The villain's way to tame the protagonist

That is, telling the truth to Ming Fuluo will not get her help.

It will only make her become his enemy completely.

When idealists learn that their ideals can become an established fact, they will inevitably stand on the side that can turn them into reality.

It was just like when she said she wanted to give up her ideals, her anxiety did not come from losing friends, but from... losing support.

It was as if at this moment, she did not ask me with concern whether I had any difficulties, but so coldly... ordered me to give a reason.

I see.

It turns out that from the very beginning, Luo would not be my friend.

"The reason... does not exist."

Anser slowly clenched his cane, but said this with a smile in a light and casual tone.

His laughter became louder and louder, as if to cover up something, he burst into laughter: "No reason, Luo, no reason!"

"…You are hiding something, Anser."

The petite woman in the rain took a step forward, and her voice gradually rose as she exposed Anser in an instant: "Don't try to deceive me! If you want me to give you an answer, give me a reason first!"

Boom!

The sound of the cane hitting the ground heavily stopped Ming Fuluo from moving forward.

Reasons…reasons.

It's not a hardship, but a reason.

Anser pulled the corner of his mouth, still smiling: "I said, no, reason."

"You clearly—"

"Without a reason, can't you give an answer?"

He spread his hands and said, "Then let me ask you in a different way, dear Luo—the most direct and straightforward way."

"Haven't you always wanted to become my sworn brother? The conditions are very simple. All you have to do is place your ideals under my existence."

"If I order you to do something, even if it threatens your ideals, you must execute it without hesitation. Can you do it?"

"..."

Ming Fuluo was silent, and there was no expression on her pale and bloodless face.

This silence was already her answer.

"Well, let's put it more bluntly."

"I never thought about realizing that so-called ideal. On the contrary, I wanted to stop it. I wanted to... destroy it."

At this moment, Ansher felt Ming Furo's gaze, a gaze filled with astonishment, anger, and disbelief.

"You said...what!" Ming Fuluo squeezed out hoarse words from between her teeth.

"Look, look, Luo, at this moment, you don't need a reason anymore."

Anser laughed out loud: "You don't need any rationality, and you don't need me to give you any counter-reasons to be so hostile to me and regard me as..."

"enemy."

Ansel uttered these two words slowly and expressionlessly. He no longer needed to hear the exact answer from Ming Furo because he already knew the answer.

An answer that made him glad that he did not so rashly tell Ming Fuluo the "truth".

She is indeed... the kind of person I thought she was.

"Do you know why there is no reason? Because everything you and I have experienced during this period of time is..."

After getting the answer from Ming Fuluo's silence, Anser seemed to be relieved and laughed happily:

"My lies."

He twirled his cane leisurely: "I admire your talent and need your talent. You should have been my first lord. You should have been."

Under Ming Furo's dull gaze, the young Hydra sighed softly, "It's just that your persistence in that ideal... is beyond my expectations.

"You can't put anything above me."

His voice was cold and his eyes were indifferent, like a monarch looking down at a disobedient person.

"I wanted to tame you with gentle means. I wanted to be your friend, provide you with help, and become your only companion in your lonely world... I thought you would cherish me, you would need me, and I could become the most important person in your life."

"But I was wrong." Anser shook his head. "I was too naive. I was so naive that I thought that just this little bit of so-called 'company' would make you care about me and value me, and even surpass that ideal."

"But the fact is... I can never do this. Because you live for that ideal, Luo."

All the tenderness in the young devil's eyes had been wiped out, and a cruel and cold color flashed instead.

"It must be...destroyed and rebuilt." He whispered softly in a voice that only he could hear, "In order to get the you that I want."

In this torrential rain, close friends and like-minded partners just looked at each other.

Neither of them could see even a hint of pleading or concession in the other's eyes.

"So all this is a lie?"

Ming Fuluo's voice was very soft, so soft that it seemed like it could be smashed into pieces by raindrops.

"That's right, these are all lies, Luo."

Anser nodded slightly: "From now on, we are no longer friends."

If during this time, you had shown even the slightest preference for me, I would not have distrusted you like this, but you didn't, Luo.

I should have realized this earlier. I should have known that what you need is not friends or companions, but just... help to realize your ideals.

Ah, look at your eyes now... disappointed, angry, staring at a betrayer.

I know you too well, Luo. I have never hated myself for knowing you so well as I do today.

But you never really understood me... Oh, it's not your fault. Who said that everything we experienced between us was a lie?

It's all just lies.

*

"You are still...so great that it's disgusting."

Facing Ming Fuluo's resolute declaration, Helen just responded with a blank expression.

She has the same soul as Ming Furo and naturally has the same determination as her, but she said words that are completely contrary to her true self.

"In your grand blueprint, did you leave even a little space for my father?"

"Why should I leave room for someone who betrayed me and was destined to stand in my way?"

Ming Fuluo responded coldly: "You really are...completely crazy."

"Soil strengthening agent, portable healing device, mechanical equipment, data system..."

