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

"As expected... even though we have learned so many lessons... some tragedies are still unavoidable by human power?"

The girl, who looked only slightly more mature than an ordinary student, took a few steps forward and stood in front of the nightmare.

"……magnificent?"

"Don't worry, just do what I'm supposed to do - that's all."

After these days of understanding, Mei Yi certainly understood Qianjie's strength. Even among the Thirteen Heroes of Chasing Fire, the only ones who could surely defeat Qianjie were Kevin and Alicia who relied on their strength, and Aponia who relied on her mechanism. But now... they were not here.

At this moment, the abilities displayed by this girl whom she was most familiar with on a daily basis were obviously not comparable to those of her 50,000 years later.

“Qianjie, I am not going to explain to you because I know it is in vain. I only have one request, Qianjie—please let Gresh leave here first. She is just a child after all.”

"Also, you should understand that Mei, as an outsider, has nothing to do with this matter anyway..."

“…I don’t mind.”

"Please wait a moment."

Su, who had been standing nearby and seemed to be deep in thought, opened his eyes completely.

"Qianjie, have you...seen Ying?"

Qianjie, who had regained some of his rationality, became restless again when he heard Sakura's name.

"You... are not worthy of mentioning her name. And don't even think of using my anger as a tool in your hands! When we deceived her, we should have thought that this day would come - but she is definitely not a traitor! No matter then or now! Shouldn't Aponya pay the price for this? If Sakura was willing to ask, I would have killed that woman for her long ago!"

Su felt helpless about Qianjie's irrelevant answer.

"...Qianjie, I have no intention of arguing with you now. I just want to know, in the past hour or so, have you seen Ying?"

"You...are qualified...to ask me questions like this? Huh?"

But obviously, when Sakura was mentioned, Qianjie was like a key word was triggered, and he couldn't communicate with him normally at all. The fire in his body burned even more vigorously. The temperature around him rose suddenly - the air in his sight turned into swaying and blurred ripples in an instant.

"You also know what the [Commandments] on me are, but none of you... are innocent! Besides, I don't care at all right now! Those who killed them... must pay the price!"

Qianjie stomped his right foot, and a pillar of destruction rose from the ground. He raised the pillar with both hands and swung it towards the crowd.

Although he was out of the attack range, facing this blow that was full of murderous intent and heavier than a thousand pounds, Kosmo still subconsciously turned around and protected Gray behind him.

"Sumeru mustard seed."

As the calm voice sounded, a white light flashed and then disappeared. Qianjie's figure... just disappeared.

"Is that... One of the Thousand Worlds?"

Su Weiwei nodded:

"Yes. Although we cannot trap someone like Qianjie for too long, it should be enough for us to sort out the basic context of the matter. Visitor, I know that after witnessing the scene just now, you must have more questions in your mind. It happens that I will answer as many questions as possible in this limited time."

"Su, the Second God Key you just used is..."

"As you can see, although it is essentially just data, it can exert an effect similar to that of a real God's Key here, but... it is useless against the Herrscher of Corrosion..."

When Su thought of this, his slightly closed eyes suddenly opened wide again.

"what happened?"

"Visitor... Let's start from the beginning. From the time we parted ways until now, Sakura's condition has also been problematic."

"However... unlike Alicia's [complete deletion], she is now in a [disappearing] state. In other words, Sakura is now... and the Herrscher of Corrosion should be together."

Mei looked around and found that Kosmo and even Grayshu were not surprised by the result.

"Sister Ying... maybe she's afraid Ling... will be too lonely, so she wants to be with her..."

"Su, I need to know what happened during the twelfth collapse of the previous civilization."

Earlier, in Velvet's workshop.

"Sakura, have you thought it through?"

Expert Wei Erwei took the Seven Thunders of Purification from Ying's hand with an extremely serious expression.

“Although the Seven Purifying Thunders here are just data, Miss Mei is the Herrscher of Thunder. If we hand it over to her, it may produce unexpected results.”

"You should understand that this is not what I'm asking."

Weiwei stared at Ying's face and observed her carefully for a while, as if she wanted to see something from her face.

"My decision is within your expectations, isn't it? Besides... this is not the first time I have encountered such a situation."

"Because this is not the first time, you should understand the consequences."

"And the biggest difference this time is that the gap in strength between us and the Herrscher of Corrosion is even greater than before."

"Of course... Considering that there is still a Herrscher of Corrosion out there, it is not impossible for you to make the same choice as before."

"You know very well that doing this will do nothing but send her to her death. She will come out to see you on her own initiative, but after killing you, she can disappear into the chaotic space and return to a place where Sue and Aponia cannot find her."

"So, in the worst case scenario, what you do may not even achieve the purpose of delaying time, but will instead help her complete [that part] of her memory."

Sakura's lips slightly raised:

"Wei Weiwei, thank you for your concern. But you have to understand that Ling is my sister first, and then other identities. So... my decision will not change."

Before Weiwei could say anything else, Ying's figure disappeared from the spot.

Wei Erwei looked at the Seven Purifying Thunders in front of her and shook her head:

"She's still running so fast, but this time... maybe we can get a different result..."

A corner of eternal paradise.

The sky was filled with stars and there was soft grass underfoot. At first glance, it looked somewhat similar to the area where Kosmo and Grayshu were.

But Ying's intuition told her that there was no such place in the eternal paradise.

"I knew you would follow the clues and find this place, sister."

