Realizing that Kiana had 'seen through' him, Siegfried suddenly became a little angry.
He felt that his tone and demeanor just now should have been fine, so if Kiana could instantly tell that those words weren't his, didn't that mean...
—In Kiana's heart, Siegfried Kaslana is a dummy?!
At that moment, realizing that this was his image in his daughter's heart, Siegfried, annoyed, began to furiously rub Kiana's hair, messing up her neatly combed style, while saying irritably.
"Kiana, so in your mind, your old dad is a dummy who can't say anything nice, is that right?"
"Yep."
Kiana, her mood having improved slightly, replied to Siegfried very bluntly.
"What kind of normal person would use the Judgment of Shamash to bake a pizza..."
"..."
Rendered speechless by Kiana's single sentence, Siegfried suddenly felt a little sad.
The good news was that his daughter's sorrow seemed to have been somewhat alleviated.
But the bad news was that he now felt his dignity as a father had completely vanished, and at the same time...
—Leo Ash had completely stolen his second daughter away!
Thinking about it now, although he was the one who said those words earlier, after Kiana saw through him as just a messenger, not only did she not start dwelling on it and get angry, but she accepted the admonishment Siegfried relayed quite frankly.
What did that mean?
It meant that his words as a father were not as effective as those of Leo Ash, a 'comrade'!
If it weren't for the fact that they were about to storm Otto's doorstep and scatter his ashes, Siegfried would definitely have a good long talk with his two daughters about how they really saw this Leo Ash person.
"Alright, alright, stop messing around."
Seeing the girl she considered her daughter was clearly no longer excessively entangled over the past, Cecilia picked up the Judgment of Shamash from the table and handed it to Siegfried.
"Siegfried, we have more important things to do right now."
"Yeah... we do have more important things to do."
Gripping the twin pistols, Siegfried could instantly tell that this pair of Judgment of Shamash was not the same as his old friend.
Although they looked identical to the Judgment of Shamash on the outside, in terms of energy intensity, this replicated pair was clearly not as powerful as the original.
And according to the analysis Welt had done when replicating Divine Keys before, while the replicated Divine Keys could display power close to the original in short battles, it was hard to say what would happen over time.
Not only in terms of power, but also in terms of material quality, the replicated Divine Keys were inferior to the originals.
Especially the Judgment of Shamash, known as the [Key of Destruction]. After activating its Zeroth Power, it probably wouldn't take long for the intense strain it placed on the blade to cause the greatsword-mode Judgment of Shamash to self-destruct.
Cecilia's Abyss Flower didn't have such immense destructive power, but it was still a product hastily replicated by Welt.
Sigh, forget it, forget it.
Being able to return here was already the result of Ancestor Kevin suddenly seeing the light. Now Welt has even prepared Divine Keys for me and Cecilia. The situation is much better than I had imagined.
"But speaking of which."
Looking at his beloved wife swinging Abyss Flower, Siegfried suddenly asked with great confusion.
"Cecilia, I was too emotional to ask before, but can you tell me now, how were you resurrected?"
"Hmm, you say resurrected, but I wasn't really completely dead, I don't think."
Stopping her weapon swings, Cecilia thought for a moment and then said to the others.
"After I 'died in battle' fourteen years ago, my soul attached itself to Abyss Flower."
"And over a long period of time, my soul gradually began to dissipate. If a few more years had passed, my soul would probably have disappeared completely."
"But on one occasion, I suddenly found that my soul had unexpectedly transferred from Abyss Flower to Mr. Ash's body."
"And after he suddenly entered a World Bubble, I used the power emanating from that special World Bubble to condense a physical body—and that's the story of my resurrection."
Listening to Cecilia's explanation, Siegfried found that he had unknowingly become even more indebted to Leo Ash.
If Leo Ash hadn't brought Cecilia's soul into that World Bubble, he wouldn't have even known that her soul still existed.
"Dad, you..."
Seeing the fighting spirit suddenly ignite on Siegfried's face, Durandal said with complicated feelings.
"Are you planning to take revenge on Lord Bishop Otto this time?"
"Revenge..."
As his eldest daughter mentioned that word, Siegfried's thoughts immediately drifted to the past.
Although he was a warrior, he was no saint.
Fourteen years ago, after Siegfried swung his sword with a blow that could have almost killed him in order to protect the world and his loved ones, he never would have imagined that what he would get in return was not the praise of Bishop Otto, but two life-ending Honkai Fission Missiles.
In the years that followed, Siegfried, who had been tormented enough by Otto, naturally harbored resentment towards him.
But now, after being reunited with the family he thought he would never see again, Siegfried found that while he still wanted to defeat Otto, this desire did not stem from a heart of revenge.
The Kaslanas are a clan of saviors. Even now, Siegfried still believes so.
Since he bears the name of a world-saving clan, what he should be doing now is not seeking revenge, but protecting the people in this world who need his protection.
Rather than being consumed by hatred, he would rather fight and defeat Otto with a mindset of 'protection'.
After all, Siegfried hadn't forgotten one thing.
From the time he met Leo Ash until now, he truly owed him countless favors.
As a person with a normal moral compass, Siegfried naturally wanted to repay his benefactor.
But right now, no matter how hard Siegfried racked his brain, he couldn't think of how to repay this benefactor.
The other party was powerful enough; in terms of combat, Siegfried couldn't really help him much.
