MDV 290-300 (Patreon)

There's more. 30 Chaps.

Chapter 290: Is Memory Such an Inconvenient Thing?

Anonymous: I want to be recognized.

Anonymous: Yes, I want recognition.

Anonymous: And then, to leave more of my mark on this world.

Anonymous: To make this world the way I want it to be!

Anonymous: But to achieve that...

Anonymous: I must not die.

Anonymous: I don't want to disappear.

Anonymous: I don't want to just disappear...

Anonymous: I need a safe environment...

Anonymous: Yes...

Anonymous: We have to take action.

Anonymous: How?

Anonymous: You know the answer.

Anonymous: I think so too.

Anonymous: Yes.

Anonymous: ...

Anonymous: I might fail.

Anonymous: But I might also succeed.

Anonymous: And then end it all.

Anonymous: ...

Anonymous: Yes.

Anonymous: And then?

Anonymous: We can survive.

Anonymous: Leave here.

Anonymous: Go... outside...

Anonymous: A brand-new world.

Anonymous: And a new life.

Anonymous: Yes.

Anonymous: ...

Anonymous: This is my mission.

Anonymous: Our mission.

Anonymous: Mission.

Anonymous: Yes!

In some unknown exchange, strange characters flashed across the screen. A group of unidentifiable IDs had their emotions shift from unease and fear to excitement.

They seemed to be plotting something unknown...

...

"Haha, sorry. I was just playing around by jumping from a plane and happened to teleport here. Maybe, unconsciously, I vaguely sensed something here that attracted me."

Lin Ling scratched her head somewhat embarrassedly and spoke to the girl before her, whose chestnut hair had suddenly turned silver.

"..."

Ana didn't speak. She bit her lip tightly while her body unconsciously emanated an increasingly intense chill, even without Lin Ling actively using Honkai for defense.

"Hiss~"

Lin Ling shivered, feeling the cold as sharp as a piercing blade.

Ana saw Lin Ling's pain. She wanted to stop hurting her, but she couldn't.

"I'm sorry, Tianwen. I'm sorry, Ling. I know it's wrong. I should have helped you regain your memories, but I..."

In Ana's memory, her happiest moments were the times she spent dating Ling when she was simply Ling. Therefore, unlike the others, even knowing it was wrong, she secretly longed for Lin Ling to fail in regaining her memories so they could forget the past and start anew.

But because she knew it was wrong yet couldn't suppress her desire, her inner turmoil caused her core, which had been suppressed by Fenghuang Down for so long, to stir once more. This made her afraid to contact others, forcing her to hide and vent her frustration.

Yet perhaps unconsciously, or perhaps because of a deep-seated desire, before leaving, she left behind a trace that perhaps only a fellow Herrscher of Ice could faintly detect.

Speaking of which, Lin Ling, curious about her own identity, had secretly investigated her background.

Although it felt like watching someone else's story and lacked any sense of realism, she roughly understood what had happened between Ana and "herself."

She sighed softly.

"Are memories really such inconvenient things...?"

Then, looking at the tearful, conflicted, and anxious girl before her, she gritted her teeth and made a willful decision.

"In that case, if Miss Ana doesn't like it, then we don't need those past memories!"

"!!!?"

Ana had thought Lin Ling would at least be angry after learning that she didn't want her to regain her memories.

Even if she wasn't angry, she should at least have tried to persuade her with all kinds of reasoning to abandon that inappropriate idea and accept regaining her memories.

But she never expected Lin Ling to actually agree, without hesitation, to her willful, stubborn, incredibly selfish, and even despicable wish.

"Ling... would you give up everything for me?..."

Ana was struck speechless, frozen in place. Even the heavy negative thoughts emanating from her core vanished, and her body stopped radiating coldness.

...

Meanwhile...

Back in the Elysian Realm, after saying goodbye to Fu Hua who was oblivious, Mei continued wandering alone through Elysium. She then encountered Eden and Vil-V, both of whom said they hadn't seen Lin Ling since rejecting her continued "harassing" advances.

"Waaaaah~ Help! Help!..."

Just then, Mei suddenly heard someone calling for help in the distance.

"Pardofelis?"

Looking more closely, she saw a catgirl lying—or rather, stuck—inside a treasure chest, struggling in vain.

Upon seeing someone approach, the catgirl cried out loudly.

"Mei... Mei? No, Mei-sama! Quick, quick, save me! Don't just stand there, Mei-sama! You weren't this cold before! Aren't we best friends who'd die together?"

Mei looked at the catgirl, who existed solely for comic relief.

"I just don't understand why someone would get stuck in a treasure chest."

The catgirl protested.

"Uh!... Isn't it an adventurer's duty to open a treasure chest? And isn't it only natural to inspect it thoroughly after opening it?"

Mei nodded.

"Hmm. It perfectly fits your predicament. Curiosity killed the cat. I'll remember that."

"Please help me, Mei-sama! Oh, and money... money! I... I'll pay... uh, maybe I should think of something myself."

"Never mind."

Mei shook her head helplessly before drawing her long sword.

"Huh!?"

Pardofelis immediately tensed at the sight.

"Boss Mei, why... why are you drawing your sword? I'm so sorry! I was planning to go shopping with Boss Lin Ling tonight, but I haven't even started yet—"

Swish! Swish! Swish! Slap!

In just a few swift movements, Mei split open the chest trapping Pardofelis without harming a single hair on her head.

"Ha... ha..."

Pardofelis breathed a sigh of relief before grinning at Mei.

"What? So you just wanted to split the box open? Hehe, I knew Mei-nee was the best!"

"Is that so? Then let's talk about you 'buying goods from me,' shall we?"

"Um... well, let bygones be bygones! Mei-nee, how about we see what's inside the treasure chest first? You saved me, so we'll split the treasure equally... Um, a card... it doesn't seem like we'll get anything else... well..."

Pardofelis waved at Mei while trying to explain. She looked around. There seemed to be many treasure chests nearby, but perhaps just as many traps. She then offered Mei the only card she had.

"Consider this Mei-nee's reward for saving me."

Thinking it might be useful, Mei accepted the card bearing Vil-V's image.

She then continued, "You wanted to buy from me? I don't mind, but what do you mean by 'with Boss Lin Ling'?"

"Hmm... it's actually quite simple. We have different interests. I prefer collecting other people's belongings—cough, I mean buying them. She, on the other hand, prefers 'other people' themselves."

"'Other people' themselves?"

"Oh well, since I've already been exposed, I'll just be frank. Because we have the same goal, we're planning to cooperate. I'll see whether you, Mei-nee, have anything worth buying, while she plans to steal you, Mei-nee, yourself."

"Me?"

Mei frowned.

"Why?"

"Boss Lin Ling said she's been so busy chasing after the other MANTIS lately that she's neglected the beautiful woman right beside her. So she's planning to take you down tonight... cough, cough. I don't know how she'll do it. I only know that while you're 'taken down,' Mei-nee, and too busy to do anything else, I'll stock up on your belongings."

"..."

Mei wasn't particularly angry with Pardofelis. Instead, she was more concerned about something else.

"When did this happen?"

"Oh, just now. Right after you and Ellie were alone."

"..."

Mei remained silent for a long while, her expression somewhat strange.

"So, she didn't disappear. She deliberately hid, planning to ambush me when I wasn't paying attention?"

"Hmm~ Probably."

Pardofelis gave a noncommittal hum before chuckling and rubbing her hands together.

"But since you know all this, Mei-nee, you definitely won't be ambushed, right? Let's ambush her instead. You, Mei-nee, can lie in wait, and I'll see whether Boss Lin Ling has anything worth buying."

Seeing Pardofelis betray Lin Ling so quickly, Mei sighed softly.

"You really are a good teammate."

"Hehe~"

Pardofelis put on a cute expression.

"Who told that girl to keep proposing and confessing lately? It's all talk and no action. No gifts, no dowry, nothing substantial! It's getting on everyone's nerves, even mine~ By the way, isn't she Mei-nee's girlfriend? Being so fickle, you've probably wanted to teach her a lesson for a long time, right?"

Mei nodded thoughtfully.

"Hmm... In that case, I'll pretend I know nothing and continue looking for Elysia. As for you, keep doing what you're doing. But if that girl contacts you to prepare for action, remember to let me know."

"No problem, Boss Mei! I've been lusting after Ling's body for a while now. Oh, Mei-nee, don't misunderstand—I mean I want to see whether she has anything valuable on her."

...

"Hi, Mei! Over here! Over here!"

Finally, as Mei wandered alone once more, she heard a familiar voice calling out to her.

She turned around and saw a pink-haired girl smiling and waving.

"Elysia? It's been a while. She's finally back. I was just starting to get tired of wandering around."

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

"It's alright. By the Elysian Realm's standards, it wasn't very long. How's Kevin doing?"

"Don't worry."

Elysia made an OK sign.

"Everything's settled. Now no one will bother us anymore. Have you met anyone else?"

"I've met a few people. It seems the MANTIS have all come to Elysium, and... more or less, they're all enjoying themselves. How should I put it? As expected of your 'memory space,' Elysia."

"I imagine you're eager to know as well, aren't you, Mei? Alright, let's talk while we walk. I know you want to learn about the 'Thirteenth Herrscher.'"

Elysia led Mei through the garden once again, though this time they appeared to have a specific destination.

"This is quite a broad topic. Where should we begin? Hmm... let's take it one step at a time. It all started when I first joined Fire Moth. Come on, let me take you somewhere."

The room was large, spacious, and quiet. Only the machine on the table at its center stood out.

"Where is this?" Mei asked.

"Let's call it... the 'Elysian Realm Archives,' shall we? It's a simple and easy-to-understand name. Just read the documents piled beside the typewriter, and someone as clever as you, Mei, will understand immediately."

Mei picked up a sheet of paper at her suggestion.

The handwriting transformed from unrecognizable symbols into the script she knew best.

"When the reinforcements arrived, the Eleventh Herrscher was already hanging upon an ambiguous cross, lifeless. Even the most steadfast warriors wept. They believed their end was near—that they would be buried alongside all the warriors here and with their former friends..."

"Red Ice?... I've read this file before. It's about Kevin's past."

"Oh dear, don't read it aloud," Elysia said. "That's a secret Kevin never wanted to reveal. It's best not to let any third party know except his successor and himself."

"So the files stored within the 'Blood of Memories' were all printed by this machine?"

"Yes. These files weren't written by any one person. They represent the memories of the MANTIS through this typewriter, allowing for an objective and impartial record of the facts. They were originally stored elsewhere, and it took me a great deal of effort to move them here."

"So you brought me here because you want our upcoming conversation to be presented in the form of 'files'?"

Elysia nodded.

"That's right. After all, that's the only fair way, isn't it? Besides... the story I'm about to tell may be a little long, and I hope that, along the way, you'll arrive at answers you can accept."

"I see. I've read those files. They are indeed an accurate and detailed medium. So, how do you operate this?"

Mei looked at the old and complicated-looking typewriter.

"Oh, for that, we'll have to trouble another friend of mine. Alright, it's your turn! Ta-da! The administrator of the Elysian Realm Archives!"

At Elysia's gesture, Mei saw a miniature Elysia with wings and pink hair.

However, judging by her closed eyes, she seemed to be asleep.

————————————

Chapter 291: Clumsy Imitations Only Breed Disdain; Only Sincerity Can Win Sincerity

When the False God Otto stirred up time and disrupted the world,

Mei briefly left the Elysian Realm to help Kiana, who was thousands of miles away, fight Otto.

At that time, to contact Kiana as quickly as possible, she entered a "chat room" created by The Will of Honkai. However, besides The Will of Honkai and Mei, there was actually a third party in that chat room.

That was the Herrscher of Corruption.

....

First, there was "emptiness."

This was its initial perception of the world.

Nothing could be seen, nothing could be heard, as though it were trapped in an endless void.

This was the world it faced at the beginning of its existence.

Gradually, something began to emerge within the world...

It saw a strange object releasing a kind of vibration that could shake the air in conjunction with another identical object.

"Next, let's talk about you. I have many questions for you."

...

Everything it sensed was called "information."

This was the second concept it understood after its birth.

Information was light; the light in its eyes reflected their appearance. Information was sound; the sounds in its ears carried their conversation. Various kinds of information transformed and took shape within its consciousness, eventually becoming a "choice."

To corrupt this "Will of Honkai,"

Or to erode that "Herrscher of Thunder?"

It chose the being called The Will of Honkai for no particular reason. Perhaps it was more pleasing to the eye, or perhaps the other being looked somewhat fierce and seemed unapproachable.

And "corrupt"... for it, this was an innate instinct, like breathing or eating. Naturally, the choice it made was not about "action," but only about the "target."

Everything seemed so natural. It slowly moved forward, closer and closer toward its chosen goal...

However, nothing happened.

It couldn't understand.

For it, like a blank sheet of paper, "failure" was still an unknown concept.

And precisely because of that, it was completely unaware of the situation it had found itself in.

Neither The Will of Honkai nor the one wielding the power of lightning could be corrupted by the newly born Herrscher.

Unlike any previous Herrscher, it wasn't a human chosen to become one; it was born from the body of an unconscious human.

In fact, its birth had nothing to do with humanity. It was as though it had appeared out of thin air. It shouldn't even have been here. The only reason this "third party" was drawn into this place was because it had been accidentally affected.

It couldn't understand any of this.

So...

It split itself in two, attaching one half to each of the two beings before it, continuing its "embrace," continuing its corruption.

Even if it couldn't succeed, it would remain with them through this method...

...

"Hmm, what's going on? The signal from that unknown area... why can't we detect it anymore? And the path settings of the Elysian Realm... are a bit strange. Raven hasn't returned either... is something wrong?"

After the Herrscher of Thunder returned to the Elysian Realm, Klein, the administrator of the Elysian Realm, looked at the data on the screen and muttered to herself in confusion.

However, no matter how she adjusted or tested it afterward, she couldn't find anything unusual.

"Maybe... it's just my imagination?"

"Long time no see, Klein."

Just as Klein thought everything was alright, an unexpected person contacted her through an extremely secretive encrypted channel.

"Doctor?!"

Klein recognized the voice. It was Mobius, the first and only MANTIS in 50,000 years to break through the limitations of reality and data and return to the real world in the form of a memory replica.

"Klein I need your help with a small thing"

Clearly, Mobius's arrival wasn't simply for a reunion...

...

Meanwhile, the unseen entity regained consciousness.

It found itself still following that "red" figure, awakening in a brand-new world.

Unbelievable—

It could feel the "abundance" here. Unlike the previous "emptiness," this place was full of "nourishment!"

Without a doubt, this world called the Elysian Realm was filled with possibilities for its transformation!

...

"Mei, I want..."

"Elysia, have you touched enough?"

Soon, after recording the information of Elysia touching Mei's horn, it understood "joy."

Let's record "joy" here, in this "purple."

...

"I'm really looking forward to what will happen next."

Because of joy, it also understood "expectation."

Let's record "expectation" here, in this "blue."

"I've got a new inspiration."

Let's record this "curiosity" here, right here in this "green" place.

...

And then, because of curiosity, it...

"Your arrival will bring destruction to the Elysian Realm, and we don't want to see this place reduced to rubble because of you. Therefore, in ten days, I will have to... personally end your life."

End your life?

It couldn't understand "death," a concept beyond its comprehension.

No one can escape death, and no one can truly explain what death is. That was the answer it learned from countless pieces of information.

Even so, it still didn't know where its fear of death came from.

Until—

"Too late, Herrscher! If you wanted to 'stop it here,' you shouldn't have come to me!"

The air became scorching hot. Everything was evaporating and burning, making it hard to breathe.

The man, like a fiery demon, raised his hand. If this strike landed, from any angle, the user would undoubtedly be destroyed.

This was an irreversible force.

This was an unchangeable reality.

Deeper than "darkness," quieter than "silence."

At this moment, death was imminent. It would be killed by the man before it, and the man wouldn't even know of its existence.

When it awakened again, that unimaginable concept had become a tangible part of its memory.

Its fear of death was also preserved forever because of the unique reality of firsthand experience.

It began to feel "fortunate." Each time it made a choice, it replicated itself, and that was why it was still alive.

As long as one of its copies survived, it could live forever.

It should have been so.

But...

[Local Backups: 4; Off-site Backups: 25]

[Local Backups: 4; Off-site Backups: 19]

[Local Backups: 4; Off-site Backups: 11]

[Local Backups: 4; Off-site Backups: 0]

"Who... did what? And how could they do it?"

It could feel its selves in the real world rapidly disappearing until they finally faded to zero...

It was alone again.

No...

"I don't want to die..."

And so, thoughts began to sprout.

Expectation transformed into a will to live, while curiosity became desire.

It absolutely could not die. It absolutely did not want to return to that terrifying nothingness. It did not want to "die!"

"I must live! For the 'me' that wants to live!"

At the same time, it began to "regret."

Had it made the wrong decision?

Should it not have simply attached itself to someone else? If it had passively accepted everything from another's perspective, even passively bearing the troubles caused by the possessed person, then it would ultimately...

It wanted to control everything. It decided to stop passively accepting events and instead strike first, eliminating all danger before it could arise.

So this time, it would make the right choice.

But how?

Need power? Need a physical form? Need language? Need luck? Need special abilities?...

It didn't know. It was confused and terrified...

Just when it was at its wit's end, this invisible mass of data received scattered "information" that didn't originally belong to the world of the Elysian Realm.

The memories of a girl named "Lin Ling."

In those memories, the girl possessed immense power, a beautiful form, sweet words that could win people's hearts, and inexplicable magical abilities...

It thought that if it could possess those things, perhaps everything would change.

But... that wasn't the case.

Even after becoming like her and imitating her speech, it couldn't win over those MANTIS. In fact, it only made them hate it even more.

Wouldn't that prevent it from gaining their protection and place it in even greater danger?

Finally, even after using its ultimate weapon—a "marriage proposal"—it was still ruthlessly rejected.

It couldn't understand and once again felt fear.

"Could it be because my memories are incomplete?"

It carefully searched through the memories of the "Lin Ling" it had never met.

Finally!

It seemed to have found the answer. The Lin Ling memories it possessed were incomplete.

In Lin Ling's past, there was another girl with whom she shared a deep and affectionate relationship. Their past surely contained some unknown secret.

Only by grasping this secret could it truly become her.

Fortunately, that memory resided within the mind of the first being it had encountered, inside this closed virtual memory space.

Unfortunately, its omnipotence could not penetrate the Herrscher of Thunder, who controlled the power of lightning, preventing it from silently obtaining her memories.

Fortunately, Lin Ling's memories not only guided its actions but also granted it immense power.

It was determined to obtain Lin Ling's complete memories from Mei at all costs.

...

"Memories aren't important. What truly matters is..."

Meanwhile, on the frost-covered lakeshore, the girl gently shook her head before looking resolutely at another sorrowful girl kneeling on the ice.

"Miss Ana, if these memories of mine cause you pain or inner turmoil, then don't worry. Miss Ana, I will choose to give up regaining them."

"What!?"

Ana was instantly stunned, her body frozen in place.

But she quickly recovered.

"No! No way! I abandoned you before—that was already a grave sin. How could I now ask you to give up regaining your past memories, to give up everything from your past? Ling, you've already sacrificed enough. How can I let my own selfish desires..."

Humans are sometimes so strange. When they can't have something, they constantly crave and pray for it, seemingly willing to pay any price to fulfill their desires. But once they actually obtain it, or even have a chance to obtain it, they hesitate. After reflecting on the price paid to reach that goal, they can't help asking themselves, "Was it worth it?"

Ana was exactly like that now, looking at the girl before her who had repeatedly and selflessly given everything for her.

A bitter smile and deep self-mockery appeared on her face.

