"I, Siegfried Kaslana..."
"Am your biological father."
When he said those words, Durandal didn't believe him at first...
Or so it should have been.
There was no evidence for these things Siegfried said.
Okay, although Durandal knew that Overseer Otto might really do such things, no evidence was no evidence.
As a Schicksal traitor, it was normal for Siegfried to smear Overseer Otto.
But knowing clearly that he had no evidence, Durandal realized with utter shock that her heart had actually 'accepted' these words.
*I am the real Kiana Kaslana???*
*No, that's not right, how could I have such strange thoughts.*
*Siegfried's words have absolutely no proof; how could I believe the words of an enemy!*
*I need to trust my own feel...*
But the moment she thought about how her own feelings were also telling her a fact similar to Siegfried's words, Durandal felt her heart fall into complete chaos.
She shouldn't have been this kind of person. With her resolute character, she shouldn't have been confused by an enemy's words and feelings.
But at this moment, Durandal suddenly realized a laughable fact.
Although she had Rita investigate Aaron's whereabouts and true identity...
In her heart, perhaps she hadn't been prepared to welcome 'familial love' at all.
That was why now, after knowing such a shocking fact, she was as at a loss as an ordinary little girl.
As a Valkyrie protecting humanity, Durandal should not flee from the battlefield.
But as the girl Bianka, by the time she realized her actions, she had already sprinted away from the Empress Hotel.
*What exactly... is wrong with me...*
*Is what Siegfried said true or not.*
*No, I must go find the Overseer and ask for clarity!*
*But if what he said is true...*
*What should I do then?*
.......................
After parting ways with Siegfried, Aaron immediately... discarded the jammed Bluetooth earpiece with great disdain.
*Ah, it seems Mei and Kiana have already started fighting the enemy, otherwise the communication device, which has been treated, wouldn't have been rendered unusable.*
*Siegfried is squatting down below right now... better keep him and Kiana from meeting for the time being.*
*Hmm, if the communicator isn't working, it's not like I don't have other methods.*
*Magnetic Field Rotation!*
After activating the power of Magnetic Field Rotation, Aaron immediately used the telepathic communication method of Magnetic Field Rotation to contact the only person in this world who possessed the same ability as him.
[Hey, Mei, are you there? Don't be surprised or change your expression when you hear this.]
[J-Ji Ran (Aaron)? Right, Senior Hell mentioned the use of Magnetic Field Rotation in other fields.]
"Mei? What's wrong?"
Kiana, who had been sprinting, heard Raiden Mei stop and looked back at her in confusion.
"Did you spot an enemy?"
"No, it's nothing."
[Anyway, find a way to keep Kiana in your current area first.]
[There are things here she cannot see.]
[Is that so... I understand.]
[Stay safe, I'm continuing the mission.]
After the communication with Aaron cut off, Raiden Mei's mind was filled with doubts.
*This hotel has something Kiana cannot see?*
*Before entering this hotel, Aaron dared to let Kiana act with him, which means in the eyes of Aaron, who already knows a lot of intelligence, there was no worry about Kiana seeing anything strange.*
*But now, Aaron actually said such things... Hmm, after entering this hotel, something new appeared...*
Glancing at Yuno sprinting at the very front, Mei suddenly understood.
*Right, Yuno.*
*Yuno appearing here was outside our plan.*
*Then 'Siegfried', Kiana's father whom Yuno mentioned, should be nearby.*
*Did Aaron make this judgment after meeting him?*
*Kiana cannot meet her father?*
Recalling the expression Kiana usually had when chatting about Siegfried, Raiden Mei felt something wasn't quite right.
Although Kiana usually said things like "Stinky Dad who didn't want his daughter" or "I'll definitely punch him when we meet," everyone could tell... okay, punching him might be serious.
But setting those things aside, everyone could see that Kiana actually loved and respected her father very much.
After all, Kiana Kaslana was just that easy to understand.
*Yet the reunion she has been looking forward to for so long is a 'cannot do' thing in Aaron's view?*
*Something's wrong.*
*What exactly is Aaron thinking...*
At this moment, Raiden Mei suddenly had an incredibly strange thought.
Back during the Holy Grail War period, she could feel that Aaron was to a certain extent guarding against 'Her' inside Mei, who could seize her body at any time.
And now, combining her speculation, Mei vaguely felt... Aaron seemed to also be... towards Kiana...
*Too strange.*
*I must be overthinking it.*
*Herrschers can sense each other.*
*Even with a Pseudo-Herrscher like Yuno, I can sense the Pseudo-Herrscher Core existing within her.*
*If Kiana's situation were the same as mine, as the Herrscher of Thunder, I couldn't possibly fail to sense the Core within her.*
*I must be overthinking it... right?*
.....................
In the lowest basement of the Empress Hotel, Aaron, having cut off contact with Mei, saw that door.
He wasn't worried about the safety of Mei and Kiana. After all, with their current strength, there weren't many people left in the world who could threaten them.
On Schicksal's side, Otto spent most of his time squatting at home not traveling far. Durandal was already tied up by Siegfried. Unless Theresa jumped out at a time like this... but Theresa wouldn't do anything to Kiana.
As for Rita, Rita wasn't quite enough.
Furthermore, the situation was special right now. Aside from the old, senile Dr. Magi who had been fooled, anyone with a brain knew Cocolia wanted the Gem of Serenity to induce the Fourth Honkai Eruption.
Leaving aside who the gem belonged to, everyone except Otto himself would want to stop the Fourth Honkai Eruption.
Under these circumstances, even if Kiana and the others encountered people from other factions, a fight wouldn't necessarily break out.
Rather than their safety, Aaron felt he should be more worried about his own side right now.
