Honkai: Oh No, I’ve Become the Herrscher of Corruption?! - Chapter 5
Hidden within Babylon Labs’ mainframe, Enoxia observed Theresa and Patricia through the surveillance feeds.
“Even without access to the monitoring data, events are unfolding just like in the original storyline.”
She couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of Theresa crouching in a trembling ball, hands clutching her silver-haired head. “Who would’ve thought the feared principal of St. Freya—an S-rank Valkyrie by any measure—would be this terrified of ghosts? This side of her never showed up in the game.”
“Get ahold of yourself, Theresa! These are human voices!”
Patricia followed the cries to a reinforced door, where dozens of emaciated hands reached through the gaps between metal bars.
“Save us…”
Theresa’s grip tightened on the doorframe. With a single wrenching motion, she tore the entire steel door from its hinges like crumpling paper.
“And people say her petite frame is deceiving,” Enoxia mused, watching the feed. “Anyone who can swing Judah like a toy was never just ‘cute’ to begin with. Is this what they call gap moe?”
“Come on out.” Theresa extended a hand—her palms still red from the exertion—with a gentle smile.
One by one, the surviving children emerged, many bowing in tearful gratitude.
Patricia scanned a nearby terminal, her throat bobbing. “According to these records… they’re test subjects. For Honkai energy adaptation experiments.”
“What? Then why wasn’t this mentioned in any mission briefings?”
Turning away from Theresa’s bewildered expression, Patricia’s voice turned leaden. “Because it wasn’t relevant. Schicksal ‘recruits’ thousands of orphans annually for these trials. No families, no witnesses—just expendable data points.”
Among the children, Sirin’s fists clenched until her nails drew blood.
“Will Theresa take them to St. Freya? Though some might not survive the journey…” Enoxia’s attention flickered as her quantum-linked copies pinged her consciousness.
After parting with Sirin yesterday, she’d infiltrated Schicksal’s main database through the network connecting Babylon Labs to headquarters. The sheer volume of data would overwhelm any human mind—hence her workaround: creating an AI to parse information while her primary consciousness remained mobile.
“Pity I can’t split my human thought processes,” she noted. “The copies are just high-powered search algorithms with my memories. Then again, asking how quantum entanglement enables real-time sync is like asking how Honkai energy explains everything—it just does.”
A mental command summoned the copies’s findings:
- Void Archives: Still in Otto’s clutches (no surprise; Schicksal would collapse without its knowledge repository)
- Black Abyss White Flower: Wielded by Cecilia Schariac, the sole S-rank Valkyrie
- Judah’s Oath: Safely in Theresa’s hands (obviously)
- Fenghuang Down: Hua still possessed this Divine Key… but was currently stranded in South America. “Sirin just caught a major break.”
Then came the anomalies:
-
Her own presence as an enhanced Herrscher of Corruption (ahead of schedule)
-
Schicksal’s premature acquisition of the Herrscher of Thunder’s core
“Otherwise, history’s on rails.”
Satisfied, Enoxia dissolved the copies and returned her focus to Babylon Labs—just in time to see Sirin cornered by Patricia near the reactor core.
“Game over, suspect!” The A-rank Valkyrie cocked twin gatling guns with mechanical precision.
“Just you?” Sirin’s golden eyes glowed with contempt.
“I’m enough.” The barrels leveled at her forehead.
Instead of fear, Sirin laughed—a sound like shattering crystal.
“☆Hah! Finally, a Valkyrie to take my rage out on! Those researchers always said our suffering would ‘honor’ the Stigmata project. Tell me…” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “You knew, didn’t you?”
Patricia’s grip faltered for half a heartbeat.
“To hell with honor! I’ll prove we’re stronger than any Valkyrie☆”
Gunfire erupted—yet every round missed. Patricia’s combat instincts screamed: Disengage. Report. She lobbed a flashbang, blinding Sirin long enough for an escape attempt.
But as she sprinted for the exit, the lab’s blast doors slammed shut autonomously. No rage, no hesitation—Patricia pivoted toward a side corridor, narrowly dodging a spatial lance.
“Tch. Coward.” Sirin teleported behind her.
Patricia’s pistol barked—not at the Herrscher, but at a second flashbang midair. The distraction bought seconds to dive into a comms room, where a red emergency line glowed.
“Priority channel to HQ—”
Her fingers grazed the receiver when her body betrayed her. The gun swung downward. A single shot tore through her own thigh.
By the time the pain registered, a blue-haired girl leaned against the wall, humming.
“Hey! I was just getting started!” Sirin stormed in, pouting.
“Please. She’d have escaped if I hadn’t locked the doors.” Enoxia rolled her eyes. “Can’t even solo an A-rank? How will you handle all of Schicksal?”
“That’s—! I’m still mastering my powers☆” Sirin huffed, though her bravado faltered as Patricia groaned on the floor.
“You… what did you—?!”
“Figured it out already? Good.” Enoxia admired her nails. “Just hijacked your motor functions via Honkai resonance. Basic Herrscher stuff.”
Patricia’s face drained of color. In all her missions, she’d never encountered such an ability.
Her terror was the last thing she’d ever feel.
As Sirin summoned another spatial spear, Enoxia’s will surged again—guiding Patricia’s trembling hand to her own temple.
The gunshot echoed through empty corridors.
“Honestly,” Enoxia mused, stepping over the corpse, “what made an A-rank think she could 1v1 a Herrscher?”
Sirin stared at the body, expecting euphoria. Instead, an unfamiliar hollowness yawned in her chest.
“No corruption from the Will of Honkai?” Enoxia noted her hesitation. “This simplifies things.”
As for herself—watching life drain from Patricia’s eyes had stirred… excitement? “Is this the Herrscher’s influence? Or just me?”
By dawn, the body was discovered.
Schicksal spared not a moment to mourn.
The next responders were already en route:
- Salome Jokanaan
- Shub-Niggurath
- And that man… Siegfried Kaslana
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