Honkai Star Rail: Corruption System

"Because... if you were really my mom, how could you even ask something like, 'Do you like mom?' It's just… completely absurd!"

Daziel analyzed her words, trying to sound indifferent.

"Hmm, but you called me a bad woman. Maybe I actually do think that way?" Kafka purred, leaning closer again, her skin lightly brushing against Daziel's.

Outrageous. Utterly outrageous.

This woman… She was lying through her teeth, and doing it with such effortless ease.

"Alright," Kafka said, pulling back slightly. "Flirting time is always fleeting, isn't it? Let's pause our little truth game for now." She leaned back just enough to look directly into Daziel's eyes, her voice softening. "The real test is coming."

Daziel lifted his head, his gaze sharpening. "What do you mean by that?"

Kafka's tone remained light, but a seriousness crept in. "The young Cloud Knight swordsman has received his orders. He'll be here in about half an hour."

As she spoke, Kafka adopted that pitiful look again. "He's… not going to be easy to deal with. 'Mom' has always protected you before, but now, Daziel, do you have the confidence to protect mom from him?"

Daziel shrugged, completely unfazed. "Yanqing? What's there to be afraid of?"

Yanqing, Daziel thought. Just like Svarog, probably designed to be a pushover, a recurring boss character, a stepping stone in countless Xianzhou storylines. Always fighting the protagonist for some ridiculous reason…

Kafka raised an eyebrow, a hint of genuine curiosity, and perhaps a touch of pique, in her voice. "I'm curious, where does this confidence come from? Looking down on Xianzhou's strongest young Cloud Knight swordsman? In my memory, our Daziel wasn't exactly known for being conceited."

"Isn't that what you're here for? You can still fight, right?" Daziel asked, skeptical. He didn't believe Kafka was truly without a backup plan.

Kafka chuckled softly, a note of what sounded like real helplessness entering her tone. "What nonsense are you spouting, Daziel? I'm tied up because of you. All my energy is focused on suppressing Blade's Mara-struck. How could I possibly handle him?"

"Wait, so you really can't fight?" Daziel's brow furrowed, a flicker of disbelief in his eyes. "I thought you were just testing me." Hearing Kafka say this, the corner of Daziel's mouth twitched.

"The use of Spirit Words is… limited now," she explained. "Either I revert to psychological suggestion, slowly controlling you like before… or I can only control those who are already incapable of resisting." She tilted her head, a girlish, almost teasing, quality in her eyes. "You can't count on me now. Not unless you defeat that boy first. Then I can use Spirit Words to control him."

Daziel's expression stiffened. He spread his hands, a tone of genuine helplessness in his voice. "In a normal state? I can't beat him. You don't actually think my combat power is that high, do you?" This wasn't a game. Daziel was alone, without backup. He realistically had no chance of defeating Yanqing single-handedly.

"Think about it again," Kafka's voice lowered, earnest now, directed solely at him. "According to Elio's script, he said… only by finding you is there a possibility of winning against him."

Daziel frowned, pondering deeply, but still couldn't grasp what "possibility" Elio meant. He finally asked, a hint of doubt creeping into his tone, "Did Elio… say anything else?"

Kafka's smile deepened, becoming more knowing. Her voice dropped to a near whisper. "You've heard it, haven't you? 'The kind of thing we'll do…'"

"Wait, is there even a connection between those things? It doesn't… seem to fit…" Daziel trailed off, realization dawning. Perhaps… perhaps there was a connection.

He mentally addressed the system. "Hey, System, that fire poker… can it actually boost my combat power? Tell me it's not just some… adult toy for special fetishes?"

[The Host appears to be questioning the reward provided by this system. This fire poker possesses a unique efficacy against Ice-type characters. Forget Yanqing, even the former Sword Champion Jing Yuan would be scorched by this fire poker.]

[Kafka harbors an inexplicable fixation on desire and pleasure… a kind of charm unlike those of ordinary 'little girls'…]

[There is no need for this system to further explain common sense. Her Depravity Value practically skyrockets on its own!]

[This… bad woman is being this obvious already, Host! Why are you still not making a move? Are you still aspiring to be the protagonist of a harem novel?]

Reading the system's frantic subtitles, Daziel's mouth hung open. Incredulous. Utterly shocking.

Truly… shocking.

First, it was Scott sending his own father to prison – filial piety taken to the extreme! Now, it seemed he was truly meant to do something… similar.

He was beginning to understand what Elio meant by "that kind of thing".

But… was he really going to do "that kind of thing" with Kafka…?

Even if she wasn't his biological mother, Daziel still hesitated. Just for a moment.

However, this hesitation would be the last time Daziel paused before a woman after acquiring the Corruption System.

Soon, Kafka would teach him what it meant to be a real man.

This would be the first lesson Kafka imparted after Daziel lost his memories…

…

"So, you do remember something?" Kafka probed, looking at Daziel with a meaningful glint in her eyes. "This… 'kind of thing we do'... it can really make you win against Xianzhou's strongest young Cloud Knight swordsman?"

Daziel nodded, albeit hesitantly.

"Then why aren't you moving faster? I'm the one tied up here. Are you expecting me to do it myself?"

"Wait, at least… restrain yourself a little…" Daziel stammered, momentarily speechless.

Doing this kind of thing just to overcome this immediate obstacle… wasn't it all too reminiscent of the past?

Not long ago, he had vowed to be the helmsman of his own destiny, never to become a slave to desire or expediency, to uphold absolute justice in his heart!

But now…

Even if the other party was a "bad woman", a bad woman who was practically begging to seduce him…

"Indeed," Kafka murmured, a trace of something almost like pity in her voice. "It seems it's probably too difficult for our 'partner of justice', Daziel, to choose this course of action himself. You still… cherish your 'mom'. But that's not the Daziel I need."

Looking at Daziel's conflicted expression, a flicker of helplessness crossed Kafka's face. "It seems… it's time to use a little trick to correct your… bad habit of hesitating when facing women."

"What do you mean by that?" Daziel asked, genuinely stunned, before he could fully grasp Kafka's words, she snapped her fingers.

Instantly, Daziel felt his body slip out of his control again.

But this time, it was different. This time, his mind remained sharp, lucid. He was fully aware of what he was doing, even as his body moved against his will.

"When it comes to me, you're still so… simple-minded," Kafka said, her voice laced with amusement. "Under my psychological suggestion… you're controlled by Spirit Words again." Kafka crooked a little finger, and commanded, a playful charm in her voice, "Take off my boots first. You like this, right? No one knows our Daziel better than me~ Take them off, and then we'll talk about other things."

Daziel strained, desperate to break free from Kafka's control, but it was futile.

Just as the system had stated, his resistance was effectively zero.

And this time, the system remained silent, utterly unhelpful.

Indeed, the system practically yearned for him to do something to boost his Depravity Value. Why would it interfere to help him break free?

Daziel could only watch in helpless horror as his own hands, stiff and unresponsive, reached out and began to unlace Kafka's boots.

________

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