Kiana was about to ask Kallen a question when the latter turned to look at three masked figures in black robes approaching from a distance.
"Ah... looks like my escort has arrived. Miss, you should leave immediately," Kallen said to Kiana, her gaze fixed on the masked figures.
"Miss Kallen, why are you running away?" the leader of the masked figures asked.
"Grandpa Arthur, I wasn't planning to run away. I just rushed over to save this little girl when I saw her fall from the sky."
"Nonsense! Traitors to the organization have no credibility!" one of the other masked figures retorted. "Don't forget it was you who stole the organization's Crystal half a year ago!"
The two masked figures clearly held a deep grudge against Kallen—in fact, most members of the Schicksal Organization resented her. Her Robin Hood-like actions of robbing the rich to help the poor and punishing evil had severely damaged their interests and reputation.
The leader waved his hand, signaling his two companions to be silent. "Miss Kallen, if you're willing to repent, I can still plead your case to the Master."
"It's no use. Father has already made his decision. Besides... I no longer have any reason to live."
Kallen knew that falling in love with a Herrscher was a complete insult and trampling of her father's ideals and the Kaslana Family's principles.
She could never forget Yae Sakura. Otherwise, she wouldn't have admitted in the Tribunal that she knew the Herrscher and confessed that she had hopelessly fallen in love with her.
After Yae Sakura's death, Kallen lost all hope in the world.
"Stop dawdling! Come with me!" The lackey, fearing Arthur might soften if they continued talking, yanked Kallen's shackles, trying to drag her away.
The sudden pull nearly made Kallen stumble, still lost in memories of her time with Yae Sakura.
But then, the person yanking Kallen was kicked flying by Kiana.
"What do you think you're doing to my savior!" Kiana slowly retracted her foot, then turned to Kallen with a confident smile. "Don't let my cute appearance fool you—I'm actually pretty strong in a fight!"
But Kallen remained deeply worried, shouting at Kiana, "Watch out behind you!"
As Kallen warned Kiana, the masked man named Arthur's form flickered and vanished before everyone's eyes. He reappeared behind Kiana in an instant.
Arthur had planned to teleport behind Kiana and knock her unconscious, but the moment he appeared, he froze—unable to move.
A hand had landed on his shoulder, and the instant it touched him, Arthur felt his body's gravity intensify hundreds of times.
This was Ryn's hundredfold gravity field. If the target was crushed instantly, it wouldn't matter. But if they survived...
"Go on," Ryn whispered into Arthur's ear, one hand pinning him down. "You ran so hard to get here. It'd be a shame not to strike now, wouldn't it?"
But Arthur remained motionless. Ryn's sudden appearance and the unnatural gravity pressing down on him told him that the person behind him could effortlessly obliterate everyone present.
Years of combat experience had taught Arthur that the best course of action was to play dead. Since his opponent hadn't killed him outright, he wouldn't provoke them further.
However, Ryn had no intention of letting him off the hook. If he hadn't used a black hole to slow down time in this area, he would have barely made it in time to stop Arthur. Ryn himself couldn't bear to harm Kiana, so he certainly wouldn't let anyone else attack her.
"If you won't strike, then I will~"
"Aaaah!—"
Ryn seized Arthur's arm, which was still outstretched in mid-air, ready to strike Kiana, and tore it off.
Ryn then crushed Arthur's severed arm into a small ball and placed it in Arthur's other hand.
After finishing, Ryn tossed Arthur onto the ground like trash.
Both Ryn and Arthur moved so quickly that they barely gave anyone time to react. By the time Kallen finally snapped out of her shock, Arthur's arm was already gone.
"Grandpa Arthur!" Kallen rushed to help Grandpa Arthur up, who had been thrown by Ryn, and immediately checked his injuries.
Kallen's cry jolted the stunned crowd back to reality. Arthur's two attendants shoved her aside and rushed to help him up themselves.
One of them roared at Ryn:
"You! Who the hell are you?"
Ryn rolled his eyes and said,
"Just a passing savior, that's all."
Then he slapped the attendant, sending him flying.
Unlike the masked man, who was seething with rage, Kiana was overjoyed. She bounced over and hugged Ryn tightly.
"Ryn! How did you get here?"
"When you suddenly disappeared, Bronya and I were terrified. This is a hidden area only accessible to Kaslana Family members, so I had Cortana forcefully hack our way in," Ryn replied, patting Kiana's head.
"Everything in this area has genuine feedback—it's practically a real Honkai Divine Realm. You idiot, Kiana! If we hadn't arrived, you might have gotten seriously hurt," the little witch Bronya replied from the side.
"Hehe... Well, I didn't expect it to be like this..." Kiana scratched her head sheepishly.
"Let's go. This area is hidden by Schicksal. By forcing our way in, we've probably already set off every alarm they have," Ryn said, picking up Kiana and preparing to retreat with Bronya.
But Kiana shook her head and jumped down, running over to Kallen. She helped the fallen Kallen to her feet and said, "Ryn, I can't leave yet! I have to save Kallen! I can't let them just take her away like this. I'm so sorry, Kallen... Your grandfather's hurt..."
"It's alright. It'll all be back to normal next time anyway..." Kallen smiled wryly and shook her head. Then she placed Kiana's hand in Ryn's and said, "Leave this place. I'm not worth saving... This is my destiny."
"But..."
"Thank you, beautiful maiden... This is enough," Kallen said with a smile to Kiana before turning to follow the crippled trio.
Watching Kallen's retreating figure, Kiana felt an inexplicable sadness. Ryn was also slightly moved, both sensing the sorrow and despair radiating from her.
Bronya, however, felt no sadness at all. She only noticed the weary look in Kallen's back. After all, her emotional module was damaged, leaving her devoid of emotion.
Nevertheless, Bronya found herself intrigued by Kallen. She accessed Kallen's information module.
"Kallen Kaslana. Born in 1453, the eldest daughter of Francis, the 29th generation head of the Kaslana Family...
At the age of 16, she passed the trials and became Captain of the Valkyrie Squad, Schicksal's anti-Honkai force.
For the next eight years, she fought on the front lines against Honkai. She sealed over 1,000 Honkai Beasts. Schicksal created the Oath of Judah, a weapon only she could wield, to honor her achievements."
(This was just Schicksal's official propaganda at the time. In reality, the Oath of Judah was a Kaslana Family heirloom, bearing the Kaslana crest.
The Oath of Judah was a Divine Key, created by the Pre-Civilization. Schicksal's version was a replica. The writers clearly didn't care about continuity, as the lore was all over the place.)