A Villain's Way of Taming Heroines

Chapter 753 A Timely Awakening - III

After prolonged contemplation and self-doubt, Ravenna... finally arrived at her conclusion.

"I... I should have recognized this long ago. Even without the element of fate, I should have acknowledged Ansel's struggle."

In truth, her realization wasn't belated at all. From early on, Ravenna had suspected that her and Seraphina's aspirations were constraining Ansel. This suspicion deepened over time, prompting countless discussions with Seraphina, yet they remained without an answer.

"My inability to confirm... perhaps it wasn't due to the absence of an answer, but rather... my reluctance to accept it."

She resisted this reality, unwilling to accept... that she had become Ansel's burden and cage. Thus, she could only repeatedly doubt, believing that if she had accepted this unencumbered, she might have... discerned Ansel's predicament earlier.

Perhaps even before Marlina.

But in this world... how could anyone calmly accept being the shackles and hindrance to their beloved? Love is always reciprocal, desiring warmth for the other while avoiding one's own pain.

Ravenna remained the perceptive soul who could detect her friends' emotions from the slightest details, but love had softened both Ansel and herself.

She could no longer analyze their relationship and circumstances with machine-like detachment. Her aversion to becoming Ansel's constraint, coupled with her insensitivity to fate, led her... to false judgment.

Even in this situation, Ravenna keenly sensed the negative impact she and Seraphina had on Ansel, yet she felt it insufficient, believing herself... utterly deplorable.

Ravenna couldn't accept her own mistake, especially one affecting the person she cared for most.

"So that's how it is..."

Endless streams of crimson-black energy poured from Seraphina as she lowered her head. Having fought tirelessly for so long, she had nearly exhausted her ability to release murderous aura and summon endless wolf packs.

But now, the surging fury and anguish in her heart caused her and the increasingly ferocious dark specter behind her to emanate a terrifying aura that even dragonkind couldn't withstand.

Dragons attempting to breach their defenses wailed as they plummeted from the sky. Charging terrestrial dragons collapsed with agonized cries. The bestial rage roaring in Seraphina's heart... had momentarily overwhelmed… the Dragon King's hunt-lust infused in draconic souls!

"I have once again done many... preposterous things, believing them to be good for Ansel."

Are Seraphina and Ravenna truly at fault?

They yearn for their beloved to lead a more fulfilling existence, willing to stake their very lives to achieve this goal. Throughout this journey, they have ceaselessly endeavored to comprehend and tend to Ansel's emotions. As Ansel refuses to relinquish his struggle against fate, they unflinchingly strive to accommodate all aspects, never imposing demands upon him.

From every perspective, they have fulfilled their duties, both as pact heads and as lovers.

To demand more would be sheer absurdity.

It is the love Marlina spoke of... a love that sacrifices everything.

Only by devoting oneself entirely to Ansel, to the point of self-abnegation, can one remain acutely aware of Ansel's perspective and recognize his unyielding hatred for fate, even when one's own sensitivity to fate has waned.

Only through a love that disregards one's own feelings can one calmly accept the possibility of becoming Ansel's cage and promptly rectify the situation.

Yet neither Seraphina nor Ravenna love Ansel to the extent of abandoning their own identities. The willingness to risk one's life for Ansel's sake and the complete relinquishment of self are wholly disparate matters… seemingly identical choices stemming from fundamentally different realizations.

Paradoxically, it is only in this matter... only in this love, that one who cares not for themselves can instantly perceive Ansel's anguish and predicament.

"There's still time, Seraphina."

Ravenna placed her hand on the shoulder of the nearly berserk and irrational Seraphina.

"After this concludes, we will have a heartfelt conversation with Ansel, assuring him that... we will never become his burden, no matter the circumstances."

For a few moments of silence, only Seraphina's labored breathing could be heard.

"...Very well," Seraphina responded in a low voice after the pause. "Let us pull Ansel out of this dilemma."

Though they spoke thus, they recognized that this quandary... seemed predestined.

How could Ansel possibly attain a blissful life while simultaneously contending against an unrelenting fate?

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"Though I've done many things wrong, there is one thing... I was indeed correct."

Seraphina suddenly declared, raising her hand expressionlessly towards the sky in a grasping motion.

Endless crimson-black energy materialized into a wolf pack, which astonishingly charged towards the heavens, tearing the terrified, plummeting dragons into a gruesome mixture of flesh and bone.

