"Hm? Someone has infiltrated St. Freya... Alright, I understand." After Cortana finished speaking, Ryn ended the communication with her.
During the call, Cortana told Ryn that many members of Anti-Entropy had infiltrated St. Freya High School. It was possible that Sin Mal had a hidden tracking device on her, or that there was a spy within St. Freya High School.
Anti-Entropy's targets were the Third Herrscher and Sin Mal. A guy claiming to be the Anti-Entropy Sovereign had attacked Himeko's house and was killed by Kika. Nancy, Tesla, and Yiselian were captured by Judah. It was said that Tesla's mouth was so toxic that Judah strung her up and whipped her several times...
"Anti-Entropy Sovereign... Heh, the Anti-Entropy Sovereign is still at home preparing for his classes right now!"
Anti-Entropy. Ryn didn't want to comment too much on them. Ryn had no favorable impression of the organization that had single-handedly caused the Third Honkai War.
"Theresa, something's happened! Anti-Entropy has invaded St. Freya High School, the war has begun!"
"What? Anti-Entropy?! If those bastards dare to harm my students, I'll tear them to shreds!" Theresa smashed the Memorial Arena's controller with a single punch, but Siegfried's virtual figure did not disappear.
Helpless, Theresa had to shout to Kiana: "Kiana! Stop playing around and end the training! Anti-Entropy has invaded the academy, the students are in danger right now!"
Kiana nodded to the two of them and then turned to face Siegfried.
"Did you hear me, you bastard old man! Hurry up and end this training, I have to go!"
Siegfried still wore a smile, saying: "Who said you could leave? You should be well aware of the rules here, shouldn't you? You can only leave after you've defeated me."
"Stop joking around, my classmates are in danger, I need to go protect them! Ryn needs me right now!"
"Protecting others, huh... As expected of my daughter! But unfortunately, I won't let you leave." Siegfried dropped his cavalier attitude, looking at Kiana with a serious expression.
"Playtime's over. Ryn... is a Herrscher, isn't he! The best choice right now is to kill him. Kiana, don't forget the Kaslana family's mission is to protect the world from the Honkai. To protect the world, Herrschers are beings that must be killed, even if it's the one you love!"
"Dad? Why?!" Kiana looked at Siegfried in disbelief. Just because Ryn is a Herrscher, he has to be killed?
But Siegfried had no intention of explaining further to Kiana. He raised the Judgment of Shamash in his hands—in its dual-pistol form. Under everyone's watch, the muzzles of the dual pistols began to transform, becoming the more powerful Judgment of Shamash—cannon form.
"Forgive me, I have to do this." Siegfried pulled the trigger on Kiana.
Boom—
A shot from the Seventh Divine Key, the Key of Destruction—the Judgment of Shamash in its cannon form—flew past Kiana, causing a massive explosion behind her.
The blast wave from the explosion sent Kiana's hair dancing wildly in the wind. Ryn flashed to Kiana's side, shielding her from the aftershock.
"Judgment of Shamash cannon form... Siegfried, are you trying to kill your own daughter?!" Theresa shouted angrily from the platform above.
At that moment, Ryn and Theresa became even more resolute in their shared thought that if they ever met Siegfried in the future, they would definitely give him a thorough beating.
Facing Siegfried, who was holding the Judgment of Shamash and firing at her, Kiana felt her limbs turn cold, and she collapsed weakly to the ground.
Ryn stood in front of Kiana, holding a pseudo-black hole as he watched Siegfried.
"You've gone too far, Siegfried. I'm right here in front of you. Come on, try and kill me!"
But Siegfried didn't even glance at Ryn. He was just a computer-simulated program, and his only target was Kiana. Anyone outside the training simulation was not within his attack parameters.
Kiana, sitting paralyzed on the ground, seemed to have returned to the great fire from four years ago...
One of Siegfried's arms had vanished. The greatsword of Shamash was thrown to the side as he knelt and hugged himself.
"We made a promise, didn't we... that a Kaslana will protect the one they love most, no matter the cost!
I've fulfilled my promise. Now it's your turn... my daughter."
"No... no..." Kiana gripped her shoulders in fear.
Forget it, forget it! A truth no one will ever know! Forget it!!!
Kiana's body's self-preservation mechanism was constantly trying to make her forget the memories from that time, but no matter how much her subconscious refused to admit it... the Memorial Arena would help her relive those memories...
