"The place they were in before is my private space. It contains things they shouldn't know about, so please forgive me for wiping their memory data."
Fu Hua stared at Ai, somewhat lost in thought, and asked, "Have I seen you somewhere before... No, that's not right. Weren't you supposed to have merged with the Hyperion, Ai?"
Ai: "Ahem, my name is indeed Ai, but I'm not the little Ai-chan you know. I am a life form born from a Pseudo-Time Crystal, drifting through the timelines of various worlds."
"So... you were the one who saved Cortana and the others, and you were helping Higokumaru? Can you save Hiyokumaru?"
Yae Sakura offered Jizo Mitama to Ai, but Ai simply shook her head and pushed it back.
"I'm sorry. This was Higokumaru's choice, and I respect her choice.
What you saw just now was merely her residual will. The real her vanished long ago..."
"On the night Higokumaru found me, she asked me to lend her my power, allowing her to briefly remember everything and create this series of chaos.
This was her revenge against the injustices of the world, and also her final gift to you.
She is not the Herrscher of Corruption of this era, and your era will inevitably see the emergence of another Herrscher of Corruption. She chose to use her death to leave you with invaluable experience in fighting the Herrscher of Corruption.
Higokumaru divided the power of the Herrscher of Corruption into three parts.
One part was herself, used to create this data space to fight you, so you would have a strategy to deal with data corruption.
Another part was the power of Jizo Mitama, leaving the authority and power of corruption in the real world as a gift to you."
"And the last part..." Ai helped the trembling Yae Sakura to her feet and wiped away her tears.
"The last part she gave to you, Yae Sakura. Higokumaru had already lost her sister once; she didn't want to lose you again...
Higokumaru's core was devoured by Jizo Mitama, so she sacrificed all of her own flesh and blood to you, eliminating the risk of you, as a Pseudo-Herrscher without a true Herrscher core, going berserk and collapsing at any moment.
So, live a good life, Yae Sakura..."
Yae Sakura's pupils dilated, the turmoil in her heart indescribable with mere words. Her tears had already run dry, and she collapsed onto the ground again in a daze.
"But I'm the older sister... It's happening again... just like before..."
Ai didn't say anything more to her, but instead walked over to Ryn.
Ai smiled at Ryn, and Ryn slowly looked up at her.
Ryn's face was pale. He felt so powerless.
"Did Higokumaru leave any words for me?"
"Yes. She said that if you weren't sad about her disappearance, I should beat you up. But if you were grieving her departure..."
Ai stood on her tiptoes, leaned close to Ryn's ear, and whispered softly to him:
"She said... thank you, Ryn."
————————————
The Herrscher of Corruption incident was over. People emerged from the air-raid shelters to return to the surface, but what awaited them was a landscape of ruins.
Because networks and communications were the first things to be compromised by the Herrscher of Corruption, people had immediately responded to the military's call to take shelter, so only a few knew it was a Honkai attack.
And those few were taken away by the military.
The power of the Honkai is commensurate with civilization and knowledge. Just like the Herrscher of Reason... he can only replicate what civilization has developed.
The widespread application and development of electromagnetism by civilization also propelled the Herrscher of Thunder's power far beyond that of many other Herrschers.
Because humanity's research on ideal fluids was purely theoretical, the Herrscher of Wind could only control ordinary fluids, like the wind...
This was what Higokumaru was concerned about, and it was also why Otto had always kept the truth of the world in the hands of a few.
To control the progression of the Honkai, Otto went so far as to kill his own chosen successor, Walter Joyce.
How he left the data space that day, Ryn didn't remember. Ai's relayed message of "thank you" kept echoing in his mind.
But Ryn felt he didn't deserve that thanks. Just as Fu Hua had said, he hadn't felt any sense of urgency back then.
He had been too naive, forever lost in his own eighth-grade syndrome adventures, stubbornly believing that just by defeating the Herrscher of Corruption, he could save Hiyokumaru...
In the end, Ryn burned all his collections of anime discs and manga, completely burying his chuunibyou self.
Kind words can never change a person; only heart-wrenching pain can make one grow.
In the back hills of St. Freya High School, Yae Sakura personally dug a grave for Hiyokumaru, burying her own Spirit Blade: Sakura Fubuki alongside Hiyokumaru's Demon Blade: Akazome Sakura.
At Hiyokumaru's funeral, everyone at St. Freya High School placed a flower for her. Everyone at the school had been fond of that lively and adorable little girl.
The connection between Hiyokumaru and the Herrscher of Corruption was suppressed by Theresa with all her might. People would remember the Herrscher of Corruption, Higokumaru, but they shouldn't remember the Herrscher of Corruption, Hiyokumaru.
Yae Sakura would visit Hiyokumaru's grave every day to offer incense, telling her about the day's events. Kallen would always quietly accompany her.
Theresa would also occasionally bring many delicacies and fried tofu to pay respects to the Hiyokumaru who had reminded her to rest well, eat on time, and brought her meals.
Kiana and Kika also became subdued, staying quiet and stable for a while.
With one less family member at the dinner table, Mei was absent-minded whenever she cooked.
But the Herrscher of Thunder within Mei's Stigmata was grinning from ear to ear. Not only had she plundered the residual Honkai energy left by the Herrscher of Corruption, but she had also devoured a part of the authority of Corruption. Although she couldn't digest it all at once, the benefits were immense.
And that armored warrior, Jizo Mitama, was directly dismantled and reforged by the Herrscher of Thunder. When Raiden Mei truly made up her mind to become a Herrscher, the Herrscher of Thunder guaranteed her a big surprise. After all, it was a set of super-cool guardian spirit armor~
——————————————
Otto's veins bulged on his forehead as he read the mission report in his hands. Finally, he slammed his hand on the desk and roared at Fu Hua through the communicator:
"Fu Hua, are you taking me for a fool? You all spent so much time in the Tenshukaku in that data space, and the final mission report is just 'We eliminated the Herrscher of Corruption and obtained the Divine Key, Jizo Mitama'? Just a few words?! Where are the other details!"
"Um, but that's really all there was..."
Fu Hua's gaze drifted, her expression absent-minded.
Fu Hua couldn't reveal the details of the battle, otherwise Otto would surely deduce that someone beyond imagination, like Ai, had appeared to help Hiyokumaru.
If Otto were to find out about the Chrono Navi's existence, he would undoubtedly stop at nothing to find her.
"Azure Empyrea, we are collaborators, not enemies... Next time you lie, turn your back to me. You're not suited for lying."
Otto sighed and cut the communication with Fu Hua.