I Love You, Kiana

"Kiana, Elias, w-what are you two doing in broad daylight?!"

Theresa covered her face with both hands, peeking through her fingers at the two white-haired figures locked in an embrace.

Though she was technically over forty, both her physical and mental age matched her youthful appearance, and this scene hit her like a critical blow.

She suddenly remembered why she'd moved into the Valkyrie dorm in the first place—to keep these two from doing anything inappropriate. But now it seemed like that mission had already failed.

Elias hurriedly set the clingy paramecium down from his arms.

His expression turned serious.

"More importantly, what did you just say? Schicksal is coming?!"

"Oh right! I just received a communication from Grandpa. He's bringing a large number of Valkyries and over a dozen warships from Schicksal. They're heading straight for St. Freya and will be here any minute! He even demanded we hand over Kiana!"

Theresa finally realized this wasn't the time to worry about anything else, and quickly relayed the situation to Elias.

"Eh? Otto—as in the Overseer of Schicksal? Why would he want to catch me?"

Kiana scratched her head in confusion, not understanding what was going on.

However, the rest of the girls who knew about Kiana's origins all wore grim expressions. In an instant, they suited up in their Valkyrie battlesuit and turned their eyes to the white-haired boy.

Elias gently patted Kiana's head before gazing off into the distance—

The warships of Schicksal had arrived.

...

Above St. Freya Academy.

A dozen warships, each rivaling the Hyperion in size, now floated ominously overhead. They were packed with fully armed Valkyries ranked B-class and above. Standing at the center ship, Otto wore his ever-present smiling mask.

"Long time no see, Elias."

"Otto Apocalypse..."

Dressed in Vermilion Knight: Eclipse, Elias stepped forward alone to meet a force powerful enough to destroy an entire nation.

In his hand he held the Judgment of Shamash: Might of An-Utu. Strapped to his back was the Godslayer: Surtr. Around him floated over a dozen Moonlight Throne drones. Despite standing alone, his presence alone was enough to counterbalance Schicksal's army.

Otto narrowed his eyes. Compared to their last encounter, this boy now radiated an even greater sense of danger.

Though his posture hadn't changed much, his aura was now like an unsheathed divine blade, ready to strike.

"To brazenly bring your army over the skies of my St. Freya Academy—I can only take this as a provocation from Schicksal. So tell me, Otto—are you declaring yourself my enemy?"

The tip of Might of An-Utu pointed directly at Otto.

"!!!" xN

All the assembled Valkyries gasped, stunned that anyone dared speak to Otto in such a tone.

It was as if Elias were the true authority here.

Otto furrowed his brow, but quickly eased back into his usual smile.

Declare himself an enemy?

What an arrogant tone!

Last time, he'd seen only Elias' cunning and intellect. But Otto hadn't expected the boy to also possess such audacity and dominance.

It had been centuries since anyone dared speak to him this way. Despite the anger bubbling inside, Otto also felt a spark of intrigue.

"Hahahaha~ You never fail to surprise me, Elias. But this time, I'm here to fight the Honkai. To protect humanity! Today, Otto Apocalypse is a warrior of justice!"

"Otto, have some shame, will you? If you can be called 'justice,' then there must be no such thing as evil left in this world."

Elias rolled his eyes with a sneer.

If a certain sword-wielding skeleton had heard that line, he might've broken through the world barrier right then and there to launch Unlimited Blade Works on Otto.

Justice? Otto, you? Don't make me laugh.

However, a face made of soulium has always been remarkably thick.

Otto spread his hands with an innocent expression.

"Of course. As the diligent Overseer of Schicksal who tirelessly combats the Honkai, how could I not be a warrior of justice? And Elias, I didn't lie—today, I truly am here to fight the Honkai."

Snap!

As he spoke, Otto snapped his fingers.

The next moment, one of the Schicksal warships projected a massive 3D image into the sky. From some unknown high-precision camera, a live image of Kiana among the crowd below was captured with perfect clarity.

And just like that, a towering image of the paramecium hundreds of meters tall appeared in the sky, drawing everyone's attention toward Kiana.

