"What do you intend to do to her?" Theresa struggled, twisting her body. When the Herrscher of Corruption mentioned letting her meet Irene in reality once, it certainly wasn't anything good.
After all, that would imply the Herrscher of Corruption had arrived in reality. And for a Herrscher bearing such intense malice toward humanity, such a situation definitely promised nothing good.
"Oh, nothing?" The Herrscher of Corruption looked calmly at Theresa, completely indifferent to her struggling. After all, Theresa was just a little girl right now.
Although she still couldn't freely mobilize her authority while next to Yae Sakura—as Yae Sakura's subconscious still wished for her not to cause chaos—she possessed extremely high authority only in places far removed from Yae Sakura's mental entity.
However, even this was enough to deal with Theresa. Moreover, this situation would soon change; she just needed to strike one more vicious blow upon the wound in Yae Sakura's heart.
"Damn it!" Theresa turned over, and then, legs braced against the wall, she kicked off violently, attempting to deliver a headbutt to that hateful Herrscher of Corruption.
But the Herrscher of Corruption merely leaned slightly to the side, causing Theresa to fall directly to the ground. Then, she reached out her hand. After a flash of red data light, a rope appeared in the Herrscher of Corruption's grasp.
"Let's go, Theresa. Enjoy your final moments. At least you are happier than I was; before you die, you won't hold any hope for me."
"What do you mean?" Theresa looked at the Herrscher of Corruption in confusion, but the Herrscher had no intention of continuing to pay attention to her. She simply hoisted Theresa up and walked outside.
Outside, the area was filled with people wearing eerie fox masks. Leading them was Yae Sakura, her head hung low and her eyes lifeless.
"Miss Yae Sakura!" Seeing Yae Sakura, Theresa hurriedly shouted, attempting to awaken Yae Sakura's will or something similar. After all, Irene was in danger on her end; perhaps the only one left who could solve the Herrscher of Corruption was Yae Sakura.
"..." Yae Sakura seemed not to hear Theresa's shouting at all, not even lifting her head in the slightest.
"It's useless. Don't struggle." In front of Yae Sakura, the Herrscher of Corruption still had to put on an act. After all, Yae Sakura still possessed a certain ability to resist; this was, after all, the opponent's Stigmata Space.
Before devouring the opponent's will, she had no way to possess full authority. Although she was currently being infused with a massive amount of Honkai energy, those damned doctors had tampered with the core given to her.
Presumably, they had long foreseen that she would break free from that cage, so they set up safety measures. And now, she had fallen for this safety measure, making it very difficult for her to mobilize her own authority. Otherwise, why would it need to be so troublesome?
But it didn't matter. If it's a bit troublesome, then let it be troublesome. She had stayed here for so many years; she had long ceased to care about this little bit of time. In any case, she was about to obtain freedom—this was absolute.
Then she could go take revenge on them. Take revenge on those who had betrayed her trust.
"Miss Yae Sakura, don't give up!" Theresa did not trust the Herrscher of Corruption. "If she gets her way, the entire world will suffer!"
"...World." Yae Sakura's eyes brightened slightly. She had heard Kallen mention the word "world," but... Yae Sakura raised her head, looking at Theresa—or rather, looking at the miko robes on Theresa.
Her world had long been shattered. After her younger sister was sacrificed to the so-called God, her world was already broken.
In the end, Kallen also died. Since that was the case, what did this world have to do with her anymore?
"Yae Sakura, let's go." After a flicker of red data, the Herrscher of Corruption transformed back into the appearance of the Head Priest from before. "The time for the sacrifice is approaching. We absolutely must not let Rin's sacrifice be in vain."
"I don't know if Rin's sacrifice will be in vain, but the things you are doing will definitely be in vain!"
Just as everyone was preparing to leave, the giant cherry tree in the courtyard suddenly erupted with intense light.
Within the light, Irene appeared carrying Pardo and Kallen, along with Rin following behind them, manifesting in the courtyard. Looking at the people who had emerged, especially Rin at the very back, the Herrscher of Corruption's face instantly went cold. The surroundings, which had been relatively warm, suddenly turned blood-red.
"Irene!" Theresa looked at Irene in the lead and was instantly overjoyed. "Hurry up and save this Principal! Lives are at stake here, hey!"
"Coming right away." Irene held a Chakram lent to her by Pardo in her hand. "Principal Theresa, wait a moment. I already know the situation. I apologize; my judgment was in error."
