You won.
—A sweet voice tinged with helplessness and regret echoed beside her ears, leaving Elysia paralyzed sitting there blankly.
Elysia... won?
Her gaze fell upon Fallen Elysia, who, like a sprinkler, was putting on an incredibly embarrassing fountain display while clapping and congratulating her with a beaming smile. Miss Elysia, having finally understood everything, felt like a fuse had blown in her head.
"Bad Elysia!!!"
A similarly sweet girlish voice roared with distorted fury—she had countless times addressed a certain Mr. Jiang with this title, but now, without a doubt, Fallen Elysia's 'badness' level in Miss Elysia's mind far surpassed naughty Jiang Qiao's.
"Hmm? Why so angry?"
"You won, didn't you?"
"Qiao is yours now. You should be happy, right? So~ You should be smiling right now~"
Fallen Elysia's teasing words, laced with amusement, reached Elysia's ears, making her feel... hard. Her fists, that is!
Clenching her fists tightly, gritting her teeth, she glared furiously at the other girl.
Yes, she won.
She won the 'Elysia' competition.
But...
During the competition, this girl just went ahead and devoured naughty Jiang Qiao! No... she hadn't even 'let go' yet!
Judging by the other's words and her own body's reactions, Miss Elysia had no doubt that even now, as they confronted each other in the dream, the other girl was still 'eating.'
Even after being discovered—she just calmly continued, even increasing the intensity!
Using her body... with naughty Jiang Qiao...
Together...
Her face flushed crimson, Miss Elysia thought about her current situation, what the other girl was doing behind her back.
...Won?
Hah, won my ass!
She had practically lost everything, down to her last shred of dignity!
And—losing her 'bottom' was even literal.
Dressed in a rather revealing outfit, Fallen Elysia looked at the trembling Elysia, slowly approaching and crouching down. She used a slender index finger to trace the latter's jawline, gently lifting it so she was forced to look at her. Meeting that 'fierce' gaze, she chuckled and asked:
"Why so angry? I simply did what I should have done, right?"
"Of course—this is also your desire, isn't it? I merely helped you do what you wanted but didn't dare to do, right?"
Indeed, being able to do such a thing must also be a part of Elysia's feelings.
Otherwise, even the 'fallen' Fallen Elysia couldn't use Elysia's body to do such things, even if, as her shadow, she could also represent Elysia.
Since she could do such a thing, then... that meant Elysia harbored such thoughts within her heart.
In that case, wasn't it just Elysia doing what Elysia wanted and should do?
Elysia was stunned speechless.
She, of course, understood this.
From a certain perspective, what Fallen Elysia did wasn't that unreasonable to her. After all, they were both Elysia.
Since they were Elysia, there was nothing wrong with doing this.
But...
—Nothing wrong my ass!
Although she couldn't refute Fallen Elysia's words, and even agreed with them internally, what truly sparked outrage within Miss Elysia was perhaps precisely this irrefutable 'correctness.'
Because they were both Elysia, Fallen Elysia could shamelessly, without any psychological burden, make a move on naughty Jiang Qiao behind her back, while she, like a fool, remained clueless in the dream... even forced to stay on the kiddie or even toddler channel due to the dream's limitations.
Thinking about how, for the past seven days, every attempt to progress further was met with ruthless restrictions, while Fallen Elysia, a fellow participant, could openly do that as Elysia... while she, the real Elysia, the true owner of 'Elysia,' remained completely oblivious, and even now, the other girl was continuing her despicable acts, only discovered after she revealed herself...
At this moment, Miss Elysia felt her nose turning red and round, like the jokers in a deck of cards.
Then... she laughed.
That sweet laughter sounded absolutely terrifying.
Then, she slowly stood up, completely unconcerned about the crystal flower that was still leaking like a broken sprinkler.
"Hmm~ Accepting yourself honestly, isn't that beautiful too~" Fallen Elysia nodded in satisfaction, watching Elysia.
She stroked her white chin thoughtfully, about to snap her fingers to clean up this somewhat awkward and strange scene. "Though, it does look a bit weird like this... so let's cover it up."
But before she could, the next moment...
She felt her finger grasped.
"Eh..."
Looking up, she met Elysia's eyes, shimmering with divine pink. She was beaming at her.
"What are you doing?"
Fallen Elysia felt a flicker of panic.
But the latter merely smiled.
"You were right... I really shouldn't suppress these feelings in my heart."
"So."
"I really like how things are right now."
She tilted her head with a carefree smile, then spread her hands, just like Fallen Elysia, displaying her 'unsightly' state without any psychological burden.
Just as Fallen Elysia was about to say something with a beaming smile, Elysia, still smiling, her divine eyes now holding a touch of 'madness' and 'morbidity,' said:
"However—"
"Could you please give everything to me now?"
She traced a fingertip across Fallen Elysia's rather revealing attire, licking her lips.
"My first time... which happened here? You hid it away, didn't you?"
"Oh... so that's what you want. Hmm~ Indeed, it's currently with me~"
"If you want it, I don't mind giving it to you. After all, you are my original... but..." Before Fallen Elysia could seize the opportunity to say anything, a slender finger pressed against her lips, silencing her.
"Hmm~"
Elysia smiled sweetly.
"I think you misunderstood."
"I meant—please give everything to me."
"Everything... doesn't just mean my 'first time.'"
