Chapter 286
Kiana could also understand that Otto's so-called 'protection' was real. With her father bearing the name of a traitor, returning to the Kaslana Family would only mean facing exclusion and bullying.
After her mother died in battle and her father defected, she was forcibly kept in Schicksal. In addition to being frequently subjected to experiments, she also received a good education.
It can be said that Otto did his utmost in terms of kindness and righteousness.
But these are all 'facts' from the perspective of Schicksal, from Otto's perspective.
For Kiana, however, reality was a cold cage, endless experiments, and even the loss of her identity.
Kiana doesn't resent Freya for taking her name and identity; she only resents Otto for taking her name and identity.
Amidst the flames erupting from the replica of the Greatsword of Heavenly Fire, the black light flashed and disappeared once more.
"... Now your father's identity has been cleared, and I did not kill your mother. Although your childhood was lonely, you were not bullied or ostracized. I have never been your enemy."
After saying this, Otto revealed a slight smile. At that moment, he forcibly shifted his consciousness, and his remaining body was quickly engulfed by a pillar of fire.
The towering pillar of fire blew down the surrounding houses and turned the sky red.
The liquid Soul Steel body quickly twisted and melted under the pillar of fire, and before long, even its original human form disappeared.
Kiana watched all of this with indifference.
At the same time, his heart was once again seared by his own hatred.
The excruciating pain emanating from her soul made her legs go weak, but fortunately, two Imaginary Ribbons wrapped around her body supported her.
"Freya..." Kiana couldn't help but call out her sister's name.
Although the Imaginary Ribbons is only composed of the Imaginary Power, Kiana felt her second sister's gentleness from it.
The replica of the Greatsword of Heavenly Fire shattered completely after this attack.
The original replica of the Greatsword of Heavenly Fire was inferior in performance to the real Heavenly Fire Sacred Judgment, not to mention that the Revenge Flame counters all objects driven by Honkai Energy.
Kiana used the replica of the Greatsword of Heavenly Fire to power her Revenge Flame several times, causing the internal structure of the Greatsword of Heavenly Fire to be almost destroyed.
At this moment, as Otto's body, forged from liquid Soul Steel, turned into a pool of mercury-silver liquid, the shattered remains of the replica of the Greatsword of Heavenly Fire also drifted away with the heat wave.
"... Let's go back."
Kiana turned and left, but a sense of confusion arose in her heart.
She was ultimately just a young girl, no match for Otto, who had such keen insight into human nature.
Otto influenced her source of power simply through his words.
Kiana understood that Otto wasn't lying; it was about what happened back then, and from another perspective, she had indeed been protected.
Kiana had also learned from Freya that her mother, Cecilia, was one of Otto's experimental subjects in her early years.
Such experiences were commonplace for both the Kaslana Family and Schariac Family.
"That old fox, he even manages to twist the meaning of things with such a straight face."
Freya's perception range was extremely vast, and she naturally noticed the rhetoric Otto used against Kiana, prompting her to hurl insults at him, which made Kevin, sitting opposite her, tense up.
329. It's a real shame that these negotiations have 'broken down'.
After Kiana dealt with Otto's Soul Steel clone, Freya simultaneously dispelled the domain she had created using the Herrscher of Reason.
But her resentment towards Otto grew rapidly.
In fact, no one knows what the outcome would have been if Otto had led the Second Eruption War.
However, during the Second Eruption War, Siegfried did indeed commit acts of disobeying orders, acting without authorization, and betraying Schicksal, while Cecilia died from overuse of Schariac Holy Blood during her battle with the Second Herrscher...
Otto did indeed launch several Honkai Energy fission bomb into the area where Cecilia was fighting Siegfried Second Herrscher in an attempt to eliminate Siegfried, but the Honkai Energy fission bomb he launched did not achieve this goal.
Most of the power of the Honkai Energy fission bomb was transferred to the Imaginary Space after the explosion, which is why Schicksal was able to retrieve the remains of the Second Herrscher, Sirin, and create K-series experimental subjects by mixing Kiana's DNA with the Second Herrscher's DNA.
Therefore, Otto's actions can only be considered attempted murder and imprisonment of a minor.
Of course, Otto euphemistically called his imprisonment "protection".
He brought Kiana back to Schicksal and imprisoned her to protect her from being ostracized and bullied by the Kaslana Family, as Kiana was burdened with the identity of the daughter of a traitor.
