After Elysia finished capturing the CG screenshot from the game, she paused for a moment.
Then she turned to Hokuto and asked, "Mr. 'Otto', can you send me the original version of this CG?"
"You can ask Mei for it. For now, let's just keep pushing forward with the story," Hokuto replied.
His suggestion was immediately echoed by the audience.
[Yeah, yeah! This plot is getting me fired up! I can't wait to see what happens next!]
Elysia glanced at those bullet chats, seemingly holding something back.
It was cool.
But unfortunately...
It dealt 0 damage.
Thus... in the story:
"How... could this be... you..."
The Herrscher of Corruption made a sound as if in disbelief.
The players were already ready to spam "Mei and Sakura, you did great!"
And then—
"Hahahahaha."
She suddenly started laughing.
What was the Herrscher of Corruption laughing about?
The audience couldn't help but wonder.
She quickly revealed the answer.
"Forget it. Pretending to be shocked is just too hard for me."
Players: "...?!"
So the combo attack by Mei and Sakura didn't work at all???
Just as Sakura had said earlier, the Herrscher of Corruption possessed an intensely twisted sense of amusement.
Even though their attack did nothing to her, she still "praised" them.
"Sakura, you were amazing! I didn't know your swordplay could do that."
"Swapping identities through an illusion, using Mei as the decoy while the real you launched a surprise attack in an unguarded moment to seal me off."
"Quite impressive—but unfortunately, my attention... was on you the whole time~~"
"—Now, your one and only chance is gone."
Mei also noticed Sakura's condition.
"...Sakura?"
It wasn't obvious yet, but the dark green slowly spreading from Sakura's arm—Mei recognized it immediately.
[Is she corrupted? No, don't kill off Sakura!!]
[Not again... not at the hands of the Herrscher of Corruption!]
"That slash just now... it counts as contact, doesn't it?"
Yes.
Sakura attacked the Herrscher of Corruption—how could she be corrupted just from that?
The players desperately wanted an explanation.
"Don't be so surprised. Sakura's speed really is impressive. To catch her accurately, I had to take a bit of a gamble—but it was totally worth it."
The Herrscher's next words answered the players' doubts.
Though honestly, this sense of the characters breaking the fourth wall and talking to them directly had been ongoing for a while now.
They were almost used to it.
Besides, Sakura was in danger—they had no time to joke.
They focused entirely on the stream.
And today's plot was dead set on twisting and twisting again.
Reversal after reversal after reversal...
Sakura, hearing the Herrscher's words, suddenly responded with a subtle, layered line:
"So in the end, I was just one move short, Herrscher of Corruption."
There was also a detail in her standing CG: as she said this, she removed her mask, suggesting her mission was complete.
But... she hadn't even landed a proper hit. How could the mission be complete?
Or rather—what was her mission?
Wasn't it to strike the Herrscher?
"Perhaps you were too confident in your control over the data space. That confidence may have helped you easily see through our disguise—but it also made you overlook something else."
"Herrscher of Corruption, using illusions to deceive perception and achieve disguise... My sword techniques alone can't do that."
Oh?
So the illusion wasn't made by Sakura?
Then... who?
"In the Elysian Realm, only the Eighth Divine Key... and psychic-type MANTIS possess that ability."
Hua? Unlikely.
Aponia? Not strong enough.
So... Su!?
The players figured it out.
Sakura's final line confirmed it.
A gentle white light surged from Mei's body, completely enveloping her.
Then Su's voice came through.
"Herrscher of Corruption—this battle was never a two-on-one. It was three-on-one."
"...Sumeru Seed."
As expected, Su wasn't dead!
He stepped forward!
The moment players heard Su's voice, they got hyped again—but memories of the last reversal made them hesitate.
Was this another bait?
They held back their excitement, cautiously watching until Su finally took Mei away.
Only then did they breathe a sigh of relief.
Looks like... no more surprises this time.
[No twist. Brother Su's strategy succeeded!]
[Su is amazing! Beautifully executed!]
[That was satisfying!]
But even as the crowd cheered, someone reminded them:
[Okay, but... what about Sakura?]
Players: ...
Right.
Sakura was still there with the Herrscher of Corruption.
This...
Sakura really seemed doomed.
They immediately turned their attention back to the game.
But instead of continuing the battle, the camera shifted to Mei and Su's perspective.
Probably to give everyone some time to prepare themselves emotionally?
So thoughtful, scriptwriter.
They rolled their eyes in their hearts.
But their eyes stayed locked on the screen.
...
Mei was bathed in the white light triggered by Sumeru Seed.
