Volu 2
Chapter 104 : Mingfuluo’s Diary, Part Three
To keep clues clear, I’ll reset the ti record.
I must be utterly thorough in all aspects to uncover the source of Anselm’s issue, confirm my suspicions, and understand his motives.
I have many goals to achieve.
Anselm may have grown beyond my perception in these three years, but I must succeed.
Mingfuluo, even if he expects no one’s salvation, you must reach out to him.
He’s your friend, the only one who makes you feel truly alive.
***
Day 1.
The outside intercepted Anselm at the Imperial Capital’s teleportation array imdiately.
Unless it’s an extrely precise spell or tool requiring a strong fourth- or fifth-tier transcendent, no one in the Empire… surpasses her dominance.
Under pressure, my talents were further unleashed, but even so, she’s far from my match now.
She first berated Anselm for ignoring her countless attempts to contact him, then probed Miss Hitana beside him, using the Contract Head as an entry point.
…Did Anselm notice?
Three years ago, he wouldn’t have.
Regardless, I can’t read him anymore; his smile… is far different from before.
It’s like he’s wearing a mask.
The outside may not notice his change, but three years of pent-up anger and hatred taint her view of him, just as Anselm saw three years ago.
Taking a floating cannon’s blast to the face unhard… is that the strength of a Contract Head, or Miss Hitana’s own power?
Knowing Anselm, I lean toward the latter.
He wouldn’t choose soone reliant on Contract Head power to reach such heights; his chosen ones are destined for greatness, with Contract Head power rely a step further… like .
Power… Why did Anselm first choose a Contract Head for raw power?
He shouldn’t need power.
Choosing first shows he needs a Contract Head with comprehensive abilities.
His choice of Hitana wasn’t random or coincidental; it was part of his plan after .
Does Anselm have… a specific reason to choose Hitana?
Regardless, her strength alone qualifies her as a violence-wielding Contract Head.
From just the data collected at their first eting, her modeled strength is already staggering.
…Outside went to see Anselm again?
Right, I forgot—she no longer cares about helping him, so she won’t analyze his reactions after this eting… She sought him only for a deal.
She doesn’t care about Anselm anymore… Those missing mories were too crucial.
Without my understanding of Anselm, the outside wouldn’t realize his importance to or his… plight.
But this is the best scenario, the “Mingfuluo” in Anselm’s eyes.
Even so, she still holds a faint hope that Anselm hasn’t fully given up.
Even clouded by fate and missing mories, the outside still hopes Anselm returns to her side.
…You need to take responsibility, Anselm.
Day 4.
Anselm announced he’d visit the Ether Academy; the outside was furious.
It’s undoubtedly his trap, and she considered this, but she’s more genuinely suspicious… that Anselm is colluding with the Ether Academy.
As a victim of multiple assassination attempts by the Ether Academy over three years, she hates them far more than I, an observer, do.
Moreover, having lost those mories, she further suspects Anselm fully betrayed our ideals, siding with the Ether Academy.
Anselm used the mory gap well, but with prolonged contact, the outside would surely notice the blur and gaps in her mories.
How does he plan to handle this?
…
How vicious, you wretched brat.
Using the Universal Ether Furnace, central to everything, to make the already suspicious lose control and act rashly, then letting Solen, skilled in soul magic, trap her soul in this puppet.
This gives a perfect excuse for mory blurs and gaps—based on “soul damage.”
The outside , unaware of the full picture, still hopes you’ll change your mind, but have you beco this cruel?
No, I can’t think that way.
Three years ago, as per everything in Anselm’s eyes, I made him this cruel by ignoring our friendship, abandoning him in that final choice.
Back then, he was likely enduring pain I can’t imagine.
…Now that I think about it, was I also trapped in so obsession then?
Perhaps confessing to Anselm could’ve touched his remaining softness, just as I’d have helped him if he’d confessed to .
But neither of us did, nor even considered it.
It’s indeed… that damned fate.
……
Anselm, you… you’re worse than fate itself, what are you doing?
The most obvious progress in these three years is this… this shaless flirting technique? Groping a puppet, shaping… shaping a channel? You really are…
Calm down, this should still be… considered a good thing.
Three years ago, he saw as a friend, almost entirely ignorant in that regard, but now he harbors pure desire for .
He wants , which ans he hasn’t completely placed on his opposing side.
…If only I could’ve learned this in so other way.
Beyond that, the outside, under Anselm’s design, has fallen into a predicant where he can toy with at will.
He even directly told about the bet… he’s grasped my psychology.
I’ll waver over that nonexistent person, my thoughts led astray to countless wrong places.
Thorough preparation, then pressure, then domination.
Anselm is now far stronger than outside… I can no longer predict his next move.
Even if the current were to switch places with her, I might not do any better.
But victory or defeat doesn’t matter.