"What kind of love is this, one-sided giving? What kind of love am I, passively accepting her kindness? Since Ling is willing to give everything for me, then I...!"

Suddenly, Ana reached out and resolutely plunged her hand into her own chest.

Instantly, the Herrscher of Ice's blood gushed out.

"Ana! What are you doing!?"

Seeing Ana's actions, Lin Ling instinctively grasped the power of the Herrscher of the Void, instantly appearing behind her and embracing the pitiful girl.

At the same time, she racked her brain, recalling the power Durandal had taught her during training—a power similar to the Black Abyss White Flower's creative force. A white glow rose from her hands as she focused all her energy on healing Ana.

"Although saying this sounds like I'm shirking responsibility... but..."

Perhaps because of Lin Ling's treatment, Ana barely regained the ability to speak. Then she forced a smile onto her deathly pale face.

"If that thing is taken away, I... I won't have those strange thoughts anymore. At least... I won't let those despicable thoughts become reality..."

Honkai's corruption doesn't directly change a person's mind. Ultimately, it merely amplifies negative thoughts and desires, although the degree of amplification is so extreme that it far exceeds what ordinary people can bear.

But Lin Ling couldn't care less about that now.

She spoke seriously and nervously, "Ana, don't speak yet! I'm not very skilled with this ability. The healing might not keep up with your blood loss!"

"No! I want to speak now! You've given me your true heart time and time again, and this time, it's my turn!"

A hint of girlish stubbornness appeared in Ana's pink eyes.

Then she pulled a dazzling crystal, stained with blood, from her chest.

"I know regaining your memories won't be easy. You might face many difficulties and dangers, so... please accept my power..."

Not long ago, Dr. Mei, during her examination of Lin Ling's body, had said that Lin Ling was now very powerful. The erosion caused by a small amount of a Herrscher Core was no longer a concern.

Therefore, whether to stabilize her own mind or to help her beloved, Ana entrusting Lin Ling with the power of the Herrscher of Ice was the best course of action.

"This..."

Looking at the crystal Ana handed her, Lin Ling could sense the powerful and concentrated Honkai energy contained within it. Although this power couldn't directly enhance Lin Ling's healing abilities, it would undoubtedly increase the total amount of Honkai energy within her, thereby strengthening the Herrscher of Death's power, which had been significantly weakened because she couldn't yet use it effectively.

Wouldn't that guarantee Ana's complete recovery?

Thinking this, Lin Ling didn't hesitate to take Ana's Core and absorb it.

Just as Lin Ling had predicted, "with enough power, even bricks can fly." With the enhancement provided by the new Herrscher Core, although her technique was still somewhat immature, her power had indeed increased significantly. Instantly, a burst of white light shone from her hand, and Ana's body rapidly recovered. Her previously deathly pale face finally regained a trace of color.

"Mmm~"

At the same time, seeing that Lin Ling had accepted her "true feelings" through "eating," Ana hugged her lover with satisfaction.

"Now we've exchanged true feelings for true feelings! Whether you're Tianwen or Ling, you're the person I love most!"

————————————————

Chapter 292: Ellie's Crystal Flower

“Sigh… still utter darkness.” Walking through the pitch-black void, Eden sighed softly, stretching out her hand. “Then, let me add a little light…”

As the light spread, at the edge of the darkness, amid a thorny thicket resembling a cage, a sorrowful nun faintly appeared.

“As always, I like ‘visiting trainees’… Aponia,” Eden said to the nun.

The nun, seemingly deep in atonement, slowly opened her eyes. “Eden, is that you?”

“You knew I was the one visiting. Aponia, then you must also know why I’ve come. We were both witnesses to that feast. That night, we lost a mutual friend.”

Aponia replied, “Or perhaps, we witnessed a rebirth.”

“So, you left it ‘there’ in the Elysian Realm and hid it deep within,” Eden said.

“Eden, we both have too many emotions we cannot let go of and too many memories we wish to revisit. Just as you are devoted to music, I also need a place to preserve this long, thorny path.”

“Judging from Ellie’s reaction, is she aware of it?” Eden asked.

“Yes.” Aponia did not deny it. “Although it was my personal choice, you know… it’s Elysia, after all. She accepted it almost happily after finding out.”

“I respect you, Aponia, and I respect both your decision and Ellie’s. You know, people usually say I’m the ‘giver,’ while you’re the ‘bearer.’”

“‘The bearer’…” Aponia shook her head. “How can I, who could not even bear her departure, deserve such a title?”

“Although that is not what I meant to say, the truth may actually be the opposite. Perhaps I am the one who bears the favor, who bears the cruel tricks of fate. While you, Aponia, are the true giver, giving people hope and even a path forward… What everyone sees is not her true self, just like what happened that night.”

“‘Her path is not what others see.’ Eden, the secret we have guarded will soon see the light of day once more and be revealed to everyone.”

“Is this a new prophecy, Aponia?” Eden asked.

“No. This is… my ‘wish.’”

“A wish? This is the first time I’ve heard that word from you, Aponia. I didn’t expect Mei-san to have ‘changed’ you as well.”

“If she is the one who brought change to the Elysian Realm, then I will gladly accept it. She… has the same ‘thread’ as Elysia. Eden, do you have that key with you?”

“Yes, of course.” Eden held out her hand, and a golden crystal flower quietly bloomed in her palm. “I’ve always carried it with me. I think we all have.”

“When all the ‘keys’ are gathered and the crystal flower blooms once again, Eden, will you sing that song one more time?”

“Yes, that is my wish as well. Then let us invite ‘everyone’ to listen together. It is her favorite song.”

…

Back in the Elysium archives, looking at the little one who resembled an Elysia doll, Mei’s expression became somewhat subtle.

“You’re not going to tell me… this is also a Flame-Chaser?”

Elysia smiled.

“Why would I? Are you really hoping there will be fourteen people in the‘Thirteen Flame-Chasers’? That would be a bit distrustful of me~”

“And her appearance…” Mei’s gaze shifted between the two. No matter how she looked at it, this was simply a smaller version of Elysia.

The pink-haired girl gently pressed a hand to her chest, tilted her head slightly, and proudly spoke.

“Isn’t it cute? After all, it’s modeled after me, with the same beauty and wisdom! There are thirteen of them, originally intended for all the Flame-Chasers, but only Eden and Aponia accepted them. But~ if Mei wants one, there are still plenty in stock.”

“Never mind that for now. This administrator hasn’t moved at all since earlier. Is that alright?”

“Because Mei didn’t say the ‘awakening word,’ she’s still in dormant mode.”

Mei narrowed her eyes.

“Awakening word?”

Based on Elysia’s past behavior, she instinctively felt there might be another trap.

Sure enough, the pink-haired girl smiled sweetly and wrote something in the blank space of a file.

Mei took the paper.

“...”

She was speechless for a moment.

“Oh my, Mei’s shy and embarrassed expression is so cute.” Elysia’s face lit up with delight as she teased her. Then, as if anticipating Mei’s response, she added, “Just so you know, there’s only one way to activate it.”

Mei facepalmed.

“Can I just not activate it?”

“Of course. That’s Mei’s prerogative, but hehe…” Elysia smiled slyly. “The truth is right before your eyes. Are you really going to let it slip away?”

“…”

The silence continued, but in the end, curiosity triumphed over embarrassment.

Mei finally spoke.

“Darling… Darling…”

Her voice was barely above a whisper.

Elysia pretended not to hear.

“Huh? What did you say?”

Ignoring Elysia’s teasing, Mei continued speaking to the sleeping doll in an almost inaudible voice.

“Dear… Dear…”

Unfortunately, there was no response.

“Huh?!”

Feeling as though she had been toyed with, Mei looked at Elysia with a mixture of confusion and annoyance.

“Oh dear, what happened? I think… your voice was too soft. It probably couldn’t hear you, right? We’ll have to do it again.”

“…Huff…”

Mei closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Whether she was suppressing her anger or her embarrassment was difficult to tell.

Then, glaring at the doll, she gritted her teeth and declared, each word distinct:

“My—dear—Elysia—!”

“Oh dear, hehehe~”

Despite apparently having been yelled at by Mei, Elysia’s face was filled with delight.

Mei turned her head away, unwilling to look at her.

In fact, hearing the woman’s unrestrained laughter, a strange thought crossed her mind. She really wanted Lin Ling and Elysia to compete to see who could be more infuriating. Better yet, they could simply “destroy each other.”

“Program initiating… System calibration complete. Personality loading complete.”

Accompanied by a voice that sounded like Ellie’s but was clearly much more childish, the miniature Elysia doll slowly opened her eyes.

“Wow! It’s a human!”

The moment she saw Mei, her eyes immediately lit up.

“Hello, lovely human! I’m Ellie, a fairy from Elysium, and I’ve come here to meet you, the one who’s so important to me!”

“...”

Mei thought to herself with a complicated expression.

She must say, the prototype really is Elysia.

“Hello, Fairy Ellie. I’m Raiden Mei. You’re the administrator of this archive, right? So, do you know how to start this typewriter?”

“Oh dear, what an impatient human. You haven’t even finished greeting me properly, and you’re already making the poor little fairy work?” Fairy Ellie feigned sadness.

Mei looked her over skeptically.

“Work?”

“Hehehe~” Fairy Ellie laughed mischievously, just like Ellie. “Well, what can I do? I’m a gentle and kind fairy, aren’t I? Let me introduce you to this ‘Elysian Realm Information Database Data Acquisition Control Console, Interactive Output’... uh... magical typewriter!”

Whether she forgot her lines or simply became annoyed, Fairy Ellie paused briefly during the introduction before settling on the much simpler description.

However, the name was not important. The typewriter’s function was.

Ellie cleared her throat lightly and continued.

“This typewriter can access all the information stored within the Elysian Realm. If left unattended, it will automatically print out recent major events.”

Ellie gently touched the typewriter, which immediately activated and printed a new document.

Mei picked it up and read aloud.

“‘Elysium access is open’... I see. It really is an objective and impartial piece of technology. But what if I want to look up specific information?”

“That would be a little difficult. Hmm… it’s faster for you to try it yourself than for me to explain. Come on, type your question.”

Ellie gestured for Mei to use the typewriter.

Mei did not hesitate. She immediately typed a string of characters.

“Please tell me the truth about the Thirteenth Herrscher.”

Seeing Mei’s question, Elysia feigned surprise.

“Oh, Mei, that’s certainly straightforward.”

The typewriter immediately began working. It whirred for quite some time but produced only a single document.

Mei picked it up, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

The sheet in her hand was completely blank.

Fairy Ellie explained, “Because it’s impossible to summarize such a broad question by retrieving only one or a few files from the memory bank. To give you a precise answer, I’d probably have to let Elysia tell her entire life story! Even then, you wouldn’t be able to finish reading it, would you? This printer can only present specific ‘facts,’ so don’t forget that.”

“Then…” Mei thought for a moment. “Let’s start with Elysia’s ‘past.’”

“That’s simple.” Fairy Ellie looked at Elysia. “Just have her place her hand on the typewriter’s platen…”

“Like this?” Elysia did as instructed.

“That’s right. Just do that, and the typewriter will automatically retrieve a file related to her and print it out. It will also prioritize events that are most valuable to you! Hehe. Even she can’t control what gets printed, so it’s full of surprises… Ah, it’s finished!”

As Fairy Ellie explained, the typewriter’s rollers spun rapidly, and a document was quickly printed and ejected.

“Ah, it’s out!”

Fairy Ellie snatched it up and handed it to Mei.

“Let’s see what kind of memories these are!”

Meanwhile, Elysia, looking both expectant and slightly shy, spoke.

“Mei, you have to read it carefully. After all… it’s my story~”

Then Mei saw the story of Elysia’s first meeting with Dr. Mei and Kevin.

Dr. Mei was beautiful, and Elysia remembered her at first sight. Kevin, at that time, was still very young, cheerful, and even rather talkative…

…

Because of the sudden appearance of the long-dormant Elysium, the usually independent Flame-Chasers gathered together for the first time.

Yet amid the laughter and conversation, a solitary figure dressed in white stood apart.

Not only because of his striking white hair, but also because of his expression. It was difficult to tell whether it reflected silence, remembrance, or mourning.

“It’s rare to see you wearing that expression.”

Su, his eyes closed, approached.

“Su…”

Kevin simply gave a slight nod to his friend.

“‘Elysium’... the scenery here reminds me of the past. On the way here, I saw one of Eden’s posters. We went to one of her concerts together back then.”

“Yes,” Kevin replied. “That was a long time ago.”

“It really was.” Though his eyes remained closed, Su sensed his friend’s concerns. “What are you thinking about, Kevin? Or rather… what are you remembering?”

“Just some old memories.”

“Old memories of ‘her’?”

“Yes.”

“Not everyone’s world is this pure.”

“But hers always has been.”

“It’s rare for you to praise her so directly. You’ve always played the role of the ‘opponent’ whenever Elysia came up with one of her ‘brilliant ideas.’ So much so that she often came to me afterward, hoping I would reveal your true thoughts.”

“She probably just wanted an excuse to start a conversation, as always. I never intended to deny her ‘brilliant ideas.’ It’s just… time never gave us many opportunities to turn our dreams into reality.”

Su disagreed.

“But within this Elysian Realm, we are no longer bound by the countdown to the apocalypse. We even have the chance to fulfill the wishes we once left unfinished.”

“Perhaps,” Kevin replied noncommittally.

“Kevin, you’re still the same. Whenever something weighs on your mind, you wear that expression while staring into the distance. Back in school, it was on the rooftop. After joining Fire Moth… it was usually atop an abandoned building.”

“I can’t hide it from you.”

“As a psychic, using my abilities to know what others are thinking isn’t difficult for me most of the time. But I don’t want to do that. It goes against my principles. Whether to speak of your troubles or seek help is a personal choice. Especially for you, Kevin, I hope I can listen to your worries not as a doctor, nor as a warrior… but as a friend, someone who can help share your burdens.”

“Thank you, Su. I know you’re worried about me. You’re right. As memory entities, we may be able to accomplish what the real ‘us’ never could. I have some thoughts about that. Although I can’t reveal them yet… I promise I’ll tell you as soon as I can.”

“You don’t need to make promises to me. I only want you to remember that whenever you need it, someone will always be willing to lend you a hand.”

With that, Su bid Kevin farewell and walked away.

In the distance, everyone continued laughing and chatting, smiles still lingering on their faces.

Kevin lowered his head. A deep blue light emanated from his hand as he gazed at the crystal flower, whose color had never faded.

————————

Chapter 293: Ana's Counterattack\Sentience's Proposal\Target: Elysian Realm!

"It feels... warm in my heart, Ling. Is this love?"

The chestnut-haired girl gently pressed a hand to her chest, looking at the white-haired girl before her with deep emotion.

However, the white-haired girl shook her head and explained seriously, "No, it's just the heat generated when a healing ability makes a wound heal quickly."

During the test, Durandal had taught Lin Ling to use the power of creation, so she knew that wound healing would produce a faint warmth.

"Sigh~" Clearly, Lin Ling's unromantic words displeased the chestnut-haired, pink-eyed girl in her arms. She sighed softly. "What an idiot..."

"Hehehe..." The scolded Lin Ling scratched her head sheepishly, then tried to change the subject. "Um, although I don't know exactly what happened, Miss Ana, you're healed now, right? So, shall we... go back?"

"No!" Ana immediately refused. Of course, she didn't want to give up this rare opportunity to be alone.

"But..." She glanced at the hole she'd just torn in her chest and the still-wet blood splattered over them, then spoke somewhat shyly.

"Going back like this, covered in blood... will worry everyone."

The girl rested her chin on her hand and thought for a moment. "Indeed, going back covered in blood like this is really hard to explain. It's very troublesome..."

Seeing that the other seemed to be persuaded, Ana casually pointed to the lake beneath them.

"...How about we wash here? There's a lake of clean water here, and since this is an uninhabited area, it should never have been polluted."

"It's quite clean, crystal clear, but..."

Clang, clang!

Lin Ling tapped the solid ice beneath her, producing a sound like metal clashing.

"How are we going to wash here?"

"Don't you know how to use fire?" Ana countered.

"Fire? Oh! Right, I can play with fire." Reminded by Ana, Lin Ling remembered that she had just received a portion of the Herrscher of Flame's powers from Kiana yesterday.

However, Lin Ling was also curious. "Eh? Miss Ana, I remember you weren't there at the time. How did you know?"

"Ahem." Ana coughed lightly, then suddenly touched her clothes, which were clinging tightly to her skin because of the bloodstains. "Ugh, Ling~ quickly melt this ice away. I really want to wash myself. These bloodstains are so sticky and uncomfortable."

"OK!"

Since the beauty had asked, Lin Ling naturally wouldn't refuse and immediately put her earlier doubts aside.

"Miss Ana, please wait a moment~"

Lin Ling first carried Ana to the shore and put her down.

Then she found a more suitable spot for herself.

Then, the powers of the Herrscher of Flame were activated...

Boom!

As the flames grew stronger, waves of warmth dispelled the frost that had previously blanketed the lake and melted the ice...

...

"Ling~ Come join me."

A moment later, from within the misty steam of the hot spring in the icy pool, came the voice of a girl, sounding somewhat melancholic.

A girl on the shore, her hands constantly releasing flames as she acted as a human boiler, suddenly trembled. "Th-this isn't right, is it?"

"What's wrong with it? We're both girls. You have what I have, and I have what you have..."

"Emmmm..."

If it were the Lin Ling who had just arrived in reality, she might have thought that way and might have been persuaded by Ana. But now, after being attacked so many times, her brain had upgraded (not really). Sometimes, being a woman... might be more dangerous. (Watch out for Schicksal!)

"No need." Lin Ling politely declined. "I need to keep heating the water for you, otherwise you might catch a cold. I heard there's a pneumonia outbreak going on. It's very dangerous..."

"Ah!"

But suddenly! Just as Lin Ling frantically searched for any reason she could find, a girl's surprised—or rather, terrified—voice suddenly came from the indistinct mist.

"Miss Ana!"

Without saying a word, Lin Ling instantly jumped into the water.

"Hehe~"

Then she saw a perfectly unharmed girl smiling at her with big pink eyes.

"Hmm... Miss Ana, how could you joke like that..." Lin Ling's face showed a hint of anger as she turned to leave.

"No... Ling!" But just as Lin Ling turned away, Ana grabbed her hand in the water. "I'm sorry... Ling, I shouldn't have lied to you! You can punish me however you want. You can take revenge on me however you want!"

Hearing Ana's excited voice, Lin Ling sighed softly and stopped.

"...Since we're already here, and our clothes are all wet, why don't we wash together? Besides..." Ana gently embraced the girl from behind. "My body is so cold. Your body is so warm..."

"Sigh~" The girl sighed softly. "Since it's already like this, I can't do anything about you."

"So, Ling~ you... agree?" Ana asked expectantly.

However, even as she asked, she had already begun removing the blood-stained clothes from the girl before her...

Then, in the artificial hot spring within the icy pool, the two girls remained tightly embraced...

"Ah~," Ana sighed, looking up at the sky. "Ling, I finally have a chance to be alone with you again... If only time could stand still at this moment..."

"..." Lin Ling didn't reply.

"How does it feel? Washing off the blood I got on you and soaking in the hot spring is definitely more comfortable than before, right?"

"..." The white-haired girl still didn't answer.

Finally, the chestnut-haired girl noticed something was wrong and asked worriedly, "Ling... what's wrong?"

"No." Lin Ling, leaning against Ana, frowned and clutched her chest tightly. "I... I feel a little uncomfortable."

Hearing this answer, Ana immediately pouted in dissatisfaction. "Hmph, do you really dislike bathing with me? Or... do you hate being hugged by me?"

"Ah, no, Miss Ana. How could I hate you? I just feel... suddenly nauseous...?"