Helen stared into Ming Fuluo's eyes and said the name of alchemical equipment or props one after another.

"...The Energizer, the Universal Aether Furnace, and even the Nidhogg you are controlling now, which one of them was not conceived and designed by your father? Mingfuluo Zeg, who do you think has enabled you to achieve what you have today? Even the knowledge and power you have now are gifts from your father."

"How can you be qualified and have the nerve to so brazenly disregard the hard work and efforts your father put in for you and deny everything he has done?"

"That's his lie!"

Ming Fuluo said angrily: "You idiot! Haven't you remembered everything yet? Those were lies I told to tame me, to tame you!"

"That was never a lie!"

Helen responded in a voice no less loud than Ming Fuluo's, with a hoarse voice:

"This sentence itself is a lie!"

"..."

In the study, Anser, who was gazing at the scene through the light curtain with his chin on one hand, trembled his fingers slightly.

This sentence itself... is a lie.

He murmured Helen's words softly, and then he heard the little woman who had been reborn, angrily speaking to her "self":

"All the love your father has poured into you, all the efforts he has made for you, everything you have experienced... has never been false! He just doesn't want to tell you the reason, he just doesn't want you to know his difficulties... But you would rather believe your father's 'lies' than think that your father has any difficulties!"

She grabbed Ming Fuluo's collar, and her knuckles turned bluish white from the excessive force:

The new soul that obtained the full picture of the past from that memory no longer stood on the collapsed belief, but stood on Anser's perspective, declaring with hatred:

"You are the traitor, Mingfuluo Zeger. You are simply... unworthy of standing beside your father."

Anser stared at this scene with a dazed look on his face.

"Helen...A Luo..."

If at that time, Luo had not ordered him to give a reason coldly like the chief judge sentencing a criminal, but had asked him like Helen did... if he had any difficulties.

Then, will everything be different?

"I don't need to stand by his side. We can just use each other."

Helen was not shaken by Ming Fuluo's words, and Ming Fuluo was not affected by Helen at all. She just looked at her other self indifferently and answered expressionlessly: "Even if you speak for him like this, he won't care about you, because in his eyes, you are just a worthless waste."

"And you... have no chance of defeating me."

"If it's just a life-and-death fight, then I really don't stand a chance."

Faced with this game with a huge disparity in strength, Helen did not show any fear or nervousness. She took a step back and placed her hands on the workbench next to her.

"But as for me, you will not use the strength of force to decide who is the real leader in the end."

"……snort."

Ming Fuluo snorted coldly, but did not reject it: "Even if it's not by force, you have no chance of winning."

She turned around, faced the workbench, and started taking tools.

Two people with absolutely identical souls can understand each other's thoughts without any words.

Neither Helen nor Ming Fuluo intended to use force to decide the outcome of this gambling game from the beginning.

Otherwise, Ming Fuluo would have ten thousand chances to kill Helen instantly.

What they are fighting for is not who is alive or who wins, but who is... the real Mingflora Zeger, who is the true leader of this soul favored even by fate.

Therefore, only victory in the areas they most desire is a true victory.

And in this field, the ultimate goal they have been striving for since fifteen years ago can only be one thing, an artifact that allows ordinary people to control extraordinary things—

A universal ether furnace that is powerful enough to subvert the world.

Chapter 8.5: The End of Three Years, Part (K)

[Universalization of the Extraordinary] was a fantasy that caused Erion Zeg to be hostile and excluded by almost all warlocks, causing him to completely fall from being the world's top alchemist.

But Erion only found the direction and created a prototype, but could not go any further.

He knew that was his limit; his intelligence and ability would not allow him to reach higher realms.

Therefore... he placed all his hopes on his granddaughter who possessed unparalleled talents, and used his own death to shape Ming Furo into a monster who was absolutely loyal to her ideals and would not be shaken by any external factors.

So, how should we go about realizing this crazy idea that goes against the supernatural principles and is simply impossible to achieve?

There are only two ways for ordinary people to ascend to extraordinary levels. One is to go through the road to heaven, follow the steps, and achieve the transformation of the level of life. The other, of course, is to fall into the abyss and awaken oneself.

Both of these paths have extremely harsh conditions.

The Road to Heaven requires extraordinary qualifications. This qualification is not innate. Since the creation of the Road to Heaven, various extraordinary rituals and special props have enabled ordinary people to possess the qualifications, and even directly transform them into extraordinary people, such as the Water of Redemption of the Church of the Holy Alliance.

But the problem is that these rituals and props are so rare and expensive that they are already more stringent restrictions than innate qualifications.

Even if there is a one in ten thousand chance in an ordinary family to change their fate and give birth to a child born with extraordinary talents, they may not be able to break free from the shackles.

The road to heaven is a man-made extraordinary road, with rituals, materials, resources... The vast majority of "ordinary" extraordinary people can only exchange for the possibility of further progress by selling themselves to more powerful extraordinary people.