. Mei, at least was able to fight, but Kasumi was just getting in the way, and slowing them down.

"Still, the beasts and zombies aren't that hard to deal with. Their numbers is just annoying to say the least." Mei added, at seeing Kasumi's distress.

"Understatement if I ever heard one." Kiana muttered.

"We should keep on moving." Mei said, ignoring Kiana's remark.

"We're almost there, the Cathedral is about three blocks down from here." Kasumi said as the three of them began to walk.

"Then we should try and move faster." Kiana said as she turned to Mei, the swordswoman nodded in agreement. Kiana then turned to Kasumi, "Are you up for that?" Kiana asked the black haired girl.

"…..Yeah" Kasumi responded hesitantly, almost as if there was something she wanted to say, and Kiana was able to pick up on it, but decided that she would question the girl later when they were in a much safer environment than they currently were.

The three of them then continued down the streets, using Kiana's sensing abilities to avoid any unnecessary fights with zombies. Their goal was to protect the civilians that were currently trapped, any second they wasted fighting was a second they wasted in saving those lives, and enough lives had already been lost tonight in Kiana's opinion

Kiana looked at Kasumi for a minute, the black haired girl had been acting strangely since they met up, almost as though she was keeping something from them. Part of her worried that it had something to do with her health, but she was confident Kasumi would have told her if she was in trouble…….right? Kiana had tried to get a read on Kasumi to make sure she hadn't been infected with honkai energy, but the was just so much honkai in the atmosphere that was near impossible to get a detailed reading on her condition. At least she could still track and find Kasumi should they get separated during this shit storm.

Kiana was snapped out of her thoughts when she senses three honkai beasts rapidly approaching from ahead of them. Two templar and a Cavalier if she was correct, she immediately came to a stop prompting the other two to do the same. Kiana turned to Mei as she pulled out her pistols.

"Get ready for a fight, we got three beasts coming up ahead, two templar and a Cavalier." Kiana said sternly.

"Is it a good idea to fight them now, we're almost at the Cathedral?" Mei asked in uncertainty.

"Better to for it now, there are going to be more beasts by the cathedral if what Kasumi said is any indication. Not to mention that they are in our path anyway, there's no avoiding them without going in the opposite direction." Kiana said as she walked towards Kasumi and stretching her hands towards the girl, a pistol in each one.

"What are you doing?" Kasumi asked.

"The fight is bound to draw the attention of a few zombies and maybe some beasts. I would rather you have a way to protect yourself in the event that we get separated." Kiana said as she gestured for Kasumi to take the pistols, which the girl did….though Kiana could see the hesitation in her eyes. "Just make sure you don't aim anywhere near me or Mei and you'll be fine." Kiana said with a smirk

"Kiana what about you, are you resorting to your sword?" Mei asked, thus far they had yet to see the Kaslana use her sword in battle as she had proved to be more than capable with her pistols.

"Yeah, the only problem is that I haven't yet had the chance to figure it how to use it, but I suppose I can just learn on the job." Kiana with a minor shrug as if it was a small matter.

"Kiana!! That's stupid, you could end up hurting yourself if you make a mistake!!" Kasumi shouted.

"Its fine, if I can fight honkai beasts for four years using a baseball bat, then I'll last long enough to understand the mechanics of the sword." Kiana said with a grin, before her expression suddenly turned serious, "Kasumi, find somewhere to hide, now!" Kiana shouted.

No sooner than she said that the three of them heard a deafening roar from ahead, upon looking they noticed the three beasts coming towards them. Without a word Kasumi nodded and ran towards a nearby building and hiding behind its pillar. Mei already had her sword in hand and was holding it vertically in front of her. Lastly, Kiana pulled Labor of Olympus from her back and held it in her right hand.

"Mei, think you can handle one of the templar, I can deal with the other two." Kiana suggested, as she gave her blade a few experimental swings, while keeping her eyes on the approaching beasts.

"Yes, just leave it to me." Mei said, as she tightened her grip on her swords, mentally prepping herself for battle. She had recovered enough from her injures to continue fighting, but she would not be as careless this time around.

Raiden found it a bit ironic how she, a Valkyrie, was following the lead of a civilian, regardless of her skill that is exactly what Kiana was. But she also could not deny that Kiana was stronger than her, she had proved that much earlier on and had the skill to back up her claims. If what she said about staying in Ulan-Ude had any truth to it then she had been fighting far longer than Mei had, considering she had only been fighting honkai for a year now since the 3rd impact. That meant she was more experienced, so Mei had no problem following her lead.

"Alright here goes!" Kiana shouted as she charged towards the incoming beasts, the two templar charged ahead of the templar with their lances drawn back ready to be thrust forward.

She allowed the first templar fly past her as she channeled honkai energy into her outstretched blade, the blades orange lining began to glow as it radiated some heat. That caught Kiana's attention but she didn't let that distract her as she met the templar before her head on.