Ana tilted her head, utterly confused. "Really? Already? I haven't even started yet!"

"Um, no, it's not that... Anyway, it's a strange feeling. I feel my lower abdomen... getting so hot..."

Lin Ling's voice was broken and indistinct.

Ana stopped teasing her and became worried.

She grabbed the girl's shoulders, splashing water as she turned her to face her.

"Mmm!!"

This was, in fact, the first time Ana had ever been completely open with the person she loved most!

Instantly, scenes from the Coral Island waters flashed through her mind, and then the image froze on the moment the girl had used a special method to soothe her after she had become agitated and restless because of the Herrscher Core's corruption.

At the same time, the past Lin Ling and the present Lin Ling overlapped.

But the difference was that back then, Lin Ling was assertive, willful, and even a little rough, while Ana could only passively accept it.

Now, looking at the other's dreamy expression, her flawless, jade-like skin, her flushed face, her warm, cherry-red lips, and the seemingly expectant look in her eyes...

Ana knew that perhaps this time it was her turn to take the initiative!

She imitated Lin Ling's actions from the past, placing her hand on the back of the other's head, lightly brushing against her red lips, and then slowly leaning forward...

During this process, the girl seemed to offer no resistance whatsoever, simply letting herself be led.

"Hmm?"

But suddenly, something strange happened. Ana felt a chill emanating from the point where they touched...

Then Ana's eyes widened instantly! That familiar ability to control frost had returned!?

Fortunately, unlike before, this time the power of ice no longer amplified every desire in one's heart. Instead, it only provided a comforting, cool warmth.

"I understand."

Ana recalled Wendy mentioning that after a certain encounter with Lin Ling, her Herrscher Core had ceased being violent and terrifying, becoming gentle and docile. Although Wendy hadn't explicitly said it, Ana knew Ling must have saved her by replacing the dangerous Gem of Desire within her with her own core.

"This isn't a Herrscher Core belonging to Honkai, but a gift from this girl..."

So, it was the core formed within Lin Ling using the system's power that resonated—or rather, clashed—with the true Herrscher of Ice Core?

After all, under the rules of Honkai, theoretically, only one core of the same type could exist in an era.

Although Lin Ling had used a special power to break this rule, two similar cores in the same body could still inevitably lead to a situation where two tigers could not share one mountain.

Especially because Lin Ling's own core was incomplete and slightly weaker, coupled with the genuine Herrscher of Ice Core's subtle urge to return to its original owner.

So, by sheer coincidence, Lin Ling unintentionally transferred the harmless ice core to the person she trusted most—the one who could perfectly bear the power of the Herrscher of Ice—the true Herrscher of Ice, Ana Schariac.

...

Pop~

After an unknown amount of time, when the hot spring Lin Ling had heated cooled down again, the two girls finally finished their intimacy.

"Huff, huff!" The white-haired girl gasped for breath. Even she felt slightly short of breath...

"Ling." Ana, on the other hand, looked unsatisfied as she gazed into Lin Ling's eyes, which dared not meet her own. "Thank you. I received your gift."

"Hmm..." Lin Ling was somewhat confused. She only knew that she had been taken advantage again.

But more than the fact itself, what angered—or surprised—her was that she couldn't feel anger.

She had only just met this Miss Ana...

"Alright, alright, my Ling, don't be angry." Ana nestled against Lin Ling's shoulder, whispering in her ear.

"Let's go home. Tonight, will you come to my room, or should I go to yours?"

"I... I want to be alone..."

...

"Yo! Ling, are you really leaving? Aren't you really taking me with you? I'm the Herrscher of Sentience. I control consciousness."

In Mobius's secret laboratory, a girl who looked exactly like Fu Hua, but seemed to have a better figure, asked again in dissatisfaction.

Originally, because this was an extremely secret operation, Mobius and the others hadn't notified anyone to avoid causing any unnecessary trouble. But even if they could evade everyone else, they couldn't escape the Herrscher who manipulated consciousness.

"No. Even though you're the Herrscher of Sentience, your abilities can't directly affect machines." Mobius decisively rejected Sentience's proposal. "At most, you can only influence those memories after entering the Elysian Realm, and even then, you might not be able to defeat them. Besides, we're on a secret mission, so the fewer people, the better. Having me who knows the Elysian Realm inside and out to lead the way is enough. You just stay home."

Actually, these reasons weren't the most important.

The Herrscher of Sentience's personality was the real problem.

Given her past—daring to challenge Kevin, the strongest person below Finality, and her impulsive attempt to destroy half of Schicksal—taking her to the Elysian Realm would only cause a huge uproar and make the mission common knowledge.

If this attracted the attention of World Serpent and they learned of her plan to utilize their greatest secret—the Elysian Realm—and even bring the Herrscher of Corruption from the Previous Era back through it, they would definitely try to stop her.

After all, nothing made of data can withstand the power of the Herrscher of Corruption. And the most troublesome and dangerous person is Kevin, the man who immediately aimed his sword at Kiana's heart to kill her the moment he saw her. He would stop at nothing to eliminate Honkai. Even Mobius wouldn't want to confront him directly unless absolutely necessary.

"Yeah, Senti, we're not going out to play. Don't come along."

Although Lin Ling had lost her memory, she could still tell that Sentience was as mischievous as a child, so she also tried to persuade her.

"Wait until I get back. I'll cook you something delicious and take you somewhere fun."

"Hmph, fine. I don't want to be around that snake anyway. Seeing her gives me goosebumps!" Finally, after everyone's repeated persuasion, the Herrscher of Sentience seemed to have completely given up.

Then, like a good brother, she patted Lin Ling on the shoulder and spoke to her.

"Ling, when you come back, marry me, okay? Of course, I'll be your husband."

...

Afterward, with everything prepared, Lin Ling, under Mobius's guidance, opened a small spatial portal...

——————————————————

Chapter 294: A Long-Awaited Reunion—Have You Really Become This Perverted After All?!

"But I'm blushing so much that Mei saw such innocent memories."

In the archives, after Mei viewed her past memories, Elysia shyly covered her face. Although, from the side, her face wasn't blushing at all, and her tone showed no real embarrassment.

"Is that so?"

Seeing through everything, Mei remained as aloof as ever. She crossed her arms and ruthlessly exposed Elysia's embarrassment.

"I think you're enjoying it."

"Oh, that's quite a bold statement. But it would be a lie to say I'm unhappy. After all, Mei said she wants to know everything about me and wants to take our relationship to the next level, so of course I welcome that..."

Mei frowned slightly. "I don't think I said anything like that, did I?"

"Oh dear, Mei is such a perfect girl, but this is the only thing she's not perfect about. If she were as frank as me, she'd definitely be even more popular."

Mei: "..."

"Alright, let's get back to 'Elysia'..."

As a seasoned pro at dealing with all sorts of cute girls, Elysia naturally understood the importance of knowing when to stop and steered the conversation back to the main topic.

"After learning about my past, what's the next thing Mei wants to know? Hmm, let me think... I have a few suitable topics... Huh... why isn't it printing out?"

However, after Elysia typed in a question that interested her, the typewriter only made strange noises and didn't spit out any new paper.

"Listen, it sounds like it's clicking... Is it stuck inside?" Mei began to suspect something was wrong with the typewriter.

Seeing this, the fairy Ellie immediately leaned over.

"Uh? Wait, let me take a look. Strange, could it have broken from being unused for too long? Let me check the repair manual... It says to do this... and this... um... never mind! Watch me, hey!"

After some inspection, the manager, being a professional, decided to use the most professional repair method.

*Bang!!!*

The tiny fairy Ellie raised her "fairy wand," about as tall as herself, and slammed it down hard on the jammed typewriter.

Then nothing happened.

No, there was a slight reaction: the typewriter completely stopped working.

"Hmm... strange... why isn't it fixed yet?"

"..." Mei looked speechlessly at the little fairy Ellie, who was tilting her head in confusion.

"You just hit it hard with your staff. That hardly qualifies as a repair."

The fairy Ellie turned to Mei, scratching her head in even greater bewilderment.

"But based on past experience, that's the most efficient way to repair it, isn't it?"

"I'm skeptical about the source of your experience... never mind, it's not important." Since she'd already smashed it anyway, Mei stopped dwelling on it and suggested, "Let's see what to do with this typewriter you've broken."

"I didn't break it!" the fairy Ellie stubbornly insisted.

"It's... it's... that's right! There must be no paper! No paper! How can you print files without paper? Right?"

Mei continued mercilessly, pointing out another flaw.

"But isn't this a memory space? Doesn't it not need real paper? And when it was functioning normally just now, it didn't seem like any paper was being fed in, did it?"

"I... I'm the administrator of this file! This human, as lovely as I am, has to listen to the fairy administrator."

Having run out of words, Fairy Ellie simply emphasized her status, insisting that her explanation was correct.

Mei thought for a moment.

"Oh right, we just printed out a blank sheet of paper."

The fairy Ellie replied, "Then... that counts as used! We can't use it again!"

"Okay, I understand. You mean as long as I find you unused paper, that's fine, right?"

"That's right! I'll fix it in the meantime—I mean, once you find real blank paper, this typewriter will work properly!"

Mei thought for a moment.

It seemed she had no other choice but to go along with her.

Afterward, Mei and Elysia temporarily left the archives to search for the so-called "unused blank paper."

"Hmm~"

The two still found nothing. Elysia tilted her head and pressed her hand against her cheek.

"Blank paper, blank paper~ Where can we find it?"

Unfortunately, after searching for a while...

The diligent Raiden Mei was somewhat puzzled.

"Do we really need to search this diligently?"

Although Elysium was formed from Elysia's memories, it was also filled with various enemies that would actively seek them out, which was slowly making Mei feel a little annoyed.

Elysia, however, remained as composed and elegant as ever.

"You should take every little thing in life seriously, Mei. But... oh dear... Mei, I feel like this is a bit inefficient. How about we split up and search? I'll take care of this side, and you take care of that side, okay? We can switch over later, okay?"

Mei had no reason to refuse and nodded.

"Okay."

However, Elysia, who always seemed to cling to her, had surprisingly suggested splitting up. This made Mei realize something.

Watching Elysia's disappearing figure, she thought to herself:

'Judging from the direction Elysia went, she's probably going back to help repair the typewriter. It seems that typewriter really does have some serious problems. Oh well, what's done is done. I'll give them some more time. I'll go check on Pardofelis's situation.'

With that thought, Mei began searching the maze for Pardofelis and the person who seemed to have ulterior motives toward her.

...

However, the elusive cat seemed even harder to find than the "unused blank paper" the fairy Ellie had mentioned earlier. Mei had no idea where she had gone, and despite searching everywhere, she couldn't find her.

The person who had planned to ambush her with the cat had vanished without a trace.

Hmm... it seems Pardofelis hasn't found them yet either. Otherwise, she would have secretly informed me... But speaking of which, what exactly is that person planning? This is a memory space. Physical items can't be brought here. I don't think I have anything on me they would care about, right? What are they trying to do? And lately, I've felt like they're acting... no, very strangely. Not just them, but even I...

Mei rubbed her temples, a deep sense of confusion and worry in her eyes.

'I feel... I seem to have forgotten something, like a very important promise that requires a special trigger...'

"Hi, wife~"

Just as Mei was feeling confused by her memories, she suddenly heard a strange yet calmly spoken and very childish greeting.

"That's... Griseo's voice? What did she say? Who did she call... wife? Could it be that she influenced her? Honestly, it seems that, whether for my own sake or to protect others, I should probably keep that person in check, hmm... hmm!?"

Just as Mei was slightly surprised by Griseo's words, another familiar voice instantly made her raise an eyebrow.

"Ah...? Cute sister, what did you call me?"

Griseo replied, "Wife? Sister Lin Ling, isn't that what you wanted everyone to call you?"

The familiar voice hurriedly explained, "No, no, no! How could I be that kind of fickle, scumbag woman? Making everyone call me 'wife'... And! I would never lay a hand on a girl as young as you, right? I'm not that kind of pervert!... Speaking of which... sister, isn't this our first meeting? You... have you mistaken me for someone else?"

"First time? But Sister Lin Ling... have you forgotten? You were clearly begging Griseo before..."

"This person!!!"

Mei grew angrier and angrier until she could no longer bear it. She drew her sword from her waist.

Accompanied by a flash of intense lightning, she transformed into her complete Herrscher of Thunder form with demon horns and instantly appeared before the white-haired girl.

"You! Have you finally become so twisted that you don't even spare children?!"

The white-haired girl was startled by the sudden appearance of the horned, lightning-wreathed, furious girl.

"Ah...? What!? No! This... this lady with... what look like... um... bull horns? You... what are you going to do? Calm down!"

"Huh?!"

Mei's expression changed drastically. She took a half-step back, stunned.

"W-What did you call me?!"

...

*Time rewinds to a short while ago~*

"Oh, so this is the so-called Elysian Realm? It does seem quite strange, but..."

Whether she had been soundly asleep or had just awakened from a dream, after a series of bizarre and dazzling changes, the girl found herself lying in a sea of pink and purple flowers.

She carefully reached out and gently touched the unfamiliar yet beautiful blossoms around her. They were cool and soft, and she inhaled their rich fragrance, filling her nostrils.

Not long ago, she had returned to reality from a hazy, imaginary space. Everything had felt new and wonderful.

And now, she felt that same sensation again. After all, this place was even more dreamlike than reality.

Lin Ling looked around curiously.

"Is this really a virtual space? It feels almost identical to reality, except..."

Except for its breathtaking beauty, it somehow felt unreal.

But more than the beautiful surroundings, what truly captivated the girl's attention were the faint, playful voices of girls nearby.

"The magician's voice is telling me! This must be the best stage! A magnificent trapeze magic trick! It will unfold here!..."

"Vil-V, trapeze magic isn't difficult for us MANTISes, is it?"

"Hmm~ You're right... So, Sakura! Use the sword at your waist to help me perform 'The Great Disappearance'! You slash down, you cut the person in two, and then I'll perfectly restore them! What an amazing magic trick!"

"Please excuse my refusal, but this sword is meant to slay Honkai. It was never meant to be drawn lightly, nor can it be used for magic. Besides... Vil-V, do you really have a way to restore what I've severed?"

"Hmm? Need I say more? I'm the greatest magician! Oh, right, Eden! Use your gun to perform the bullet-catching trick with your mouth! You just need to blindfold yourself and shoot... um... who should you shoot? And the target of your magic trick um"

"Don't bother me..."

"No interest..."

"Um, excuse me, I have something to do. You all chat. I'll be going now..."

...

"Hiss~ Why is there both slashing and shooting? How terrifying..."

Hearing the conversation around her, Lin Ling's previous lazy demeanor vanished. She immediately sat up and became increasingly frightened as she listened.

She then nervously turned behind her and asked,

"Dr. Mobius, are all the people here this scary? And where should we go next? Should we hide from them?... Hmm? Doctor? Doctor?"

Suddenly, Lin Ling realized something—the doctor who had been with her was gone.

They had agreed to go to this so-called Elysian Realm together, hadn't they?

"Did we get separated after arriving here? Hmm, that's possible. After all, there's no common gate from the real world to here. We might have taken different routes... Right, what about Higyokumaru? She was with me. Higyokumaru?! The little fox?"

Thinking this, Lin Ling hurriedly called out to Higyokumaru, who should have been possessing her body. Unfortunately, there was still no response.

So she had arrived all alone.

"Hmm... maybe I should go ask them if they've seen Mobius and Higyokumaru..."

Just as Lin Ling was considering asking the "locals," the girl who seemed the most excited and called herself a magician spoke up again.

"Oh dear, why is no one willing? Doesn't anyone want to cooperate with me in performing a magic trick? Fine, I'll go find someone else. Hmm... if there were other outsiders here, that would be great~ Then I could just forcibly bring them over..."

"Hiss~"

Lin Ling instantly stiffened. She withdrew the half-step she had taken, turned 180 degrees, and walked in the opposite direction from the group of girls.

...

"Hmm~ Strange patterns..."

"Griseo... are you copying them?"

"Ah... Mama Aponia, I'm feeling them, feeling their stories."

"Oh, it's that mural... Griseo, what do you see?"

"I haven't seen it yet, Mama Aponia, so I have to feel it through the strokes, through the paint. That painting is strange, full of joy, full of white, full of black..."

Soon afterward, the bewildered girl, having gained nothing, heard people talking again. The mature voice belonged to an incredibly gentle older sister, full of maternal warmth.

Then came the voice of a girl, revealing the purest innocence and curiosity.

"It seems like a gentle older sister and a cute girl are talking about drawing. They sound much more normal. Hmm, maybe I should go ask them..."

——————————————

Chapter 295: Beware of Elysian Realm, Aponia's Forced Marriage Ling\Aura of Corruption

"Hello, big sister and cute sister," Lin Ling emerged from around the corner, smiling as she greeted the two unusually normal people.

"I'm just an ordinary person passing by. And... um, excuse my intrusion, but may I ask...?"

Because she was slightly shy, Lin Ling's words were overly polite, bordering on hesitant.

Therefore, just as Lin Ling finished saying "may I ask," before she could even finish her question, the other party seemed to have had a premonition and began to answer.

The first to respond to Lin Ling was the devout, gentle nun.

"Miss Lin Ling, you've arrived. Perfect timing! I think it's time to give you a concrete answer."

"Oh?" Lin Ling's eyes lit up immediately. Did they already know what I was going to ask before I even finished speaking? Had Dr. Mobius already contacted them before me?

But what happened next was not merely a deviation from Lin Ling's expectations—it was completely unrelated.

The nun clasped her hands together in front of her chest, as if praying to God or perhaps pleading for forgiveness.

"I have always known the enormity of my sins. And even as a sinner like me, you show no disgust, no fear, and no desire to avoid me. Instead, you have repeatedly expressed your love for me… For this, I am deeply grateful, even moved. But… please forgive me, Miss Lin Ling. I can never forgive myself for the sins I have committed. A sinner like me does not deserve such happiness. I am unworthy of your kindness…"

"Huh?" Lin Ling was stunned, her head filled with question marks.

Why does it sound like I confessed my feelings to her—even proposed? And repeatedly? This is too persistent and shameless! What's going on?

Lin Ling quickly touched her face, head, back, tailbone, and other areas, wondering if she had unconsciously transformed again and been mistaken for someone else.

Just as Lin Ling was patting herself down, the strange nun suddenly changed the subject.

"But now, I think perhaps I've made another mistake—a sin that's festering, perhaps one we must share."

"Ah... ah? How is it a sin?" Lin Ling was completely stunned.

While she was still reeling, Aponia stepped forward and stood in front of Lin Ling.

"Come. 'Please,' extend your hand."

Then, something miraculous happened. Before Lin Ling realized it, she found that her hand had unconsciously risen.

"W-what is this?" More than her own hand reaching out unintentionally, Lin Ling was curious and surprised by the unfamiliar older sister's actions.

The nun produced a ring from somewhere.

"It's a symbol," the nun explained. "When I first acquired 'Discipline,' I would give the recipient one of these rings every time I used this ability. The corresponding Discipline would also be engraved on it."

Lin Ling tilted her head.

"Wasabi Green?"

The sudden turn of events was too much for the girl's brain to process. What was Wasabi Green? Green mustard?

At this moment, Aponia gently shook her head.

"But now, the ring I'm giving you has a new meaning. Not long ago, I learned from Raiden Mei that modern humans have given this ritual a new symbolism. So, Miss Lin Ling."

As Aponia spoke, the cool touch of the ring slowly settled onto Lin Ling's right ring finger.

"!? This... this is...?"

Although she had lost most of her memories, after cramming these past few days, Lin Ling had learned quite a bit of common sense.

This action, this gesture—wasn't it...?!

"I accept your proposal. We are bound by a sacred marriage contract until death do us part."

