"So you're going to help?" Sirin asked, looking at the thoughtful Enoshia.
Enoshia nodded. She had decided to change the original course of events in order to save people. Although she had no idea why five Herrschers had appeared in seven days, solving the problem was clearly the most important thing now.
The Herrscher had only just appeared. This was when her powers were at their weakest and the number of survivors was at its highest. By the time Schicksal's forces assembled, finished planning their operation, and arrived, at least one major city would already have been destroyed.
"I know Schicksal subjected you to inhuman torture and took your friends away. I won't force you to do anything. It would be great if you could just help a little."
"Help a little?" Sirin asked, confused.
"Use the authority of the Herrscher of Void to send me there. Once I'm done on my end, I'll throw a few things to you. Just catch them and absorb them. They'll make you stronger."
February 6, 2000, 10:15 p.m., London.
"Being able to check the surveillance cameras across the entire city really makes finding her easy." Enoshia stood atop Big Ben's tower and looked down. The Herrscher of Death was on the other side of the River Thames.
"Fortunately, I can seize control of all of Schicksal's long-range weapons whenever I want. Otherwise, I'd have to worry about Otto firing a long-range missile at me halfway through the fight and blasting me to pieces." After what had happened to Old Yang, she had to guard against Otto stabbing her in the back while fighting a Herrscher.
In her right hand was a bow and arrow identical to the Pink Fairy Lady's signature weapon, Lingering Dream: Song of Love. The only difference was the color, which matched Corrupted Elysia's palette a little better.
For Honkai Energy, which could explain anything, it was probably perfectly reasonable for a Herrscher to conjure a weapon that did not actually exist out of thin air.
Pale violet energy gradually gathered in Enoshia's hands, taking the shape of an arrow. Enoshia herself obviously couldn't shoot a bow, but she was the Herrscher of Corruption now. She had left backups of herself in the various precision instruments at Schicksal HQ. Aside from giving herself an extra life, that also allowed her to have those devices assist her whenever she wanted.
With several of the most advanced devices in the world assisting with the calculations, a red frame appeared in front of Enoshia. She aimed the arrow at it and released the string. The arrow shot through the sight with a long trail of energy and struck the Herrscher of Death across the river with pinpoint accuracy.
An explosion rang out, sending dust several meters into the air. Large numbers of Zombies and Honkai Beasts were reduced to ashes by the Herrscher's attack. As soon as the explosion dispersed, a figure flew toward her at incredible speed.
The corners of Enoshia's lips lifted slightly. She drew her bow again and waited until it was less than a hundred meters away before firing her second arrow.
At such close range, she could hit it accurately even without high-tech assistance. However, being struck by the arrow did not slow it down. Instead, it charged at her even faster, swinging its pitch-black scythe. Enoshia failed to dodge in time, and her left arm, along with her left wing, was cut off.
Fortunately, she had not given herself pain receptors when creating her body. Otherwise, as someone with no training whatsoever, she might have already passed out.
However, with her balance thrown off, Enoshia still fell from the top of Elizabeth Tower. The Herrscher of Death enlarged its scythe several times, raised it high above its head, and brought it down. The scythe, more than ten meters long, not only sent Enoshia flying but also cleaved Elizabeth Tower in two.
After scraping along the ground for several hundred meters, Enoshia had just managed to get back up when the Herrscher of Death dove toward her at tremendous speed. In desperation, Enoshia casually conjured a greatsword and slammed it against the scythe.
"What..."
The greatsword was instantly disassembled the moment it collided with the scythe. As soon as Enoshia's right hand touched it, the scythe pierced through her body. Her entire form rapidly unraveled and soon dissipated into the world. The battle made it look as though Enoshia had provoked the Herrscher of Death of her own accord, only to quickly throw her life away.
The Herrscher of Death took two casual steps before its legs suddenly went weak. It dropped to its knees and began convulsing all over. Enoshia's true attack had only just begun.
Ever since becoming the Herrscher of Corruption, Enoshia had always had one question: If the Herrscher of Corruption could tamper with all machines and living organisms, did "all" include other Herrschers?
The truth came from practice. From the very beginning, she had never intended to clash head-on with the Herrscher of Death. Instead, she planned to use her authority to corrupt another Herrscher.
"Spread. Keep spreading until every corner is filled!" The corruption virus spread from her as its point of origin, expanding throughout the Herrscher of Death's entire body.
Once inside the Herrscher of Death's body, she saw an endless expanse of black mist filled with the power of decay. The result of spreading herself through it was merely to disperse part of the mist at the cost of her own Honkai Energy.
So she directly mobilized nearly all her Honkai Energy and shot herself toward the Herrscher Core inside the Herrscher of Death.
As she traveled through the Herrscher of Death's body, Enoshia felt as though someone had suddenly thrown her into the depths of the sea. Pressure from every direction seemed ready to tear her body apart. Fortunately, a Herrscher's Honkai Energy circulated extremely quickly within its body. That meant Enoshia could move at tremendous speed inside it. The painful sensation lasted only a moment before she successfully reached her destination.
After Yae Sakura was infected, she had once reclaimed control of her body through sheer willpower. Thus, when facing a Herrscher of the same level, Enoshia had prepared herself for severe rejection. Yet after she began infecting the Herrscher Core, she was surprised to discover that she encountered no resistance from any will at all.
Beside the Big Ben that had already been cleaved in half, a hand suddenly emerged from the chest of the convulsing Herrscher of Death. Its fingers clutched the Herrscher Core. Deprived of its Herrscher Core, the Herrscher of Death was like a human who had lost her heart. With a thud, she collapsed to the ground.
"Thank you." Just as the Herrscher of Death was about to lose all signs of life, those two words echoed through Enoshia's mind. Before her eyes, a glimmer of brightness appeared in the eyes that had previously been devoid of life.
Even though she had already become the Herrscher of Corruption, Enoshia still felt her head buzzing after crawling out of the Herrscher's body. It took several minutes for her to recover before she finally climbed to her feet.
She was a Herrscher, and the Herrscher of Death was also a Herrscher. As beings of equal stature, she naturally understood that corrupting a Herrscher would not be easy. That was why she had not dared to act recklessly. Her goal from the start had not been to freely rewrite the Herrscher's data. She only needed to control it for an instant, and that would be enough.
After successfully controlling this Herrscher, who had been born less than half an hour earlier, Enoshia seized that brief opportunity to order it to abandon all defenses. She then took advantage of the opening to remove its Herrscher Core.
Even so, the price of corrupting a Herrscher was far greater than she had imagined. She knew that, with her current reserves, she could forget about handling another Herrscher. Even if another Quasi-Herrscher appeared, she could not guarantee that she would have enough Honkai Energy to corrupt it completely.
February 6, 2000, 10:22 p.m. The Herrscher activity of the Herrscher of Death vanished completely, ending with one-third of London reduced to a dead city.
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