Relying on the IPC's reputation.
The supply convoy bound for Bricheng had never encountered attacks from either the local military or the rebel forces.
Because they were backed by the Interastral Peace Corporation, both sides restrained themselves, believing that neither would dare provoke a convoy under IPC protection. Thus, the transport work was mostly entrusted to volunteers—people with little training, full of idealistic passion, wanting to contribute without aligning with any side.
They were caught completely off guard.
The moment they set out, they were ambushed. Witnessing their comrades fall one by one, Kiana couldn't stand it any longer.
Agilely dodging the bullets, she darted to a fallen body, picked up the handgun lying beside it, and aimed toward the direction of the gunfire.
It was clearly her first time holding a gun.
Yet not a single bullet she fired missed its mark—every shot struck the enemy with perfect accuracy.
Was it her body's residual instinct?
Forget it. She'd think about that later, after she put these bastards down. Now wasn't the time for reflection.
Among the convoy were two IPC employees. Their uniforms possessed strong bullet-resistant properties, and once they reacted, they immediately counterattacked—firing back while shouting orders.
But the opposing firepower was even fiercer.
Several uninjured volunteers also found cover and returned fire.
And then, amidst the chaos of battle, a divine melody rose. A voice, pure and resonant, carried the singer's heartfelt emotions, granting everyone new strength.
Kiana turned her head.
The singer was none other than Robin. She knelt beside a wounded soldier, her face filled with sorrow.
"Is this... the power of Harmony?"
Robin's song now radiated the Path of Harmony's power. Her intent was to use it to bolster her allies' abilities and stabilize the wounded's conditions.
But when that same power fell upon Kiana, it shattered the fragile equilibrium between the two conflicting forces within her.
Harmony awakened the power hidden deep inside her.
The surge of discomfort was bearable, but fragments of new memories began flashing through her mind.
'In my heart, you're more important than Narukami!'
Leaning against the cover, Kiana pressed her left hand to her forehead. In that moment of disorientation, she seemed to glimpse a girl wearing a red and white shrine maiden's outfit.
"Mei..."
She murmured a name.
...Mei? Who was Mei?
The moment she spoke that name, Kiana snapped out of her trance.
'Mei'—was that the name of the beautiful shrine maiden she had just remembered?
What was this strange feeling in her chest?
"A friend? Family...?"
She was confused. Somehow, she felt that girl was very important to her—but there was no memory to support that certainty.
She wanted to find her.
Perhaps if she could find Mei, she would also uncover her past—learn who she once was.
Countless thoughts ran through her mind, but in reality, only a few seconds had passed. With Robin's support, everyone became stronger and faster—their bullets struck with greater force.
The ambushers suffered heavy losses. Furious, they turned their guns toward Robin, still singing amid the crossfire.
They didn't recognize any "galactic superstar." They only knew this woman was obstructing their mission and needed to be eliminated.
Fully armed and wielding weapons purchased from the IPC before the war, they aimed at Robin and pulled the trigger.
No matter how strong she was—
A fatal bullet would kill her all the same!
To the shooter, this was a sure hit. The bullet's speed was beyond human reaction.
But someone here wasn't quite 'human.'
Mid-flight, the bullet was deflected—struck by another.
A white figure dashed forward, tackling Robin to the ground and pushing her out of harm's way.
It was Kiana.
"Kiana?"
Robin gasped, holding the girl who had just leapt onto her and broken her song mid-performance.
Everything happened too fast. She didn't even understand what had occurred before she was suddenly pinned down by Kiana.
More bullets slammed into the vehicle behind them. Then, without caring whether the supplies would be destroyed, the attackers hurled grenades—clearly intent on killing them all.
The explosion detonated at close range.
Both Robin and Kiana were caught in the blast. Most of the ambushers' gunfire swept toward their position.
"These damn bastards!"
Reeling from the shockwave, blood surging, Kiana rolled off Robin and half-sat on the ground. Amid the roar of explosions and gunfire, she glared at the burning apartment building ahead. The two powers within her—once delicately balanced—began to clash violently again.
Rage blazed hot in her chest.
Ruan had used countless methods to barely maintain balance between those two extremely dangerous forces. Normally, Kiana was cautious to the extreme—without Ruan by her side, she feared that a single mistake could destroy that balance and cause something terrible.