Easily blasting the door open with a punch, Aaron saw everything inside the basement.
In the basement, an old man had already fallen into a pool of blood.
And beside this old man, a Walter Clone was smiling wickedly while stepping on the man's head.
"Heh, old man, do you know you said some things you shouldn't have?"
"...T-Things I shouldn't have said?"
Dr. Magi, injured in the abdomen, struggled to lift his head and looked at this clone of a Herrscher.
"As a 'sinner' who has studied the Honkai for many years... this old man knows very well what level of power a Herrscher should have..."
"With just this power of yours... heh, 'Herrscher-level'..."
"You fucker...!"
Hearing Dr. Magi's mocking words, the Walter Clone suddenly kicked him away and spoke with a sinister expression.
"I'll deal with this clueless brat first, then I'll cook you."
"I guarantee, you will regret it."
"Ah, are you finally done talking?"
Glancing at Dr. Magi who had been kicked away, Aaron walked toward the Walter Clone while rotating his neck and limb joints.
"No need for self-introductions, I assume."
"Of course not—this great one has no need to know a rat's name."
The Walter Clone, currently in an extremely terrible mood, looked at the enemy before him and found that half-Honkai Beast form incredibly eyesore-inducing.
Just a few minutes ago, Cocolia's collaborator... well, calling him a collaborator was flattering Dr. Magi.
Cocolia had stated clearly that Dr. Magi was just a tool she had fooled. Once the gem was obtained, he wasn't that important anymore.
Dr. Magi had rushed into this area, demanding the Walter Clone remove the Gem of Serenity from the liquid Honkai crystal.
Someone with a rotten temper like the Walter Clone obviously wouldn't listen to Dr. Magi, so he just raised his hand and smacked him.
However, out of the thought that 'killing this guy would dirty my hands', the Walter Clone unexpectedly didn't strike to kill.
After getting beaten, Dr. Magi hadn't sworn at him then.
He simply said words that were easier to provoke the Walter Clone than swearing.
*'You don't know how terrifying a real Herrscher is at all', 'Once a real Herrscher is born, you can't beat it', 'Stop quickly, you don't want to die here because of Cocolia's stupidity either'!*
None of these sentences were insults, but for the arrogant Walter Clone, every single one was more mocking than a curse.
The Walter Clone, who considered himself to have Herrscher-level strength, being mocked like this—could he tolerate it?
If Aaron hadn't arrived here at this moment and interrupted his subsequent actions, the Walter Clone swore he would have properly tortured this old man who looked down on him, letting him know what a fate worse than death tasted like!
But now, he had no time to deal with that stinky old man for the moment.
Although torturing the old man was important, the enemy had fought his way right in front of him. If he didn't get a bit serious, he would be a bit of an idiot.
After all, the enemy before him... heh, although just a rat, was a very strong rat.
The Walter Clone actually felt a sense of 'threat' from him.
If he were facing a dead object like a Titan Mech, he wouldn't have this feeling.
This meant the guy in front of him really had the ability to threaten him.
"I don't care if you're a stinky rat from Schicksal or something from somewhere else, just die for me now!"
Instantly activating one hundred times gravity, the Walter Clone crushed the spot where Aaron originally stood with gravity.
However, in the instant before he raised his hand, Aaron had already completed his displacement.
When fighting the other Walter Clone earlier, Aaron had slightly observed the opponent's attack patterns.
Before attacking, these people would gather Honkai Energy first, and then have a superfluous hand-raising motion.
And the place these people attacked—without even thinking, it would definitely be his exact location.
So, as long as he retreated rapidly from his original spot the moment he sensed strong Honkai Energy fluctuations from the opponent, he could complete the evasion.
These clones might have Pseudo-Herrscher power, but they obviously didn't inherit Joyce's brain. In a real fight...
Even Aaron, when he first obtained power, would probably shake his head looking at this.
Empty power without brains; the final result would likely be like this.
"Whale-Slaying Tyrant Fist!"
Having completed his evasion, Aaron smashed a fist onto the Walter Clone's Imaginary Barrier, then borrowing the force from the collision between the Whale-Slaying Tyrant Fist and the barrier, he completed the prerequisite motion for the next move.
Magnetic Field Rotation: 220,000 Horsepower—
"Whale's Domination!"
Aaron, who had rapidly displaced to the enemy's flank, saw the look of horror on the Walter Clone's face.
Presumably, this clone's thinking was still stuck at the 'this guy can actually break my barrier' stage, unable to make any defensive moves in time.
*Whale-Slaying Tyrant Fist!*
Striking the opponent's neck with one punch, Aaron very successfully sent the Walter Clone's head flying on the spot.
In Dr. Magi's incredulous gaze, this terrifying man had disposed of a Pseudo-Herrscher within just a few moves.
Although Dr. Magi had previously expressed that the opponent had a significant gap compared to Herrscher level, a Pseudo-Herrscher was still very strong in this world!
Yet, this clone just died like that...
Honestly, this new man was truly a bit terrifying.
Moreover, this Honkai Beast-like state on his body... I have only seen it in research data.
The research data that dog Otto gave me mentioned that the Power of Salvation held by the Kaslana clan would cause the Kaslana clan to enter a [Semi-Honkai Beast] state.
And this power, previous data showed only Siegfried alone could use it... Is he Siegfried's illegitimate son?
No, there is another possibility.
Otto's Siren Project included a step of using Siegfried's daughter's DNA for human experimentation.
If Otto had Siegfried's DNA, it wouldn't be impossible to create some experimental subjects combining Siegfried's DNA with ordinary people.
*Fuck, this isn't right.*
*Doesn't this mean...*
*—This kid is Otto's lackey?*
.....................