The Faded Miss Fairy?

To be specific, Mei, who was really bored, went to spar with Kevin.

To be honest, before this sparring match, Mei was quite confident in herself. Having never fought Kevin before, her impression of Kevin was always... Kevin, not bad.

Then she was easily defeated by Kevin.

The next day, Mei, accompanied by Hi-maru, challenged him again with her full strength.

Then they were defeated even faster than on the first day, because this time Kevin brought out Skyfire.

From then on, Mei deeply realized what it meant to have a world beyond the heavens, and her expectations for the Finality reached a new level.

Regardless of how Mei was educated by Kevin, Mei Xia Ling felt a sense of novelty upon seeing Kevin again after so long.

"Um... Kevin, you look a little..."

Xia Ling thought for a long time, and then blurted out a word: "Mental exhaustion?"

"It's just your imagination."

Kevin did not admit it and changed the subject.

"It seems that Otto's arrangements are complete, and you appear to have completely quelled the aftermath of that incident."

"That's right. I didn't expect you to be so well-informed even though you're in World Serpent."

"The World Serpent naturally has its own methods..." Kevin's gaze swept carefully over Xia Ling, then his tone was somewhat surprised.

"You... fused with another Herrscher Core?"

"I got it from Otto. Strictly speaking, I also have some of the power of restraint, but it doesn't reach the level of a normal Herrscher."

Xia Ling did not hide her strength. For Kevin, such concealment was meaningless, so it was better to tell him and make him happy.

"Your grasp of the Primal Authority seems to far surpass our last meeting... Not bad, it seems you haven't wasted your time."

Kevin nodded slightly.

"After all, unlike others, I have always known that the Finality is not far away from us."

Xia Ling showed no joy regarding her improved strength. "But before that... the Stigmata Project must be launched, right?"

"I'm sorry, I have no choice. You are familiar with the people in the Elysian Realm, so you should understand this best."

"I know, so... the Stigmata Project has already begun?"

"Stigmata Project started a while ago, but if you're talking about its actual implementation, then it did happen recently."

Kevin made no attempt to evade Xia Ling's question, but rather openly acknowledged her guess.

Rather, he longs for the day when current civilization can surpass the Stigmata Project more than anyone else.

"Really..."

In the original storyline, when Mei came out of the Elysian Realm, the Stigmata Project was already nearing its end. From this perspective, Kevin certainly didn't hesitate at all on this point.

Even though the world is now in a much better state than in the original story, and even though the Flame-Chasers in the Elysian Realm have made contact with the outside world, he still firmly carried out the plan.

"Kevin, I want to ask you a question. It might be a bit offensive, but it's probably only you who can answer it."

After a moment of contemplation, Xia Ling slowly spoke.

"Please feel free to speak."

"Regarding the Finality battle of the previous generation... I want to know about Vill-V."

"..."

Kevin paused for a moment. Even for him, that battlefield on the moon was one of his most unforgettable memories.

"The combined power of the eight Herrscher... was incredibly strong. Even considering her weapon against Kevin —Type 5—she was among the top-ranked among the Flame-Chasers at the time."

"But for the Finality, this is not enough."

"What if there were a few more varieties?"

"It's still not enough. Perhaps such an outburst can temporarily put up a fight, but the Herrscher and the Herrscher of Finality are two completely different beings."

Without the slightest hesitation, Kevin rejected the possibility.

"What if the opponent isn't the Finality, but you?"

"Perhaps, he can be compared to the demon of karma."

This time, Kevin thought about it seriously for a while, and then gave a vague answer.

"Comparable to the Demon King... I understand, thank you, Kevin."

Xia Ling didn't press further. She had already gotten the answer she wanted: an estimate of the Finality's strength.

For the same reason, the level of power displayed by the Finality in the original story is not very relevant to Xia Ling's current reality. Therefore, she can only confirm the level of the Finality's power through Kevin's description.

And... the upper limit that I might reach.

"Alright, let's move on to the next topic."

Xia Ling took a deep breath and said.

"I'd like to... access the database of the Elysian Realm, is that alright?"

This time, Kevin fell into a long silence.

"You're very bold."

"You should know what what you're saying right now really means."

"Of course I know that, as the foundation for the continued existence of the Elysian Realm, its database itself will not interact with the outside world except for the cadres in each trial."

"The purpose of doing this is to ensure the security of the Elysian Realm's data... but rules are meant to be broken."

"Since I started, there have been more than one data interaction between the Elysian Realm and the outside world."

"Aponia once told me that the end of the Elysian Realm would be darkness and destruction..." Kevin paused, then said, "What you are doing now is very likely to be in accordance with her prophecy."

"Then you should also know that the so-called thread of fate has already been severed." Xia Ling refused to back down.

"Moreover, there are now three Herrscher of Corruption protecting the Elysian Realm. Unless the Finality directly, I don't think the Elysian Realm will suffer the same fate under these circumstances."