Blade clashed against lance, the templar attempted to bash into the Kaslana using its shield but Kiana side stepped the larger beast allowing the force of its own attack to carry it forward. Knowing that the templar attention would be focused on her, and would not be shifting anytime soon, Kiana intercepted the Cavalier beast that had been about to move past her. Leaping into the air Kiana rotated her vertical body before bringing the Sword down on the Chariot beast.

Before the blade could hit home the Cavalier, the honkai beast lifted the blade that was its right arm. Before she could follow up on her attack the Kaslana was forced to jump back as the templar had used this moment t try and skewer her. Upon landing at a safe distance, Kiana noted that the two beasts had their full attention on her…..just how she wanted.

'Good, let's see what this thing can really do then.' Kiana thought with a grin as she channeled more honkai into the blade. The result almost caused her to drop the blade in surprise.

Upon absorbing more energy from the wielder, Labor of Olympus immediately lit ablaze. Sun setting orange flames encases the entirety of the blade, Kiana could feel the heat radiating from it yet it did not burn her but instead it was comforting warmth that filled her body I this cold and bloody night.

'Of course Phil would suggest a weapon similar to Shamash…..well I suppose it's my fault for telling him how much I wanted to be the next Kaslana to inherit the legendary sword.' Kiana thought with a smile. She owed both of them, Kasumi and Phil, this was the best gift she'd gotten.

The Kaslana was snapped out of thoughts when the templar came charging towards her once more, in a second the beast was before her with its lance held high. Kiana reacted swiftly by holding her blade horizontally above her, she held firm as the lance struck her blade, she then tilted her blade to the right allowing the lance slide all the way down. The impact created a cloud of dust that covered them. Kiana took advantage of the beast lack of vision, using her sensory abilities to guide her, she brought her blade down onto the still outstretched lance of the beast and severed it off before following through, using that same momentum, and taking a swing at the templar's head before it could react and severing it too.

From the outside, the cavalier beast had its large sword readily aimed into the dust cloud that was slowly beginning to settle down, ready to charge at the first sign of the Kaslana. Suddenly a silver blur shot out of the smoke faster than the large beast could react and moved past the large beast. Turning its head to look behind it, it noticed Kiana standing with her still blazing blade stretched out to her right. Before the beast could do much else, it felt a large amount of pain course throughout its body, before both the head of the horse-like beast and the head of the rider both fell clean of the body as multiple other cuts made themselves present along the body of the large beast.

' Like knife through butter, this thing is awesome!!' Kiana thought excitedly, though it didn't show on the outside. The flames around her blade died out once she reduced the amount of energy she was channeling through it. She turned to where Mei was fighting against her templar just in time to see the swords woman land the finishing blow. Focusing on her sixth sense for a moment, Kiana noted that they were clear for the time being, their fight had not attracted any unwanted attention.

"Alright Kasumi you can come out, we're clear." Kiana called out, the only response she received was silence, and that unnerved her. Kasumi would have come out by now. "Kasumi, come on we have to keep going." Kiana called out as she turned to Mei, the swordswoman shook her head sideways as she had no clue where the black haired girl was. Kiana then decided to walk up to the pillar and took a look behind.

What she saw immediately caused her to freeze on the spot, as her blood ran cold. There seated behind the pillar was Kasumi, she sat on the floor with her back leaning against the stone cold pillar. Along her skin with pink lines of honkai energy could be seen going along her right arm all the way to her shoulder. The black haired girl slowly turned to the still frozen Kaslana, her movements weak as a result of the infection.

"Sorry….I….didn't tell you about this sooner. I thought……it would be better if you……focused on saving everyone…..else, instead of being distracted……..by me." Kasumi said slowly as Mei also came into her view. The raven haired swordswoman could only cover her mouth in sorrow as she turned to Kiana who was only starting to get out of her shock.

"I was distracted……otherwise I would have been able to tell." Kiana said as she slowly walked towards Kasumi, her hair shadowed by her hair. She picked the black haired girl up bridal style and turned to Mei. "Is there somewhere I can take her for treatment?" Kiana asked hopefully, though the guilt laced within her voice did not go unnoticed by the other girls.

"Our battleship is still in the sky, we wouldn't be able to make it before the infection spreads to vital organs. Even then, there is no cure for honkai corruption, at most our medics would be able to give her an additional two to three weeks before she…….dies." Mei explained as she turned sideways, she hated to be the bringer of bad news, but she also knew that she had to tell Kiana the very realistic truth.

"I see….." Kiana trailed off, her eyes still shadowed by her hair and her expression neutral.

What more was there to say?

She had failed to keep her promise, to live up to her Oath.

"Kiana…..forget……about me for now. Everyone…….from the…….orphanage………still needs your help. Focus on……helping them…….right now."Kasumi said weakly, she could fee her mind slowly but surely slipping, her body growing colder by the minute. She knew she had an hour or less if the corruption continued at this rate.

Kiana weighed the options for a minute, the deepest part f her heart was just telling her to take Kasumi to safety and et her the treatment she needed, regardless of how long she would live afterwards, but she also knew that everyone that Kasumi and herself held dear could end up dead if she didn't do something.

