When Kallen snuck into the dungeon while Schicksal was in chaos, she was shocked by what she saw.
Her beloved Lihua was furiously attacking the bars, as if she were a mother cat trapped in a cage, watching her children being abused.
The Soulium cage was impossible to break with human force. With each punch, Lihua's already mangled arms would become even more injured. Yet, it was as if she couldn't feel any pain. She continued to swing her arms mechanically.
Her hands were twisted and misshapen, exposing her bones. They didn't resemble hands anymore. They were just a mass of flesh, having lost their original shape after countless violent blows.
But even so, Lihua didn't stop.
"Lihua, what are you doing?!"
[Energy +30,000]
Without thinking, Kallen rushed in front of Lihua to stop her from hurting herself. However, she found herself helpless.
She didn't dare to take Lihua's hand. She was afraid that touching her exposed muscles and nerves would cause her more pain.
"Kallen?"
Seeing Kallen, Lihua waved happily. However, her broken hand flapped limply at the end of her arm. Lihua awkwardly hid her hand behind her back.
If you wanted to come, why didn't you come earlier? If I knew you were coming, I wouldn't have to break down this door…
"You came just in time. Help me open the door! I need to get out there and save those idiots!"
"Lihua, are you… trying to bend the bars to get out?"
Looking at the bars in front of Lihua, which had been warped and had enough of a gap for a small child to crawl through, Kallen finally understood that Lihua wasn't trying to harm herself. She was trying to escape.
"Yeah. You must have heard the commotion outside. Is Eleanor and her group of idiots attacking Schicksal?"
"Uh, well, it's not just Eleanor. There are many civilians too. Everyone is armed and is attacking Schicksal HQ. They've already broken down the front gate…"
Oh my god, not only did I act foolishly, but I dragged other people along with me—
"Kallen, open the door now!"
Lihua grew anxious. "I'm not going to interfere with you trying to research the black box. I just need to go out there and stop those idiots. A lot of people will die if they keep going on like this!"
"The black box…"
Instead of opening the door, Kallen looked at Lihua with a guilty expression. "Lihua, I've been thinking a lot lately. Maybe you were right. I was wrong…"
Kallen had originally been opposed to human experimentation. She only tolerated it for Lihua's sake.
But after her fight with Lihua, and after days of self-reflection, Kallen finally realized that what she was doing was wrong.
From the beginning, she had wanted to become stronger to protect Lihua. But somewhere along the way, she had lost her way, and was too focused on the process. She had forgotten what her original purpose was…
As an immature child, she had said that she wanted to save the world. Lihua had shown her how to do it, and told her that their dreams were similar; to allow everyone to live a peaceful life.
Somewhere along the way, she had forgotten her original ideal, while Lihua had always been working toward it.
Kallen had been feeling guilty and regretful. She had acted against Lihua's wishes by supporting human experimentation, in order to protect Lihua. It was a selfish and self-righteous thing to do.
But it wasn't too late. If she started to make amends now, Lihua would eventually forgive her!
With that in mind, Kallen decided to save Lihua first. But Otto had lost his trust in her because she had almost let Lihua escape from the dungeon.
Although Kallen knew Lihua was being held somewhere, she didn't know the specific location. Otto wouldn't even let her see Lihua.
With no choice, Kallen started to secretly search through Schicksal and found Lihua in Otto's special dungeon.
This dungeon was said to be for containing Honkai beasts. Everything in it was reinforced with Soulium. The surrounding guards were also heavily armed. Kallen couldn't think of a way to sneak in for a while.
She was confident that she could fight her way in, but she knew that Otto would come. Then, with him and Schicksal's guards, she couldn't guarantee Lihua's safety.
In the end, she had no choice but to try and sneak into the dungeon. She just couldn't find a good opportunity until now.
Today, Schicksal HQ was attacked and in total chaos. The nearby guards had all been transferred. Kallen took this opportunity to sneak in.
"We'll talk about that later. Open the door first..."
Lihua was speechless when she saw Kallen's sincere face as she explained herself.
Look at the situation, Kallen. Is now the time for that?!
But this time, Kallen seemed to realize it was inappropriate to talk to Lihua through the bars. She quickly used her key and opened the cell door. "I'm sorry, Lihua. I got carried away. Let me take you to see a doctor--Wait, Lihua, where are you going?!"
As soon as the door opened, Lihua didn't care about Kallen, who seemed to have a lot to say. She rushed out of the dungeon.
Once outside, the sounds of battle were clear. The smell of blood and gunpowder filled the air, and the chaotic battlefield was now visible to her.
"Tsk, they're really doing it…" Lihua's eyes twitched as she saw civilians with rifles fighting against Schicksal guards.
Although the civilians were clearly suffering more losses, they were slowly but surely breaking through Schicksal HQ's outer defenses with their sheer numbers and firearms.
"Comrades! Schicksal's outer defenses have been broken! The corrupt oppressors are just ahead!" Eleanor, wearing white, stood in front of the crowd and held her flag high. "Rebel against Schicksal, kill the Archbishop, save the Saint, and establish a new order!!"
"Rebel against Schicksal, kill the Archbishop, save the Saint, and establish a new order!!"
Then the people shouted their slogan and charged toward Schicksal's HQ.