Come on, Defeat Me! / Kiana: Why Aren't They Keeping Their Word?!

Upon hearing Gwen's words, Raiden Ryoma remained silent for a moment, but did not immediately go to Welt to verify them.

Having said all that, Gwen had no reason to lie to him.

Siegfried, who was next to him, immediately took out his phone.

Soon, rhythmic knocking sounds came from next door—

Welt Yang gave a positive signal, just as Siegfried had suggested.

"Alright, since that's the case..."

Upon discovering that their Alliance Leader was indeed hiding here, Raiden Ryoma felt a strange sensation, but maintained a serious expression and prepared to continue asking questions.

However, before he could repeat his question, Gwen gave his answer—

"As for Uncle Longma's next question—"

Gwen sighed softly and shrugged.

"We... don't have time—"

Our world has essentially entered its countdown to destruction.

"What?"

Kiana gasped in surprise, her eyes, usually a mix of wit and innocent foolishness, now filled with astonishment and disbelief.

"Gwen, don't joke like that..."

"..."

Faced with the astonished and questioning gazes of the group, Gwen slowly shook his head—

"I know right from wrong, and I would never joke about something like this."

289

Chapter 289 Come on, defeat me!

Even disregarding the future I foresee, just Previous Civilization of our world 50,000 years ago—

From the appearance of the Third Herrscher to the Finality destruction of the world, humanity survived for no more than twenty years, leaving behind only a tiny Core Flame life.

Based on the experience of Previous Civilization, the rate at which Herrscher appear will only increase over time.

It is foreseeable that the Finality of our civilization will inevitably be faced by our generation.

In the future I envision, this timeframe will not exceed ten years.

Ten years is a long time for an individual, but a short time for the world.

Putting aside how difficult Otto is to kill, if I could really kill Otto, the source of all evil, would the world be at peace?

Otto is dead. The demons and monsters he crushed won't jump out, and humanity won't experience greater internal strife.

Is Anti-Entropy a force capable of taking over the mantle of Schicksal?

Or is it that Anti-Entropy can face the Schicksal of Otto's death without any concern?

Do you really believe such nonsense?

The sudden disappearance of the most powerful figure will only bring chaos and the loss of humanity's overall strength to fight against the Honkai.

Amidst the internal strife, humanity's hope of defeating the Honkai will only diminish further.

Between two evils, choose the lesser. Killing Otto outright isn't a good option if it would reduce the danger to him somewhat.

Gwen sighed as he spoke, his gaze towards the Raiden Ryoma opposite him carrying a hint of something enigmatic.

"In the end, it's because the Anti-Entropy, which is nominally able to contend with Schicksal, is too weak."

If Anti-Entropy has the ability to take over Schicksal, or if it has enough control over itself, we can now discuss how to deal with Otto.

But now... ah..."

Gwen laughed casually, but Raiden Ryoma felt a pang of unease.

After all, he was one of the executors that Welt Yang favored, and an important high-ranking member of Anti-Entropy. Now, hearing Gwen's evaluation of Anti-Entropy and being unable to refute it was truly unpleasant.

"So... even if Kiana and the others stay in Schicksal and are exposed to Otto, what can they do?"

Siegfried, unlike Raiden Ryoma, didn't have such complicated feelings. He stared at Gwen and asked in a deep voice.

"It's very simple: utilize the resources of Schicksal to improve yourself to the fullest extent—"

The saying goes, "To forge iron, one must be strong oneself." Only when they possess sufficient strength can they be unafraid of the prying eyes of villains and thus be qualified to face the Honkai that would claim everyone's lives.

Gwen remained calm, their two blue eyes locked in a silent, unyielding gaze.

"According to the agreement between me and Otto, I have the authority to mobilize most of Schicksal's resources."

What I need to do is utilize these resources and Schicksal's mature Valkyrie training system to transform their potential into strength as much as possible, giving them a chance to struggle in future crises, instead of just helplessly crying and murmuring that they can't do anything.

"..."

Gwen's voice wasn't loud, but when his words reached Kiana and Mei's ears, the two girls suddenly trembled, recalling their experience in that illusion a few days ago.

Although they ultimately won, they... couldn't really do anything.

"Father."

The moment she recalled that feeling of helplessness, a stubborn emotion suddenly welled up in Raiden Mei's heart. The girl gritted her teeth and suddenly spoke.

"Um?"

Just as Raiden Ryoma was about to say something, he turned his head and saw the solemn look on Raiden Mei's pretty face, and was slightly taken aback.

"I hope to stay in Schicksal as Gwen suggested, and improve myself as much as possible—"

Facing her father's gaze, Raiden Mei did not flinch in the slightest; her voice was firm and resolute.

"If we encounter danger again, I don't want to be helpless and unable to do anything, just like last year."

"..."

Upon hearing his daughter mention what happened last year, Raiden Ryoma felt a tremor in his heart, and the words he was about to say were swallowed back.

"You stinky old man, I..."

