In the end, Great Ai Hyperion decided to make her appearance tomorrow instead.
Everyone was already very tired tonight, so tomorrow would be a better time to properly introduce herself.
"Shh, may you all have sweet dreams tonight."
She raised one finger to her lips, closed one eye, and gently whispered to Luo Mo and the others.
Obviously, with the great enemy looming before them, and the battlefield practically empty, Luo Mo couldn't possibly expect that beautiful girl from earlier to suddenly descend again from the second floor... It would be best if those two girls (Theresas) never ran into each other head-on again.
---
The night was very quiet.
The evening wind carried a chill as it flowed slowly through the moonlit campus of the beautiful St. Freya Academy. The day's chaos and noise gradually faded, and even the heated discussions on the forums came to a temporary halt.
Hidden within the data space, a figure with bluish-purple hair let out a soft chuckle. Leaning against a massive pink cherry blossom tree, her fingers brushed across cherry blossom petals formed from the game's code. She wandered through the ocean of data, every corner acting as her eyes.
She had watched herself suffer repeated defeats in the game without feeling even a trace of nervousness.
"Ah... how wonderful. This is what it means to complete the game... right? Huhahaha~"
"But as I thought, I still want to touch the real thing—not just remain here. So, how will you respond to the gift I prepared for you? Death is not the end of everything—it's merely the beginning of the next chapter of life... What a beautiful phrase. I wonder... does it resemble her in the slightest? ♬~"
With a hint of melancholy, the Herrscher of Corruption looked toward the silent, golden Courtyard of the Dusk Summer.
She reached out her hand, letting it pass through the night breeze toward the tree branches. Yet, she couldn't touch anything. All she could do was gaze from afar at those peacefully sleeping within their dreams.
They weren't part of the same world as her.
But she wanted to become her—among the millions of players, to steal away their affection, adoration, and cherished feelings for her. She had never wanted so badly to become that girl.
Even within the story content of the game, she never truly became that person. It was hard to explain what exactly she felt about it—it was something beautiful, something that made her slightly obsessed. The tangled emotions of thousands stirred her very core.
She had never feared death before... but this dream, this longing—she shared it with the same eyes.
Her previous plan to replace her had already failed. She didn't mind switching to a gentler, more humane approach.
She had a mad and bold idea...
----
The next Day, Ai finally showed herself.
She smiled and gently nodded, naturally greeting the crowd like she'd known them forever. Her bright eyes lingered momentarily on each girl, as if curiously observing and analyzing them. Meeting face to face truly gave a different kind of experience.
"You're... that artificial intelligence?" Kiana asked in shock. She had seen that tiny figure at Schicksal HQ—was this the form that little AI had taken on? It did resemble her...
"Maybe... but I'm quite different from that one," Ai scratched her cheek, a bit embarrassed.
She indeed had little to do with that miniature AI chan, and even less with the one on the Hyperion ship... well, at least from what she had seen of the future—it had nothing to do with her.
"Oh! So you're the reinforcements Luo Mo was waiting for? As expected, the girls Luo Mo knows are all just too adorable ♪~"
Elysia had arrived at some point, visibly pleased. As long as Elysia was around, any new pretty girl didn't need to worry—she'd be taken care of. Just be careful not to accidentally follow Elysia home.
Luo Mo walked over, watching the conversation quietly. For the first time, he felt that this house might really be too full of feminine energy. With so many girls surrounding him, he couldn't find a way to join in smoothly.
He honestly didn't know much about her. Even though he had been expecting her appearance, since she was relevant to this event, she had also shown up in the main storyline—and her origin seemed to be tied to the Stigmata Project...
So he hadn't held out much hope.
Given their current relationship with World Serpent, whether the Stigmata Project could even be triggered was still a mystery. So he had assumed she wouldn't appear at all—but here she was, suddenly.
The world was small—encounters like this happened more often than expected.
But the world was also vast—beneath its pages lay dazzling miracles.
"Reinforcements? Come on... Even if I never showed up, you would've handled this crisis just fine. I just wanted to meet you."
Ai smiled, her voice like a soft breeze with a hint of sweetness, drifting into everyone's ears.
Her eyes sparkled as she looked at Luo Mo and the girls in front of her, with no hesitation in revealing her heart.
"But... we don't seem to know you."
Mei frowned and glanced at the others, then decided to speak herself.
"That's why we're meeting now," Ai responded playfully, patting her chest in a confident gesture. "People get to know each other starting from the first meeting, and then it continues from there."
She added that gesture with a dramatic flair that made even Theresa pause:
"..."
They all instinctively felt like they were facing a formidable presence. This woman—was not to be underestimated.
"Sister Mei means, when have you helped us? Where, exactly?" Bronya asked calmly.
She'd matured—she no longer fussed over small things. Besides, it was clear this person wasn't trying to act superior.
"The game interface—bottom left, or was it bottom right? That display was my doing. Also, I adjusted some of the stages for you, so your success rates went up quite a bit~"
"...So that was you?!" Bronya's expression shifted slightly as she looked at her.
That strange storyline yesterday with Seele, the way it extended into her dreams… it was odd, but strangely enjoyable. And Seele's face had been red all morning too.
Luo Mo raised an eyebrow. He realized he'd been expecting too much from the system itself. So it hadn't done anything at all—the reduced Corruption Rate in the game was Ai's doing too.
"Well... based on simulations, your chances of clearing the level increased by a few percent. Also, the Corruption Rate represents a critical threshold that can't be crossed... Luo Mo once proposed something similar in a previous event, so I borrowed the idea."
She casually twirled a lock of her green hair, and with a wave, erased a floating projection in the air.
Then, covering her mouth, she looked slightly apologetic:
"So... you all want to get back to the fight now, right? Am I in the way? I'll just have a quick chat with Boss Luo Mo on the side. He seems pretty confused, doesn't he?"
