"Lady Durandal, the Lord Overseer has given the order for you to go on a mission with him to eliminate the discovered Herrscher of Corruption individual."
A few days passed. Theresa, who was getting everything back on track, had no time or energy to deal with the Herrscher of Corruption, so she could only entrust this arduous task to her subordinates.
This was expected in Durandal's view, except for one thing...
"Rita, isn't this your doing?"
The Valkyrie, in sports shorts and a tank top, exuded a capable aura. The hot sweat made the curves of her body stand out clearly.
Unfortunately, there was no Inner World Protagonist here to take liberties with Durandal, otherwise, she wouldn't dare speak to herself like this.
The S-rank Valkyrie, skilled at hiding her thoughts, kept her ideas to herself and replied with a smile, "Lady Durandal, Rita is your loyal adjutant. How could I have any bad intentions towards you?"
Saying that just made it more suspicious.
This naturally evil Lolicon was colluding with her boyfriend to get at her body!
Loyalty that is not absolute is absolute disloyalty!
Such an adjutant has already earned her death sentence!
"Rita, you have betrayed me!"
"Lady Durandal, this is the Lord Overseer's order." The charming Valkyrie's smile was gentle, with an unprecedented affinity.
Her posture was submissive, completely deferential in front of Durandal.
This appearance made it difficult for Durandal to act against her, even though she knew something was wrong.
After all, the Schicksal Overseer's order was genuine, and dealing with a Herrscher did indeed require some heavy hitters to keep the situation under control.
She believed in the truth, goodness, and beauty in humanity, but she had also witnessed the dark side of human nature.
There would always be some reckless fools who thought they could control the power of a Herrscher and act on it.
But Rita's betrayal of her...
"Rita! Doesn't your conscience hurt?" Her fists clenched.
"Then does Lady Durandal know how good that one time felt for Rita?"
Durandal: "..."
Alright, she really couldn't refute that.
You reap what you sow.
She had to make up for her own mistakes.
"I understand."
Durandal didn't say much more, just treating it as an apology to Rita.
After all, she had been very out of line that night, almost making Rita take off on the spot from pleasure.
As for that lewd Inner World Protagonist...
"Let me make it clear beforehand. Without my permission, you are not to lay a hand on me!"
At the Schicksal Headquarters airport, a tall girl in shorts had her two long, straight legs shamelessly exposed to the air.
Durandal wore a short inner shirt with a jacket over it, revealing her perfect abs and delicate navel.
Her blonde hair was tied into practical twintails, and a white beret made her look like a sporty beautiful girl.
Rather than being out on a mission, it looked more like Durandal was on her way to the gym.
Of course, it would be even more so if she weren't walking with this man.
"Don't worry, I'm not the kind of criminal who likes to force others' will. I won't casually lay a hand on you."
Not casually, which means it's still possible he'll lay a hand on her?
Durandal, who had long been clear about this guy's character, sneered in her heart and replied, "You can only think about that kind of thing."
Brian: "..."
The prejudice in people's hearts is an insurmountable mountain. There will always be people who like to judge him by his handsome appearance.
Not wanting to get entangled with Durandal on these issues, Brian pulled open the aircraft's cabin door and made an inviting gesture under Durandal's wary gaze.
"It's time to go. Our little Herrscher of Corruption friend has been waiting for us for a long time."
"....."
The aircraft took off, heading for a bustling city in Europe.
Brian and Durandal, just like the most ordinary tourists, entered the city normally from its airport, got into a vehicle pre-arranged by Schicksal, and headed towards the city's core area.
On the way, Brian, acting as the driver, explained the mission content to Durandal: "There are four discovered individuals of the Herrscher of Corruption. Rita has already dealt with one, we are responsible for one, and the remaining two are still having their specific locations confirmed."
"This time, the Herrscher of Corruption isn't human?" Durandal asked.
"Of course not."
"Biologically speaking, Otto wasn't human either, yet he became a Herrscher and accomplished an unimaginable feat."
"The Herrschers of the Previous Era were transformed from humans and had a certain specificity to their era. The Herrschers of our era have a sequence and energy level basically equivalent to the Previous Era's, but they also have characteristics of our era."
"For example, the Herrscher of Domination. The thousand-strong Herrschers of the Previous Era were Pseudo-Herrschers with the abilities of other Herrschers. But the Herrscher of Domination of our era can control the cores of other Herrschers."
