"Brother Eli, thank you for saving me and my sister before. In the next life, I won't hold back anymore. When that time comes, we'll be love rivals, and I won't go easy on you!"
Rin wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and forced a smile as she spoke to the two most important people in her short life.
She thought to herself that since she was about to die anyway, she might as well say everything she had kept buried in her heart. After all, words carried to the grave weren't exactly precious burial goods.
When she finished, Rin adjusted herself into a more elegant pose.
Then she closed her eyes, waiting for her heartbeat to stop.
(Eh~ Goodbye, beautiful world. Dying in Brother Eli's arms isn't so bad after all. Even though he literally dug into my chest, it doesn't hurt at all. He's such a gentle person.)
(I hope there really is a next life. That time, my sister and I won't be family anymore. It's a little sad, but at least that way I'll be free to chase after Brother Eli.)
(Ugh, wait—just make sure I don't reincarnate as their kid, okay? That would be way too messed up! I'd better hurry and respawn before Sis gets pregnant with Brother Eli's child... Oh, and if I see Granny Meng on the way, I'm definitely not drinking her soup!)
Rin silently chanted in her heart.
Ten seconds passed. Twenty seconds. A full minute...
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Her heart continued beating—strongly and rhythmically.
Rin frowned slightly.
(Uh... this is taking a bit too long. Why am I still not dead? Brother Eli, come on, be decisive! I know you can't bear to do it, but it's better than letting me turn into a Herrscher and become your enemy. I'd rather die as a human!)
However—
"Ahem! Rin, open your eyes. I've got some good news and some bad news. Which do you want first?"
Elias patted the girl's cheek as he spoke.
"Eh? U-uh... whatever's fine..."
"Alright, then the good news first: you won't turn into a Herrscher anymore. I already extracted your Core."
Elias smiled faintly as he shook the purple Core in his hand.
The Gem of Corruption still glowed faintly with heat, containing over 30,000 HW of concentrated Honkai energy—and even a fragment of the Herrscher of Corruption's consciousness.
Rin's eyes widened in shock. She instinctively touched her chest and found herself perfectly fine.
But before she could feel relief at surviving the ordeal—
"The bad news is... even though you won't become a Herrscher, you're still gonna die!"
Elias' gentle smile suddenly turned dangerous.
"!!!"
Rin swallowed hard.
Clang!
The sharp sound of a blade being drawn rang out.
"S-sis! Brother Eli—no, wait, I mean, Brother-in-law! Let's calm down and talk this out, okay?"
"You actually kept my doujin? I remember clearly that I forbade that last time. That's illegal, you know."
"Rin, could you repeat what you said just now? When did you kiss Elias? And that whole 'love rival in the next life' thing—care to explain?"
Elias cracked his knuckles.
Sakura's blade was already unsheathed.
At that moment, the terrifying aura released by the two was enough to make even mindless Honkai Beasts cower in fear.
(Ah, I'm doomed...)
Rin's face turned pale. She hadn't expected to survive one crisis only to fall into another! Compared to what awaited her now, dying earlier might have been the merciful option.
"I was wrong! Sis! Brother-in-law! Have mercy! Just pretend you didn't hear anything, okay? I-I swear I'll be a good girl from now on!"
Rin immediately dropped to her knees, clutching Elias' left leg and Sakura's right leg, her eyes watery and pleading.
But it was all in vain.
Elias and Sakura exchanged a glance—and nodded.
"In any case... let's just beat her up first."
"Rin, bend over."
"Eeeeeeeek!"
...
A few minutes later.
Rin knelt on the ground in a pitiful OTZ pose, her spirit utterly broken.
Although she was undeniably adorable, Elias and Sakura didn't show her any mercy this time. The pink-haired girl now had a head full of bumps and was sobbing while clutching her sore backside.
"Uuuu... Brother Eli, maybe you should just kill me instead. I suddenly don't feel like living anymore!"
"How could I do that? If I let you die this easily—cough, I mean, if I let you die now, wouldn't that make all my effort to save you pointless?"
As Elias spoke, he casually tossed the Gem of Corruption up and down in his hand, as if it weren't a Herrscher Core at all but just an ordinary pebble for skipping across water.
On the other side, Sakura finally let out a long sigh of relief.
Ever since learning that Rin would become the Herrscher of Corruption, she hadn't had a proper night's sleep. Thankfully, the boy she loved remained as reliable and capable as ever.
However...
Sakura suddenly found herself wondering whether she even wanted this little sister anymore.
She had never imagined Rin would harbor such improper feelings toward Elias—and even worse, that she had kissed him before!
The fox-eared girl's eyes narrowed slightly as she weighed the white-haired boy and her younger sister in her heart's balance. In the next instant... her dear little sister was mentally launched right off the scale.
