Honkai: Man(Sludge) From Future

"A three-tomoe Stigma... it certainly suits your identity, Mei."

Theresa observed the mark on Raiden Mei's neck. Noldrei had transplanted it there, mainly to use Mei's "Shadow Mei" persona to keep an eye on the Herrscher of Corruption.

"Don't even mention it. She's been making a fuss lately, trying to get out. I can't have Kiana come into my dreams to deal with this every single time, can I? Besides, I have several Stigmas now. Even if the Stigma Battle suit system doesn't have a hard limit, I can feel the power supply struggling to keep up."

Raiden Mei was indeed exhausted. Supplying the power to activate a Stigma required Honkai Energy, and the process of channeling that energy drained her physical stamina.

Even with Shadow Mei on watch, the Herrscher of Corruption hadn't given up on escaping.

Fortunately, Kiana was incredibly powerful. As the "Mother of Stigmas," she was a god within the Stigma Space, free to do as she pleased and eat whatever she wanted.

A mere Herrscher of Corruption was no match for her. In just two bites, Kiana had reduced it to a little fox, devouring a huge chunk of its power on the spot.

"It's certainly a problem, but it doesn't seem uncontrollable. Thank goodness we can separate the pseudo-Herrscher from it. It would be bad if the pseudo-Herrscher also evolved into a full Herrscher."

Theresa's worries weren't unfounded.

A pseudo-Herrscher certainly had the potential to become a new Herrscher, but the tricky part was that this particular one, Yae Sakura, seemed to have some special connection to the Kaslana family. For now, she could only tag along with Kiana as an errand runner.

The Herrscher of Corruption's abilities had a consistent rule: it couldn't corrupt beings stronger than itself.

To be more precise, it couldn't corrupt beings with stronger control over Honkai Energy. This included both physical and mental strength; if the body, in turn, strengthened the mind, the Herrscher of Corruption was rendered powerless.

Simply put, the Herrscher of Corruption was a pathetic creature that could only take over those weaker than or equal to itself.

"She's so noisy all the time, it gets really annoying. And I get the feeling she's... scared of me?"

Raiden Mei didn't understand what was going on. Unlike Kiana, she couldn't just start eating the Herrscher of Corruption.

It was understandable to be afraid of Kiana, but why be afraid of her?

"And... why did I grow these long ears?"

Raiden Mei pointed to the long ears on her head. She could calmly accept turning into a pony and the other changes to her body, but these extra ears were just too much for her to handle.

"Can't we move her to Kiana? Or give her to Bronya? It's not like the little thing has any ability to resist anymore."

Theresa didn't know how to comfort Raiden Mei. She had only come to check on the Herrscher related to Yae Sakura.

In the ancient past, a shrine maiden had a complicated history with the saint, Kallen Kaslana. Similar plotlines had appeared in that one video game.

But the Schicksal database was not a full-dive game you could play around in. The slightest misstep could lead to a disastrous accident.

Kallen Kaslana.

As the saint who was her grandfather's childhood friend, Theresa was still curious about things related to her.

Theresa had no choice but to pass the problem on to someone who could actually handle it.

"Hey, Noldrei, what are you planning to do with this Previous Era Herrscher? If she's useless, let's just kill her. I think keeping her around is a disaster waiting to happen."

Theresa's words made the ears on Raiden Mei's head twitch in fear.

"Hm? Then just ask Kiana to eat her."

Noldrei's tone was dismissive. In his eyes, this Herrscher was less interesting than a human anime series.

"Kiana can't eat her. The Herrscher of Corruption looks too much like a person. Why do you keep giving Kiana such difficult jobs?" Raiden Mei explained why Kiana hadn't been able to finish off the Herrscher.

Her words seemed to trigger a memory in the Herrscher of Corruption, who immediately retreated into the Stigma Space and refused to come out again.

"It's just a Herrscher. If you eat it, you eat it."

Noldrei's words were truly terrifying. There were still two little ponies living in the house, and Ana was beginning to suspect she might not live to see the next year.

Ana was a Herrscher too! Had they lost all human rights? Were they all just being treated as emergency rations now?

'Stop talking about Herrschers like they're chocolate cookies!'

Theresa was at a complete loss for words. If you asked her to eat a Herrscher, she definitely couldn't do it either.

"Actually, Theresa, you could eat the Herrscher yourself. Your body contains the genes of the Honkai Beast Vishnu. Theoretically, you can 'eat' the dreams of others. So, all you need to do is reverse-corrupt the Herrscher of Corruption's dream, and you can kill it without a trace."

Noldrei was starting to know Theresa better than she knew herself. He turned to look at the petite woman and said, "What do you think? The Herrscher of Corruption isn't such a big problem now, is it?"

'Well, no, it's not a big problem, but I'm not going to eat a Herrscher either!'

Theresa never imagined her own abilities could be used against a Herrscher like that. She had never specifically researched the possibility of eating Herrschers before.

"It's a pity I can't get my hands on its Herrscher Core, or I'd yank it out and install it in you. Using the Herrscher of Corruption's control abilities, you could force people into dreams, which would then be absorbed by your Vishnu genes. It's a perfect combat method, an attack that not even an S-rank Valkyrie could withstand."

"If your body became the vessel for the Herrscher of Corruption, you would surely become a new, powerful Herrscher."

"Since you can manipulate people's subconscious and devour dreams, you could theoretically reach the level of the legendary god of sleep, Hypnos."

"You should know, in the future... 'your body is not your body' is a normal state of being. In other words, Theresa, if you just devour the Herrscher of Corruption, you can leap forward and become an excellent person of the future."

The thought made Noldrei eager to try it out. But he wasn't lacking for companions on the path to the future right now, so he had no plans to force the issue with this little loli.

For a split second, Theresa was actually tempted by such immense power.

But she was still an excellent warrior who had received a Valkyrie's education. How could she willingly become a Herrscher?

"Don't you ever say that again! I will absolutely never become a new Herrscher!"

Theresa lifted her small face, showing her firm resolve.

Whether she'd be strong after becoming a Herrscher was another question, but Theresa knew that a new Herrscher would definitely not escape Noldrei's clutches.