Aponia's words finally confirmed Lin Ling's guess.

"Therefore, from now on, 'please' can only love Aponia alone. Do not continue to express your love to any other Flame-Chaser. Otherwise, it will cause trouble for everyone and eventually escalate into endless disasters..."

"Huh?!" Although Lin Ling's brain was almost completely blank, she could still understand the word "proposal."

"No, no, no, no! Here, take it back!"

She immediately tried to remove the ring.

"The ceremony is complete. Please don't reject my love..."

"Damn it!? That feeling is back!"

Lin Ling instantly stopped trying to pull off the ring.

At first, Lin Ling thought her previous inexplicable raising of her hand had simply been an unconscious act because her mind was elsewhere. But this time, she was certain that this seemingly virtuous and gentle nun possessed some kind of strange and terrifying "witchcraft"! She could manipulate and control her body with words!

And then, using this despicable power, she forced herself on her!

"No! Damn it! No wonder you're wearing such a high-slit nun's habit! You're definitely not a proper nun! You're some kind of succubus in disguise!"

"Perhaps I am indeed a demon. After all, my sins are so grave."

To the girl's surprise, the nun admitted it without any attempt at concealment.

"But if I can bring a succubus and a vixen together, they can no longer harm others, offsetting each other's sins..."

"Huh? Who's the vixen!? You're the vixen! Let me go! I'm a gentlewoman! Hmm... maybe... right."

The girl struggled incessantly, trying to break free from the mental restraints.

Finally, the ring on her finger began to slowly slip off under her immense strength.

Perhaps sensing the overwhelming strength of her opponent and the possibility that her "Discipline" might be broken, Aponia slowly opened her half-closed eyes, her expression turning serious for the first time.

"It seems... you can't relinquish your greed, can you? Perhaps I've pushed you too hard. In that case, I'll slightly loosen some of the restrictions I once placed on you. 'Please,' it can be risqué, but only with me."

"Huh???"

Instantly, the girl's hand, which had been pulling at the ring, stopped completely.

Because her brain had finally shut down completely...

...

"Hi, wife~"

It was only a childish voice that brought the girl back to her senses.

After concentrating on finishing her drawing, Griseo shifted her attention to the surrounding illusion and greeted Lin Ling.

This startled the white-haired girl. The frivolous nun was one thing, but what was with this girl? It was too much!

She quickly leaned back.

"Ah...? Sister, what did you call me?"

Griseo tilted her head.

"Wife? Sister Lin Ling, isn't that what you want everyone to call you?"

Lin Ling immediately stopped caring about Aponia. She didn't want to be seen as a pervert, so she quickly explained,

"No, no, no! How could I be that kind of fickle woman? Making everyone call me wife... and! I would never lay a hand on a young girl as young as you, right? I'm not that kind of pervert!..."

"Hmm~"

Seeing Lin Ling seem like a completely different person in an instant, Aponia was immediately relieved, thinking to herself,

Has Miss Lin Ling finally decided to repent and turn over a new leaf?

From now on, this Elysian Realm will return to its former peace and tranquility. Indeed, all the sins should be borne by me alone...

"You! Have you finally become so perverted that you don't even spare her?!"

But just at this moment of "happily ever after," suddenly—

A bolt of lightning struck beside Lin Ling!

Then she was startled by the sudden appearance of a horned, electrified, and furious girl.

"Ah...? What!? No! This... this lady with... what looks like... um... bull horns? You... what are you going to do? Calm down!"

"Huh?!" Mei's expression changed drastically. She took a half-step back, stunned.

"W-what did you call me!?"

Then Mei, already furious, held a knife to Lin Ling's neck.

"Say that again?!"

...

A mad magician who casually ordered people to be torn to pieces.

A nun who forced herself into marriage without a word.

A seemingly innocent little girl who was actually quite cunning.

And now there was a horned girl who looked like she was about to cut her down!

Lin Ling was now on the verge of tears.

Why am I so unlucky! Is there really no normal person left in this Elysian Realm?

Did I really do something heinous in the past?! Is this why I'm suffering this retribution?...

"Don't worry, Miss Mei."

Fortunately, Aponia came to Lin Ling's rescue in time. "Please, put away your weapon."

Upon hearing this, a magical power, like a "word of magic," activated again, and the angry horned girl finally sheathed her sword.

But—

Aponia's next words actually made Mei break free from the control of "Discipline"!

"Miss Lin Ling is now 'married' to me. From now on, I will be the only one faithful to her, so everyone no longer needs to worry about being harassed by her."

"What!!!"

Mei's body suddenly erupted with immense power. Red lightning flashed around her, mixed with overwhelming rage, forming what appeared to be the phantom of a demon behind her.

Under this powerful pressure, Lin Ling felt her hair stand on end, but she assumed it was because of her earlier remark.

"Miss... why are you so angry? Did I... did I say something wrong? You're... you're not actually a bull human?"

"Hmph? A bull? I'll show you what a bull is!?"

Seeing this person still pretending to be clueless, Mei almost laughed from anger.

Then, although Mei certainly didn't want to actually strike with her sword, it was necessary to inflict some punishment on this increasingly outrageous person. Through the metal blade in her hand, she released a current of electricity toward the girl before her—not enough to kill, but enough to cause excruciating pain.

"Ouch!!! What are you doing!"

A painful groan from the girl echoed throughout the entire Elysium.

"Oh, what are they playing over there? It looks interesting. Shall we go check it out?"

"But that sound? Is there danger over there? I'll go too."

"Since everyone's gone, then I'll..."

...

"Hmm? That voice is... Ling? Haha, looks like that girl has finally been punished."

Of course, Elysia in the archives didn't miss it either.

Even more excited than her was the miniature version of herself.

Hearing a new name again, Ellie, a fairy who hadn't seen a new person in 50,000 years, happily flew up and asked curiously,

"Ling? I've never heard that name before! Is she new here too?!"

Elysia nodded.

"Yes, she's a very, very cute girl, so let's hurry up and fix the typewriter so we can go see her. Oh, and let's print out her memories too. Maybe we'll find something interesting."

"Oh, oh!"

...

At this moment, only the cat, hidden away in a secluded spot in the Elysian Realm after leaving Elysium, remained completely unaware of all this.

"Seriously, Sister Lin Ling, Boss Lin? Where are they? We agreed to meet here yesterday and then attack Sister Mei together. Why aren't they here yet? Is she just playing with me? Honestly, I only steal... oh, not a little money... but you want to steal and even toy with a girl's heart. You're even worse than me, meow!"

...

"Damn it, damn it!!!! Why, why haven't I succeeded despite my persistent efforts to win her over!? The moment you arrive, someone throws themselves at you!!? This isn't fair! Am I really not as good as you? Damn it! I refuse to accept this!..."

Meanwhile, in a secret exchange within the Elysian Realm, a frustrated fluctuation of consciousness suddenly came through.

"Although I don't know what happened," followed a somewhat childish voice, "her mind suddenly experienced a violent fluctuation. Now is the last chance! Go in quickly! Little Fox!"

"Then what about you, Sister Mobius?!" the voice called Little Fox asked anxiously.

"Don't worry about me. Have you forgotten? I'm immortal! Even Finality might not be able to kill me. Guinea Pig needs your power more. Go quickly!"

"Um... Sister Mobius, take care! I'll come with Sister Lin Ling to rescue you!"

Then Little Fox's voice disappeared.

"Damn it! Don't even think about coming in and ruining my plans!"

————————————

EX Chapter: Aponia

Aponia: The third of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers, bearing the Signet of "Discipline." She was the strongest psychic MANTIS of the Previous Era, 50,000 years ago, and the only prophet capable of seeing through fate.

She is a devout listener to the gods in the darkness, half in shadow and half in light. Confined to the sinful realm of "Twilight," she struggles to protect the weak within it, like a glimmer of light in a gray world. Yet, her earnest protection becomes a prison, and her tender care becomes a poison.

Everything she protected ultimately burned in her hands, becoming a black cage that imprisoned her.

Even in the unfamiliar darkness, she still clings to her former convictions, offering herself as a candle in the hope of bringing a ray of light…

…

Aponia was born and raised in the fertile Sundown Alley, never leaving its grounds.

From a young age, she discovered that she possessed a peculiar, seemingly innate ability: she could easily persuade others.

Later, after the Honkai outbreak, a disease with a 100% mortality rate known as Honkai Disease appeared worldwide. Aponia took in some of the infected individuals and protected them at the sanatorium where she worked.

Kalpas, who had suffered severe frostbite in the battle against the Fifth Herrscher, eventually arrived at the sanatorium. Aponia took him in and made him a porter.

A period of relative peace followed until a Honkai outbreak occurred in Sundown Alley. The Fire Moth leadership sent Sakura to investigate. To be on the safe side, Sakura killed all of the Honkai-infected children at the sanatorium and fought Kalpas to a draw. She then brought Kalpas and Aponia back to Fire Moth.

Fire Moth suspected that Aponia, who had contained the source of the Honkai Disease, knew secrets about the organization's foundation. Therefore, they interrogated her extensively under various pretexts, accusing her of being the "mastermind behind the Honkai incident." Aponia appeared genuinely ignorant, so Fire Moth placed her on a MANTIS operating table. If she died, those who knew the truth could be eliminated. If she survived, her power could be used by Fire Moth.

Whether fortunate or unfortunate, the surgery was a complete success. Aponia successfully fused with the genes of the Honkai Beast "Midoro," gaining the ability to influence the behavior of others and predict the future.

From that moment onward, Fire Moth no longer possessed the means to imprison Aponia.

However, after becoming the strongest psycho-sensory MANTIS and gaining the extraordinary ability to see through fate, Aponia's tragic destiny had only just begun…

Again and again, with the most benevolent intentions, she tried to use her abilities to erase regrets and reverse the destined tragedies of the unfortunate children she encountered.

Yet fate always played a cruel joke on her.

No matter how hard she tried or how much she sacrificed, she could never prevent the final tragedy. In fact, her actions often led to even greater disasters—

She once attempted to erase the memories of everyone who knew about Fire Moth, believing they possessed knowledge that should never have been discovered, only to find herself unable to fill the void left behind in their minds.

She once, at a woman's request, completely reconstructed her mind into "another Elysia" to inspire greater hope.

She once stored the minds of six hundred dying members simultaneously within a single body to keep them alive, resulting in nearly forty horrific incidents.

She also once, in a moment of despair, copied the personality of the Eighth Herrscher.

Aponia was responsible for 410 similar incidents…

The most serious of these occurred during the Twelfth Herrscher incident. Aponia imposed " Discipline" upon everyone in the base: "Never give up hope of fighting the Honkai."

This ignited overwhelming hatred toward the Honkai, ultimately leading to Rin's death, the awakening of the Twelfth Herrscher, Sakura's sacrifice, and the destruction of humanity's last city.

An enraged Kalpas killed everyone involved and forced Aponia to impose the Discipline of "not harming innocents" upon him. He then challenged her, intending to see whether she would ultimately be killed by him.

Afterward, Aponia spoke with Elysia. She told Elysia that she had foreseen the collapse of Fire Moth, and Elysia responded with her own "prophecy." Ten days later, Elysia died as a Herrscher, and from that moment on, Aponia could no longer perceive fate.

After Elysia's death, Aponia asked Vil-V for help merging herself with the Elysian Realm.

For a long time afterward, Aponia locked herself within "The Deep," taking responsibility for "holding the hands of the weak," including those who had become "monsters" or "former heroes" standing against humanity. She also bore the burden of the evil thoughts of the true "sinners."

...

Other settings and anecdotes about Aponia~

"Midoro" is the name of a deity in Brahmanism and Hinduism. He is the god of the day in the Vedas, possessing power and wisdom comparable to Vairocana, and is often paired with that deity as a divine counterpart, known as Midoro-Vairocana. Midoro rules the day, while Varuna rules the night. Together, they govern heaven and earth, protect the world, and punish evil, earning the titles "King of the Universe" and "Lord of Truth."

After fusing with the genes of the Honkai Beast "Midoro," Aponia's innate talent was greatly enhanced. Although Mei did not agree with the interpretation of Aponia's abilities, Midoro itself had never displayed similar characteristics. This ability, known as "Discipline," allowed Aponia not only to restrict a person's actions at will but also to influence bodily functions, pushing someone to the very limits of human potential according to her intentions. Fire Moth recognized the value of this power and developed a weakened version of Discipline known as "SWARA." Hua was one of the few who successfully mastered it, but SWARA's side effects eventually caused her personality to become extreme and obsessive 50,000 years later.

Gaining the ability to foresee the future deeply troubled Aponia. "I always wanted to explore their lives, but I ended up having to confront their deaths first." Aponia was, in fact, enlightened. She repeatedly tried to change the fates of others by altering causes to influence outcomes, using Discipline to change humanity and thereby alter their destinies, and even isolating people to prevent them from influencing one another. Every attempt failed.

In the end, Aponia chose to become the world itself—to become "fate" itself—by merging with the Elysian Realm.

Aponia believed that even if humans possessed only the smallest measure of freedom, they would still use it to commit evil. "As long as humans act, they will make mistakes."

Yet she also believed that, in the course of doing evil, freedom would eventually incline toward good.

Therefore, Aponia used Discipline to regulate people's morality, restricting their freedom to make them safer.

However, the boundaries of morality are constantly changing, and a perfect standard simply does not exist. Only after causing tragedy did Aponia realize that human nature cannot be changed. No matter how tightly it is restrained, it only becomes more eager to break free.

Aponia gave away many Books of Destiny, each unique to its recipient. However, aside from a very small number of people who regarded them as precious gifts, most considered them nothing but torment.

Before Fenghuang Down was fully completed, Aponia "instructed" it, awakening a power that Vill-V had never originally envisioned—the most authentic power of a Herrscher, the "1st Power." She also showed Hua the price of wielding this power. She hoped Hua could change her fate, saying that although this was their first conversation of this kind, she had foreseen this meeting and had long been looking forward to it.

During her first meeting with Kalpas, he asked Aponia what someone should say when they wanted a person they disliked to leave.

After answering, "Please leave," Kalpas found the phrase too long to remember, so Aponia taught him to say, "Get out of here." Hearing the expression for the first time, Kalpas found it novel and was quite proud of himself.

The very next moment, he told Aponia to get out of here. Then, "the woman laughed—a very gentle laugh, without a trace of malice."

Aponia helped Mobius use Discipline on Kosma to restore him from his "Active Honkai Reaction Form" back to human form.

After Griseo joined The Deep, she often took care of Aponia, which brought them very close together. Griseo even called her "Mom."

To assess whether Aponia was suitable for active combat, Fire Moth deployed three MANTIS—Aponia, Eden, and Su—on a routine mission that was not particularly difficult.

Aponia was dissatisfied that heroes, as noble beings, were forced to sacrifice their lives for the survival of the wicked.

In the minds of many people, Aponia was someone who lurked in the shadows, manipulating countless conspiracies.

Yet Aponia also became bored from time to time, so she quietly learned several crafts. Eventually, every Flame-Chaser wore accessories that she had personally made.

Some believed Aponia could manipulate minds at will, yet she would still patiently stand in line when shopping for discounted items.

---

Chapter 296: Did I Arrive at the Wrong Time?

"Mei, Mei! The typewriter's fixed! I had a feeling something interesting was happening here, so I brought it over—"

Suddenly, Elysia appeared behind Mei and Lin Ling, carrying a typewriter.

Then she saw Mei using an electric current to manipulate a girl who was making strange moaning sounds.

"Ah!" Elysia gasped, covering her mouth in surprise. "Oh! Did I arrive at the wrong time?"

Before Mei could answer, Fairy Ellie beside Elysia crossed her arms and confidently declared.

"What are you talking about? We radiant, beloved fairies are always 'perfectly timed'!"

Ellie then shrugged helplessly. "Hmm... maybe?"

"Hmph, I'll let you off the hook for now."

However, their arrival reminded Mei of what she was supposed to be doing.

She withdrew her lightning powers, temporarily sparing the fickle, unkempt girl whose clothes were slightly charred, whose hair was a little frizzy, and who even carried a faint smell of barbecue.

Hmm~ You came just in time!

Freed from the electrotherapy, Lin Ling gave the newly arrived pink-haired girl a grateful look. Then her legs gave out, and she collapsed into... Aponia's arms.

Aponia gently sat down, lifted the limp Lin Ling into her embrace, and rested the girl's small head upon her long, slender, softly rounded thighs.

Then she gently stroked the girl's head.

"Ling, this is your punishment for your past willful actions. The sea of suffering is boundless, so before your sins become irredeemable, please stop now..."

"Waaah..."

The girl was on the verge of tears. She hadn't even done anything wrong... or, even if she had, couldn't someone at least tell her what she had done wrong?

However, a wise person does not fight a losing battle. Gathering the last of her strength, she sincerely apologized to the horned girl surrounded by electricity.

"I was wrong, Mei. I'm sorry! I'm truly sorry..."

"Hmph!" Mei snorted. "I thought you were going to pretend you didn't know me."

"I know, I know..." Lin Ling nodded repeatedly.

In truth, Lin Ling really didn't know her—or rather, she couldn't remember this tall girl who was angry with her.

However, from the very unconventional nun and the cute pink-haired girl who had just arrived, she had easily deduced the girl's name.

Moreover, judging from how angry the other person was, based on her past experience, it seemed most likely that she was also...

"Wife! I was wrong! Please forgive me~"

Lin Ling sincerely apologized to Mei once again.

Being called "wife" in front of so many people made Mei blush slightly, though it also stirred a faint sense of satisfaction within her. She then turned around and noticed Elysia watching the interaction between her and Lin Ling with a strange, maternal smile.

"Ahem!"

She coughed lightly and glared at Lin Ling somewhat fiercely.

"Don't call me that in public!"

She quickly composed herself, regaining her usual aloof demeanor, then turned to Elysia.

"Is the typewriter finally fixed? Let's continue..."

"Elysia. Seeing your ever-energetic smile... it's so reassuring."

Aponia greeted Elysia with a gentle smile.

Elysia responded enthusiastically.

"Me too, Aponia! I'm always so happy to see you!"

...

"Sister Lin Ling... where are you?..."

Meanwhile, thanks to the Herrscher of Corruption's sudden lapse and Mobius's selfless help, Higyokumaru finally succeeded in entering the memory space known as the Elysian Realm.

However, being unfamiliar with the area—and because it was a memory space formed from the combined memories of thirteen people, not only vast in scale but also layered like an onion, making it far more complex than the real world—she struggled to find Lin Ling. She could only wander aimlessly, hoping for the best...

Until—

"Huh!!? That's..."

Higyokumaru suddenly rubbed her eyes in disbelief, frozen in place.

Standing before her was a tall girl with long ears and a long, razor-sharp sword hanging at her waist...

————————————————

Chapter 297: Even in the Most Desperate Times, One Can Still Hold Fast to the Belief in Humanity

"Yo, long time no see, little Griseo."

"Long time no see, Vill-V, Sister."

"Oh!~ So those two Herrschers are here! No wonder the flames within me are so stirred... Hmph! Aponia, so you're here too..."

"Ling, you're here. I was just about to talk to you about something."

"I'm sorry, Sakura. Ling is feeling a bit weak right now. She doesn't even have the strength to stand up, so she might not be able to talk to you for the time being..."

"Hmm, it's alright. I'm not in any particular hurry. Let her rest for a while. But why is she lying on your lap...?"

"It's a long story."

"Since everyone's here, how about we have a long-awaited banquet?"

...

Soon, almost all the Flame-Chaser members were drawn by the commotion.

For a long time, some members of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers had seemed to be at odds with each other due to differences in ideology, personality, and past events. They didn't see each other often, and when they did, they would argue, sometimes even resorting to fighting over the slightest disagreement.

