"Speaking of Russia and white hair... I also met Kiana in Siberia back then."
Ryn opened his phone's photo album and pulled up a picture of Kiana as a child.
Then, he placed the photos of Kiana, Durandal, and Hare together.
Looking at the three side by side might not be that obvious... but what if you overlay their pictures?
Ryn and Kika's pupils couldn't help but dilate, as if they had discovered something incredible.
Kika: "Alright, alright, now it's not just Durandal and Hare who are twin sisters, we have to add Kiana to the mix."
Ryn: "Indeed... no wonder I always felt that Kiana and Durandal's relationship would be very good from the moment I saw them. Turns out it's 'the other me in the world'? Twin sisters!"
As Ryn thought about it, he sent a copy of the overlaid photo and the original photos to both Durandal and Kiana.
Kiana didn't reply, probably still engrossed in gaming with Bronya.
Durandal, however, replied quickly, though her first reply was a shocked cat sticker of Stan.
Then Durandal said: "They really look alike! I never really noticed! Although I always wished Kiana was really my little sister, I never expected we'd have such a connection!"
Ryn: "Mhm, we should find a chance to have you two become sworn sisters~
Durandal: "Really? Will Kiana disagree? It's my first time being a big sister, is there anything I need to pay attention to?"
Ryn: "Just don't let it develop into motherly love."
Durandal: "?"
Kika, who was lying nearby watching Ryn and Durandal's chat, saw the last message, reached out to pinch the flesh on Ryn's waist, and gave him an eye roll.
"You really have a wicked sense of humor."
Ryn said with a laugh, "Hahaha, don't you think it's fun to tease Durandal sometimes? Look at the nickname those guys at Schicksal gave her, the dorky goose~ I can already imagine the shocked and bewildered expression on Durandal's face when she sees my message."
Kika thought about the dorky goose's shocked look and couldn't help but smile, but she quickly shook her head.
"That's not what I'm talking about."
"Hm? If not that, then what?" Ryn looked at Kika in confusion.
Kika looked at Ryn with a cold smile, then stretched her long, snow-white leg in front of him.
Ryn thought Kika was offering him a treat, but instead, Kika kicked him off the bed.
"Hehe... if Kiana and Durandal become sworn sisters, then wouldn't you have a pair of sister-flowers? You'd be pleased as punch."
"Indeed..."
"Indeed my ass, get lost!" Kika pulled out Mei's pillow and threw it at Ryn.
——————————————
While Ryn and Kika were chatting in Mei's room, Hare wasn't idle either. She happily trotted into Himeko's house and headed for Bronya's room.
"Bronya... Bronya Zaychik..." Hare muttered Bronya's name, and as she walked, her figure slowly grew, returning to her original form.
Her body parts hadn't fully recovered, but just changing her appearance wasn't difficult for Hare.
Besides, it was quite fun to be a child.
In her original form, everyone at World Serpent treated her like a monster, and few were willing to talk to her. But as a child, people would soften their initial impression of her and start trying to communicate.
After all, who would hate a cute little child? See, even Ryn didn't want to lay a hand on her~
Hare knocked on Bronya's door.
"Who is it?"
"It's me~"
Hearing an unfamiliar voice, Bronya instantly put down her game console, summoned Project Bunny, and aimed its heavy cannon at the door, while simultaneously signaling Kiana to prepare for battle.
Kiana nodded, activated her Valkyrie battlesuit's deployment, and the B-rank battlesuit—Domain Armor: White Comet—was instantly equipped. At the same time, she sent a message to Cortana, telling her to be ready to provide support at any moment.
Seeing Kiana was ready, Bronya cautiously questioned, "Who are you, and what is your purpose for being here!"
"My! You're very vigilant! Not bad, not bad."
Sensing the atmosphere in the room instantly grow tense, Hare passed directly through the wooden door and entered the room, arriving in front of Kiana and Bronya.
"Project Bunny 19C, fire!" Bronya controlled Project Bunny to fire directly at Hare. A missile powerful enough to break through the defense of a Chariot-class Honkai Beast shot towards Hare.
Hare extended a slender finger, lightly tapped the missile's warhead, and then tossed the missile directly into another dimension.
"I have no mal—"
"Time Fracture! nekocharge!"
Kiana pressed the activation button on her thigh, slowing down the flow of time in Bronya's room. At the same time, she used her voice to activate the battlesuit's burst mode.
And then there was no 'and then'.
Hare, as if in an unmanned realm, walked through their phantom-like figures to Kiana and Bronya's side, raised her hands, formed them into knife-hands, and lightly chopped Bronya on the head and Kiana on the neck.
"Checkmate~"
"Project Bunny, self-destruct module, activate!"
"Do not activate!"
Hare glared at Project Bunny, and its actions were forcibly halted, and it vanished from sight.
Bronya checked on Project Bunny and found that it was fine, just forcibly shut down, and she could restart it.
But there was no longer a need. Even twenty more of herself and Kiana would be no match for the woman in front of her...
But what Bronya didn't expect was that Hare instead raised her hands, looking completely harmless.
Hare: "I said I have no ill intentions, don't be so tense! Oh, maybe saying it like this won't work, let me rephrase! Ryn sent me! I'm one of our own~"
Bronya still didn't believe her, but seeing that Cortana hadn't responded after all this time, she figured Hare was probably telling the truth.
However, Bronya was curious about something else. What about Kiana? Why hadn't she said or done anything?
Bronya kept her eyes nervously on Hare, facing off against her, not daring to turn around to check on Kiana's condition, afraid that Hare would launch a sneak attack.
"Mom? You... you're Cecilia... are you here to kill me!"
Kiana covered her golden right eye, her voice trembling and hoarse as she cried out. Chaotic memories surfaced in her mind.
"Ah... ahhhh!!"
The next moment, Kiana clutched her head in agony and knelt on the ground, her eyes flickering nonstop between solid gold and solid ice blue.
"Don't be afraid... I'm right here..."
Hare walked over to Kiana, knelt down, and embraced her, gently patting her back.
At the same time, she sealed the Herrscher Core inside Kiana's body, suppressing the rampaging Honkai energy.