(I could do without a sister like this. In fact, to eliminate future trouble, maybe I should just cut her down now!)
Thinking back to all those "love tips" Rin had taught her before, Sakura's tail twitched irritably. This sister was far too dangerous to keep around.
(Rin, let our sisterly bond stay frozen in this beautiful moment. Don't worry, your sister's blade is swift.)
Of course, that was only in her imagination.
The lesson had already been delivered, and for the next few days, Rin would be forced to sleep face-down.
"Hm? Elias, what are you doing?"
Sakura turned her head to see Elias frowning as he gripped the Gem of Corruption tightly, the terrifying Honkai energy inside surging wildly.
"Nothing much. This thing's just being a little unruly."
"So that's... the Herrscher of Corruption's Core..."
Sakura's expression turned solemn as well.
Though Elias had made it look easy, the truth was far from simple. As the last Herrscher before Finality, the Herrscher of Corruption was anything but weak.
During the Core extraction, Elias had faced immense resistance. If not for the meticulous preparations he had made beforehand, the process could have easily gone wrong.
First, he had used [Fenghuang Down] to protect Rin's consciousness. Otherwise, the Herrscher's personality within the Core would have forcibly awakened and seized control of her body.
Second, the very moment Elias located the Core, the Herrscher's consciousness had launched its power, attempting to corrupt him.
The Herrscher of Corruption's essence was that of an ultimate virus with its own self-awareness, capable of infecting both living beings and machinery to seize control.
But trying to corrupt Elias...
That was laughable.
If he were a data-based memory construct, there might have been a slim chance of failure. But for a Herrscher with only 30,000 HW of Honkai energy to try and infect a Flame-Chaser whose [Deliverance] authority possessed 800,000 HW?
That was like a single drop of ink trying to pollute the entire ocean—pure delusion.
And besides—
Misteln: "A mere Herrscher of Corruption thinks it can manipulate Elias' mind? Begone~."
Herrscher of Corruption: "What the hell—why does this guy have such a terrifying monster in his head?!"
The [Idea] who resided in Elias' mental domain, Misteln, was not someone to trifle with. Any attempt to launch a mental or spiritual attack against him was immediately blocked by the Misteln-brand firewall.
As long as she existed, Elias could even take on Taixuan's [Taixuan Eminence] head-on without so much as a defensive stance.
Thus, the Herrscher of Corruption's low-output authority couldn't control Elias' overwhelmingly powerful body, nor could it breach his mind where Misteln dwelled.
This Herrscher was utterly hard-countered by him.
"Oh? Still struggling? Trying to connect to nearby networks to escape, are you? Too bad—this area's already offline."
Elias said casually, spinning the black containment box in his hand.
At the same time, he placed his hand on [Oath of Judah], activating the [Elysion Pedion]—a divine barrier that nullified Honkai energy—and confined its range to his right hand, which was gripping the Gem of Corruption.
Instantly, the Honkai energy within the Gem was drained away.
The Herrscher's consciousness residing inside it could no longer invoke its authority. Even if it tried to draw Honkai energy endlessly from the Imaginary Space, the moment it arrived, the energy was absorbed into the Elysion Pedion.
A single Core's output simply couldn't possibly overwhelm Elias' divine barrier.
Unless it had detonated itself at the exact instant the Elysion Pedion manifested—before its Honkai energy was drained—it would have stood no chance at all.
But now it was far too late, and besides...
"Everyone knows the Herrscher of Corruption is a coward. That's true in both the Previous and Current Eras. I don't believe you've got the guts to self-destruct your Core. And even if you did, at best you'd just be setting off a pretty firework for me."
Elias stared down at the dull, lifeless Gem of Corruption in his hand. With no Honkai energy to serve as 'gunpowder,' even a Core's self-detonation would pack little punch.
And unlike when he fought the Herrscher of Earth as a mere Vipralopa-class MANTIS, the same trick wouldn't work twice.
"Now then... let's see what your authority can really do."
As he spoke, Elias embedded the Gem of Corruption into his [Key of Blankness]. But before the Herrscher's personality could even resist, he activated another Divine Key, stripping away its last trace of autonomy.
"Fenghuang Down, Zeroth Power—Activate!"
Elias unleashed the ultimate ability of the Key of Sentience.
Normally, this power was used to transfer the user's consciousness into another body as a last-resort survival measure—but this time, Elias transferred the Herrscher of Corruption's consciousness out of the Gem.
No matter how the Herrscher's awareness struggled, with the Core under Elias' control and completely drained of Honkai energy, her will was forcibly expelled.
It was as if he had evicted the Herrscher of Corruption from her own home.
Still, in his generosity, he had prepared a new residence for her.
Originally, that was meant to be the black containment box crafted by Vill-V.
But Elias had just changed his mind.
