A Villain's Way of Taming Heroines

"An…sel!"

The frenzied monster incessantly roared Ansel's name. Before the colossal sword extended from the God from the Machine's arm blade could descend, the blazing light ignited upon its edge had already begun to consume and annihilate the grotesquely swollen flesh, akin to a searing brand melting snow.

Amidst agonizing shrieks, the misshapen mass of flesh was cleaved in twain by the God from the Machine's single stroke. Bizarrely, though clearly severed, the two halves of bloody tissue remained "connected," slowly writhing to reform into a single entity.

"Do you see it, Venna?"

Ansel's eyes narrowed slightly, the steel colossus's obsidian-flickering gaze fixed upon the portion of the mutated beast protruding from the rift, observing the golden chains that bound it inexorably, denying it release.@@novelbin@@

"I do," Ravenna responded coolly. "The entire mutated section is pierced by those chains... Are they the source of its power?"

She refrained from questioning Ansel about the origin of the aether, despite harboring suspicions. Now was not the time for such inquiries.

Having resolved one issue, her focus was on ensuring Ansel's victory.

"It's what the chains are connected to," Ansel, piloting the God from the Machine, probed deeper into the rift using Ravenna's extended perception. He discovered that the Feasting Flame had vanished, leaving only the golden skeleton floating silently in the void.

Ravenna, naturally aware of this unknown entity, sat in Ansel's embrace with a slight change in expression. "Is this the... Skeleton Throne you mentioned?"

The mutated mass howled, spewing forth a jet of crimson-black magma. It was instantly obliterated by the serpent-mouthed cannon in the God from the Machine's chest. The black light, strikingly similar to the dark sun Ansel had previously summoned, annihilated two-thirds of the fleshy mass.

At that moment, Evora's slumbering visage, embedded in the mass's fore section, twitched. The Feasting Flame erupted without warning, nearly instantaneously regenerating the wound inflicted by Ansel's assault.

Ansel calmly sensed the ceaseless influx of aether. Given its quantity and rate…he need not worry about the battle for the next quarter-hour. Thus, he refrained from swinging the massive sword again, instead inquiring of Ravenna, "Can you analyze what exactly this is?"

"I'm on it, just a moment..."

Within the cockpit, an immense luminous screen unfurled before Ansel's eyes. The data system operated at full capacity, rapidly listing incredibly complex information in terminology comprehensible only to Ansel and Ravenna.

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Mere seconds later, however, Ravenna's countenance grew grave. The screen continued to flash with vast streams of data, yet yielded no useful answers.

"Element unknown, existential properties unknown... completely unanalyzable. How is this possible?!"

Ravenna wasn't relying solely on her own power, but rather, in union with Ansel, utilizing the authority of the Head of Abyss to manipulate the elements at Ansel's command. Even if this skeleton were supremely mysterious, they should have been able to glean at least some insight.

...As expected of fate's trump card, an entity Ansel must obtain information about at all costs.

Given this, she was all the more determined to unravel the skeleton's secrets. If this approach proved insufficient...

Since it absorbed all existence, perhaps if it could absorb Nidhoggur, they could breach it from within before complete consumption...

Ravenna drew a deep breath, turning to Ansel. Before she could speak, he gently placed his hand atop her head.

"Do it."

Ansel's voice was soft and gentle, while Hydral's was majestic and solemn.

He knew Ravenna's intentions, and this time, his response came not solely from Ansel's persona.

In that instant, Ravenna felt the pact head's power, connected to her soul, surge with excitement—a resonance entirely different from her usual intimacy with Ansel.

Ravenna sensed that something had altered certain of Ansel's thoughts, but now was not the time to discuss it. She gently grasped one of Ansel's hands, closed her eyes, and slowly dispersed Nidhoggur, bearing fragments of her soul, towards the chain-like spine.

"An…sel!!!"

As Ravenna attempted to further analyze the skeleton, the mutated beast continued its frenzied assault on the God from the Machine. It had emerged further, still a twisted, mutated mass of flesh randomly adorned with various limbs—massive dragon claws, distorted arms... It now appeared to be an enormous "flesh worm."

At the worm's forefront, Evora, embedded in the flesh with only her face visible, remained in an uncertain state between life and death.

"Noisy."

Ansel frowned slightly. The ebony steel colossus dispassionately raised its left arm, entwined with serpent heads, obliterating most of the creature with a single blast. As before, it swiftly regenerated its swollen, deformed flesh using the burning Feast Flame.

While Ravenna analyzed the golden skeleton, Ansel naturally focused on the monstrosity that had mutated from within Evora.

Using the Feasting Flame to regenerate wounds was a basic technique of Flamefeast Royal. Did this mean the twisted flesh worm now possessed the abilities of the Flamefeast?

Even if this massive flesh had proliferated from within Evora, it had clearly become a different species entirely. How could it still wield the power of the Flamefeast?

What kind of monster had that golden skeleton transformed Evora into?

The halo behind them unfurled, releasing endless grey particles that ascended to the sky before transforming into tens of millions of light beams. These beams rained down like lightning upon the flesh worm as it slowly crawled out of the rift. As it emerged further, the golden chains—or rather, the golden skeleton's spine—entwined and embedded in its body became increasingly apparent.

"■■■——!"

The frenzied, distorted monster's roar seemed incomprehensible, likely due to the multiple faces embedded in its flesh howling simultaneously. However, the intense hatred directed at Ansel was unmistakable and unified. The spirits of all the top-tier extraordinary beings he had deceived and killed seemed to cling to Evora's mutated flesh, now unleashing their fury upon this despicable, malicious schemer, yearning to cleanse their unresolvable blood feud and grudges.

Suddenly, its flesh ruptured, and an equally deformed creature burst forth from the bloody opening.

It was a… dragon, its skeleton and flesh inverted, with two fleshy nodules resembling heads growing from its neck.

This dragon, merely three to four meters long—considered small even among lesser dragon species—appeared insignificant as an insect before the God from the Machine. Any single beam from the sky could have shattered it, yet Ansel refrained, observing as it wobbled and collided with the metallic shell.

As the malformed dragon's flesh exploded upon impact, splattering across the God from the Machine's armor, it instantly began to spread and proliferate wildly, attempting in vain to engulf Ansel's most trusted steel colossus.

Simultaneously, Ravenna trembled slightly before abruptly opening her eyes, shock bordering on horror evident in her gaze.

Before inquiring about her findings, Ansel pointed to the spreading flesh on the leg armor. "Does this look familiar, Venna?"

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