Underneath the Church of St. Freya
"Can you isolate the effects of the arena to only Kiana?"
As soon as Siegfried appeared in the arena, Theresa had been frantically trying to shut down the system—only to be met by a cascade of error messages. After several failed attempts, she finally calmed down and resigned herself to watching the match unfold. The fight had devolved into a pure fist brawl between Kiana and her father's simulation.
Kouga, however, wasn't nearly as composed. He paced impatiently behind her, trying again and again to convince Theresa to abort the session.
"I'm telling you, there's no chance someone got into St. Freya without my approval," Theresa said firmly, her voice laced with confidence.
Kouga exhaled sharply through his nose."Look, if anything happened there, I would've been notified already," she continued.
Before Kouga could argue further, the console blared a warning.
"ALERT! MEI RAIDEN'S FAIL-SAFE BOMB HAS BEEN PRIMED!"
The voice of the system made Theresa freeze mid-sentence. Kouga shot her a hard, accusatory look before bolting out of the control room. He dashed down the metal staircase and kicked the reinforced steel door open, bursting into the other side of the arena—just in time to dodge a massive laser blast.
"Sorry about that," Siegfried's copy called out, one pistol still aimed in Kouga's direction. "But I can't let you go running off to help the Herrscher."
"Oh, come on, Dad!" Kiana yelled, throwing herself between them. "JUST END THE TRAINING! MEI'S IN DANGER!"
"What, is Mei your boyfriend?" Siegfried quipped, smirking. Then his gaze flicked to Kouga. "No, wait... he's your boyfriend, isn't he? Mei's a girl's name, anyway."
The arena went silent for a second as Kouga glared daggers at the clone. Siegfried turned back to Kiana, feigning realization."Wait... is my little girl bi?"
"That has nothing to do with—"
A sudden gust of wind cut Kiana off. Kouga had already launched forward, golden energy erupting around his body as he transformed into Kyoryu Gold of the Kyoryugers. He swung with everything he had—but Siegfried caught the punch with ease, the impact shaking the entire room.
"What—?!" Kouga's eyes widened. The last time he fought Siegfried, that much power had been more than enough to overwhelm him.
"Hey, hey!" the copy said, still grinning. "While that transformation looks cool and all, that's no way to greet the in-laws. But—" he lifted his free hand, muscles tensing, "—this is a good time to see if you're worthy of my daughter's hand!"
Before Kouga could react, Siegfried slammed his fist into Kouga's gut with terrifying speed. The blow launched him backward, crashing near Kiana's feet.
Kouga groaned, glaring at the still-smiling clone.'This version's been upgraded… probably reflecting Kiana's own perception of her dad,' he realized grimly.
Siegfried raised his fists to his face, ready to continue the fight—only to falter when Kiana stepped between him and Kouga.
"Didn't you teach me that Kaslanas do whatever it takes to save the ones they love?!" Kiana shouted, tears welling in her eyes. "Why is this any different?!"
Siegfried slowly lowered his guard, his eyes softening with grim resolve."Good… you remember that," he said, voice echoing across the arena. "We Kaslanas will do whatever it takes to protect those we love. But I also know your friend—Mei Raiden—is the Third Herrscher. I'm sorry, baby doll… but Herrschers must be destroyed if humanity is to survive."
His tone hardened into that of a soldier."Do not forget the Kaslana Oath. Our duty… is to protect this world from the Honkai menace."
Without warning, Siegfried drew the twin pistols of Judgment of Shamash. A blinding beam erupted from the barrels, searing through the air—right past Kiana's shoulder.
"SIEGFRIED! ARE YOU CRAZY?!" Theresa's voice screamed from the observation deck, nearly breaking through the intercom's static. "You just fired Judgment of Shamash at max power! That's Kiana—your baby girl!"
Siegfried kept his eyes on the smoke trail of the blast, his expression unreadable."Sorry, baby doll," he said softly. "I have no choice."
