The villain's way to tame the protagonist

Crow's deep voice echoed in the empty area: "This is already the best efficiency while taking into account killing extraordinary people, Miss Marina."

Marina stared at the surging ether in the vessel without looking at Crow. She just glanced at the wealth that could drive any extraordinary person crazy and even a fifth-level person would be tempted, and smiled softly with satisfaction:

"Very good, faster than I expected. These are enough for now, but we still need to continue harvesting. Go ahead, Lord Crow."

"As you wish."

Crow didn't seem to be as conflicted as Rhine, and calmly accepted this woman who had only worked under him for a few days. In an instant, she completely surpassed him and quickly turned into a shadow and disappeared without a trace.

"Open it, Ms. Rhine."

Rhine, who always gave orders to others, followed Marina's orders almost subconsciously. He glanced at Marina subconsciously, unable to understand the calmness and confidence of this woman in front of him...where did it come from.

I don't know when Marina Lancemalos began to possess this unique self-confidence.

A kind of...confidence that one is absolute and unique.

Rhine remained silent and opened the vessel that stored and collected ether.

After this special vessel is opened, the ether will quickly dissipate if it is not absorbed by special means, but Rhine knows that Marina holds the power in her hands and will never waste even a single bit of it.

The power it has longed for but has never been able to obtain.

The dark witch raised her left hand with the snake ring on it.

The shape of the ring was extremely weird. It was not a ring but a "snake head". The finger of the person wearing the ring passed through the snake's mouth. The tips of the four fangs in the snake's mouth pressed against the flesh and were almost embedded in it, as if it was so crazy and greedy that it wanted to devour the wearer as well.

At the moment when the ether gushed out of the container like waves, the snake ring suddenly closed, and the four fangs directly pierced into Marina's ring finger!

And after feasting on the wearer's flesh and blood, the beastly head symbolizing the abyss monster... awakens here.

The looming shadow of a huge snake wrapped around Marina, and it roared towards the sky in excitement and ecstasy, opening its greedy mouth wide as if to swallow all the power into its stomach. In just a breath... it set off a hurricane in this wide area!

The collected ether had no time to dissipate and was swept into the snake's mouth by the hurricane in an instant. The mountains of magic crystals were shattered with a bang. Obviously, without any special means, the ether contained in them was completely extracted in the purest and crudest way!

Such a terrifying amount, such a terrifying speed, could burst the extraordinary people below level 5 alive in just a few seconds. Even a gifted person like Xitana could never swallow such a surge of ether in such a short time, but Marina did it, and not only did she do it, but she also did it very easily, so easily that it seemed like she was... enjoying it.

The Devourer's face flushed as her greed and hunger were satisfied. She closed her eyes, as if she was enjoying the infinite feeling of fullness. In just a dozen seconds, she had swallowed up so much ether that she had stored!

But the snake head was not satisfied. As the ether reserves rapidly dissipated, it wrapped around Marina's body tighter and tighter. The huge head slowly turned, and the snake eyes flashed with a dark light... reflecting the appearance of Rhine.

The huge mouth slowly opened into a terrifying arc that made people faint, and the snake head squirmed bit by bit, trying to continue to satisfy its unsatisfied hunger and greed!

When Rhine saw this, he began to tremble and feel fear. He wanted to immediately escape from the woman in front of him who had become the incarnation of some kind of monster, but he couldn't do it.

As Ansher's trusted subordinate, Rhine knew that Hydra's Devourer was extremely special.

As the head symbolizing the origin of the crazy monster [beast], it represents Hydra's endless greed and hunger for power. It is a symbol of Hydra coming from the abyss and returning to the abyss. Legend has it that in ancient times, when a certain generation of Hydra was about to die, he was so crazy that he used the Devouring Head to eat all the other heads, combining the nine into one, in order to pursue the final breakthrough!

It is difficult to judge whether this legend is true or not, but when Hydra was still in its complete form, the Devourer was already so crazy. If Hydra bestows this power on other beings and the other beings are unable to control this power...

They will be devoured by their greed and hunger, and completely reduced to puppets chasing after power.

Because of this, Hydra's Devourer is best to choose an animal that can match the animal element, and be highly unified with this power from the mind to the elements, otherwise it will be devoured mercilessly.

Rhine, locked by the snake's head, had no way to escape. He was sure that if he turned around and ran, the greedy mouth that could even swallow its own rider would tear him into pieces without hesitation.

