Chat Group: Starting by Swapping Bodies with Elysia?

"The Church of Apocalypse? Why would you mention that name? Did you encounter them?" MEI's voice on the other end of the communicator was laced with surprise and concern.

"Yes, the person I'm looking for might have been taken by them, so I'm asking."

"That's not good news." MEI sighed and began relaying information about the Church of Apocalypse:

"The Church of Apocalypse is a new sect that rose in Eastern Europe after the end of the First Eruption. Its founder seems to be someone named Otto, who advocates for Honkai Evolutionary Theory – he believes that the occurrence of the Honkai isn't a disaster, but a way to help humanity evolve. In the past, this was considered a completely heretical theory… but now, it seems they are the ones who are more correct."

This familiar information made the pink-haired girl's eyebrows raise.

Well, well… How fitting.

The moment she heard the name, Jiang Qiao felt a sense of familiarity.

And once the church's doctrine was revealed… wasn't this the same Honkai cult that ran rampant in that other game's DLC, Zeroth Chronicle? Even the founder was the same.

Of course, she wasn't surprised.

After all, there were all sorts of people in the world, and all kinds of ideologies would become popular. Honkai Evolutionary Theory was just one of the ideologies that would inevitably emerge in humanity's fight against the Honkai.

But the fact that the founder was that Otto again made her feel a little exasperated.

The current Bishop of Schicksal in the present era, and now without Schicksal in the Previous Era, he just created a Church of Apocalypse. He was truly a veteran conman, inseparable from religious belief, it seemed.

But this time, Otto actually got it right. From the Cocoon's perspective, the Honkai, as a trial, was indeed a way to help humanity evolve – in this regard, perhaps Dr. Mobius could find some common ground with him.

After all, wasn't one of Mobius's Stigmata plans based on the Darwinian evolutionary theory of survival of the fittest?

"Although they're considered a cult, the Church of Apocalypse's conduct is rather righteous. They often provide free aid to the poor, so they have a good reputation among the common people, which has caused quite a bit of trouble for various nations."

"But recently, there have been signs of extremism within this sect. Fire Moth has received reports about the troubles they've been causing, and I plan to send Sakura to investigate."

MEI's voice was tinged with helplessness and fatigue.

With the occurrence of the Fourth Eruption, Fire Moth's influence in various nations further increased, and its scale and funding grew significantly. Through the efforts of Vill-V and Mobius, the leadership of Fire Moth gradually fell into her hands – which wasn't a good thing at all.

She had to deal with all matters big and small within the organization. The current MEI had practically entered the state of Dr. MEI, the leader of all mankind, at least in terms of workload. She even wondered if she would die from overwork at her desk someday… Oh, she was a Herrscher now, she couldn't die from overwork. Well, that was certainly good news.

MEI, not finding this to be good news at all, was already planning to create an AI assistant for herself. If this continued, even if she didn't die from overwork, she would eventually suffer a mental breakdown.

"Mm… Understood. In that case, I'll investigate along the way."

Ending the communication, [Elysia] looked at the church in the distance, a thoughtful expression on her delicate face:

"The Church of Apocalypse…"

…

For Aponia, this was far from an 'ordinary' day.

She possessed the ability to see the fate of others, an ability that had always troubled her.

As a nun, Aponia always tried to change the outcomes of those whose fates she saw being toyed with.

Taking in the homeless, the sick, and the abandoned into the sanatorium was one of her attempts.

Unknowingly, she began to see more and more people walking towards destruction, towards an irredeemable inferno.

Although in Twilight Street, vileness was a means of survival, when did this vileness gradually become an instinctual existence?

She felt saddened by this change, but all she could do was use her innate ability to try and save the people of this land.

But just like in the past, despite her good intentions… the final results were always unsatisfactory, and even the entire sanatorium was implicated.

This day, the Church of Apocalypse, colluding with the wealthy, stormed the sanatorium and captured everyone – only that mischievous child escaped.

Aponia felt grateful for this.

"Burn her! Burn her!" "Burn the witch!"

Angry shouts filled her ears, the message conveyed in the noisy words surprisingly consistent – it was about the huge pyre erected in front of the Church of Apocalypse.

