From just now until the present, Aaron noticed that Bronya, whose emotional circuits should have been damaged leaving her essentially poker-faced, had actually displayed expressions that shouldn't have appeared multiple times.
Combining this with the fact that most of these expressions were of surprise, Bronya must have also realized that her body seemed to be disobeying her orders a bit.
Back when Higokumaru went berserk while still as Rin, she instantly controlled the vast majority of the soldiers in the entire base.
Currently, the Core surrendered by the depowered Higokumaru obviously didn't have the domineering authority it had when she first awakened.
Add to that the fact that it wasn't the Herrscher herself using the Authority, but Aaron, a Divine Key user utilizing the Divine Key to activate the most basic Authority—even if Bronya had been completely eroded by Aaron, his erosion of her couldn't be that domineering.
But this was enough. If he really treated the brat before him like a puppet...
Well, rationally speaking, there wasn't a big problem with that choice, but considering it was too sadistic, Aaron felt he'd better not do that.
Cocolia truly deserved to die, but a brat like Bronya, who had been gaslit and bewitched by Cocolia, was at most a hired thug.
As long as it didn't interfere with his actions, Aaron felt there was no need to push her down a path worse than death.
Of course, from the perspective of 'forcibly making an adopted daughter betray her adoptive mother,' he was already tormenting Bronya quite a bit.
But Bronya breaking free from Cocolia's domination wasn't a bad thing.
It is widely known that after Cocolia seized Massive Electric (ME) Corp, she possessed a large amount of funds.
In the original manga's *Moon Shadow* arc, judging by Cocolia's behavior in Singapore, she booked out the entire Royal Hotel.
Referencing the real-world Singapore's Marina Bay Sands Hotel where the minimum stay is two thousand a night, the funds Cocolia used to book the Royal Hotel for multiple days would have been enough to improve the living conditions of the children at the Cocolia Orphanage.
As for why Cocolia didn't do that...
Who knows the specific reason?
One can only say that in this woman's heart, she indeed considered those children her own.
But after considering them her own children, exactly how well she treated them was something Aaron couldn't say for sure.
Anyway, compared to the orphans being used, Aaron—an orphan himself—believed that Cocolia, who wantonly gaslit orphans and used their lives for experiments, was the one who should truly be targeted.
Now that the bait had been cast, he just had to wait for Cocolia to bite.
But just because the plan against the Anti-Entropy radicals was set, it didn't mean Aaron and the others were safe now.
He hadn't forgotten that he had encountered people from Schicksal in Nagazora City.
As the largest organization in the world, Schicksal possessed the most advanced intelligence division.
Even though Aaron hadn't used his full strength and wore a mask to conceal his face, he couldn't guarantee he hadn't left behind some clues that would expose his identity.
Being found out by Schicksal was only a matter of time. Once Schicksal learned he had traveled from Soukai City to Nagazora City, it would be too easy for them to trace the vine to the melon, strike at Soukai City, conduct a carpet search, and find the current location of Aaron and the others.
So Aaron had to find a new base before those people locked onto his identity and location.
[Dimensional Formation: Shambhala]'s daily transfer ability had already been used up by Aaron today.
Now, Aaron had to find a way to use other methods to go to another city, record the coordinates there, and then transfer his companions there together.
After all, if he used public transportation, Schicksal would likely expose him just by checking big data...
*Sigh, I didn't have a choice back then. To get from Soukai City to Nagazora City in a short time, I could only choose to fly.*
*Wouldn't that bunch at Schicksal have already traced my identity in this world based on the airport records?*
*Looking at it this way, there's even less time. No choice, gotta rush—speaking of which, didn't I plan to rest?*
*Now it seems I really was thinking too much.*
Seeing the complicated expressions on Raiden Mei and Bronya, Kiana wanted to ask Aaron what to do next.
Then she saw Aaron stand up with a pained expression and walk in front of her.
"Give me your phone."
"Huh? What do you want this for—Hey!"
Seeing Aaron directly crush the phone using the power of Magnetic Field Rotation, Kiana immediately spoke to Aaron with dissatisfaction.
"What are you doing!"
"As a descendant of the traitor to the Kaslana clan, you've probably been targeted by Schicksal for a long time. Crushing your phone prevents them from tracking the signal all the way here."
Taking out a new phone and charger, Aaron continued speaking to Kiana.
"This phone already has a SIM card inserted, and the card has enough credit. Maintaining contact for a short time should be no problem."
"...Just how many things do you have hidden in your storage space?"
Picking up the new phone, Kiana looked at Raiden Mei and Bronya.
"What about Mei and that little brat?"
"The electronics on Mei were completely ruined when she awakened as the Herrscher of Thunder, and that brat doesn't need low-end tech like a phone to contact her superiors."
"Actually, your phone should have been interfered with by the Herrscher of Thunder's Honkai energy too, otherwise Schicksal would have probably already traced your phone to Soukai City. Destroying your phone is mainly to avoid capsizing the boat over a small detail."
"Hmm—then where are you planning to run off to now?!"
Seeing Aaron prepare to leave after saying this, Kiana felt a sense of panic in her heart that she couldn't ignore.
"Didn't you say Schicksal has targeted us? Yet you're still running around!"
"If I don't use Shambhala to find coordinates elsewhere to fly to, do you expect the four of us to take a plane and then get caught by Schicksal agents the moment we disembark?"
Unrefutable.
The thought that she had been under someone else's surveillance all along made Kiana feel very uncomfortable.
After being separated from Siegfried for several years, she had slowly run from Europe to the Far East.
