She grabbed True Kiana, who had turned to leave.
True Kiana's face had gone terrifyingly dark.
True Kiana had gone through what K423 was experiencing. Because of that, she knew K423 had to be terrified right now.
"Calm down!!"
She shouted furiously, her hand still pressed against True Kiana's shoulder.
She could not let True Kiana leave this space.
"How am I supposed to calm down!!"
Although K423 did nothing but cry, and True Kiana sometimes found the Crybaby annoying, after spending so many days together, she had long since treated K423 as her little sister.
The cold operating table, the blinding surgical lamps, the needles slowly piercing her skin... Even remembering it now filled True Kiana with fear.
If she were put back on that kind of operating table, she could not guarantee that she would not break down.
K423 was still crying. It was easy to hear the fear and unease in her sobs.
True Kiana bit her lip and turned around.
"K423..."
"I know all that!!! But what good would waking up now do? Yell at the surveillance cameras in the room? Can you leave your room? Do you know where K423 is being held? Are you capable of doing anything to Otto?"
Faced with her string of questions, True Kiana's fury stalled.
"I want to kill Otto even more than you do!!"
She could feel K423's terror and helplessness more deeply than True Kiana could.
"...But we can't lose our minds. Otherwise, neither of us will be able to save K423!"
If they were talking about anger, she was even angrier than True Kiana.
K423, whose number was adjacent to hers, was her real little sister.
True Kiana had lost control because she had suffered through the same thing and could empathize with her. But she was the master of this space, capable of directly sensing K423's emotions.
That was also why K423 could understand what she wanted to say despite clearly not understanding her words.
She was even angry at herself for not noticing K423's condition sooner.
Watching True Kiana gradually calm down, she finally removed her hands from True Kiana and turned to pull the still-crying K423 into her arms, soothing her.
"There's nothing we can do right now. Otto has locked you up at headquarters, but do you know where you are? It's the same for K423. Otto is the only one who knows where she is."
True Kiana pursed her lips. "Is there really nothing we can do?"
"...Not exactly. At least we can comfort K423. Come here. She's our little sister too. Aren't you, as her big sister, going to comfort her?"
"This sucks so much."
Right now, True Kiana wanted nothing more than to pin Otto to the ground and beat him senseless.
"Me too... This is something we have to endure, but for now, all we can do is bear with it."
"You bit your lip hard enough to draw blood, yet you have the nerve to tell me to calm down."
True Kiana glanced at her, then reached out and stroked K423's little head.
"Can we really do nothing?"
"That's right. Three cobblers beating Zhuge Liang isn't going to happen here. No matter how hard three little brats try, we can't cause Otto even the slightest trouble."
She wiped away the blood flowing from her bitten lip. This space was not reality anyway; even if she was injured here, nothing would happen in the real world.
But her condition in reality would indeed be reflected in this space.
The needle marks on K423's arms might not have been so numerous in reality, but she had undoubtedly suffered cruel treatment. In truth, she had not expected Bishop Otto to be so eager to begin experimenting on K423.
No matter how one looked at it, she, whose Schariac Bloodline Power had been activated, was a more suitable research subject than her little sister K423.
Yet in reality, her days had been quite comfortable.
The only test she had undergone was when her Schariac Bloodline Power had been discovered some time ago. She had been called into a laboratory to test her control over Honkai Energy.
After that test, they had drawn her blood once.
What she had faced was clearly nowhere near as cruel as what K423 had endured.
Looking at True Kiana's little face, filled with unwillingness, she gave a bitter smile. "For now, all we can do is turn our grief and anger into strength. We must use Schicksal's power to make ourselves stronger. No matter what happens, we can only endure it until the day we grow strong enough not to fear Schicksal."
If this world had merely been an ordinary one, neither she nor True Kiana would have had any chance to take revenge on Schicksal.
But this Honkai world allowed an individual to possess terrifying combat power surpassing tanks and fleets.
"When that day comes, we'll definitely make them pay for today's humiliation."
As she spoke, she once again comforted K423.
"Mom... save me... Mom..."
"Don't cry, don't cry. Your big sisters are here with you."
"...Aurora, Bella... where are you..."
Held in her arms, K423 murmured unconsciously.
"Your big sisters are here. Don't cry, okay? We're right here."
"Big... sisters... It hurts... save me..."
"Mm, your sister is here too. Don't cry, Little Crybaby, okay? Once we escape someday, your sister will take you to eat lots of delicious food."
After she and True Kiana comforted K423 together, K423 finally stopped crying.
Or perhaps she had simply cried herself to sleep in her arms.
True Kiana had completely calmed down by then.
Years of experimental life had not only made her prone to shutting herself away, but had also greatly matured her mind.
