About eight minutes later. Elysian Realm
Inside the Elysian Realm, Rin looked at Elysia, who was in a rather miserable state. She truly hadn't expected it...
—that Leo Ash would actually be so heavy-handed with this woman.
Rin's impression of Elysia wasn't bad, actually.
And in her view, Leo Ash, being a sentimental person who had been comrades-in-arms with Elysia for a time, should have been a little more courteous to her.
But as it turned out, just moments ago, after Elysia ran up to the two of them and requested that Leo Ash and Rin stop their action of corrupting the Elysian Realm, Leo Ash acted with extreme decisiveness, making a move that neither Rin nor Elysia had anticipated.
Facing Elysia, who had at least been polite and reasonable at the start, Leo Ash immediately went all-out, suppressing her on the spot with his full power.
Although Elysia's qualities as a warrior were outstanding, she was facing Leo Ash, who was loaded with "cheats" and had even learned about her combat habits through an illusion. Before Miss Pink Elf♪ could even unleash her true strength, Leo Ash defeated her in just a few moves.
Of course, the Elysian Realm's Elysia before them could clearly only use a portion of her power.
If she could fight with her true full strength, it would be hard to say who would be lying on the ground right now.
But then again, if the Elysian Realm's Elysia *could* go all-out, the people in the Elysian Realm in the original story wouldn't have been pushed to the brink by the Herrscher of Corruption.
[That said, are you sure you want to be this ruthless?]
[Although this Elysia and *that* Elysia aren't necessarily the same person, your kid was raised with Elysia's help—are you really going to disregard that bond?]
Ah, even if you say that, well...
Looking at the beautiful girl tied to a cross before him, Leo Ash still felt he hadn't done anything wrong.
From her appearance, Elysia was not only pale, but she also gave off an air of pitiful helplessness.
If Leo Ash didn't know her background, he might have genuinely wondered if he had gone too far, just based on the aura the girl was exuding.
But, precisely because Leo Ash knew exactly what kind of person Elysia was, and had even worked with her to some extent, he knew...
"Hey, hey, hey, wait a minute!!!"
...that he had actually been too light on her.
After using the Field of Binding to form several new iron chains to restrain Elysia, Leo Ash nodded in satisfaction.
"Mm, that should do it."
At this moment, after Leo Ash used his power to reinforce the 'seal' on her, Elysia felt her world crumbling.
Originally, in Elysia's mind, while she might encounter danger by coming here today, she didn't think she would be defeated in an instant.
It was because she had sufficient confidence in her own strength that Elysia didn't draw her weapon at the very beginning, wanting to avoid provoking the hostility of these two Herrschers.
Although she had indeed wanted to "punish these naughty children" before coming, Elysia, who loved all people, couldn't possibly strike first.
She had come here mainly hoping to understand the purpose of their actions, and at the same time, to solve the major problem of Rin corrupting the Elysian Realm.
Unfortunately, while Elysia didn't plan to strike on sight, Leo Ash showed no mercy to this 'former comrade'.
Elysia, who hadn't even intended to fight, was instantly KO'd by Leo Ash's opening combo before she could even draw her weapon, left hanging in mid-air just like a depowered Bai Ciman.
Of course, although this situation was beyond Elysia's expectations, she hadn't given up the struggle.
Many people believed Elysia was an easy-going 'Divine Maiden' who loved all people.
This was indeed true, but it wasn't the 'entirety' of Elysia.
The Divine Maiden who loved all people was one side of Elysia; there was no problem with that.
But as ostensibly the second-strongest warrior in Fire Moth, a mature, powerful MANTIS with a quick mind was also a side of Elysia.
From the moment Elysia realized she couldn't beat Leo Ash, the defeated and strung-up Miss Pink Elf♪ had already begun to think of a counter-strategy to persuade the two of them.
According to her line of thought, she should first feign weakness, helplessness, and a pitiful appearance, to make Leo Ash subconsciously think, 'Ah, this woman really has no combat strength left.' Then, while showing weakness, she would try to probe their thoughts and look for an opportunity to escape.
The good news was, her idea wasn't wrong. At least when Rin saw her in this state, she genuinely wondered if Leo Ash had gone a bit overboard.
But the bad news was—in this Herrscher duo that had invaded the Elysian Realm, Rin wasn't the one in charge.
And the even worse news was—while the Elysia in the Elysian Realm wasn't familiar with Leo Ash, Leo Ash was extremely familiar with Elysia's personality.
The Thirteen Flame-Chasers could be said to be a team full of problematic individuals... okay, calling it a team was a stretch.
But the person who connected all thirteen of them, including herself, was none other than Elysia.
Such a person not only had to warm others like the sun, but also needed a sufficiently calm mind to handle emergencies, and an iron-clad will to spread hope to her companions when everyone else had fallen into despair.
Would someone so ridiculously strong in every aspect show such weakness just because she lost a fight?
No.
This expression was just a tool for Elysia to break the deadlock. A strong person like her, who would never just give up, would naturally choose another method to solve the problem upon discovering, 'Oh dear, I can't win in a fight.'
It was precisely because he was familiar with Elysia's personality that Leo Ash didn't want to keep talking to the silver-tongued woman.