"The Herrscher of Corruption's ability was born specifically for the information domain. Whether it has a physical body or not is the same to it."
Understanding one thing leads to understanding a hundred others. A look of realization appeared on Durandal's face: "If this Herrscher of Corruption has no physical body, it might be even more difficult to deal with than Miss Rin."
"Miss Rin shares some common characteristics with us, and her way of thinking is very similar to humans. But if the Herrscher of Corruption of this era has no physical body, it's highly likely that the Herrscher will self-replicate, leading to an escalation of the disaster."
"Exactly." Young Brian showed an appreciative expression. He had wanted to pat this Kaslana's head like he did with Kiana, but had to give up under the Valkyrie's fierce gaze.
"However, although this Herrscher of Corruption has maximized the advantages of data by not having a physical body, it has also given itself an unavoidable weakness. As long as we destroy the hardware it resides in, we can eliminate its individual form."
"We're here."
Through the one-way car window, Durandal saw the scenery outside.
"A shopping mall?"
"What else did you expect?" A bladeless black longsword extended in Brian's hand. The network composed of electromagnetic waves had no defense and was instantly invaded, becoming a spiderweb enveloping the enemy.
Nowhere to run!
"The speed of information exchange on the internet in the information age is so fast. A message can circle the planet in the blink of an eye."
"Being able to lock the Herrscher of Corruption in this place is already the best others could do."
With that, the black-haired young man got out of the car, led Durandal into the mall, and began to search for the Herrscher of Corruption's location.
But before they could find their ultimate target, they ran into an old acquaintance they hadn't seen in a long time.
"Yo, long time no see. Want to come over for a drink?"
Raven, dressed as an urban beauty, sat in a coffee shop, raising the hot drink in her hand to greet the two people outside the door.
A guest is a guest, and right now, Schicksal and World Serpent had no reason to draw swords. Sitting down for a cup of coffee together was fine.
"Raven, long time no see."
Entering the coffee shop, Brian ordered two cups of coffee and started chatting familiarly with Raven.
"Yeah, long time no see. It's been so long, but your torment of me hasn't lessened one bit."
Her two plump thighs, wrapped in black stockings under a dark hip-hugging skirt, couldn't help but start rubbing together at this moment.
She couldn't help it. Any woman who had experienced the fun and games couldn't resist that feeling. For a woman with a high-pressure job like her, she wished she could just indulge in it.
Not needing to care about anything, not needing to think about anything...
One word: bliss!
"Is that so? It seems you've been so empty lately. It's my fault for not being a good host."
Raven: "..."
Forget it. If you host me, I'll be in way over my head.
"No thanks. I don't want to be hosted by you."
She just had some desire to relax her body, not to have her body held like a steak and fucked from the front and then the back.
Someone could get killed!
Changing the subject: "Since you're here like me, your target must also be the Herrscher of Corruption, right?"
Brian: "You've already found the physical container?"
"Almost."
Raven calmly put down her coffee cup, her upper body naturally leaning back, her ample chest almost bursting the buttons, staging a classic clothes-bursting scene.
Unfortunately, it was just a little bit off.
Young Brian, quite regretfully, also knew that business was important right now. After taking advantage of the view of Raven's body, he took out Jizo Mitama.
"It seems for what's next, we'll have to trouble our Miss Rin."
With that, the power of Jizo Mitama was activated once more, further sealing off the Herrscher of Corruption's escape routes.
An arrow then appeared on the coffee shop's monitor, pointing the way for the three of them.
That way.
"Found it. Leave the rest to us."
"That would be for the best." Raven stood up, her long, black-stockinged legs dazzling.
She picked up her personal belongings and, as she walked out of the shop, turned around to give the man who had left his mark on her a somewhat helpless smile.
"The next time we meet, we might be standing on opposite sides."
With that, Raven left without hesitation, heading to the next target location to deal with an individual of the Herrscher of Corruption.
Just like a female client who just fucked a male model and didn't pay.
Durandal, who had been silent all this time, watched Raven leave until her figure completely disappeared from view, then turned to the man beside her with a gloating expression: "Trouble in the harem? You got what you deserved."
The essence of humanity is gossip and repetition.
Durandal minded being part of the gossip, but she was very happy to see this guy at the center of it.
