"I, howl, how... roar! Roar! How could... woof!"
The man's pupils contracted violently. He lifted his trembling hand, only to discover that it had already... already begun to mutate! Mutated into a pair of decaying, sparsely furred... dog paws?!
After the euphoria of surging power faded, unbearable pain swept through his body, causing Hyena to let out a "howl, howl" of agony. His tall and robust figure began to shrink, twist, his legs atrophied and regressed, visibly transforming into similarly decaying, emaciated beast legs.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Hyena."
A light voice, very abruptly, appeared in this room where two black market leaders had perished.
The young nobleman wearing a mask stood in front of Mr. Hyena, whose face had already begun to mutate and twist, crouched on the ground, lightly tapping the ground with his scepter.
"It seems you've done a good job, only..."
He said, sowhat puzzled, "You don't look so well, is there anything I can assist you with?"
"Woof... roar... Faust..."
Curled up on the ground, the bizarre creature that was neither human nor dog muttered unclear words: "Help... help..."
"It seems you've been eroded by the essence of the redemption water... how unfortunate, alright, I'll help you."
Under the ecstatic gaze of those already deford, murky eyes, the young nobleman pressed his scepter against its forehead. Then, Hyena could feel sothing... being rapidly... remodeled.
Was he going to turn back into a human? Could he escape this ugly posture? Wait...
No, that's not right! It's power... his power is disappearing! It's turning into sothing else, what is it... Faust!
Hyena began to howl wildly, at this mont it could hardly speak human language, it could only howl in a mad and mournful manner.
"Pfft... hehehe... hahaha…"
The young nobleman, who had withdrawn his scepter, laughed heartily: "You really should see what you look like now, dear Mr. Hyena, you're so pathetic and ridiculous that it's delightful."
"Let guess, are you cursing ? Are you feeling utterly baffled? Do you think... I'm actually the person behind DappleSpider? I'm sorry, I'm not."
He shook his head, sowhat regretfully:
"I really like Marlina, she has co to understand so well without realizing it."
"To , death is rcy, a gift, a release."
"As a reward for her excellent performance today, I've decided to let her win once, as for the condition, naturally it's your... inability to seek death."
Ansel smiled and said, "The extraordinary power within you has been completely redirected to the beast essence's 'adaptation', 'self-healing', and a tiny bit of 'immortality', which ans... you're now just a vessel carrying these few essences, without any power to speak of. You'll wander the black market as an undying wild dog, if you're unlucky...
you might even be caught by a discerning sorcerer for experints."
"What? You're asking why I'm doing this? A fifth-stage extraordinary being like targeting a nobody like you, isn't it beneath ?"
The young Hydral asked and answered himself, "About this, I need to correct two of your mistakes."
"First, I'm not a fifth-stage extraordinary being."
"Second, I'm not targeting you, I'm just giving you... the punishnt you deserve."
"Look at , Mr. Hyena."
He said so, slowly removing the mask from his face.
Ansel of Hydral looked down at the wild dog on the ground and smiled:
"Tell , what do you see?"
...Devil!
It's the devil!
"Roooarrrrr!"
Hyena shrieked in terror, its limbs flailing in a futile attempt to escape, but its body was paralyzed by fear and despair.
"No, no, no... it's not ti yet, this is not what I want to see."
"So... where should I begin? Ah, I don't want to waste my ti on you, instead, let show you this."
Ansel once again pointed his scepter at the hyena's forehead, and then—
Then, the terrified Hyena saw itself.
It saw its actions displayed on a screen, like a clown in a circus, being watched by others.
"Profit." "Division." "Conflict." "Power."
"Just... a coincidence?" "It's the simplest truth."
"I did nothing."
"I guess he... will beg for death, but won't be able to die."
As those words and images appeared in Hyena's mind, Ansel's voice rings in his ears again:
"Mr. Hyena, do you hate ?"
His voice, mixed with the images and conversation directly injected into his mind, made the world seem false and absurd to Hyena.
"I don't know what you're thinking, but, well..."
The young noble shrugged: "I think you shouldn't hate , do you understand what I an, after all, I told you—"
He smiled:
"This is all your 'choice'."
"..."
My... choice?