All I want is answers.
Rather, only when that completely fails will Anselm possibly… reveal the truth.
Day 12.
The mass production issue with the floating cannons was resolved.
The outside suspects Anselm was sabotaging it before… I thought the sa, believing Anselm was seeking further opportunities to make fall.
But it’s too coincidental.
Because of the resolution of the mass production issue, I went to the Alchemical Association, t Ivora, and ended up incinerated… the whole process is too coincidental.
As an observer, I can see this is Anselm’s setup.
But I can't, because she’s blinded by that nonexistent person… She thinks Anselm plans to create chanized armor at the Ether Academy, and that nonexistent person, to counter the armor, resolved the floating cannon issue. Seeing the chanized armor workshop at the Ether Academy further confird this idea, making her believe such a person truly exists.
What a… chilling design. In three years, Anselm has grown this cunning.
If I weren’t an observer, even the current would surely be unable to escape.
The final result: the outside was incinerated by Ivora, her soul damaged a second ti, further resolving the mory issue…
Just, Anselm, are you that obsessed with a puppet’s body?
Do you have to use this thod… to manipulate my emotions?
It’s effective, sure, but it’s not likable. You really don’t have a trace of that boy left.
…Lascivious, vile things.
Day 27.
War… a war ga?
Anselm, what are you trying to do?
If I could’ve changed you sooner, would you not have beco this cruel?
The people of two territories, used rely to ta outside, and this is just part of the process…
As expected, I was right.
If I had sided with Anselm back then, losing the chance I have now, the possibility of seeking the truth, I’d surely be unable to stop Anselm from falling further… into deeper cruelty and coldness.
Just as the without Anselm is also sliding, step by step, toward that rational, indifferent, chanical abyss.
He’ll destroy himself.
I must stop him.
This ga… I hope Anselm still retains even a shred of kindness, sparing the innocent.
…
Nidhogg… this thing, this thing…
Creating so foundational unit to achieve the possibility of creating all things… This is imitating Lord Flal’s creator authority, even incorporating parts of the Universal Ether Furnace concept.
Anselm is indeed a genius beyond his era!
The alchemical swarm, Nidhogg… its potential is limitless!
This might, just might, be the final piece of the third-stage chanized armor!
rely destroying alchemical constructs?
No, it has the ability to replace all alchemical constructs.
The outside hasn’t yet realized its true value… she’s been blinded by this war that will destroy Babel Tower… she’s completely suppressed and dominated by Anselm.
Here, I lack the resources to experint with or create Nidhogg.
I can only wait for outside to wake up and recognize Nidhogg’s potential.
Could it beco… the power I need most?
Day 41
The outside has gone mad.
Ivora gave Babel Tower a chance… no, it should be at Anselm’s behest that Babel Tower was given a chance, but she refused, choosing to continue the war, just because she didn’t want to see Babel Tower disband.
Is this a choice I would make?
If I… if I had never t Anselm, if I had just buried myself in research from the ti Grandpa died until now, always isolated, would I… beco like her?
…I would.
I know clearly, I would beco like that, because three years ago, I already showed faint signs of it, though far from this extent.
If not for Anselm, I would definitely have beco that kind of… monster.
And Anselm must know that the outside would make this choice, which is why he deliberately set this condition.
In his eyes, I’m just such a cold, rational monster.
Does Anselm now… think of saving ? Or does he still want to make his possession?
No, don’t expect Anselm’s salvation, Mingfuluo.
He’s been struggling in pain for sixteen years.
In those sixteen years, no one ever reached out to him. Maintaining that fragile rationality is already imnsely difficult—why should you expect him to save you?
It’s you who should save him.
Day 46.
This war must have been entirely under Anselm’s control.
Thankfully, no innocent civilians were hard.
…No, from the results, Mirror Lake Territory even gained imnse benefits, and Watson Territory seems to have as well?
As expected… deep down, you’re still the Anselm I know.
You never act out of pure malice or cruelty… that’s great, truly great.
I still have a chance to change all this.
But Babel Tower has now fallen into Anselm’s hands… so that was his goal.
I don’t know how he did it, but from effect to cause, this must be Anselm’s doing.
Has he grown to this extent?
This matter even involves the Empress.
If he didn’t make a prior agreent with her to take Babel Tower, then he treated even the Empress as a calculable target—and succeeded.
Three years… he’s beco this dangerous. What will he beco in a few more years?
To outside, Babel Tower falling into Anselm’s hands is terrible news.
But in reality, there’s no better choice.
Babel Tower has gone from teetering to standing firm again… and that has fallen deeper into Anselm’s trap.
He openly declared his next plan to , to mold her into a completely dehumanized monster… an utterly transparent sche.
Now, no matter what that does, she’ll fall into doubt, hesitating and unable to move forward… Well done, Anselm.
She does need you to teach her a lesson, Anselm.
