The villain's way to tame the protagonist

*

At this time, the kind-hearted Miss Saint was lying on the table, staring at the profile of Mr. Devil, wondering whether she should surrender to him... No, whether she should learn some evil tricks from him.

On the way here, Mu communicated with her about some things through soul communication, and Xin also understood why the Bishop wanted to communicate secretly.

To put it simply, the church has been developing very well in the North, but because of the turmoil in the Imperial Capital, the entire North has become a powder keg that is about to explode. As the person in charge in public, Mu tries to get some deeper secrets about the turmoil in the Imperial Capital from Xin in order to make necessary precautions in advance.

This situation is very common these days. While trying to redeem Mr. Devil every day, Xin can always see "big shots" from the North. They include professors from the Skyfrost Tower, commanders of the Iron Blade Front, and even people from the Revolutionary Army. These people do not want to surrender to Ivora, do not want the arrogant princess to ride on their heads, and would rather accept Anser's rule than see the brutal domination of Feast Flame reign over the empire again.

Moreover, these people did not come simply to discuss with Anther, but came to the imperial capital with the idea that even if Anther did not agree, they would never return to the North. This was equivalent to directly rebelling against their original forces.

As for why he knew all this, for Xin, it was just a matter of taking a look.

Miss Saint couldn't help but marvel at the prestige and charm of Mr. Devil. He had already planned to force Ivora, the powerful weapon, to the North. There were still people defecting in the North. If there was no Ivora... then the North would not be able to even fight.

...Speaking of which, why did Mr. Devil insist on igniting the war in the North, even at the cost of pushing Miss Devil over?

While Xin was lying lazily thinking, Ansel was seriously discussing the matters concerning the Holy Church with Mu.

"Bishop Mu doesn't have to worry too much about the church."

Anser swung his wine glass leisurely and said in a kind tone: "I have no reason to expel the Church of the Holy Alliance from the empire. Over the past few hundred years, even though there has not been much response, you have always insisted on your doctrines and have not done anything beyond the rules. This is rare."

“This is our duty as believers in God.”

Mu lowered his head, and when facing Anser, he always remained absolutely respectful. Rather than a clergyman, he looked more like a sophisticated official.

"God..."

The devil who had tempted the Lamb to follow him but was rejected sighed: "After realizing the existence of the God Seed, what exactly is God in the eyes of the priests of the Church of the Holy Alliance?"

Xin, who was lying on the table, shook his ears, and the huge cotton that was squeezed into two balls swayed slightly as his body swayed.

Faced with this question, Mu, as a bishop, did not show any displeasure because the "God" he believed in was questioned. Instead, he explained very cheerfully: "The God we believe in is not a real existence."

“It is a symbol of harmony, the origin of the balance of all things, and an elusive great existence.”

"Then where is it?" Anser looked at Mu with a half-smile, "My father told me that he is God, and I am God. There is no higher concept in this world except the God species."

"Because he cannot even be discovered by the Old Deus, he is the true God."

Before Mu could answer, Xin had already spoken. She had just changed from a prone position to supporting herself on the table with her hands, and her spindle-shaped plump breasts swayed in an instant when they returned to their original state.

Her expression was very rare, she was extremely serious from the bottom of her heart, and her holy blue eyes finally showed the majesty and solemnity that a saint should have.

It seems that only in matters related to God is Xin not that sloppy and dull woman.

"Is that what happened?"

But after hearing her answer, Anser's smile grew even wider: "It does exist, but the Gods can't find it... Saint, there is a little fire dragon on your head."

Xin was stunned for a moment, then looked up and said in great confusion: "No."

"It is invisible. The flame it emits has no temperature. It cannot be touched, cannot leave any mark, and cannot be detected in any way."

The devil held up his face, ignoring Mu, whose expression was gradually changing, and looked at Xin with a smile: "Can you prove that it doesn't exist?"

"Yes," Xin answered as if it was a matter of course, "I didn't sense the soul of the fire dragon."

"Because you really can't feel it, that's its ability."