Kouga immediately stepped forward, spinning Kiana toward him."Kiana—what's wrong?" he demanded, searching her face for any reaction. Normally, she would've dodged or countered instinctively, but now… she stood motionless. The laser had passed within inches of her, yet she didn't even flinch.
He gave her cheek a few light taps. "Hey, come on. Snap out of it."
Nothing.
Kiana's blank eyes stared past him—unfocused, trembling slightly, as if trapped in a memory only she could see.
Kouga's gaze hardened beneath his mask. Slowly, he turned back toward Siegfried, golden aura flickering to life once more.
The temperature in the arena seemed to drop.
"...What the hell did you just do to her?" Kouga growled.
"Relax," Siegfried said, holding up a hand, his tone calm and almost fatherly. "I won't do anything to harm my baby girl. All I did was make her remember something… from the past."
Before he could finish, Kouga's fist connected squarely with his jaw. The punch cracked through the air like thunder. Still in his Kyoryu Gold form, Kouga's fury was palpable as he drove a vicious uppercut that launched Siegfried straight into the ceiling.
The clone crashed into the roof, stone and dust raining down before Kouga met him mid-fall—delivering a follow-up kick that sent him skidding across the floor until he slammed into the far wall. The impact cracked the marble and left Siegfried buried in debris.
After a tense pause, Siegfried stirred. He threw off the rubble, dusting himself as though nothing had happened, his smirk faintly returning.
"Alright… you've got the strength," he admitted, voice steady. "And the will to protect others. But…" His expression darkened, eyes meeting Kouga's. "One day, you'll have to save her—from herself. Kaslanas must kill Herrschers to uphold our oath."
"Just shut up and fight," Kouga snapped, golden lightning flaring around him as he advanced.
Siegfried sighed, pressing the backs of his pistols together. A series of metallic clicks echoed as the weapons fused, the air shimmering with heat. Fire erupted between them before clearing to reveal a massive flaming greatsword—its core black and glowing orange along the outer edges, the blade hollowed down the center like molten glass.
Siegfried swung it once, scattering sparks across the floor. "Those who defend Herrschers are guilty of their sins," he declared, raising the blade high. A fiery sigil bloomed in the air behind him, pulsing like a living sun. "I'm sorry, but your foolishness dies here!"
Kouga smirked beneath his helmet and raised his right hand. Lightning coalesced in his palm, solidifying into a jagged, golden sword—the Serial Zyuden Sword, Zandar Thunder.
"Damn," Siegfried remarked with an appreciative grin. "That's really cool."
They were just about to clash when a gunshot echoed through the arena.
CRACK!
The fiery sigil behind Siegfried shattered. Both men turned.
Kiana stood a few paces away, her pistol aimed straight at the clone, her glare sharp and voice trembling with fury.
"Stop pretending to be my dad, you faker! My real dad would never stand in the way of me protecting someone I love!"
Siegfried froze for a moment. Then, slowly, he lowered his blade. The weapon dissolved into golden embers, vanishing entirely as he sighed, resting his hands on his hips.
A smile—warm, genuine—spread across his face.
"So," he said quietly, "you've finally made up your mind, baby doll." He took a step closer, his smile widening. "You've grown a lot in these four years."
Kiana blinked, her anger melting into quiet surprise.
Kouga exhaled sharply, crossing his arms. "Yeah, not to ruin the family moment or anything," he interrupted dryly, "but Mei's still in danger. I'm heading out to her now."
He turned to Kiana, his tone softening. "When you're done here, meet me at Himeko's apartment."
His wings of light spread wide, preparing to launch—
"When Kiana's old enough," Siegfried suddenly called out behind him, his grin returning, "you'd better give me a grandkid or two!"
"DAD!" Kiana screamed, her face flushing red as Kouga stopped mid-flight, sighing audibly before shooting upward through the dome ceiling in a trail of gold and lightning.