"Kiana…..we have to go, every second is important." Mei said gently as she put a hand on the Kaslana's shoulder. She hated it……but even she knew what the logical choice was in this situation.

"Okay."The Kaslana finally spoke, her voice firm but the pain behind it could still be heard by Kasumi who knew the Kaslana, "But you're coming with us, Mrs.Ryuuki is probably worried, at the very least you should see her before you……go." Kiana said slowly, she couldn't say it I the end. It was bad enough that she had failed but to acknowledge it herself was something she couldn't quite do yet.

Before the other two could respond, Kiana moved Kasumi onto her back, and held the girl tightly by the thighs as she began to run towards the Cathedral with Mei following close behind.

'I wasn't able to protect Kasumi….along with many others. And yet, I'm the one who brought this disaster to them in the first place.' Dark thoughts continued to plague the Kaslana's mind as they moved. This was the second time something of the sort had happened, the only difference being that she was now fully aware of how badly she had screwed up.

She didn't want to think about how everyone at the orphanage would react….how Mrs.Ryuuki would react to the news of her daughter dying as a result of honkai corruption. Would she come to hate the Kaslana? Kiana wanted to believe that they wouldn't, but at the same time she would also deserve it.

It wasn't long before they made it to the cathedral, Kiana's sensory abilities having helped them avoid any unnecessary conflicts. However the situation was a lot worse than they had assumed.

The cathedral had already collapsed and been reduced to mere rubble, Kiana wasn't sure if the bunkers underneath were still intact, and if they were then how long would they hold. The next problem was the number of honkai beasts that surrounded the area, The Kaslana counted at least fourteen, their kinds varying. However, the one that caught her attention was the large east that lay directly on top of the remains from the destroyed cathedral. The beast resembled a gigantic boar with the white carapace of the average honkai beast as its shell, it also had two large horns coming out the sides of its head. It was obviously in a class of its own.

Ten lastly there was the large number of zombies that were in the surrounding area, they were probably the civilians that hadn't managed to get into the bunkers before the building was attacked. And upon closer inspection, Kiana was able to take not of a few familiar faces amongst the undead. This only served to make her angrier than she already had been at her failures, angry at herself for bringing this carnage to the people that had done nothing but welcome and take care of her whenever she was around. Another reason she was angry as her own incompetence, she wasn't strong or fast enough to protect all these people, even after four years of isolating herself from

'This is not good' Kiana thought as she looked at the beast. She had fought this type of beast once, nearly lost her life to it too, but that had been one on one and she had done so b damaging it over the course of numerous days, three at most. Given the current situation she doubted the other beasts would just let her kill the alpha beast, and she didn't have the luxury of time on her side as well. It was a tough spot, not to mention she also had to watch out for Kasumi, she didn't want to leave the girl alone…..not as she was right now.

"That's an emperor class honkai beast, we call it ganesha." Mei said the concern in her voice audible and completely understandable. "We should wait for reinforcements, they're too many of them." Mei added on.

"I know……but at the same time, we don't know what happening down there in the bunkers. For all we know the civilians are being exposed to Honkai down there." Kiana said, while the bunkers were made to withstand a lot of pressure as to not collapse, Kiana doubted that they were made to prevent Honkai energy from getting in. That meant everyone down there was still in danger of honkai corruption, or being killed by zombies.

"If we get any closer we'll be spotted, and we risk Kasumi's infection spreading faster than it already is." Mei said as she turned to the civilian who was still on Kiana's back. The girl had become incredibly pale compared to what she was before, and the lines of honkai energy were staring to become more visible along her arms, shoulders and even her neck. It was clear the constant exposure to honkai energy was speeding up the rate of corruption. If they left her anywhere for the sake of fighting the beasts in front of them, then the next time they see her would be as a walking corpse.

"I…..don't think……I was going to last much longer……anyways." Kasumi slowly said. She could hardly feel anything anymore. Not the warmth of Kiana's skin as she rested on her back, not the cold wind that was blowing up behind her and she couldn't even feel the movement of her own muscles, almost as I they weren't the anymore. She did however notice Kiana's body tense at her words.

"WH-What are you saying." Kiana asked, while it had been made apparent that Kasumi would not leave past the night, Kiana had been determined to at least let Kasumi get the chance to say good-bye to everyone, especially her mother. The Kaslana set Kasumi down on the surface of the rooftop they were on.

"The infection is spreading faster than we thought, by the time we clear the area and rescue the civilians within the bunkers, she would have already turned." Mei explained sorrowfully, while she wasn't connected to Kasumi in any way the current situation still hurt her to watch.

Kiana felt something being placed into the palm of her left hand. Looking down she noticed it was one of the pistols that she had given Kasumi prior the previous attack. The black haired girl slowly wrapped Kiana's hand around the gun, before lifting it…..

…… and pointing it at her forehead.

"K-Kasumi, what are you doing?!!" It took everything in the Kaslana's body not to scream that question as she jerked her hand out of Kasumi's grip and pulled the gun from her forehead.

