"…Huh? What is this?"
Kiana, who had been attacking mid-air in anger, suddenly froze after being hit by the illusion.
Shock appeared on her face.
Then—
her strike, which should have landed on the enemy…
smashed heavily into the ground beside Zank instead.
The impact shook the ground slightly beneath Ji Ran's feet.
"…Even though I've matched Kiana's physical stats…"
"…I still can't fully utilize them on day one, huh?"
And now…
"…Sigh. Shouting 'wake up' won't work."
"D-Dad…?"
Kiana stared in disbelief at the figure before her.
After confirming several times—
she realized…
It was her missing father:
Siegfried Kaslana.
Of course, seeing him in another world made no sense.
But Zank's Illusion Sight didn't just create illusions—
It made the target ignore inconsistencies and focus entirely on the illusion.
And after years of using it, Zank had perfected this ability.
Unless he made a mistake—
his victims wouldn't notice anything wrong.
"Yes, it's me."
Seemingly amused, Zank didn't attack immediately.
Instead, he spoke gently:
"My dear daughter, you've—"
"YOU IDIOT!"
Before he could finish—
Kiana punched him straight in the face—
and sent him flying.
Because he thought the illusion had already worked,
Zank didn't use his foresight ability this time.
Result:
He got decked.
"W-what kind of filial daughter is this?!"
"My teeth are gonna fall out!"
Dizzy, Zank quickly rolled away to avoid the next attack.
"…Looks like Illusion Sight needs a short focus time."
Ji Ran tilted his head, watching Zank roll on the ground.
"You don't have time to use it again now."
Then he charged forward again with full force.
"You brat—!"
Furious, Zank shouted at Kiana:
"Daughter! I was wrong before!"
"But that guy is our enemy! He's trying to kill me!"
"Enemy? Him?"
"Ji Ran… is the enemy?"
Kiana hesitated.
Because Zank got hit—
she was already starting to feel something was off.
She still saw Zank as her father…
But at the same time—
she remembered Ji Ran was her teammate.
Yes, he might be a little pervy…
But in their short time together—
he had been:
CarefulPreparedConsiderate
He even:
Brought her proper clothesStrengthened her equipmentSaved her earlier
"…Wait."
"If that's true…"
"Why would Ji Ran need to save me from Dad?"
"…Something's wrong."
"…But I can't figure out what!"
"Ugh—this is so annoying!!!"
"I don't care anymore!"
Caught between confusion and illusion—
Kiana's eyes suddenly began to glow gold.
"…Maybe…"
"…I should just kill everyone."
"…?!"
Zank froze.
The blue in her eyes was being replaced by gold.
But more importantly—
Why was she showing killing intent toward her 'father'?
"Move… MOVE!!"
Zank tried to act—
but his body wouldn't respond.
It felt like being suppressed by a far stronger being.
"I'm not dying like this!!!"
With a roar, he forced himself up—
—and immediately got smashed back down.
Ji Ran, who had been silent all this time,
swung his bat and hit him square in the back.
"You… bastard… sneak attack…"
"Don't give me that crap."
"You attacked me first."
Ji Ran struck his head a couple more times,
then looked toward Kiana—
who had now locked onto him.
"…Sigh."
"What is this situation…"
"There's no Honkai energy in this world…"
"…So why did you wake up?"
"Miss Herrscher."