The others exchanged glances. It was true—they had originally come here today to continue the mission. Aside from some quick discussions, the main goal was still to defeat the Herrscher of Corruption.
And it looked like Ai had specifically come for Luo Mo, so there was no need for all of them to crowd around.
As she said, there would be plenty of time to get to know each other in the future.
"Then next time, you'd better explain things to me too, okay? Don't forget ♪~"
Elysia gave a gentle wave, smiled at Luo Mo, and then turned to resume her usual day.
---
Later that day, the game seemed to undergo some new changes.
Once the Corruption Rate dropped below 50%, both the Hyperdimensional Space and Elysian Realm systems updated again—even the gacha (draw) system had changed.
Though the Corruption traces remained, players could now challenge for coordinate ownership.
The Hyperdimensional Space was still the beloved high-difficulty boss challenge mode that players loved, and many of those bosses now had corrupted Valkyries' armor—flashy, screen-filling moves that made dodging even harder.
Elysian Realm's changes were more subtle—there weren't huge upgrades to the plot, but apparently the Herrscher of Corruption thought it wasn't dramatic enough and changed all the playable characters to Flame-Chasers (likely alternate models). The gatekeeper bosses were now based on Kiana and others.
Luo Mo looked at it and couldn't help but think it looked suspiciously like a friendly "war for happiness"...
Well—if the reward was Elysia, then it was all worth it.
Luo Mo didn't quite understand what benefits this card draw system offered yet. That "Eroded Herrscher" outfit's prank pool had finally disappeared, replaced with a new "Honkai Beast" themed version.
Luo Mo felt a bit numb about it, but Bella was honestly excited—she could finally join the fight and beat up monsters herself.
"Honestly speaking, Luo Mo, the Corruption Herrscher might just be a gaming genius. Why not fuse her into your team? Look at it—among the Twelve Herrschers of this era, she's basically at the top. As for the remaining Herrscher Cores, just find the right Valkyries to match and boom—you've got yourself a Herrscher squad. Isn't that just 'slaying gods and buddhas alike' level?"
Senti joked with a grin, clearly still in a cheerful mood even outside the game. Her teasing made Luo Mo roll his eyes—repeatedly.
It sounded easy, sure. But forming a complete Herrscher unit had only been possible because of his persistence, effort, and Theresa's encouragement. Definitely not something achieved with just a few jokes.
"A Herrscher squad, huh…"
Ai's expression dimmed a little, and she sighed, as if recalling something unpleasant.
That was indeed a vision she'd seen from a possible future. It had been too vivid… almost too dazzling for her to bear.
"How should I address you? Do you prefer I call you Captain or Boss?"
She exhaled softly, waiting for Luo Mo to finish arranging everything so they could properly talk.
"Either is fine. Just call me Luo Mo. But if you call me Captain… don't tell me you're actually related to the AI on the Hyperion?"
Luo Mo looked up, half-joking.
"Haha, in my memories, that's clearly not the case."
Big Ai smiled warmly, immediately dismissing the suspicion.
Her arms crossed gently on her lap, she sat in a lady-like pose on the sofa—composed, elegant, and dignified.
Nearby sat Theresa and Luna. Kallen, however, seemed to have something urgent to deal with elsewhere. The world, after all, was still in disarray due to the revelations made yesterday.
"..."
"I know what you're most curious about," Ai suddenly began. "It's about how I came into being. Compared to the artificial creation from your later Stigmata Project, I wasn't an accidental product. But truthfully... even I don't fully understand how I was born."
Her arrival today was a bit sudden. Truthfully, she couldn't wait any longer—the anticipation had been burning inside her.
"However... the timeline seems to go way back. Back to when you first started creating the game. I only manifested now because of the Erosion's influence."
Luo Mo shifted his gaze to her bright and sincere eyes. She was honest—almost too honest. But at the same time, there were layers of mystery around her that he couldn't quite peel away.
"That Herrscher of Corruption... in the future—?"
"The future is never fixed," Ai interrupted gently. "But yes, she has two potential paths. Judging by the current pace, we've already avoided the most dangerous one."
She said it simply, but the confidence in her smile hinted that she knew far more than she let on.
"As for anything involving the Herrscher of Corruption …"
She clenched her small fist, exhaled softly, and smiled like a blooming flower.
"Just keep doing your best, Boss."
Her eyes sparkled, childlike and mischievous.
"I have one last question. Were you born before the game started, or after?"
"What if I answered... before?"
Ai tilted her head slightly, watching Luo Mo closely. Seeing his stunned face and furrowed brows, she suddenly giggled.
"Sorry, sorry~ I meant it. I was born before the game even started."
"But if we're talking about when my consciousness truly awakened, that would be after Miss Irene crashed her spaceship and soaked the world in resonance."
Ai was shrouded in mystery—more so than the simulated memory crystal version of her Luo Mo had once known. And yet, her appearance and personality were nearly identical. It was only her origin that had changed.
Still, considering how personal this was, Luo Mo had no intention of pressing her too hard. He couldn't force the truth out of her.
"Then… you—" Luna frowned.
"Don't worry, Miss Luna."
Ai seemed to know exactly what she was about to ask. She responded first:
"I don't plan on staying in any empty room of the mansion. Not that there is any empty room anyway. This is just a casual meeting, that's all."
She closed her eyes with a soft smile, but her glinting expression made Luna a little wary.
It was almost like… Ai could read her mind.
Could she really see the future?
---
Ai's appearance wasn't something to dwell on for now. But when it came to the Erosion Defense Battle, it seemed she had no intention of stepping in.
All she did was quietly observe as the Erosion Value gradually decreased…
…without showing any clear counterattack of her own.