Everything Otto said to Kiana was true, which is the brilliance of his rhetoric. He didn't lie, nor did he have any reason to lie, but these were simply facts from Otto's perspective.
More importantly, Otto deliberately blurred many concepts.
First, his act of letting the Second Herrscher escape led to the Second Herrscher's full awakening. The Second Herrscher awakened on the moon, threw four small meteorites at Earth.
The meteorite that crashed into the Mariana Trench triggered an unprecedented tsunami, and even with emergency evacuations in cities along the western Pacific coast, many residents were still unable to evacuate in time.
The cities of Moscow and Los Angeles were directly hit, and all residents of both cities perished.
Later, the Second Herrscher created Simulated Herrscher carried out massacres around the world.
This is a fact that Otto simply cannot refute.
Unfortunately, Kiana was just a young girl, and she was easily fooled by Otto.
"What a silly little thing..."
Freya couldn't help but worry about her older sister's intelligence.
"Ancestor, our conversation has come to an end. It's a pity that this negotiation has 'broken down'."
"Yes, that's a real shame."
Seeing Freya stand up from her seat, Kevin also got up from the chair he was sitting on.
"Anyway, thank you for participating in this negotiation," Freya said, extending her hand to Kevin.
Kevin smiled slightly and took Freya's outstretched hand. "It is my good fortune to have such a rational descendant as you. Next, World Serpent will focus all its efforts on developing North Africa. However, the mercenary organization 'Ice-bound Serpent,' which is allied with World Serpent, is willing to use the alliance's channels to open up new businesses."
"Of course, that's Kiana's organization, so I'll naturally make things convenient for her."
Freya gripped Kevin's hand tightly, then shook it off with a look of utter disgust.
Kevin, completely baffled by the girl's thoughts, didn't know what expression to make and soon met up with the boy outside the door.
A boy named Night Owl joined the World Serpent organization just before the Abyssal War and quickly became a cadre of the World Serpent.
Of course, Kevin did not doubt the other party's identity, and even brought the boy along specifically for this trip to negotiate.
Night Owl was a member recruited by Kiana and Raven during their activities in the Philippines.
Although he is still very inexperienced in many aspects, he has a talent for information reconnaissance, which also played a role in the Abyssal War.
Perhaps it was precisely because Night Owl was a newcomer, and also a newcomer to the organization led by Kiana and Raven, that Kevin trusted him so much.
Before Kevin's return, the contradictions within the World Serpent organization, which had been constantly suppressed by Freya, finally erupted, leading Gray Serpent to make the decision to use its current members as expendable pawns.
Kevin and Night Owl reunited with the other World Serpent members, then retreated aboard their airship.
Kevin, who had been silent the whole way, glanced at the boy beside him and asked, "So? What do you think? Could that girl become our enemy... Come to think of it, you two seem to be about the same age."
"My Lord, the other party is a clone, and is actually even younger. However... it shouldn't be. According to the footage that Raven synchronized with, um... the footage before the golden sphere appeared, I don't think the other party will become our enemy."
Night Owl didn't dare to make any guarantees, but he had his own set of analytical logic.
"While His Majesty was speaking privately with that person, the Acting Leader was chasing after the Grand Bishop of Schicksal, but the chase was not going smoothly. However, while that person was talking with His Majesty, he paid attention to the Acting Leader's pursuit and even created the best environment for the Acting Leader. Therefore, as long as the Acting Leader stands with the World Serpent, that person will not be our enemy."
"Very good." Kevin didn't hold back his praise.
To be honest, some of the new cadres, including Raven, are indeed much better than the veteran cadres.
At least the new cadres won't think about splitting the organization, won't think about stealing World Serpent's technology to seek wealth from the permanent members of the Security Council, and certainly won't think about leading the World Serpent organization and the Alliance to perish together.
The World Serpent Organization has never been an organization driven by personal gain.
Unfortunately, in the 1,500 years since he left, many things have changed.
"My Lord, I believe that some of the actions taken by Lord Gray Serpent against that person may have angered that person, and he may even destroy the World Serpent Organization at all costs."
Although he didn't witness Freya transform into the little Herrscher of Finality, Night Owl sensed that powerful force emanating from Kiana as he retreated with Gray Serpent and the others.
Even a powerful figure like Siegfried Kaslana, codenamed 'Black Serpent,' lost her left arm in an instant.
