Elysia's brilliance was not in her 'True Self,' but in her ability to make others find their 'True Self.' As Ryan and Mei had researched, the current enemies were actually two completely different types.
One was the 'Beast,' a beast that gathered Honkai energy. According to Vita's intelligence, Venus had no Herrschers, and they were all destroyed by these beasts. In a way, Honkai Beasts could be infinitely upgraded. End-of-Era, Ruin, and Planetary levels were all possible. They were just simple robots that carried out destruction.
But it was also possible that Venus had crossed the End, and the Cocoon had lost confidence in these rigid beings, so it focused on another type of pawn.
That was the Herrscher. But whether they were Herrschers or Pseudo-Herrschers, they all transformed from 'humans.' The planted personalities were more like brainwashing, but their essence had not changed.
The node of this 'brainwashing program' was Elysia. She could use her life to undo the restrictions, allowing the human essence to be revealed again, completely breaking the program. But she could also use the Authority of Human to influence Herrschers, but the efficiency was not high.
The Herrscher of Binding felt a clear sense of trouble and conflict. It was as if humanity and rationality were fighting in her body. Countless images and memories surged out.
These memories were also there before, but she was just watching them like a movie, simply absorbing the information or combat skills within them, or humanity's plotting abilities. But now, it was a bit different.
When she killed the first person in the training camp, besides the awkward and worthless combat skills, there was a sense of fear and disgust. That was the emotion that surged out when a person slaughtered a peer, a stage that every cold-blooded executioner had to go through.
Emotions, emotions!
The Herrscher of Binding's expression changed a little because at the same time, she felt annoyed and a never-before-felt sense of regret.
If she had been calmer, if she hadn't tested him, if she had run away the moment she saw this traitor, not giving her a chance to use her Authority, if...
There was no 'if'!
Suddenly, the Honkai Beasts around her fell to the ground without a sound. Even the dust in the air fell to the ground and no longer floated.
A paradox in her consciousness was more painful than being slashed by Ryan. She was silent for a moment and then slowly got up. She saw an old man with ragged clothes and white hair standing at the entrance of the tunnel. He was clearly frightened by the Authority just now and didn't dare to enter.
But upon closer inspection, she could see a square in the center of his murky eyes. That was the mark of the Herrscher of Domination.
"You, have a problem?"
"That Herrscher of Human's influence is immense. That Authority actually created a crack in my heart. She is too dangerous. She must die!"
Although Elysia hoped for it, it wasn't that easy for a Herrscher to get purified. A certain Kaslana struggled for a long time. That influence was still within her control.
"I can see that. Your Authority is very strange." The Herrscher of Domination remained silent, her lips twitching slightly. "But don't you think there are too many targets that need to die right now?"
It was a bit like sarcasm, but it was more of a sense of helplessness. Elysia had to die, Ryan had to die, and humanity had to die. The Herrschers were almost too busy to handle it.
But helplessness was helplessness. Elysia did have to die. She had created a crack in the Herrscher's heart, making the 'human' part of them restless. If this continued, a deadly relationship chain would form in addition to Ryan.
Either she would be devoured, or she would become a traitor. This possibility, even if it existed, was unacceptable.
"It seems the original plan needs to be drastically changed. The risk factor will increase linearly." The Herrscher of Domination stood in the distance, still not daring to get closer.
"Two targets must have their risks separated, but if we don't succeed this time, there won't be a next time." The Herrscher of Binding finally regained her absolute rationality. She slowly got up and said in a slightly excited tone:
"Since the Third Herrscher, how many plans have we made, how many methods have we changed, and how many times have we seen the light of victory? Even a month ago, that almost 99% success rate was cruelly crushed by him. He found a new way through the Sea of Quanta and returned even stronger."
"That's right. We also made an absolutely perfect plan this time. And what happened? Before the perfection could be revealed, another uncertain factor emerged besides that human. This is just the beginning. It will only get more and more dangerous in the future."
Her words were very fast, accompanied by her pacing back and forth. The Herrscher of Domination's gaze moved with her. Her old face was expressionless, as if she hadn't been affected.
Because these things were not important to a Herrscher, and they didn't need to be excited. They were like physicalized programs. They only needed to make plans in the most rational state and then execute them step by step. Victory had nothing to do with them, and failure also had nothing to do with them. On the contrary, the Herrscher of Binding's state...
"You're getting more and more like a 'human'."
The Herrscher of Binding's footsteps stopped. She seemed to have noticed something. Her pupils kept contracting and expanding. Finally, she took a deep breath.
"I feel fear and anger. These emotions cannot be described in words. I cannot fight or suppress them, but in the future, Herrschers might really..."
