Siegfried Kaslana was a man of two faces.
First and foremost, he was a warrior of tremendous grit and passion.
Driven by pure principle, he had rescued Welt Yang from the hands of the clown, Otto, and had taken it upon himself to let Yang recuperate in the Babylon Tower.
To protect others, he had willingly injected himself with a gene-activating serum that was extremely harmful to his own body.
Even when he was a wanted man, unable to move freely, he would venture out to hunt Honkai Beasts, to the point where he once hovered on the brink of death.
However, this man, who appeared as a hero to outsiders, was an absolute disaster when it came to his own daughter. It was as if he'd used the Might of An-Utu so much he'd fried his own brain.
He bestowed his biological daughter's name upon his adopted daughter, pouring all his love into her and viewing her as his pride and joy.
On one hand, he was a hero who defended humanity; on the other, he was an unqualified, one might even say scum, of a father.
This was Siegfried Kaslana.
And now, this highly controversial figure stood atop a skyscraper in Nagazora City, his one remaining hand holding a pair of binoculars as he gazed at a distant street.
As part of the Tokyo metropolis, Nagazora City boasted an exceptionally prosperous commercial district.
Shops stood shoulder to shoulder, densely packed, their interiors filled with a dazzling array of goods, forming a shopper's paradise.
People flooded the streets like a tide, coming and going in an endless, bustling stream.
They gathered in groups of three or five, occasionally stopping to browse a store they fancied, admiring the overwhelming variety of merchandise and selecting items that caught their eye.
But these people were not the object of his observation.
The one he was truly watching was the fellow who had gotten far too close to his daughter.
In his line of sight, a young man with striking red eyes and a vivid red mark on the back of his hand—a mark that resembled a Stigmata—leisurely took out some money and bought a taiyaki.
Just a short while ago, he had learned from Theresa that some guy had mentioned his whereabouts in front of his daughter.
He was a mysterious one, this guy. He had somehow contacted Raiden Ryoma and then, from that tight-lipped fellow, pried out the contact information for Theresa and the Anti-Entropy Conservative Faction.
Such a feat was already mind-boggling, but it was only the beginning.
He had, from some unknown source, obtained the location of the so-called Herrscher of Erosion, which had flushed out the perennially incommunicado Welt, with whom he then struck some sort of agreement.
"What in the world is the deal with this kid?" Siegfried muttered to himself.
He had always maintained a decent relationship with the Anti-Entropy Conservative Faction, and could thus obtain some intelligence from them.
According to Welt's side, this young man was supposedly a member of some organization called the "Elizabeth Tower" and was in possession of a great deal of classified information concerning both Schicksal and Anti-Entropy.
(Translator's Note: The author includes a note here: "The Clock Tower is also known as Big Ben, or Elizabeth Tower.")
Siegfried considered himself fairly knowledgeable about the state of the world. He had spent time in both Schicksal and Anti-Entropy, and had done well in both, yet he had never once heard of an organization called the Elizabeth Tower.
This organization was probably just something the kid made up on the spot, Siegfried thought, his brow furrowed as he recalled that Welt's investigation had turned up absolutely nothing.
If this so-called "Elizabeth Tower" was just nonsense, then the boy's true identity became highly suspect.
His origins were worthy of deep investigation.
Siegfried's gaze darkened as he vaguely recalled some of the boy's statements.
He had learned from Welt about the so-called "customizable intel package."
MANTIS warriors, the Sea of Quanta, the Stigmata Project, the true face of the World Serpent...
This information was far too incredible; it was enough to shatter a person's entire worldview.
And in this world, who was the most skilled at gathering and analyzing intelligence, at unearthing the stories of the Previous Era?
A pair of emerald-green eyes, seemingly devoid of any emotion, flashed through Siegfried's mind.
Without a doubt, everything pointed to the master of the sky-city floating above Vienna—Otto Apocalypse.
Besides that man, absolutely no one could have access to such an astonishing amount of unbelievable information.
If that was the case, then many things started to make sense.
This mysterious boy was likely one of Otto's direct subordinates, or perhaps his messenger.
Everything he was doing now was merely a performance.
From a distance, Otto was directing him, having him reveal specific pieces of information, bit by bit, to guide the situation toward the outcome he desired.
At this thought, a chill ran down Siegfried's spine.
A mere messenger could so easily locate the Sovereign of Anti-Entropy, unerringly find the resting place of a Herrscher from the last century, and was now probing the secrets of the Sea of Quanta...
In that case, just how much did Otto, the source of all this intelligence, actually know?
The mere thought was enough to make one tremble.
The growth and schemes of Anti-Entropy had never escaped his surveillance; the hidden organization, World Serpent, had long been seen through by him; his tentacles had already reached into the Sea of Quanta.
He even understood part of the fundamental nature of the Honkai!
Perhaps Otto was far more terrifying than anyone could have ever imagined.
The man who had lost his most beloved wife because of Otto's command clenched his only remaining fist, his eyes turning crimson.
Only after a long while did he manage to calm himself.
His task today wasn't to delve into the nature of Otto, that demon in human skin, but to monitor this messenger who had grown so close to his daughter.
K423 was the core of the Sirin Project, carrying the Herrscher of the Void's core within her body.
And that Herrscher core had been implanted by Otto himself.
If that kid truly was Otto's messenger, then his act of approaching K423 was an extremely dangerous signal.
Among Otto's many plans, the part concerning K423 was now unfolding.
As he thought of this, the rage that had been accumulating in Siegfried's heart became difficult to suppress.
After taking Cecilia and the real Kiana from him, was that demon in human skin now trying to steal away his final solace?
The man's face turned ashen as he once again raised the binoculars, watching the boy in the distance share his snack with "Kiana."
His physical condition was no longer sufficient to storm Schicksal and take Kiana back, but dealing with a single messenger was more than manageable.
If this fellow truly made any outrageous moves, then he wouldn't mind burning away the half-life he had left.
His mind made up, Siegfried watched the boy and girl as they ate their snacks and walked on. He watched them stop here and there, until they finally came to a halt in front of a pink building.
Siegfried frowned. He studied the sign on the building, which gave him a rather unsavory feeling, and read it aloud.
"Love hotel."
As realization dawned, Siegfried's eyes flew wide open. The binoculars in his hand, crushed by a grip comparable to that of an Emperor-class Honkai Beast, shattered into pieces that rained down onto the rooftop.
He wanted to scream something, to make his daughter stop, but before he could even open his mouth, the white-haired girl followed the boy into that very pink hotel.
A gust of wind, carrying a faint chill, blew across Siegfried's face, rousing him from his stupor.
He took a deep breath, his hand brushing against the An-Utu at his waist.
Perhaps it was time he did something.