A Villain's Way of Taming Heroines

“Ansel!”

As Ansel parted the tent’s curtain, Seraphina’s cry echoed from afar.

Her lengthening white hair billowed as she sprinted, reminiscent of a white wolf’s mane undulating during the hunt, exuding an alluring yet perilous wildness.

Within moments, Seraphina stood beside Ansel, her countenance fraught with urgency. She gestured towards the blood-tinged firmament, exclaiming, “What’s all this? Could it be… something related to that empress… uh, dead empress?”

Uncharacteristically, Ansel refrained from immediately addressing Seraphina’s inquiry, his gaze fixed upon the distant horizon.

The sky had been forcibly rent asunder. Experience new stories on My Virtual Library Empire

A scene identical to the previous portal unfolded—celestial flames of crimson cascaded from the world’s fissure. This cataclysm, which even extraordinary beings sought to evade, descended upon the earth, its inferno consuming all in its path.

Further afield, vaster rifts were discernible, staining the entire Western land’s celestial canvas a lurid crimson.

Despite Crow’s forewarning, Ansel found himself rendered momentarily speechless by the spectacle before him.

“Flamefeast…”

Ravenna materialized at Ansel’s side, her typically impassive visage betraying unprecedented gravity.

“This defies all reason,” she murmured, before turning to Ansel, her violet orbs brimming with concern and solemnity.

“Ansel, could this be Its machination?”

“…Its?”

Seraphina swiftly grasped the implication, her voice rising in disbelief: “Is it Fa—”

The young girl instinctively covered her mouth, glancing about furtively and sniffing before lowering her voice to a whisper, “Is it Fate? Is It doing this madness?”

“But it’s illogical,” Ravenna was quick to refute her own suspicion. “Regardless of the circumstances, to escalate matters to such an extreme… It’s utterly beyond the realm of ‘reason’.”

She muttered incredulously, “It’s as though It’s upended the chessboard in a fit of pique. This cannot be Its doing, moreover…”

Ravenna hesitated, her gaze upon Ansel growing increasingly troubled.

If this could still be deemed “reasonable”, even if there were some unknown secrets Fate could exploit, it might be manageable. But if Fate had truly abandoned Its long-held principle of “reason”—then Ansel’s chances of victory…

The profound concern of his friend was palpable to Ansel. The young Hydral smiled, gently patting Ravenna’s head as he spoke reassuringly, “Fear not, It won’t forsake Its principles.”

“There have been numerous pivotal moments in the past when It could have annihilated me directly, yet It refrained. If It had truly cast aside this arrogance… there wouldn’t be such a grand display.”

He gestured towards himself in jest, “It could simply have the Dragon King emerge and devour me in one fell swoop.”

“… Indeed, you have a point.”

Ravenna exhaled slightly, her tension easing. Meanwhile, Seraphina, bewildered by their cryptic exchange, grew more agitated. “So what’s really happening? How has the situation escalated… to this extent?”

Ansel calmly elucidated the matter of the enigmatic force to Ravenna and Seraphina. Amid their astonished gazes, he explained, “Thus, it’s not that It employed unreasonable tactics, but rather unveiled a wildcard of which I was wholly unaware.”

It wasn’t Fate capriciously shattering and incinerating the chessboard, but rather Ansel losing his greatest advantage in this equal match against Fate—foresight.

“I’ve long prepared for such a scenario,” Ansel gently reassured the uneasy young girls.

“The exploitable memories were already dwindling. Even without this move from Fate, I was destined to confront It in a state of ignorance henceforth.”

Observing Seraphina’s lip-biting frustration and indignation, the young man patted her somewhat disheveled white hair, his voice tender. “Let’s consider this early practice.”

“This ‘practice’ seems excessively harsh,” Ravenna sighed deeply.

However, given Ansel’s composure and apparent control of the situation, she refrained from expressing further negativity. Resuming her customary cool demeanor, she offered her usual dependable words:

“Should you require my assistance, don’t hesitate to ask, understood?”

“Ah, and me too! No, wait! There’s already so much to be done!”

