Honkai: Oh No, I’ve Become the Herrscher of Corruption?! - Chapter 44

May 2000, Schicksal Headquarters

The mountain of paperwork on Theresa’s desk made her head throb involuntarily.

For the past three months, small-scale Honkai eruptions had been occurring frequently in Siberia, claiming over a hundred lives. While many dismissed it as aftershocks from the Second Honkai War, the timing and locations of these incidents struck her as suspicious.

But for Schicksal, the most pressing issue was the inexplicable disappearance of the Divine Key, Judgement of Shamash. She remembered clearly what her grandfather had said when the news first broke:

“Divine Keys are vital to Schicksal. We will spare no effort in investigating this—we’ll uncover the truth soon enough.”

Three days later, with no progress made, Theresa lost her patience and asked again. This time, Otto replied:

“The perpetrator’s methods are extraordinary. Only a handful in the world could pull this off. Perhaps the Divine Key is the perfect bait to lure them out. For now, we wait and observe.”

A month passed with no trace of the Divine Key. The Overseer’s response had changed yet again:

“The optimal approach would be to deploy Valkyries for a thorough sweep of all suspicious locations. But after the recent war, Schicksal’s resources are stretched thin. We lack the capacity for such an operation at this time.”

And just three days ago—three months after the Divine Key vanished—Otto Apocalypse declared at a meeting:

“Had we acted immediately, we might have achieved better results. But now, the culprit has likely escaped beyond our reach. It’s too late.”

With that, he dumped most of the workload onto her and Amber, retreating to focus on studying the corpse of the Herrscher of Ice. Theresa knew that if even Otto couldn’t solve this in three months, she stood no chance of finding answers anytime soon. Reluctantly, she set the matter aside.

“Ragna keeps requesting frontline deployment to fight Honkai beasts, yet Grandfather keeps assigning her to civilian relief. Four appeals in a row… Ugh, I’d rather be on the battlefield than buried under endless paperwork.” Grumbling, she picked up her pen and began drafting her official response.

…

Siberia, May 2000

Unlike the floating islands of Schicksal, Siberia in May was only “warm” by its own frigid standards. To newcomers, the wind still bit deep.

Inside a modest cabin, Enoxia sat cross-legged on the floor, her mind racing.

With the Second Honkai War finally over, she had time to ponder the anomalies that troubled her.

According to Wang’s memories, Liang—the weakest of their group—had been confirmed dead even before Wang became a Herrscher.

As for Chi, the strongest among them, it had supposedly met its end years ago—beaten and sealed by Kevin Kaslana. Yet when Wang awakened, Chi had already broken free. Their brief communication ended abruptly, with Chi refusing to share its vision, likely locked in battle.

Enoxia guessed Chi had encountered Fu Hua, explaining her absence in Siberia. Since Fu Hua had returned unharmed to Schicksal by February 15, she’d probably finished Chi off.

That left Mei, the last of their kind. Wang only knew Mei was somewhere on Earth—an oddity even among their race. Recent events proved their kind made far better Herrscher vessels than humans. If the Herrschers of Flame, Binding, or Legion had their regenerative abilities and illusionary powers…

And the Herrschers themselves… That was even stranger. From January 31 to February 6, six Herrscher Cores had manifested in just seven days: Erosion, Void, Death, Wind, Ice, and Earth. Had half of them not been allies, Schicksal and Anti-Entropy would’ve been annihilated.

The sequence of Herrschers also deviated wildly from the Previous Era. As the 12th Herrscher, she shouldn’t have awakened at this point.

Either my existence as a transmigrator is the anomaly… or the Cocoon itself has a problem.

“Done.” Sirin’s voice snapped her back to reality. They stepped through a portal.

Using the Herrscher of Erosion’s power to gather intel and the Herrscher of the Void’s power for precise teleportation, the two could go anywhere—or find anyone—with terrifying efficiency, leaving Schicksal and Anti-Entropy in the dust.

Before them stood a crude log cabin.

“She just left. How pathetic—Schicksal’s been oblivious to a walking Honkai source roaming Siberia for three months!”

Unlike most Herrschers, Enoxia and Sirin had quickly learned to suppress their Honkai energy, allowing them to move undetected among humans.

But Misteln was different. A byproduct of Cecilia’s use of the Schariac Holy Blood, she was the opposite—a walking calamity, her toxic blood a plague upon humanity. Worse, she couldn’t even end her own life.

“Schicksal’s forces are depleted. If they clash with her…”

Even if unlikely, judging by “Second Elysia’s” power in the Final Chapter, Schicksal—barring Otto’s unpredictable schemes—stood no chance. Only Theresa’s God’s Embrace could trade one-for-one.

Shaking off her thoughts, Enoxia entered the cabin. Alexandra lay on the bed, eyeing the intruder with curiosity.

Though no medical expert, Enoxia knew at a glance that Alexandra’s pallor spelled doom. The fact that she’d carried a child to term in such a state was a miracle.

Without a word, Enoxia placed a hand on Alexandra’s head, replicating the process she’d used on Cecilia. Sure enough, as she copied Alexandra’s memories, something else came with them.

Hours later, Enoxia wiped cold sweat from her brow. Alexandra, feeling no different, stared in confusion.

Then, just as abruptly as she’d arrived, Enoxia left—leaving Alexandra baffled.

…

Three Months Later – World Snake, Arctic Base

With Misteln’s help, the two finally located the hideout.

“The Herrschers of Void and Erosion? Rare guests. To what do I owe the pleasure?” Gray Serpent masked his surprise well.

Enoxia smirked, resting a hand on its shoulder. “Is it because you’re not human? You know I could wipe out the entire Gray Serpent network in seconds.”

“Yet you haven’t. So state your business.” Its tone remained unshaken.

“Why is everyone so damn confident?” Sighing, Enoxia shook her head and produced Judgement of Shamash.

Now, Gray Serpent stiffened.

Enoxia stepped closer.

“You’re a businessman. So let’s make a deal—one you can’t refuse.”

“No excuses. No room for negotiation.”