On this day, Himeko and everyone else were sitting in the company lounge, watching Honkai Impact 3rd on the big screen.
The plot picked up right after the third episode.
In order to save Bronya, Theresa arrived at the central church beneath St. Freya Academy.
Here was hidden Schicksal's most advanced biotechnology.
"Search for data related to 'human brain integration with bio-chip.'"
As Theresa issued the command, the system AI reported: "In Schicksal's core database, 713 records were found. Of these, 712 are classified as top secret due to their relation to the 'Sirin Project' and cannot be accessed."
"Tch, that guy hid them again?" Theresa complained before continuing: "Then what about the remaining one?"
"On February 7, 2000, there is a related record from the Babylon Laboratory in Siberia."
"Database, retrieve that record for me."
"Affirmative, Lady Theresa."
Theresa fully immersed herself in the screen.
Kiana, who had been hiding at the doorway, saw this and immediately followed her in.
Time: February 7, 2000, 3:00 PM.
Location: Siberia, Babylon Laboratory.
Kiana looked around at everything, feeling completely unfamiliar.
She could only walk toward the tall tower structure while searching for any signs of people.
Here, she recalled the days she spent living with her dad in the snow, and through these memories, her past was revealed.
Four years after her father Siegfried disappeared, she had traveled from Europe all the way to Asia, eventually meeting Mei and the others.
She walked alone through the snow...
Not knowing when she would ever reach the end, she couldn't help but think of Mei and the others, longing for their everyday life.
Suddenly.
The silent communicator crackled to life: "Mission to stop the target failed. I was injured in combat with the target and have temporarily lost mobility."
"After the battle, the target proceeded toward Babylon Laboratory. All remaining Valkyrie units, please converge on the target's location."
Kiana immediately recognized the voice as Theresa's.
Based on the communication source, it should be nearby.
She hurried toward the determined direction.
Soon.
She spotted Theresa not far away.
The bright red on the snow was the trail of blood she had left. She was kneeling on the ground, treating herself.
She seemed to be muttering: "Careless... I didn't expect the Second Herrscher to already possess such power. I must quickly complete bodily regeneration... I must... eliminate the Herrscher before Bishop Otto deploys her..."
Kiana ran straight over: "Theresa? How did you get injured?"
Theresa looked at her warily: "Who are you?"
Kiana asked in confusion: "We were only apart for a little while—how do you not recognize me? I'm your niece, Kiana."
"Kiana?"
Theresa was shocked: "Kiana Kaslana? Hmph! Damn Second Herrscher, trying to confuse me with illusions. You really think I'm an idiot?"
She directly drew the Oath of Judah: "My niece Kiana is only one year old right now!"
"Hmph! Die."
"You illusion!"
Seeing this, Kiana naturally wouldn't just sit still—she immediately unleashed the Kaslana gun-kata to counter.
Hm?
Theresa instantly held back.
She recognized that move.
She immediately asked: "Where did you learn that?"
Kiana answered honestly: "From my dad—Siegfried, Siegfried Kaslana."
Theresa fell into instant confusion.
In her memory, Kiana should only be one year old.
Kiana also realized—this was the year 2000. The Theresa in front of her wasn't the one she knew.
Theresa also caught on and shouted: "I get it! You're definitely Siegfried's illegitimate daughter!"
"Eh!?"
Kiana was completely stunned by her train of thought.
The people watching the TV couldn't help but burst into laughter.
In the office.
All the actors turned to look at Theresa.
This made Theresa's face turn red as she shouted: "That's the character! Not me! I wouldn't be that stupid!"
Himeko smiled: "Yes, yes, we can tell."
This caused another round of laughter from everyone.
Only then did they continue watching the plot.
Theresa felt her guess was correct: "Damn it, I always knew that guy Siegfried had a messy private life. I didn't expect him to have an illegitimate daughter this old. That's why you call yourself my niece."
Kiana was utterly bewildered by her words: "W-Who are you calling an illegitimate daughter!"
Theresa sighed and comforted her: "Alas, poor child. I know it's hard for you, but all of this is that womanizing father's fault!"
Kiana took a step back and eventually gave up.
She felt that with Theresa's intelligence, it would be very difficult to explain things clearly. For now, it was best to go along with her words, admit it, and let her take her away from this snowy plain.
She immediately said: "Yeah, that's right. It's all that stinking dad's fault. Four years ago, he abandoned my mother and me, and then my mother passed away. I came here to find him."
Theresa's tone softened: "Poor child. Don't worry, I'll definitely get justice for you! But it's dangerous here—I'll take you away first."
"Once this mission is over, I'll capture Siegfried and give him a proper lesson!"
Then, Theresa began withdrawing with Kiana.
At the same time, she confirmed the status of the Second Herrscher.
In the end, they learned that the Second Herrscher was heading toward the tower, and if she and Siegfried couldn't stop the Second Herrscher, Otto would forcibly order Cecilia to deploy.
To protect Cecilia, the two decided to find Siegfried first and stop the Second Herrscher together.
Not long after.
The two found Siegfried.
Kiana asked Theresa to temporarily keep quiet about her being his "illegitimate daughter."
Siegfried said: "There's bad news and worse news. The bad news is that the Valkyrie units have already been deployed to search for the Second Herrscher, but there's been no sign of her so far."
"The worse news is that, due to lack of progress in the operation, Bishop Otto has already ordered Cecilia to deploy."
"What!"
Both women present were shocked.
Theresa hurriedly said: "But Cecilia's physical condition isn't fit for combat yet."
Siegfried's expression was grave: "Cecilia will arrive in Siberia in thirty minutes. Before that, we must find the Second Herrscher and then... kill her!"