Honkai: Oh No, I’ve Become the Herrscher of Corruption?! - Chapter 134

Fu Hua approached the Herrscher of Flame. Under the influence of Fenghuang Down, the Herrscher had been struck in the face and plunged into an illusion, now fast asleep.

A red feather drifted down from Fu Hua’s palm, settling gently atop the Herrscher’s head. Slowly, the Herrscher’s memories flowed into Fu Hua’s mind…

On April 1, 1984, Martin Riechel was born in Trondheim, Norway. Much like her birth date, her family’s life was a cruel joke.

Her parents were obsessed with stock trading and sports betting, often splurging vast sums on both. The only problem? They were cursed with the worst luck imaginable—when faced with the choice between “all or nothing,” they always ended up with nothing. Despite their decent income, Riechel’s childhood was marked by poverty.

Then, in 1999, after over a decade of misfortune, their luck finally seemed to turn. They struck gold in the stock market, bought luxury cars and a villa, and even showed restraint in gambling. It looked like the good times had arrived at last.

But in 2000, the Herrscher of Wind attacked Norway, obliterating their villa and business. Riechel was the only survivor in her family, spared by her high resistance to Honkai energy.

Perhaps because she was used to having nothing, Riechel didn’t despair. She started over from scratch, seizing opportunities amid the post-disaster reconstruction. After eight years of struggle, she became the youngest member of the Norwegian Parliament, built a family of her own, and life finally seemed to be looking up.

Then, on July 22, 2011, Anders Behring Breivik launched a terrorist attack in Oslo, killing 77 and injuring over 300. Among the victims were Riechel’s husband and eldest daughter.

But Norway had no death penalty, nor life imprisonment. Riechel knew the murderer would, at most, serve 21 years in prison.

She also knew that Breivik would enjoy a three-room cell, complete with newspapers, magazines, a treadmill, a computer, TV, VCD player, and even a PS2.

Moreover, under Norwegian law, prisoners could leave for weekends after serving a third of their sentence and apply for parole after two-thirds. In other words, after slaughtering 77 people, Breivik could live comfortably in prison—less a punishment, more a vacation.

Naturally, Riechel couldn’t accept this. She argued fiercely, trying to persuade Parliament to amend the law and sentence Breivik to death.

But many lawmakers insisted that tradition was sacred—abolishing the death penalty was a testament to Norway’s democracy, freedom, and respect for human rights. Besides, a nation’s legal system was its foundation. Changing the law just because Breivik’s crimes were more brutal and high-profile? Unthinkable.

The abolitionist movement’s founding father, Italian jurist Cesare Beccaria, had outlined five reasons to abolish the death penalty in his book On Crimes and Punishments:

1. The right to life is sacred and inviolable; the state has no right to take a citizen’s life.

2. For the most heinous criminals, execution is a momentary suffering—life imprisonment or prolonged incarceration would torment them far more effectively.

3. Overuse of the death penalty fosters a cycle of violence, making society more brutal.

4. Capital punishment is counterproductive, as it often evokes sympathy for the condemned, undermining its deterrent effect.

5. In cases of wrongful conviction, there is no way to undo the irreversible.

Though over 200 years had passed, most abolitionists still treated Beccaria’s words as gospel. Yet in practice, they were often hypocritical. If Breivik had been sentenced to life in a squalid, torturous prison—without the possibility of death—most people, including Riechel, might have accepted it.

But reality was different. After proposing legal reform, Riechel was ostracized by her fellow lawmakers, stripped of her position, and forced to leave Norway with her remaining daughter in early 2012, settling in Iceland.

Then, on July 2, 2012, Riechel’s daughter drowned while playing by the shore in Reykjavík. By the time she was pulled from the water, she was already gone.

Her daughter’s death was the final straw. As Riechel reflected on her short, tragic life, overwhelming despair, rage, and confusion consumed her. And in that moment, she felt something shift in her chest—a searing heat surged through her body.

When she finally snapped, the explosion that followed was like the transformation of the Colossal Titan in Attack on Titan. Honkai energy and flames erupted from her, spreading across all of Iceland. The Third Honkai Eruption had begun.

Riechel’s memories ended there. With the Herrscher subdued by Fenghuang Down, the fires in Iceland gradually died down.

By 14:00 on July 4, the flames had completely extinguished. Iceland’s average temperature dropped below 50°C, with surface temperatures falling under 70°C—conditions under which humans could still survive.

As visibility improved and Honkai energy levels decreased, Cheng Lixue immediately ordered an advance. By 14:00, over 20 Valkyries from the 1st and 2nd Squads had spearheaded search-and-rescue operations in Reykjavík, eliminating several Honkai beasts. So far, no survivors had been found.

As for the Herrscher of Flame, Otto intended to study her. His reason for sending Fu Hua to the front lines was to capture her alive. Once confirmed to be trapped in an illusion, the Herrscher was escorted by Fu Hua onto a private jet, flying directly from Iceland to a secret lab.

In her dream, Riechel lived happily with her family in Norway. There were no disasters, her parents no longer gambled, she had a fulfilling career, and her children thrived in school. Under Scandinavia’s generous welfare system, their lives were perfect.

But… everything was too perfect. Something felt unreal.

Then she checked her phone. A trending headline caught her eye:

“Norway’s Supreme Court sentences Anders Behring Breivik to death, execution to be carried out immediately. Experts hail this as a major step forward for judicial reform…”

Riechel stared at the news and let out a bitter laugh.

“So… this is the dream.”

Having served in Parliament for over three years, she knew exactly what kind of people her colleagues were.

Those who prattled on about “human rights” and “freedom and democracy” passing a bill to abolish the death penalty?

That could only happen in a dream.