Honkai: It’s broken, I have become the Herrscher of Corrosion?

A corner of paradise.

Hua looked at Mei who had not yet woken up, as if she was looking at herself in the distant past from another perspective. She had been like the girl in front of her, falling into a coma for various reasons, fighting hard, experimenting... the reasons were endless.

"They are all...unpleasant memories."

However, it is these "unpleasant" memories that still exist in her mind to this day. And those warm memories that people are more willing to recall in winter have all flowed away from her, leaving not a drop. Of course, for the [big picture], those painful memories are more important.

"But... which one of these things pushed me to where I am today?"

Mei opened her eyes, and in the dim light, she saw a familiar face.

"Monitor..."

"you're awake."

"…Hua, I'm sorry…"

"That's fine. If treating me as another "me" can help you gain your trust and make our communication more efficient, I don't mind you doing so."

"...Hua, how much time has passed?"

"Only one hour has passed since I saw you. But... you seemed to have collapsed there a long time ago. I went there to find you because I had to convey something important."

"But I remember... I was fighting the monsters in Paradise. But after I fell... I still didn't [Log Out]?"

Hua shook his head:

"When I found you, there were no monsters around you, but judging from your condition, it does seem like you are exhausted."

"Hua, you just said you had something important to convey. Did something happen?"

She still didn't know how to start. Even though - during the hour that Raiden Mei was unconscious, she was still thinking about the words.

"Let's... just talk while we walk."

"Walk?"

"Yes. Mei, you must leave the paradise of the afterlife... because there is no time to delay any longer."

"I didn't expect you to say this to me, Hua. But... I know you are different from them, and you must have very fair reasons. But now, I can't do this at all... The path to reality has been cut off."

"Cut off? You mean..."

"Well, judging from the results, I seem to be trapped here. And whether I have lost the privilege of "resurrection from the dead"... I'm afraid it's not something I can rashly verify."

"Did something go wrong in reality? Or...did she do it on purpose?"

"I think it's most likely the latter, but this also shows that Enosia's restrictions on [her] are very effective. If I return to reality safely, I can give [her] a fatal blow."

"So... Hua, what happened that made you also persuade me to leave immediately?"

"... Now that things have come to this... Mei, you should come with me. At least if we travel together, we will both be safer. Besides,... if you don't see it with your own eyes, no one will believe it."

Soon, Mei followed Hua and entered a space that she had never been to before. In front of her was a playground and a garden. Although it was difficult to describe the scene in a few words, the moment she entered here, Mei couldn't help but associate this place with Alicia.

"Hua, this is..."

"The Eternal Paradise is where the secrets of the Paradise of the Past are buried. In the original plan, without the help of Enosia, you would continue to explore the Paradise of the Past until you reach the deepest place and gain the recognition of Aponia, and then you will come here. Here, Alicia will explain to you the true secret of the Paradise of the Past."

"...In other words, theoretically, without the approval of Aponia or Alicia, an "outsider" like me cannot set foot here?"

"That's right. However, at present, under the influence of the Herrscher of Corrosion, the space in the entire Paradise has become chaotic to varying degrees. A small path has appeared between the place just now and the Eternal Paradise."

"That is……"

Countless [meteors] streaked across the sky and fell to the ground, causing great damage to the originally neat and beautiful scene.

Not far away, flames shot straight into the sky, and Mei felt a surge of fighting spirit.

“Hehehehe…hahahahaha!!”

Mei knew without Hua's reminder that they had reached their destination. In the dilapidated scene ahead, the man-made collapse of Qianjie was indiscriminately destroying everything it saw.

Su dodged Qianjie's attack and seemed to be thinking of a countermeasure. Kosmo protected Grayshu and stood farther away.

"Qianjie... is he going crazy again? But... there should be more reasons why you want me to leave than just this."

"Indeed. If it were just Qianjie's [madness], then it wouldn't be considered [extremely dangerous]. But the real problem now is... the only person who can handle this kind of situation safely is no longer here."

Seeing Raiden Mei and Hua, Qianjie, who was bathed in fire, seemed to become even more excited:

"Well... this is better! None of you... is qualified to be my opponent alone. Come on together, don't waste time!"

"After I kill all of you, I will go find the remaining people one by one. Only in this way, that bastard, the betrayer, will not think that he can get away with doing such a thing!"

"You know better than anyone that she has the right to take revenge on us and everyone else, so our ending is nothing more than a belated judgment..."

"But... before that, I have to make sure that the betrayer will be torn to pieces by my own hands, just like those self-righteous [murderers] did in the past!"

Obviously, he wasn't just talking. From years ago until today, he has only faced his companions in this manner once.

What's worse is that among all the people standing here, no one has the ability to convince him.

"Qianjie's words seem to prove that he is not as crazy as he looks. Moreover... I may have important information that I haven't learned about the twelfth collapse of the previous civilization..."

"However, the way he looks now doesn't seem like he's in a state where he can communicate."

Hua calmly looked at everyone. Although Su remained silent, she still made a decision.

"Calm down first, Qianjie. You are not a beast after all."

Qianjie sneered at Hua's attempt to stop the fight. Although Hua's memory was incomplete, she remembered that a similar scene had actually happened 5 years ago.

And after that, there was Qianjie, who killed countless enemies and stood at the top of the organization.

This Qianjie, who most likely regarded everyone as a potential [enemy], was approaching everyone step by step. For everyone present, anything more terrifying than this could only be found in nightmares.