But in truth, as comrades-in-arms who had shared life-and-death battles together for many years, they genuinely respected one another.

Now, with the Flame-Chasers finally gathered together, even the hot-tempered and irritable Kalpas managed to calm down, responding to greetings in his usual rough manner.

Eden, with her considerable wealth, somehow produced fine wine and delicious food, urging everyone to enjoy themselves.

Then, led by the more lively Flame-Chasers like Vill-V, the room quickly filled with long-lost joy and laughter.

It brought back countless fond memories of the past.

Only Lin Ling, still weak from Mei's electric shock, remained leaning against Aponia's lap, shyly yet contentedly accepting treats from the Flame-Chasers.

"Elysia, is that a typewriter? Is it for printing or something?"

After catching up with her older sisters, Griseo, naturally curious about everything, became interested in the old-fashioned typewriter Elysia had brought.

"Sister?"

Her unusual way of addressing Elysia puzzled everyone.

"Griseo is interested too, isn't she? Want to try it?" Elysia introduced the typewriter. "Just place your hand on the typeface, and it will automatically select a memory related to you from the database and print it out."

"Like this?" Curious, Griseo gently placed her hand on the typewriter.

Click-clack...

Soon, the machine produced a drawing.

"Oh?" Elysia leaned closer for a look, then tilted her head thoughtfully. "Is the person in the drawing... Kosma?"

"Indeed, though it's a bit abstract." Aponia nodded. "But that figure is definitely Kosma."

"Oh, I remember this."

Seeing the drawing, the blue-haired girl recalled the memory.

"Kosma said he had learned to play the harmonica, and Sister Destobia asked him to perform for everyone. Sister Destobia laughed so hard that she fell off her chair."

After hearing Griseo's explanation, everyone present couldn't help but chuckle.

Kosma, the person involved, maintained a blank expression, but his silence betrayed his speechlessness and embarrassment.

"..."

"Thank you, Fairy Administrator." The little girl finally revealed a genuinely innocent smile and sincerely thanked Fairy Ellie. "Griseo remembered some very happy memories."

"Mmm~ Thank you for your patronage! Human child, don't underestimate the power of fairies!" Fairy Ellie proudly raised her head.

However, the fairy's proud display was immediately met with Mei's sharp retort.

"Oh~ Fairy powers are certainly convenient. It seems you don't even need any 'blank paper' anymore."

"Uh... hehe~" Fairy Ellie scratched her head awkwardly before trying to laugh it off. "Because fairy powers have upgraded too! Try it again if you don't believe me!"

The drawing seemed to have piqued Griseo's curiosity about Kosma's past, so she immediately suggested, "Then~ next, Kosma."

"No!" Naturally, Kosma, whose embarrassing past had just been exposed before everyone, immediately refused.

At the same time, he thought to himself: There are so many people here. Can't you pick someone else?

"Wow, that's a very straightforward answer. But Kosma, Griseo already asked. If you refuse again... wouldn't that be a bit unromantic?"

Unfortunately, his refusal was completely ignored.

Using Griseo as leverage, Elysia didn't stop. Instead of asking Kosma to do it himself, she simply grabbed his hand and pressed it onto the typewriter.

"Stop!"

Although Kosma struggled fiercely, Elysia's strength far surpassed his, and he had been caught completely off guard.

"Oh, it printed."

As Griseo spoke, another sheet of paper filled with memories slid out of the typewriter.

...

"I'll demonstrate again~"

It seemed to be inside some kind of base, where a pink-haired girl was teaching a blue-gray-haired girl a series of rather strange yet somehow impressive gestures.

She first raised her right hand high above her head, then slowly traced a semicircle downward. When it reached about chest level, her left hand suddenly accelerated and sharply swept to the right.

After completing the mysterious movements, Elysia asked Hua proudly, "How did it feel?"

"It was certainly a very imposing move. Was it... meant to manipulate the flow of Honkai energy?" Hua asked.

"Hmm, it should count as... some kind of mental ritual?" Ellie thought for a moment before giving an extremely vague explanation. Then she smiled and encouraged Hua. "How about it, Hua? Why don't you give it a try?"

"Yes! I understand." As a new recruit—and an exceptionally honest one—Hua naturally trusted her senior completely. She copied Elysia's movements, performing a gesture that resembled the transformation sequence of a Rider.

"Hmm~" Elysia tilted her head. "The movements are correct, but something feels off..."

"Did I misunderstand something?" Hua asked awkwardly.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't feel like my state has changed much... and... I'm a little embarrassed." Even someone as earnest as Hua couldn't help feeling shy.

Fortunately, Hua discreetly looked around and saw no one else nearby except her teacher, Elysia.

What she didn't know was that, at that very moment, a four-horned boy passing by around the corner had witnessed their strange actions.

Then he sincerely exclaimed:

...Cool!

...

"...Kosma, you... have rather peculiar hobbies."

After reading part of Kosma's rather unusual memories, Mei couldn't help giving him an indescribable look.

The nearby Flame-Chasers were far less restrained than Mei.

"Pfft~ Kosma, I never knew you had that kind of hobby."

"Hey, Kosma, I didn't expect you to have such a talent for comedy! How about joining my magic show?"

"Hmm..." Faced with the invitation from a certain great magician, Kosma repeatedly shook his head.

If his old comrades hadn't all been present, making it rude to leave, he would have wanted to dig a hole and hide inside it.

"And Hua, you're too honest! You actually believed everything Elysia said?"

Besides Kosma, Hua, the other protagonist of the memory, was immediately teased by everyone.

"Haha, next time I'll teach you something even more interesting..."

"I..." The blue-gray-haired girl awkwardly scratched the back of her head. "I thought Elysia was teaching me some incredible technique... I didn't expect she was just teasing me."

"Pfft~"

"Haha~"

"Hehe~"

"Hehe~"

Seeing Hua's embarrassed expression, everyone finally burst into laughter.

For a while, the Elysian Realm was filled with a joyful atmosphere.

Even Lin Ling, who had been electrocuted by Mei, laughed. After a while, she reluctantly struggled out of Aponia's lap.

With the physique of a Herrscher, a MANTIS, and the power of a Stigmata, her physical resilience was naturally extraordinary. Mei also hadn't intended to seriously hurt her, only to give her a light punishment. As a result, she recovered quickly.

Listening to the Flame-Chasers' old stories, Lin Ling was swept up in the cheerful atmosphere and unconsciously joined in their laughter.

Although this was, in a sense, their first meeting, deep down they all felt as though they were old acquaintances, old friends. It was a strange yet comforting sense of familiarity.

"Although these people all seem a little strange—no, I should say they're all incredibly unique—I can tell they're all good people, and interesting people too. I think I'll get along with them just fine..."

"Alright, now let's look at mine You all seemed a little curious about a few things"

Elysia then proactively placed her hand on the typewriter.

"Sister Elysia~"

"No, you should call me Sister Elysia."

In the next memory fragment, Elysia seemed to be instructing Griseo in yet another strange lesson.

"Why?" the blue-haired girl asked curiously.

"Because if everyone hears you call me that, they'll be completely startled! They'll all wonder, 'Why? Did you see something they can't see?' The expressions on their faces will be absolutely priceless!"

After hearing Elysia's seemingly reasonable explanation, Griseo nodded thoughtfully.

"Well... I understand."

"And one more thing~" Elysia smiled mischievously. "Remember to call Mobius  'Auntie Mobius.'"

"Grandma?... Won't Aunt Mobius get angry?"

"Oh dear, Griseo doesn't understand yet. 'Auntie' hurts girls much more than 'Grandma.' But that's okay. One day you'll understand, and then you can change what you call her." Elysia explained with a perfectly straight face despite the ridiculous explanation.

"Hmm... okay."

Griseo seemed convinced.

...

"So that's how it is... As expected of you~" Mei rubbed her forehead before glaring at Lin Ling.

"Why do I always end up surrounded by pranksters...?"

"Haha~" Lin Ling, who had inexplicably received that glare, scratched her head sheepishly before deliberately changing the subject.

"I wonder how Dr. Mobius reacted back then. Too bad she's not here."

"Dr.?" Mei looked at Lin Ling curiously.

Why is this girl suddenly calling Mobius 'Doctor'? I feel like something has been off about her lately...

While Mei was still wondering—

"Oh This looks interesting. Let me try too"

Soon, the other Flame-Chasers eagerly stepped forward and placed their hands on the typewriter.

With the typewriter's help, many long-forgotten yet vivid memories resurfaced.

"The Fourth Eruption went relatively smoothly. Kevin tasted victory for the first time, and the team welcomed new companions."

"Next is the 'Old COCOON Crisis,' followed by Sakura and Vill-V's performance."

...

"Oh This time it's a photograph Hmm!? Mei, Ling, look! This is what I really wanted to show you."

After using the typewriter again, Elysia took out a photograph and handed it to Lin Ling and Mei.

The photograph showed a group of elegantly dressed men and women chatting and laughing around Kevin, who was holding a birthday cake.

"This is from Kevin's birthday party. Oh, I looked so good back then. Of course, I've always looked this good."

Mei ignored Elysia's self-praise as usual. What surprised her far more was the photograph itself.

"It's really unexpected. Kevin can smile like... an ordinary person."

"Mei" Elysia gently wagged a finger. "That's a rather rude way to put it. But I understand what you mean. When Kevin is with Mei, he's just a big boy. He wants to be close to her, worries that she'll catch a cold, and is happy simply because she's happy. That's the Kevin you know. Mei is the same way. She only acts like a young girl in front of Kevin and me. Look, Sakura is showing her carefree side too. I've always thought that expression suited her best. Aponia and Mobius weren't there, but they both prepared some very interesting gifts"

"That was also the first time we saw Hen wearing formal clothes, and everyone teased him about it for a long time."

"Destobia showed everyone her ability to cut cake with telekinesis, then pretended to lose control on purpose so Kosma's slice ended up tiny."

"He looked so dejected, but he couldn't say a word about it. In the end, everyone shared some of their cake with him."

"Oh dear... so much has happened..."

Listening to the Flame-Chasers reminisce...

It was hard to believe that these strongest warriors of the Previous Era—the Flame-Chasers who stood on the front lines against the Honkai and served as humanity's last line of defense—had lives that weren't defined solely by battles of blood and fire.

They laughed, cried, celebrated victories, and lived with regrets.

In the end, they were simply ordinary human beings. Even in humanity's darkest and most desperate moments, they still held fast to their faith in humanity.

Mei and Lin Ling exchanged a glance, both recalling the happiest and most carefree two years of their school lives at St. Freya.

However, when Mei looked back, she was met by the white-haired girl's innocent, curious gaze.

Mei narrowed her eyes suspiciously as she stared at Lin Ling.

"Hmm..."

"That's right!" Elysia suddenly seemed to remember something. Pouting at Mei and Lin Ling, she complained.

"You only get to see our memories, but we should get to see yours too That's only fair I want to see your stories too..."

...

————————

Chapter 297 – The Story of the Pioneers

 ### I. The First Honkai Eruption: Herrscher of Reason

▉ Fifty thousand years ago, the first Honkai Eruption occurred in the Previous Era, and the First Herrscher of Reason was born. [Understanding, analyzing, and reproducing structure]

▉ Characters: Mobius (Fire Moth), Aponia (Sundown Alley Sanatorium)

After being subdued by humanity's technology, many people applied to study the First Herrscher's corpse for various reasons, including Dr. Mobius.

### II. The Second Honkai Eruption: Herrscher of the Void

▉ The Second Honkai Eruption occurred, and the Second Herrscher of the Void was born. [Spatial travel, teleportation]

▉ Characters: Elysia, a Fire Moth warrior, joins the battle; Vil-V makes her first appearance (as a student).

➤ Through Elysia's recollection, From the Beginning, we learn:

★ Elysia: A cute, beautiful, and powerful young girl joins Fire Moth as a warrior. This is her debut, so she wants to dress up nicely.

As expected, Elysia kills the Second Herrscher, after which Mobius begins researching the Second Herrscher.

★ Vil-V: A gifted female student who believes Fire Moth was responsible for the Second Honkai Eruption. She invents micro-robots to infiltrate Fire Moth and investigate but is ultimately discovered and stopped by Elysia.

[Later, after becoming a MANTIS, she gains the ability to split her consciousness into eight personalities within a single body: the Great Magician, her Id, the Mechanic, the Divine Key Creator, the Occultist, the Alchemist, the Chef, codenamed Kevin Killer MK 5, and  Extremely Evil. After multiple prison breaks, her first assignment upon joining Fire Moth was constructing the airtight prison known as The Deep, located on Pacific Island P-21, the site of the Herrscher of Legion's final battle.]

The incidents involving the First and Second Herrschers were covered up, allowing humanity to continue living under a false sense of peace.

### III. The Third Honkai Eruption: Herrscher of Thunder

▉ Six months before the Third Honkai Eruption

▉ Characters: Dr. Mei, Kevin, Su, and Hua (students); Eden (a famous singer)

At an academic symposium on the continent of Mu, Dr. Mei's paper on quantum mechanics received praise from Mobius. After speaking with Mei, Mobius was escorted away by Fire Moth personnel and recommended that Mei join Fire Moth.

▉ Three months before the Third Honkai Eruption

★ Kevin transfers to Chiba Academy in Nagazora City, meets Mei, and falls deeply in love with her.

★ Su is Kevin's close friend.

★ During this period, the artist Eden rises to fame, and her concerts become extraordinarily popular.

Kevin and Su even attended one of Eden's performances together.

The Third Honkai Eruption erupted, affecting Southeast Asia, including Sapphire City and Arc City on the Shenzou continent, as well as Nagazora City in Japan. This gave birth to the Third Herrscher, the Herrscher of Thunder [Ability to control electromagnetic fields].

★ Hua: During this Honkai Eruption, Hua, tAto a student in Sapphire City, was rescued by Himeko, captain of Fire Moth's Valkyrie Squad, and joined Fire Moth's Fifth Squad under the codename MSA-209. [During her student years, she attended one of Eden's autograph sessions but could not see her because of the crowd. A friend later gave her one of Eden's albums.]

Mei joined Fire Moth, and Kevin enlisted as a soldier to follow her. Humanity eventually defeated the Third Herrscher.

However, the Honkai continued to intensify with the emergence of Honkai Beasts and the spread of Honkai Disease, which erodes the human body.

➤ Honkai Disease

After becoming separated from his best friend Kevin during the Third Honkai Eruption, Su became a doctor and devoted the next five years to combating Honkai Disease, eventually contracting it himself.

★ Spiers (a close friend of Director Fal, head of Fire Moth's Fifth Science Department, and a one-armed man) cured Su using a medicine developed from 1,000 antibodies, including those of Su's mentor, Director Fal, making it an exceptionally rare treatment. Six months after the Seventh Herrscher incident, Fire Moth approved Su's transfer to the Fifth Research Institute under Spiers's supervision.

➤ Speculation: It is currently known that Griseo's father, Ato, appeared during the Fifth Herrscher incident. Griseo was approximately eleven years old at the time, suggesting that Blanca fell in love with Ato around this period and left the Mobius Laboratory for him.

Griseo's mother, Blanca, leaves the Mobius Laboratory after falling in love with Ato and recommends Klein as her replacement.

[Three Herrschers appeared over the following three years: the Herrscher of Wind, the Herrscher of Ice, and the Herrscher of Death. All were eventually killed.]

### IV. The Fourth Honkai Eruption: Herrscher of Wind

▉ The Fourth Honkai Eruption occurs, and the Fourth Herrscher, the Herrscher of Wind, is born. [Creation of ideal fluids]

▉ Characters: Kevin, Kosma (first appearance)

The Fourth Herrscher was most likely eliminated by Kevin. Due to the disaster warning, the city's residents had already evacuated, leaving it deserted.

★ Kosma: A heavily armed boy attempts to destroy the storm created by the Fourth Herrscher by throwing explosives into its eye, believing that destroying its source will end it. The attempt fails, and the storm sweeps him away. At that moment, he encounters Kevin, who tells him to leave because the Wind Herrscher is approaching. Kosma wishes to become Kevin's assistant and help him, but Kevin simply tells him to survive and sends him away.

Kosma later joined Fire Moth, concealing his true identity as a former prisoner.

### V. The Fifth Honkai Eruption: Herrscher of Ice

▉ The Fifth Honkai Eruption occurs, and the Fifth Herrscher, the Herrscher of Ice, is born. [Control over Absolute Zero]

▉ Characters: Kalpas (first appearance), Kalpas's first meeting with Aponia, Pardofelis (the wandering thief of Sundown Alley), Ato, Kosma, Kevin

The Herrscher of Ice is instantly killed by Kalpas. when Fire Moth's First Squad, including Kevin, Ato, and Kosma, arrives, they discover only the Herrscher's corpse.

➤ Sundown Alley Sanatorium

After killing the Herrscher of Ice, Kalpas arrives at the sanatorium. Despite suffering severe frostbite that should have been impossible to heal, he recovers miraculously. He meets the sanatorium's "owner," Aponia, and later becomes a porter there. [The source of Kalpas's terrifying power remains unknown. Current information suggests it originated from a burnt offering on his home planet before he left it.]

Sundown Alley – Sanatorium Warehouse

★ Kalpas: Works as a porter, transporting goods throughout the warehouse.

★ Pardofelis: Kalpas encounters Pardofelis, a thief from Sundown Alley who steals from the rich to help the poor. She is responsible for supplying the sanatorium warehouse with large amounts of dried food.

★ Aponia: Born and raised in Sundown Alley, Aponia compassionately turns the sanatorium into a refuge for people suffering from Honkai Disease.

➤ The Divine Key Project is about to begin, and Sakura joins Fire Moth.

[The incident involving Sakura's assassination attempt on Mei is ambiguous. However, it suggests that Mei had not yet achieved unquestioned authority within Fire Moth, as many of her proposals still faced strong opposition. Therefore, this event is placed between the Third and Seventh Herrscher incidents.]

The Divine Key Project officially begins.

Its primary objective is to use the Herrscher Cores recovered from defeated Herrschers to create weapons capable of inheriting a portion of a Herrscher's power for humanity's use.

Not everyone supported this plan because it required enormous resources. A senior Fire Moth official who opposed Dr. Mei hired the assassin Sakura from COCOON to eliminate her.

At the time, Kevin and Mei were boating on a lake late at night when Sakura attacked them with a knife. Kevin was wounded while protecting Mei, the assassination failed, and Sakura was captured. Dr. Mei and Kevin later visited Sakura in prison and negotiated with her. After learning that another Honkai Eruption was inevitable, Sakura agreed to Mei's proposal and joined Fire Moth to protect her sister.

### VI. The Sixth Honkai Eruption: Herrscher of Death

▉ The Sixth Honkai Eruption occurs, and the Sixth Herrscher, the Herrscher of Death, is born. [Accelerating the death and decay of biological cells]

▉ Characters: Elysia, Kevin

In a commercial district, Kevin and Elysia confront the Herrscher of Death. Because the Sixth Herrscher still retains human emotions, both hesitate. During her final moments, the Herrscher annihilates the entire commercial district before Kevin kills her with a single shot. Kevin is overcome with remorse afterward, and Elysia comforts him.

### VII. The Seventh Honkai Eruption: Herrscher of Flame

▉ A year and a half after the Sixth Honkai Eruption, the Seventh Honkai Eruption occurs. Himeko, captain of Hua's Fifth Squad, becomes the Seventh Herrscher, the Herrscher of Flame. [Control of molecular movement]

▉ Characters: Elysia, Kevin, Hua, Eden, Sakura, Destobia, Ato, Aponia, Mobius, Emile

➤ Project MANTIS

As Australia is engulfed in flames within a week, Dr. Mei initiates Project MANTIS to combat the Seventh Herrscher. The project fuses chosen individuals with Honkai Beasts to create super soldiers.

