The villain's way to tame the protagonist

"Yes. The first to the thirty-first saints are all related to the original soul body. In order to minimize the separation from the dominant part of the soul body, Zerui, women were chosen as the gender to consolidate the first cognition. After the thirty-second, each generation of saints has been perfected, supplemented, modified, and born on the basis of the previous generation."

“That is… heh, iteration.”

Hydra made no effort to conceal his mockery: "Each generation of Saints may only live for six or seven years or even less, and then be discarded like garbage, becoming food for the next Saint."

Ming Furo found the research content about soul iteration in Dormer's laboratory. She didn't take it seriously at that time, but now it seems that after Dormer came to the empire, he used the resources and advantages of the empire to help the church further improve the...production of the Saint.

In this iteration, the later saints became less and less related to the archetypal soul bodies that were fused with Zerui and other bishops, until the church created today's masterpiece, creating Xin, the saint who is absolutely perfect and pure and masters "awareness".

"Yes, iteration. A soul completely unrelated to the original soul body must be created in order to use [Awakening] normally."

Xin still didn't care about Hydra's sarcasm, and calmly recounted his life as the most perfect "object" since he was born from 126 discarded items.

Although it sounds incredible, if an organization that has unified half of the continent has leaders with absolute execution power, who unwaveringly implement the same idea, and continue this fantastic state for more than 800 years without stopping, then anything is possible.

Perhaps it is because of this that Ming Furo despises the church and would rather focus all her energy on exiling mortals than finding a way to enable mortals to have the ability to control supernatural powers.

The creation of consciousness, the conditions for use, and why there were such restrictions were all figured out bit by bit by the church, and it was ultimately successful.

"But you don't look completely independent, do you?"

The abyss monster cast a compassionate look at the Saint: "You are no longer the Xin I knew, poor Miss Saint."

"In order to prevent accidents, the bishops have the power, once and for all, to proactively activate my self-countermeasures."

"Self... counterattack." Hydra's huge snake eyes narrowed slightly, "They put the chain around your neck, right?"

"It is a necessary measure." Xin emphasized seriously, "When the richness of my thoughts and emotions exceeds the limit, I will use the erosion accumulated in my soul to impact and cleanse my consciousness, thereby achieving the effect of resetting myself."

The erosion of the abyss is essentially the erosion of the soul by the flood of information. Weak individuals can never fight against the world itself, even the Gods.

Madness and chaos of thought are just the most common external manifestations. Numbness, ruthlessness, and even complete loss of the ability to think are all manifestations of erosion.

The church took advantage of this feature and set up a "self-countermeasure" for their creations. When their gods accumulated emotions that should not have occurred due to some extremely minor accidents, the erosion that could be borne by the powerful soul of the saint would be forcibly stimulated... basically, they would completely give up the instinctive resistance to erosion and allow it to erode a corner of the soul, thereby connecting it to self-consciousness, and through such "destruction" to achieve a reset of thinking.

When Xin was with Anser, she did not trigger this mechanism, apparently because she had not yet fulfilled the bishops' requirements and had not become the... awakened person they needed.

In the bishops' plan, Xin should discover her mission step by step, realize the truth of God step by step, and finally rationally, calmly, and truly embrace her destiny and responsibility.

Therefore, when Xin expressed his change in faith in God to the only bishop stationed in the theocracy, the bishop was not angry but extremely happy, because in their view this was not Xin's rebellion but Xin's progress.

It was a pity that Xin's progress was too fast, and such rapidity did not allow her to make progress in areas where it was truly needed. The bishops... could not wait for Xin to complete her own enlightenment.

"With the consent of all bishops, the countermeasure mechanism will be activated in advance. This is also to deal with unexpected emergencies, that is... everything that happened between me and Mr. Devil before."

Logically speaking, Xin couldn't possibly become like that.

It was not just the special education she received in the church, but also the power to see through people's hearts and read their sins that made her completely transcend humanity in her thinking patterns - no one would empathize with someone who was completely seen through by themselves.

However, Xin couldn't see through Anser.

She didn't know what Anser was thinking, nor did she know what Anser needed, so she would take the initiative to think for Anser and do everything she could to save the person with the greatest help.

He cannot be seen through by Xin, and he has the greatest assistant who is worthy of Xin giving up everything. Only if these two conditions are met can he be qualified to change Xin, make her fall from the throne of God to the human world and become a lost lamb. But it is only a qualification. Whether he can do it is another matter.

But Anser did it. This was obviously not the fault of the bishops, but they could not imagine someone like Anser no matter how much they thought about it. Even so, they still considered the worst case scenario and made corresponding preparations - the bishops' active ruling counterattack, which could only be used once.

