Honkai Impact: I, The Herrscher of Ice, Am Loved By Players-Chapter 203: Have I Truly Protected Something......

[How did he end up like this?]

[I remember earlier, wasn't he supposed to confront the mastermind behind everything?]

[Yeah, but isn't that Vill-V?]

[No, no, no! Remember the original plot twist? The true enemy is the Herrscher of Corruption. It's possible that Vill-V transformed into it.]

Regardless of the bullet comments' discussions, the dialogue on-screen continued unabated. Aponia chose to enter Kalpas's mental world, engaging with his mind's ashes.

Regardless of how they felt, the sight of Kalpas left everyone deeply distressed. Who could have imagined that Kalpas, once vibrant and hailed as a superhero by Captains not long ago, would now be reduced to mere remnants?

Moreover, enduring this state without succumbing, devoid of any ability to communicate or perceive—what unimaginable torment must he bear? Only someone like Kalpas, accustomed to pain, could achieve such a remarkable feat.

As Aponia entered Kalpas's mental world, Captains gained further insight into his character.

Kalpas was never a fool; he conveyed crucial information through the most direct and efficient means possible—information that no other Heroic Spirit had obtained.

"I don't need...the illusion you're giving me..."

"What I truly desire...I know I'm not worthy to possess..."

"But this time...this time...did I finally..."

"Protect something...for real?"

And with these words, the warrior Kalpas, once of Alayna, passed away.

"He fought against all, solely because he refused to let what has vanished be forgotten."

"No aid was needed for him, as his own being was the fiercest blaze."

"I'm reminded of Hans from Wendy's Legend Quest—he also didn't want Stanley to be forgotten, so he..."

"Wahh, Kalpas..."

"Brother Kal, you're a true hero!"

["T_T"]

However, Kalpa's demise was not the end but rather another beginning. Aponia, having come into contact with Kalpas, also succumbed to Corruption. In her final moments, she enacted protective Commandments for Eden.

Simultaneously, this revealed another answer—there were no traitors among us.

The Herrscher of Corruption... has already descended upon us.

Of course, Aponia would not immediately vanish within a short time frame.

"According to Aponia, Vill-V is actually good?" In the real world, Brother Cake looked at the screen with surprise, feeling somewhat bewildered now. Pardo was indeed killed by Vill-V, and even Kevin met his end at her hands. Yet, Vill-V turned out to be the hero all along. This twist felt like a CPU meltdown.

[It's genuinely quite outrageous.]

[Mind blown.]

[But looking at it this way, it's very much in character for Vill-V. Isn't this just a grand performance?]

[Still, why though?]

[Possibly, the Herrscher targeted Vill-V, forcing her to use this method to protect the token from being corrupted by the Herrscher of Corruption?]

[That could be!]

In the Honkai World's Elysian Realm...

Although Aponia had suffered from Corruption, she hadn't perished entirely and could still perform some actions—though relying on her was no longer feasible.

She remained steadfast, continuing her efforts relentlessly.

Until footsteps approached from afar.

"You've arrived."

Aponia showed no surprise at these approaching footsteps. Although the current course of events eluded her foresight, she naturally knew the outcome due to her innate ability.

Thus, she foresaw that Ana would save the Garden of Eden soon. However, as a consequence, she failed to foresee Raiden Mei potentially bringing its destruction.

At this moment, within the Elysian Realm, only Ana's memory fragment could freely move without concern for the Herrscher of Corruption's influence.

"Please maintain distance from me," Aponia invoked her Commandment. Despite knowing Ana's strength and her role in saving the Garden, Aponia didn't want to inadvertently introduce new complications through herself.

"No need to worry; it's just corruption." As Ana spoke, she reached Aponia's side and took her hand.

The power of Corruption instantly affected Ana, but just as Aponia was about to speak, she noticed it dissipating like an ebbing tide.

"This is..."

"My true form temporarily patched me up," Ana explained nonchalantly.

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Aponia remained silent, discreetly using her powers to sense any changes. To her surprise, Ana's memory fragment, once fully comprehensible, had become inscrutable at some point.

This transformation was quite extraordinary.

In the Garden of Eden, only Raiden Mei remained entirely enigmatic to Aponia due to being an outsider—an ephemeral visitor destined to depart. Yet now, even Ana's memory fragment, once accessible, had become unfathomable.

There could be various reasons for this, and evidently, Ana did not intend to elaborate. Naturally, Aponia chose not to press further.

Additionally, Ana mentioned her "true form." Previously, it was merely speculation, but now it seemed clear that things were far more complex than anticipated.

Transforming from an ordinary person to a Herrscher, then becoming a dual-core Herrscher—a predetermined one at that—was unimaginable even in the previous civilization. And let alone faking her death?

Of course, Aponia wasn't particularly concerned with these matters.

"Alright, I'm here to answer your questions," Ana said mildly, effectively changing the subject. She was currently entangled in numerous complexities, but most importantly, as a memory fragment, she had connected with her true self. In other words, now she embodied the genuine consciousness within a memory shell.

As for notions of memory consumption or such, they weren't accurate. After all, at their core, memory fragments remain memories, and Ana lacked Mobius's ambitions and aspirations.

Being a memory fragment, she fully understood her purpose and mission within the Elysian Realm. Even if she were to truly vanish, it wouldn't matter much.

"The Herrscher of Corruption was brought into the Elysian Realm by Raiden Mei. Its main entity has already been dealt with outside, leaving only this backup here."

