Conductor Vill-V: "Oh! Mei-san! Is it finally my turn?"
Mei said: "It's you… Conductor… I finally know your name. So this time… I can meet all the Vill-Vs, right?"
"Including that one… Model Five of the Kevin Weapon?"
Conductor Vill-V said: "I'm afraid that's going to be difficult—she's a shy person and has never been very confident about her appearance."
"Besides, at her speaking speed… you might pass away on the spot with us before the conversation even ends."
Mei said: "…That's quite a shame."
Conductor Vill-V said: "Can't be helped—the situation is special, so it has to be this way. Then… is there anything else you'd like to say to me? Anything at all."
"…"
Mei thought for a moment: "Mm… Goodbye?"
Conductor Vill-V said: "Is your colleague not very happy about this—it's a bit too casual, isn't it?"
"Alright then… Goodbye."
Next came Vill-V All-Flavors: "Though it feels a bit strange to say this at our first meeting, I somehow feel… we'd get along well."
"…Maybe that's just what I want to believe. It's really a shame I couldn't treat you to my cooking."
Overlooking-the-Stars Vill-V: "As for me… no need for more words. Accept… the true Helix Inscription."
Finally appeared the Helix Vill-V: "In the end… it still comes back to me. The end of the Helix is also its origin—makes sense, right?"
"Use truth to create illusion, reverse meaning through contradiction."
"Dismantle the self precisely to become the self."
"Only by creating opposition can one step into unity."
"Here, Mei… the true Helix Inscription."
"This is all the arrangements I can complete. What I can do… you can do the same. Then… go uncover every mystery."
With her words, that deeply hidden memory segment also appeared before Mei and audiences nationwide.
"After all… I'm a swindler, aren't I?"
Vill-V said to Elysia: "From the first time we met—that night you barged into my room—I already noticed…"
"This big sister seems to carry a secret, or rather…"
Elysia said directly: "A lie?"
"…" Vill-V shook her head: "No… I think it's just a secret."
Elysia said: "That's a bit harsh—how can you call a beautiful girl 'big sister'? We're about the same age, maybe… I'm even a little younger?"
"Never mind, since it's rare for you to come out, I won't hold it against you. Let's take a look at this instead…"
"The Kevin Weapon Model 666."
"To think it can delete the entire Elysian Realm in one go—what a terrifying invention… Vill-V, you really need to think carefully about its activation conditions."
Vill-V nodded: "Mm. Though it's the expert's design… I'll be the one to decide."
"It concerns everything left behind by the Thirteen Flame-Chasers. Whether unanimous approval or majority rule… I don't think either is the best choice."
"But right now it's hard to imagine what kind of situation… would force us to activate it."
Elysia nodded: "Mm, that's quite troubling."
Vill-V said: "So, I was thinking…"
"Elysia, since you're the one who let us leave behind this story, then the one to put a period at its end… should also be you."
Elysia asked: "You mean… let me decide?"
Vill-V said: "Mm. Think of it as… a stage I've prepared for you. You helped Vill-V keep her secret and never told anyone about me."
"So your secret… I hope it can open in the grandest way, and then…"
"Close with the most beautiful curtain call."
"…"
Elysia fell silent, tilting her head in thought: "Hmm… The ending of the story—I never really thought about it. Now I really have to consider it carefully."
"But in my aesthetics… you know."
"There has only ever been one answer~"
Vill-V also smiled: "Then I think I understand. I… believe in you."
Seeing this.
Countless viewers' hearts could not calm down.
How simple the words "I believe in you" are—yet how heavy.
They fought on until now precisely because they believed in Elysia, because of this promise.
Meanwhile on the TV.
When Mei came back to her senses, she had already returned to the Elysian Realm.
Almost the instant she fully awoke, intense pain erupted in her head, nearly causing her to faint again.
"Really… not that easy, huh."
The pain continued, but the girl no longer let out even a single muffled groan because of it.
Because she knew this pain was carving out the key to her counterattack in her mind.
However, unfortunately… her enemy seemed to know this as well.
Countless faded monsters swarmed toward her.
But the carving in her mind made the pain unbearable. After killing a swarm of monsters, she collapsed to the ground from the agony.
"Hm? Ending so soon?"
Elysia's utterly familiar voice appeared.
"This voice… No, impossible…"
Of course it was impossible. Vill-V had told her that person's data had been completely deleted.