She didn't need to finish her sentence. The Herrscher of Domination had already made a decision. The old man knelt on the ground as if he had lost his life.
"I will immediately make arrangements to unite all the remaining vessels."
"Yes. You will dominate me, and you will also make her come to the front. That Kalis who became a Herrscher, I originally wanted to test him, but I don't have time."
"Whatever his intentions are, it has nothing to do with me." The Herrscher of Domination didn't know why Kalis had received the 'blessing,' and she didn't care about what this person wanted to do. She only muttered to herself before her last breath.
"I will dominate you, and you will bind the Authority of that human."
This was the only way.
The Herrscher of Binding looked at the 'corpse' of her peer. In a way, Elysia was more dangerous than Ryan. Because after the latter died, it wouldn't matter, just like this era would inevitably be restarted. But Elysia was the one who was truly a never-ending problem.
The Fire Moth's arrangements wouldn't mean anything even if they were left for the next era, but Elysia would fundamentally change everything. In comparison, Ryan seemed so 'simple and cute.'
However, what was this traitor who had come to the front and would definitely receive all the killing intent doing?
The Herrscher of Binding was stunned. Through the link of hearts, she could vaguely feel Elysia's joy and pity. This peer who had committed the crime of betrayal and would definitely bear all the backlash, actually--
Didn't feel a bit of tension!
...
"Ryan, they're so pitiful." Elysia's eyes were filled with compassion, extremely pure, without any trace of acting.
In the underground railway, ragged people crowded the tracks. They lit a few braziers to ward off the cold and then stared at the two uninvited guests.
The eyes of these people were filled with numbness, confusion, and also desire. Elysia was too beautiful and too clean to be like these rats in the underground. A child asked his parents, "Is that an angel sister?"
In the gloomy underground passage, Elysia did look as pure as an angel. Her compassion and sympathy were comparable to Aponia's.
Ryan, on the other hand, didn't say a word. He had been to the collapsed areas and the abandoned areas. In a way, these were also abandoned humans, but this was their own choice.
The 'Wandering Humans' plan had been transferring the population for a long time, but there were always people who felt that since the Honkai was like this, why should they abandon their homes? There were also people who had run from the abandoned areas and just missed the transportation.
But more of them were believers in the survival of the fittest. Disorder brought freedom. Without police and military, in such a large city, the supplies were theirs for the taking. As long as their fists were hard enough, they would be the kings of the new world.
Fifteen people placed their hands on their waists. Seven people had prepared hallucinogens. The retreat path was also blocked.
Ryan glanced over and understood the situation in his heart. In this disordered world, 'angels' could only breed desires. That was why he followed Elysia into the underground.
Elysia had long since seen the evil in human nature, but Ryan didn't let her handle it. He took a step forward and blocked her behind him. In front of the pure 'angel' was him, the 'devil.'
Mental shock.
Ryan decisively sent a mental shock towards these evil intentions. In an instant, the people who had thoughts about Elysia were hit by a heavy hammer. Their noses bled, and they fell to the ground limply. The remaining people didn't dare to look at them and quickly looked away, trembling.
"Do what you want to do."
"Thank you, Ryan, but next time, you can let me do it. I can handle it." Elysia lightly stepped forward. Her beautiful dress knelt in the sewage. She took out an ointment and applied it to the wound of a boy whose foot had been crushed.
"How did you solve things like this before?" Ryan stood next to her and asked with great curiosity. He remembered that Elysia had been traveling the world since she was a few years old.
"I punished the evil and eliminated the wicked. I was a heroine once, and people even mistook me for Sakura."
Elysia answered without even looking back. Ryan smiled when he heard this. She was never a saint, and she was not a naive flower in a greenhouse.
She had seen the good in this world and had also punished the evil. Only with a heart of a Bodhisattva could one have the means of a thunderbolt.
Good. This is to my liking. Good intentions and evil intentions both have a boundary.
He watched Elysia smile as she bandaged the boy's wound. She smiled and stroked his head. She also found a piece of candy from somewhere and put it in the boy's mouth. Then, she walked to the next girl who had Honkai Sickness and took out a medicine given to her by Mobius.
"Have a candy first. Bear with it. It will be over soon."
One after another, her gorgeous long dress became dirty from the sewage, and her hands were also stained with dirty blood. But Elysia didn't care about these things. She just smiled and saved every life she could.
Ryan, in his white suit, didn't say a word. He just silently followed behind her. He finally understood why so many people liked her but didn't dare to get close. She was too perfect and too brilliant, and she always made people feel inferior, unless--
She met another perfect person.