After leaving Himeko's house, Judah went to find Kallen, but Kallen's house was dark. Kallen and Yae Sakura were already asleep, so Judah turned around to find Ryn and the others.
But on the way, she saw three unfamiliar people constantly fiddling with instruments in their hands.
"Damn it, is this thing playing with us! I already caught it, and then it popped up from who knows where again!!" A red-haired Tesla cursed as she frantically clicked on her instrument, tracking Cortana's signal.
"Tesla, we can't let this artificial intelligence escape. If tonight's mission is leaked, it will be a huge problem. And... Dr. Yiselian, hang in there. If you fall asleep, we're all dead!" Nancy comforted Tesla while shaking the sleep-deprived Yiselian next to her, who had dark circles under her eyes and looked like she was about to drop dead.
"Okay..." Yiselian replied weakly.
Yiselian had been working non-stop in the lab for a long time before being suddenly dragged into this stupid mission.
"Hmm? Hello, what are you all doing?" Judah curiously observed the group. She couldn't understand the various instruments in their hands.
"What the— you scared me to death, who is that?" Tesla was startled by the sudden voice behind her.
"Holy crap, Kallen!"
"Why would you 'crap' Kallen? I'm not Kallen, I'm Judah. Never mind, I'll just capture you all and let Theresa decide." Judah waved her hand, binding all three of them, and also gagged Tesla who was about to 'crap' Kallen.
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"Huh, why did those people stop chasing?" Cortana silently retracted the subroutine decoy she had just thrown out.
Today, while she was sneaking around taking pictures for her album of students' sleeping faces, she had a strange feeling that someone was after her. And it turned out someone did have ill intentions; Tesla and her group suddenly cut off her communications and restricted her.
So Cortana materialized, walked right out of the data space, and left a few subroutine decoys to play with Tesla and her group.
Cortana didn't pay much attention to it. After all, the school was full of talented people, and she had been subjected to data attacks from students many times before, so she was used to it.
However, when Cortana tried to connect to the academy's network, she found that the entire network had been isolated.
"Tsk, if this isn't someone planning something big, then something has really happened. I don't need to worry about Ryn's side, and Mei's group has Kika and Judah. I'll go check on the other students..." Cortana said as she began to check the student dormitories one by one.
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On Ryn's side.
_Ryn_ and Theresa were observing Kiana's battle from a high platform. Kiana had already defeated many enemies simulated by the Memorial Arena.
"As expected of a Kaslana, her talent in combat is astonishing. Kiana is getting stronger and stronger with each fight, she's already defeated seven strong enemies... I remember when I first used this training room, I was exhausted after only defeating three."
Theresa looked at Kiana with satisfaction, although she didn't know why Kiana's fighting stance was so similar to that monster Durandal...
"She's becoming more and more like Cecilia..."
"It's only normal for a daughter to resemble her mother, right!" Ryn said.
"Indeed."
As Kiana kicked Sin Mal unconscious, the battle approached its finale.
The screen displayed the words "Final Boss."
Kiana wiped the sweat from her face, ready to face the final boss.
As the phantom solidified, a person no one expected appeared.
"As you wished, I have come. It's been a long time, Kiana." Siegfried greeted Kiana with a brilliant smile.
Kiana's unwavering desire to see her father again and face him in a duel had unexpectedly caused the Memorial Arena to simulate Siegfried.
"How is this possible... How could the strongest enemy in Kiana's memory be Siegfried! No, Kiana is no match for Siegfried, I must stop the training immediately!!"
Theresa frantically pressed the training termination button, only to get an error message.
"How can this be!?"
Theresa continued to frantically click in disbelief, but apart from constant error messages, Siegfried remained. The network of St. Freya High School had been hacked and modified by Tesla and her group, so no matter what Theresa did, she couldn't end the Memorial Arena.
"Let's just watch for now... I'll step in if there's any danger." Ryn stopped Theresa from smashing the equipment.
"Alright..."
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"Dad?! I've been looking for you..."
Although she had always said she wouldn't care about that bastard father of hers, the moment she actually saw him, Kiana's tears couldn't help but flow.
"So here I am, aren't I? It's been about four years, right? In these four years, has your chest gotten any bigger? Let your old dad come and check."
Siegfried extended his hands with a grin. Then, Kiana, with a dark expression, punched him in the face, sending him flying.
"Are you kidding me! Four years ago, you left without saying anything, just disappeared. Ryn and I traveled all over the world looking for you! I decided long ago that the next time I saw you, I would teach you a good lesson!" Kiana shouted at Siegfried, tears streaming down her face.
Siegfried clutched his swollen face where Kiana had hit him and said pitifully, "Um... I'm just a computer-simulated program..."
"That's perfect. I'll treat you as a practice run before I find the real one, and I'll get to vent my anger properly!"
"That's great, let me see how much my daughter has grown!"
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Kiana and Siegfried fought, trading punches and kicks. The hearts of Theresa and Ryn, which had been in their throats, eased a little.
"Uh, it doesn't seem as serious as Theresa said. It looks more like they're playing..."
"Yes, it's like they're just playing around. Neither of them is using their full strength... Does this mean this Siegfried is an illusion formed from Kiana's fantasy of wanting to meet Siegfried with all her might?"
"That must be it. I've only seen my father-in-law in photos before, this is the first time I've seen Siegfried in his entirety!"
"Hmph, when the real Siegfried shows up, you and I will teach him a lesson together. You hold him down, and I'll do the hitting!!"
"Is that a good idea?! After all, Siegfried is my father-in-law..."
"What's not good about it! He's already unforgivable for stealing Cecilia, and he even abused Kiana!!! Otherwise, why would the Memorial Arena recognize Siegfried as a strong enemy in Kiana's memory!!"
"Now that you put it that way, you're right. When I first met Kiana, she was so hungry she was eating Honkai Beasts. When the time comes, I'll bring Judah along, and we'll beat him to death."