Just like the witch trials prevalent in medieval Europe, Aponia seemed to have met the same fate.

Those already hateful faces became even more ferocious with the spattering of saliva.

— The wealthy never liked this disgraced nun who took in lowly commoners and patients. They had plotted countless times to demolish that trash-heap of a sanatorium, but each time they inexplicably failed.

And now, with the Dominance particles gradually spreading, with the Church of Apocalypse's influence reaching this area, they finally managed to break through this 'protection' and tie the 'witch-like' Aponia to the stake.

Her past admonishments now turned into an equal and opposite reaction force.

And the fanatical followers of the Church of Apocalypse stared at the people tied to the stake with undisguised malice and hostility, especially Aponia.

For religion, the most intolerable thing wasn't a traitor – it was a heretic!

Undoubtedly, Aponia was such an existence.

She advocated for good, admonishing people, obstructing the freedom of desire.

Although none of these fanatical followers could be called a complete 'Herrscher of Dominance', all of them were puppets controlled by desire.

But they could clearly sense that Aponia was a heretic, the greatest enemy of Dominance.

Perhaps the results of admonishment were often unsatisfactory and might even make things worse.

But what was undeniable was that the power of 'admonishment' was the greatest enemy of 'Dominance'.

It violently interrupted the desires engraved in human DNA, making the Dominance that drove human desires feel restricted.

Like natural enemies.

Sensing the undisguised malice, Aponia, bound to the stake, didn't fear death, only feeling sorrow for the people around her.

She didn't even feel a moment of 'hatred', only regret and despair – this feeling wasn't about life and death, but the feeling of not having saved anyone, not having changed anything, not having done anything.

She wanted to change the fate of others, but she was instead toyed with by fate, her efforts backfiring.

Was she, like this, full of sin?

The thrown torch ignited the firewood, the dancing flames obscuring her vision, bringing an unbearable burning sensation.

Looking at the church where people were excessively praying, Aponia's bright blue eyes gradually dimmed, just like the sky at this moment – gloomy colors covered the sky, as if eager to replace something.

There was no hope in sight.

The crackling sound of burning firewood and the cheers of the people gradually blurred, until—

"Whoosh—!"

Like a shooting star, a pink glimmer streaked across the sky, piercing through the dark clouds, scattering the gloom.

The obscured dawn light poured down through the opening, illuminating the dim eyes.

The hopeless blue reflected the pink-haired girl standing atop the church. Like a fairy in a fairytale, the delicate girl slowly lowered the dazzling crystal bow adorned with hundreds of flowers in her hand.

As the crowd watched in astonishment, 'she' gracefully leaped down, like in a movie, landing in front of the stake amidst everyone's subconscious daze. Raising her dreamlike face, she smiled at Aponia:

"Mm~ It seems I'm not too late."

A gentle breeze ruffled her beautiful pink hair. At some point, the flames surrounding the stake had also quietly extinguished.

"..."

This dreamlike scene stunned Aponia.

Although she was beloved by the lower class of Twilight Street for her good deeds, she had never imagined the possibility of someone coming to rescue her.

In this Twilight Street, there was probably no one who would risk their life to save her.

But—

This scene, which seemed like it would only appear in a movie, was indeed happening right now.

Like a ray of light, illuminating the heart that thought it had lost all hope.

However, Aponia's heart, at this moment, was filled with more worry than joy.

"You…"

Although [Elysia] clearly wasn't an ordinary person, they were currently on a pyre. Perhaps in the initial moment, the surrounding 'audience' was stunned and didn't react, but after regaining their senses, they revealed hostile expressions.

Especially the followers of the Church of Apocalypse. They were already armed and slowly approaching.

This development made Aponia want to urge the girl who suddenly appeared to leave quickly. Although she was deeply moved by someone coming to save her, if the rescue failed and the girl was also implicated, she would consider it her sin.

And…

No matter what, she didn't want anything to happen to this girl.

It might sound strange, they didn't even know each other's names, but the moment Aponia saw her, a thought arose in her heart – if there was anyone who could save these pitiful people, it might be this girl she had never met before.