But just now, that bullet had been aimed straight at Robin's head—meant to take her life.
The attackers had the advantage but didn't even try to demand surrender. Their intent was annihilation, not theft. They weren't after the supplies at all!
"Kiana, what's wrong? Are you hurt?"
Seeing Kiana trembling slightly, Robin panicked, filled with regret for bringing her along.
"I'm fine."
For some reason, the power of Honkai within her began to overwhelm Nihility, gradually asserting dominance. Her mind grew clearer and sharper.
"But they're not fine anymore."
A golden light flickered in her azure eyes, blazing with furious intensity. A brilliant gold radiance formed in her hand—and without hesitation, Kiana rose and hurled it toward the apartment building.
She didn't even know what it was.
The golden light became a spear of pure energy. When it struck the building, a half-spherical wave of golden destruction erupted. Several buildings vanished within the blast—leaving not even a trace behind, as if erased cleanly from the world by an invisible hand.
After that, Kiana staggered and fell weakly to the ground, though she hadn't even used much strength for that strike.
The gold in her eyes faded away.
The power of Nihility surged again, clashing with Honkai inside her body, using her as their battlefield.
She wasn't incapable of fighting—just in deep, unbearable discomfort. Nihility kept flaring up as though provoked, repeatedly affecting her body.
"Kiana? Kiana!"
Robin crouched beside her, panic written all over her face. She tried to lift her up. "I'll take you to a hospital! Just hold on—I'll get you there right now!"
"No need."
Hearing the word "hospital," Kiana immediately grabbed Robin's outstretched hand.
"I'm not injured. I just need to sit and rest for a bit. I'll be fine. This has to do with my amnesia—no hospital can cure it."
If she rested a while, she'd recover, right?
It had always worked before. After some time, once the Honkai power consumed the excess Nihility within her, equilibrium would return.
"But you look like you're in pain."
Robin extended her hand, gathering the power of Harmony, hoping to ease Kiana's suffering.
Seeing that, Kiana's eyelids twitched. She quickly shifted away in alarm.
"No, no, no—I'm feeling much better now!"
The power of Harmony could disrupt the balance within her, so Kiana dared not touch it again.
"Miss Robin! Are you two all right?"
Once the IPC employees confirmed that the ambushers had been completely wiped out, they hurried over to where Robin and Kiana were.
"We're fine," Kiana replied, noticing Robin's worried gaze. She steadied herself with the nearby debris and stood up, glancing around.
"But they..."
The few survivors said nothing as they began gathering the bodies of their fallen comrades—some with hatred, others with sorrow, others still in grim silence.
"It's a relief you two are unharmed!"
The IPC employee's words sounded somewhat harsh, but there was truth in them. One of them was connected to a member of the Genius Society, and the other was a renowned singer.
If either of them were injured here... even if word didn't spread, once it did, Kasbelina-VIII would gain infamy across the galaxy, drowned in condemnation from Miss Robin's fans.
"We're fine," Kiana said calmly. "Handle things as you see fit."
She glanced around, her tone sharpening. "Those attackers weren't after the supplies. Their goal was to wipe us out."
The IPC employee's expression grew serious, and he nodded. "Please rest assured, the IPC will give you both a full explanation."
"No, I'm not here to blame the IPC," Kiana said. "I just want IPC to investigate what happened. Also, this place might not be safe anymore—we should relocate as soon as possible."
As she spoke, her gaze fell on Robin. That bullet earlier had been aimed directly at her. If Kiana hadn't reacted fast enough... Robin would have been—
Her understanding of war deepened in that instant. No matter who you were, if you couldn't ignore bullets—if you could bleed and be hurt—you could die here.
"Please rest assured! We'll report this incident to our superiors immediately. No trickery can escape the IPC's eyes!"
After confirming that the two accompanying women were unharmed, the IPC staff began transmitting their reports.
Thankfully, the planet's relatively primitive technology meant their signals weren't easily jammed or intercepted.
Robin herself wasn't afraid—but she felt guilty for involving others in her mission. "I'm sorry. You must have been frightened. I shouldn't have brought you here."
"Aren't we friends?"
Kiana smiled. "Friends should help each other when danger comes."
"Besides, this war... is getting more and more interesting to me."
Her eyes changed slightly as she spoke.
Being ambushed right from the start—this was far from pleasant.