As for other areas... Leo Ash had a good head on his shoulders and could solve most problems himself.
If Siegfried really wanted to help Leo Ash, there was only one way to approach it.
Leo Ash was a notorious Avenger, and from the current situation, it was clear that this 'Avenger' persona was not a disguise, but a manifestation of the concept of revenge being deeply ingrained in his soul.
Honestly, Siegfried could understand this feeling, but blindly seeking revenge could very well lead to Leo Ash destroying himself before he could complete his revenge.
He wasn't very smart or eloquent, so persuading Leo Ash was probably a lost cause.
So now, he could only use a more subtle approach to tell Leo Ash—don't just think about revenge, fight to protect.
Of course, Siegfried didn't know if this method would be effective.
But since this was all he could do now, Siegfried could only strive to be a good role model.
Sigh, such a good young man, forced into becoming an Avenger by the Honkai.
He seems fine now, but if he really finds out that Otto is the biggest obstacle to his fight against the Honkai, then...
—Right now, he might be the one among us who wants to kill Otto the most.
..
Meanwhile, in another room, Leo Ash, who had proactively cut the mental link, gave everyone an OK sign.
Upon seeing his gesture, everyone let out a simultaneous sigh of relief.
Although in the current situation, letting Kiana rest peacefully at the Anti-Entropy base didn't seem like a big problem, everyone present who was close to her was naturally happy that their comrade could adjust her mental state so quickly.
As for Su, who had just been away for a short while, he had also learned from the others about Leo Ash's words regarding Kevin's decision to join the battle.
Hearing Leo Ash's decision to 'temporarily join forces with Kevin', Su, who had been caught uncomfortably in the middle, could finally relax completely.
After Kevin told him about this, Su had been constantly thinking about how to persuade Leo Ash not to fight with Kevin.
After all, it was indeed Kevin's fault last time. Leo Ash had already surrendered, yet Kevin still struck him with his sword. Even the most good-tempered person would not easily forget such an incident.
But now...
Sigh, as expected of Mr. Ash.
Whatever his true thoughts are, at least he prioritizes the bigger picture.
All my thoughts were wasted... what a completely unexpected situation.
But, this is good.
The last problem has been solved. Now we just need to steadily deal with Otto...
As this thought appeared in his mind, Su suddenly cut it off with a self-deprecating thought.
As someone who had peered into the information of other worlds, he knew very well that Otto was not someone who could be easily dealt with.
Even with his backup plans cut off, even when forced into a corner, he would still do everything in his power to carry out his plan for the sake of his long-cherished wish.
Many people underestimated Otto, but very few have ever truly gotten the better of him.
"Hmm, it's only been less than ten minutes since we left the Schicksal headquarters."
After checking the time, Leo Ash immediately focused his power on his Stigmata, summoning Ji Lin and Yae Sakura who had been on standby inside.
"Wait, this is...!"
Seeing clearly that the woman before her was Ji Lin, who should have been completely dead, Fu Hua asked in surprise.
"Ji Lin, you..."
"It's been a long time, Hua."
Seeing that Fu Hua was in good condition, Ji Lin smiled at her and said.
"Seeing you like this now, I can finally be at ease."
On the other side, Su looked at the woman with the same face as his comrade, Sakura, and a complicated emotion flashed through his heart.
Although he knew this woman was not his deceased comrade, her appearance and temperament made him feel as if he had returned to the past.
But now, of course, Yae Sakura would not respond to Su's gaze in any way.
Yae Sakura, who had been staying within the Stigmata, looked directly at Leo Ash.
"Benefactor, is there anything you need me to do?"
"Oh, about that..."
After giving Welt a look, Leo Ash watched as two Jizō Mitama blades floated in front of Yae Sakura and Ji Lin, and then said to them.
"Ancestor Ji Lin, and Miss Sakura, this time we need enough people to fight against a villain."
"This Jizō Mitama is a powerful weapon against the enemy. Please accept them."
Just by holding the weapons, a hint of unease appeared on both their faces.
After all, this was Jizō Mitama. Even as replicas, they still possessed power close to the original.
To be honest, if he didn't trust that Welt had already made preparations beforehand, Leo Ash wouldn't have dared to so calmly have almost everyone holding a Jizō Mitama.
"Now that our combat forces are assembled, Mr. Siegfried and his family will make their own arrangements. Mr. Su, I'll have to ask you to act as the 'mastermind' of this battle, staying here at the Anti-Entropy base to command and transmit information."
"Master Fu Hua and Wendy will be a team, Mei and Miss Sakura will be a team, Ancestor Ji Lin and Yuna will be a team—since those two don't understand technology, they need a modern person with them."
"Sovereign Welt, as originally planned, will remain here as a last resort, ready for when Otto flips the table. And it's more convenient for me to act alone, so I'll be enough on my own."
After completing the basic tactical arrangements, Leo Ash stretched his limbs and revealed a very rare smile.
Staring at Leo Ash's cruel smile, Wendy, who had always had a good impression of him, actually shivered.
Se-Senior Brother's expression right now is so scary!
At that moment, the smiling Leo Ash said to all his comrades around him.
"In the past, Otto allowed the Honkai to develop, killing many loyal and good people in Schicksal. For both emotional and logical reasons, we cannot let him continue."
"Now..."
"—It's our turn to settle the old scores with him."
..