"It's fine, I don't blame you!" Theresa knew that this situation was likely something Irene couldn't have predicted either. Who knew Yae Sakura would hide a Herrscher of Corruption inside the Stigmata she gifted?
And it was one from the Previous Era. Unless Irene had read the script, how could she possibly have guessed it?
"Irene, be careful. This guy is very strong."
"I just got pitted by her," Irene looked vigilantly at the Herrscher of Corruption. "Naturally, I know how formidable this guy is. But rest assured, I brought a trump card with me."
"Trump card? Do you mean the coward hiding behind you?!" The Herrscher of Corruption stopped hiding as well. Waves of red digital code rippled through the surrounding environment.
In this situation, she certainly couldn't have Yae Sakura kill Theresa to erase her will. After all, she hadn't failed to see Kallen, who was eyeing her covetously while shouldering Judah.
And just as the Herrscher of Corruption thought, hearing the commotion, Yae Sakura turned her head. The first thing she focused on was Kallen carrying Judah.
"Kallen? Kallen, you're still alive?" Yae Sakura, whose eyes had been lifeless before, was now like someone who had taken a stimulant; her eyes instantly became full of life.
At the same time, seemingly accompanying Yae Sakura's soaring emotions, the dense red digital patterns surrounding them instantly dissipated somewhat, though the entire sky remained a patch of blood red.
"The other me, don't forget about me either." Rin looked at the Herrscher of Corruption and immediately began using her own power to reverse-corrupt the areas corrupted by the Herrscher.
"Forget you? I haven't forgotten!" Massive amounts of crimson digital images surfaced on the Herrscher of Corruption's body. Then, in an instant, her entire human form vanished, replaced by a fiery red fox.
"Just relying on you people? How could that tiny bit of power rival me? The control rights to the core are still in my hands!"
"You sure talk a lot!" Kallen leaped up, and the massive Judah smashed down with a boom. Since the Power of Binding wasn't very effective against it, she would just use the most direct military force.
Anyway, she wasn't very good at using her brain. Smashing—that was her nature!
Watching Kallen descend from the sky, the Herrscher of Corruption leaped backward, wanting to dodge the forcefully smashing Kallen. However, a chain immediately extended from Judah, pinning onto the shrine behind the Herrscher. After changing direction in mid-air, the massive Judah smashed directly onto the Herrscher of Corruption's head.
Just as everyone wanted to swarm forward, large amounts of crimson data flashed across the ground again. Within the crimson data, the Corrupted Puppets they had seen before appeared once more, holding various farming tools and launching fierce attacks on the surrounding people.
"Pardo, protect Rin. I'll go save Theresa." Irene wielded the Chakram, engaging in a heart-to-heart (physical) dialogue with the lunging Corrupted Puppets.
"Mn, I know." Pardo nodded, turning back to kick away a pouncing Corrupted Puppet, then pulling Rin to retreat backward.
In the past, she hadn't gone to save Rin. But now, having been given a second chance, she would under no circumstances let Rin be harmed again.
"Go ahead and do it. Sister Pardo won't let you get hurt no matter what."
"I understand, Sister Pardo." Rin nodded, continuing to maintain the anti-corruption effort against the surroundings. At the same time, she was accumulating a little bit of energy elsewhere.
They only had one chance. The Herrscher of Corruption had spread too severely within the Stigmata Space. Something like a virus was always the type of thing that wildfire couldn't destroy; it would grow again with the spring breeze.
Especially the Herrscher of Corruption, a guy with extremely terrifying proliferation abilities. Rin herself was a Herrscher of Corruption; she understood better than anyone just how hard it was to kill a Herrscher of Corruption within a data space.
Furthermore, this was a data space that had already been severely corrupted, leaving only the core permissions. But fortunately, Rin herself was a Herrscher of Corruption, so they still had a chance.
She just needed time. Compared to the Herrscher of Corruption who had absorbed a massive amount of Honkai energy in the open, Rin could only forcibly seize the Honkai energy released by the Herrscher of Corruption right now.
To the side, relying on the Chakram in her hand, Irene cut down a large number of Corrupted Puppets and arrived near Theresa, who was hiding beside Yae Sakura. However, just as she prepared to approach, a flash of a snow-white blade slashed past Irene's face.
At this moment, Yae Sakura's eyes were locked tightly onto Kallen, her hands waving the blade unconsciously, slaying any Corrupted Puppets that approached the surroundings.