"Since it's everything, that naturally includes 'everything you have,' right?"
Hearing this, Fallen Elysia's eyes widened, staring at her in disbelief.
"You... want everything I have?"
"Isn't that what you said~ We're both Elysia, right?"
"Aren't you afraid of being corrupted! You'll become fallen, just like me," Fallen Elysia narrowed her eyes.
Elysia merely smiled in response.
The next moment—
"Cut the crap! Hand it over!"
With a sweet yet domineering declaration, she pounced.
Fallen Elysia, 'restrained,' let out a whimper before freezing.
A moment later.
An equally sweet yet helpless voice echoed in the air.
"Really, what am I going to do with you? Don't regret being corrupted."
The next moment—
Under Jiang Qiao's gaze, Fallen Elysia's figure vanished without a trace. The only one remaining... was Elysia.
However, the current Elysia...
Stepping out from the intermingling dark purple and pink light, the fairy-like girl's originally pink hair had transformed into a pink-purple gradient, as if they were now one. A look of utter ecstasy adorned her beautiful face.
She ran a delicate hand down her smooth neck, across the completely renewed, extravagant attire, a blend of Elysia's purity and Fallen Elysia's 'depravity.' Slowly turning her face, her gaze met his, and she flashed a brilliant smile.
Undoubtedly—
Fallen Elysia had been 'devoured.'
Just as the Herrscher of Corruption abandoned her independence and chose to merge with the Elysian Realm Elysia, resulting in the tainted Fallen Elysia.
Now, the same thing had happened.
Except this time, it was Elysia who actively, forcefully 'devoured' Fallen Elysia—of course, after realizing her intentions, Fallen Elysia didn't resist, even cooperating actively.
Finally...
This brand new Elysia was born.
"This is amazing... Why didn't I accept these feelings from the beginning? Why didn't I choose to face all of this directly..." She felt incredible regret, then slowly looked at Jiang Qiao, beaming and complaining:
"Qiao... You should have reminded me from the start~"
"This pleasant feeling... this happiness in my chest... I can feel it all now... Mm, you must have noticed it long ago, right? But you didn't tell me, experiencing these emotions all by yourself, both Qiao and the me in the Elysian Realm, weren't you both very mean?"
She grasped Jiang Qiao's hand, pressing it tightly against her chest, as if wanting to meld it into herself. Although her grip was firm, unbreakable like iron, it didn't hurt at all. Instead, it felt strangely 'just right.'
"You've become just like her..."
Jiang Qiao felt conflicted, watching this Elysia.
But she merely smiled in response. "Elysia is like this, isn't she?"
Without a doubt, the current Elysia, just like Fallen Elysia, had been corrupted.
After all, having integrated everything from Fallen Elysia into her own will, even the 50,000+ year old veteran cyber ghost waifu, Elysian Realm Elysia, couldn't resist that corruption. How could her younger self possibly be spared?
No... spared isn't the right word.
A more accurate description would be—this was her choice all along.
Just like Fallen Elysia, who clearly had a choice, even after being corrupted she could have chosen to turn back, yet she unhesitatingly embraced her fall.
Elysia, knowing full well what would happen from 'devouring' Fallen Elysia, still chose to do it. This was undoubtedly the same as Fallen Elysia. She had chosen all of this.
And even now, Elysia had no doubts about this choice—she only regretted 'falling' so late.
In that regard, she truly felt 'jealous'... 'jealous' that Fallen Elysia had made this choice before her.
While she herself, for various reasons, hesitated.
But...
There was no need for 'jealousy' anymore.
After all—
They were one now.
These feelings, these thoughts... they now had only one name.
—Elysia.
As for whether such a version of herself seemed a bit morbid, a bit bad... ultimately, weren't Herrschers supposed to be like this?
People often think that Herrschers' personalities are extreme.
That's correct.
But it's not caused by the Herrscher core, it's the very nature of Herrschers.
As extremely idealistic beings, Herrschers are inherently superior to humans on a life level.
Therefore, they should naturally be above humans, both physically and mentally, right?
And idealism inevitably leads to extremes.
Just like Wendy's twisting jealousy.
Just like Ana's uncontrollable guilt.
Just like a certain lightning-wielding tuna, who, due to a moment of redemption, viewed it as her sole light, becoming incredibly fixated...
How could Elysia, born a Herrscher, be any different?
Her unusual nature, her perspective on the world, her extraordinary longing for humanity—these were the 'uniqueness' bestowed upon her by the life level of a Herrscher.
Moreover, the unique properties of the Herrscher of Origin's powers dictated that the girl named Elysia was bound to be extreme, even among Herrschers.
Either reaching the pinnacle of good, or the depths of evil.
Loving humanity, willing to sacrifice everything for humanity, the Herrscher of Humanity.
That was the embodiment of Elysia's extreme love.
The extreme of Elysia as a Herrscher.
If she were in another world—she would probably become an existence akin to 'humanity's evil,' wouldn't she?
After all, things always tend towards their opposite. The more extreme something is, the closer it is to its other side.
And now...
This love for one person, twisted from an extreme love for humanity, was undoubtedly... equally extreme.
To put it dramatically, if extreme love for humanity would create 'humanity's evil,' then... the current Elysia could probably be called 'Jiang Qiao's evil,' equivalent to humanity's evil, right?
But it didn't matter.
After all—
"Qiao will definitely accept me like this, right~"