Upon hearing Mei's words, Kiana, who was also filled with hesitation and entanglement, tightened her grip on Siegfried's arm and hesitated before speaking.

"Kiana..."

Siegfried interrupted Kiana's hesitation, turning his head to look at the girl whose face was full of hesitation and reluctance.

Originally, after what happened that year, Siegfried had already made up his mind not to see Kiana again to prevent his Herrscher Persona from resurfacing.

But in order to take Kiana away, Siegfried eventually came and saw Kiana, whom he hadn't seen in years.

However, after the initial warmth of their meeting, Siegfried and Kiana had a disagreement.

To prevent Kiana from notifying Gwen and alerting Otto, Siegfried went so far as to knock the phone out of Kiana's hand, ultimately suppressing Kiana dissatisfaction before leaving with his troublesome daughter.

Therefore, Siegfried is not at all surprised that Kiana is hesitant now.

Only...

"Excuse me, Mr. Siegfried."

Before Siegfried could express his opinion, Gwen tapped lightly on the table, interrupting Siegfried.

"Although I would very much like to obtain your consent, in reality, this is not a discussion for me, but rather a notification—"

Whether you believe me or not, whether you choose to cooperate with me or not, I will act according to my own ideas.

The future I envision must be changed...

I don't want to see them crying.

Calmly meeting the hostile gazes of Siegfried and Raiden Ryoma, Gwen slowly rose, an invisible pressure emanating from his tall, imposing figure.

"If you want to stop my arbitrariness, then come and defeat me, convince me with your fists."

"..."

Upon hearing Gwen's words, Raiden Ryoma fell silent, inwardly cursing. If Gwen was truly going to act unreasonably, then he feared...

How do we fight?

In contrast to Raiden Ryoma's frown, Siegfried stood up despite the inexplicable pressure and met Gwen's gaze head-on without backing down.

"I am unarmed; you may use any weapons available to you."

Gwen gave his answer without hesitation.

"Any venue you choose."

"Let's go east. There's only a barren mountain on that island, where we can find a suitable battlefield."

Siegfried immediately replied.

"Let's go."

Gwen said no more, raised his hand and enveloped the four of them in golden light. In an instant, they transformed into a golden meteor and flew out of the St. Freya Academy, causing another commotion.

However, none of this mattered to Gwen, who had arrived at a relatively flat hill.

"Kiana, Mei, step back a bit and help us call 'start' in a bit."

Siegfried twirled the Heavenly Fire Judgment in his hand, warning his daughter while watching Gwen.

290

Chapter 290 Kiana: How can they break their promises!

"Oh, okay..."

Kiana grabbed Raiden Mei and ran away into the distance, leaving Gwen and the other two behind.

A night breeze swept by, and although it was early spring, it was still bitterly cold.

Even though his clothes were enough to keep him warm, Raiden Ryoma's mood still sank slowly under the cold wind.

Although it wasn't obvious, Raiden Ryoma could sense that his daughter Raiden Mei's attitude towards him had changed after their reunion—a change that was unexpected by Raiden Ryoma.

Originally, Raiden Ryoma thought that his daughter Mei had grown beyond his imagination due to the experiences of the past six months.

But now it seems that the unexpected change was closely related to the young man in front of him.

In contrast to the Raiden Ryoma, which still needed clothing to keep warm Gwen and Siegfried, the two humanoid monsters, completely ignored the low temperature in the environment and sized each other up.

Although neither explicitly stated it, both understood that compared to Siegfried, who possessed the Heavenly Fire Judgment, the Raiden Ryoma was merely an extra—

Even though he brought with him the high-tech katana developed by ME Company six months ago, he still couldn't intervene in the battle between Gwen and Siegfried.

Gwen's only true adversary was Siegfried.

"I don't actually like this approach of punishing the person who raised the problem when the problem can't be solved—"

Especially when dealing with one's own people.

Compared to Siegfried, who was on high alert, Gwen stood with his hands behind his back, looking somewhat wistful.

"However, I am also well aware that what Otto has done makes it difficult for you to trust him."

So, this is the only way for now.

"It seems you do indeed know something about him and about me..."

Siegfried twirled the Heavenly Fire Judgment in his hand. Although his body was already in battle mode, he still had a smile on his face.

"What you say makes sense. Back then, I took this child and went into hiding in the Russian countryside, but after only a few years, I was back under Otto's surveillance."

Even in North America's Anti-Entropy, it's hard to guarantee that there won't be spies from Schicksal tipping them off.

So... I can't be sure I can protect that child.

Since you've made such a boast today, then prove your ability to me—

This time... I won't hold back at all..."

As he spoke, Siegfried slowly stepped forward, each step deliberate and powerful, his aura surging forth, forcing the Raiden Ryoma, who was preparing to coordinate with him, to halt in its tracks.

Although he was also skilled in swordsmanship, he was not a specialist in it, and he inevitably lost his composure when faced with the terrifying aura emanating from Siegfried.