So the voice she heard now could only belong to an impostor who had taken over the nest…
The Herrscher of Corruption… appeared before Mei in the most vicious form.
"Ya~, still alive, huh."
"Then next, should I say something like this?"
"Hi~. How does it feel?"
"…"
"..."
At this moment.
Audiences across the nation were completely dumbfounded.
"What the hell is this? What the actual situation? For a split second, I thought Elysia had come back."
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH, you tricked me!! My Ellie! It should obviously be my Ellie!"
"Fuck! What kind of shitty plot is this? I'm seriously about to die of rage—why the hell does this damn Herrscher have to appear like this!"
"She looks exactly like Elysia—let me kill her!"
"???? What the fuck? What is this?"
"Elysia… it has to be Elysia coming back. The Herrscher is just pretending to be her."
"Everyone calm down first—what if this Herrscher actually has a tragic backstory? What if she's good? There are plenty of Herrschers fighting for humanity now."
"How can you even say that crap? The Flame-Chasers were all killed by her—how could she possibly be good?"
"She just appeared—let's watch first."
"Fine. If this Herrscher isn't good, today I'll knife you along with the director!"
Everyone looked back at the TV.
The spacious amusement park lights still shone.
The facilities operated as usual. Only two girls stood facing each other, seemingly intimate.
But the blatant hostility in one pair of eyes created an invisible barrier between them.
Mei didn't hide her enmity at all: "Who the hell are you!!"
The Herrscher of Corruption spoke in Elysia's exact tone: "Haa, we haven't seen each other for just a little while and you've already forgotten me? Mei is so heartless—I'm really hurt."
Mei scolded: "Stop pretending."
"…We both know very well—you're not her."
"Mm… alright." The Herrscher of Corruption's tone still imitated: "Since you're so unromantic, there's no point in me continuing the act."
"Ara, I never expected to be outplayed by a friend… I clearly trusted Vill-V so much."
Mei said: "Trusted? I'm afraid not."
The Herrscher of Corruption said: "Don't say that, my dear Mei… I saw in their memories—she calls you that, right?"
"You…" Mei's anger was now completely uncontrollable.
The Herrscher of Corruption continued: "Hmm? Why so angry? That's strange. I'm using the appearance you're familiar with, calling you the way you like—why aren't you happy at all?"
"I feel like… you really hate me? I wonder what Vill-V told you—never mind, when I have time later, I'll read her data carefully."
"But before that, I should make a special declaration: I harbor absolutely no malice toward you."
"To show sincerity, let's do a proper self-introduction again."
"I… am a Herrscher born in the gap between life and death. I live on information and data, existing attached to some physical medium."
"In words you're more familiar with—the Herrscher of Corruption. That's my name~"
"…Though I always feel the title is a bit too crude."
Mei asked coldly: "Why did you take on Elysia's appearance?"
The Herrscher of Corruption said: "Oh, is that what Mei cares about? The reason is simple—besides wanting to make Mei feel especially close, of course it's also because…"
"Don't you think I look especially cute in this form?"
"…" Mei stared at her in silence.
"Ara… Mei, don't look at me with those eyes, okay? I'm being sincere."
"Just because I'm the Herrscher of Corruption, do I not even have the right to choose my appearance?"
"Hmph!"
Mei snorted coldly: "It's actually kind of surprising you'd say something like that."
"Who made me take over her data?" She pointed at her own cheek.
"You should know better than I do—there's no one in this world who treasures this one-of-a-kind beautiful appearance more than her… which is to say, me now."
"…"
Mei's brows furrowed tightly.
Her mind raced: Something's wrong!
She said… she took over Elysia's data?
Vill-V clearly told her that Elysia's data had been completely deleted…
Why would the Herrscher of Corruption tell such a pointless lie?
The Herrscher of Corruption kept talking: "While accepting foreign data, I also continue to grow."
"Because I gained life, I learned to fear death. Because I gained form, I understood the pursuit of beauty… Because I once had nothing, I want to cherish everything."
"Born from nothingness, I'm slowly coming to understand the meaning of being alive. If you simply imagine me as humanity's enemy, that would be a bit of a misunderstanding, wouldn't it?"
"Misunderstanding?" Mei snorted coldly.
The Herrscher of Corruption said: "Yes… I did invade the Realm. That's an undeniable fact. After all, the foundation of my existence is constant corrosion."
