Honkai: Oh No, I’ve Become the Herrscher of Corruption?! - Chapter 17

Somewhere in Siberia, in an unnamed village.

Due to the rampage of Honkai beasts, the entire village had long been reduced to ruins. By the time the Valkyrie squad arrived, more than half of the villagers had already lost their lives.

Fortunately, only low-level Honkai beasts and zombies roamed the area. With the coordinated efforts of three B-rank Valkyries tasked with civilian rescue, the enemies were swiftly eliminated.

However, post-disaster reconstruction was far beyond the capabilities of these three Valkyries. They could only do what little they could—rescuing those trapped under debris, administering basic first aid to the wounded, and so on.

“Captain, detecting massive Honkai energy signatures ahead.” Outside the village, a petite Valkyrie with gray hair and blue eyes reported through the comms to her tall, sharp-eyed captain, whose golden curls cascaded in waves.

Her name was Olga. At just 13 years old, she was a B-rank Valkyrie thrust onto the battlefield for the first time due to manpower shortages. Being assigned to rear-line rescue operations was a stroke of luck—after all, survival rates here were theoretically far higher than facing a Herrscher head-on.

“Prepare for combat. How many are there?” The captain gripped her weapon, ready to move.

“Less than a dozen, but…” Olga swallowed hard.

“Spit it out. No hesitation.” The no-nonsense captain’s tone turned stern.

“Yes, Captain! One of them is… a Emperor-class Honkai beast.”

Olga stared at the colossal monster in the distance. Its massive forelimbs bore three clawed fingers each—one arm etched with pink patterns, the other with blue. Strangely, the colors of its eye-like markings were inverted from its limbs.

Though this was her first battle, Olga knew all too well what an Emperor-class Honkai beast meant for B-rank Valkyries. She double-checked, unable to believe her eyes.

“Captain, should we request backup from HQ immediately?” The third Valkyrie, slightly plump, suggested.

The captain responded with a bitter smile. “Even if we had the time, there’s no one left to send.”

The other Valkyrie nodded, her expression grim.

“How far? And how strong are the remaining Honkai beasts?” Years of near-death experiences had honed the captain’s calm. Gathering intel was priority.

“Under five kilometers. The rest are only Chariot and Knight-class. I can handle them alone.”

The captain took a deep breath and spoke firmly into the comms:
“Hold your position. Wait for me. I’ll lure the Emperor-class away. Once the other two clear the remaining beasts, evacuate all mobile villagers immediately.”

“What?! Captain, you can’t—that’s an Emperor-class!” The reply was so frantic it nearly shattered her eardrums.

“Olga, calm down! Precisely because it’s Emperor-class, I’m the only one who can draw it away. That’s an order! Report its coordinates!”

…

Inside one of the village’s few intact houses, a beautiful woman lay on a bed, her face deathly pale. A doctor beside her sighed and shook his head.

“I’m sorry for your loss.”

Kneeling at the bedside was a girl no older than five or six, with wine-red hair and deep gray eyes. As the doctor said, her mother had just passed away.

“Poor Ivan… Her father died in an accident last year, and now her mother… Good people never get their due,” muttered the village elder, leaning on his cane. As the village chief, he knew how much Ivan’s parents had helped everyone over the years.

Yet their deaths only fueled more rumors. The reason was simple: Ivan had been born with a strange mark on her back. Superstitious villagers whispered that she was a curse, the reason her parents died.

Even now, as her mother’s body lay cold, gossip spread like wildfire. Ivan could only listen helplessly as the baseless accusations grew louder.

Then, two unfamiliar figures stepped into the house—a girl with purple hair and golden eyes, clad in a violet dress, and another with gray-blue hair and eyes, wearing a white blouse. In Siberia circa 2000, there was no mistaking them: it was Sirin and Bella.

Just as the elder, Kair, opened his mouth to question their odd attire, two Valkyries burst in.

“Chief Kair! Evacuate everyone now! There’s a—a monstrous Honkai beast outside! We can’t stop it! The captain’s buying time, but you have to go!”

At the sight of the Valkyries, Sirin’s memories of Babylon Tower resurfaced.

“You worthless creatures should be honored to sacrifice yourselves for Schicksal’s research—for the Valkyries’ victory!”

The researchers’ voices echoed in her mind like a curse. Clenching her fists, she suppressed her rage. Behind her, Bella tensed, ready to strike the Valkyries down at Sirin’s command.

BOOM!

A deafening crash shook the village as something was hurled into its center. Those who looked immediately recoiled in horror—it was the severed lower half of a human body. Though mangled beyond recognition, the Valkyries knew instantly: it was their captain.

But there was no time to mourn. The beast that had killed her was already at the village gates.

THUD.

THUD.

The creature was Ashvattha. Its massive blue left arm and pink right arm alternated with each step, leaving deep imprints in the ground.

Seeing it, Sirin felt an odd familiarity—as if she’d glimpsed it in the cocoon where she awakened as the Herrscher of the Void.

“Get everyone out now! We’ll hold it off!” The Valkyries opened fire with submachine guns, but the bullets merely glanced off Ashvattha’s armor like polish.

Ignoring them, Sirin and Bella followed the fleeing crowd—until a lone girl, still kneeling in a house, caught Sirin’s eye. Through the window, she saw Ivan, clinging to her mother’s lifeless body.

The sight tore open old wounds. Memories flooded Sirin’s mind.

CRASH!

Ashvattha swatted the Valkyries aside like flies and lumbered toward Ivan’s home. With a thunderous boom, the wall collapsed. Then, with a shriek of tearing wood, the roof was ripped away, leaving only a trembling girl curled beside her mother’s corpse, paralyzed by fear.

Just as Ashvattha loomed over her, a figure materialized atop its head—Sirin, snapping her fingers.

In an instant, the beast vanished into the void.

Silence.

Not a soul dared breathe. Even the sound of falling snow grew deafening.

Except for Bella, everyone stared in disbelief.