Just as Kiana was about to ask Kallen a question, Kallen turned to look into the distance, where three masked figures in black robes were approaching.
"Ah... it seems the people here to pick me up have arrived. You should leave quickly, miss," Kallen said to Kiana, looking at the three masked figures.
"Miss Kallen, why did you try to run away?" the leading masked man asked Kallen.
"Grandpa Arthur, I wasn't planning to run. I just saw this young lady fall from the sky and ran over to save her."
"Nonsense. A traitor to the organization has no credibility to speak of." "Don't forget, it was you who stole the organization's crystal half a year ago."
The other two masked men held a great deal of resentment towards Kallen, or rather, most people in Schicksal held a great deal of resentment towards her.
Kallen's actions of robbing the rich to help the poor and punishing evil while promoting good had severely harmed their interests and reputation.
The leader waved his hand, signaling his two subordinates to be quiet.
"Miss Kallen, if you are willing to repent, I can still plead with the master on your behalf."
"It's useless. Father has already made his decision. Besides... I have no reason to live anymore."
Kallen knew that falling in love with a Herrscher was a complete insult and trampling of her father's ideals and the ideals of the Kaslana family.
Kallen couldn't forget Yae Sakura, otherwise she wouldn't have admitted at her trial that she knew a Herrscher and told everyone that she had fallen hopelessly in love with one.
After Yae Sakura's death, Kallen had completely lost hope in this world.
"Enough talk! Come with me now!" A subordinate lackey, afraid that Arthur would soften if they talked any longer, directly yanked on Kallen's shackles to drag her away.
Being suddenly pulled like that, Kallen, who was still reminiscing about her time with Yae Sakura, nearly fell.
But then, the person pulling Kallen was sent flying by a kick from Kiana.
"What do you think you're doing to my savior!" Kiana slowly retracted her leg, then turned to Kallen with a confident smile and said, "Don't be fooled by how cute I look. I can be pretty tough in a fight, you know!"
But Kallen didn't feel relieved at all. She shouted worriedly at Kiana.
"Watch your back!"
As Kallen was warning Kiana, the masked man named Arthur's figure flickered and disappeared from sight, reappearing behind Kiana.
Arthur had intended to teleport behind Kiana and knock her out, but the moment he appeared, he dared not move, nor could he.
Because a hand was resting on his shoulder. The moment the hand touched him, Arthur felt the gravity on his entire body increase by several hundred times.
This was a hundred-fold gravity Ryn had applied. If the opponent was crushed to death, so be it. If not...
"Go on. Seeing as you worked so hard to get over here, it'd be a shame not to make a move..." Ryn pressed down on Arthur with one hand, whispering into his ear.
But Arthur didn't move. The sudden appearance of Ryn and the abnormal gravity on his body told him that this guy behind him could easily kill everyone present.
Years of combat experience told Arthur to just play dead. Since the opponent didn't kill him immediately, he shouldn't provoke him later.
But Ryn had no intention of letting him go. If he hadn't used a black hole to slow down time in this area, he almost wouldn't have made it in time to stop Arthur. Ryn himself couldn't bear to hit Kiana, so how could he let someone else attack her.
"If you won't make a move, then I will~"
"Ah!—"
Ryn grabbed the hand Arthur had raised mid-air to strike Kiana and tore it right off.
Then he crushed the severed arm into a small ball and placed it in Arthur's other hand.
Once finished, Ryn tossed Arthur to the ground like a piece of trash.
The actions of Ryn and Arthur were so fast that they barely gave anyone time to react. By the time Kallen reacted, Arthur's hand was already gone.
"Grandpa Arthur!" Kallen helped up Grandpa Arthur, who had been thrown by Ryn, and hurriedly checked his injuries.
Kallen's cry brought the shocked crowd back to their senses. One of Arthur's two subordinates pushed Kallen aside to help Arthur up himself.
The other roared at Ryn:
"You bastard, who the hell are you."
Ryn gave him a sidelong glance and said:
"I'm just a passing-by savior."
Then Ryn gave him a slap as well, sending him flying.
In contrast to the masked men's fury, Kiana was ecstatic, jumping up and down to hug Ryn.
"Ryn! How did you get here too?"
"When we saw you suddenly disappear, Bronya and I were worried sick. This is a hidden area open only to members of the Kaslana family, so I had Cortana force her way in," Ryn said, stroking Kiana's head.
"The objects in this area have real feedback. It's practically a true Honkai God Realm. Silly Kiana, if we hadn't arrived in time, you might have gotten into trouble," the little witch Bronya replied from the side.
"Ehehe. I didn't expect this to happen either..." Kiana rubbed her head sheepishly.
"Let's go. This area is hidden by Schicksal. Since we forced our way in, the alarms back at Schicksal are probably going crazy right now." Ryn picked up Kiana and prepared to leave with Bronya.
But Kiana shook her head, jumped down, and ran over to Kallen's side. Kiana helped up Kallen, who had been pushed over, and then said:
"Ryn, I can't leave yet! I have to save Kallen. I can't let them take her away like this. I'm sorry, Kallen, about your grandfather's injury..."
"It's okay, it'll go back to the way it was next time anyway..." Kallen smiled wryly and shook her head, then placed Kiana's hand in Ryn's and said to them, "Leave this place. I'm not worth saving... This is my destiny."
"But..."
"Thank you, beautiful girl... this is enough." Kallen smiled at Kiana, then turned and followed the three crippled figures away.
Watching Kallen's retreating figure, Kiana felt an inexplicable sadness, and Ryn's heart was also a little touched. Both could feel that Kallen was filled with sorrow and despair.
Bronya, on the other hand, felt no sadness at all. She only knew that Kallen's retreating figure seemed world-weary. After all, Bronya's emotional module was damaged, and she had lost her feelings.
But Bronya still developed some interest in Kallen. She pulled up Kallen's information module.
"Kallen Kaslana. Born in 1453, she is the eldest daughter of Francis, the 29th head of the Kaslana family...
At the age of 16, she passed the trials and became the captain of Schicksal's anti-Honkai unit—the Valkyrie Squad.
For the next eight years, she was always on the front lines against the Honkai. She sealed over 1,000 Honkai Beasts. To commend her achievements, Schicksal created the Oath of Judah, a weapon only she could use."
(This was just Schicksal's propaganda at the time. In reality, the Oath of Judah was likely passed down through the Kaslana family, as it even bears the Kaslana family crest.
The Oath of Judah is a Divine Key, created by the Previous Era. What Schicksal made were imitations of Judah. One can only say the writers are constantly retconning things, with settings all over the place.)