"Miss Yae Sakura, can you snap out of it? Kallen needs your help right now." Looking at Yae Sakura's current state, Irene didn't dare to approach casually again.
"Kallen!" Hearing Irene's voice, Yae Sakura's gaze finally shifted away from Kallen, somewhat reluctantly. "May I ask who you are?"
"Kallen's friend, plus student." Seeing Yae Sakura snap out of it, Irene hurriedly bypassed her, helped the fallen Theresa up, and used the Chakram in her hand to cut the ropes.
"Irene, you finally came. That guy said you were trapped; scared me to death." After being untied, Theresa shook her wrists, which were sore.
"Sorry, sorry, I'm late. I was tied down and didn't have time to come over; I just finished dealing with it." Irene helped Theresa up. "I know you might have a lot of questions right now, but I'll give you an explanation later. Right now..."
"I know." Theresa nodded, looking up at Kallen, who was grappling with the giant fox. "The most important thing right now is to deal with this bad thing."
"Kallen is in danger." Just as Yae Sakura prepared to draw her blade and go fight alongside Kallen again, Irene called out to stop her first.
"Miss Yae Sakura, can you open up your permissions? Or rather, open your mental defenses and hand your permissions over to Rin? We really need these permissions to help fight the Herrscher of Corruption. Please, this is also to help Kallen."
"If it is to help Kallen." Yae Sakura stopped in her tracks. Following what Irene said, she opened her mental defenses. Rin, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately accessed Yae Sakura's permissions.
After obtaining Yae Sakura's permissions, the white data representing Rin was finally able to avoid being completely crushed by the bright red data blocks in the struggle.
Just having sensed something in her heart being touched, Yae Sakura opened her eyes. after Irene nodded, she continued to draw her blade and charged toward the Herrscher of Corruption.
"Just relying on you people!!!" The Herrscher of Corruption raised a claw, knocking the airborne Kallen down. Subsequently, the Herrscher turned to face Yae Sakura. With a flash of red light in its eyes, the ground Yae Sakura was about to step on suddenly rose up, carrying Yae Sakura high into the air.
After carrying Yae Sakura to the high altitude, the red pillar instantly vanished, leaving Yae Sakura to freefall vertically. Right at this moment, Kallen flashed over and caught Yae Sakura in her arms.
"Kallen." Yae Sakura's tall and slender body was now like a little bird relying on a person, leaning into Kallen's embrace. "That's great, it's really you."
"..." Kallen stroked Yae Sakura's head, then quickly landed with the assistance of Judah. "I am not your Kallen. I'm sorry, but I need your help right now."
"Can you help me, Sakura?"
"Mn, I will." Yae Sakura nodded. Although she didn't understand what Kallen meant, she could confirm that Kallen was Kallen. And since Kallen needed help now, she would provide help.
"Truly deep affection." The Herrscher of Corruption's voice appeared untimely. The two looked up, watching the scene of the Herrscher of Corruption leaping down from a high place, opening a bloody maw to bite at the two of them.
The two quickly jumped to the side. Yae Sakura swung her sharp blade, aiming to slash at the Herrscher of Corruption's leg, while Kallen was even more direct—Judah on her arm acted like a gauntlet as she hammered it toward the Herrscher's face.
The sharp starry glints and the long narrow blade cut directly into the Herrscher of Corruption's body, but in the next moment, the Herrscher suddenly twisted and rotated, flinging both of them away.
"You cannot stop me!"
Just as Yae Sakura and Kallen stood ready for battle, the Herrscher of Corruption changed direction in mid-air, pouncing toward Rin, who was by the cherry tree.
She wasn't an idiot; naturally, she could sense that Rin seemed to be charging up some big move right now. She absolutely could not let Rin succeed.
Watching the Herrscher of Corruption pouncing toward them, although Pardo was trembling somewhat, for the sake of Rin behind her, she quickly cut down the Corrupted Puppets that had just lunged over and then charged directly to the front, intending to block the pouncing Herrscher.
The angle at which Pardo raised her hand seemed just right to let the blade jam directly into the Herrscher of Corruption's teeth, allowing her to better exert force to block the Herrscher's forward momentum.
The Herrscher of Corruption wanted to continue biting toward Rin, but the sound of chains came from behind. Several golden chains bound her from behind, as Kallen and Yae Sakura pulled on the Herrscher of Corruption with all their might.
"Don't even think about disturbing her!"
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