"But how can a fire dragon defeat the power God has bestowed on me?" Xin looked at Anser seriously. "Even you, Mr. Devil, can only match the power God has bestowed on me. I can't detect that fire dragon, so how can Mr. Devil detect that fire dragon?"

Mu's expression gradually changed from terrible to shocked. He looked at the Saint Lady with some disbelief, as if he was looking at a stranger.

"Mr. Devil couldn't detect the fire dragon, but he still said that the fire dragon existed, so it means that the fire dragon was made up by Mr. Devil."

Xin spoke confidently and seemed pleased to have defended the glory and majesty of God, with the word "happy" written all over his face.

And Anser also smiled and clapped his hands: "Well said, Your Excellency the Saint. Then let me ask you another question - is there a God above my head?"

Xin was stunned for two seconds, and then said very honestly: "God will not stay on top of Mr. Devil's head. God rests in his kingdom."

"Okay, so your god has a kingdom. Then the question is, where is it and its kingdom?"

"You can't see it." Xin explained patiently, "God and his kingdom cannot be observed, cannot be known, cannot be--"

Miss Saint's words suddenly stopped.

She stared into Anser's eyes, and Anser just smiled and looked at her without saying anything.

Realizing that the conversation was heading towards an extremely dangerous direction, Mu opened his mouth to stop it, but the cold touch on his neck made him swallow his words.

The witch who had been standing behind Ansel with her eyes downcast and silent, suddenly raised her head and smiled at him.

"...Mr. Devil."

After a long, long time, Xin finally said, "Are you trying to tell me that gods, like your little fire dragon, are fictional?"

Her voice was cold, not the usual faint chill, but like the permafrost from the Far North.

“For me, that’s the truth.”

As if he didn't feel the chill in Xin's words at all, Anser chuckled and leaned back in his chair: "You told me that there is a greater existence above the God Seed, but you told me that existence cannot be known and you can't provide any evidence of its existence. How can you make me believe you?"

"I am the proof!"

Xin suddenly stood up, and an invisible force surged in the study. This force did not have any interference or impact on the material world, but it caused a huge wave in the mysterious realm called soul!

The world in Anser's eyes was transformed into another scene——

There are vast lawns with thousands of flowers in bloom, clear streams meandering through the earth, and the scales of the swimming fish refracting beautiful light and shadows under the sunlight; the mountains shrouded in clouds are majestic and high, and the steps winding up the mountain peaks and the magnificent palace at the end of the steps are also hidden in the clouds; the bright sun shines a holy light on the jade steps and palace, and the people of God who are allowed by God to live here chant hymns in grace and glory.

"Oh..." Anser was not shocked by the scene that appeared directly in his soul's perspective. Instead, he asked with interest, "Is this the kingdom of God in your eyes?"

“The Kingdom of God, it doesn’t matter what it looks like.”

Xin leaned forward slightly, which instantly increased her sense of oppression several times. At this moment, the solemn expression on her face finally matched her overly beautiful and mature face: "What I want to tell Mr. Devil is that this power... is the best proof of the existence of God."

Whether it is the virtual image she created now or the method of infiltrating into dreams before, it means that she does have the ability to influence Anser's soul.

Anser's soul is immersed in the abyss, a terrifying existence favored by the abyss. Ordinary people would be overwhelmed by the great terror if they even look directly into it, but Xin can make some impact. This is indeed... worthy of boasting as a power no less than that of God.

But in the final analysis, it's just power.

Whether it is the fictional God in that world or the God in the mouth of the Holy Church, in their respective doctrines and scriptures, they are all great creators, supreme rulers, omniscient and omnipotent, controlling everything - this is not just power, but supreme authority.

Hydra comes from the abyss, and its flames burn the world. The Dragon King represents the ultimate of all living things, and the Abyss Caller means the infinity that integrates everything.

Even so, they are only the pinnacle of power. Even if they are named Old Deus, there is still an insurmountable gap between them and the omniscient and omnipotent Supreme Being.

If strength is the proof that one is worthy of being called a God, then this kind of God is a bit too cheap.