"But it was so dangerous just now. We almost..." Robin lowered her head, recalling how Kiana had saved her life.
"Almost what?"
Kiana winked and said softly, "We protected the supplies and wiped out the enemy. That's something to be glad about, isn't it?"
Robin hesitated, then asked, "Kiana, did you... remember something? You seem a little different than before."
"Maybe. A blessing in disguise? I feel like I remembered something—but also like I didn't remember anything at all."
At that, Kiana's expression fell, a touch of helplessness clouding her face.
But she quickly perked up again.
"If we hadn't come, the convoy might've been wiped out. And maybe—just maybe—I can remember more while I'm here."
Their vehicles were destroyed, so the convoy could only rest temporarily on-site. Of the dozens who'd started the mission, only nine were still able to move, along with a dozen wounded.
They gathered the injured together, preparing to find a safer place for treatment.
As they cleaned the battlefield—
Another group of armed strangers appeared. Seeing the survivors, they raised their guns from afar, but after the leader barked an order, they quickly lowered them again.
"Move out!"
There were quite a few of them—perhaps they'd been nearby from the start. Having just survived an ambush, the convoy remained tense and wary of everyone.
"Wait! Please wait, it's us!"
The newcomers shouted through a loudspeaker, but those still alive from the convoy didn't hesitate. Abandoning the supplies, they turned and fled into the alleyways.
"Sir, they ran!"
The armored man in front scowled darkly and struck his subordinate hard across the face.
"I've got eyes, damn it!"
Hundreds of them, ambushing from an advantageous position—yet they couldn't even take down a weak supply convoy. Pathetic.
The Interastral Peace Corporation...
They possessed countless powerful weapons, yet only offered aid in the form of food and meager supplies, leaving them to sink deeper into a brutal war against the local army.
Wasn't it obvious? They just wanted to watch both sides tear each other apart—then step in at the end and reap the rewards without lifting a finger.
"We can't let them discover what we've done. Find every single one of them and bring them back—alive if possible!"
The man, who had never left this planet and whose vision was limited to it, spoke with ruthless resolve. His original plan had been to smear the local army with blame—but things had gone wrong from the very start.
Thinking of how the survivors had fled without hesitation, murderous intent surged in his chest. What had they seen? What did they suspect?
Before they could spread their doubts, he needed to eliminate them and pin the blame squarely on those filthy nobles' dogs who served the aristocracy.
"Sir, what about the supplies?"
The rest of the unit had arrived at the convoy's location. Half of them were already chasing the fleeing survivors down the nearby streets.
"Deliver them to the refugees."
The leader paused for a moment, then made his decision. The act had to be convincing—he couldn't afford to keep these stolen goods for himself.
On the contrary, he would help deliver the supplies safely to the refugee camp to perfect the illusion.
"Sir! Over there—the building's gone!"
"What?"
Pushing aside the soldier blocking his view, the man strode forward and froze. The empty space beside him had once been a row of residential buildings—where his ambush team had been hiding.
Now, it was completely leveled.
Nothing remained.
What a terrifying weapon!
Cold sweat formed on his brow, followed by exhilaration. Since the two IPC employees had fled earlier, such a devastating weapon must have been a one-time device—something they'd only had a single shot of.
Perhaps this was his chance. If he could somehow purchase such a weapon from the IPC... then how could those bloodsucking nobles of the old world possibly resist him?
The thought of wielding that power—of obliterating every enemy in his way—soothed his anger and filled him with ambition.
As long as the truth didn't leak out, and the blame stayed firmly pinned on the local army, the IPC—unwilling to intervene directly—would only respond in one way.
By supplying even more aid to crush the so-called "local forces."
"Waaaaah! Monster!"
"What?!"
"The corpses! The corpses are getting up!"
Bang! Bang!
"Help! Somebody help me!!"
Just as the man was lost in his fantasies of domination, chaos erupted behind him where the wounded were being treated and the bodies gathered.
"Who told you to open fire?!"
The man spun around furiously. None of the wounded were supposed to die before they captured the escapees—they still had to be interrogated.
But as he turned, his expression froze, his pupils constricting in horror. He immediately raised his gun and opened fire.
Because before his eyes, the corpses strewn across the ground were rising—one after another—lunging at the nearest soldiers and tearing into them. Many who failed to react in time were bitten and clawed by the dead brought back to life.