But no matter how mature an eight-year-old girl was, she could only be so mature.
Sensing the anger and unwillingness coming from True Kiana, she helplessly reached out and patted her little head.
"You need to keep your anger in check. Don't let Otto notice anything. Even if Otto discovers that we can communicate with each other, we have to stubbornly insist that we know nothing about it."
"Understood... K422, you're amazing."
Once she calmed down, True Kiana naturally realized that even if she had returned to reality in a rage just now, she would not have been able to leave the room where she was locked up.
"I'm not amazing at all. The truly amazing ones are you two."
After all, her own experience had been far better than True Kiana's and K423's.
But in her eyes, she had received the treatment that should have belonged to True Kiana, while K423 had endured the cruel experiments in her place.
"No, you're already amazing. Your face was twisted with rage, yet you still managed to calm me down."
As she spoke, True Kiana placed both hands on her face and gently kneaded it.
"We're definitely going to smash that dog Otto's dog head."
"Of course. When the time comes, we'll bring K423 with us too..."
"Mm, the three of us sisters together."
This was also the first time True Kiana had openly said that she regarded her and K423 as sisters.
A night passed. When she sensed that she was about to wake up, she did not forget to remind True Kiana to stay calm.
Although she had not opened her eyes yet, her consciousness had already returned to her body.
Stay calm, stay calm... Just act like usual. Just act like usual.
She kept telling herself that.
"Kiana, you're awake?"
"Mm, I'm awake, Lia."
As always, she gave her little maid a sweet and adorable smile.
She was terrified that even a trace of anger might show on her face.
After washing up, she ate breakfast in the trainee cafeteria, then changed into athletic clothes that allowed easy movement and headed for Training Ground 11.
Many trainees were gathered outside Training Ground 11. After all, word had already spread that the Assault Team would be serving as Kiana Kaslana's instructors.
On one hand, they were incredibly envious that Kiana could receive the Assault Team's guidance and had come to Training Ground 11 to see their idol. On the other hand, they wanted to witness Kiana's training for themselves.
Of course, quite a few girls had come with the mindset of mothers watching their daughters compete at a sports meet.
Training Ground 11 was an indoor training facility. The distance between the ceiling and the ground was fifty meters, so it would not hinder certain Valkyries' aerial mobility.
The walls, made from special alloys, could withstand the firepower of a heavy tank. Even if an A-rank Valkyrie fought without holding back, they would endure.
But today, only two people were training in Training Ground 11.
"Kiana, you came early... If I remember correctly, your lesson starts at 8:50."
In the training ground, Laguna smiled as she helped a new Assault Team member stretch.
She was not dressed as a maid today, having changed into athletic clothes suitable for movement as well.
"It hurts, it hurts, Captain... Pull any harder and it'll snap."
"Himeko, I haven't even used any strength yet."
"Good morning, instructors."
She politely greeted the Assault Team members in the training ground.
Of course, not every Assault Team member had shown up today. Her training had only just begun, and all she needed was basic training. Basic training did not require too many people.
The Assault Team had originally returned in the mood for a vacation. Even after accepting the appointment letter, they had still gotten thoroughly drunk last night. Even the members who had shown up rubbed their temples from time to time.
"Good morning to you too, Kiana."
Captain Ragnar replied, then forcefully pulled on the two arms she held firmly in her hands.
With a crisp crack, the red-haired woman slung over her back let out a scream.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!"
"What a disgrace."
After doing several stretches, Captain Ragnar finally let go of the red-haired woman, though her words remained merciless.
"Ugh... I thought my arms were going to break."
Human arms don't break that easily. You just don't exercise enough. Tsk, tsk."
Captain Ragnar could not help looking down on the red-haired woman sitting on the ground, unwilling to get up.
"Ah, Kiana, I'm terribly sorry. You had to see such an improper side of our rookie."
"Captain Ragnar, please don't be so formal. Just call me Kiana."
She did not want to leave a bad impression on Captain Ragnar.
Besides, how strong she could become from now on would depend on how seriously Captain Ragnar trained her. Naturally, building a good relationship with Captain Ragnar would benefit her.
"This child is so polite."
"Exactly. She arrived at the training ground half an hour early, and she's so well-mannered too."
"Boohoo, whenever I think about how Kiana has no mother, I can't help feeling sorry for her."
"I feel sorry for her too. I heard someone secretly started a Kiana Support Association to give Kiana the motherly love she lacks. I wonder where I can join."
"Why is the captain shaking?"
"Oh, that? The captain probably wants to hug Kiana."
Several Assault Team members standing a short distance away whispered among themselves.
Just as one of them had said, Captain Ragnar could not hold back and pulled the white-haired little girl into her arms.
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