It was my choice to rely on Faust, it was my decision to complete his first task, I knew it was the best thing to do, I thought it was the perfect opportunity...
I was right, I was right? I was wrong... No, I was right! My choice... No, not my choice! This was not my choice!
But I was right... But this is... not...
.
The man who once dominated the black market is now almost a mangy wild dog, convulsing and howling on the ground, his howls filled with such vivid madness and... terror.
He didn't know who was making choices for him, he didn't know why he was doing these things, he even... started to doubt his current reality.
What is this world? How did I beco like this? Is this a dream? Is it the environnt? Is it Rodent or Vulture's spell? Or is it the DappleSpider?
Is it DappleSpider!!
It's DappleSpider! It's her spell... Damn bitch, she still has this trick up her sleeve after being backfired by the contract, but it's okay, when Lord Faust arrives, I can be saved, I can beco the lord of the black market, I can beco a fifth-stage, I can...
There's... there's no Hydral here, there's no turned into a dog, this is not my choice... He forced to do this, he did it on purpose! I didn't make a choice... It's not !
It's not ! Hehehe... It's not , it's not who turned into this, it's Hydral, it's Hydral... Hehe...
Ansel looked down at the dog's eyes that were about to lose their sanity: "I rember telling you, I'm not in a hurry, Mr. Hydral."
"If you were willing to wait, if you were willing to lie low, if you were willing to admit your mistakes, if you could resist this temptation... Look, there are many ifs, these ifs, could have helped you avoid the current outco."
"Look, everything is your choice."
Ansel snapped his fingers, and a mirror fell in front of Hyena.
In the mirror, it saw a mangy, ulcerated... wild dog.
The devil pushed the mirror forward with a smile:
"This is the fate I've arranged for you."
"Roarrrrr!!"
A desperate howl of despair exploded, the mangy wild dog on the ground howled and scrambled away, fleeing to anywhere that could get away from this devil.
"Hyena attacked Vulture and Rodent, but himself is nowhere to be found, only the severely injured Miss DappleSpider is left..."
The young Hydral turns around and smiles:
"So who should be the lord of the black market?"
*
In the depth of night, atop the manor of Hydral.
After lulling Seraphina to sleep, Ansel basked in the cool breeze, his gaze fixed upon the radiant moon suspended in the celestial do.
His day had been filled with satisfaction, having disciplined the insolent who dared defy his will. In less than a day, he had cleansed the black market, now firmly within his grasp.
Yet, certain things… had taken him by surprise.
He had divulged too much to Marlina.
That clever girl could easily infer certain matters, and coupled with whatever she had discussed with her mother, Ansel found himself... sowhat uneasy.
The ga had been a re whim, at most a test of Marlina's abilities and faith. Yet, he had failed to maintain control. Ansel lowered his gaze to his own palm, murmuring softly:
"Is it that you refuse to let go, even for a mont, or have I... beco weak during this ti?"
He had beco weak.
Ansel felt that his display in front of Marlina today had been, quite frankly, weak.
He was like a child unable to bear hardship, using every ans to convey his suffering, hoping others could understand his tornt, his pain. He wished for soone to hold his hand and say they understood his feelings.
This was undoubtedly a sign of weakness.
It was precisely because Marlina would keep her lips sealed, precisely because Marlina had no power to change anything about this matter, that he might have committed such a ludicrous act of weakness.
Weakness... In their presence, he would beco weak, so Ansel thought.
The sixteen-year-old boy slightly lifted his head, his azure eyes reflecting the moonlight, akin to the sea under the rising moon.
The sea and the moon, cold and tranquil.
But that was enough, Ansel, today's indulgence has been more than sufficient.
If you do not discard the useless, your tomorrow will be the next wild dog.
To conquer it, sacrifices must be made.
Ambition, ideals, faith, emotions, goodness, self.
Would Seraphina be disappointed? No... If I were unable to make a choice at that ti, she would be the one disappointed.
The sa goes for my father and mother.
With these thoughts, the young Hydral touched his own lips. The straight, indifferent line made him lose his usual warm and friendly deanor.
Realizing this, a vibrant and brilliant smile quickly spread across his face.
Smile, Ansel, at least you had a joyful day.
*
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