"I don't want to turn into one of those…..things." Kasumi said as she looked the Kaslana directly in the eye, Kiana knew that Kasumi was talking about the numerous zombies that they had seen all over the city. Kiana could see the fear that was in her eyes, but she could also see the resignation behind that fear. Kasumi had accepted what was going to become of her, but that was something that Kiana wasn't ready to do, which made Kasumi's net statement all the more painful for the snow haired girl.

"I want to at least die with my sense of self, and not just an empty shell. I want to die…..as a human. And I want you to be the one who……..kills me"

Kiana's eyes widened in shock and horror of what being asked of her. She could understand wanting to die human, and not wanting your body to end up a walking corpse, and if it had been anyone else Kiana might have been tempted to do it. But the fact that it was Kasumi, her beloved sister, already shut the idea down before the brain could process it.

"I'm not going to……kill you Kasumi." Kiana said firmly as she turned her head to the side, refusing to look Kasumi in the eye, as her fist clenched at her side. The black haired girl simply smiled as the pink lines of honkai energy began to slowly creep along the skin of her face, she had known that Kiana would be stubborn but this was something she had decided long before Kiana found her when she first discovered the infection.

"You have to, I'm already going to die anyway. I'd rather die and do no harm, than die and hurt you or anyone else. You'd have to kill me then, I'm just asking you to do it before that happens." Kasumi responded as she raised her pale right arm and cupped Kiana's cheek, and forced the Kaslana to face her once more. She was not surprised to see tears streaming down Kiana's face, and the pained expression on her face. If it wasn't for her weak body and strained mind Kasumi would have hugged Kiana by now.

"Why me though?" Kiana asked, and a fair question in Kasumi's eyes. One she already had an answer to.

"Because I'm selfish, I don't want to die at the hands of honkai or the hands of a stranger. I have the chance to choose how I die, something not many people can do. Please…….Kiana…." Kasumi trailed, Kiana didn't respond, but Kasumi noticed the way that her teeth began grinding against each other and a scowl formed on her face. She noticed the way that Kiana's trebling right hand, which held the gun, slowly began to lift itself from her sides and made its way up until the gun was once again pressed against her forehead.

"Before you do it, can you promise me one last thing?"

"W-Wh-What?"

"Don't let this bring you down. You're…..the strongest person….I know Kiana. And I know you'll get even stronger as time goes on, but promise that you won't shut yourself from the world because of this. Earlier today you promised you would spend more time around here, but after all this you'll probably become a valkyrie huh." Kasumi stated as Kiana winced, there was no denying that she couldn't stay here after tonight. She would leave for Schicksal and hopefully become a valkyrie.

"Yeah…" Kiana replied, there was nothing more she could say to that.

"Its fine…..we both knew that it was going to happen. But since I won't be around you have to promise you'll make new friends, and not drown yourself in training like you did while you were here. Promise?" Kasumi asked as she looked towards the Kaslana expectantly.

"I promise……I'll try." Kiana said lowly, it was the best she could offer right now and Kasumi knew that. Asking for more would be like asking Kiana to move on from the events of tonight.

"Alright…" Kasumi said as she sighed in resignation, and closed her eyes while she waited for her world to go black.

Kiana's hand began to tremble violently as she struggled to pull the trigger. She had to do this, if not because Kasumi wanted this, then because it was the right thing to do. That didn't make it hurt any less though, she literally felt as though her heart was about to split itself into pieces. However, at the end of it all this wasn't about her, but rather it was about Kasumi. With that in mind, Kiana took a deep shuddering breath, turning her to face sideways as she could not bear to look, and her grip tightened on the gun…….

…. and pulled the trigger

BAM!!!!

The sound of the gunshot was enough to snap Kiana out her emotional turmoil as she swiftly turned towards Kasumi, her eyes wide in shocked what she had done. For there on the ground, lay a now deceased Kasumi Ryuuki with a gunshot wound on her forehead as the indicator that she was really dead. She had died with a peaceful smile on her face, and her death had been quick and painless, that was the only comforting thought for Kiana right now, but that did little to dissolve the pain in her chest.

Kiana did the most rational thing any emotional being could do in that moment, and silently wept. She knew she couldn't stay here much longer but Kasumi deserved this much, this moment.

"Kiana……." Mei, who had been silent observing and also on look out, finally called out. The Kaslana did not respond to her call, she continued to silently weep for her friend and Mei truly did feel for her. No one should have to go through something like this……ever. She was then surprised when Kiana suddenly stood up, and walked towards the edge of the rooftop they stood on.

She couldn't see the Kaslana's eyes as she gazed upon the beasts that surrounded the cathedral, Mei instantly knew what going through her head...and it was suicide at best.

"Don't, you can't take them all on your own, even with the two of us" Mei reasoned, she didn't want Kiana to do something foolish out anger and hatred, but at the same time she could not stop the girl who was clearly stronger than her.

"You don't have to worry about me……" Kiana said as she picked up the Labor of Olympus, the blades glowing outlines began to glow to glow bright orange, Mei could feel the heat radiating from the blade even from where she stood.

