A Villain's Way of Taming Heroines

So, a Evora who was reduced to a useless husk...

Amidst the sea of flames, Ansel's gaze narrowed as he observed the golden chains sprouting from the throne's backrest.

Upon realizing that Evora was not the recipient of some fortuitous encounter, but rather a prisoner whose power was being drained, Ansel understood that the plan must change.

— Evora could not perish here.

While others might prefer Evora dead, for Ansel, she was the sole individual privy to intelligence about that enigmatic force. This knowledge would prove invaluable in his future machinations against fate.

The cost, however...

Hydral fell into contemplation as he watched the extraordinary beings being guided towards the throne.

How could he persuade his allies not to slay Evora?

Should he simply inform them that the once-proud Elder Princess no longer posed a threat? If so, how could he substantiate such a claim? Would these battle-hardened individuals trust Ansel's ambiguous "conjectures"?

Evora's earlier plea for help hadn't swayed them because Ansel's resolve had seemed genuine. He had magnanimously offered them a chance, provided they could slay Evora, even after warning them of potential betrayal.

It was this determination to end the old order that had rallied these extraordinary beings to Ansel's side, eager for a new regime.

Sparing Evora would render Ansel's stance meaningless, aligning him with the desperate cry of the foolish Elder Princess.

He would transform into the… malevolent Hydral, intent on leaving no survivors.

Ansel cared little for his own position. Eliminating the remaining half, should they truly desire Evora's death, would not prove challenging.

They remained oblivious to Faust's terrifying mastery over the Abyss, just as they were unaware of Hydral's limits in manipulating it, especially given his monstrous Abyssal preaching.

Ansel could easily employ the same tactic again. Though they might be more cautious now, it would suffice to render most of them uncontrollable. Subsequently, slaughtering the corrupted, berserk extraordinary beings would pose no difficulty for him.

Should Ansel wield the blade of slaughter himself, the question of who lives and who dies would become moot. To tame the remaining two protagonists, he could not afford even the slightest possibility of revealing his true nature. Read new chapters at My Virtual Library Empire

The choice lay before him: either to erupt in sudden violence, exterminating them all, or to attempt persuasion, gambling on the unpredictable nature of human hearts...

The potential benefits of powerful, order-inclined fifth-stage extraordinary beings were immeasurable.

… After all, Ansel still had enemies to face, and the aftermath of this catastrophe would require stabilizing figures. Confronted with the vast expanse of the empire, Ansel could not hope to control everything as the Empress might, for even the Empress herself, when not fully engaged, could not maintain absolute control.

The devil of old would never have hesitated in such matters, but the Ansel of now felt... that if all must perish here, it would be too great a waste.

"...Drained, you say?"

The white-robed bishop Dusk contemplated the shattered throne, murmuring, "Indeed, it appears our former Highness is in a state of power drainage."

Within the Holy Church, save for the Pope and the Holy Maiden, none held higher status than the white and black-robed Bishops. Dusk, the fifth white-robed bishop to personally pay homage to the empress, enjoyed great renown throughout the empire.

"In that case... Lord Hydral," he turned to Ansel, "What do you intend to do after their probing is complete?"

All eyes were fixed on Ansel, awaiting his decision, for time was not a luxury they possessed.

In the wake of the recent upheaval, nearly everyone had been covertly observing Faust. The legendary figure's abysmal condition spoke volumes - though barely ten minutes had passed since entering the rift, he was already nearing his limit.

"...I'm contemplating," Ansel spoke softly after a brief silence, "Whether to spare Evora's life."

The moment these words left his lips, every extraordinary being present, especially those maintaining neutrality, visibly tensed.

They stood on edge, ready to dispel the abyssal matter covering their bodies, each gathering enough power to either strike or flee.

Pablo, the first to align with Ansel, wore a grim expression but calmly inquired, "Lord Hydral, might you elaborate on your reasoning?"

"Because I believe that something capable of draining a Flamefeast descendant with imperial qualities..."

Ansel refrained from directly mentioning a mysterious force, temporarily attributing the issue to the throne itself.

"Is far more dangerous, and potentially more valuable… than the half-dead Evora."

He turned to the wary extraordinary beings, asking earnestly, "Are you not curious about what Evora has endured, about the nature of this relic and the throne that imprisoned her? What if, after slaying Evora... it becomes another problem entirely?"

"So, Lord Hydral's suggestion is," one extraordinary being said impassively, "that we not only refrain from killing her, but also rescue her?"

"Indeed, to extract information from her," Ansel nodded frankly. "After obtaining answers, her execution can be arranged at our leisure."

"I believe now is as good a time as any to end her," another extraordinary being declared.

"If the danger lies in this relic and throne, we should destroy them along with Evora. Lord Hydral's previous strike already caused visible damage. Surely, with our combined might, we can utterly annihilate both Evora and this construct."

At this juncture, should Ansel persist in sparing Evora's life, his true motives would become transparent, regardless of his rhetoric.

Nevertheless, Ansel drew a deep breath, preparing for one last attempt.

"In that case, allow me to speak plainly—I believe that the force imprisoning and draining Evora's power is neither this throne nor this relic, but rather some entity or faction concealed within the endless Realm Enigma."

He had never intended to conceal anything; his initial reticence stemmed from the knowledge that such an outlandish claim would only breed further suspicion among the extraordinary beings.

A hidden force or powerful individual within the Realm Enigma?

One capable of subduing Evora, impervious to the all-consuming feasting fire, forcibly extracting her power?

After a brief silence, a jarring chuckle echoed through the sea of flames.

"Lord Hydral, why not simply state that… there might be a fifth divine species lurking in the Realm Enigma?"

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