Marina...is it over?

You idiot! You useless bastard! If you don't even have this ability, how can you be the leader of the Devourer! Lord Anser must be crazy to give this ring to——

“It’s not edible yet.”

When Rhine, who was stiff all over, was cursing in his heart, he suddenly heard a gentle whisper.

"As long as Ms. Rhine still has value to Mr. Anser, it is not rations."

Then, Rhine felt... the greedy aura directed at him gradually dissipated.

It stared blankly at the snake shadow that was entwined around Marina's body and slowly shrank, and it actually gave up the idea of ​​swallowing itself into its stomach.

This woman... She actually, with such mediocre qualifications, was able to control the Devourer? !

Just as Rhine began to feel absurd, something even more absurd happened.

Marina, who had just devoured an endless amount of ether that was as vast as the abyss and the sea, was now so terrified that her power... was fading! It was fading at a speed even more terrifying than when the Devourer's Head devoured the ether!

This is not the point. Rhine knows where the extracted ether goes, otherwise it would not appear here. The point is that the Devourer Head, which was slightly satisfied after swallowing such a huge amount of ether, suddenly lost the feeling of being barely full at the moment when its hunger was temporarily relieved. This made it lose control in an instant, and it opened its huge mouth in anger and bit directly at Marina's head!

“This is really… troublesome.”

At this moment of life and death, the black witch just murmured in annoyance.

Ka-

It was not the sound of Marina's neck being bitten off or her cervical vertebrae being crushed.

Rather, it was the sound of the ring with the fang embedded in the flesh being pried open by Marina!

The fang embedded in Marina's ring finger returned to its previous state with the tip of the tooth pressing against the skin, and the snake head that was about to bite Marina's head off completely just froze there.

"You are the power that Mr. Anser has bestowed upon me. No matter how greedy and crazy you are, you will eventually give everything to Mr. Anser, right?"

Marina raised her head and stared at the dark snake head dimly.

"Or……"

Her voice suddenly became cold and dead silent, like an evil ghost from the underworld, a monster from the bottom of the abyss.

"You beast..." A cruel and evil look appeared on the witch's face, "Do you want to rebel against your master?"

The dark lines that looked like thorns and ashes slowly twisted on Marina's face, emitting an aura that made Rhine almost dodge and run away.

That is the breath of the Hydra that is closest to destruction, closest to the end, and most beloved by the abyss among all Hydras. That is... the breath of the abyss itself!

No matter how unruly and greedy a beast is, it must bow its head before this breath and the existence that can perfectly carry this breath, even if she is just a container.

"Very good, very good...good boy."

Marina gently stroked the slowly lowering giant snake head: "All the ether, all the power, belongs neither to you nor to me, but only to Mr. Anser."

"Everything belongs to Mr. Anser. You must remember that."

The snake seemed to be tamed. It extended its tongue and gently licked Marina's cheek.

"..." Rhine stared at all this in a daze. She didn't know how to describe what she saw in words.

Marina...it is absolutely impossible for her to overwhelm the power of the Devourer with just Ansher's aura. Since she carries the power of the Devourer, the confrontation between the two sides is not essentially a collision of pure power, but a clash of wills!

How could the Devourer give up its greed just because "everything belongs to Anther"? It is an existence that devours everything for Hydra itself. How could it choose to compromise with an existence that cannot be controlled just because of its job?

Marina... How did she suppress this madness and greed?

"continue."

Marina waved her hand, and the snake shadow, no longer frantic, began to madly devour the ether that was pouring in. Now there was no stock of ether, and it could not keep up with the Devourer's swallowing, but it did not prevent it from looking terrifying when it was swallowing the ether.

"I'm so sorry, Ms. Rhine."

The woman stroked her left face covered with dark lines with one hand, tilted her head slightly, and sighed softly, "This is the first time I use the power of the Devouring Head. I'm sorry to have embarrassed you."

"He is indeed a disobedient child."

"I……"

Rhine opened his mouth, but no words came out.

After a long silence, it lowered its head like the Devourer just now, and said respectfully: "No, your talent is impressive."

“Talent?” Marina smiled. “I don’t have that kind of thing, it’s just… Hehe, never mind, just consider it a talent.”