The spatial distortion from teleportation rushed through her entire body.
She forced her eyes open, then closed them again due to the overwhelming brilliance.
"...Su?"
"It's me."
Su's voice sounded faint and fragile.
Mei quickly asked, "So... this was the real plan? Sakura's support was to help you extract me from the Herrscher's grasp?"
"It seems you already understand the situation. I won't repeat myself."
Su saw that Mei understood and got straight to the point.
Mei was the final piece of the triple puzzle Vill-V left behind—
Because of the Authority of Conquest, the Herrscher of Corruption could not influence Mei's mind.
If they could expand Mei's consciousness into a space, it would be an absolutely safe place.
Su's next step was to use the abilities of a psychic-type MANTIS, anchoring Mei with the Spiral Imprint, to initiate Operation SO-1129.
Expanding Mei's uncorruptible consciousness into a memory space akin to Elysian Realm, turning it into a battlefield for counterattack.
Only this way... could they bring back Elysia.
Elysia had actually mentioned this plan to Mei long ago.
At the time, she described it in a uniquely "Elysia" way:
"Like riding a rollercoaster while eating peanuts with your eyes."
It made people laugh.
She always knew how to cheer people up.
Elysia...
"Use your own memories to pave the path to her."
"...Even if data is erased, memories still leave indelible traces."
This was what Su told Mei, but it was also what he said to the players.
"Take this."
A blue Crystal Flower was placed before Mei.
"The remaining two will be delivered to you by Eden."
"Four keys seal a shared story. The page meant for you to turn... now, let it bloom again in your memory."
"..."
"Mm... of course."
Mei answered gently, "You already know my answer."
She had never wavered.
...
At the same time—
Back on the battlefield.
Sakura said the same thing: "...You already know my answer."
The Herrscher, having corrupted Sakura, now understood all her data.
"So your only purpose in coming here... was to be corrupted by me?"
"Whether you could detect the activation of Thousand Calamities One Thought in time to intervene—this was something even Su couldn't be sure of."
"But when corrupting a memory as strong as you... even you had to pour in significant effort."
"That's why... Su's request of me was to confront death directly."
In other words—
Sakura's only purpose in this battle was to serve as bait and sacrifice herself.
Before the deadly battle began, she made one painful request to the Herrscher:
"If possible, please let me die more painfully. Make me despair as much as you can."
Herrscher of Corruption: "?"
Forget the Herrscher—even many players didn't understand.
Requesting more painful death?
Why?
The reason was simple.
Sakura said:
"That way, I can finally understand just how incompetent I once was..."
"And how, in the end, I managed to uphold the pride of being a sister."
Only pain—
Could make her feel the regret, the loneliness, the helplessness her real self experienced fifty thousand years ago.
Only that—
Could help her grasp how she held onto her pride in those moments of despair.
Only then—
Could she finally understand what Elysia meant when she said: "You've done enough."
So that's what this was about.
The players fell silent.
"Don't you want to live?"
As someone desperate to live forever, the Herrscher couldn't understand Sakura's actions.
And she couldn't let it go. She wanted to understand.
So she exercised unusual patience.
Yet...
She still couldn't comprehend it.
In front of her—
A blade rose slowly.
And Sakura's voice rang out, firm and resolute.
"Never... and I never will."
The gap between their beliefs was too vast.
The Herrscher would never understand the true meaning of The Mark of Moment.
Yet Elysia now spoke softly, almost like a whisper:
"The Mark of Moment is not eternity... it is the brilliance found in fleeting moments of life."
"A flash of beauty in the moment surpasses eternity's emptiness..."
"This moment is her peace—perhaps also her redemption."
"..."
Another Flame-Chaser, having resolved her regrets, formally exited the stage.
And the feeling it left—was completely different from before.
Was it sad? Of course.
But there was also a sense of release.
Was it heartbreaking? Yes.
But they felt they should be happy for Sakura.
Even those who couldn't accept her dying to the Herrscher twice now felt the same.
Because Sakura accomplished what she wanted.
She left without regrets.
Far better than dying in vain, accomplishing nothing.
[...]N
[Sakura, too, is worthy of the name Flame-Chaser!!]
[Because you've never changed… I finally understand why Elysia loved all of you so much.]
[Herrscher of Corruption, I could kill you a thousand times and it still wouldn't be enough!!!]
[This hurts!! And knowing this is only the beginning makes it worse!!]
They were both terrified and eager to see what came next.
Not because they feared the plot wouldn't be "exciting"—
But because they feared it would be too exciting.
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