The Vixen's Gambit: Tonight We Hunt

But even so, anxiety still clung to Kallen.

For some reason, ever since she learned about what Schicksal was researching, Kallen realized that her strength had stagnated.

No matter how much she trained or honed her skills, it seemed like something was limiting her power, preventing her from moving forward.

Kallen didn't know why, but this stagnation filled her with fear.

She had an unthinkable hypothesis that her strength had reached its limit.

Yes, she was now much stronger than when she had fought the Red Immortal, but she still couldn't feel like she had any chance of winning if she faced the immortal again.

I need to become stronger, even if…

In the end, Kallen decided to step into the place that she had been avoiding.

If her own strength had reached its limit, then she would use external means to become stronger.

Perhaps these experiments and inventions could help her grow stronger…

But it was only when she stepped into this dungeon that Kallen realized that the darkness that Schicksal was hiding was beyond her imagination.

"He, help me… please, please…"

A weak cry for help came from a cell. Kallen turned her head and saw a gaunt girl with injuries all over her body. Her eyes looked at her with hope because of her unusual clothing. Her thin, frail hands reached through the bars, as if hoping that she would take them.

"..."

Kallen's lips trembled. She wanted to comfort the girl confidently, just like she did when saving villagers from Honkai beasts, but she couldn't even make a sound.

In the end, she could only turn her head away in shame, saying quietly, "I'm sorry..."

"Help me…"

Even though she had turned her down, she could still hear the girl's cries for help. It felt like a saw was slowly dragging her heart out.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I can't save you. I can't do it…

"Don't be afraid. I'll save you."

A gentle and firm voice came from behind her. At that moment, she finally understood.

From the very start, the girl wasn't calling to me.

Kallen saw the familiar, gray-haired figure walk past her. She knelt down next to the girl and took the girl's withered hand. "I'm here. I promise you."

"Lihua..."

"Why are you here?! Someone, come here!"

Viktor's voice, filled with fear and anger, echoed throughout the underground. But the wanted person wasn't surprised.

"Just go hide inside for now. It might get noisy soon."

Lihua ignored Viktor's calls for guards. After comforting the girl and letting her hide inside the cell, she slowly stood up and looked at the two of them.

"Why are you here, Kallen?"

Lihua looked at Kallen, who was silent. Her emotions were complicated. She didn't know what to say.

She had imagined that Kallen was here to rob the rich, help the poor, or to stop Viktor's evil acts. She even imagined a dramatic scene where she said, 'Kallen, you don't want Sasha to suffer, right?'

But the current situation was something she hadn't expected.

Kallen was supposed to be a protagonist who robbed the rich and helped the poor, not like Otto who took part in human experiments!

Did the timeline change while I wasn't paying attention…

No wonder Otto said that Kallen wouldn't help her even if she asked. That white-haired girl had completely turned dark!

Seeing Lihua's complicated gaze, Kallen wanted to explain herself. "Lihua, let me explain…"

"Okay, go ahead."

Surprisingly, Lihua nodded and stayed where she was, looking at her with a calm gaze. She was really waiting for her explanation.

After all, many dramas had misunderstandings between the characters, where they didn't listen to each other's explanations and ended up fighting. Lihua didn't want that to happen to her.

So, she was actually hoping that Kallen would tell her that it was all a misunderstanding. That she had come here to destroy the human experimentation organization.

"..."

"Kallen? You were going to explain?"

Seeing Kallen's silence, Lihua's heart sank.

What in the world is going on?!

"It's for you, Lihua."

Kallen looked up slowly, as if she had made up her mind. "I want to protect you. That's why I have to become stronger!"

"Even if I have to sacrifice something…"

Whoa, stop right there! You can't go around making sacrifices like that! That's from those weird fan fictions!

"Stop it, Kallen."

Lihua looked at her old friend, a friend she couldn't recognize. "You shouldn't be doing this."

"Why not?"

"Because you're a saint! You're the head of the Kaslana family. You should be fighting for the people!"

Lihua couldn't understand why Kallen would ask that. In the original story, she was supposed to be a righteous and kind person who would eventually oppose Schicksal for the sake of the people.

And now she had become obsessed with her when the lesbian love interest was supposed to be Yae Sakura. Lihua could understand that.

But she had changed way too much! She was a completely different person now!

People said that you'll be influenced by those that you're with, did she turn dark by being with Otto?!

This was not okay! What would happen to the plot of the story!

"Lihua, I'm not as good a person as you think..."

Looking at Lihua's serious gaze, Kallen shook her head silently.

"My heart isn't big enough to hold the whole world. Holding one person is my limit."

Crap, Kallen has become Otto-ified!

The only good person left in Schicksal was gone. She was on a fast train to her own demise.

It was said that Kallen rebelled against Schicksal because of the human experiments. They were studying a box that sealed a Herrscher. If the experiment was completed, they would release the Herrscher. That was why Kallen had stolen the box…

Wait, Kallen didn't steal the box. Does that mean that the research is still ongoing?!

Lihua's heart sank at this thought. She quickly asked, "You're capturing these kids to research the black box?!"

"...Lihua, it's a necessary sacrifice." Kallen hesitated for a long time before she answered. "We have to research Honkai to be able to understand and defeat it."

That sounds like something Otto would say!