"All right, time for you to get out of here."
Yemu gave the giant eyeball in his hand a forceful shove, tossing the Herrscher of Corruption out of the Herrscher of Sentience's mindscape.
The Herrscher of Corruption returned to the Elysian Realm, concealing itself within the data layer, intending to harm Mei, who had just stepped into the Realm. But the moment it tried to move, it felt a splitting headache. The power resting within its consciousness was triggered, and a line of tiny text materialized before its eyes: *I've been watching you, so don't try any funny business.*
"That bastard is actually keeping an eye on me. Damn it."
Meanwhile, outside, Mei had run into the biggest lesbian in the entire Realm. Qingxue had just hurried to introduce Mei and Elysia—
[*Ahn, so Elysia and Mei are meeting now. Wait, who? Elysia?! Qingxue, quickly send all the Herrscher Cores except the Sentience one back to the system, and keep the leakage of the Herrscher of Sentience Core's energy to an absolute minimum.*]
[Master, you're a bit late on that. It seems we've already been found out...]
Out in the open, Elysia had already locked her eyes onto the Fenghuang Down hanging from Mei's waist.
"Ooh, such a pretty little accessory. Can I take a look?"
Mei was about to refuse when a finger gently pressed against her lips.
"If you turn down a cute girl's request like that, I might just cry. Hmm, this flower should be a Divine Key, specifically Hua's Fenghuang Down. But the Fenghuang Down is supposed to be with Hua."
Mei snatched the Fenghuang Down back from Elysia's hand and rehung it at her waist.
"This is something my teacher entrusted to me for safekeeping."
"Is that so? Well then, let's start with proper introductions. My name is Elysia, and I am a Flame-Chaser. Kevin is a Flame-Chaser, too. Cute young lady, would you mind telling me your name?"
"Raiden Mei."
"Mm~ That's a pretty name, almost as lovely as mine."
[Qingxue, did you notice anything?]
[Yes, a massive surge of pure Honkai Energy has been detected.]
[Elysia really did find us out, huh.]
Yemu noticed that the sky in the consciousness space of the Herrscher of Sentience Core had turned to crystal, cutting off Yemu's perception of the outside world through the core.
[Can Qingxue still capture the external feed normally?]
[Yes, my processing power hasn't been interfered with in the slightest. As for the current crystal barrier, even if the core's energy fully recovered, there's no way to break through it.]
[The power of Origin—it has a unique suppression effect against ordinary Herrscher entities. Even a mere memory trace possesses this kind of power. This is tricky.]
[Does Master need to request backup from the main body? With the main body's power, shattering the seal of Origin would be a breeze.]
[No need. Elysia is just trying to confirm whether I harbor any malicious intent. After all, I was just carrying a whole bunch of Herrscher Cores on me, and then all of them vanished in an instant, leaving only one behind. Naturally, she needs to find out if I pose a threat to this Realm. Though, there's one reason that makes me believe even more that she's...]
[What is it?]
[Afraid I'll make a move on Mei...]
[Master, I have to say, that reason sounds less than genuine.]
[That's the biggest lesbian in the Realm we're talking about... plus, she's always wanted to meet a Herrscher fighting for humanity.]
[Master, I understand instantly. In other words, Elysia is worried that we might harm a Herrscher fighting for humanity.]
[Right. Since she hasn't met the main body, and Mei hasn't mentioned me to her yet, it's only natural for her to be on guard.]
[Then why isn't she on guard against Mei?]
[...Did your analysis module short out?]
[Master, please don't be hasty, let me analyze this. It's because Mei is far too weak relative to the Realm. Furthermore, Kevin has already made contact with Mei outside. Even if Mei were a bad person, the Flame-Chasers could take her down in a heartbeat. But we are different—we carry multiple Herrscher Cores, just like walking nuclear warheads. Once we detonate, we could inflict massive damage on the Elysian Realm. And right now, during our period of weakness, is the best opportunity to lay down some small tricks against us. Blocking our perception while we're vulnerable—could it be to prevent us from noticing whatever prep work she's doing?]
[Mm, that must be it. Even though Elysia seems carefree, I reckon she's probably the most meticulous person in the entire Realm.]