There was only one thing on Kiana's mind, Kasumi had chosen to die, so that Kiana could save everyone within the cathedral without having to worry about her. So that's exactly what she would do, she would have plenty of time to mourn afterwards, but she would not fail in doing this much, otherwise she may as well be spitting on Kasumi's sacrifice.

"…..stay with her." Kiana said to Mei, she didn't need to elaborate, she was sure the swordswoman understood her perfectly. Then without waiting for a response, Kiana leapt into the sky above the honkai infested streets.

A torrent of flames surrounded her blade and spiraled around it, the spike in energy and brilliant light from the flames immediately drew the attention of the numerous beasts. However they were too late to act as Kiana rapidly descended towards a group of three templar that were close to each other. The blaming blade struck the ground and created a large flaming explosion that encased and destroyed at least five honkai beasts while the pressure from the explosion itself through the rest several feet away. With the wave of her still blazing sword, the gathered dust cleared, showing a more the pissed of Kiana charging towards the remaining beasts intent on finishing them u as fast as possible.

From her position Mei could help but admire the ease with which Kiana was single handedly dealing with the horde of beasts, though she knew it was more straining than it looked. She watched as the Kaslana slid under a Cavalier that had been charging towards her and raised her sword as she did so, effectively slicing the beast into two before it blew up into flames. The Swordswoman watched as the Kaslana fired a series of shots, from the gun in her left hand, towards a ballista nearby causing the bomb it was carrying to explode destroying both it and a templar. To Mei, Kiana seemed to be fighting with more strength, speed and aggression than she had been before, yet she held a sense of accuracy and tactical thinking that made her effective in combat.

The remaining beasts tried to surround the girl and overwhelm her with sheer numbers, Kiana retaliated absorbing more honkai energy into her blade, increasing the size and intensity of the flames around it. With both hands on the hilt of the blade she swung it in full circle with as much strength as she could master. A ring of intense flames formed around her, before expanding outwards in a wave of flames that consumed all within its path. When the flames cleared only three templar beasts remained standing, having raised their shields to protect them from most of the damage, though scorch marks could still be seen on various parts of their bodies.

These three beasts were all that stood between her and the giant beast, Ganesha as Mei had called, that was still rested on the rubbles of what was once the cathedral. Despite its own inaction, Kiana easily noted that the beasts' attention had shifted towards her and was watching her carefully.

The Kaslana charged forward once more, straight toward the Ganesha beast, she knew the templar would react to protect the superior beast and that was exactly what she was counting on. AS expected two of them charged forward at rapid speeds, with their lances thrust forward. Once they were upon her, the Kaslana came to a halting stop and leapt back to avoid the lances aimed to skewer her. This resulted in the two lances passing through each other, and piercing into the mid sections of the both Templar.

Not willing to give the beasts' time to separate, and recover, Kiana dashed towards both beasts, and leapt up to be an eye level with them, before cleaving their head of their bodies with her blade and landing on the other side.

It was at this moment that the last templar suddenly appeared behind her, its large form shadowing her own. Kiana was not surprised, as she had already sensed the beast moving behind her while she dealt with the other two. The beast thrust its lance down on the girl, but missed as she rolled to the side. The lance lodged itself into the ground and the beast struggled to pull it out for a few seconds, but those few seconds were all that Kiana needed. The Kaslana used the opportunity and ran up the lodged lance, her grip o the flaming blade tightening as she met the gaze of the templar, before swinging it down, effectively splitting the beast in two down the middle.

"That takes care of all the cannon fodder….." Kiana said as she took a deep breath and turned towards the Ganesha beast that had finally stood on its four feet and prepared to charge the Kaslana, "….so how about we start the main event."Kiana taunted as she raised her sword at the giant beast before her. She was probably chewing on a lot more than she could chew, but she couldn't back down now, not when she was so close to saving them.

The beast responded to her taunt by releasing a powerful roar that pushed the Kaslana off the ground and sent her a few feet back before falling down on her back, a few of the unstable buildings around the beast collapsed at the pressure. Kiana was quick to get back up on her feet as she shook of her fall. Glaring at the beast with determination, and bit of hatred and vengeance, she took a dash towards the beast with her flaming sword.

Mei, who had leapt of the rooftop with a deceased Kasumi in her arms, landed on a separate rooftop, as the building they had been on before was one of few to collapse. Setting the girl down she turned back to the fight. Kiana was nothing short of amazing, despite the clear lack of formal training, the girl possessed the strength, speed and experience needed to fight these beasts with near relative ease. She had defeated fourteen honkai beasts of various kinds on her own, and if what Kasumi had stated earlier was true, she had done it with a new weapon she obtained less than 24hrs ago. That sort of talent was something the swordswoman couldn't help but admire. Was this the strength of the House of Kaslana? Were all Kaslana this strong or was it just her? Regardless she couldn't help but worry as the girl was single handedly fighting an emperor class honkai beast now.

"Mei!!" The call of a familiar voice resounded within her ears, she turned to her behind her to see none other than the principle, Theresa, flanked by Fu Hua and Bronya landing on the opposite side of the rooftop.