Even the deified World Serpent leader within the organization failed to defeat his opponent in the Abyssal War. Despite the World Serpent Organization's strategic victory in the Abyssal War, the current power gap between the World Serpent Organization and the Alliance is still enormous.
Moreover, Night Owl harbors feelings for Kiana and Raven, who chose him. In this Honkai world, men without Honkai resistance are doomed to die if they encounter a sudden Honkai event. Kiana and Raven chose him.
"You should inform Gray Serpent for me..."
Kevin patted Night Owl on the shoulder. The boy's serious expression reminded him of his younger self. Of course, he knew this was the boy's 'work mode' in front of him; in reality, the boy always seemed lazy.
Welcome back.
Meanwhile, Freya welcomed her young lady back to the conference room.
How does revenge feel?
Kiana was a little shy when Freya suddenly hugged her, but she became quite bewildered after hearing the question.
The flames of revenge scorched not only Otto's soul, but also his own.
If Kiana hadn't listened to Otto, she would have said that revenge tasted great and very satisfying.
If Freya were to describe this happiness, it would be a hundred times happier than a sixty-day vacation with a daily dose of "couch potato happiness," or even a hundred times more pleasurable than ejaculating into an omega!
However, Kiana listened to Otto's sophistry.
"You, that bastard bishop is your enemy. Why would you believe his nonsense? It's obvious that his endless lies are sophistry."
Freya tapped Kiana on the forehead.
From a personal perspective, Freya didn't want Kiana to continue harboring hatred.
Hatred can be gradually eroded through other means, but it cannot be shaken by Otto, who is an enemy. This not only undermines Kiana's will but also fundamentally negates everything about Kiana.
"But what he said also makes sense..."
"What a load of nonsense. He's just saying Siegfried didn't follow orders. The three families are one entity. Kiana, you're the acting leader of World Serpent. Haven't you investigated who the founder of Schicksal is? I guarantee you'll find a familiar name on it."
Freya looked at Kiana with a mixture of amusement and exasperation.
In fact, Kiana's hatred mostly stemmed from the instigation of her ancestors.
Without the influence of her ancestors, Kiana would not have mastered the power to utilize negative emotions.
This is also one of the reasons why Freya hates the World Serpent Organization.
Kiana's original hatred wasn't that deep. As long as time is given to heal the wounds from her years of imprisonment, she will eventually forget her past pain.
Even Aurora, who used to be terrified of white coats, now often wears a white coat with Iserin when entering and leaving St. Freya's Academy Research Institute. She recently even achieved first place in scientific research, although she is only temporarily ahead of Iserin and Leivi. However, she has indeed overcome her greatest fear.
However, Kevin amplified Kiana's hatred.
This Revenge Flame, fueled by Honkai Energy, is more Honkai Energy at suppressing Honkai energy than Freya's anti-Honkai wave.
Freya could understand why Kevin was fueling Kiana's hatred.
In the future battle against the Honkai, Kiana's Revenge Flame will be indispensable.
As a result, the Revenge Flame that he had tried so hard to extinguish only temporarily each time were swayed by Otto's few words.
This result left Freya speechless, yet somewhat relieved.
"You need to know Otto's character. What was Schicksal like before I took control? Forget it, I'll give you back your access when we get home. You can investigate the database yourself. Maybe after you see all the rotten things Schicksal has done, you'll want to destroy the organization."
Freya didn't bother to hide her disgust for some of Schicksal's old subordinates.
Currently, the top positions in the Schicksal faction within the alliance are almost entirely filled by newcomers promoted by Freya or low-level cadres with clean backgrounds.
Freya was not worried that her actions would provoke a backlash from the old leadership and the Senate.
In fact, both newcomers and lower-level employees are working very hard for Freya, and there are no signs of them being bribed yet.
Freya does not forbid them from accepting bribes, as long as they can complete the tasks she assigns. However, money is money, and if someone dies, she will naturally investigate the matter thoroughly.
"...All right."
Kiana sighed, knowing she wasn't in good shape.
As she burned Otto's soul with the Revenge Flame, she herself was also burned by the Revenge Flame.
"There are so many ways to become stronger, yet you chose the one that's the most ruthless to yourself." Freya patted her little sister's head in exasperation.
Perhaps because Freya had dispelled the confusion in her heart, Kiana, having completed her revenge, suddenly relaxed and collapsed into Freya's arms.