Of course, Xin's meaning was very clear - the god who could grant her this power, this power that could fight against the Soul Gods in the way of soul, naturally had the ability to surpass the Soul Gods. In this way, Anser must also admit that there are indeed existences that are higher than the Soul Gods.

But to any extraordinary person, this is nothing more than a joke of common sense error.

——What kind of power is bestowed by God? To put it bluntly...isn't it just spiritual essence?

It transcends all rules and theories, and is not restricted by anything except itself. When it operates, it is like the basic rules of the world. It is the most unreasonable supernatural power in the world.

There is no consensus in the academic community on spiritual essence. The most widely accepted view is that when a transcendent reaches the third level, the soul and the flesh are completely combined, and in that moment of contact with the world's information, a very, very small number of lucky people have a part of their entire existence come into contact with a certain information rule, and then are extremely lucky to connect and assimilate with it. The concrete manifestation of this part of assimilation in reality is a certain ability that is equivalent to the rules.

Because in this process, the soul, as a crucial catalyst for the extraordinary, plays a decisive role, and the elements that the extraordinary person is prepared to master are always related to his own personality and thinking, so it is called "the awakening of the soul's essence."

This was clearly the power that Xin had awakened herself, but in her eyes, it became a gift from God.

However, Anser did not continue to speak. He just glanced at Mu, who had an unnatural expression, then put his fingers together and said with a smile: "This is... reasonable."

He did not argue with Xin about whether this power was a gift from God or spiritual essence, because it was useless.

You cannot call this Saint a fanatic, because she does not fanatically believe in that illusory God, but... lives completely in that environment.

What's more, as a saint, Xin has more special aspects in conceptual education.

Your denial of God will make her angry, but she won't be so angry that she loses her mind. She will seriously argue with you about right and wrong, and you will never be able to convince her.

Just like the savages raised by wolves cannot communicate, Xin is not a fanatic, but her thinking logic is similar to that of a fanatic. To her, the ungodly are both irritating and contrary to "common sense."

Her common sense is "How can people not respect God?", so the debate about power will eventually end because of her common sense that "my power comes from God" - this is not a question worth arguing about. For her, it is common sense like the fact that people will die if they are killed, and common sense is not worth arguing about and there is no need to argue about it.

After getting Anser's recognition, Xin's expression relaxed a lot. It seemed that she was not just simply angry at Anser for not believing in and respecting her God, but also had some kind of... resentment.

She was resentful of Anser's arrogance. If they couldn't reach an agreement on such a fundamental issue, she would never get close to Mr. Devil.

In this regard, the one who was most thankful was Mu. He felt that the sharp blade on his neck had been removed, and Anser had no inclination to continue in a more dangerous direction, so he tentatively said: "Then, Your Highness the Regent, regarding the development of the church..."

"I will further open the port of Donggang for the United Holy Church."

Anser said very straightforwardly: "The tolerant policies of the previous emperors towards the church are also inherited, but like them, how you can develop it depends on you."

Mu stood up and bowed with great gratitude: "It is a great honor for us to receive such a promise."

"Haha, it's just a small matter. Let's discuss the specific matters in detail later... Oh, by the way, what I'm going to say next is not suitable for Your Excellency the Saint to hear. Marina, please ask Miss Xin to go out and have a rest."

"Yes, Mr. Anser."

When Xin heard that she was going to be driven away, her slightly better mood turned bad again. She stared at Anser: "Why do you want me to leave? Can't I--"

She had barely said half of her words when her wrist was entangled by a shadow. Marina, who appeared behind Xin like a ghost, whispered softly, "Mr. Anser has no obligation to explain to you. Please leave, Miss Xin."

"...Saintess." Mu Ye persuaded helplessly, "Please leave for a while. If there is anything important, I will let you know."

After looking at Ansel quietly for a long time, Xin slowly nodded and left with Marina without saying a word.

After the study door was closed for about half a minute, Anser snapped his fingers, refilled the half-empty cup with tea, and said with a warm smile:

"It's true that among devout believers, it's hard to speak openly, right, Your Excellency?"