"Principal, Fu Hua, Bronya, I'm glad to see that everyone made it okay." Mei spoke as a relived smile appeared on her face. What she had seen happen between Kiana and Kasumi had reminded her that she too could lose her friends in the line of work she now took part in.

"I should be the one saying that to you!!" Theresa shouted, before noticing that Mei's gaze had shifted downwards, following the girls gaze Theresa saw the dead body of none other than Kasumi Ryuuki, and she recognized the girl from the picture they had been shown by that Phil character.

"Who is this?" Fu Hua asked as She and Bronya also noticed the body.

"Kasumi Ryuuki." Theresa answered just as Mei opened her mouth to do so herself, this surprised the former heiress of ME Corp.

"How did you know that?" Mei asked curiously, the principal had only just recently arrived so there was no way she should know any of this.

"That doesn't matter right now, where is Kiana?" Theresa asked urgently. If the girl on the ground and Kiana were truly as close as Phil had claimed they were then this loss had to be hitting her extremely hard. She knew the pain of loss, and she hoped to be able to help Kiana recover from it.

As if to answer her question, a large explosion was set if a few blocks from the building they stood upon. This was followed up by a large pink beam of honkai energy that tore through numerous buildings. Mei simply pointed her hand in the direction o the obvious conflict.

"She's currently engaged with a Ganesha emperor class honkai beast. She requested that she fight this alone after what happened with Kasumi." Mei responded sadly as she once more turned to the corpse.

"Subject was killed by a gunshot to the head?" Bronya asked as she inspected the body, thought she did not lay hands upon it.

"She was corrupted by honkai, she wasn't going to make it past tonight, and so she asked Kiana to…..kill her. Kiana followed through……despite how much it broke her to do so." Mei explained, as Bronya and Fu Hua frown at that, while Theresa's face became that much more solemn.

'That kind of pain isn't something a child should have to experience.' Theresa thought, she was fortunate enough to have only gone through similar things only twice in her long life, unlike Himeko who had brought down a good number of corrupted students since she started teaching at St.Freya. The principal kneeled in front of the deceased girl and muttered a silent prayer before standing up.

"Come on we have to go and help her." Theresa, fighting an emperor class beast on your own was never a good idea for anyone, unless you were Durandal of course. Then you could challenge a whole hoard on your own.

"There are people trapped within the bunkers across the street from here, the cathedral above it collapsed when the beasts attacked. I wouldn't be surprised if Kiana drew the attention of the beast so we could rescue them." Mei spoke up, she had a small understanding of Kiana's abilities by now.

"You make it sound like she knew we were coming." Fu Hua spoke up.

"I wouldn't be surprised if she did, she showed a rather amazing ability to sense honkai energy within a given radius. She probably sensed the three of you coming and decided to lead the Ganesha elsewhere so we could help the civilians in the bunkers escape."Mei said, she wasn't a hundred percent sure that was the Kaslana's train of thought but the logic of it made sense all things considered.

"I guess that would make sense. It would certainly explain what she meant earlier when she said she couldn't feel anything." Fu Hua said in agreement as she thought of how useful such an ability could be. It would depend on the depth to which she could sense honkai energy, but the fact that she was able to detect other honkai bearing entities put her leagues ahead of most.

"Alright, you three stay and evacuate the remaining civilian, I have to go there." Theresa said impatiently before leaping off into the distant. She was needed to see Kiana, and how much she'd grow for herself. Hearing it Phil and the girls compliment the Kiana already proved that she was growing up to be as strong as her parents, but she wanted to see it or herself, and if the situation got out of hand for even a second, then she would step in herself.

With Kiana:

The Kaslana honestly couldn't remember the last time she had been reduced to such a state. Then again, it wasn't often that she fought beasts of this caliber, maybe once or twice every time she went to Ulan-Ude. But she'd only gained the confidence to do so beginning of the year, so that didn't give her much in terms of experience. Even with her new, and very effective weapon, the battle had dragged on longer than she had expected, and the fatigue from the night starting to kick in.

Kiana stood before the beast, sporting multiple cuts and bruises all over her body, her clothes torn in several places, and she even had a few burn marks, she had long since tossed her jacket aside after it got nicked by the large beam of the beast. Though to her defense, her adversary didn't look that much better than she did. The giant honkai beast sported more than a few large cuts and dents within its endoskeleton. It still had plenty of fight in it though.

…..Kiana just wished she could say the same about herself.

The entire night had been one fight after another, running from top to bottom of this city, the fatigue of it all was finally starting to catch up with her. Her muscles were aching and she was only standing with sheer will power.

She couldn't stop now……

She had a promise to keep, not only to Kasumi but herself as well.

*Flashback*

A young ten yare old Kiana was seated on the bench within the cabin, with her father tending to the injury she had gotten on her knee during a recent attack in a nearby town, and an eye patch she had for as long as she could remember on her left eye. He young girl couldn't help but think back to the way her father had fought all those honkai beasts in order to protect the people of that town and she couldn't help but wonder why.

