A Villain's Way of Taming Heroines

Clang—

The Duke of Wyvern abruptly stood up, creating a tremendous noise.

"Lord Ansel," he immediately turned to Ansel, forgetting to address him as Hydral.

His amber-brown pupils twisted slightly, showing signs of transforming into vertical slits:

"Is this insolent person the method you speak of?"

The insolent one who had battled him fiercely three years ago and subsequently vanished - Faust.

"Insolent?"

Faust, standing at the conference room door, sneered. "You seem to hold yourself in too high regard, Clement."

"Do you believe you're some inviolable existence?"

"Faust!" the Duke of Wyvern roared, "How dare you—"

"Noisy," the black-haired youth said expressionlessly, his hand already on his sword hilt.

The other extraordinary beings' expressions changed. The Duke of Wyvern's strength was evident from his seat closest to Ansel.

This monster, who had been evenly matched with him three years ago and now dared to show disrespect in Hydral's presence, if a fight broke out here...

"Enough, Lord Wyvern, Lord Faust," Ansel spoke, and both immediately fell silent—naturally due to his gentle tone, and certainly not because of the wildly dancing nine-headed serpent shadow projected on the wall.

The mere glimpse of Hydral's shadow sent chills down the spines of all present extraordinary beings, sensing that spine-chilling aura of destruction.

"We now have a common goal: to eliminate Evora, the calamity that threatens to destroy the empire's order," Hydral's gaze swept across each extraordinary being present, his smile warm as he continued, "Whatever conflicts you may have, they must be set aside until this objective is achieved."

"This is not a request, but an order."

This firmness, coming from the famously gentle Hydral, was somewhat surprising. Yet, given the circumstances, no one found it strange. All accepted Ansel's leadership as natural, save for one whose trigger point had been hit.

Silent and slowly sitting down, the Duke of Wyvern's skin beneath his outer garment... began to manifest dense dragon scales.

Hydral, have you decided to stop hiding?

Do you intend to bring the entire empire under your control after killing Evora?

Faust... he indeed had prior connections with you, he truly is your pact head!

Three years ago, was it also your directive for him to test me?!

The man closed his eyes, gradually calming his breath. When he reopened them, his face was a mask of tranquility.

That murderous intent, now concealed in the depths of his heart, flashed briefly in his amber-brown eyes.

No matter, you won't have that chance again.

He whispered thus in his heart.

"The legendary adventurer Faust needs no introduction, I presume," Ansel remarked, paying no heed to the Duke of Wyvern. Instead, he turned his enthusiastic gaze towards the still expressionless Faust.

"Earlier, I mentioned a somewhat rash method to resist the Feast Flames. To be precise, it's not I who will employ this method, but Lord Faust."

"You may be unaware that during the first opening of the rift filled with Feast Flames, when adventurers gathered in Red Valley City, Lord Faust was present," Ansel continued nonchalantly. "He ventured into the enigma rift and, as you can see, returned unscathed."

A wave of incredulous murmurs rippled through the extraordinary beings. Their astonishment stemmed not from a lack of experience, but from the audacity required to plunge into a rift teeming with Feast Flames under unknown conditions. Even more astounding was how he managed to emerge unharmed.

"Lord Faust," Hydral said with a smile, "would you kindly explain how you accomplished this?"

"With this," Faust replied succinctly, offering no further explanation.

Instead, he raised his hand, and a viscous, pitch-black substance instantly enveloped his entire arm.

In that moment, the faces of the assembled extraordinary beings transformed into a kaleidoscope of expressions.

"Is that... the Abyss?" whispered an extraordinary being from the Terminus Hall, incredulous. "Such proximity to the power of the Abyss, and to materialize it..."

He gazed at Faust with unbridled excitement, his voice quavering, "How on earth did you manage this?"

Ignoring him, Faust continued impassively, "This substance serves as a shield, offering maximum protection against the incineration of the Feast Flames."

The challenge posed by the Feast Flames lies in their [Absolute Dissolution], which returns all things to their origin under the guise of incineration. To resist this, there are two approaches.

One is to infinitely stack quantity, akin to the Duke of Bloodust's cruel plan to use nine million people as kindling - brutal but undeniably effective.

The other approach is to enhance the overall strength of the protection, preventing the Feast Flames from easily consuming the protective barrier.

Evidently, as the embodiment of the world's information flow, the Abyss represents the entity that would require the most effort for the Feast Flames to incinerate.

However, numerous questions now arose - not about eliminating Evora, but about Faust himself.

How could the world suddenly produce a being… with such an extraordinarily high affinity for the Abyss, capable of materializing the most complex power in existence?

Theoretically, shouldn't this feat be achievable only by Hydral?

At this juncture, Ansel spoke opportunely: "While I too can create Abyssal matter like Lord Faust, it's... not quite suitable for protection."

In the next instant, the entire conference hall - walls and floor alike - plunged into a pitch-black morass! Countless tentacles emerged from the dark quagmire, writhing like living entities. They exuded a terrifying magical power that threatened to drag one's very soul to the bottomless depths of the Abyss, tearing and warping reality, reducing everything to nothingness and chaos.

The extraordinary beings were struck with overwhelming terror. Some even instinctively retaliated against the air, only to realize upon regaining their senses that the seemingly all-consuming Abyss was merely… an illusion.

The source? Nothing more than the obsidian substance condensed in Ansel's palm.

"As you've witnessed," Ansel's tone carried a hint of resignation, "the substance I've refined - let's call it Abyssal matter - can indeed greatly resist the incineration of the Feast Flames. However, it would also indiscriminately subject you all to Abyssal corruption."

"If you were to be covered by my Abyssal matter, you'd likely be incapable of normal combat within minutes."

"Lord Faust's Abyssal matter, however, is far less potent than mine. At the very least, when covered by it, the effect on you won't be as dramatic as what you've just experienced. Nevertheless... some degree of corruption is ultimately unavoidable."

Hydral sighed softly: "This is the 'rashness' I spoke of. Voluntarily accepting Lord Faust's Abyssal coverage ensures your freedom of movement within the Feast Flames, but at the cost of inevitable Abyssal corruption."

"Though challenging, I believe that to eradicate the source of calamity, to allow you all to bask in the glory of the new order hereafter, this small risk..."

He gazed at each extraordinary being present, his eyes brimming with earnest sincerity, concealing beneath them the deepest malevolence.

"Should be acceptable, don't you agree?"
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