"But you have to know, Mei—I never had any intention of harming anyone, even if they're just memory bodies made of data."
"And the facts prove it. Look—nothing in the Realm has disappeared."
"Though not in the form you're familiar with, right now they're all around us. Right here…"
She pointed to her own forehead.
"Here."
"After corrosion completes, they become part of me; equivalently, I become part of them. Precisely because I was once a blank slate, I can fully accept everything about them."
"I gained their data, experienced their lives, and inherited their emotions and wills."
"So you can completely see me as the continuation of the Flame-Chasers' lives. Saying it like that… wouldn't it make you a little happier?"
"Happier!?" The scenes from days ago resurfaced—those snowflake-like obituary notices fluttering away, those light points scattering from her palm…
Mei lowered her eyelids, concealing the fury in her pupils.
"You invaded this place, manipulated everything, wantonly trampled the last traces these heroes left in the world… They died right before my eyes, and you dare say you're the continuation of their lives?"
The Herrscher of Corruption sighed: "Sigh… Alright. Looks like no matter what, in Mei's heart, I'm just a villain."
"Since you're determined to fight me no matter what, I'll have to meet your expectations—after all, the thing I hate most is letting people down."
Mei snorted coldly: "Finally showing your true face? Though I don't understand why you'd bother putting on such an innocent act…"
"But that's enough."
The Herrscher of Corruption said: "If I could, I really wouldn't want to fight Mei at all. This battle is completely meaningless—we're absolutely not supposed to be enemies."
"But I also know very well that Mei is the kind of girl who likes to get to the bottom of things."
"So I'm also happy to show you the authority of Corrosion… I'll hand over my cards to Mei one by one."
"Then prove—that what you've seen is the completely unrestrained… real me~"
Seeing this Herrscher of Corruption.
The audience could no longer hold back.
"Fuck your mother! I seriously want to kill her!! Damn Herrscher of Corruption."
"I can't take it anymore—this is what you call having a tragic backstory? What if she's good? I'll kill you all together."
"No no no, my blood pressure is through the roof. She looks exactly like Elysia—how can she be this infuriating."
"Even Mei couldn't hold back her anger—how could anyone else stand it?"
"I've never seen anyone this shameless. Goddamn continuation of the Flame-Chasers—if they knew, they'd devour her alive!"
"So infuriating!! Watching this is giving me a heart attack—die already!"
"Damn director, damn Herrscher of Corruption—can't you write a single good plot? You just have to piss me off to death, huh?"
"Pardofelis's death… Elysia's death—she's desecrating everyone. Even more shameless than that damn Otto!"
"This thing is seriously the most shameless person I've seen besides Otto—one kills someone's dad and says they're the dad, the other kills people and says she's their continuation."
"…"
Countless viewers exploded in furious curses.
Countless people raged as if they wanted to crawl into the TV and tear the Herrscher of Corruption apart alive.
But the reactions at the company were somewhat different.
Kiana was indeed furious, nearly exploding with curses, but as an actress, she knew this Herrscher of Corruption was played by Elysia.
She could only say helplessly: "Ellie, you… your character is way too infuriating."
Bronya immediately corrected: "It's not Ellie's character that's infuriating—it's the damn director's character design that's infuriating. Even Bronya wants to explode!"
Seele nodded: "Yeah, really infuriating. If I were Dark Seele, I'd already be smashing the TV."
Himeko said: "Then let's just beat up the director first."
Everyone instantly turned to Hessian.
All of them looking eager to pounce.
Hessian immediately shouted: "Quick, look! Mei's making her move—she's starting to fight the Herrscher of Corruption!"
With just that short sentence.
He drew everyone's attention straight back to the TV.
On the TV.
The Herrscher of Corruption sat to the side: "So, first of all…"
With her words, Mobius's artificial Honkai suddenly appeared.
Mei was startled: "This is…"
The Herrscher of Corruption said: "Not long after Mei first stepped into the Realm, you also went through a similar battle, right?"
"Using the secret of the MANTIS as bait, luring you in step by step, trying to replace you…"
"Haha~ Dr. Mobius's way of thinking is quite similar to mine. But you weren't nearly as lenient with me as you were with her."
"Could this be… first come, first served?"
[Hi everyone~ Just a quick note! I just graduated from college, to celebrate, I did a mass release on Patreon for all of my stories. Thank you so much for your support. I'll still be continuing the stories for the foreseeable future.]