But before Aponia could voice her dissuasion, the girl's slender index finger pressed against her lips, shaking her head with a smile and a wink.

The tight, mercilessly rough ropes left numerous marks, but under the influence of an unknown power, the ropes that were tightly bound, meant to prevent the victim from escaping, loosened on their own.

Before Aponia, falling from the stake, could say a word, she let out a surprised "Yelp!" as she landed in [Elysia]'s arms, in a bridal carry – Aponia's cheeks instantly flushed red.

Although she had a high tolerance for embarrassment, this kind of experience… it was her first time!

Even similar scenarios, she rarely saw, only catching glimpses of them in TV shows she accidentally saw when going out.

"Mm, surprisingly weighty."

The pink-haired girl commented, subconsciously comparing her to the 'fat lady' she had carried before. Much heavier… Well, she is an adult character.

But not too much heavier, maybe about… a 5kg difference? For Aponia's height and build, that was pretty good control~

That voluptuous feeling was much more exciting than when Jiang Qiao touched [Elysia].

Aiya… I shouldn't keep thinking like this.

Sensing [Elysia]'s displeasure, Jiang Qiao smiled and dismissed the thought of comparing her to the 'fat lady'.

— With the girl's physique carrying the adult-sized Aponia, it was a rather peculiar sight. After the girl's sweet and playful words, "Hold on tight, we're taking off~", reached Aponia's ears, Miss Shy, who was still somewhat confused, let out a surprised cry.

Tapping the heels of her Flame-Chaser outfit, a powerful gust of air surged from beneath her feet, carrying the two of them skyward.

The resulting immense air pressure knocked the approaching followers of the Church of Apocalypse to the ground, rendering them unconscious.

Moments later, the pink-haired girl, carrying Aponia, landed gracefully.

Miss Shy, who was being carried, finally felt the stability of solid ground beneath her feet. Mm… Judging by those slightly trembling fair thighs, she wasn't used to flying, huh?

"…Are they… dead?"

The slightly shaken Aponia's first question wasn't about anything else, but about the people at the scene.

"Of course not, they're just knocked unconscious by the air pressure, uh… they might have some eardrum bleeding later? Anyway, they probably won't wake up for a while, but don't worry, someone will take care of them."

"That's good."

Although none of the people at the execution scene could be considered innocent, Aponia still breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

That was her personality – even after being treated unjustly, she would still think about how to guide those people towards the right path.

"Right, the people from the sanatorium!"

"Don't worry, Pardo has already rescued them."

Although her target was only Aponia, Jiang Qiao didn't neglect the others who had been captured along with her.

Unlike Aponia, the people from the sanatorium were locked up in the church's dungeon, to be dealt with later – considering there wouldn't be too many guards, and with the 'self-defense crystal flower' she had given Pardo, the cat alone could rescue all the people from the sanatorium.

As she spoke, Pardo's excited voice came from the crystal flower she carried:

"Big Sis Ellie, I've already escaped with everyone from the sanatorium!"

"Look~"

Although somewhat surprised and curious about how a crystal flower could be used for communication, Aponia breathed a sigh of relief when she heard that the people from the sanatorium were safe, then said with emotion:

"Pardo… That child."

Although Pardo often avoided her, she still had a deep impression of this child, who, despite her less-than-stellar methods, had a kind heart.

One of Aponia's biggest regrets was not being able to bring this child into the sanatorium and guide her onto the right path.

"A beautiful girl and warrior from Fire Moth – Elysia, or 'Ellie' for those closer to me. Call me whatever you prefer."

The pink-haired girl, hands clasped behind her back, shifted her weight slightly, her figure surprisingly curvy for a girl her age, as she introduced herself with a smile, standing incredibly close – the proximity allowed them to feel each other's warmth, and even faintly hear the beating of their hearts. Aponia's face, which had returned to its usual calmness, flushed slightly again.

But the next moment, [Elysia] smiled and retreated to the alley entrance, turning around and chuckling:

"As for what Fire Moth is, you'll have plenty of time to learn about it later. For now… I guess you probably want to go back to the sanatorium and check on everyone there, right?"