"Power," she enunciated, turning to face Ravenna. "If I were strong enough, if I could shatter this damned multiple-choice question fate has given Ansel, he... would not suffer so much."

Ravenna, uncharacteristically, did not refute Seraphina's extreme perspective, for she realized... Seraphina was, in a sense, correct.

[If fate offers Ansel no choice, then I shall provide one]

Indeed... to allow Ansel both a joyous life and the fulfillment of his vengeance and long-held wishes, it was imperative to present him with options that transcend fate.

Power... power was essential, but not all-encompassing.

Ravenna's eyes gleamed with a light different from Seraphina's, yet born of the same purpose.

More was needed, something currently beyond her grasp, yet sufficient to surpass fate.

If Seraphina could contribute power to Ansel, then I must... create this possibility for him!

"I will become that strong," Seraphina exhaled slowly, her breath as scorching as steam. "I absolutely will—ah!"

Her legs gave way, her tall frame collapsing against Ravenna, nearly toppling her.

"..." Ravenna, having assumed an equally statuesque form, supported Seraphina with a sigh. "Rest for now. We'll discuss power later."

The surge seemed to be subsiding, allowing Seraphina a brief respite. With some effort, Ravenna could compensate by creating more floating cannons.

"A few hours is enough..." Seraphina mumbled. "This is no time for rest. Ansel still needs me to divert those dragons."

"...Are you truly so eager to court death?"

"Hmph, didn't you venture into the Celestial Path mountains yourself?"

Supported by Ravenna, Seraphina snorted, then added anxiously, "Ansel said he needed to return and make preparations, refusing your company. It seems strange... He said he have a solution, but how can he protect the Western Lands while preventing fate from suddenly, uh, unleashing Evora?"

Ravenna, too, harbored an ominous premonition, but at this juncture... all she could do was trust in Ansel.

"Perhaps we should talk to Ansel now. That way, we can at least know his intentions—"

Seraphina's voice, striving for solutions, abruptly ceased.

She and Ravenna simultaneously turned towards the opposite end of the sky, towards that crimson fissure, visible despite its immense distance.

The rift, which had merely pulsated these past days, slowly... slowly began to stretch open. No, it was being torn asunder, ripped apart from within!

However, the scene most had anticipated - a torrent of devouring flames cascading down - did not materialize.

The first to emerge, tearing through the rift, was instead a pair of grotesquely twisted... ebony claws?

Simultaneously, terrified cries and roars erupted from the extraordinary beings manning the dragon disaster defense line.

Barely had the previous onslaught been repelled when the sky-darkening dragon horde descended once more. Even the high-ranking dragons, previously incapacitated by Ansel and presumed unfit for battle, inexplicably reappeared one after another!

"Damn it... damn it all!"

Seraphina gently brushed aside Ravenna's support, gasping for air.

"Of all times... fate... fate!"

The deliberate timing was infuriating, but Seraphina knew better than to dwell on anger.

She drew a deep breath, fixing her gaze on Ravenna: "Ravenna... I leave Ansel to you. As for the dragons, I'll—"

"What do you intend to do?"

A hand suddenly rested atop the hunched, panting Seraphina's head.

"..."

Seraphina turned, bewildered, to find the young Hydral standing behind her.

"A-A-A-Ansel!" Startled, Seraphina stammered, "How did you appear so suddenly... Have you been here all along?"

"Given the commotion It has stirred up," Ansel turned to glance at the crimson rift on the horizon, smiling, "How could I not come? As for before... what happened before? Did something occur?"

"Nothing," Ravenna interjected, appearing far calmer than Seraphina. "Just some things we wanted to discuss with you... Could we have a proper talk later, Ansel?"

Ansel raised an eyebrow slightly: "A proper talk? How unusual... Certainly, we'll chat after resolving this situation."

As he spoke, he raised his hand and, from hundreds of meters away, effortlessly caught and retrieved Seraphina, who had attempted to slip away unnoticed.

"Don't think about those suicidal ideas of yours, Seri,"

Ansel said, vigorously ruffling the wolf girl's head. "I told you, I have a plan."

"But, but you..."

Seraphina mumbled indistinctly, struggling to protest, but fell silent upon meeting Ansel's gaze.

The resolve in those sea-blue eyes gradually silenced her.

"Rest assured, Seri, Venna, I'm not merely consoling you."

He turned to face the now fully torn crimson rift, observing the malformed monster that had emerged halfway, roaring and howling. His expression hardened like steel.

"I will win."

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