The increasingly self-assured Seraphina showed far more initiative. She grasped Ansel’s arm urgently, “Ansel, Ansel! Let’s hurry to save people!”

Ansel’s face momentarily betrayed confusion. “…Save people?”

“Yes, that fire… I can sense its danger even from this distance. It’s pouring from the sky relentlessly, bound to kill countless lives! We must—”

Seraphina, ever-observant of Ansel, intuitively sensed a change in her beloved’s demeanor. She paused, cautiously probing, “… Or perhaps you’re already planning to confront Fate? Do you need me?”

Ravenna, too, gazed at Ansel with a subtly hopeful look. She stood ready to offer her strength to Ansel at any moment, but also wished he might extend aid to those undeserving of death in this merciless catastrophe.

Both she and Seraphina knew that Ansel harbored this warm hope within, though the relentless pressure from Fate had left little room for such concerns. But now, circumstances had changed.

The mechanical God from the Machine who had briefly clashed with the empress, and the Miss Calamity who had torn apart a fifth-stage dragon while still at the fourth stage, simultaneously grasped Ansel’s hands, silently yet resolutely lending him their strength.

Feeling the two distinct warmths in his palms, Ansel, after a moment of silence, responded with a light chuckle:

“It’s alright. Protecting civilians to the best of our ability is indeed crucial. Otherwise, the Western lands will suffer unprecedented devastation. This should be an integral part of my struggle against It.”

“Before taking action, we should at least investigate the nature of this situation, shouldn’t we?”

“Hurray!”

Seraphina embraced Ansel, her smile radiant. “I knew Ansel wouldn’t abandon them!”

“I can map out the area using my data system based on the intelligence from Shadewell,” Ravenna promptly added. “We’ll quickly determine where aid is most needed.”

“Oh, you’re quite useful after all, Ravenna!”

“…Hmph, now you remember my name?”

As Seraphina and Ravenna resumed their banter, indicating their eased emotions, Ansel, still surrounded by them, continued to gaze at the sky, his eyes slightly narrowed.

“Just this once,” he suddenly said, “I won’t be joining you.”

“…Huh?”

Seraphina, who was about to pinch Ravenna, froze. She asked, somewhat confused, “Why? Is it because Ansel is going to…”

“That place is difficult for both you and Ravenna to approach, even more so for Crow,” A flicker of darkness passed through Ansel’s eyes, but his voice remained gentle.

“So, I’ll go alone. You two should focus on helping the civilians. Suellen will provide assistance as best she can.”

Seraphina wanted to say more, but Ravenna tugged at her, shaking her head slightly.

The wolf, now viewing the world with new eyes, seemed reluctant to accept that she couldn’t help Ansel. But after Ravenna’s silent, repeated dissuasion, she relented.

She nuzzled Ansel forcefully, speaking with docile confidence, “If Ansel says he must go alone… I won’t argue. I’m certain Ansel will be fine!”

The young girl released the most important person in her life and turned towards the direction of the torn sky. Even as the blazing blood-fire reflected in her dark red eyes, it couldn’t overshadow the more intense light of fury within—pure rage towards the instigator of all this, towards Fate, who had repeatedly forced Ansel into peril.

“Well then… I’m off, Ansel!”

Seraphina took a deep breath, turning back for a final glance at Ansel, her face bearing a confident and resolute smile:

“Though I’m not as fast as Ravenna, if you call for me, I’ll surely come!”

Ansel nodded gently, smiling. Encouraged, Seraphina felt strength surge through her entire body. She waved to Ansel, clenched her fists, and let power course through her. With an ear-splitting boom, she vanished instantly, heading towards the most dangerous areas.

The ominous presence of the Feasting Flame constantly surrounded Seraphina. She could sense the omnipresent threat, though most of it remained distant. She raced towards the nearest danger, hoping to save as many lives as possible.

“You’re quite fast,” a cool voice sounded near Seraphina’s ear.

The petite Ravenna had appeared on her shoulder, sitting steadily.

“Should I wait for them to burn to death?” Seraphina retorted, glancing at Ravenna. “Hey, shorty, why didn’t you let me say more to Ansel? What if we could have helped him?”

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