Although the journey was hard, if she calmed down and thought about it now, the fact that she accomplished this feat and it was merely 'hard' was in itself a very ridiculous thing.
Combining this with the Schicksal organization Aaron mentioned, Kiana felt that maybe she had been watched by that organization for these past few years.
Her damn old man was a Schicksal traitor, so if Schicksal's people targeted her, could it be anything good?
The fact they hadn't moved to capture her before just meant Schicksal felt the time wasn't right, not that Schicksal held no malice toward her.
And ever since that battle with Zank the Beheader, whenever Kiana thought of or heard Aaron mention the organization [Schicksal], she couldn't help but feel an uncontrollable disgust rising from within.
Combined with that dream she couldn't remember, Kiana felt that the reason her dad betrayed Schicksal might have something to do with her.
Only this reason could explain why her subconscious was so unhappy with Schicksal.
"Alright, you squat here and watch over Mei and this brat. Although I don't know what exactly you drew, judging from your previous performance—if things go south, don't blame me for mocking you when I get back."
"Tch, don't look down on this young lady."
Hearing this, Kiana said angrily.
"Besides, I believe Mei can control her heart already—don't underestimate her either!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah—anyway, be careful."
After saying this, Aaron immediately left their sight.
"That guy... is always like this!"
*How long has it been since we met, and he leaves me behind again!*
*But this time... I can't blame him.*
Although she didn't know where Aaron got so much intelligence, if his info was correct, Schicksal finding them was only a matter of time.
Right now on our side, besides Aaron, there's me, the daughter of a Schicksal traitor; Mei is the Herrscher of Thunder; and Bronya, this little brat, seems to be from an organization hostile to Schicksal.
If Schicksal finds out where we are, they will definitely send people to arrest us.
Kiana didn't fear enemy attacks, but after witnessing a Herrscher's destructive power, she was worried whether her battles would affect innocent people.
The Herrscher of Thunder she fought back then had the power to easily kill countless people and destroy countless buildings.
And as long as Schicksal wasn't brain-dead, the people they sent would inevitably be capable of taking down a Herrscher—after all, sending people who couldn't beat a Herrscher would just be delivering vegetables; Schicksal had no need to send their subordinates to die.
*A battle between Herrscher-level powerhouses...*
*Even if I hold back enough, will the people from Schicksal hold back their power with me?*
*Sigh, that stinky dad doesn't look like a bad guy no matter how you look at it. Reasoning backward from that, the people at Schicksal might not all be good guys.*
*If they really send a powerhouse who doesn't care about the lives of others, even if I protect Mei... what about everyone else?*
*Aaaaaah, so annoying!*
*Why do I have to consider so many complicated problems after becoming stronger!*
[Miss Kiana, the answer is actually very simple. Doesn't this just prove—you aren't strong enough yet?]
[If you could defeat the opponent easily, you wouldn't have to consider whether innocents would be hurt.]
*You guy... popping up at a time like this just to mock me? (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻*
[How could this System have such thoughts? But since Miss Kiana dislikes this System popping up suddenly, this System will stop yapping for now.]
After the System went dormant again, Kiana couldn't help but sigh.
Annoying as it was, what the System said wasn't wrong at all.
It was precisely because her power wasn't enough that this dilemma existed.
If her power was sufficient, Aaron wouldn't need to run around looking for a place to settle the four of them.
With enough power, neither Schicksal nor the Anti-Entropy that Aaron and Bronya mentioned would come to provoke us easily.
And only with enough power can I protect the people I want to protect.
Last time during the fight with the Herrscher of Thunder, if Aaron hadn't come, I...
No, I can't be like this.
I should think about how to get stronger, I can't have other distractions.
Even if I've become stronger than before, I still haven't been able to help Aaron...
Template, synchronization rate... how exactly do I raise the synchronization rate?
Looking at the fusion rate that was still stuck at 3% and refused to budge, Kiana fell into deep thought.
*Mm, does it want me to imitate Mr. Dante's behavior?*
*Eating pizza is no problem; I like pizza quite a bit too.*
*But that clothing... I can't possibly wear those kinds of clothes to fight!*
*Combat techniques can be imitated, but the problem is techniques and moves aren't mastered in a day.*
*Even just looking at Mr. Dante's greatsword moves, I can't achieve mastery in a short time... Aaaaaah, why did I dare call myself a genius before!*
Recalling the moves in her mind, Kiana felt very ashamed of herself right now.
Those sword moves of Dante didn't look complicated when broken down, but the problem was she couldn't just perform them one by one in battle.
After the Kaslana bloodline in Kiana's body fused with the demon [Sparda]'s bloodline, Kiana's reaction speed was already far superior to her original self.
In this situation, combined with the template switching skill, Kiana could absolutely toy with enemies in the palm of her hand by constantly switching templates and changing moves during battle.
But the problem now was that her degree of control over the moves and her grasp of timing were obviously still in a very awkward state.
Simply put, she didn't need these to crush weaklings, but once in a high-end match, the shortcomings caused by her lack of proficiency would easily become a breakthrough point for the enemy.
*Haa... I've only had this power for less than two days, why am I so anxious to get stronger?*
*Logically speaking, as long as I train normally, relying on Mr. Dante's template will eventually make me much stronger than before.*
*But what exactly is this sense of impatience and anxiety emerging in my heart?*
*Schicksal is tracking my stinky dad's whereabouts. Looking at it this way, my stinky dad leaving me back then must have been because of this matter.*
*Then that day...*
*That arm of his, who exactly broke it?*