From the perspective of a researcher and planner, the church has indeed taken into account all possible problems and unexpected events over the past eight hundred years. If all other positions were put aside, Anser would be willing to applaud their extremely perfect planning.

But Anser would not, would never, stand in their shoes.

Hydra's head slowly moved in front of Xin, and Xin could touch the delicate and cold scales by just raising his hand.

"But Saint, is it that easy to reset yourself?"

Hydra whispered.

The soul is not a toy that can be controlled remotely at will, especially Xin, this perfect masterpiece. The moment she was born, she was almost out of the control of the church.

It is impossible for the church to really set a switch in Xin's soul like setting a program, which will start automatically regardless of her will as long as the conditions are triggered.

Xin always has absolute control over his own soul, which means that the prerequisite for achieving such "self-counterattack" is... Xin.

Xin's expression remained unchanged:

"This is indeed not an easy matter. My soul is too strong. The bishops cannot use coercive means to restrict my behavior. No matter how much they restrict me, they cannot completely go beyond my will."

It was Xin who completely accepted this kind of self-destruction, this kind of...absurd fate.

And so, the monster's loud laughter once again swept the world, but this time there was almost no sarcasm and mockery in the laughter. Instead, there was more rage, madness, indelible, intolerable... hatred.

"So, you accepted it."

"You accepted that you cannot have emotions, you accepted that you must give up your self, you accepted that you have been used as a tool since the moment you were born, you accepted this drive, and you took all this... for granted!"

Hydra's voice gradually increased in volume, and in the end, it had completely transformed into a roar and a howl of beasts. The sheer volume alone made the space vibrate.

Pain and hatred turned into boiling blood, flowing through a body forged from rage and madness. Hydra asked in a roar:

"Why did you accept it! Why did you accept...the fate that others gave you!"

Marina completely empathized with Ansher in the pain of turning into a torrent, pressing her upper body against the scales immersed in the breath of the abyss. Even though she was sinking into hell, even though her soul, which had been repaired a lot by Xin, was shattered at an incredibly terrifying speed, she remained as calm as before.

So that's the reason for your suffering, Mr. Anser.

Even without getting any information from Ansher, Marina already knew who the enemy she was facing was.

It's okay, Mr. Anser, this is the end. Although I would like to bring you relief myself, if it's her...

The witch stared at the saint who suddenly and slowly placed her hand on her heart, and did not choose to speak at this moment to calm Ansher down.

Xin...gave it to Ansel, and also gave her an unexpected answer.

Therefore, if it is Xin who can give the answer, then Marina is willing to give this opportunity to her.

The moment Hydra's rage reached its peak, a ray of black light that swallowed everything suddenly burst out from Xin's chest.

"Yeah...you won't accept that, right, Xin."

Looking at Xin who was gradually being enveloped by the black light, Hydra, who seemed to have been immersed in chaos and whose mood was completely out of control, suddenly showed such joy and excitement in his eyes:

"I know. I know what the church will do to you. They must have some way of taking away your will and destroying your ego. Otherwise, how could they choose to be so radical and force you to realize the truth of the church?"

Some memories about Xin are missing, but that's not a problem.

Since the church has repeatedly forced Xin to understand the truth about the church, completely disregarding her current ability to bear it, it means that even if things get to the worst point, even if Xin completely collapses, they still have a way to save her.

On this basis, Anser did a little trick in that dream.

The erosion he brought was also the erosion of the abyss, which the bishops could not detect. Only Xin could distinguish its essence. No matter what Xin encountered, as long as this erosion was activated by Anser, Xin's consciousness would rush into the extremely frenzied and chaotic realm!

Perhaps that Xin was no longer the Xin he knew, but so what? It didn't matter. He didn't want that Xin, and the devil didn't want a saint. He wanted the church to admit what they had done, and for the revived Xin to tell the story of her pathetic life in person. At this moment... he pushed Xin's originally dead and cold consciousness into the most intense and uncontrollable frenzy.

Even for just a moment, even for just a moment, Xin, who had been taught so much by him, who cherished and cared about feelings so much, who could not accept her life so much, who wanted to be loved... after realizing that she had chosen to accept such a cruel fate, she would definitely, definitely fall into the deepest abyss.

But it’s okay, Xin, you won’t be alone, I’ll be there for you.

"Even if they want to destroy your emotions, rob you of your self, and trample on your life, I will pull you out of that hell, Xin."

The devil's voice was so gentle, as if he poured out all his true feelings.

"That paradise built on your own pain and despair has no need to exist. It... is not your home."

"You should stay with me. Didn't you say you wanted to save—"

The black light dissipated and Anser's words came to an abrupt end.

Because... nothing happened.

Xin still radiated such a holy and pure white light. She was not crazy, nor did she collapse. She did not hug the monster like a life-saving straw. Instead, she just stood there quietly.