Why would he risk his own life for people that he didn't know?

"Hey dad, why did you help the people in that village?" Kiana asked curiously, as she tilted her head.

"Oh, does your Kaslana blood not boil when you see people in danger, people who need help?" Siegfried asked as he continued o dress the wound, he only response he got was Kiana's head tilting further in confusion causing him to sigh and went on to elaborate.

"The honkai is a threat to all of humanity, and we Kaslana have been fighting it since the beginning of time. We protect the innocent and guard the masses because it's our sworn duty to do so, until it is our turn to lie in the fields where our Sires sleep. One day you will understand this, you shall carry the torch and fight for all that is beautiful in this world. Until then remember our Oath. The Oath that flows through your blood and carries the will of our predecessors."

* Flashback End*

The memory one of the few defining moments in her life, one that taught her the value of life and gave her small insight on her bloodline and lineage. She knew why she fought now, she understood what her father meant on that day and she knew that giving up was not an option tonight. And so, blade held tightly the Kaslana mentally recited her family's Oath as she prepared to clash with the Ganesha beast once more.

Though the skies are dark with the Roiling Storm

I shall set the heavens ablaze with my Iron Drawn

For I have vowed on my life to guard the masses

Until I lay where my Sires sleep

For by the blade of Shamash Kaslana's die but never yield

With her resolve solidified, and her mind once more focused on the task at hand, Kiana steadied her breathing and glared at the large beast that stood before her. She couldn't falter now, she had already brought much pain to the people of this city, and those close to her, the least she could do was fight on until she couldn't fight any more.

Suddenly a pink aura of honkai energy suddenly surrounded her body, and although she didn't notice it herself, two tattoo like marking suddenly appeared on separate parts of her body, each glowing brightly. The first appeared on her right shoulder, it resembled a shield with a sword going through it, and the second tattoo resembled a flower with three petals going out triangularly.

She could feel the honkai energy flowing within her sky rocket, and her body suddenly felt a lot lighter and stronger too. She flexed her left hand before channeling energy into the blade that was in her right. The effect was immediate, the Labour of Olympus absorbed the condensed honkai energy like a sponge, and released a large combustion of now crimson flames that made even the wielder flinch at the sudden heat. The Kaslana couldn't help but smirk at the new found strength as she once more turned to her adversary.

"Round two you oversized warthog!!" Kiana shouted as she pointed her blade at Ganesha.

As if excepting the challenge whole heartedly the beast let loose anther beam of condensed honkai energy, the beam filled the streets and tore through several buildings and travelled down several city locks before the beast stopped. Where the Kaslana once stood there was only destruction and a crater that stretched several miles. However the beast became alert to the fact that it had missed its target when the sky above it was illuminated in crimson light. It only had enough time to look up as the Kaslana descended and struck it head with her blade.

An explosion expanded atop the head of the giant beast as blade struck the honkai carapace. Kiana knew the attack would not pack enough force to kill the beast but it would deal significant damage. Still though, the power coursing through her was amazing!! She didn't even notice how fast she had moved until she was feet into the air, and the strength her most recent attack was unlike any she had landed before, before and after she got her weapon.

Her train of thought was interrupted when the scent of ozone filled the air, and minor bolts of lightning began to radiate from the beasts, triggering an alarm to the girls' enhanced senses. Kiana was quick to leap away from the beast as the pressure began to build up around it. It was almost as if the beast was condensing honkai energy at its position, increasing the pressure around a certain radius, Kiana also knew that ht e beast would unleash carnage once it released all that energy. The Kaslana managed to get out of that radius, but she knew the destruction that was coming would be far worse, and so took the precaution of moving as far from the beast as possible, her new found speed once more shocking. Within a minute she had managed to cover two blocks, before the inevitable explosion occurred.

The only word that could describe what happened was Absolute Destruction. It looked like a bomb had gone off right it the right in the middle of town, and the destruction stretched across at least four blocks. Kiana who was still running, had managed to get out of the blast radius but the force of the explosion had launched the Kaslana through two walls before crashing down onto the ground heavily.

'Shit that hurts' Kiana thought as she was pretty much hurting all over, she was pretty sure the only reason she didn't have a fractured or dislocated bone was because of the physical enhancements caused by the swell of honkai energy around her. If she was a civilian she no doubt would have been dead……with her guts splattered everywhere.

The Kaslana groggily got back up, she could taste the blood building up in her mouth, prompting her to spit it out immediately. Her legs were still shaky, and she felt a bit disoriented, but she could still fight. It would only take her a few minutes to regain her composure. Unfortunately, time was a luxury on the battlefield……

……. one that she could not afford.

Nearly as soon as she was on her feet, the entirety of the building she had crashed through suddenly collapsed, forcing the young knight to jump away from the falling debris that would have crushed her enhancements or no. It was only thanks to her sensory abilities that she saw the next attack coming behind all the smoke. The Ganesha beast, in the shape of a giant Farris wheel, rolled towards the Kaslana at alarming speeds.