The scroll in the sky seemed to be torn open at one corner, and a figure with pink hair and blue eyes like Sakura leaped down with light steps.

Sakura subconsciously raised the sword in her hand and entered a combat state, but the expression on her face was very complicated.

"Sister is still the same as before. She won't listen to other people's advice and comes to see me alone."

"you……"

"All of Ling's memories, not only from 50,000 years ago, but also from 500 years ago, and even after Enosia brought me here. I have them all."

"So I know that even if it's self-deception or self-consolation, the emptiness in your heart, sister, is being filled little by little. Therefore, in your heart..."

"The last thing we want to happen is a repeat of what happened back then, like what we have now."

"Ah, strictly speaking, the situation now is different from that of fifty thousand years ago. Now... I have found an opportunity to regain the power that originally belonged to me."

"And back then, during the twelfth collapse, such a tragedy occurred, but it was entirely human beings themselves... they brought it upon themselves."

While Ling was talking, Ying suddenly moved, bringing out a knife light that was so fast that it could even freeze time. Theoretically, there was no possibility for Ling to dodge.

However, the cold air that seemed to be able to freeze the entire space slashed past Ling's body.

The stars in the sky trembled, but Ling herself was unharmed.

"Sister, you should understand that this is the paradise of the past, not the real world. You are a memory, not the fusion warrior who could kill an emperor-level Honkai beast with one move."

"You can't... hurt me as a Herrscher of Corrosion. Use your amazing moves or your way of persuading me to trap me, delay time and try your best to reveal my location to others. This is... what you should do most."

"In the end, you missed the chance to fight because you [couldn't bear it]?"

Ling snapped her fingers, and the cracks in the space caused by Ying's attack were instantly repaired. Ying felt dazed and even had difficulty standing.

"The agent of erosion is..."

"As expected of you, sister. You figured it out right away. The Paradise of the Past is a space made up of data. Not only the grass and trees, but even the flowing air is essentially data."

"So, the moment sister entered this space, the erosion had already begun."

"A familiar but different plot is happening again, what do you think, sister?"

"Dangdang!"

The sword in her hand fell to the ground, and Sakura, having lost her support, sat down on the ground.

"Ling...thank you..."

"?"

"Fifty thousand years ago, when my body and memory were synchronized for the last time, I did not see my true self. I then understood that I was the first one among the Thirteen Heroes to sacrifice."

"When I mentioned how I died and Ling's situation, everyone, including Alicia, was vague, so I guessed the general idea."

"Later... before Enosia arrived, I don't remember exactly when, but I learned the whole story."

"Although he didn't leave his name, the only person who could synchronize his memories with his memory after his death, apart from the Herrscher, was Aponia... the most special being in Paradise."

"No matter what her purpose was, after learning the truth, I have been thinking about what I owe Ling."

"And it was only after Miss Ino brought Ling back to Paradise that I got many answers."

"Companionship? Love? Of course it's all there, but I always feel like something is missing."

"It seems that my sister has already got the answer just now."

"...An opportunity, an opportunity to atone for my sins. As a sister, letting my sister go through such torture and die is undoubtedly the greatest sin."

"Aponia always said that she was the one who should bear the most responsibility. But she and Ling were not related. At that time, the Fire Chaser tried every possible means to defeat the Honkai, even if she subjectively wanted to make a little girl a vessel for the Herrscher to descend in order to minimize the losses of the Twelve Honkai, it was nothing."

"What's more, she imposed [Discipline] on the surviving soldiers precisely in order to make them abide by the [bottom line]."

"But I am different. Since it has already happened, I am the one who is most responsible no matter what."

"So, Ling, before you completely erode me, I have a request."

Ling looked at Ying and said nothing.

"I hope... that you can let me experience the pain you experienced before [dying], as realistically as possible, for as long as possible."

Ling's body shook as if there was a problem with the network, and then she came to Ying's side.

Sakura prepared herself and closed her eyes.

However, the next moment, she felt something soft against her body, and at the same time, a memory appeared in her mind.

"Since I died in that way, and now I have power again, the most important thing I should do is to protect my sister. I should never have the chance to suffer that kind of pain again in my life."

"Because, a sister is a sister."

Sakura, who has regained her memory, naturally understands that the Ling in front of her is a Herrscher like Mei, whose power as a Herrscher is completely controlled by her self-consciousness.

"So, Ling, the purpose of you and I meeting here is..."

"I just want to hear what my sister is holding back in her heart. I know that because we are too close, there are some things that my sister won't tell me."

"So... if you want to further resolve my sister's emotional knot, you have to become her enemy first."

Seeing Ling regain her former liveliness and cuteness, Ying couldn't help but rub her head:

"Speaking out what's been pent up in my heart does give me a sense of relief. However, Ling now should have a simpler and more direct method."

Ling's head immediately shook like a rattle:

"Of course not. Sister Ino said that memory is the foundation of personality, and the more unforgettable the memories are, the more they can guide a person's current behavior."

"Therefore, even painful memories are a crucial part of who my sister is. If they are simply and crudely deleted, my sister may no longer be my sister."

"Ah, I accidentally spent too much time with my sister. I still have a part to play in the script later, so I have to hurry to the next set."

“So… we have to quickly [Erosion] my sister. If you have any questions, just ask Sister Airi and Sister Ino.”

Ling poked Ying's body lightly, and Ying's body immediately turned into countless light spots and dissipated in the space.