"So, you were the Herrscher of Corruption..."

To Xia Ling's surprise, Kevin did not refute her reasons, but instead sighed with a completely unrelated remark.

"Uh... what's wrong?"

"It's nothing, she's very lively, that's all."

Kevin sighed, "Actually, even if you wanted to forcibly access Elysian Realm's data, there's nothing I could do about it, but..."

"I agree to your request, but you need to agree to two conditions."

"First of all, you cannot move to the server of the Elysian Realm."

"Of course, I will only copy and collect a portion of the data." Xia Ling nodded without hesitation.

"Secondly... Rather than a testing ground, the Elysian Realm is more like a tomb. If you want to replicate their past, you must obtain their consent."

"So... you need to go to the Elysian Realm and let me see the approval of the Herrschers."

"Does this mean I... have to collect all the imprints?"

"That's right."

Chapter Forty-Five: The Faded Miss Fairy?

Shall we go to the Elysian Realm...?

Xia Ling pondered for a moment. It wasn't that she was hesitating because she needed to go to the Elysian Realm, but rather that she usually entered Elysian Realm through the system in the form of a memory, and going through the formal channels like this was a first for her.

However, Kevin's previous attitude was somewhat intriguing... He seemed to know that Elysia had brought Erosion back to the Elysian Realm? But he shouldn't have gone near the Elysian Realm, which means... Erosion ran away on its own?

Xia Ling felt a headache coming on.

It had only been a little over ten days since she acquired the Herrscher of Corruption in Kolosten. It seemed that both Elysia's teaching progress and her learning progress in Erosion far exceeded her expectations.

However, although the erosions that Elysia has raised so far haven't shown any aggressiveness, they are quite adept at playing pranks...

Herrscher who's only a few days old dares to cause trouble for Kevin. All those predecessors from your Previous Civilization who were killed by Kevin in various ways would have to give you a thumbs up if they saw this.

"We've arrived. If we go any further, even I have no right to go any deeper."

The sound coming from in front of her made Xia Ling stop in her tracks.

As her thoughts converged again from their scattered ideas, Xia Ling realized that she had entered a rather deep passageway.

"Thank you, Gray Serpent. I can walk the rest of the way by myself."

Xia Ling nodded in greeting.

The one leading the way for her was a Gray Serpent stationed at headquarters. Although all the Gray Serpent looked the same, this one seemed to be the more benign type.

However, speaking of which, there should be another dark golden Gray Serpent in the Gray Serpent network... It far surpasses the other Gray Serpent in both strength and temperament, and in the Finality battle, it is almost an opponent that they must face.

"You're welcome... Besides, we might have opportunities to work together in the future."

Leaving behind a vague and ambiguous statement, the Gray Serpent turned and left without looking back.

"Ah?"

Cooperate...?

Wait, was that Gray Serpent Gray Serpent 1904?

Xia Ling suddenly realized what was happening.

That should be correct. Even if it wasn't 1904 himself, it was probably Gray Serpent from the same faction as him.

After all, the Jackal of this world had already been killed by her, which means that the person who was originally responsible for burning the Stigmata to help Gray Serpent 1904 usurp Gray Serpent's network authority during the Finality battle was gone.

In this situation, the Corrosion Power is undoubtedly the best alternative.

And the few people currently known to be able to use the Corrosion Power... well, all of them have close ties to me.

No wonder Gray Serpent came to him early to express his intention to cooperate.

However, considering the necessity of seizing the Gray Serpent Network... it seems I have no choice but to help with this.

Keeping this little incident in mind, Xia Ling continued walking into the deep passageway ahead.

Finally, a familiar door appeared before her.

"So... how do I open this?"

Standing in front of the door, Xia Ling fell silent.

Teleporting directly in is certainly an option, but... considering that the Little E that Elysia recently brought back might be a bit unruly, Klein probably already working overtime like crazy.

Let's not give her any unnecessary workload, otherwise Serpent will come looking for trouble again.

Why don't we knock on the door? There might not be anyone in the living room most of the time, but who knows?

Xia Ling walked to the door, and before she could even raise her hand, the door opened automatically.

"Hi, Xia Ling, long time no see~"

To Xia Ling's surprise, a pink figure had been waiting at the door for a long time.

"Huh? I don't remember telling Elysia I was coming to the Elysian Realm..."

Before she could finish speaking, Xia Ling was grabbed by the hand by Elysia and pulled into the reception hall.

"Don't worry about the details, this is a girl's magic!"

It seems that Elysia has no intention of telling her her source.

But...

Xia Ling stopped in her tracks.

"What's the matter?"

Elysia turned around and looked at Xia Ling, who was standing still, with a puzzled expression.

Xia Ling: Staring...

"Yes, is there something dirty on me?"

It seems that the flock of birds (九)? Wu Ba Ling? Shi Ling Wu was feeling a little uncomfortable being looked at by Xia Ling. Elysia looked left and right, but couldn't find anything wrong with her.