Kiana turned and ran, she knew that there would be no way of countering the beast while it was rolling like that. Its endoskeleton was hard on its own, but that rapid rotation made it nearly impossible for its defense to be breached since she couldn't focus her attacks on one position. So evasive maneuvers were the best option I this scenario.

The Kaslana leapt to the roof of the nearest stable building, and began leaping from rooftop to rooftop, with the Ganesha hot on her tail. The buildings doing little to stop as it simply tore through them, reducing them to mere rubble. The Kaslana's plan was quite simple, she knew the beast would eventually topple over, but she couldn't out run it on flat ground before it flattened her. So she hoped that by having it crash through numerous building she would not only slow it down, but reduce the amount of time it had before it collapsed……

……That would be her moment to deal the finishing blow.

Proceeding with her plan, the Kaslana lead the beast through nearly 13 buildings, each time getting a little slower, until it eventually reached its limit. The beast unraveled itself and fell flat on its large belly. As predicted, it was slightly disoriented, and was taking a minute to gather its bearings.

Unfortunately a minute was all Kiana needed to act.

Almost instantly after the beast crash landed on its belly, the Kaslana was upon it. She wasted no time jumping onto its giant head, and for a moment she feared the beast would shake her off, but it was still recovering. Taking a deep breath she held her blade with both hands while pointing it downwards, without any hesitation she thrust the down into the carapace of the beast she stood on. Three quarters of the blade was lodged into the endoskeleton. The only response she got from the beast was its pained cries of the beast as it suddenly got back up on its feet, and roughly attempted to shake her off, but the Kaslana held her blade firmly as she focused the rush of energy she could feel coursing through her into the blade.

"You've caused enough pain for one night." The Kaslana whispered, most of it directed at the beast for all the death and destruction it and its kin had caused tonight, but a part of it was directed at herself as she still felt responsible for drawing the beasts all the way here.

Channeling all of her remaining energy into the blade lighting it ablaze within the beast, causing it cry out in more pain as it attempted to shake her off. Kiana felt as though something instinctual had taken over her if only for a split second, and somehow she found it that much easier to control the flames that her blade was releasing. And almost as if memory had been imprinted into her mind…….

" Crucifixion!!" Kiana cried out as flames suddenly expanded from the blade in four directions, North, West, East and South along the surface of the beast. They continued moving in their respective directions, even going under the beast, before converging underneath the beast.

The flames clinging onto the beast increase in intensity as the beast roared in pain as it was literally roasted alive. It wasn't long before the heat of the flames reached their peak and an explosion occurred that consumed the entire beast, as well as the Kaslana who stood upon it. The flames of the explosion stretched for a few miles, before eventually dying down.

It was this scene that Theresa Apocalypse finally arrived to, having been watching and following the battle as much as she could. Once the smoke had cleared she saw Kiana still standing atop the now dead beast with her blade still lodged within it. The Kaslana was panting, and her breathing was heavy, her body no longer surrounded by that aura from earlier, but she sported a victorious grin on her face at her accomplishment.

Theresa could see what Phil meant by his statement that Kiana was on par with A-rank valkyrie, but it seemed as though even the man had underestimated Kiana. Theresa was proud of the way her niece handled herself like a veteran, and could see the girl had the potential to make S-rank if she gained the necessary formal training. Before the principal could think further on the issue Kiana's eyes suddenly met her own. The two of them simply looked at each other in the before Kiana suddenly collapsed in exhaustion, falling next to her blade on the head of the fallen beast.

Theresa hastily made her way over to the fallen girl. And once she reached her couldn't help the small smile that graced her face even though she was worried. From what she could see, Kiana had no concerning injuries, only multiple cuts and bruises. She approached the Kaslana and moved her hair so she could properly look at her nice.

"If only you could see your daughter now." Theresa muttered to herself as she caressed Kiana's face. The girl looked so much like her mother that Theresa was sure she might mistake them when the Kaslana grew older.

She turned her gaze back to the destroyed city, Bronya had reported the evacuations of the civilians under the cathedral, and most if not all the beast within the cities walls had been taken care of. The crisis had been averted, and while many lives had been lost, others had been saved too. Turning back to Kiana Theresa couldn't help the bitter smile that came to her face as she was, in a way, glad that today's events had occurred.

For if they hadn't, who knows how long it would have taken her to reunite with Kiana again


Authors Notes:

Well folks, that just about wraps up the second chapter, once again I am truly sorry for the delay in posting the new chapter but I will do my best to write more frequently, however I make no promises. At least not until I'm done with my exams around mid November.

Anyways, yes Kiana defeated an emperor class beast solo. I wanted to emphasize the difference in strength between this Kiana and the cannon one. We have seen the physical differences and as we go into the St.Freya stages of the story we will see the emotional and mental changes of our young knight.

I also decide that Kiana would inherit both Kaslana and Schariac stigma to represent the powerful blood that flows in her veins. Plus Stigma are going to be playing a major role in my story.

Let me know what you all think in the reviews!!!

That's it for now, hope you guys enjoyed!!

Until next my audience, until next time!!!