This time, the focus shifted to 'Malice' Vill-V. In the boundless darkness, Vill-V recounted her past.
Over these fifty thousand years, she could hear the sounds from the outside world, she could hear what [she herself] was saying, but none of it concerned the prisoner trapped in the darkness.
She needed more malevolent thoughts to break free, but within the Elysian Realm, there was no room for malice to breed.
Until she discovered a special visitor. But this visitor was too rule-abiding, not an agent of the Honkai, which was disappointing.
Vill-V's voice suddenly rose sharply: "But soon, she returned, and this time..."
"She brought [something else]."
"Let's refer to it as [that] for now. For the Elysian Realm, [that] will become a terrible catastrophe—and I... have always been happy to add fuel to the fire."
"Of course, Vill-V noticed its presence immediately, but due to the pride of a genius... she mistook it for something else—the lingering aftermath of that previous [experiment]."
"She soon paid the price for her mistake. The other party effortlessly devoured her, about to take everything from her..."
Reaching this point, Malice's laughter, filled with boundless resentment, reached Mei's ears. Vill-V planned to deal with it like she did with Discipline—by directly destroying one personality to escape it. The chosen personality was Malice.
'Malice' Vill-V outright chose a spectacular betrayal.
[Fu Xuan]: "As expected, the Corruption entered the Elysian Realm following Mei."
[Kafka]: "Is this fate? Because of the prophecy about Mei, she came into contact with Vill-V, which ironically became the key to fulfilling the prophecy."
[Elio]: "This is fate. We never know if it's the prophecy that triggers fate, or if fate reflects the prophecy."
[Hi3rd - Welt]: 'Myths concerning fate and prophecies are not uncommon in my homeland either.'
[Huohuo]: "It's true that Malice Vill-V is pitiable... but that's no reason for her to kill Pardo!"
[Tail]: "Hey, is the little scaredy-cat finally finding her courage?"
[Stelle]: "I'm gonna KILL KILL KILL!!! Take this bat!"
[Theresa]: "With the Corruption and Malice joining forces... how can the remaining Flame-Chasers possibly turn the situation around?"
[Although Malice explained all this, Mei didn't believe her. Because if the Corruption could so easily deal with Vill-V, then there was no reason for it to spare her.
But Malice indicated that while it could deal with all the Remnants in the Elysian Realm, it couldn't handle one person. Vill-V looked at Mei with a dangerous smile:
"Yes, an existence that is not a [Remnant], and one that leaves her feeling utterly helpless..."
"If someone could eliminate this variable... using that to make a [friend] isn't too much to ask, is it?"
In such a favorable situation, Malice saw no need to hide her plan:
"I will partition off a new area, and trap you within it using the same method they used to imprison me... but this time, the duration will be [eternity]."
Mei asked: "...What about the other Vill-Vs?"
"Eliminated them all. Although it's a bit regrettable, since they're all [me]—but I can't leave any potential threats. Luckily, I'm quite good at imitating [myself], right?"
"So, Elysia... Kevin... and Mobius..."
"I can't tell you that—I know, [fishing for information] is your usual trick."
"Then, what about her?"
"Her?" Malice didn't react for a moment.
"...Pardo, Pardofelis."
"Someone who can't hinder your schemes. She just wanted to live."
Malice finally understood who Mei was referring to: "Ah, the Quincy. Like I said, that was just an accident."
"After all, everything I've done is just to survive."
"I see."
Mei's anger was no longer concealed, her tone becoming unprecedentedly cold:
"Since you've mentioned so many of your own thoughts... then... do you know what I'm thinking right now?"
"Right now, I am facing an individual composed entirely of malevolent thoughts, who has decided to kill me."
"But for me right now, none of that is important,"
Mei took a deep breath, the scene of Pardo dying tragically in her arms still vivid in her mind: "The only thing on my mind... is one thing."
She slowly closed her eyes, trying to focus intently, piecing together those syllables that had gradually scattered in an instant.
"It's simple... I want to be friends with Mei."
That was their first meeting.
(I still haven't... given her an answer...)
Mei didn't open her eyes, but she knew that violent lightning must be swirling around her:
"And you... made my friend sacrifice for such an absurd reason—"
"...Then, you must be prepared to pay the corresponding price, right?"
Mei pointed her blade directly at Vill-V.]
[Stelle]: "Well said! Mei, fight! Beat her up like how Kalpas did!"
[Bronya Zaychik]: "One deals with the Remnants, one deals with Mei. Quite a reasonable division of labor."
[Bronya Rand]: "But, judging by absolute strength, does Mei really have the capacity to fight Vill-V?"
[Kiana]: "What are you talking about! There's no way Mei would lose!"
[Silver Wolf]: "Hmph, facing the boss who killed her companion, powering up is the right way to go!"
[March 7th]: "Quick, shout something about friendship and bonds and defeat the enemy before you!"
["How the mind is partitioned... now, you have the privilege of witnessing it firsthand."
"Soon, this area... will become an isolated prison."
To prevent being partitioned off, Mei kept moving rapidly within the area, attempting to disrupt Malice's actions through this method.
But Vill-V countered this method easily: "But... why must I follow your pace?"
"The situation is like this. I can simply not take any measures."
"When you finally exhaust your strength and have to stop, I'll just make one light cut, and it'll be over, won't it?"
But due to Mei's actions, some areas of thought were permanently discarded.
Facing such a high cost despite her absolute advantage, Vill-V was reluctant.
"...Did I talk too much earlier?"
"Perhaps it was another 'you' who talked too much."
"Vill-V once told me she only partitioned her mind into eight domains."
"The reason was... if she continued further, it would be difficult to maintain the standard of [genius] in each domain."
Mei stated conclusively: "Your thoughts ultimately have a [total capacity], and... it's quite precious."]
[Dan Heng]: "Something's off. Why does Vill-V need to use this method to eliminate Raiden Mei? Couldn't a Remnant eliminate Mei too?"
[March 7th]: 'That seems true. If Aponia or Elysia hadn't intervened back then, Mei might have really died at Kalpas's hands.'
[Silver Wolf]: "Who knows? Maybe she has her own plans. After all, she is still Vill-V."
[Silver Wolf]: "But I don't want to know, I just want Mei to avenge the cat girl!"
[Kafka]: "Baby, weren't you the one who said you could figure it all out and not get emotionally invested? Why are you so indignant now?"
......
Fellow masters, first, I'd like to thank the masters who tipped: Lover of Cold Fresh Yan Fei, Cold Smiling Scholar, Lover of Blackthorn Wood's Tong You, and others.
But let me reiterate, our money doesn't grow on trees. Tipping with free gifts is fine, my bonus updates are very few, yesterday was an exception, there's no need to tip with real money.