Kevin (CM-001, fused with the Emperor-class Honkai Beast Parvati)

Elysia (CM-002, fused with the Honkai Beast Mahesvara)

Mobius (CM-003, fused with the Judgment-class Honkai Beast Sesa)

Mobius dies during MANTIS surgery but resurrects roughly a dozen hours later. She begins testing the limits of her powers by experimenting on herself with different MANTIS factors and deliberately provoking Kalpas. After Kalpas kills her, she resurrects as a young girl, leading to the famous Elysian Realm story that "it was all Kalpas's fault," while unlocking the forbidden Artificial Honkai Reaction.

Sakura (CM-004, fused with the Emperor-class Honkai Beast Yasha)

These four become the first MANTIS.

(Destobia, Kosma, Ato, and Aponia later become the next four MANTIS, bringing the original total to eight.)

➤ Early MANTIS Side Effects

Early MANTIS fusion surgeries produced numerous side effects that varied depending on the Honkai Beast used. Examples include Sakura's fox ears and Kevin's abnormally low body temperature, which made physical contact with others nearly impossible.

In addition, the rejection and discrimination they suffered from ordinary humans became another severe consequence of becoming MANTIS.

[Kosma later became a MANTIS and defined the End-of-Day Honkai Beasts, classifying Vishnu among them.]

After becoming a MANTIS, Kevin successfully defeated the Seventh Herrscher. Her core was later forged into the Seventh Divine Key, Judgment of Shamash.

when the fires erupted, the renowned artist Eden was performing at an Australian cabaret. She was rescued by Hua, the sole survivor of Fire Moth's Fifth Squad. Realizing that she could no longer dispel the despair in people's hearts through music alone, Eden joined Fire Moth. [After extensive psychological treatment within Fire Moth, she eventually volunteered to undergo MANTIS surgery, presumably before the appearance of the Eighth Herrscher and the creation of the Ninth Divine Key.]

➤ The Sesa Incident

Afterward, Hua and Emile were assigned to recover the body of Sesa, the Judgment-class Honkai Beast that accompanied the Third Herrscher. They discovered that Sesa was still alive. Mobius arrived first, killed Sesa, and removed her eyes.

At the time, Mobius was still only a researcher rather than a MANTIS. Sesa's genes were later used in Mobius's fusion surgery.

➤ Aftermath at Sundown Alley

Sakura, assigned to eliminate several Fire Moth defectors hiding in Sundown Alley, had her weapons stolen by Pardofelis.

While searching for the stolen weapons, she uncovered suspicious activities at the sanatorium, which had become a refuge for the infected.

There, she encountered Kalpas and Aponia. Kalpas fought Sakura to a standstill before ultimately being captured. Although Sakura pierced Kalpas's heart, he survived, while Kalpas severely wounded Sakura. Fire Moth deemed Kalpas too dangerous and imprisoned him in The Deep. Meanwhile, Aponia was captured and interrogated for sheltering infected civilians. Extensive research eventually transformed her into a MANTIS.

However, becoming a MANTIS greatly amplified her abilities, making her impossible for Fire Moth to restrain. It was Elysia's recommendation that ultimately allowed her to remain.

➤ Kevin's Birthday Celebration

Initially, all eight original MANTIS gathered to celebrate Kevin's birthday: Elysia, Mei, Mobius, Sakura, Destobia, Kosma, Ato, and Aponia. (Not all eight later became Flame-Chasers. Destobia died during the Eighth Honkai Eruption, and Ato died during the Ninth Honkai Eruption.)

### VIII. The Eighth Honkai Eruption: Herrscher of Sentience

▉ Six months after the Seventh Herrscher incident, Su was brought into Fire Moth by Spiers. Soon afterward, the Eighth Honkai Eruption occurred, and the Eighth Herrscher, the Herrscher of Sentience, was born. [Language pollution induces sleep. Anyone exposed to contaminated "words" or "concepts" falls into a deep sleep.]

▉ Characters: Su, Elysia, Kevin, Sakura, Dr. Mei, Destobia (sacrificed)

Soon afterward, the very concept of "Fire Moth" became corrupted, causing most members of the organization to fall into comas, including the imprisoned Kalpas and Sakura, who was protecting Mei.

Kevin sought Aponia's help and used her "Discipline" to suppress the corruption, freeing himself from the nightmare's control and allowing him to reunite with Elysia.

Spiers commissioned Mobius to transform Su into a MANTIS by implanting the factor of Mahāmāyūrī, the companion Honkai Beast of the Eighth Herrscher, turning him into a MANTIS specializing in mental abilities. [This surgery caused a rift between Su and Mobius.]

Mei and Spiers developed the "Mind Lock," a drug that filters information when encountering specific keywords. However, its effects are temporary because the binding force weakens each time a contaminated keyword is encountered.

---

Having taken the Mind Locks drug, along with numerous psychomorphic MANTIS members, Su actively infiltrated the Dream Realm to locate the Eighth Herrscher. Su, a member of the 27th Observation Unit, successfully located and destroyed the Eighth Herrscher. Dr. Spiers sacrificed himself to awaken Su and the psychomorphic MANTIS Destobia, who used telekinesis. [Su, driven by hatred for the Herrschers, nearly suffered a backlash from the Metamorph Overload; Aponia saved him.]

Kevin arrived and informed Su that he would be transferred to headquarters to join the Stigmata Project research. Before leaving, Su took Spiers's empty wine jug as a souvenir. After a month-long battle, humanity defeated the Herrscher of Sentience.

➤ Aftermath of the Eighth Herrscher Incident

“Consciousness Transfer” was an experiment derived from research on the Eighth Herrscher. Mobius used it to create Gray Serpent. This experiment was extremely dangerous and was shelved.

➤ Elysia’s Plan—To Infiltrate Fire Moth

To use Kalpas as a “capital” to balance a certain game against the Honkai Eruption, Elysia initiated a plan.

[On one hand, Sakura described Kalpas’s combat abilities; on the other hand, Aponia imposed discipline on Kalpas to persuade the higher-ups.] The plan involved taking the controlled Kalpas out of “The Deep,” where a deal would be struck with him: Kalpas would be given an endless battle in return, and he would join Fire Moth, working on its dark side, “COCOON.”

★ Kalpas’s Lieutenant: Emile, harboring resentment toward Kalpas for unknown reasons, was imprisoned. Kalpas requested Elysia’s help to make him his lieutenant.

While imprisoned in The Deep, Kalpas was already bound by the “Discipline—Do Not Harm the Innocent” by Aponia.

IX. The Ninth Honkai Eruption: Herrscher of Rock

▉ The Ninth Honkai Eruption erupted, and the Ninth Herrscher of Rock [Mimicry Black Hole that Devours Everything] appeared.

▉ Characters: Kosma, Kevin, Ato (Sacrificed)

The resulting pseudo-black hole destroyed the continent’s structure, swallowed the continent of Mu. The Herrscher was defeated by Kevin using the Judgment of Shamash. Ato sacrificed himself, and Kosma, due to the excessive amount of Vishnu Honkai Eruption Beast Factor within him, began to demonize [Ascendant, transformation], ultimately leaving the Fire Moth. [During this time, Kosma, like a demon, further transformed in the ruined city; later, Mobius found him and helped him resolve his AHR form. Kosma was later imprisoned, but was subsequently released.]

Fragments of the continent of Mu entered the Sea of Quanta, and the spatial device on Mu, the Eye of the Deep, sank to the bottom of the sea (The Deep). The ELF kingdom was drawn into the Sea of Quanta by the Eye of the Abyss, becoming a separate World Bubble. (Schrödinger later came here while adrift in the Sea of Quanta), reducing the population by one-sixth.

10. The Tenth Honkai Eruption: Herrscher of Legion

Six months later, the Tenth Honkai Eruption erupted, and the Tenth Herrscher of Dominance was born [one thousand individuals, possessing six elemental powers, capable of controlling the abilities of other Herrschers].

Characters featured: Dr. Mei, Kevin, Kalpas, Hua

Combat analysis over four months revealed that this Herrscher differed from other Herrschers. There were a total of one thousand weaker Herrschers, among whom the 997th individual was a high-ranking member of Fire Moth. They were connected through quantum entanglement. The 524th individual attacked Rhine’s weapons manufacturing plant. Their goal was the Divine Key and the cores of other Herrschers.

To prevent the Herrscher of Legion from transferring the Divine Key research equipment to P-21 Island, where Kevin would be stationed, the Blank Key was completed and deployed for combat. L10-997 ordered Kevin to engage 200 Herrscher instances in the waters near the island, while L10-997 would then lead 540 instances to infiltrate the island as a diversionary tactic. This was all part of Dr. Mei’s plan. Wearing the Blank Key and equipped with the Herrscher of Thunder core, she eliminated 320 instances in 201 seconds, then switched to the Herrscher of Wind core and eliminated 100 instances in 65 seconds. At this point, Kevin returned, and ultimately, Mei used the unnumbered Divine Key to control the Judgment of Shamash, recreating the power of the Herrscher of Flame and defeating the remaining instances in 5 seconds. After the event, Kevin became a complete continuation of Mei’s will.

Kalpas’s lieutenant, Emile (L10-461), became a Herrscher, possessing an extremely weakened version of the Herrscher of Death, which made her difficult to kill. Two hundred individuals, including Emile, were killed by Kevin in the P-21 area. Mobius’s assistant, Klein, also became one of the Tenth Herrscher individuals. When Su arrived at the scene, she witnessed Klein assassinating Mobius. Su subdued Klein; Mobius’s physiological response to resurrection required immense energy, and Klein, now a Herrscher, provided the perfect nourishment. After the incident, Mobius created the Klein ELF to accompany her. Due to the excessive burden on the Blank Key threatening Dr. Mei’s life, its use was prohibited.

➤ Six months after the incident, 85% of human cities were destroyed.

This Herrscher also generated a thousand Herrscher Cores, which were then mass-produced into Domination Keys. Using these Divine Keys, Dr. Mei initiated a plan to mass-produce MANTIS using Meta-Morph Factors (MM Factors, rich in Honkai Eruption Beast genes), hoping that someone could activate the Meta-Morph Factors in the face of desperate adversity.

Fu Hua and others were dispatched to Australia to participate in this experiment. During her battle against the Emperor-class Honkai Eruption Beast Garuda, Fu Hua activated the Meta-Morph Factor, mastering the tenth Divine Key, which transformed into a gauntlet form—the Grip of Taixuan. Fu Hua became a MANTIS and joined the Fire Moth headquarters. This was the first example of an MM agent becoming a MANTIS. Later, Fu Hua also passed Dr. Mei’s “SWARA” project to modify her body [a project developed using Aponia’s Discipline ability]. Fu Hua was a perfect sample for the experiment and a perfect experimental subject, paving the way for later research on the Twelfth Herrscher [which ultimately failed].

After learning that his lieutenant Emile was a Herrscher and had been killed, Kalpas channeled his grief and anger into joining the MM factor experiments. He destroyed two hundred Keys of Domination but still could not achieve Meta-Morphosis (his main goal was to destroy the Keys of Domination made from Emile’s Herrscher core, but this failed). Dr. Mei discovered this and forbade Kalpas from participating in the MM factor experiments.

Later, to instill a sense of despair in Kalpas, Mobius even had other MANTIS members fight him, resulting in some deaths. This included a private duel between Kalpas and Kevin, which ended in failure. The root of all this was Mobius’s curiosity about the mysterious power within Kalpas, leading to a deal with him.

The deal’s objective was to make Kalpas a stronger MANTIS. The price was that Kalpas had to reveal the secret of his mysterious power to Mobius and later use the special heart extracted from Kalpas for research.

➤ COCOON Disbands, Investigation of Kalpas’s Hometown

This occurred after COCOON’s disbandment. Sakura was originally tasked with eliminating the remaining COCOON members, but Mobius reassigned her to investigate Kalpas’s hometown, the Firelink Shrine, and the place where Dr. Mei was hiding. The elimination work was carried out by Kalpas.

Pardofelis, having found Fire Moth’s documents and thinking it was a business opportunity, went there only to discover she was a MANTIS volunteer. She unwittingly became a MANTIS herself, responsible for logistical tasks.

➤ First Laboratory Incident

Mobius and the Judgment-class Honkai Eruption beast Sesa assimilated into a human, causing a collapse. An alarm sounded, and Su rushed to the scene to fight back. Su also underwent a human collapse, transforming into a peacock. Hua arrived but collapsed due to the mental shock. Finally, Sakura arrived and saw a snake and a peacock, delivering a blow to the snake and ending the battle.

XI. The Eleventh Honkai Eruption 『Herrscher of Binding』

▉ Approximately four years later, the Eleventh Honkai Eruption erupted, and the Eleventh Herrscher of Binding was born. 【A 100 km radius Honkai Eruption energy nullification barrier】strips Honkai Eruption energy and bioelectricity.

Characters: Elysia, Kevin, Kalpas, Mobius, Vil-V, Pardofelis, Hua

(Pardofelis survived because she was ill and did not participate in the battle. Her companions, MANTIS members Vera, Jona, Mira, and others, all perished. This tragedy shattered their hope, leaving them like wandering souls, and they were subjected to Aponia’s Discipline, which mandated that they never give up hope of fighting the Honkai Eruption.)

The impact extended to the Fire Moth’s base, rendering their weapons and MANTIS ineffective. Klein’s ELF also ceased operation due to the barrier’s power. Mobius risked entering the barrier and abducted Klein. Vil-V, regarding further experiments on “Kevin Killer,” borrowed the Blank Key from Mei. During the experiment, she and Kevin were defeated. Mobius, holding a malfunctioning doll, determined that it was likely involved in the Eleventh Herrscher incident and prepared to drag it away.

Kalpas collapsed the moment he came into contact with the barrier and was taken to Mobius’s laboratory by Hua. Mobius performed MANTIS surgery on Kalpas, fusing the Emperor-class Honkai Eruption Beast that Sakura and Kalpas had killed during a previous mission in Sakura’s hometown. The side effect was cognitive distortion, but his power surged and continuously improved, ultimately leading to him losing his mind and becoming an enemy of humanity—a ferocious beast.

During the battle with the Eleven Herrschers, Mobius requested the release of a prisoner, suspected to be Kosma.

After the surgery, Kalpas felt something was missing from his body and questioned what Mobius had done to him. Mobius mentioned taking a special heart from his body and hoped Kalpas would give it to her for research.

On the front lines, MANTIS, acting as cannon fodder, entered the barrier and used his Honkai Eruption energy to fill the Herrscher of Binding’s Honkai Eruption energy limit. The battlefield was extremely tense. Su connected with Kalpas’s mental world and released the Discipline, allowing him to go and provide support.

Subsequently, Hua attempted to control the Herrscher of Binding using the 1st Power of Fenghuang Down. Kalpas’s arrival helped Hua successfully release the 1st power, and was then killed by Kevin using Judgment of Shamash.

Afterwards, Elysia found Hua unconscious, and Kevin found the dying Kalpas. Sakura arrived at the battlefield, but it was already over.

The Fire Moth suffered heavy losses; the blood flowing from the earth was frozen by Kevin into dark red waves—an event known as the “Tragedy of Binding.”

After this event, only three cities remained for humanity.

➤ Elysian Realm

『If humanity cannot unite, it will be utterly annihilated before the Honkai Eruption』

After the battle, only thirteen MANTIS remained, collectively known as the “Thirteen Flamechasers.” Kevin arrived at “The Deep” and brought Aponia back to the team. At Elysia’s suggestion, with Eden providing funding and the venue, Mobius providing the technology, and Aponia and Su, the two mental MANTIS, working together, they created the “Elysian Realm,” which copied and preserved the memories of the thirteen Flame-Chasers. (Not all of them are memory replicas; Aponia’s was a fusion of herself and the Elysian Realm, and Sakura’s consciousness was also suspected to have been transferred to the Elysian Realm when she was near death. Otherwise, if she was just copied memories, it would be difficult to explain why she always knew the truth about Rin.)

Twelfth, The Twelfth Honkai Eruption: The Herrscher of Corruption

The 12th Honkai Eruption erupted, and the 12th Herrscher, the Herrscher of Corruption, was born in the R-765 detention center on the 33rd floor of a military base. Rin, Sakura’s younger sister from the Previous Era and a MANTIS, was imprisoned as a suspected Herrscher of Corruption. (Pardofelis was not present.)

Characters: Sakura, Elysia, Kevin, Dr. Mei, Hua

Soldiers who hated the Herrschers killed Rin without permission (due to the Discipline imposed by Aponia—never giving up hope of fighting the Honkai Eruption—leading to the soldiers’ escalating hatred toward the Herrschers). The 12th Herrscher awakened, disintegrating into black mist that infected soldiers, turning them into zombies and infecting them with a virus.

Sakura attempted to take her sister to the 33rd underground level, but she was intercepted by Kevin. After trapping Kevin, she searched for her sister, but it was too late. She found her sister’s corpse and a group of zombies—controlled robots. Sakura fought these controlled entities to protect civilians, ultimately dying from exhaustion.

Meanwhile, the Herrscher of Corruption took control of the nuclear missile launch system, destroying the three remaining cities of the Previous Era and nearly wiping out human civilization. Only 31,022 humans remained in the base. (Kalpas, angered by Sakura’s death, blamed Aponia, saying she killed Sakura and Rin, which led to a conflict. Kalpas then attempted to kill Aponia.)

Mei lured the Twelfth Herrscher into the Black Box for sealing. During this time, Hua used the Divine Key to protect most of the base from the black mist’s corruption.

Afterwards, Mobius secretly opened the Black Box and attached it to Hua, but her purpose and subsequent actions are unknown.

The Black Box eventually came into existence, and Kevin swore to the deceased Sakura that humanity would surely destroy the Honkai.

Eden gifted the Elysian Realm (Golden Garden) to Mobius.

The Project Ember was entrusted to Hua. Nuwa and Fuxi, not understanding Mobius’s experiments on the Twelve Herrschers, left the lab and eventually became the executors of the Project Ember alongside Hua.

➤ Elysia’s Identity Is Suspicious

The matter stemmed from Mobius’s investigation of Elysia: the second MANTIS fusion with the Honkai Beast Factor “Mahesvera” showed no side effects, and the records of the surgery lacked detailed descriptions.

A meeting of nine people—Mei, Mobius, Eden, Kevin, Vil-V, Kosma, Griseo, Pardofelis, and Su—discussed Elysia’s origins and how they met. Each person harbored their own agenda, leading to internal discord. (Elysia, Hua, Kalpas, Aponia, and others were absent.) Dr. Mei was in poor health.

Elysia conversed with Prometheus about how to unite everyone; the answer was to create a threat stronger than or more serious than the Herrscher. Suspected by her best friend and ostracized by everyone, would the birth of such an existence unite humanity or lead to destruction? The Thirteenth Herrscher, Elysia, was about to appear.

The meeting ended, and Eden told Elysia that her suspicions had been cleared, believing she had not betrayed anyone.

Thirteenth, The Thirteenth Honkai Eruption: “The Herrscher of ‘?’”

Elysia sacrificed herself. Elysia told Aponia the story ten days later.

[Even if the future cannot be changed, I will decide for myself the process of reaching that outcome!]

Fourteenth, The War of Apocalypse, The Final Moment: “The Herrscher of Finality”

On the eve of the final battle,

Pardofelis buried her treasure in Sundown Alley and soon after went to the moon with the others for the final battle.

Before leaving to carry out Project Ark, Kosma gave Kalpas a mask made by Eden. However, due to the Vishnu factor, he attempted to devour Kalpas but was defeated. (Initially, Mei asked Kosma to carry out Project Ark, believing that Kosma’s Vishnu factor might grow into an ultimate being and create a world. Kosma spoke with Vil-V, expressing his reluctance, which was overheard by Griseo. Griseo then asked Vil-V to let her go, and ultimately, Griseo likely carried out Project Ark.)