"Consider this a gift—a human body. No need to thank me~."
With that, he invoked the authority of the [Herrscher of Rebirth], weaving a new female form into existence.
"W-What is that?!"
"Eh? She looks... kinda like me..."
Sakura and Rin both stared in shock at the girl Elias had just created.
Her pale-pink hair faded into white at the tips, tied up in a ponytail. A single crimson lock framed her forehead, and her eyes were a translucent blue, glimmering like glass. Her build and features resembled Rin's by nearly ninety percent.
But unlike Rin, she had a pair of fox ears—and four large tails, white fading to red, swaying gently behind her.
This wasn't a design Elias had crafted on a whim. It was the form of [Higokumaru]—fifty thousand years in the future—and specifically, her youthful form as she appeared within her Stigma.
(Keeping her locked inside the black box would only make her resentment grow stronger over time. Sure, I could erase her consciousness outright... but that'd be a waste.)
In the original history, the Herrscher of Corruption had awakened and wiped out the last three human cities with mushroom bombs.
But that had been because Fire Moth soldiers had slaughtered Rin—the vessel she once possessed. That trauma had twisted her into hatred.
(And according to the records, her nature was originally kind-hearted. In that case, giving her a second chance won't hurt. After all, I already have quite a few Herrschers in my custody now.)
Thinking thus, Elias guided the Herrscher of Corruption's consciousness into Higokumaru's new body.
A few seconds later, the Herrscher of Corruption opened her eyes.
Then—
"Waaaaah! Don't kill me! I swear I wasn't planning to do anything bad! Please, spare me~!"
"..." ×3
The three of them stood frozen, staring blankly at the trembling figure before them. The Herrscher of Corruption was crouched on the ground, arms over her head, shaking like a terrified little animal.
She was... way, way too cowardly!
Even the Herrscher of Wind, who fled the moment she was born, and the Herrscher of Dominance weren't this cowardly. At least those two never begged humans for mercy— they still talked tough even in death.
Well, except for Sheele.
She had pretended to surrender as part of her plan...
Thus, the Herrscher of Corruption standing before them could be said to be the only Herrscher across both the Previous and Current Eras who had ever truly begged humanity for her life.
Elias found the sight utterly shocking.
"Wait, are you serious? You're kneeling that fast? What about the mission Honkai gave you? Where's your pride as a Herrscher? Don't tell me you're just pretending to be pitiful?"
As he spoke, Elias dispelled the [Elysion Pedion] and deactivated the black box's isolated field.
He now held complete control over the authority of Corruption—leaving not a shred of it in her hands.
Unlike the other Herrschers whose Cores he had taken, who at least retained their bodies afterward, the Herrscher of Corruption existed only as a consciousness. The body Elias had crafted for her merely had resistance to Honkai energy, not compatibility. That meant she couldn't even manipulate it.
She wasn't really a Herrscher anymore.
"Uuuh... I do have the mission to destroy humanity, but I was planning to slack off! As long as you guys didn't kill that girl over there, I was just gonna stay holed up inside the Core forever!"
The powerless Herrscher of Corruption spoke in a trembling voice. Like the others, she carried the curse of Honkai—the imprint commanding her to annihilate humankind and destroy civilization.
But she admitted she had never intended to carry it out. All she'd wanted was to stay inside Rin's body forever, doing nothing.
"Why? Doesn't Honkai control you?"
"Uh... it doesn't, actually..."
"...Hah?"
Elias' eyes widened, his hand instinctively reaching for the [Judgment of Shamash] resting on his shoulder. He had the distinct feeling she was lying.
The scene alone almost made the Herrscher of Corruption burst into tears.
"I-I'm telling the truth! The gods might've created me, but they didn't give me any further commands! I think they just... didn't expect much from me! They probably never believed I'd actually destroy the world!"
"Wait—what? You can't be serious..."
Elias' mouth twitched as a theory formed in his mind.
(Don't tell me even Honkai itself realized it can't win anymore except by summoning Finality... so it just sent this one over to throw the match and skip straight to the last level?)
"But weren't you resisting pretty hard earlier?" Elias frowned, recalling how she had tried to seize Rin's consciousness—and even attempted to corrupt him.
"That was because you were taking my Core! Of course I resisted! Uuuu... You were just too scary! I wasn't even alive for half a minute before you ripped my Core right out!"
The Herrscher of Corruption protested pitifully, claiming it had been legitimate self-defense.
A self-defense that had failed miserably.
"Uh..."
For once, Elias had no words.
"I really just want to live... As long as humans stay out of my sight, I won't even feel the urge to hurt them. Besides, I can't do anything now—my authority's already gone, and you've taken everything from me..."
The Herrscher of Corruption looked up at Elias with pleading eyes, her ears drooping.
"So please... I'm begging you... let me live, okay?"