After hanging up, the uncle fishing next to him thought Noldrei had just been scolded by his family.
His friend seemed to have overheard Tesla's explosive argument on the communication device. "Arguing with the family?" he asked curiously.
"No, she loves arguing with me every day. It's all part of the game," Noldrei said with a smile and a shake of his head. "She believes in judging people by their actions, not their intentions. She's arguing with me about it right now."
His friend thought for a moment and replied, "If we could punish bad people based on their intentions, I'd definitely be all for it. But we can't, can we? And it wouldn't be good if it happened to me."
"Yeah, we just can't do it."
A happy smile spread across Noldrei's face. Wasn't he helping humanity achieve just that?
From now on, the rule of judging by actions and not intentions would disappear.
Why? Because humanity would now have the ability to punish a person based on their intentions. Therefore, the simple management method of judging by actions and not intentions would vanish from this world.
Noldrei wanted to know if humanity, after realizing the situation they were in, would still have a chance to figure out how to break free from this predicament.
Sirin still didn't know what she was doing, but soon she would.
---||---
"Rita, Otto's out!"
Durandal saw the outcome of the battle. By now, three Herrscher Cores had appeared on the battlefield.
Otto had actually managed to borrow the Honkai's mechanisms to bring about the descent of a Herrscher Core.
She watched as the colorful space-time barrier created by Sirin collapsed. Everything Otto touched turned to dust. All Honkai Energy in this situation was gradually annihilated.
Sirin had no choice but to escape from the seam between the Imaginary and the real. Otherwise, she would have been trapped on the Imaginary side forever.
"Lady Durandal, did Overseer Otto get a haircut?"
Rita's question left Durandal speechless for a moment. She glanced at Rita, then back up at Otto, who now had short hair.
It was true. When others became Herrschers, they put on flashy clothes. But after Otto got his Herrscher Core, his attire became simpler, and he had even cut his long hair.
Durandal explained, "Probably not. Isn't he... in a Soulium body?"
"Is... is that the reason?"
Rita was shocked. She felt like they should probably get away from the battlefield quickly.
This Herrscher of the Void was clearly no match for the new Herrscher, Otto.
"It's the Herrscher of Binding. It seems Otto has obtained the... huh? Strange... Why Binding?"
Elysia watched the live broadcast. She was certain that the power Otto was displaying was that of the Herrscher of Binding, but this outcome meant the sequence of events was definitely wrong.
Unless someone had secretly obtained the power of the Herrscher of Corruption beforehand. But... who could it be?
This was the only high-Honkai-concentration battlefield Noldrei had created. Every other place was under the strict surveillance of Academy City. It was impossible for a so-called Herrscher of Corruption to appear.
Not to mention, the second Academy City was under the watchful eye of Kevin, making it even less likely for a Herrscher of Corruption to appear without anyone knowing.
"The Herrscher of Corruption is on the battlefield, but we don't know who it is!"
Mobius had also considered this possibility, but she couldn't figure out who the Herrscher of Corruption was. As long as the Herrscher of Corruption didn't reveal itself, it was impossible to find it.
Elysia knew this was the crucial battle before the final showdown. If they couldn't crush the possibility of these Herrschers turning the tables, the plan to steal the power of Finality would fail.
"No, wait. We've come this far. The Honkai wouldn't give up an opportunity like this, with everyone gathered together. Even if we could use the android network to snatch the next Herrscher and complete the network, under the current circumstances, the Herrscher of Corruption couldn't possibly be hiding in a normal person's body."
"Let's work backward. First, Hare has no chance of becoming the Herrscher of Corruption. Her abilities are a perfect counter to its power. Her transcription ability can switch freely between Stigmata and reality. If the Herrscher of Corruption were to invade Hare, it would be walking right into a trap."
"Then what about Durandal and Rita? Could it be one of them?"
Elysia pondered. Due to the unique characteristics of the Herrscher of Corruption, finding it was extremely troublesome.
Mobius, however, wasn't focused on Rita and Durandal. Both were Valkyrie warriors with incredibly strong wills. The Previous Era had some understanding of the Herrscher of Corruption's abilities. The best way to corrupt an existence was to target a non-physical body.
In other words, a pure consciousness was much more susceptible. But no matter how she looked at the current situation, it didn't seem like the Herrscher of Corruption had succeeded in corrupting Otto.
"Could it be one of the two Ottos?"
"Hmm?" Elysia looked at the screen in confusion.
Two Ottos? Wasn't it just one Otto controlling two Soulium bodies? This kind of technology was very simple for Otto to achieve.
"We still haven't found the last Divine Key. And that strange thing in Otto's hands that can transform into other Divine Keys is most likely the Void Archives."
Mobius was certain that it was the Void Archives, and that inside it was a super AI.
Elysia was slightly taken aback. She hadn't expected this possibility at all.
For Otto, this was indeed something he was capable of doing.
"Mobius, are you saying... the Void Archives is the tool Otto left behind to host the Herrscher of Corruption?!"
Mobius believed that the intelligence of the Current Era's Herrschers had completely surpassed that of the Previous Era. She calmly explained, "Since the android network can serve as a bridge to construct a Herrscher Core, why can't the Void Archives serve as a tool for Otto to host a Herrscher Core?"
Was it possible?
Yes! And very likely!
Thanks to the Void Archives' extreme vulnerability to the Herrscher of Corruption and Otto's penchant for gambling, he was indeed capable of such a thing.
And wouldn't you know it, Elysia had actually guessed this possibility.
Now, the Will of the Honkai was also making a final, desperate gamble. The next step was undoubtedly the backdoor to the Herrscher of Finality!
Elysia marveled at how daring Noldrei was. He had completely pushed the Will of the Honkai to a point where it was willing to risk everything.