…

Elysia, who had a strange dream, slowly woke up from her daze, opening her eyes with some difficulty. The first thing that came into view was a rather eye-catching, curtain-like garment that accentuated the wearer's ample assets.

Through the gaps in the fabric, the 'fat lady' could vaguely make out the owner's face – an exquisitely beautiful, saintly, almost ascetic face. Her still, blue eyes were incredibly bright, and her lips, devoid of any makeup, looked incredibly alluring.

"You're finally awake."

A gentle, almost ascetic voice, matching her appearance, rang in her ears. Sitting up from the soft, fair thighs, Elysia, still somewhat dazed, rubbed her eyes, confusion filling her gaze.

She remembered meeting the superstar Eden in the Elysian Realm, someone she had long wanted to meet in person, preferably up close, to forge a close friendship between girls. Then she was knocked out by a single glass of wine from Eden.

How come, after waking up, Eden had turned into this big-chested, ascetic beauty?

Of course, it wasn't that this was bad – Elysia actually had a good impression of this big-chested lady and even wanted to strike up a conversation.

But Aponia's appearance was quite intimidating. Despite her seemingly gentle demeanor, there was a… a sense of dread, a feeling that something bad might happen if she got too close.

It was… like she didn't know her at all!

Facing the confused 'fat lady' who wanted to strike up a conversation but was too flustered to know how to start, Aponia smiled and said:

"I'm Aponia, Eden's friend. She left for a while."

Because Elysia was a real consciousness, without using some special methods, it was difficult for Aponia to figure out the true situation of this 'Ellie-Jiang Qiao' before her.

But based on her interaction with Eden, this Elysia didn't seem to know them.

Of course, this didn't matter – even if Elysia didn't know them, it didn't prevent Eden and Aponia from treating her with the kindness they would show the Elysia they knew.

After all, Elysia was Elysia.

No matter how she changed, this fact remained constant.

And they didn't intend to expose Elysia's ignorance, even willing to play along.

As long as Elysia was happy.

Even if it meant indulging Elysia in a game, what was the harm?

"Ah…"

Hearing that Eden had left, Elysia was a little disappointed.

She was hoping to continue getting closer to this newly acquired super famous beautiful girl and boost their friendship level to clear the stage.

But she had actually left… Well, this seemed good too!

Anyway, she had already made a good start with Eden's friendship level. As long as she was still in this Elysian Realm, she could continue boosting it until it was maxed out!

And now—

Elysia's gaze slowly shifted to the nun before her, her eyes gradually lighting up.

With Eden gone, didn't that mean she could work on a new friendship level?

This Big Sis Aponia was undoubtedly a super beauty on par with Eden!

And in a completely different category – a nun… The 'fat lady' immediately thought of Mother Celia from the orphanage when she was young. Although there were quite a few differences… but I, Ellie, love this type!

Bad Jiang Qiao, watch me conquer another one!

"Hmm~ My name is Jiang Qiao!"

The very happy 'fat lady' subconsciously began her opening line, approaching cheerfully and trying to get closer, "Big Sis Aponia, you're so beautiful!"

— A little tip for getting along with girls, start with compliments!

This is my, Ellie's, experience!

Just as the 'fat lady' was feeling smug, planning to continue her advance and capture the nun's heart, Aponia fell silent.

"…"

"Eh?… What's wrong?"

This situation completely baffled Elysia, making her panic a little, but she still tried to maintain her composure and asked with feigned confusion.

T-this… This isn't right!

She thought that nothing she had said should have led the plot in this direction.

She had just introduced herself and given a compliment.

Could it be that this Aponia didn't like being praised?

But she was just telling the truth!

"…"

Don't just stay silent! I'm really panicking!

Looking at the speechless Aponia, Elysia screamed inwardly like a prairie dog.

Oh no, I've encountered a tough one.

Just as the 'fat lady' was feeling restless.

Aponia, who usually didn't show much expression, finally changed.

She covered her mouth, chuckling.

…Being called "Big Sis" by Elysia, as far as she could remember, this was the first time.