From the moment the Herrscher of Corruption appeared and started speaking, there was an abundance of things that could rile up the players. One could say, ever since this moment began, the players' emotions hadn't truly calmed down. It felt as if they had returned to the Dominance Theatre and Krosten. There was this near overwhelming impulse to "slam the desk" in frustration.
The last person who made them feel like this was...
A certain former Schicksal Archbishop, who had been crushed by the Black Tiger.
And their "desire," their battle thirst... The writers, for some unknown reason, quickly gave them the satisfaction they craved.
A pang of conscience?
Well, they would soon find out.
In the game.
The Herrscher of Corruption spoke: "Since you want to fight me no matter what, I'll fulfill your expectations—after all, the last thing I want is to disappoint anyone."
"Hmph, finally showing your true face?"
Mei scoffed, "Although I don't understand why you're acting all harmless... this ends here!"
She chose not to suppress her anger any longer and drew her sword, but still keenly sensed something was off.
There was something distinctly abnormal in the Herrscher of Corruption's words and actions.
As expected, someone who was often teased as the "Herrscher of Reason."
"If I could, I really wouldn't want to fight you, Mei. You and I shouldn't be enemies."
But the Herrscher of Corruption clearly had no self-awareness.
Or rather, she was very intentionally imitating Elysia.
Intentionally, to the point of ignoring some objective facts.
Elysia could talk to Mei like that, tease her, because Elysia genuinely loved everyone from the heart, and had never hurt anyone.
But the Herrscher of Corruption?
All she had done—those fallen heroes whose lives had dissipated because of her—did she think she could just act cute, and all of that would be erased?
Not to mention, she wasn't even pulling off the "cute" act well!
"But I know you well, Mei. You're the kind of girl who likes to dig for the truth."
"So, I'm happy to show you the power of Corruption... I'll hand over all my trump cards, one by one, to you."
"Then, I'll prove to you—that what you see is... the unreserved, true me ♬"
"Let's start~~"
As the Herrscher of Corruption finished speaking, a scene that made the players' hearts stop appeared before their eyes.
The Herrscher of Corruption had... summoned a version of Mobius, in her corrupted form, as Mei's enemy.
Players: ????
Although they had wanted to fight earlier, they did NOT want to face this!
[What the hell? Isn't it supposed to be the Herrscher of Corruption? Why is it Mobius?]
[...Could the "trump cards" really be memories of fallen heroes?]
[Maybe it really is... Scriptwriter, come on!]
[This is NOT the fight I wanted!]
...
Seeing the Herrscher of Corruption summon "Mobius," the players instantly had an extremely bad premonition.
Because, in other games, the officials would likely consider the player's emotional tolerance.
But MiHoYo was different.
They probably never considered if players could handle...
These "rollercoaster" stories and those constant, eye-rolling "pranks."
MiHoYo really wasn't afraid to add anything into the game.
So...
Their thoughts were quite "normal," in a way, for anyone playing Honkai Impact 3rd.
And the following developments, indeed, went just as they had expected.
After they finished off "Mobius" with the Painful Mask, the Herrscher of Corruption immediately began clapping sarcastically.
"Wow—great job! You're really a match for me, Mei! Truly worthy of you! Now, let's move on to this data."
With a flick of her hand, the monster on the ground morphed into the form of Kalpas. This signified that she had used Kalpas' data and was still providing power from behind.
Though the players had anticipated it, seeing the Herrscher of Corruption summon Kalpas after "Mobius" to face Mei once more stirred their emotions.
Let's not even mention the Herrscher of Corruption endlessly prattling on.
[The new generation of Blood Pressure Herrscher, I'm getting numb.]
[Corruption! How dare you do this to Brother Kalpas?!]
[I knew the plot hadn't really started when they didn't immediately dive into the boss battle! Looks like the scriptwriter just wants to "mess around."]
Actually, not only were the players getting angrier, but in the game, Mei was also gathering her anger.
Even though she was facing Kalpas, someone she'd never gotten along with, personal grudges didn't mean she would allow Kalpas to be disrespected like this.
So...
She directly summoned Kurikara, mounted it, and quickly defeated Kalpas, just like when she fought him previously.
Seeing this, the Herrscher of Corruption didn't panic in the slightest.
"Another tie, huh? Next up... let's bring this one in."
Hearing her words, everyone's hearts immediately dropped.
Another one? Is this never-ending?
Could they really be forced to fight every single fallen hero?
They watched as the third fake hero appeared before them...
Vill-V, descending from the sky, riding a chariot.
Taking a deep breath.
"Although Vill-V's pranks really caused me trouble, I still consider her a good friend."
???
A good friend? Really?
This is how you treat your good friend?
No wonder this newly born Herrscher of Corruption has no friends.
Hehehe...
The players were clearly so angry they wished they could jump into the game and shout at the Herrscher of Corruption.
"This performance is from... the great magician? Expert? Oh well... I can't remember."
The Herrscher of Corruption started to expose her true nature as she went on.
Elysia would never forget!
And what she called a "good friend" meant she hadn't even thought of Vill-V in her heart.
But the Herrscher of Corruption clearly knew how to make excuses.
"But it's fine, every piece of Vill-V's data is here, fused with me, just like all the other memories."
[You are you, and the heroes are the heroes, you're not the same!]
[Corruption! How long are you going to deceive everyone with their faces?!]
[Heroes never needed some "life continuation." Each one of them is a hero, and you—you're just someone who steals the relics of heroes and everything they left behind.]
While some players raged, others chose to suppress their emotions and just pushed the buttons without much thought.
As long as they didn't engage, they wouldn't get hurt.
Hmm...
A wise decision.
If Hokuto knew what they were thinking, he would probably say something like this:
"Oh, maybe he would add something else too?"
"Let's hope everyone can maintain this state for the rest of the battles."
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