A Villain's Way of Taming Heroines

What initially seemed to be Ansel's most pressing concern was resolved with unexpected ease.

Of the Empire's thirteen Dukes, three had been eliminated due to the Iron Blade and Grey Tower rebellion in the North and the Lumenaris genocide in the South. The remaining ten entered the Realm Enigma, where nine, led by the Duke of Wyvern, were either burned alive by the Bloodflame or absorbed and devoured by the golden skeleton's spine.

The Duke of Azuregold initially survived, but failed to meet Ansel's standard of "truly caring for the Empire's citizens" at the last moment, and thus couldn't escape death.

With this... the Empire's foundation, the rulers of its vast territories, were completely annihilated, leaving only two nominally existing rebels.

The strongest members of the top extraordinary organizations had also perished. Henceforth, even if the remaining extraordinary beings tried to band together to assassinate Ansel, they would no longer pose a threat.

For peace of mind, Ansel could leisurely hunt down the remaining fifth-stage extraordinary beings one by one, eliminating them without exception.

Although the Empire would face unprecedented chaos - with the Dukes' families and forces disintegrating, leaderless organizations unrestrained, and extraordinary beings fighting like hyenas for power and profit… none of this mattered. Ansel had now become the "absolute" he needed.

In his original plan, this absolute power was to be achieved by forcing Flamelle's death and ascending to the sixth stage. Ravenna's resolve had derailed this plan, robbing Ansel of his chance to rule the Empire openly, forcing him to resort to various disguises and concealments, acting with utmost caution.

Yet who could have imagined that the true power to control the Empire would, by twist of fate, fall into his hands in such an absurd manner?

And with such… astounding ease.

In a luxurious room, Ansel sat by an enormous soft bed that could accommodate over a dozen people, silently watching the sleeping Nine with a complex expression.

The battle in the Enigma's sea of fire... No, it couldn't even be called a battle, but rather a one-sided crushing defeat.

The conditions required for such dominance were unattainable even with the most exhaustive scheming, arguably infinitely more challenging than Ansel becoming a sixth-stage.

Firstly, an opportunity was needed to gather all top-stage extraordinary beings and truly motivate them to risk their lives - of which only two remained in the world: killing Princess Evora or killing Empress Ephesande, who was confirmed to be without divine power.

Evora, captured by the mysterious force and unwilling to perish, created this opportunity for Ansel.

Ansel seized this chance to summon the few remaining fifth-stage extraordinary beings who genuinely cared for the Empire and its citizens, and possessed remarkable strength, to confront the other faction of extraordinary beings driven by fate to harbor murderous intent towards him.

However, until then, the outcome had been uncertain. In terms of pure combat power, Ansel's side was even at a disadvantage. If the remaining neutral extraordinary beings had sensed Ansel's predicament, his situation would have worsened considerably.

In the original plan, Evora, assumed to counterattack, could be utilized but would also attack Ansel. Thus, in Ansel's view... this had been a high-stakes gamble.

However, two crucial factors emerged.

The infinite Feasting Flame extracted from Evora created an environment of unparalleled peril, demanding immense fortitude even before the assault on Evora commenced, and exponentially increasing the risk during combat… Yet Ansel possessed an inherent, optimal solution to resist the Feasting Flame, significantly bolstering his odds of victory.

Building upon this foundation, the true trump card - one that even Ansel had not anticipated - manifested in the form of the alluring young girl before him, her left cheek adorned with intricate black patterns.

— She was a vessel capable of perfectly receiving his power and a puppet who could shoulder the side effects on his behalf.

Utilizing abyssal matter to corrupt extraordinary beings was a task neither impossibly difficult nor deceptively simple.

While being perpetually enveloped in abyssal matter capable of resisting the Feasting Flame inevitably invited the Abyss's influence, the crux lay in the fact that the extraordinary beings tasked with vanquishing Evora were the top specialists of their era. They possessed ample strength to resist this corruption — provided its intensity aligned with their expectations.

Had Ansel proposed using abyssal matter to aid their resistance against the Feasting Flame, the extraordinary beings, already harboring intentions of betrayal, would have heightened their vigilance to the utmost, leaving no room for even the slightest hint of abyssal aura to infiltrate their souls.

But… what if it were Faust, a fifth-stage being like themselves, who, despite possessing some talent in manipulating the Abyss, could never hope to rival Hydral?

Even though the Duke of Wyvern had already surmised Faust to be Ansel's pact head, and had swiftly dispelled the abyssal matter clinging to himself, he could not fathom that Faust was not Hydral's pact head, but rather something far more inconceivable in a sense.

After all, even a pact head could never be equated to Ansel himself.

As long as they harbored such thoughts, relaxing their guard even minutely against the abyssal matter manipulated by Faust, and if their perception of Ansel himself and Faust diverged by the slightest degree, it would suffice for Ansel — or more precisely, Faust wielding Ansel's power — to infiltrate the souls of the extraordinary beings… with an imperceptible corruption born from that discrepancy.

This insidious process, accumulating with each passing moment, though infinitesimal, would be enough to render them out of control for a few minutes when detonated.

In normal circumstances, these few minutes might not prove fatal; loss of control equated to a rampage, but not necessarily vulnerability. However, amidst the endless sea of Feasting Flame… such a reckless expenditure of aether was tantamount to courting death.

The convergence of these myriad, exacting factors culminated in this facile, almost ludicrous victory.
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Had the Feasting Flame's inferno been absent, had more individuals aligned themselves with the Duke of Wyvern, leaving Ansel's faction insufficient time to mount a defense, had Evora refrained from this act of self-preservation from the outset, had Nine not sought power in the Abyss with a resolve to discard even her own self, pursuing the pure ideal of becoming Ansel's instrument...

Then all outcomes would have remained uncertain. Regardless of victory or defeat, even if Ansel had managed to secure this advantage, he would have undoubtedly paid an enormous price.

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