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

Mei looked into the distance and saw that the fire in the amusement park had been extinguished, but there was no sign of the Herrscher of Corrosion chasing after her.

"Hua, so..."

Hua heaved a sigh of relief and began to explain the current situation to Mei:

"After we left Mobius, Su noticed that Velvet had left him a puzzle: "Do you think there is an absolutely safe place in the paradise of the past?" Su thought about it and thought that facing the Herrscher of Corrosion, this was a concept that did not exist at all."

Mei recalled the severe pain that once flashed through her mind and seemed to have guessed the answer.

"'A place that does not exist'... is the answer to the mystery itself?"

"That's right, and it has three possible answers. The first answer is that after Sakura swung her sword, there was a space that could trap even Kevin. But unfortunately, Sakura met with misfortune right after Alicia, so this is not the correct answer; and the second answer... is your mind space, Mei."

"My... thoughts...? So, that's what Velvi meant... Because of the "power of conquest", the power of the Herrscher of Corrosion cannot affect me. If we can extend this characteristic into a certain "space", we can have a position that is not disturbed by the enemy. And use this... to launch a counterattack."

"Yes, Su, as a mind-fusion warrior, had already hidden in your mind before he noticed the movement you made. At that time, the Herrscher of Corrosion was focused on [Alicia] and [Arming Kevin 666], so he didn't pay much attention to the sudden abnormality."

"So that's it, I thought..."

"No, Mei, your imitation of Qianjie just now almost completely attracted the attention of the Herrscher of Corrosion, creating a good opportunity for Su's sudden attack. Judging from the reaction of the Herrscher of Corrosion just now, she obviously knew your intention and was on guard against reinforcements from other places. It's just that... she didn't expect that the attack came from within your mind."

"The third answer..."

"The third answer... is to erode the Herrscher's interior, the place where Su is about to arrive. To ensure success, he must also face "death" like Kevin and Mobius."

"But...what should we do next?"

"Su told me that just now, he used the spiral seal left by Velvet as a beacon to recreate the operation called "SO-1129" in your mind."

"That is, the creation of memory..."

"Just like when the paradise was first built, he will let your mind unfold in the paradise in the form of memory... no, in the form of "memory space" like Yingjie did. Only in this way can we... "welcome back" Alicia."

"...So...Su thinks that the key to victory is still "Model 666"...right?"

"Yes. All efforts are made to regain control of it. If we want to defeat the Herrscher of Corrosion in the data space, there is no other way."

I understand.

"SO-1129... Alicia said it was like "eating peanuts with your eyes while riding a roller coaster." I'll know right away if she's lying to me. Is the "her" I'm about to see still the "her" I know? "

Hua shook his head blankly:

"There is no answer to this question in what Su asked me to relay, so I can't answer it."

Mei suddenly realized that the Hua in front of her might be the answer that Su left for her. Could the Hua she saw now and the Fu Hua she knew in reality be considered the same person?

Yes, but also no.

"…Hua, what else did Su say?"

Hua opened his arms and handed a blue crystal flower to Mei.

"This was originally the crystal flower left by Kevin. Since you have obtained the spiral mark, it means that Wei Wei's crystal flower is now in your hand."

"Yes, including the one Eden gave me, I now have three..."

"The last crystal flower was originally in Aponia's hands, but according to Su's previous communication, she has already given it to Grayshu, so our next task is to reunite with Grayshu and Kosmo as soon as possible... and complete the [final arrangement]."

"……I see."

In the deepest place. Apolonia is looking back to what happened in the paradise of the past through clues.

"This is... the Herrscher and the Evil Velvet?"

Time goes back to the time shortly after Kevin's [death]. Evil Wei Wei looked at the petite and cute figure beside him:

"How? As agreed... I let Kevin leave. His current power should have become a part of you, like two pieces of bubble gum merged into one - tell me, what does that feel like?"

"It's really a surprise. It's hard to imagine... this is the height that humans can reach."

"It's Kevin after all. Well, let's get down to business - I feel like you don't trust me a bit. Raiden Mei, she's just a Herrscher... Oh! It's not polite to say that, she's one of your kind after all. Anyway, I don't know why you want to attack her at this time, but... I should be able to do it alone, right?"

"The reason is very simple, Weiwei... Isn't it "attracting attention" enough for you to pretend that you didn't guess my intention now?"

"Oh, that's an interesting idea indeed. The Herrscher's trait of not being corroded, plus the ability to split the mind... Are you worried that I will join forces with her?"

"I didn't say that, I just wanted to help you."

"You're right. With her, and possibly Sue and Aponia's help... we do have a chance to create a domain that will prevent the power of erosion from taking effect. But you're overthinking it. She's a Herrscher after all, and if I want to split her mind, I need permission - but that's simply impossible."

"And...if you do that, the Herrscher of Thunder will become a being similar to a memory, and she might lose the characteristic that makes you helpless. Do you think she will accept this proposal?"

"Is it difficult for you to convince her..., Trickster?"

Weiwei's expression began to become intriguing.

"So, even if my life depends on you, you will never let me act alone?"

"Because I care about you."

"...It seems that my understanding of you was slightly off. You once said... that you deleted Alicia completely because you "accidentally" felt threatened. At that time, I thought it was logically impeccable. But... now, I am increasingly suspicious... did you... really not "do it on purpose?"

The tracing of memories came to an abrupt end here. It was not because of her limited ability, but because she had gradually become "impatient".