...No, those...eyes.

Clear and ethereal, but not the kind of divinity that is illusory and indifferent. In those holy blue eyes, even the shadows and darkness rendered by Hydra are so vivid.

This is not the Xin that Anser wants to see, but it is not... the Xin that is reset to zero?

"So, I'm here to fulfill my promise, Mr. Devil."

The saint smiled, and that gentle smile that seemed to melt everything made Anser feel both strange and familiar.

She floated forward, gently hugged the snake head that exuded the breath of the endless abyss, and murmured lovingly:

"I will definitely save you."

Chapter 1: Love Part (W)

Why did she refuse?

Hydra's thoughts were a little slow at the moment. He completely ignored Xin's hug and only had this question in his mind.

Why didn't Xin choose to accept him? Why is Xin still talking about salvation?

"That's not what you should be saying right now."

The monster growled in disgust, and its invisible stance forcibly drove Xin away. The shadows and darkness surging behind it were further encroaching on this space.

But Xin remained indifferent. Her first priority should have been to protect the ship, but all she could see was the wildly dancing figure of the nine-headed demon snake.

"Isn't this what I should say?" Xin tilted his head, "Then what should I say, Mr. Devil?"

"you……"

You should be in pain, you should be in despair, you should be unable to accept such a fate and such a self.

Xin's memory was not erased nor her cognition was distorted, but her thinking pattern was reset. She remembered clearly everything the church said and everything she said.

So, how could she tolerate herself like that? One who gave up herself, gave up her feelings, willingly put on shackles, and from now on, was enslaved to the end by a responsibility that should not have been hers?

"Xin..." Hydra tried to make her voice gentle, "You should know that your life and self should not be controlled by the church. They have no right to restrict your life. No one has such qualification."

Anser was certain that Xin's desire and fear were not false.

She broke her promise on that bet. She clearly said that she would accept and think about all that Anser revealed about the church, but during the time when Anser lost that part of his memory, she was still avoiding it and did not respond directly to Anser's questions. She continued to use her already shaky and fragile logic to protect her increasingly broken heart.

She kept searching for spiritual support, from the church to Ansher, she hoped that her existence would be meaningful - not as a tool, but as a human being.

So she hoped... she was sure that Ansel needed to be loved, because only in this way could she find the only truth in this world full of lies to her. If she could love Ansel, then she would have something that she shouldn't have, she would have... the feelings of a human being.

So it's not me who needs to be loved, but you, Xin.

"You want to achieve... the value of being a human being that you've never been able to achieve."

To be embraced, to be given, instead of giving everything endlessly for a false creed, an empty god, without even knowing the reason and purpose.

The devil was tempting her, using worldly prosperity and sweet forbidden fruit to make her deviate from the noble path of martyrdom.

You are not such a great person anymore, are you, Xin? It was not the hero who changed you, but me as a devil. You don't want to spread your too holy love anymore, you just want to be loved, right?

The Hydra who had violently pushed Xin away just now gently wrapped around her soft body, as if to give her warmth and a hug:

"The rhythm of music, the taste of delicious food, the warmth of the sun brushing against your skin, the coolness of the sea water covering your knees, you can use your own feelings to re-understand the world... Oh, yes, you will have more friends, and you will meet more people who care about you and will never treat you as a tool."

The devil's voice was so gentle, full of demonic power that could seduce the mind and shake the soul:

"Friendship, family love... and the love you want, everything that was taken away by the church, I will give you."

"I will teach you more so that you can live happily and unrestrainedly as a truly free person."

This is my promise to you, Xin. Only in this matter, I will never lie to you, just like I did to Xi'er and A'Luo.

"Come, it's just a matter of a moment."

Hydra gazed tenderly at Xin, who was entangled by a snake head: "Let go of your soul and accept everything about me. From now on, no one can take away your life."

"I swear to you, my dear Xin." The long snake tongue gently licked Xin's cheek, "The suffering that you should not have to endure is over now."

You will accept it, right... There is no reason for you to refuse.

The monster from the abyss looked at the saint with eyes of great pity. The saint had nothing and could not even affirm herself. He believed that this was just Xin's last attempt to hold on and pretend. Poor saint, she just wanted to hear him say these words in person and wanted a promise that was not a lie or an illusion.

However, as time passed, the tenderness in the snake's eyes gradually dissipated.

Because Xin didn't give any response... Not only did she not respond, she didn't even show the collapse that Anser expected.

She has always been very calm.

"What a tempting promise, Mr. Devil."

Xin closed his eyes, touching the delicate and cool snake scales, and his voice was so reassuring: "For a moment, I thought that if I just agreed to it, it wouldn't be a bad thing."

"..."

The meaning of this sentence couldn't be more obvious.

"But this won't work, Mr. Devil."