"Elias, perhaps you've already realized this—but the true identity of Miss Kiana Kaslana is that of the second Herrscher of the Void's vessel. Within her lies the Gem of the Void."

Gasps rippled through the crowd.

Nearly everyone present was stunned.

"What? Kiana is a Herrscher's vessel?!"

"T-That's impossible! She's from the Kaslana family! How could she be a Herrscher vessel?!"

"Wait... but Mei is a Herrscher too, and she's still a Valkyrie. Maybe it's the same for Kiana."

"Even so, it's still too shocking..."

What was a Herrscher? A herald of the Honkai—a walking catastrophe destined to bring ruin to humanity! Twice already, they had nearly wiped out human civilization.

Though every Herrscher awakened in this current era had chosen to fight for humanity, it was impossible to completely erase suspicion and unease from people's hearts.

Theresa, Himeko, and Fu Hua all furrowed their brows. The truth about Kiana being the vessel of the Herrscher of the Void was known only to those within the dorm.

And now Otto had exposed it for all to see, catching everyone off guard.

"I-I'm the vessel of a Herrscher?"

Kiana's eyes widened in shock.

Though she'd always slept through class, her time at St. Freya had given her a thorough understanding of what a Herrscher was. Instinctively, she placed her hand over her chest, unable to believe she herself might be an unawakened Herrscher.

She froze for a moment before quickly shouting in denial.

"You—Otto, or whatever your name is! Stop talking nonsense! How could I be a Herrscher vessel?! I'm a warrior of the Kaslana family! A knight born to protect humanity from the Honkai!"

The Kaslana family—any Valkyrie with even a basic knowledge of Honkai history would know that name.

It symbolized humanity's sharpest sword against the Honkai. For thousands of years, the Kaslanas had always stood at the frontlines of the fight.

A name steeped in unimaginable honor.

And precisely because of that, if anyone else had become a Herrscher, it might not have mattered much—but a Kaslana? No one could believe or accept that.

Five hundred years ago, the Saintess Kallen Kaslana was executed by hanging simply for declaring her love for Yae Sakura, a pseudo-Herrscher.

If someone of that bloodline actually became a Herrscher, even being torn to pieces would have been considered merciful in those days.

And now, forget St. Freya—

Even among Schicksal's ranks, doubt had begun to spread.

A Herrscher from the Kaslana bloodline? Overseer Otto, what kind of tasteless joke is this?

"You need not worry, Miss Kiana. You've broken no rules of the Kaslana legacy."

Otto, unfazed, shook his head and calmly spoke again.

Then he uttered the forbidden code number.

"After all," Otto continued, "you were never truly a member of the Kaslana family. Your real name isn't Kiana Kaslana. You are experimental subject—K423."

"K423? What are you talking about?!"

"K423, you have no father or mother. You are an artificial human grown in a test tube. Even if your blood composition is identical to the Kaslana bloodline, you are not part of that family. You're merely an experiment."

His cruel words pierced Kiana's heart like a dagger.

She began to breathe heavily, trembling as she looked down at her hands, fear slowly taking root within her.

"No... that's not possible. I'm not some experiment... My name is Kiana... I have a mom and dad... I..."

"The name you use doesn't belong to you. It belonged to Siegfried Kaslana's real daughter. He merely gave it to you out of pity."

Otto's words rang out like a devil's whisper.

He mercilessly denied every aspect of Kiana's existence.

"Your name is borrowed. Your birth is a mistake. Your past is a lie. The only truth you have—is the Herrscher Core implanted in you the moment you were born. Experimental subject K423—that is your sole reality."

His words crashed into the white-haired girl like a sledgehammer.

Kiana felt her whole body go cold.

Instinctively, she hugged her arms around herself, as if trapped in a frigid, snow-covered mountain.

"Kiana, pull yourself together!"

The voice of a companion snapped her back to her senses. She immediately shouted in anguish.

"Lies! You're lying! I-I can't be that! My name is Kiana Kaslana! I am Kiana Kaslana! I am not your K423 or some Herrscher vessel!"

"Still clinging to hope, are we? Then let me show you the evidence. I imagine you don't remember this."

Otto looked at Kiana with a pitying gaze, then projected a carefully prepared recording into the sky.