"Kiana, have you made up your mind? I'll say it again, even if you don't do it now, you'll still kill him with your own hands sooner or later. This is the destiny of the Kaslana family!" Siegfried pressed the cannon's muzzle to Kiana's head, yelling at her.
Ryn tried to slap the cannon away, but his hand passed right through Siegfried.
Because what Ryn and Theresa were seeing was merely a hologram projected by the equipment... This was Kiana's main battlefield; only Kiana could attack the enemy constructed from her own mind...
"Impossible! No one is going to kill Ryn!" Kiana stood up and loudly refuted Siegfried.
"Is that so..." Siegfried put away his dual guns, and the two pistols merged together to form a greatsword.
Judgment of Shamash—greatsword form.
"Useless, foolish daughter. If you're going to be this stubborn, then you can just die here."
Feeling the power emanating from that greatsword, Ryn desperately wanted to smash this damn Memorial Arena, but doing so might cause damage to Kiana's brain.
"Why, why, why!!!" Theresa paced around anxiously.
She couldn't understand how a fully-unleashed greatsword of Shamash could appear in Kiana's mind. This was a form that only fully manifested when using Shamash's Zeroth Power—Might of An-Utu!
According to Schicksal records, a single strike from Might of An-Utu could completely wipe a large city off the map.
"The immense power of Might of An-Utu is something not even the user can escape... Kiana has seen this sword... and she's been searching for Siegfried this whole time, could it be..."
Watching Siegfried raise the greatsword of Shamash, about to release its Zeroth Power, Kiana's pupils gradually turned golden... but then slowly faded back to a clear, watery blue.
Ryn took Kiana's hand. Feeling the warmth from his hand, Kiana made up her mind.
"Herrscher or human... I made a promise with my stupid old dad a long time ago, to protect the person I love no matter what! The real dad would never stop me from being with Ryn, you fake!!" Kiana shouted at Siegfried.
"I will defeat you!"
"In that case, take my power with you, Kiana!"
Ryn transferred his Honkai energy to Kiana.
And with the infusion of Ryn's Honkai energy, something unexpected appeared before Kiana's eyes, something she had been longing for...
「High-concentration Honkai energy reaction detected. Converting to autonomous loading mode.」
「Loading ten percent...」
「Loading fifty percent...」
「Loading one hundred percent. Loading complete.」
「Prototype 4th-generation Valkyrie Godslayer battlesuit, activated.」
The pattern of Ryn's Stigmata appeared on Kiana's forehead and chest. The purple-toned White Knight: Moonlight had reappeared in the world.
Clenching her fists, Kiana felt her power, gave Ryn a light kiss, then leaped into the air, crossing her arms in front of her chest and curling up.
"The moment I put this on, I felt like I could smash that stupid old dad with one punch. That feeling is even stronger now..."
"Wings of Light, deploy!"
As Kiana abruptly stretched out her body, the wings of light on her back shot towards Siegfried from all directions like a laser rain.
The virtual was, in the end, virtual. Siegfried's body and the Shamash in his hands were easily shattered by the wings of light.
"Kiana, you've finally made a choice... You've made the same choice as your father, becoming someone who gave up the Kaslana family mission to protect the one you love most...
You will inherit my reason to fight, my most prideful daughter—Kiana Kaslana."
"As for Ryn... that is your choice, Kiana, and I won't make things difficult for you. But I can't say the same for the real Siegfried, you know?~"
"Also, I'm just a virtual program, so don't hold such a grudge against me... I'll be sad too. Finally, take care of yourself, and goodbye..." Siegfried smiled and waved at Kiana before dissipating into the wind.
"Kiana, what's going on? Siegfried, he..." Theresa hurriedly asked.
But as the Memorial Arena session ended, Kiana's memories were once again suppressed deep within her mind by her body's protective mechanism.
"I'm sorry, Theresa, I... I don't know... I can't remember anything..."
Kiana stared blankly at her own hands, completely devoid of any impression of the fire, of what had happened back then.
Ryn hugged Kiana from behind, holding her hands. "It's okay. No matter what happens, we'll face it together."
"Mhm..."
Kiana had forgotten many things, but the promise to protect the one she loved, no matter the cost, was firmly etched in her heart.
(Bonus: A gorgeous picture of Kiana's most beautiful moment)