Mu's expression changed slightly: "I don't quite understand what you mean by openness and honesty..."

"Religion is just a tool of rule." Anser raised his glass and swung it. "We are all rulers, so of course we should communicate from the perspective of the rulers, right?"

"..."

The Bishop was silent for a long time, and finally shook his head and smiled bitterly: "I didn't expect that you could see through me so easily."

"When the God of his faith was questioned, a bishop did not show any dissatisfaction, but explained the concept of God without any preaching, like a seasoned bureaucrat."

Anser took a sip of wine and said with a smile: "It's hard not to be suspicious, not to mention..."

In the deepest part of those ocean-blue eyes, there was a contempt that Mu couldn't detect at all: "In this world, which extraordinary person would believe in the existence of God?"

"If you cultivate it from a young age, it's still possible." Mu, no longer pretending, answered cooperatively, "People living in the sea don't believe that people can survive without water, and people who believe in God will not accept the denial of God."

"A favorable environment, a group of equally devout believers, and a sufficiently complete education... can cultivate more determined believers."

Mu smiled and said, "And the entire Theocracy is like this."

"Well... eight hundred years of accumulation does have some meaning." Ansher nodded slightly.

"But it's only been eight hundred years."

Mu looked somewhat helpless. "I hope you don't misunderstand us, Mr. Anser. We do rule that continent in the form of religion, but we have never thought of standing still and staying in unrealistic praises. That's why we sent priests to the empire to seek opportunities and possibilities for change."

Hydra chuckled: "Do you think this road won't work?"

The Bishop sighed, "The original Western Continent was in endless chaos. In order to end the dark and barbaric era as soon as possible, the first generation chose to use faith to quickly unify. Although the results are remarkable and the Church is now stable and peaceful, as you said... the further you go down this road, the narrower it becomes. Sooner or later, you will reach a dead end."

When a bishop in a white robe says something like this, I wonder how many believers will go crazy and commit suicide on the spot.

And Anser was quite curious and asked: "According to Miss Xin's ability, can't she find out from your souls that God and the church are just lies? Or does her spirit have other secrets?"

This question made Mu hesitate for a moment, but he thought that since he had been so frank, there was no need to hide too much on this matter, and it would be better to make it clear.

After all, which collaborator would accept that his or her partner can read minds unconditionally?

"The Saint's spiritual essence cannot be simply summarized as mind reading." Mu explained, "The core of her power has always been the examination of sins, or... a judgment of souls."

"Discrimination?"

"Yes, judge the soul according to her own ideas and cognition. After the judgment is formed, you can manipulate the characteristics of the soul in her eyes based on this cognition."

It sounds a bit complicated, but Anser actually already knew what Xin's spiritual essence was.

Under the education of the Theocracy, she regarded the judgment and redemption of sin as her own duty, and was also engraved with this concept of the soul. Therefore, in her eyes, the soul would be embodied as the manifestation of sin.

And Xin can manipulate the manifested sins at will, whether it is to erase them, magnify them, or distort them into other sins, it is all easy.

It may not sound very useful, but in fact, this ability to target the soul is... incredibly terrifying.

This power can only be used to control the concepts of good and evil because this is Xin's soul concept. In her cognition, her power is used to do this.

And if Xin had enough independence, freedom, and broad knowledge and understanding, then it would not just be a sin. In her eyes, everything about the soul could be kneaded, disassembled, transformed, and shattered at will, which would be extremely dangerous... Of course, to grow to this point is about the same difficulty as it is for Shitana to grow into a sixth-level beast king.

However, Xin now has a good control over this spiritual essence. In addition to judging and redeeming sins, she can now do more to influence the soul, such as sneaking into Anser's dreams, temporarily creating scenes in Anser's soul perspective, and extremely secret soul communication and soul exploration... These soul techniques that need to be learned are just a piece of cake for Xin.

At the same time, her salvation and judgment are definitely not as simple as changing people's character. You know, in the Church of the Holy Spirit and her logical understanding, sin... has never been in line with kindness, but in line with the mysterious "cooperation", a deeper concept.