Why mention the need to buy time?
To answer that, we need to briefly summarize the current situation.
As an outsider in Elysian Realm, Mei's consciousness is the only space in all of Elysian Realm that remains uncorrupted by the Herrscher of Corruption. Su will use this as a foundation, placing a Spiral Seal as a beacon to perform the SO-1129 procedure—constructing a new memory space within Mei's mind.
To recreate Elysia.
And why is recreating Elysia the key?
Because the only way to completely destroy the Herrscher of Corruption is to annihilate all of Elysian Realm.
And to do that, they must activate [Armament KEVIN Model-666].
To initiate Model-666, the will of Elysia is required. Hence, reconstructing her memory in Mei's consciousness is necessary.
This is Vill-V's plan.
And now, this plan needs time to succeed.
How do you buy time?
Naturally—someone must stall the Herrscher of Corruption's advance.
And so…
The Flame-Chasers began to act.
Even though standing in the path of Corruption meant certain death,
they still charged forward, like moths to a flame, into this final race against time.
...
Back to the story.
The Herrscher of Corruption, having wiped out all the monsters in her path, stepped onto the teleport anchor. With a playful air, she said:
"Alright then, Mei… I'm going to catch up to you now~"
But then—something unexpected happened.
She did not catch up to Mei. Instead…
The moment she passed through the gate, a sudden wave of grief—one she could not trace the source of—slammed into her, almost knocking her to the ground.
"Ugh…"
"Wha… what is this feeling…?"
The Herrscher of Corruption's pained voice
sparked curiosity among the players watching the scene.
What had just happened?
How could the strongest being in Elysian Realm be rendered so helpless by a sudden emotional surge?
"…Are these Elysia's feelings? What happened here?"
This is likely the moment Kosma and Griseo—transformed into paintings—were sensed.
But as of now, even the seemingly omniscient Herrscher of Corruption knew nothing.
What she did see—
was a giant birdcage erupting from the ground, trapping her within.
And another figure standing within the scene—Kosma.
As if something had clicked.
"So, it's you…"
"Kosma, have you chosen the same path as Kalpas? Throwing everything away just to stand against me?"
Saying that, she paused.
Then quietly scanned through Vill-V's stored data.
[But you… the moment you made this choice, you were fated to lose everything that would come afterward.]
Those were Vill-V's words to Kosma.
However…
The Herrscher turned to him and asked, "But… Kosma, didn't you refuse Vill-V's severance back then?"
"If you unleash your [Excessive Hypermutation] here… then there will truly be nothing left of you."
At this point in the story, players could feel how difficult the Herrscher of Corruption was to deal with.
By devouring others, she didn't just absorb their data—she knew everything, including the color of their underwear.
And she could raise her power ceiling infinitely.
Facing such a cheat-tier existence, how could anyone win?
The Herrscher of Corruption likely thought the same. She pushed aside the emotions that had just welled up and once again put on Elysia's gentle smile as she stepped forward.
Truly—
The writers knew exactly how to trigger everyone's blood pressure.
"Is it happening again—the thing I least want to see?"
"Or… can you offer me a different answer, Kosma?"
[So… the next fight is Kosma's?]
[Kosma, too, has chosen to fight with full resolve… The weight of the Flame-Chaser name is unbearable.]
[One after another… I can't keep watching this.]
Barrage of chat scrolled through the livestream.
In the scene—
Just ahead of the Herrscher of Corruption,
the Flame-Chaser of Aurora, Kosma, stood with his back to her.
Like a painted icon, unshakably proud, halting the Herrscher's pursuit.
And one detail here demanded attention—
Kosma's shadow was not humanoid, but square.
Even his dialogue now came enclosed in unique brackets: '[]'.
Some players noticed the shadow—but couldn't immediately figure out the symbolism.
Most assumed the brackets were because Kosma was finally expressing his thoughts directly, not merely reflecting internally.
His "first" time—and maybe the "last."
So the writers gave Kosma's words a personalized flourish.
That was their assumption.
Because even the most seasoned fans, masters of overanalyzing lore and nuance, had their limits.
They still underestimated how heartless the writers at MiHoYo could be.
"[Enough talk, Herrscher.]"
"[This will not become your hunting ground.]"
Facing Kosma's icy resolve,
the Herrscher still spoke in Elysia's tone: "Such a cold response—so, you've heard everything about me?"
"Even… my invincibility?"
Kosma: "[...]"
Even ellipses had quotation marks now.
MiHoYo's attention to detail was terrifying.
"Judging from your expression, I suppose so."
The Herrscher of Corruption smiled as though she already held the victory.
"If you know that there's no chance of defeating me head-on…"
"Then… are you here just to buy time for Mei?"
To that, Kosma gave only four simple words:
"[Not to try.]"
"[You shall go no farther, Herrscher of Corruption.]"
In other words—
He wouldn't try to stop her. He would stop her.
["Not to try"? That's badass!]
[Kosma! Cool as hell!!]
[Kosma's never looked cooler than today!]
[Go Kosma!!!]
Yet, despite Kosma's unwavering resolve—
the Herrscher remained unfazed. She even had the "kindness" to offer a warning.
"So it's the same again. I'd understand it from the others, but you, Kosma…"
"From what I know of you… Self-sacrifice is the last thing you'd ever accept, isn't it?"
"And now you're doing it yourself. Are you really okay with that?"
Despite possessing the memories of so many Flame-Chasers,
she still couldn't grasp the meaning behind their actions.
Indeed—
She was a virus. Nothing more.
Kosma had already entrusted "Aurora" to Mei. Now, he simply had to become a hero in the long night.
So he firmly rebuked:
"[Unacceptable?]"
"..."
The Herrscher gave a soft shake of her head.
"Fine, even though I'd rather not make you relive that memory…"
"Compared to that, getting you to abandon your suicidal plan is more important."
What she referred to—
was the battle against the Ninth Herrscher in the Previous Era, where Griseo's father sacrificed himself.
To Kosma, that had been a needless sacrifice.
At the time, they could have defeated the Herrscher without losses—but Kevin chose otherwise.
In a surge of emotion, Kosma became the first human in history to undergo an artificial Honkai Eruption.
Since then, he had walked the road from "the best of both worlds" to "the lesser of two evils."
So in the Herrscher's view, Kosma should despise "necessary sacrifice" more than anyone.
And yet, now, he was committing what he once hated most.
She couldn't comprehend it.
"What happened on the Mu continent… You've never forgotten it, have you?"
"Just like you now, Griseo's father… You don't mind me mentioning his name, do you?"
???
This tone, these words…
Herrscher of Corruption, please stop talking.
You're seriously annoying!!!
Tearing open old wounds—how fun is that to you?!
Like this story Leave a review ; it would really help me out a lot.
Want to Read Ahead in Advance?
Join my Patreon!
+75 Chapters
Support me in
Patreon.com/BestElysium