["Let's wait and see. When all the [me]s converge into the [Spiral]—"
This time, the power unique to Vill-V's Original Self manifested here.
"As long as I wish it, then I can."
Vill-V spoke the most arrogant words in the calmest tone. Under the assault of the complete Vill-V, 'Malice' appeared so utterly powerless.
Along with Mei's final strike, 'Malice's' body dissipated, and the consciousnesses of all the Vill-Vs gathered in the same place.
"I'm sorry, your body…"
'Malice' watched her gradually fading body with immense reluctance:
"How did you manage to do it?"
Seeing 'Malice' like this, the Original Self also felt somewhat不忍, replying truthfully:
"I just… guided the [all] that I possess, and the [all] that you possess, into the simplest, most direct collision."
"I wanted to compare the weight of the two… That isn't a lie."
"So, this is the result?"
'Malice' completely refused to believe this was the truth:
"Meaning… I was不堪一击?"
The Original Self shook her head, her tone still sincere: "I don't know."
'Malice' fell silent for a moment, then asked the Original Self:
"Back then, we died on the moon, right?"
"I don't know that either…"
"But… it should be so. [We]."
"[We]? Hmph."
Hearing the Original Self mention this, Malice grew angry again:
"Don't lump yourself together with us. We are merely the [appendages] of the spider… Not like you, you…"
Suddenly, 'Malice' seemed to realize something: "...Huh? You…"
"Did you notice?"
"After all, it's half of Vill-V's thoughts… To defeat you, I had no other choice."
'Spiral' Vill-V smiled understandingly: "It seems from splitting myself too many times… now, [I] am also an [appendage] just like everyone else."]
[Stelle]: "No! Miss Vill-V, don't go! How am I supposed to live without you!!"
[March 7th]: "Huh? W-What does this mean?"
[Black Swan]: "It means… Vill-V's 'Original Self' is no longer the main body now. The current her is just like the other Vill-Vs, merely an [appendage]. And without the main body, the appendages' final outcome is only death."
[Sparkle]: "Vill-V fought Vill-V, and Vill-V died~"
[Theresa]: "Isn't there any other way?"
[Fu Hua]: "Right now, the only ones who might possibly resist the Corruption are these few: Kevin, Su, Hua, Sakura, Griseo and Kosma, Eden and Mobius, and Pardo."
[Stelle]: "We have the numbers! The advantage is ours!!"
[Guinaifen]: "Stelle, Little Gui here with a friendly reminder, don't you dare jinx it!"
['Malice' trembled slightly: "...Why?"
"I just wanted to properly say goodbye to the remaining everyone at the end, and to… the remaining [selves]."
"You know the consequences, right?"
"Mm." The 'Original Self's' voice remained as calm as ever:
"Very soon… I will disappear completely, just like you."
"But before that, I have enough time to complete my own plan."
Also being Vill-V, Malice easily guessed the Original Self's intention. She stared straight at the Original Self:
"It's still that question… She isn't us, how could she possibly accomplish it?"
The answer was a smile.
"Alright, alright, I get it. Because you [believe], right?"
Vill-V nodded: "Correct."
To this, Malice had nothing to say. She stated:
"I could have eliminated the Herrscher of Corruption too, all by myself."
"Of course."
"But that clearly wouldn't have been the [best] outcome for everyone."
"You are me, so you naturally know the weight of that promise."
"Hmph."
To this, Malice's only response was a cold snort:
"So, that's it then?"
"Mm, see you later."
"Hmph, see you later… You'd better… pray that doesn't happen."
The form that once mistakenly symbolized [Malice] completely dissipated.
At her feet, only a single abyssal black crystal flower remained.
"As expected… I'm still not good at looking people in the eye."
She bent down and solemnly placed the black flower in her palm.]
[Silver Wolf]: "Seriously, what kind of succubus is Elysia? Even 'Malice' Vill-V didn't forget her promise with Elysia."
[Elysia]: "Ahem, calling a pretty girl a succubus isn't much of a compliment, you know?♪"
[Theresa]: "'Malice' herself was already corrupted to this extent, and she still had the spare capacity to secretly plan on killing the Corruption?!"
[Hi3rd - Void Archives]: "Yes. But only then is she truly Vill-V."
[Misha]: "But thinking about it this way… 'Malice's' life was quite tragic. Imprisoned for 50,000 years, captured by the Herrscher of Corruption as soon as she got out, all while having to think about how to kill it even as she submitted to it…"
[Stelle]: "As expected of Vill-V, sob sob, my Miss Vill-V…"
["Alright—here, take it. The final gift."
"Take it and go find Eden. Don't lose it, okay?"
"Vill-V, you…" Seeing this clearly pre-arranged rhythm, Mei also sensed something.
Vill-V, however, was quite豁达: "Ah, it's probably hopeless, right? We thought of this possibility before setting out, didn't we?"
"But we still need to hurry. After all, I need to send you out of [Vill-V]'s thoughts before I completely disappear."
At this point, Vill-V told Mei the method she used to defeat the Herrscher of Corruption:
"When building the Elysian Realm, the Expert habitually left behind a [program]. In a certain sense, it could indeed accomplish this task without fail."
"But whether it was intentional or not… by the time we realized it, the Herrscher of Corruption had already eliminated the correct [threat], causing this program to lose its only [activation condition]."
"Putting it this way… do you understand? The hint is quite obvious now."
"Ah…" Following what Vill-V said, Mei thought for herself and immediately perked up.
"However, you might not realize it yet… just how [critical] you yourself are to the entire plan."
"But it's fine. Su will make you understand. I hope he has already seen the [message] I left for him."
"…This is the final piece of the puzzle."
"You see, Elysia is always like this. Both the beginning of everything, and the end of everything."]
[Theresa]: "Wait, is Vill-V implying… Elysia is also going to play the resurrection game?"
[Fu Hua]: "I can understand Kevin and Pardo being able to play the resurrection game, since they weren't completely deleted. But why can Elysia, who was completely deleted by the Corruption, be resurrected?"
[Stelle]: "Don't wanna know, don't wanna think! I just want to go on a rampage against the Corruption right now!!"
[March 7th]: "Yeah, exactly! No matter what method it is, let's just keep watching! They'll explain it later anyway!"