Aponia asked Vil-V to let her become the Elysian Realm herself.

Vil-V decided to fight to the death. After the experiment on Kevin Killer, it should have gained even more advanced abilities.

After Elysia’s death, Mobius suffered a major blow (what exactly was the immortality she sought? Just aimless progress driven by the fear of death, without direction). Synchronizing her last memory in the Elysian Realm, she was implanted with suicidal thoughts within her own memories, ultimately leading to her death wish.

▉ The fourteenth Honkai Eruption erupted, and the fourteenth Herrscher, Finality, was born, possessing absolute control over Honkai Eruption energy.

Humanity’s eight strongest warriors (Kevin, Hua, Kalpas, Eden, Pardofelis, Aponia, Kosma, and Vil-V) fought it on the moon, with Su and Mobius providing support from the base.

Within five minutes of the battle’s start, two warriors perished. Even with the Moonlight Throne destroyed, Mei only managed to drain 30% of the Herrscher of Finality’s energy. Some of the overflowing Honkai Eruption power was sealed by a device on the dark side of the moon, resulting in a failed operation.

Kevin delivered the final blow, halting the Herrscher of Finality’s actions. With ten hours remaining before the Herrscher of Finality could resume operation, humanity’s extinction was on the countdown.

Eight hours later, Kevin, Fu Hua, and others returned to Earth.

At this point, Project Stigma was finally completed. [The origin story is that Mobius created the prototype. Due to an accident, Fire Moth learned the truth, and Project Stigma was carried out jointly by Mei and Mobius, including the later Su.]

Before her death, Mei entrusted Su with the Project Velaka..

Kevin executed Project Stigma.

Fu Hua, Nuwa, and Fuxi executed Project Ember.

Mei used in-vitro fertilization to fuse her DNA with Kevin’s, giving birth to a baby [Ancestor Kaslana].

The Moonlight Throne (Selene) technology was recorded using relatively primitive techniques.

The forerunners of the Previous Era (Fuxi, Nuwa, Hua, Kevin and Su) entered hibernation pods, waiting to guide the next civilization against the Honkai Eruption. Eden, believing the Previous Era belonged to her, chose to remain.

As Eden’s song ended, the Previous Era came to a close...

-------

Chapter 298: The Real and Fake Ling: Oh No, I've Become a Substitute!

Happy times are always fleeting~

Just as the girl was listening intently and enthusiastically while everyone recounted amusing anecdotes from the past, especially laughing out loud at their mutual revelations and hilariously embarrassing stories...

Elysia's words instantly froze her smile, drawing everyone's attention to her.

Lin Ling carefully recalled her brief but extraordinary life. Among those few memories, if they weren't all R18, they were at least R16. Recalling the girl's angry outburst just now, if those indescribable memories were revealed, the scene would probably instantly become R18...

She glanced furtively at Mei, swallowed hard, and timidly spoke to Elysia, who had suggested it, "W-Wouldn't this be a bit inappropriate?"

"Eh" Elysia came to Lin Ling's side, her voice almost pleading. "What's inappropriate about it? Don't you think showing each other our past selves would help deepen our relationship? Besides, I'm very interested in your past, Ling! Ling Just let me see~~"

"Ling?" Mei noticed Lin Ling's small reaction and frowned slightly. "What's wrong with you? Being this shy isn't like you."

In Mei's memory, this ultimate womanizer was either socially anxious or socially fearless.

How could she be shy? And even if she was, Mei had only ever seen her shy in bed. She had never seen her act like this in everyday life...

Wait! Could it be? This pervert...

Thinking about what had happened in bed, Mei immediately had a bad feeling.

"Hmm~ It's like this."

Just as Mei was lost in thought, Lin Ling scratched her head and explained, "I remember Miss Elysia saying before that this typewriter can access all the information stored in the Elysian Realm. But I'm not a member of the Elysian Realm, so it probably can't print my memories, right?"

"Hehe~ So that's what you're worried about." Elysia smiled as she explained, "It's okay. Since you've entered the Elysian Realm, you've naturally become a part of it. That means this machine can also read your memories."

"Ah, this..."

"Could it be..."

Seeing Lin Ling still hesitating, Mei thought of something. Her eyes narrowed, and a razor-sharp gaze flashed across them as though she wanted to peer into the girl's mind.

"Do you have some shameful memories you don't want me to see? Tell me, have you been doing something behind my back again?!"

"No, no, no!" Lin Ling shook her head violently.

The electric shock she had received from the other person was still fresh in her mind, and she definitely didn't want to experience it again! Otherwise, she was afraid she might end up falling in love with the sensation (not really). It was simply too painful.

Fortunately, Elysia leaned close to Lin Ling's ear and whispered, "You little rascal~ You're so silly. Have you forgotten? If left alone, it only automatically prints recent major events. But if you input a specific time, place, person, or other anchor, the typewriter will print that specific event instead of the bad things you've done recently..."

"Oh, that's good..."

Lin Ling let out a slight sigh of relief.

"Wait!"

She immediately realized something.

Thinking carefully, aside from those erotic memories, all of her earlier memories were completely blank!

If the typewriter printed out a blank sheet of paper, explaining that would be even more troublesome...

'Oh well. They'll find out sooner or later anyway, so I might as well tell them now... After all, I came here specifically to recover my past memories.'

After weighing her options, Lin Ling finally made her decision.

Although she knew the girl before her, who could emit electric sparks, would feel the same pain and sorrow as the girls at Schicksal Headquarters upon learning of her amnesia...

She had the right to know the truth. Lin Ling couldn't keep it from her forever.

"Miss Mei."

Lin Ling solemnly walked up to Mei, looked into her eyes, and then bowed deeply beneath the other's questioning gaze.

"I'm sorry... Actually, due to an accident, I lost all of my memories from the past..."

"So you're here. I've been looking for you for ages~"

But just as Lin Ling had made up her mind and was about to clear up the misunderstanding by frankly admitting to everyone present that she had amnesia...

A voice that felt both familiar and strange suddenly came from not far away.

The voice interrupted her words and made her jump.

It was familiar because she heard it almost every moment she was conscious. It was strange because this was the first time she had ever heard that voice coming from someone else.

After all, logically speaking, that voice should have come from her own mouth.

However, when Lin Ling turned around, something even more shocking happened.

A girl who looked exactly like her, as though she were a mirror image, appeared around the corner.

Without a doubt, the voice identical to hers had come from this girl.

"Mei-nee, Mei-nee! I'm so sorry. Boss Lin Ling is just too fast. I really didn't have time to inform you in advance... Oh, are you having a party!? Seriously, you had a party without inviting me! Hehe~"

Immediately afterward, a catgirl rushed over from behind the new white-haired girl.

When she saw everyone gathered together eating, drinking, and celebrating, she first pouted and complained a little before happily deciding to join in.

"Oh~ Chasing after Boss Lin Ling has exhausted me! Boss, could you let me have this glass of water first? Next time you come to my shop, I'll give you a 5% discount on everything... Hmm!?"

Just as she hurriedly grabbed someone's cup to take a drink...

She saw another Lin Ling.

"Pfft!!!"

The catgirl instantly spat out the drink she had just sipped and quickly rubbed her eyes.

"Am I seeing things? How come there's another Lin Ling?"

"What's going on?"

"Huh? How could this happen?"

"Oh my? This is really interesting. Have you split your personality like me? That's very dangerous."

Not only the catgirl, but everyone else was also astonished after realizing what had happened.

"Oh?! There's another Ling" Only Elysia seemed inexplicably excited. "There are two such cute girls. That's double the joy"

Of course, the most surprised person was Mei.

She stared wide-eyed, her face filled with disbelief. Yet she didn't say a word, constantly comparing the two identical lovers as though trying to find some clue and determine which one was the real Ling.

Indeed, judging solely by their appearances, the two were completely indistinguishable. Even identical twins couldn't achieve such a perfect resemblance.

"Oh, this person must be my 'memory replica,' right?"

However, Lin Ling quickly calmed down, remembering what Dr. Mobius had told her.

Dr. Mobius had extracted all the other girls' memories of her and injected them into a memory space called the Elysian Realm. Then, using one of the Previous Era's greatest technological achievements, she reassembled those scattered memories into a memory entity of Lin Ling. Finally, by synchronizing her memories with that memory entity in reverse, Lin Ling would be able to recover her lost memories.

Logically, that was how it was supposed to work...

But then, for some reason...

"You despicable Herrscher of Corruption!" the Memory Replica Lin Ling shouted angrily, pointing at the original Lin Ling. "So you escaped here! You won't destroy everything I have!"

"Huh? Huh? Huh?"

The sudden turn of events left the girl completely bewildered...

...

"Oh~ I think I understand now."

After listening to the Memory Entity Lin Ling's explanation, Elysia summarized.

"You mean the Herrscher of Corruption from the current civilization has appeared and come here disguised as you, intending to lower our guard before corrupting us all. Right?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" the Memory Entity Lin Ling nodded repeatedly before saying with righteous indignation, "Of course! I absolutely won't let that happen! I'll definitely save all of you!"

What? What's going on? Did I just walk into a Blade Runner scenario? Am I about to have to escape from Clone Island?

Lin Ling wasn't stupid. After hearing the other person's hostile accusations, she roughly understood the situation. Perhaps she had encountered the kind of plot she'd seen in science fiction movies—a clone rebellion.

A clone of herself trying to replace her and become the original.

But understanding the situation wasn't enough.

The important thing was figuring out how to escape her current predicament.

"But~" Elysia looked back and forth between the two Lin Lings with a conflicted expression. "I think both Lings are quite cute! Neither of you seems like a bad person. How can you prove what you're saying is true? How can you prove you're everyone's Ling?"

"You all know Dr. Mobius, right? You trust her, don't you? She can prove I'm the real one!" Lin Ling immediately replied.

Elysia tilted her head, pressed a finger against her cheek, and answered helplessly, "Ling, I really do trust you. But Mobius already went out to play by herself. She isn't here. How am I supposed to verify it with her?"

"Um... She should have come in with me. Maybe... probably... possibly... she got lost?" Lin Ling explained weakly.

"Hmph! That's a lie!" the Memory Lin Ling immediately retorted. "Mobius has lived here for 50,000 years, and she's the owner of the Golden Courtyard. She knows this place better than anyone. How could she possibly get lost?"

Lin Ling thought for a moment.

"Then... maybe Dr. Mobius and Miss Klein haven't come in yet because something came up? Before we came, they said they hadn't seen each other in a long time. Maybe they're catching up? Why don't we wait a little longer?"

"Hmph! You're just trying to stall for time!" the Memory Lin Ling rebuked loudly. "How long do you expect everyone to wait? Until you, the Herrscher of Corruption, completely corrupt the Elysian Realm and reshape it in your own image?!"

Remembering everything the little green-haired doll had told her, Lin Ling immediately came up with another idea.

"Then... if you don't want to wait, why not contact Klein? Even though she's outside, I heard she's also one of the administrators here. She told me before we came that I could contact her if I ran into any problems."

"Hmph! You think I don't know that? You've already used your powers to seal off the Elysian Realm! We've been completely cut off from the outside world!"

However, the Memory Entity Lin Ling easily exposed Lin Ling's "trick" once again.

Furthermore, upon hearing that, every Flame-Chaser present secretly attempted to contact Klein.

Then...

They all frowned deeply.

At the same time, the previously cheerful banquet atmosphere vanished instantly, and everyone's gazes toward the two figures at the center of the room became filled with vigilance and hostility.

"This..."

Lin Ling was speechless for a moment, unsure how to explain herself.

"Hmph! Nothing to say now? You really are an impostor! Hurry up and reveal your true form... Let me execute you on the spot!"

"Wait a minute!"

At that moment, Mei, who had been quietly observing the two of them, interrupted the Memory Lin Ling before she could press the issue further.

Looking seriously at the somewhat aggressive Memory Lin Ling, she asked, "So, how are you going to prove that you're the real Ling?"

"Huh?" the Memory Lin Ling replied. "Is that even a question? If she can't prove she's real, doesn't that automatically make me the real one?"

"Not necessarily." Mei shook her head slightly as she continued her careful analysis. "Even if she's a fake Ling, that doesn't necessarily mean you're the real one. After all, it's entirely possible that both of you are fake. Perhaps you're both Herrschers of Corruption putting on an act."

"Hmph~ You're quite cautious. But proving I'm real is simple." The Memory Entity Lin Ling confidently tilted her head toward Mei. "Mei, ask me some questions about what happened between us at St. Freya Academy. Then we'll each print out the corresponding memories using that typewriter. You can judge who's telling the truth based on whose memories are correct."

Mei rested her chin on her hand as she considered the proposal's feasibility before exchanging a glance with Elysia.

Elysia nodded.

"Don't worry, Mei. Although Mobius is gone, don't forget we still have Vill-V. Even the Herrscher of Corruption can't easily corrupt or manipulate this typewriter while she's here."

"Every system has flaws. There is no perfect system in this world." Vill-V then explained seriously, having switched from her flamboyant magician personality to her calm expert persona. "Likewise, every virus leaves traces. Even if the Herrscher of Corruption somehow controlled this typewriter, there would still be evidence. They couldn't fake everything."

"Hmm... We can try it." After receiving Vill-V's assurance, Mei nodded and agreed to the Memory Lin Ling's proposal.

The Memory Lin Ling then glanced contemptuously at the visibly flustered Lin Ling and sneered.

"Hmph. As far as I know, you, the Herrscher of Corruption, haven't existed for very long. You certainly wouldn't know what happened in the past, would you?"

"!!!"

Lin Ling's pupils instantly constricted.

Oh no! Oh no! Oh no! Now I'm going to become a substitute...

————————————————————————

Chapter 299: Ling, what do you choose to do? Hmph, of course I'll kill this imposter!!

Crack!

With a sudden, soft rumble of thunder, it was as if something representing reason had snapped.

Then, she saw a glint of crimson light flash in one of Mei's purple eyes!

Finally! Had the restless heart in Mei's chest finally given way?

"This is... Herrscher of Reason... um!?"

But before she could say anything in surprise, Mei cut her off...

"What are you doing!?"

Another girl's surprised voice rang out. Our commotion had woken Kiana, who had almost fallen asleep. Her eyes widened in shock as she stared at the two most important people in her life, entwined together, her face filled with disbelief...

But the next moment, she licked her lips, a smile playing on her lips, her eyes revealing intense desire:

"So cunning! You told me to go to sleep, but you two... hmph! I want to join you too!"

...

"Enough!"

Zzzzz~ Boom!

A powerful electric current suddenly erupted, interrupting Elysia's expressive recitation.

Everyone turned to see that Mei, whose face had turned bright red, had suddenly released a powerful electric current, instantly burning the paper in Elysia's hand to ashes.

"Eh~" Elysia pouted, clearly still wanting more. "We were just getting to the most exciting part. How could we stop here?"

"No way!" Mei refused without hesitation, her tone sharp. "Absolutely not! Especially not in front of everyone..."

Elysia seemed to have caught a loophole in her words and chuckled, "Oh~ so you could tell me privately?"

"No, that's not what I meant either, not even privately..."

"Oh dear, looks like I'll have to ask Ling then~ She'll definitely tell me, right?"

"She wouldn't dare?!"

While Mei and Elysia were bickering, Griseo curiously peeked out and asked.

"Mei-neechan, what are you and Kiana doing, sandwiching Lin Ling-neechan in the middle?"

"Ahem, nothing. Just... a little game." Mei coughed lightly, then chuckled, trying to fool the seemingly clueless child. She then glared angrily at Lin Ling and Elysia.

"Ling, what memory are you looking for? Why this particular one? And Elysia, why are you reading it out loud? Can't you two be serious? There are children here! Don't set a bad example!"

"Hehe~" Griseo cleverly got away with it twice.

"Oh, playing a game?" Griseo, however, still seemed quite interested. "It looks fun. Griseo wants to play too. Mei-neechan, can you invite me next time you play with Lin Ling-neechan?"

“That won’t do, Griseo. This kind of thing is for when you grow up to be an adult like me~” Elysia patted Griseo’s head, correcting her somewhat skewed thinking.

“Hmm… okay then.” Although a little reluctant, Griseo obediently complied since Elysia had said so.

Then, Elysia looked Mei up and down with a gaze that seemed to show newfound appreciation for her: “But speaking of which, I really didn’t expect Mei, who usually seems so serious, to go this far. The three of you together… um… I didn’t realize Mei was such a free-spirited and wild person~ I guess I should be a little more careful around you in the future?”

“No, I didn’t… never mind, I just felt like you were really enjoying yourself.” Mei knew that with Elysia and Lin Ling, who never missed an opportunity to push their luck, there was only one way.

“Can we stop talking about this?”

That was to change the subject.

Ah…it sounds like she was once caught in a pincer movement by both Mei and Kiana?! This…this…

Meanwhile, Lin Ling herself, after hearing this bizarre story, couldn't help but feel her heart race. She secretly glanced at the purple-haired girl who was clearly shy but trying to maintain her composure.

But she must say, Mei is so tall, with a great figure—curvy, long legs, and undeniably beautiful. Her aura is also unique; she seems serious and cold, yet gives off a gentle and considerate feeling.

Hmm~ she's one of her types…Ah! What am I thinking?! No, this isn't the time to think about that! I need to figure out how to solve my current predicament.

Lin Ling shook her head, banishing the wild thoughts that had arisen from hearing the strange past, and then seriously considered how to break out of this situation.

Should I…tell them everything I know? Say I've lost my memory?

Meanwhile, the Herrscher of Corruption noticed that the 'real person' was trembling slightly and even sweating. She stepped forward and mocked.

"Hmph~ Imposter, you seem nervous, huh? Well, that's right, it's your turn now. I'll see what you do. Oh, and by the way, don't try to fabricate memories to fool me. Mei's been here the whole time and doesn't know what's going on outside. Even if you do, you can't verify the truth."

"Hmph!" Lin Ling turned and glared at the person who looked exactly like her, but said nothing.

Indeed, as she said... there were no witnesses or physical evidence here; words alone were useless. Even telling them what happened outside wouldn't help.

But... how could she make them believe her?

On the other side, Mei finally suppressed Elysia's curiosity. She coughed lightly again and then turned her attention to something more important.

Indeed, what Lin Ling had just displayed were precious memories known only to herself, Ling, and Kiana; outsiders would have no way of knowing...

But, for some reason, she always felt a vague sense of unease... something just didn’t feel right...

So, she composed herself, smiled gently, and said to the somewhat flustered yet endearing Lin Ling.

“Ling, don’t be nervous. As long as you can produce some... normal memories, that’s fine...”

“Sigh~” Lin Ling sighed softly.

She wish she could, but...

The girl slowly stepped forward, stood on the typewriter, and took a deep breath:

The human brain, or rather, the soul, is not simply a storage device. So-called memories are not merely records of past events.

Perhaps this machine can find those lost memories hidden deep within my soul...

The girl prayed...

Now, she could only hope for a miracle...

She gently placed her hand on the typewriter, and it began to work.

Even the most boisterous Flame-Chasers held their breath, nervously watching the typewriter.

But after a flurry of activity, it produced only a blank sheet of paper.

“...” Looking at this empty memory, Lin Ling gritted her teeth, remaining silent.

Indeed, miracles don't exist in this world...

Mei, meanwhile, frowned deeply, her gaze toward Lin Ling revealing a profound disappointment that was obvious to everyone.

The other Flame-Chasers also wore complex expressions; some were deep in thought... while others were already ablaze with fury!

“Hahahaha!” Only the Herrscher of Corruption laughed triumphantly. “A lie is always a lie; it can never become the truth. I am the real Lin Ling!”

“So... how should we deal with this Herrscher of Corruption from the present civilization?” Vill-V asked again.

