The white mist swirled and expanded wildly before Kiana, quickly growing to tens of meters tall.
A legless mist behemoth slammed its two swollen forelimbs hard onto the ground, letting out a tremendous roar at Kiana.
"Is this... a Chariot-class Honkai Beast?!" Kiana raised her arm to block the oncoming sonic wave, managing to squint her eyes open and make out its form.
It was indeed a massive Chariot-class Honkai Beast! But its body wasn't composed of the Honkai-energy-infused silicate glass, but rather swirling, rapidly flowing streams of white mist.
Even though it looked larger than any Chariot-class Honkai Beast Kiana had ever seen, its gaseous body somehow lacked the oppressive presence of the others.
Perhaps because the mist seemed too fragile... or maybe because the surrounding objects were just so enormous?
Regardless, Kiana felt not a shred of fear. After confirming its hostile intent, she clenched her fists, instantly charged forward, and threw a punch straight at the Honkai Beast's head.
[Operating Power: [%]]
Kiana's punch carried significant force; even hitting empty air, the residual force blew the mist Honkai Beast's head apart.
But it did hit empty air...
It's really gas?!
The feeling of a fully charged punch missing its mark wasn't pleasant. Kiana was nearly thrown off balance by her own momentum. If she hadn't trained how to handle missed attacks, she might have been caught off guard.
The headless Honkai Beast acted as if unharmed, raising its thick forelimbs high and slamming them down towards Kiana.
Although Kiana suspected the mist limbs likely had no real attack power, she respectfully raised her arms, attempting to block.
As it turned out, Kiana's respect was well-founded.
A crack suddenly appeared on the enormous bathtub, extending from the crater created by the mist Honkai Beast.
With that much force, getting hit would probably be game over!
Having instinctively abandoned the block in favor of dodging just before the attack landed, Kiana thought with lingering fear as she looked at the crack.
Just then, the mist Honkai Beast let out a mournful cry. It seemed even more agitated about missing than Kiana was.
Strange, how can I read emotions from a cloud of mist?
Shaking her head, Kiana settled into a fighting stance, waiting for the mist Honkai Beast's next move.
With its entire body in that misty state, landing effective attacks would be difficult. Pointless attacks were useless for now. She'd have to wait for the mist monster to make a few more moves, identify its key weakness, and then deal with it.
Although this mist Honkai Beast was powerful, it wasn't an overwhelming opponent for the current Kiana. Even without knowing its weakness, she was confident she could hold her own against it.
But she couldn't afford to delay now; she had to hurry and find him!
Just as Kiana was gritting her teeth, observing the mist Honkai Beast, trying to find its weakness for a killing blow, the beast let out another wail.
A bizarre scene unfolded. The towering mist Honkai Beast suddenly dispersed into a large cloud of mist, then rapidly flowed into the crack it had created.
Kiana watched, dumbfounded, as the mist swirled over the damaged area, repairing the gap with its own white substance.
Its current demeanor... was the complete opposite of its earlier ferocity, resembling a child upset about breaking something important.
Kiana watched the crack on the bathtub being quickly and carefully filled. She quietly took two steps back, planning to use this opportunity to escape and pursue the figure.
But her retreat had barely begun when the mist suddenly turned agitated.
Then, something resembling a chain shot out directly from the center of the mist, lunging towards Kiana.
Don't be fooled by the mist; Kiana understood that when the chain hit, it would likely be harder than steel. Otherwise, this bathtub wouldn't have been cracked by this very mist.
Looks like it isn't immobilized by the damage... I wonder if it can still move, or interrupt its repair work...
Gotta try to find out, right?
Besides, if I delay here any longer, that guy will definitely get away!
No more hesitation this time. Kiana turned and ran.
As expected, the mist immediately became agitated, thrashing and struggling as it tried to pursue Kiana.
The previously condensed mist expanded abruptly. Kiana glanced back and saw the mist behind her forming into a sky-blotting giant!
Its size... felt like even the massive bathtub she was standing on wouldn't be big enough for this half-bodied giant to bathe in!
"It's huge!!" Kiana exclaimed, her fleeing speed increasing. Soon, she reached the edge of the bathtub and leaped outwards.
Kiana shot upwards like a cannonball. Unbound by gravity, she maintained her upward velocity, zipping through the gaps between the giant's fingers by a hair's breadth.
"Phew... close call..." Landing with a flip on the distant carriage, Kiana watched the giant rapidly dissipate and sighed in relief.
Looks like it can't leave the damaged spot...
A sudden sense of danger hit her. Kiana instinctively dove forward, dodging an attack from behind.
Looking back, an almost identical cloud of mist erupted from the carriage, reforming into a Chariot-class Honkai Beast, swinging its forelimbs viciously at her.
This time, it didn't slam downwards but swung horizontally, trying to sweep Kiana off her feet.
Kiana glanced back behind her; only a small wisp of mist remained, still repairing the crack.
"So you won't let me pass unless I beat you, huh?" Kiana gritted her teeth, flexing her wrist, her gaze on the mist Honkai Beast growing increasingly dangerous.
"Alright then... huh?!" Just as Kiana clenched her fist to charge, a hand suddenly appeared beside her, grabbing her and pulling her away.
This felt completely different from before. Kiana didn't even need to see the hand's owner to know this was someone she definitely couldn't possibly know.
Probably a girl, not very strong... maybe a bit stronger than average...
The important part—there was no malice from this person.
Having processed this, Kiana finally looked back and saw a girl dressed entirely in gray-white, pulling her along.
"Wait, you..."
"Don't talk, come with me. I know what you're here for... I'll help you shake that thing off," the girl glanced back and said to Kiana.