Under the uncharacteristically assertive deanor of Ansel, Evora was expected to return empty-handed.
Yet, in the end, she secured what she desired... effortlessly.
The facilitator of Evora's success was not Ansel, nor Ravenna, nor any malevolent entity. Continue your adventure with m|v-l'e -
But rather the greatest beneficiary… amidst this revolution.
It was the one whom Ravenna wished for, embracing a better existence.
Miss puppet lifted her gaze towards Ansel, noting his expression remained undisturbed. Reflecting upon the journey and Ansel's mastery over all events, she comprehended the true essence of the ga's conclusion and the journey's ultimate destination.
"Father..."
Ravenna, her eyes a void of desolation, murmured in a trance, "Did you foresee this outco?" The sliver of hope she clung to was utterly obliterated.
"Is it so unforeseeable?" Ansel retorted, "Why do you think Laurel was so eager to expedite the Pelican Trading Comrce's rise to fa?"
"His initial aim was precisely this; he sought to exchange these potions for a chance to transcend. Initially, he hadn't considered approaching Evora, possibly contemplating other influential figures interested in such matters. However, constrained by my influence, no one sought him out. With the potions nearly depleted, he was compelled to gamble everything...
striving by all ans to hasten the Pelican Trading Comrce towards its demise."
"And evidently..."
The young Hydral, observing Laurel tearfully kissing the potion, sighed, "He won his bet."
"From my personal standpoint," Ansel, leaning on his scepter, his gaze surprisingly content, "I admire individuals with such resolve; he's not bad."
Ansel refrained from further assessing Laurel's capabilities, rely comnding his audacity without expressing any displeasure towards his final act.
"And do you believe... in this ga, he's the only one chasing extraordinary?"
Ansel slightly bowed his head, looking at the bewildered Ravenna, "The peasants' overly rapid uprising marked the beginning of the Pelican Trading Comrce's acceleration. At that ti, Laurel lacked the capability and the notion. So... who truly instigated this affair?"
"The answer lies with our Count Watson, who likewise sought to attract the attention of significant figures, especially Evora's… attempting to hitch a ride on her chariot. The extent of his behind-the-scenes efforts remains unknown to all."
"Did he break any rules? Certainly not. He harbored no thoughts towards that farmland or the potions. His actions, ironically, even boosted food production... quite the irony, isn't it?"
"Extraordinary... Those in possession of it yearn to advance further, while those without it are willing to risk everything for a chance."
Ansel placed his hand atop Ravenna's head, speaking to her in a gentle whisper, "Do you think Evora is right, my dear Ravenna?"
"In this world, anyone would make the sa choice as Laurel."
"..."
As Ravenna trembled, Evora, who was cauterizing her wound with blood flas, smirked, "Do you enjoy playing house with your little puppet that much, Ansel? Forget it..."
The bullet-torn wound finally healed, leaving behind a conspicuous scar that was slowly regenerating. Evora seed indifferent to it, instead declaring with the arrogance of a victor, "Whatever ga you wish to play, these trinkets have been offered to ."
Her eyes glead with a fierce and savage light, "If you plan to provoke , then try it. Let's see if together with that old woman… we can exterminate you two vipers!"
With these words, heavy with murderous intent, that could set an empire or even an entire continent ablaze, she vanished in flas.
Thud —
Ravenna's petite body finally collapsed, powerless to her knees. She looked towards the place where the blood flas had disappeared, her arms falling limply like a puppet with cut strings.
It was over.
This ga... had co to a complete end.
The one who was expected to watch it all deteriorate into the worst possible scenario, almost steered it towards a perfect conclusion with such a firm stance… while the beneficiary ultimately destroyed everything.
What Evora would do with the potion was not difficult to guess.
The powerful sorcerers under her command could easily reverse-engineer the potion's composition and then mass-produce it... Since Evora was interested, she would undoubtedly put the potion to practical use.
When a tyrannical ruler, who acts on a whim, is utterly self-centered, and holds neither commoners nor extraordinary beings in regard, gains control over the empire's food supply...
No... The most terrifying aspect is not this. The most terrifying is when Evora loses interest, when she "grows tired of it" and carelessly hands it over to soone else... What will beco of the entire empire then?
This ga should never have started. If it hadn't, none of this would have happened, and such an ending would not have been possible. If only from the beginning—
"Now you're thinking, if you hadn't decided to play this ga with from the start, then nothing would have happened, right?"
Ansel's voice, filled with emotion, reached Ravenna's ears.
"Ravenna... Ravenna, don't you think that such thoughts only make you seem more pitiable?"
He reached out, grasped Ravenna's chin, and lifted her numb face, saying with pity, "Have you even lost the conviction to pursue your ideals?"
Her once vibrant purple eyes, now dim and nearly devoid of luster, quivered slightly.
Indeed... I should not entertain such thoughts, striving for their realization is not wrong, it's just... it's just that I...
"Or is it that you are rely turning a blind eye, hiding, attempting to flee from what you call 'ideals,' which are nothing but insipid words, hollow slogans, aningless... illusions?"
The devil suddenly yanked the pitiful puppet seated paralyzed on the ground, his once gentle and compassionate expression turning instantly cold.
The words that had been soft and affectionate monts ago were now unbearably cruel, his grip on Ravenna's shoulders so tight as if to crush her bones, like a serpent injecting venom into its prey, intent on infusing all his malice and cruelty into her through the vessel of pain.
"You are running from the fact that you never truly understood how to enact change, you are running from the reason why you do not know how to chase after your ideals, you are running from... the reality that lies beneath this facade of falsehood and emptiness, you are running—"
"I am not... I am not!"
Ravenna's voice, hoarse and shrill, rose in a scream. She who was always calm, always resolute, always indomitable, now so fragile, so wretchedly struggling under Ansel's control, madly trying to break free, only to be t with intensified agony.
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