She did not continue the topic, put her hand on the glassware, and said softly:

"We will need a lot of ether to keep fighting Mr. Anser. If we use up all the ether here, then... hm?"

thump—

After Marina let out that slightly puzzled moan, the sound of something stepping heavily on the passage echoed at the entrance of the area.

Rhine subconsciously turned his head and saw a person who should not, absolutely should not be here.

"Ms. Rhine."

Before it could even react in surprise, it heard the woman with shadows and snake heads entangled around her calmly say, "You can leave now. Leave this to me."

"……Yes."

Rhine didn't say much and disappeared in a few flashes, because she knew very well that what was going to happen next was not something she was qualified to participate in. She was not even qualified to listen to the conversation.

This is a clash between two leaders, but also a confrontation between a pair of sisters who are heading on different paths.

"It's not easy, Marina."

The wolf, who had come all the way here, still had a look of fatigue on her face, but it was hard to tell whether her fatigue was due to the continuous fighting or something else.

"You made so many preparations when building the city. Thank you for your hard work."

Her tone did not contain any harsh sarcasm or questioning, but was calm, as if she was greeting Marina.

"It's just a few small things." Marina chuckled. "I can get it done by borrowing a little power from Mr. Anser. As for the rest... Her Highness Susilen helped me a little."

"After all, Mr. Anser didn't ask me what I was going to do with the power I borrowed, and the craftsmen who built this place will be killed later."

Hitana paused for a moment before continuing forward.

"Unconsciously, you have become able to make it sound so easy to take the lives of innocent people."

Hitana, who had once shown such anger and even malice towards her sister, now only murmured bitterly.

Marina's eyes were very gentle: "It's as if Miss Xitana, now... you won't say this to me in such an angry manner anymore."

"Furious?" Shitana repeated, then scratched her head and smiled with a bit of self-deprecation.

"That's true... If Ming Fuluo hadn't reminded me, if I hadn't seen with my own eyes how Anser was affected, I would probably have been very angry."

"But what right do I have to show such emotions now?"

For the sake of her loved one and the beliefs in her heart, the girl who was not afraid of pain and death, showed on her face a sadness and powerlessness that she had not seen for a long time.

"If I was strong enough, if I could really help Anser, how could everything turn out like this? Lina, how could you... go to such a point?"

"It's not you or Ansir who are wrong, Marlena."

She lowered her eyes and whispered:

"But... I can't change or save this."

The dark witch stared at her for a long time, and then a look of doubt that she had not seen for a long time appeared on her face.

"Aren't you here to stop me?"

There was no expected anger, no deep-seated hostility, no harsh and extreme criticism, only... the regret that swallowed her up.

Marina only felt guilty towards Sitana.

"Stop? Stop you so that Anser will be in a difficult battle and lose the hard-earned opportunity?"

Xitana curled her lips and said, "Don't be silly, Marina. I can't revive the innocent people you sacrificed. Do I have to let Anser pay for my willfulness?"

"Innocents...sacrificed."

Marina whispered, "Are you saying they are innocent?"

"That group of hyenas who never care about the lives of any civilians and linger in this sinful city just to gain profits; profit-seekers who never take saving and protecting as their creed and always run only for money and power; stupid and hypocritical sinners who are trapped in the vortex with just a little profit and are unwilling to get out... You say they are innocent?"

She raised her chin slightly, and the mockery and contempt in her dark eyes were so obvious.

"That's not something you would say, Miss Sitana."

"Don't use your own standards to measure others. This is what Anser taught me."

However, Xitana seemed very calm, as if their roles...had been switched.

"I haven't learned it very well, and I still haven't learned it yet. I still always want to use my power to force others to submit and do what I expect. But at least... when it comes to life, I won't make such stupid demands as before."

"Even if saving people was not their original intention, they did contribute to protecting the civilians of the West Country. I agree to judge them for their greed and sins, but I will never use the death penalty as a criterion."

"Marina." Xitana said softly, "Why do you have to find excuses for this massacre? Just to tell me so that I can accept this sacrifice with peace of mind and not have any complaints against Anser?"

"That's not necessary, Marina. I've said it from the beginning. It's not you or Ansir who are wrong. It's me who can't do anything."

And then there was... a long, long silence.

"That's what it looks like."

The Devouring Head was still constantly absorbing ether, and Marina was still providing power to Anser every minute and every second. The witch said softly: "Shitana, you are like this, annoying."

Before Xitana could speak, her cold voice echoed in the area: