Faced with the Corruption's outstretched hand, Mei remained silent. She looked up, meeting the eyes nearly identical to Elysia's, seeing her own reflection within them.
It had to be said, the Corruption's explanation had indeed changed her perception of it.
After all, according to the Elysian Realm's database, the Corruption should only follow its instincts, endlessly causing destruction.
She had initially thought it was purely evil. Now, it seemed perhaps witnessing Mei's own experiences had led it down the wrong path.
However, regardless of what the Corruption had gone through, killing the Flame-Chasers was an unalterable fact. And from its words, the Herrscher of Corruption had already embarked on an irreversible path of destruction.
"I'm sorry, but I cannot be friends with you. No matter how much you imitate Elysia, you can never truly become her. Besides, the reason you explained so much wasn't because you genuinely wanted to be my friend, but merely to find an excuse to unleash your destructive instincts."
Exactly. Villains didn't just get redeemed like that. Perhaps even the Corruption itself hadn't realized the contradictions in its words and actions.
On one hand, it followed its instincts; on the other, it claimed its actions weren't intentional. If it truly wanted to change, it should try to make amends, like Mei and Kiana, not continue causing destruction.
"The Flame-Chaser data you deem insignificant is something I treasure dearly. You think they are full of malice and ulterior motives, but that is the contradictory nature of humanity."
"You claim to be alive, to be becoming human, yet from start to finish, you follow the destructive instinct bestowed upon you by the Honkai."
"You are just a Herrscher, not human!"
"..."
Mei's words stripped away the Corruption's final disguise. It stood frozen, its outstretched hand hanging awkwardly in the air.
After a long moment, it suddenly burst into laughter. "Hehehe... Hahahaha! Is that how it is? Raiden Mei, I truly thought we could be friends."
The Herrscher of Corruption laughed loudly, yet tears streamed down its cheeks uncontrollably. Taking a deep breath, it muttered self-deprecatingly, "So this is your answer? This is why he rejected me? Just because I am a Herrscher... Just because I am a Herrscher!"
In an instant, surging Honkai energy swept through like a tidal wave, filling every corner of the consciousness space.
The outstretched hand clenched into a fist. The Corruption lowered its head, letting its hair conceal its face.
Though the surroundings were deathly silent, Mei, standing still, felt drenched, as if soaked. The rampant Honkai energy had almost solidified, licking at her senses like venomous snakes.
"I was hoping to prove myself to him..." The Corruption's gaze was no longer on Mei. It stood blankly, reaching down to clutch the hem of its skirt.
On the skirt, The Obsidian Concord's mark was crooked and distorted, clearly drawn on by itself.
Rip! The mark was torn off, dissolving into data crystals that drifted from its hand.
"I really wanted to be your friend..." As it spoke, the original pink color of Elysia's hair gradually faded, transforming into an unsettling blue-violet. The girl's lively, pale blue eyes solidified into the orange-red symbolic of destruction.
"Heehee~ Raiden Mei!"
It snapped its head up, the upturned corners of its mouth holding only pure malice. "Since you all think I bring destruction, shouldn't I prove you right?"
The moment the words fell, a deep violet eye materialized behind it. The enormous eye nearly covered the entire space, glaring down menacingly at Mei.
"Come! Become a part of me! I'll let you become my friend... in another way!"
In that instant, the solidified Honkai energy transformed into beams of light, densely shooting towards Mei.
Mei, already prepared, instantly dodged, shifting her position by a hair's breadth. Lightning gathered in her hand, merging with the Seven Thunders of Retribution to form divine might.
The two forces collided. The mere shockwave pulverized buildings within tens of meters into dust.
Unlike her initial battle against Wendy, this was truly a clash between top-tier Herrschers. Mei's expression was focused as she utilized her speed advantage to find an opening.
However, the Corruption's strength exceeded her imagination. Not only did it lack any apparent weakness, but every strike rivaled the power of a Flame-Chaser in their Artificial Cascade state.
"Stop struggling! In this data space, you can't possibly beat me!" The Corruption giggled, slowly drawing the longbow in its hand. Countless purple Honkai energy rapidly converged, forming burning arrows.
The moment the bowstring vibrated, Mei felt the surrounding space freeze.
Her body felt heavy as lead; even lifting a hand became difficult. She knew she couldn't dodge this arrow.
"Hmph." Grunting, Mei could only raise her sword defensively.
The next instant, infinite energy surged forward, engulfing her. When the impact subsided, her body was covered in wounds. Worse still, the Corruption's energy was continuously pouring into her through these wounds. Even with her electromagnetic field shielding, it was difficult to stop this massive influx of power.
"Oh my, injured already? And that was just the appetizer." Mei's injuries made the Corruption's smile widen. Unlike [Pure Evil]'s bluster, its appetizer truly was just an appetizer.
Because the next second, Mei noticed solidified energy slowly forming within the giant eye floating in the sky.
"Damn it." Even an idiot could tell the Corruption was charging a massive attack. Mei broke free from the binding restraints and rushed towards the Corruption with all her might.
Crack.
The shield in front of the Corruption shattered on impact. Mei's attack was incredibly swift; in an instant, they were face-to-face.
Yet, even at such close range, there wasn't a hint of panic on the Corruption's face. It just gave a faint smile, and its entire body transformed into a rough crystal tree.
"It's a trap~" The voice came from another direction. Mei didn't have time to turn, only managing to strike the tree.
The moment the crystal tree shattered, the Eye of Corruption finished charging.
[Data Erasure.]
An invisible ripple shot out instantly. Buildings, space – anything it touched was annihilated into pure data.
Including, naturally, Mei.
"Goodbye!"
As the words faded, Mei's body fell into the ripple and vanished completely, leaving only a small flicker of residual lightning.
"...That simple?" Having successfully killed Mei, the Corruption seemed slightly incredulous. It stared at the black void left by the annihilation, looking thoughtful.
The next second, it spun around abruptly. Sure enough, a streak of lightning arrived instantly. But this time, it couldn't dodge.
"Heh, backstabbing really is a tradition for you lot, isn't it?"
The Seven Thunders of Retribution pierced through the Corruption's body without reservation, instantly destroying its neural network. This was, unequivocally, a fatal blow.
"Now it's my turn to say it's over," Mei stated coldly, holding the sword single-handedly.
Her left forearm was missing entirely, clear evidence that dodging the Corruption's annihilation attack hadn't come without a price.