His ability to bluff others was limited to those easy-to-deal-with young girls and his hopelessly naive Master.
When he faced his mentor, Wraith, Leo Ash, who had not yet regained his memories at the time, had already been taught a harsh lesson by Wraith in the bar.
Never challenge a professional with a skill you've just learned—they make a living and survive off it. How could you possibly compare?
Elysia's EQ and IQ were clearly no worse than Wraith's. In this situation, every word she spoke could become a factor leading to the plan's failure.
"I say, Leo..."
Seeing Elysia, who now looked genuinely weakened, Rin, who was currently using her Authority to corrupt the Elysian Realm, said softly to Leo, her heart softening a little.
"Why don't you let Elysia down?"
"She can't beat you anyway. If you tell her what you want to do, she should be reasonable... right?"
"Ah, you're that reasonable, huh..."
Looking at Rin, Leo hesitated for a second, feeling he should at least give her some face.
Ever since he was captured by Su for that forced examination, Rin's attitude towards Leo had clearly softened considerably.
Although the System said the resentment in her heart hadn't dissipated, her attitude towards him was impeccable.
Since she was giving him so much face, Leo would naturally give her some face in return.
Releasing Elysia directly was absolutely impossible.
But letting her catch her breath a little was probably fine.
"Alright, you don't have to glare at me like that."
Realizing that Elysia, knowing her own plan had failed, was too lazy to keep up the pretense, Leo said helplessly.
"If possible, I'd love to sit down and have a good chat with everyone in the Elysian Realm."
"But the problem is, the situation is urgent, so we can only resort to this."
"Um..."
Sensing that there was indeed no hostility in Leo's tone, Elysia also dropped the dissatisfied expression from her face.
Although she didn't know what his real thoughts were, at least on the surface, this man held no ill will.
No ill will was better than being an enemy. And if there was no ill will, there was at least room for discussion.
Even if the other party didn't abandon their original plan to corrupt the Elysian Realm, as long as they were talking, they would inevitably reveal some information.
With information, Elysia could make some inferences and see how to resolve the problem later.
"If possible, I still hope you can tell me what your difficulties are."
Elysia put on a very serious expression and said softly to Leo.
"It's okay to have difficulties. Everyone in the Elysian Realm is a good person. As long as it's not too outrageous a request..."
"Unfortunately, my request right now is extremely outrageous."
Cutting Elysia off, Leo immediately gave the answer she had been trying to deduce from his words.
"I came to the Elysian Realm for one reason only: to lure out the Herrscher of Corruption of our Era."
"Based on my intelligence, the probability of it entering the Elysian Realm is extremely high. And inside the Elysian Realm, the Herrscher of Corruption can, in a sense, be considered almost invincible."
"I know, of course, that corrupting the Elysian Realm is, for you Flame-Chasers, tantamount to completely controlling you, even equivalent to digging up your graves."
"But, compared to being dealt with by a Herrscher of Corruption that is hostile to humanity, I think—at least if *we're* the ones digging up your graves, there's a chance we'll bury your coffins back afterward."
"Of course, no matter what, what we're doing right now is an act of insatiable greed, so I also know very well what your answer is."
"Miss Elysia, you're not going to tell me now that you'll agree to my plan to corrupt the Elysian Realm and actively assist me, are you?"
*Yes, I believe you*—Elysia really wanted to say that.
But now she completely understood. This Herrscher junior, who had appeared out of nowhere, already knew what kind of person Elysia was and what judgments she would make.
"Um, if I said I actually believed all that... okay, never mind."
Looking at Leo's calm expression, Elysia knew that continuing to lie would do nothing but make her nose red.
The other party was clearly no fool. If she treated him like a fool now, she would only make herself look like one.
As for Elysia believing his story after just a few sentences, that was obviously impossible too.
If it were any other matter, it might be fine, but the Elysian Realm was too important. Elysia couldn't possibly cooperate with his actions and transfer control of the Elysian Realm to one person just because he had a seemingly reasonable excuse.
After all, this was, in a sense, literal 'grave-digging.' If she agreed immediately—that would be truly bizarre!
This was absolutely unacceptable!
Even if the person corrupting the Elysian Realm was Sakura's sister, it was still unacceptable!
Ah, this is going to be a huge problem.
Everyone, if you can...
—I hope you notice the anomaly soon and take action immediately.
......
Almost at the same time. Inside the Elysian Realm. Other areas.
Kevin, sensing the arrival of a friend, slowly opened his eyes.
"Su, did you feel it?"
"Rather than feeling it, I saw it."
Su, not keeping his eyes closed as usual, had rarely opened them, looking at Kevin with a serious expression.
"Elysia fought with the new visitors, and..."
"—She was sneak-attacked, and defeated not long after. She's been restrained by them now."
"..."
Hearing this news, Kevin silently stood up.
Su was a psychic MANTIS. When he said he *saw* it, he wasn't speaking metaphorically; he could truly 'see' what was happening at the entrance to the Elysian Realm.
As Elysia's comrade, Kevin knew very well what kind of strength his friend possessed.
And now, Su, who was always meticulous about everything, actually used the phrase 'not long after'...
"It seems the visitors this time are quite skilled."
"Now, let me see..."
"Just how powerful these visitors really are."
...