The thought of this lecherous guy's harem being on fire, with Herrschers and Valkyries fighting, made her feel as refreshed as eating a popsicle.
However, the black-haired young man just rolled his eyes at the woman and said, "I just have a bit of an ambiguous relationship with her. It's not as serious as you say."
"..." Durandal was a little disappointed.
"What Raven just said was about the Stigma Project, which is about to begin. Our honeymoon period with World Serpent is over."
"..." The Valkyrie was stunned.
She hadn't expected the switch from a romantic soap opera scene to the stage of saving the world to be so seamless.
Brian continued, "After dealing with the Herrscher of Corruption, the time will be ripe for the execution of the Stigma Project. The entire world will be affected by it."
"Then what should we do?"
"Wait." His expression was full of calm. "Beings that can change the world are naturally qualified to take center stage. World Serpent's Stigma Project will set the stage for us to decide the future. We just need to wait for that moment to arrive."
A heavy feeling enveloped Durandal. Her gaze passed through the transparent floor-to-ceiling windows and saw the masses in the shopping mall.
"What about them?"
"Leave it to fate. Compared to the future of this world, we can only temporarily give up on these billions of lives."
Choose the lesser of two evils.
Durandal knew this principle, but the bad news she learned today still made the Valkyrie's conscience uneasy.
As she was lost in thought, a pulling force came from her hand, leading Durandal towards the Herrscher of Corruption's location.
"Let's go, let's meet our Herrscher of Corruption."
Moving forward, the two arrived in front of a photo booth.
After entering behind the heavy curtain, the bright fluorescent screen flickered with light. The 60Hz refresh rate, which ordinary people wouldn't notice as abnormal, was as slow as a tortoise's crawl in their eyes.
"This is it."
With that, the power of Jizo Mitama gradually tightened, cornering the Herrscher of Corruption's power.
In an instant, the screen turned an ominous dark red, and a massive eyeball occupied the entire space.
"Who are you?"
"Why are you hurting me?"
The voice coming from the speaker carried a hint of innocence and confusion, filled with the fear of death and the bewilderment of being attacked.
He had done nothing wrong, yet just by staying quietly in one place, he was surrounded and constantly pressed.
He didn't understand. He wanted to live!
"Sorry, although you haven't hurt anyone right now, you possess the ability to harm this world."
Possessing the ability to threaten this world was this Herrscher of Corruption's greatest original sin.
"I... just want to live..."
The power of Jizo Mitama relentlessly crushed him, making the Herrscher of Corruption's voice like a candle in the wind, finally extinguishing completely.
Mission complete.
Durandal, who had been dragged along the whole way, only now realized that her hand had been wantonly played with by this guy the entire time.
"The mission is over. We should go back." The decisive girl mercilessly shook off the man's hand and stood aside with her arms crossed.
It seemed this Valkyrie was not being entirely honest with herself.
Although she said she wanted to go back to Schicksal Headquarters, she didn't immediately turn and leave with a sour face.
If a seasoned player were here, they would know the correct way was to strike while the iron was hot, to make sure his shadow was completely imprinted in her heart.
But the Herrscher of Corruption had already appeared, and he had to go to the Elysian Realm to get the important items needed to clear the game before the Stigma Project was activated.
"Sorry, Durandal, I have to leave you for a while."
"You're leaving?"
"Yeah, after all, the Stigma Project is about to start, and some things can't be delayed any longer."
"..." Durandal looked at this guy without speaking. Her personality made it impossible for her to offer blessings like a princess to a hero, as Rita would.
Besides... it wasn't time to plant a flag on this guy's back yet.
"Come back soon. If something happens to you, Rita will be sad."
Turn around, leave.
The blonde Valkyrie parted ways with the Inner World Protagonist. But looking at the bright sunshine in the sky, Durandal felt a sense of melancholy from who knows where.
"Am I actually worried about that guy?"
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
The somewhat agitated Valkyrie didn't know if she was worried about that person, or if she was worried about whether his preparations for the Stigma Project would be effective.
Returning to Schicksal Headquarters, Durandal threw herself into the gym, using physical exertion to keep her mind off these troubling matters.
...
Dream World...
"You're saying you've already started dealing with the Herrscher of Corruption?" The enchanting genius scientist confirmed the information from the gray-haired, blue-eyed girl.
She was considering whether to prepare for the upcoming final battle.
----------------------------------