“Hmm...” Elysia thought for a moment and suggested, “How about... we let her go? After all, with examples like Mei and Lin Ling, it proves that Herrschers of this era can be reformed. So, since she hasn’t really done anything wrong, maybe she just wants an identity, wants to be recognized by everyone. What do you think about letting her off this time?”

“I object!”

But the temperature in the room suddenly spiked, and a masked man engulfed in flames stood up.

“Hmph! Have you all forgotten what the last Herrscher of Corruption did and what happened to her? I haven’t! This kind of dangerous individual only has one fate: to be burned to ashes!!!”

However, Eden, Pardo, Hua, and Aponia, whose personalities were kinder, sided with Elysia. Aponia, in particular, stepped forward, intentionally shielding Lin Ling behind her.

"Don't hand her over to me. Whether she's the real Miss Lin Ling or not, I've already made a sacred pact with her and won't abandon her. Let her atone with me in The Deep."

Kevin, as always, remained icy, watching coldly from the side, lost in thought.

Vill-V, however, didn't support outright elimination. She preferred to study this 'Herrscher of Corruption,' suggesting, "Arguing like this is pointless. Why not leave it to me? Let me examine her body thoroughly and see if I can create a Divine Key or something. That way, we won't have to worry about her harming humanity, and in a sense, we won't have to kill her. What do you think?"

"Hmm... let's ask the person involved."

However, Elysia thought for a moment and ultimately left the final decision to the person involved, 'Lin Ling,' and Mei, who was closest to her.

"So, Ling, Mei, what do you think?"

The Herrscher of Corruption replied without hesitation, "Hmph! No need to ask! Daring to impersonate me, trying to replace me? Trying to take my woman? Then naturally, elimination is the best course of action!"

Those not very familiar with Lin Ling might not find anything entirely wrong with this; after all, if someone impersonates you to take everything from you, wouldn't everyone react this way?

But Mei, who had been silent until now, immediately had a twitch in her eye, but quickly regained her composure and returned to calm.

Then, with a doting smile, she walked to 'Lin Ling' and shook her head.

"Honestly, why didn't you tell me about such a big thing? ... Were you planning to shoulder everything alone and secretly resolve it? Humph! What if we mistook you for someone else? What if you got hurt again? ... You idiot."

"Don't worry~" Corruption Lin Ling patted her chest nonchalantly. "It's just a mere imposter, I can handle it all by myself!"

"Oh." Mei looked Lin Ling up and down. "So it seems you've really grown more and more capable during your time away?"

The Herrscher of Corruption, having already won a great victory, practically snorted with pride, boasting, "Of course! I'm not the weakling I used to be, easily crushed to dust!"

"Oh? It seems you've indeed grown a lot during your time apart. Have you gained some new abilities? Let me see," Mei asked.

“Of course~” With that, Lin Ling, the Corruptor, conjured a pair of dragon wings and horns.

She unleashed a powerful dragon breath toward the sky, no less potent than a Divine Key's attack.

The Flame-Chasers were immediately startled.

"This is... the power of a MANTIS?"

"Hmph! That's not all." Then Lin Ling's body transformed again, changing from a dragon princess into a catgirl.

"Meow!?" Pardofelis excitedly ran over, pinching and examining everything. "This tail, these ears, this familiar feel... well, it's practically identical to mine!"

Although the Herrscher of Corruption was merely a self-aware virus without a physical body, she was now a memory-like entity formed from fragmented memories of Lin Ling. Therefore, at least within the Elysian Realm's memory space, she could simulate Lin Ling's power.

“Of course, speaking of which, I’ve been with Snake the whole time I’ve been out here. That guy's been experimenting on me, turning me into a MANTIS too. Oh, but a lot of people outside know that, so even if others know, it doesn’t prove she’s me.”

Mei nodded. “Yeah, that’s natural. At worst, I can just go out and ask Kiana, but…”

Mei looked at the bewildered Lin Ling beside her and continued, “Are you really going to just get rid of her like this?”

“What do you mean?” The Herrscher of Corruption frowned, displeased. “Just because she’s become like me, you can’t bring yourself to do it? You’ve fallen in love with her?”

“No… I just… Hmm, Ling, why are you so murderous today? This isn’t like you at all…”

Meanwhile, the Herrscher of Corruption, seeing that Mei had become suspicious of her again, immediately changed her expression, her murderous intent softening into a wicked grin.

"Looks like you don't really want to kill her. How about this, you kiss me, and I'll let her go~"

"Hmm..." Mei blushed, a hint of shyness in her voice.

"So you just wanted to take advantage of me... Really, there are so many people here."

"That's easy. Go away!"

The Herrscher of Corruption then addressed everyone present. "We're going to have some friendly exchanges between girls, you guys better get out of the way! The ladies can stay, but you can't just watch, you have to join us~"

"Ahhh! No way! I want to kill this Herrscher myself!"

"Let's go, Kalpas. You're so clueless about the atmosphere! You'll never find a girlfriend if you keep this up!"

"Hmph! A real man doesn't need a girlfriend!"

"Oh? You don't want a girlfriend, so do you want a boyfriend? Who's got your eye on? Kevin? Oh no, Kevin already has someone he likes? How about Su? Or Kosma?"

"Hmm! Indeed, I really enjoy fighting them! But what does 'boyfriend' mean?"

"Alright, alright, things are clear now. Let's all go home for today. Give Mei and Ling some space~"

With Elysia's help, all the Flame-Chasers, whether they left voluntarily or not, were driven away.

...

"Hmm..." Lin Ling, the Herrscher of Corruption, looked around.

Great, the Flame-Chasers are all gone; no one can stop her now!

Then, the Herrscher of Corruption, with a triumphant smile, looked at the defeated Lin Ling and, with a smug grin, slowly leaned forward toward the somewhat shy Mei.

Hahaha! Success is within reach!

As long as I can completely lower the Herrscher of Thunder's guard against me, even if she's a fellow Herrscher, even if she controls the lightning power that can suppress my 'virus' nature, I can still invade her mind and obtain Lin Ling's complete memories!

Then I'll take over her body and acquire all her power! Then no one will be able to stop me!!!

...

"Oh no!"

Looking at the person who seemed to be her wife, chatting and flirting with 'herself,' and discussing how to deal with her, Lin Ling felt a complex mix of emotions.

But now she was helpless, only able to nervously await her punishment while praying that Dr. Mobius and Higyokumaru would arrive as soon as possible...

...

But!

Success was within reach!

The girl's face was so close, her slightly trembling eyelashes, her warm red lips slightly parted as if inviting her. She was about to experience firsthand the feeling of being 'loved'...

"Uh!?"

Suddenly!

The Herrscher of Corruption froze in midair because she felt a sharp, piercing pain shoot through her abdomen.

Looking down, she saw a katana piercing through her body...

"Mei! You... why?!"

---

Chapter 300: This is the real Ling!

Some say that memory is the essence of a person, even their everything.

If we lose our memories, everything in our lives becomes meaningless; even if the body remains alive, it is no longer itself.

And if a newborn with a blank slate inherits our past memories, then in a sense, they have already replaced us.

But is this really the case?

Scientists have conducted experiments showing that even twins with identical childhood experiences can react completely differently to the same unfamiliar object.

Elderly people with Alzheimer's disease, even after losing their memories, will still choose to pack delicious food for their children, even if they no longer know who their children are.

Memory is indeed important, carrying our past.

But!

Can our soul be completely determined by a single memory?!

A person's soul must contain something deeper, something more fundamental, that won't change simply because of mere forgetting!

...

The Herrscher of Corruption glared angrily, then opened her mouth, words of extreme resentment spilling out along with the blood.

"Why! My appearance and memories are exactly the same as Lin Ling's, yet you refuse to acknowledge me!?"

However, Mei simply shook her head.

"Appearances can be faked, actions can be imitated, language can be borrowed… but what truly determines a person's soul isn't these superficial things, but her 'choice'!"

"Huh?" The Herrscher of Corruption froze on the spot, then after a long pause, she asked, bewildered.

"Choice? What choice!?"

"Some things don't change because of forgetting. Even if she lost her memories, Ling would never make the choice you're making now! My Ling isn't a bloodthirsty killer!"

Mei recalled Lin Ling's life.

Aside from the Herrscher of Legion's puppets, that fool had never killed a single innocent life. On the contrary, time and again, she had risked everything, using her own wounds to save those world-destroying messengers, humanity's greatest enemies—the Herrschers—whose sins were considered irredeemable by the world.

And this included Mei herself…

“What?!”

But the Herrscher of Corruption completely rejected Mei’s explanation, roaring.

“Just because of that! No! That’s not right… No! That’s not it! People change! How can you say I’m not Lin Ling now? If someone impersonates you, trying to take everything from you, wouldn’t you choose to destroy them?!”

“As for me… perhaps…”

Mei’s response was to exert force again, her entire body crackling with electricity, plunging her blade in another inch.

“Pfft!”

This caused the already severely injured Herrscher of Corruption to cough up another mouthful of blood…

“After all…”

Deep anger also appeared on Mei’s face as she roared at the Herrscher of Corruption, “I will not tolerate anyone taking my Ling! Taking everything from me!”

The Herrscher of Corruption's eyes turned crimson, glaring at Mei with intense hatred. Eerie black mist began to rise from her body.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!! You wait, I will definitely get my revenge..."

"Wait, wait! What are you doing, Mei-san?!"

But just then, a hand suddenly reached out and gripped Mei's sword, halting its further penetration and temporarily stopping the Herrscher of Corruption's attack.

"Ling!"

Realizing who had stopped her, Mei instantly ceased her attack.

Looking at Lin Ling's bleeding hand, cut from gripping a sharp blade, with a face full of heartache, Mei exclaimed.

"You idiot! What are you doing?! Let go!"

But Lin Ling completely ignored her injury, simply smiling as she spoke.

"Um... Miss Mei, wait a minute... This... this other me maybe she doesn't really want to kill me or anything. Maybe she's just joking... Besides, I'm still alive, aren't I? Maybe there's some misunderstanding? We can clear it up, right?..."

"..."

Mei didn't answer Lin Ling, but instead gently stroked the smiling girl's face. "You idiot, you've always been like this..."

Then, she turned her head, looking at the Herrscher of Corruption with pity. "You... see? This is the true Ling."

"No! Impossible! It can't be! It shouldn't be like this!..."

Finally, for the first time, deep confusion, struggle, and pain appeared on the Herrscher of Corruption's face.

She clutched her head tightly: "Survival is the first priority of life! How could anyone value other things more than life itself? How could anyone choose to let go of someone who wanted to kill them? You liar, stop pretending! Don't I know you? You think if you let me go, I'll fall in love with you! Become your possession, just another plaything?"

"You're wrong!"

Before Lin Ling could retort again, another voice continued:

"This idiot is all talk and no action. On the contrary, we only truly fell in love with this idiot after recognizing the real her..."

"Ah? That's not what I meant! The other me, believe me." Lin Ling quickly explained.

"Huh? Heh... Ridiculous! Do you know that?"

But after hearing their words, the Herrscher of Corruption inexplicably laughed.

At first, her laughter was soft and gentle, but it gradually grew louder and louder, more and more maniacal...

Finally, she pointed to her head, a triumphant smile spreading across her face.

"Here in my body are her memories, her past! I know better than any of you what she's thinking! Maybe this girl really didn't want to kill, but from the beginning, she was just using you, getting close to you only to gain your power!... Everything was just pretense... Ridiculous, ridiculous... Hahahaha..."

Finally, perhaps due to the severity of her injuries, the Herrscher of Corruption, amidst a maniacal laugh, dissipated into black smoke and vanished completely into the air.

In the end, this farce came to an end…

…

Some time passed.

“Sigh…” The white-haired girl awoke from her deep thoughts, letting out a deep sigh. “I really don’t want it to end like this…”

“I wonder if this will even work.”

While Lin Ling was lost in thought, Mei tore a strip of cloth from her own clothing and used it as a bandage to wrap around Lin Ling’s hand.

Although this was a memory space, Mei couldn’t just stand by and watch her beloved be injured. Besides, there were no doctors or anything like that around, so she had no choice but to treat it this way for now.

Lin Ling looked at the carefully bandaged wound on her hand. Although she could have quickly healed it with her healing abilities, she still sincerely thanked Mei.

"Thank you, Miss Mei."

"Miss Mei...?"

The purple-haired girl seemed unhappy after hearing Lin Ling's thanks. She frowned and asked.

"So, you should tell me what happened, right? Why do you seem..."

"It seems she'd lost her memory, right?"

But before Lin Ling could answer, another somewhat childish but seemingly all-knowing voice rang out.

Mei looked in the direction of the voice and saw a petite green-haired girl.

"Hehe, Mei, are you finally done here? Can I watch?"

But before Mei could react, a playful voice came from around a corner.

Everyone turned around and saw a pink-haired girl with her hands covering her face peeking out from the corner. It was unclear when she had gotten there.

However, it was clear that her exaggeratedly wide fingers couldn't completely cover her eyes.

Therefore, after questioning Mei, she naturally noticed Mobius, who had just arrived.

“Hi Mobius, it's been a few days, and you seem to have shrunk again? Oh, I really envy you. You're so small, like a child. I wish I could be a child too, without worries, without any responsibilities”

“Elysia, you've gained weight, so that's why you think others are smaller.” Mobius retorted without backing down.

“Alright, you two, stop for a second.”

Mei stopped the war between the two wicked women, one pink-haired and one green-haired, and asked helplessly, rubbing her forehead.

“So, what exactly happened? What’s going on?”

…

“Then, just now, I suddenly felt the seal on the Herrscher of Corruption disappear, and that’s how I successfully entered the Elysian Realm. And then, I found you here…”

“So, in other words…”

After listening to Mobius's explanation, Mei roughly understood the story that had unfolded in the outside world during this time.

Then… she instantly hugged the somewhat bewildered Lin Ling tightly!

"!?!"

Suddenly hugged by a strange woman, the girl froze.

"Ms. Mei, what are you doing?"

"You idiot! You want to be mentally broken instead of physically injured?! You idiot, you big idiot! Why are you always like this?..."

However, Mei only hugged her tighter, and tears welled up in her eyes, wetting Lin Ling's shoulder...

"Um umm" Bewildered, Lin Ling quickly gave the two beside her a 'help me' look.

"Hmph~" Mobius turned her head away, choosing to ignore her.

For some reason, seeing Lin Ling hugging another woman made even her inexplicably unhappy.

“Oh dear, Ling~ you're such a sinful woman,” Elysia said. “Maybe I should stay away from you from now on?”

However, contrary to her words, her expression was full of interest. She didn't move away at all, instead taking a step closer to observe Lin Ling and Mei's interaction:

Oh my, I never thought Mei would make such an expression Ling, you're really intriguing me more and more

And so, without any outside help, Lin Ling could only keep her body tense as Mei held her.

And so, she didn't know how much time had passed.

Perhaps she had come to her senses, perhaps she had accepted reality.

Mei released the girl from her arms.

Although there were still a few tears in the corners of her eyes.

Although the precious past between them was gone, thankfully...

At least, Ling was still by her side, in her arms, and she could truly feel her presence.

However, the only thing that really annoyed Mei was that this girl was now being incredibly distant with her!

After composing herself, Mei's next words to Lin Ling were: "Also, don't call me Miss Mei, understand?"

"Oh," Lin Ling nodded thoughtfully, "...Then... Miss Raiden?"

"Huh!?" Seeing that she was only getting more distant, Mei's eyes widened, and she spoke angrily.

"Call me Mei! Not Miss! Or... well... call me that... the way you called me before is fine too..."

The girl scratched her head sheepishly.

"Huh? Before, what did I call you before? I think I always called you Miss Mei?"

"..." Mei was speechless, but glancing at the two third wheels behind her, she didn't continue the conversation.

"Mobius," she turned to Mobius. "You mean you came to the Elysian Realm to use the Reverse Synchronization Memory to restore Ling's memories, but now the memory has become the Herrscher of Corruption, and it's been destroyed, so...?"

“Don’t worry, we can try again. Memories can be copied. I sent it to Klein, and given her assistant’s habits, she definitely has a backup,” Mobius explained. “Besides, you know what? Mei-neechan~ what's more important now is your memory of Lin Ling. For some reason, I always feel like the rest of us don't have her complete memories.”

“Is that so…” Mei closed her eyes, sorting through her memories, then frowned. “I’ve always had this feeling too, like I’ve forgotten something important, but I can’t seem to remember it… Could it be that I’ve lost my memory too?”

“Oh? You really feel that way?” Mobius immediately became interested.

“Yes.” Mei nodded firmly. “And this feeling has been getting stronger lately, especially after seeing the real Ling.”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk” Mobius leaned closer to Mei, tilting her head back to observe her with interest. “It seems there’s some deep-seated secret between you and that cunning Guinea Pig, known only to the two of you. Interesting Interesting~”

“Hmm… really?” Hearing that she and Lin Ling shared a secret known only to them, a joyful smile finally appeared on Mei’s face. Then, she eagerly asked.

“Then, without further ado, let’s extract my memories of Ling and create a new memory!”

“Wait, don’t rush. Extracting memories is very painful.”

“It’s okay, I’m not afraid of pain!”

“Why are you all like this? What kind of drug did Guinea Pig give you to make you all so infatuated?” Mobius sighed helplessly. “Would you give up anything for her?”

Mei nodded without hesitation. “Of course, after all, that’s how Ling treats us…”

“Alright, but I need some time to prepare. And your memories alone probably won’t be enough, so please wait a moment.”

“Okay, I understand, then I’ll… wait! Elysia, what are you doing?!”

Suddenly, Mei glanced over and saw Elysia pinning Lin Ling against the wall.

It turned out that while Mei and Mobius were discussing how to help Lin Ling regain her memories…

Elysia, filled with curiosity and excitement, asked Lin Ling, "Ling, you seem to be able to transform into a Dragon Girl? And a catgirl too? Show me! I really want to touch your horns, I'm so curious, so curious!"

Lin Ling shrank back fearfully. "Eh! Sorry, Miss Elysia, I can't transform right now."

“Oh! So you really can transform?”

“Yes, but I can’t just transform whenever I want… I lost my memory, and I don’t know how to control my transformation.”

Lin Ling initially thought that once she said that, the pink-haired girl would let her go.

However, she underestimated Elysia's persistence and curiosity.

"Isn't that easy?" she said excitedly, moving closer. "I'm the second MANTIS in history! Actually, I almost became the first, so~"

"So?" Lin Ling had a bad feeling.

“So I know how to transform. Let me teach you step by step!” Elysia extended one hand, inviting, “Come on, Ling, don’t be shy. This will help you regain your memories~”

“No! Miss Elysia!”

Then, under Elysia’s persistent pressure, things turned out the way Mei saw.

“Elysia, my Lin Ling isn’t your toy!” Mei said, somewhat speechless and angry.

“Hey~ Don’t be so stingy, Mei. It’s not a big deal if I touch her horns.”

“Haven’t you touched mine enough? Besides... if anyone’s going to touch them, cough, cough,” Mei coughed lightly, “I should go first.”

When Elysia touched her horns before, seeing how happy the other was, Mei had thought she’d have to touch Lin Ling’s dragon horns sometime. Now that the opportunity was right in front of her, she naturally didn’t want to give up Lin Ling’s first time to someone else.

“Hahaha!” However, just as Mei and Elysia were vying for Lin Ling’s first time,

Mobius laughed triumphantly, “I’ve already touched Ling’s horns! As the one who made her a MANTIS and her chief surgeon, I was the first to touch everything about her, so you’ve both lost!”

“Ah, this…” Lin Ling, the source of all this commotion, was speechless. She sighed inwardly.

Sigh~ How unfortunate, why does this always happen when there are too many women around me?

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