A Villain's Way of Taming Heroines

"You do care," Nine's sweet laughter contrasted eerily with her hoarse voice, creating a strangely bewitching effect.

"Because you're aware of my sole talent as a mortal. You know where my only value lies."

As she advanced step by step, Nine softly spoke: "Have Miss Seraphina and Miss Ravenna bestowed new expectations upon you? Do they thank you for saving those nine million people, hoping you can save even more?"

Nine tilted her head slightly, pausing momentarily before continuing:

"...No, that's not it. They believe you're benevolent, while you don't consider yourself so."

"Your gaze," she said gently, "Your complex, bewildered, sorrowful gaze as you observe those unfortunate souls reveals the answer to me."

"For me, a single glance suffices."

"But this burden has weighed on you for so long. Perhaps you're only now realizing it, but you shouldn't torment yourself so. Ah... I understand now."

Nine halted once more, placing a hand over her heart and murmuring: "Is it... about saving me?"

"So Miss Seraphina has recognized my cunning. I had thought she would continue to be immersed in the hatred I crafted for her. She has... become a remarkable young woman."

She continued to approach Ansel, whose pupils had slightly contracted as he remained silent. Her hoarse voice maintained a gentleness and warmth entirely at odds with the concept of " obsession."

"Miss Seraphina wishes to save me. She's a good child; she surely hopes you won't view my transformation as your burden."

"And you feel guilty towards her because you're... allowing me to continue like this."

Before she realized it, she had reached Ansel's side.

"Now that you've been understood this way," she smiled shyly, "do you feel any better?"

"...You're far more extraordinary than I imagined," Ansel finally spoke, his gaze fixed on Nine's eyes. He had dispelled his earlier tumultuous emotions, his voice now calm and firm. "Marlina... no, Nine. If you possess such a talent, you should seriously consider what I said earlier."

"Are you now unwilling to abandon me?" Nine asked with a smile.

Ansel narrowed his eyes slightly: "When necessary, I will."

[Because if it's just abandoning someone who, apart from understanding me, can't even maintain their own—]

"Because abandoning someone who can't maintain their own self and can only fathom thoughts is natural for you, isn't it?"

Nine said softly. "How I wish you could maintain this resolve, regardless of what you face, regardless of... whom you face."

"If you remained unchanged like this," her voice grew somewhat sorrowful, "you wouldn't feel lost and tormented."

"Nine..."

Ansel descended from the windowsill, staring into Nine's pitch-black eyes. "Do you view this ability as a license to act recklessly before me?"

"I've never thought that way, Mr. Ansel. On the contrary, I've come to request... your blessing."

Nine slowly knelt before Ansel, gazing up at him. Her expression was difficult to describe – it resembled worship of a deity, yet lacked the distant admiration and sense of separation typical of a devotee; it was like a warm benevolence, yet carried a fervor and determination unbefitting of mere kindness and love.

"Even if you're willing to give me a chance to return to the right path," she said softly, "I still hope you can grant me that power."

"...Power."

Ansel murmured, reaching out to remove Nine's mask and carelessly tossing it aside. He then placed his hand on her smooth, delicate face, which had grown increasingly bewitching and otherworldly.

"Where did you acquire this information? Was it Shadewell?"

"No, it was Miss Leclerc."

...The musician?

Ansel's mind flashed to the female musician he had abandoned in the imperial capital, instantly connecting the relevant information.

So that's it... Was it that day?

Evora had Marlina relay a message, informing her that the empress was about to make a move. At that time, he was in the royal theater, using Eula Leclerc, who had already fallen into the abyss, to warn Ravenna, who had become Helen.

Had Marlina noticed this power since then?

"The ability that even the Empress covets, believing it can help her breakthrough to the seventh stage."

Nine smiled and said, "Then even if I am utterly mediocre, it will surely allow me to become your strength."

The essence of Abyssal Sermon is to excavate the recipient's compatibility with the abyss to its limit. They will find the power most suitable for themselves in the abyss, which is indeed a supreme endowment that can ignore even innate talent.

"But do you know the price of obtaining this power?"

Hydral gently grasped the chin of the girl who had long since ceased to be human.

"I do. Miss Leclerc is the best counterexample."

Nine blinked, "That's precisely why I've never been able to make up my mind. I feared that price; I was afraid of falling into such a pitiful state as hers."

"Which means you're not afraid now."

"Yes, Mr. Ansel."

How... incomprehensible.

What exactly caused such a transformation in Nine? Had she fallen into the vortex of the abyss or not?

If not, how could she possibly make this request knowing her self would be obliterated? If so... why was her current self so clear-minded and calm?

Ansel gently placed his hand on her head, and after a moment of silence, softly asked:

"What is your reason for doing this?"

"Because Mr. Ansel is about to make a grand gamble, and in this gamble, you absolutely won't bring Miss Seraphina and Miss Ravenna," Nine obediently replied.

"So..." Ansel felt like laughing, "So, you want to use this body, this level of power, to contribute to my cause when facing twenty-nine fifth-stage beings, endless Feasting Flames, and the last Flamefeast descendant?"

"It is the version of me that you will imbue with power," Nine corrected.

"Heh... Hahahaha—"

The young Hydral couldn't help but burst into laughter, laughing at the absurdity before him, laughing at the flicker of expectation that had crossed his mind.

For a moment, he had truly overturned his previous assumptions, believing for an instant that Marlina was not only special in talent but that she was more than just an ordinary person.

But in the end... it was still like this. Discover exclusive tales on My Virtual Library Empire

Still willing to abandon her own life, her very existence.

"So be it, then."

As his laughter subsided, he sighed softly, gazing down into those shadowed eyes. In his own sea-blue eyes, the hue of the abyss gradually rose.

"Look into my eyes, Marlina."

One last time, let him call her by name.

"In the abyss, seek the power you desire."

Marlina's already shadow-covered black eyes were stained with an even deeper blackness. Her body immediately stiffened, frozen like a sculpture.

Time slowly passed. After an indeterminate period, her eyeballs suddenly moved, as if awakening from chaos.

"What is... this?"

However, before Ansel could ascertain Marlina's current mental state, he discovered something even more incredible.

The power that Marlina had seized from this preaching, from the abyss—the power that could ignore any boundary, aptitude, or talent, the power she most desired in her heart—was actually...

"Mr. Ansel."

A voice, still somewhat raspy but no longer distorted and hoarse like a banshee, rang out. It was a voice that had shed its girlish timbre, poised exquisitely between innocence and maturity, wonderfully melodious and beautiful.

The ebony witch raised her head, her smile radiant:

"Now, can I become your strength?"

*