Death's Collapse

"So you're going to help?" Sirin asked, watching Enoshia deep in thought.

Enoshia nodded. She had altered the original course of the story precisely to save people. Though she had no idea why five Herrschers had popped up in seven days, solving the problem was clearly the top priority now.

The Herrschers had just appeared—this was when their power was weakest and the most people were still alive. By the time Schicksal's forces assembled, formulated a battle plan, and arrived, at least one major city would already be destroyed.

"I know Schicksal subjected you to inhuman torture and took your friends. I won't force you to do anything. But if you could lend a small hand, that would be great."

"A small hand?" Sirin was puzzled.

"Use your Herrscher of Void authority to send me over. When I'm done on my end, I'll toss you a few things. Just take them and absorb them—they'll make you stronger."

22:15, February 6, 2000, London.

"Being able to check all the city's surveillance at once—found it right away." Enoshia stood atop Big Ben, looking down. The Herrscher of Death was on the other side of the River Thames.

"Good thing I can seize control of all Schicksal's long-range weapons anytime. Otherwise, I'd have to worry about Otto launching a remote missile and blowing me to bits mid-fight." With Old Yang's precedent in mind, she had to watch for Otto's backstab while fighting a Herrscher.

In her right hand, she held a bow identical to the Pink Fairy Lady's signature weapon, Lingering Dream: Song of Love—just recolored to match Corrupted Elysia's palette better.

For Honkai Energy, which could explain anything, it made perfect sense that a Herrscher could conjure a weapon that didn't actually exist out of thin air, right?

Pale purple energy gradually coalesced into an arrow in Enoshia's hand. She herself couldn't shoot a bow, but as the Herrscher of Corruption, she had left backups on various precision instruments at Schicksal HQ. Besides giving her a respawn, she could have those devices assist her at any time.

With the computational aid of multiple state-of-the-art devices, a red frame appeared before Enoshia. She aimed the arrow at the frame and released. The shot, fired with the scope's help, traced a long energy trail and struck the Herrscher of Death across the river with pinpoint accuracy.

An explosion erupted, kicking up dust several meters high. Countless Zombies and Honkai Beasts were annihilated in a single blow from the Herrscher. As the blast cleared, a figure flew toward her at breakneck speed.

Enoshia's lips curled slightly. She drew her bow again on the spot, waiting until it was less than a hundred meters away before firing a second arrow.

At such close range, even without high-tech assistance, she could hit accurately. But the arrow didn't slow it down; instead, it swung a pitch-black scythe and charged at her even faster. Enoshia couldn't dodge in time, and her left arm, along with her left wing, was sliced clean off.

Fortunately, when she had crafted her body, she hadn't added pain receptors. Otherwise, someone with no combat training like her would have already passed out.

Still, off-balance, Enoshia tumbled from the top of Elizabeth Tower. The Herrscher of Death enlarged its scythe several times, raised it high overhead, and slashed down. The strike—a scythe over ten meters long—not only sent Enoshia flying but also cleaved the entire Elizabeth Tower in two.

Enoshia had barely crawled up after skidding hundreds of meters across the ground when the Herrscher of Death dove at her at terrifying speed. In desperation, she conjured a greatsword and clashed it against the scythe.

"What—"

The moment the greatsword met the scythe, it was instantly disintegrated. Enoshia's right hand, which had just touched it, was pierced by the scythe. Her entire body was deconstructed at an alarming rate, soon dissipating into the air. The fight seemed like Enoshia had recklessly provoked the Herrscher of Death and promptly thrown her life away.

The Herrscher of Death took a few casual steps, then suddenly its legs gave out. It collapsed to its knees, convulsing all over. Because Enoshia's real attack had only just begun.

Ever since becoming the Herrscher of Corruption, Enoshia had always had one question: since the Herrscher of Corruption could tamper with all machinery and lifeforms, did that "all" include other Herrschers?

Practice made perfect. From the start, she had never intended to fight the Herrscher of Death head-on. Instead, she planned to use her authority to corrupt another Herrscher.

"Spread out, extend out, until every corner is filled!" The corruption virus, starting from her, diffused throughout the Herrscher of Death's body.

Inside the Herrscher of Death, she saw an endless expanse of black mist, imbued with its withering power. When Enoshia spread herself out, the result was merely dissipating a portion of the black mist at the cost of her own Honkai Energy.

So she mobilized nearly all her Honkai Energy and launched herself straight toward the Herrscher of Death's Herrscher Core.

Traveling inside the Herrscher of Death, Enoshia felt as if she had been suddenly thrown to the bottom of the sea. Pressure from all sides seemed ready to tear her body apart. Fortunately, the circulation of Honkai Energy inside a Herrscher was extremely fast, meaning she could move at high speed within its body. The unpleasant sensation lasted only a moment before she reached her destination.

After Yae Sakura was infected, she had once regained control of her body through sheer will. So, facing a Herrscher of equal magnitude, Enoshia prepared for severe resistance. But when she began infecting the Herrscher Core, she was surprised to find no resistance from any will.

Beside the already-split Big Ben, a hand suddenly burst from the convulsing Herrscher of Death's chest, clutching its Herrscher Core. Deprived of its core, the Herrscher of Death collapsed to the ground with a thud, like a human whose heart had been ripped out.

"Thank you." Just as the Herrscher of Death was about to lose all life, those two words echoed in Enoshia's mind. Before its eyes closed, a bright glimmer appeared in its once-lifeless gaze.

Even though she was already the Herrscher of Corruption, Enoshia's head was still buzzing after crawling out of the Herrscher's body. It took several minutes for her to pick herself up off the ground.

She was a Herrscher, and the Herrscher of Death was a Herrscher too. As beings of equal magnitude, she understood that corrupting a Herrscher was no easy task. So she hadn't been overconfident. From the start, her goal wasn't to freely tamper with the Herrscher's data—she only needed to seize control for an instant, and that was enough.

After successfully taking control of the Herrscher, which had existed for less than half an hour, Enoshia seized that instant to command it to abandon all defenses. She then took the opportunity to extract its Herrscher Core.

Even so, the cost of corrupting a Herrscher was far greater than she had imagined. She knew that now, let alone another Herrscher—even a Quasi-Herrscher would leave her remaining Honkai Energy insufficient to guarantee its corruption.

22:22, February 6, 2000. The Herrscher of Death's activity ceased entirely, ending with a third of London reduced to a dead city.