"From this memory, she is still the same... No matter how many human emotions she has acquired, her essence is still a "virus". I'm afraid my ability... will hardly be effective."

Aponia looked down at her hands and began to feel guilty as usual.

"Su... after trying everything, I led the Herrscher of Corrosion to the deepest place, so that I could touch her... but I can only explore her "memories"... and cannot establish communication with her "consciousness"? "

Just as Hua said, what Su held in his hand was not the real One Thousand Worlds after all. In the limited time, he only did one thing - using his mental ability, he let the Herrscher of Erosion erode him, and after spying on his memory, he would have the idea of ​​[wanting to reach the deepest place].

So, before Hua finished relaying Su's instructions, the Ruler of Erosion appeared in front of him as Aponia wished.

Aponia did not resist at all, but just knelt on the ground, clasped his hands together, and allowed the erosive force to swallow up his existence bit by bit.

This was not because she saw fate as a thread and knew that no matter how hard she tried, she could not avoid the predetermined ending. Rather, for the Herrscher... or more accurately, for Ling herself, she hoped that she could get a chance to be judged.

At this moment, inside the Herrscher of Corrosion, as the most unique individual in the paradise, Aponia is constantly providing information to the remaining heroes through her own "touch".

The whereabouts of Sakura and Alicia, the existence of the Herrscher, the truth behind the incident... the melodious hymn spread the "memories" she could reach to every corner of the paradise, until they reached people's ears, without missing a single detail.

She is probably the only one who can accomplish this without any external force after being eroded, whether in reality or in the paradise. Not only that, by relying on "touch", she can face the Herrscher of Erosion in the way she is most familiar with and trace back to the other's heart.

She has already determined that since the Herrscher has a mind comparable to that of a human, even if he is invincible as data, he can still be defeated from a spiritual level. Just like... the former "Eighth Herrscher".

"If I can intervene in her mind, I may be able to guide her to the right path. But how much time do I have... huh?"

Aponia sighed as she watched her body flickering as if covered in mosaics.

"It seems that delaying the erosion requires much more energy than I expected. Or... have I wasted too much time?"

As it is said, with the unique peculiarity of being in the promised land, Aponia made two decisions after being eroded, and divided his energy into two and implemented them simultaneously.

First, establish a connection with the consciousness of the Ruler of Corrosion, and "reshape" the other party as he had attempted in his lifetime in order to resolve the crisis.

Secondly, through her psychic perception ability, she could delay the time of being completely eroded and maintain control over her own "data". In this way, she could pass on the information she obtained during the exploration to everyone in the paradise, just like now.

"But now... my time is running out... are both considerations going to fail?"

She couldn't help but fall into hesitation. After previous attempts, she knew that she could no longer take care of both ends and had to put all her energy on the more promising path. However... "Which side is more promising" is a question that cannot be concluded at all.

"If I allow the erosion to deepen, I may be able to penetrate into his consciousness. But if I fail to find an opportunity to reshape his mind after that... it will be a meaningless sacrifice. However... if I continue to stay here and read the Herrscher's memories, there is also the possibility that I will gain nothing."

"Is this... the feeling of having to make a choice without knowing what the future will be like? Because I haven't seen such a situation in a long time, I am... more vulnerable than ordinary people at this time."

This was the truth. She lacked relevant experience in such a common situation. But at the same time, she felt more relieved. Although she didn't know where the future she was about to create would lead, she still had a vague idea that "this had its meaning."

"Alishia... this is also your "wish", right? Well, let's do this."

"Come, Herr of Corrosion, please...come into my arms."

In the special space where Ying Jie, who had completed the performance, was, Ying watched the actions from Aponia's perspective with a very complicated expression.

"There is no doubt that Aponia wants to find Kevin, Su, and Mobius inside the Herrscher of Corrosion, and with the cooperation of Miss Mei and Hua, give them a fatal blow from both the inside and the outside..."

"Wow, what a great idea. I think I only showed Ling the script of Aino. Ying, your ability to deduce events through details is no worse than that of Weiwei, right?"

"...Alicea, you should understand what I want to say... We... whether it's me, Qianjie, or Aponia, deep down in our hearts, we are all looking forward to... a trial because of the tragedy that happened in the past."

"And Ling... is no exception. After all, she still believes... that she is the culprit."

"Yes, if something really happens, you want to use the pain to remind yourself all the time. In this regard, you sisters are really cut from the same cloth."

Weiwei's voice floated from outside the door, sounding merciless.

"Ah, as expected, Weiwei is actually just like everyone else, always caring about her friends?"

Weiwei walked into the house:

"Ying, you should understand better than anyone that it is meaningless to feel sorry for yourself here. In addition to making the Paradise of the Past play a greater role, the script written by Enosia may be a redemption for each of us... and for Ling, only when she gets the pain she wants, can she...really let go of what happened in the past."

Ying looked at Wei Wei carefully:

"You are... a scholar?"

"Why, it's not like we haven't seen it before, but there have been more cases without conductors or experts. To gain wisdom, one needs to ponder, not to talk too much... Hey, experts and conductors, I'm not talking about you again..."

Less than three minutes into the serious conversation, Wei Liwei suddenly ran out.

"She is...arguing with herself again? Well, it seems that each of us has problems that need to be solved...Instead of meaninglessly arguing with each other, it is better to trust Ling's decision."