"Or, you could consider this its current true form."

"I see." Aponia nodded slightly.

"For some time, I sensed an impending doom upon the Elysian Realm; presumably, that must have been due to the Herrscher of Corruption?"

"Yes," Ana affirmed with a nod.

"However, there is no need to worry. I will restore everything here to its original state."

"As for my plan... I cannot reveal it to you just yet."

"Understood," Aponia acknowledged.

Aponia spoke slowly, fully comprehending Ana's situation. Having been captured by the Herrscher of Corruption, her impending demise was only a matter of time. If their conversation inadvertently disclosed valuable information and disrupted Ana's plans, that would be far from desirable.

"Just think of this as taking a nap; essentially, it's not too different," Ana said with a smile. "When the time comes, everything here will restart. You won't forget anything—I promise you, I assure all of you."

"Yes, I believe you." Aponia nodded.

"But until then, it falls upon your shoulders alone."

After a brief pause, Ana added:

Indeed, she needed to give the Herrscher of Origin a chance to make an entrance, right? Moreover... Ana is the Bishop of Love—the number one advocate for Ellie! What do you mean, mention Eden?

No, no, no—how could Eden truly grasp the beauty of Ellie? After all, she sees Ellie as... Well, let's leave it at that.

Alright, just kidding.

Stealing Ellie's spotlight and preventing another world from experiencing the beauty of Bishop of Love wouldn't be any fun. Although Ana has now ascended to divinity, it wasn't her initial desire. If given the choice, she would have preferred to elevate Ellie instead; not that Ellie herself would care about such matters.

Similar to other events hidden beneath the iceberg within the Elysian Realm, this incident remained unknown to players. Naturally, it was already intertwined with Ana's involvement.

Currently, Ana could harness her power to reduce instances of projection and attention, serving as a form of self-protection.

Most importantly, these occurrences had no impact on the overall narrative progression.

After all, Aponia is practically half-excluded from the story at this point. Even the Captains' focus isn't on her but rather on Raiden Mei's situation.

Considering the timeline, Raiden Mei should be confronting the Herrscher of Corruption imminently.

"Oh dear, still alive?"

"Well then, I suppose my next line should be..."

"Chuckles..."

"Hey there, how's it going?"

As that familiar voice echoed, what appeared before everyone was not the well-known Elysia they expected. Although sharing her appearance...

Everyone present, from Raiden Mei on the screen to both the Honkai and real-world Captains, recognized her true identity—the Herrscher of Corruption.

This imposter had chosen the most infuriating guise—Elysia's form—to provoke them all.

"F**k!"

As the Herrscher of Corruption suddenly appeared, Brother Cake couldn't hold back and let out a stream of profanities. Fortunately, this platform was somewhat more lenient, with fewer trolls and astroturfers.

[Ellie, my Ellie.]

[Fuck, that stupid Herrscher of Corruption! How dare she defile Ellie!]

[Raiden Mei, take her down!]

[You sure know how to make me laugh!]

In an instant, a barrage of scathing remarks filled the bullet comments, inadvertently highlighting the character's impact.

After all, generally speaking, for a villain, the more intense the backlash, the more successful their portrayal. The sight of this corrupted Ellie was enough to ignite fury among everyone watching.

However, what infuriated viewers the most wasn't even that—it was Old Mi cutting off the episode at such a cliffhanger again.

[Aaaaaah, damn you, Old Mi! Release the next part already, I'm gonna beat you up!]

[How dare she use Ellie's body! Unacceptable!]

[Aaaaaah, I'd fight Herrscher of Corruption for three hundred rounds.]

[Whose idea was this from Old Mi's team? Just when we thought the Herrscher of Thousands was unparalleled, here comes an even more formidable Herrscher of Corruption.]

[Raiden Mei, you can't lose!]

Although this part of the storyline had concluded, the streamers remained, akin to die-hard soccer fans awaiting their team's defeat, unwilling to leave. Instead, they vented their fury through bullet comments on the screen.

The last time such intense anger surfaced was when Kiana confronted the Herrscher of Thousands Herrscher. However, that rage eventually found a satisfying outlet later on.

As for this instance...

Watching the scrolling bullet comments, Ana's lips curved upwards.

Without question, there would be an opportunity for release; it's just that, for Raiden Mei, the process might feel somewhat humiliating.

Nevertheless, there isn't much to say. This is the Elysian Realm, the domain of Heroic Spirits, and naturally, matters here should be resolved by them.

In a sense, one could consider it as the Heroic Spirits using their second lives to teach Raiden Mei a valuable lesson.

Following her smile, Ana placed her hands back on the keyboard and swiftly began duplicating the bullet comments, acting like an echo chamber.

Well, although she enjoys manipulating the narrative, it's only because it serves her purpose. Currently, despite dealing with memory fragments rather than the actual Heroic Spirits, in essence, there's no significant difference between them.

Thus, she deeply despised this Herrscher of Corruption. Hmm, now she apologizes for initially considering sparing its life. Yes, this wave of corrupting Ellie is genuinely... quite repulsive.

One might argue it was merely trying to survive, but from the beginning, the Herrscher abandoned any attempt at communication and instead resorted to methods within its understanding.

In other words, the Herrscher of Corruption chose its path to destruction right from the start.

However, honestly speaking, the true form of the Herrscher of Corruption was rather distinctive.