It showed a disaster in a snowy mountain town.

Several subspace lances—proof of the Herrscher of the Void—floated around a girl with the appearance of a ten-year-old. She had white hair, golden eyes, and features eerily similar to Kiana's.

She hovered silently in the air.

The subspace lances fired endlessly at her command, annihilating everything in their path.

Despite her young form, she gave off the aura of a divine being.

"That's me? No... no! That can't be me! My eyes aren't golden—that's not me!"

Kiana's fists clenched so tightly that blood began to drip.

Desperately, she clung to her denial.

But in the next instant, even her last hope shattered.

A white-haired man appeared in the video, striking at the young god with a blazing sword.

The moment she saw him, Kiana's thoughts came to a halt. That was Siegfried. That was the Judgment of Shamash.

Her fragmented memories from age ten returned all at once, in the worst possible way.

The flames she saw devouring the forest back then—they were the flames of the Judgment of Shamash. And the one who severed Siegfried Kaslana's left arm... was herself.

After the strike, the girl's eyes in the recording slowly shifted from gold to blue.

Kiana reached up to touch the corner of her own eyes—

They were the same shade.

"I really... am a Herrscher? How could this happen..."

"Now do you understand?" Otto said. "You are a Herrscher—and unlike any Herrscher seen before. You are a Herrscher aligned with the Honkai. A true enemy of humanity."

"No—!"

The white-haired girl clutched her head and collapsed to the ground.

The once optimistic and cheerful Kiana Kaslana had been broken. Despair consumed her heart, spreading through her entire being.

She couldn't believe the girl in the projection was her—but it was undeniable.

Otto glanced at the Honkai energy detector in his hand. It was rising.

But then he frowned.

"Ich liebe dich Ich liebe dich Ich liebe dich..."

The white-haired girl repeated the phrase in a desperate chant.

Memories from the day before surged back. Instinctively, she clung to the phrase Elias had taught her—a magic spell that might help her find warmth in this frigid despair.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap...

Light but clear footsteps echoed.

Kiana suddenly raised her head. She knew who it was just from the sound of those steps.

"Elias!"

The boy descended from the sky and walked straight toward her.

Like someone who had finally found hope, the girl scrambled to her feet and threw herself at him, as if to hide inside his embrace, curling into him.

"Save me... Elias... save me... What should I do? I... I'm a bad Herrscher... sob... No, no... I don't want this. Please... save me."

She clung tightly to Elias' clothes, her tear-filled eyes brimming with longing.

She was desperately seeking salvation.

"Kiana, listen to me."

Elias' expression remained unchanged—soft and gentle as he gazed at the girl in his arms.

He brushed her tear-streaked cheek with one hand and pulled her close with the other.

"Now, I want to tell you the true meaning of 'Ich liebe dich.'"

"Eh? What?"

"It means—I love you."

Before Kiana could even react.

Elias leaned in and kissed her.

"!!!"

Their figures were projected into the sky for all to see. Thousands of onlookers stared in stunned silence.

As if he wanted to warm her heart through the kiss, Kiana's trembling slowly ceased. Elias' confession echoed in her mind.

The overwhelming despair vanished. The girl gazed blankly at the boy's face, now so close.

In those golden eyes, she saw nothing but her own reflection.

Her nearly stilled heartbeat began pounding once more, like a doll rewound and brought to life again.

"Haa... haa... haa..."

She gasped for air as the kiss ended, like someone revived from drowning.

"Elias... what should I do? Everything about me is a lie. My past is a mistake... I'm not Kiana... I'm not Kiana Kaslana..."

"That's right. You're not the real Kiana Kaslana. I've known that from the start."

Elias spoke with calm clarity.

"W-What...?"

Kiana looked dazedly at the boy. At this point, she couldn't bear to leave his side. He was her only salvation.

"I knew from the very beginning about your past. But I never cared. A person's origin doesn't define who they are... What I fell in love with wasn't your name or your history—it was you as a person."

Elias looked her straight in the eyes.

"Kiana, to me, you are Kiana Kaslana. I like you. And you know what? The past I have in this world... is fake too."

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