Honkai: Oh No, I’ve Become the Herrscher of Corruption?! - Chapter 49

Upon arriving at the grand hall, Elysia noticed that Eden, Mobius, and Aponia were already there.

“Hmm? What’s everyone doing here? I don’t recall today being anything special~?”

Mobius immediately flashed a mocking smirk. “Elysia, not everyone is like you, throwing parties every other day. It’s been 50,000 years since a Herrscher last stepped foot here—this is a rare research opportunity.”

Unlike Jackal from the outside world, Mobius, as a digital entity, showed no fear despite the Herrscher of Corruption standing right in front of her. Instead, she radiated excitement.

Yet, with just a little observation, Enoxia noticed something else—the moment Elysia returned to the hall, Mobius had subtly let out a sigh of relief, hidden beneath her fanatical curiosity.

“Oh, Mobius~ But you’ve never missed a single gathering, no matter how busy you were with experiments. And don’t think I didn’t notice how much you enjoyed chatting with everyone~?”

The Elysian Realm was, after all, a space constructed from the memories of the thirteen Flame-Chasers. Enoxia could clearly sense the emotional fluctuations among them—Eden, Aponia, and Mobius stood out the most.

Who’s the strongest in the Elysian Realm? Undoubtedly, Kevin.
What’s the hardest thing in the Elysian Realm? Without a doubt, Mobius’ stubbornness.

Enoxia fully understood their wariness. After all, in the Previous Era, aside from Elysia, none of the Herrschers had been capable of rational communication.

Watching Mobius turn her head away in tsundere fashion, Enoxia felt reassured. The Flame-Chasers were exactly as she remembered—no absurd deviations due to timeline changes. Now, it was time for her to leave.

The Elysian Realm was, in every aspect, an ideal training ground—except for one thing: it was utterly meaningless for the Herrscher of Corruption. When every piece of information could be accessed without effort, when every battle could be won with a mere thought, the concept of “training” lost all meaning.

After Enoxia departed, Aponia and Su meticulously scanned the entire realm but found no signs of tampering.

“Aww, this won’t do~ We all ganged up on her and made her leave disheartened. Next time she visits, we’ll have to properly apologize, won’t we?”

Aponia nodded. “My apologies, Elysia. I misjudged the situation. When the Herrscher severed our observation, I assumed she would exploit the opportunity to act. But now, it’s clear—she was simply demonstrating a fact: with a single press, she could have destroyed everything. Yet, she chose not to. That, in itself, is the most definitive proof of her humanity.”

Aponia noticed something rare—Elysia’s face was brimming with joy. Perhaps, in these 50,000 years, this was the happiest she had ever been.

…

After leaving the Elysian Realm, Enoxia returned to Sirin’s villa. Contrary to Aponia’s assumption, her visit hadn’t been as effortless as it seemed.

At its core, the Elysian Realm was data. Even the “Kevin Killer 666,” a weapon capable of erasing the entire realm, was fundamentally just a program.

If that was the case, then why couldn’t the Herrscher of Corruption—who was virtually invincible in digital space—simply bypass the restrictions and modify the program directly? Why did the original story’s Herrscher have to go through such convoluted methods?

The answer was simple: she couldn’t.

Upon entering the realm, Enoxia had initially felt an overwhelming sense of control. But soon, she realized something was off—there were areas she couldn’t even view, let alone modify.

It turned out that critical systems, like the Kevin Killer 666, were protected by the ultimate firewall—originally designed by Dr. Mei and later enhanced by Vill-V.

“Practice is the sole criterion for truth.” This firewall had successfully blocked a Herrscher-level virus. The rule—”Only Elysia has permission to use the Kevin Killer 666″—was something even the Herrscher of Corruption had to obey.

Thinking back, the original story’s Herrscher of Corruption was much like the Herrscher of Wind—overhyped in description but embarrassingly lackluster in performance. Supposedly an unstoppable force in the virtual world, it ended up perishing in a closed network, failing to kill even a single real person or disrupt the real world’s order.

…

One of Enoxia’s conditions for cooperating with World Serpent was securing access to the Elysian Realm for Cecilia, Sirin, Bella, and possibly future candidates like Ivan—without requiring them to join World Serpent. After all, the realm was a place where true transformation could occur.

Later, she gave them a brief introduction to the Elysian Realm and the MANTIS warriors, leaving out details to preserve the value of discovery.

“I never imagined such a place existed…” Cecilia murmured, deeply astonished.

“I won’t spoil the rest—you’ll have to explore and uncover things yourselves.”

Sirin remained noncommittal.

“The people there are… well, eccentric, but they’re good at heart. Think of it as… an immersive dungeon-crawling game.”

Enoxia knew that calling them “heroes” wouldn’t sway Sirin. To convince her, she had to speak her language.

“…I’ll go when I feel like it.”

At least the Tsundere Queen was willing to consider it.

“Oh, right, Cecilia. After half a year of construction, St. Freya Academy is nearly ready.”

“That fast?”

“Yes. It should officially open around 2005. Since it was your ‘dying wish,’ there were no objections. Theresa will serve as the headmistress under the Far East Branch’s authority.”

Cecilia sighed. “Poor Theresa… Juggling all those responsibilities while also looking after Kiana and Siegfried. If only I were there to help…”

Sirin’s expression darkened with concern.

“I know what you’re all thinking,” Cecilia said softly. “In the eyes of the world, I’m dead—which makes me the safest. But Kiana is also my child, and I… I’ve failed as a mother.”

Enoxia placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry. One day, you will return to life. And your family—every last one of you—will reunite.”