But… you—
Do you have to use these thods?
Is there no other way?
Binding , using those drugs, holding your Contract Heads in front of …
You really are…
I’ll get my revenge after I resolve your issues.
Day 47.
I witnessed Hitana’s duel with the current Contract Heads, Tyr Bistidos… Lord Flal’s Head of Strength.
That oppressive aura, even observed through that ’s perspective, was almost unbearable.
But Hitana could pierce his heart with her fingers… remarkable.
This is the Contract Heads Anselm chose, her martial talent truly unmatched.
The outside, during this eting, spoke of things I had considered long ago.
The growing conflict between the Empress and Lord Flal—if they truly go to war, the consequences would be unthinkable.
Anselm must be aware of this too. I’ve always thought… he’s likely prepared for it.
Because he clearly isn’t urgently seeking Contract Heads.
He could spend a year—no, four years—slowly taming , showing he isn’t desperate to strengthen his power.
I don’t know how he plans to handle this, whether I can join in ti, or if I can help him.
Day 50.
I began trying to influence the mories of outside.
In three years, the soul fragnt Lord Flal used to create that I am about to dissipate.
Her mories will start uncontrollably synchronizing with from three years ago.
Due to Lord Flal’s impeccable creation… with enough soul fragnts to compensate, that is indeed , a fully independent soul.
Even after studying many soul arcana these three years, influencing her without Anselm noticing requires this exact mont.
I succeeded… I can control the order of her mory awakening to so extent and even insert mories I fabricate.
Good, this ensures everything proceeds smoothly.
But sothing unexpected happened.
Sulun… She approached , saying she knows the cause of Grandpa’s death, and in exchange, I must help her deal with Ivora.
Grandpa…
Anselm, ideals, Babel Tower, and Grandpa’s death… these might be the four things driving to keep living.
…That I won't pass up this chance, because I wouldn’t either, but could this be Anselm’s trap?
…
That confessed this to Anselm, the most rational and correct choice, but she remained highly cautious, not asking Anselm why Grandpa died, believing the cost of that information was too high.
Three years ago, I didn’t ask either… but now I see it’s because, living with Anselm, I let go of too many obsessions, focusing only on him and life, no longer haunted by past sorrows and pain.
Not because… seeking answers from Anselm required a huge price.
How absurd, yet so reasonable… and Anselm have completely lost trust in each other.
Day 72.
Anselm has a maid… no, perhaps an attendant?
A secretary?
That girl nad Marina, Hitana’s sister, gave a hint.
She said Anselm has so kind of burden.
Of course I know that.
I know better than anyone in the world that Anselm must carry so burden, but… why would she tell this to outside?
Marina said she learned this from Anselm’s mother, Lady Elnilisa.
But why would Lady Elnilisa tell this to an ordinary person?
Fate… are you ddling, deliberately pushing things forward?
Assuming this thing truly exists, I’ve noticed too many “deliberate” monts in these three years—monts imperceptible to those within but faintly discernible to as an observer.
If fate is pushing outside to be tad by Anselm, deliberately advancing what both Anselm and I desire, then is it Anselm’s success in taming that benefits fate, or my success… that benefits fate?
…It’s too difficult. Just thinking about it, I can feel Anselm’s pain.
Facing such a thing, who can he trust?
He can’t even trust himself.
The outside, due to Marina’s words, has noticed the blurring and fracturing of her mories. She’s begun to further doubt the truth of the past, falling deeper into Anselm’s trap.
I don’t know what Anselm will do, nor what fate intends, but I must… must keep going.
Day 80.
I began investigating Grandpa’s death, and Anselm has inserted himself into it. Is this part of his plan? I don’t know.
…Layden, my father, actually visited Grandpa’s old residence.
He has no reason to be the culprit—neither motive nor capability—so… did he go to Grandpa’s residence to pay respects?
It’s been so long since I last saw him.
To , Father is just a aningless term.
Even now, I harbor resentnt toward him, and that ’s dissatisfaction and hatred for him must be even greater.
That … spoke with Father and Mother.
What’s going on?
I can feel them… they seem to have always cared for .
That burden doesn’t seem fake, but their betrayal of Grandpa is real. What’s happening…
I never considered them, because they thought I was abnormal, but Grandpa saw as the hope of the future… How could I still acknowledge them in that situation?
But how could they…
Anselm interrupted my conversation with Father and Mother. He wouldn’t do sothing aningless.
Could Father and Mother truly care for ?
No, don’t be swayed by this.
If you want answers, face them after everything is over.
They can wait for , but Anselm can’t wait for anyone else.
…He did that again.
The outside, after just a few etings with Anselm, is becoming more emotional.
Anselm is lting that … just like three years ago.
With him, I truly live like a person.
Just… forget it.
……
Another puppet, what was he thinking? Why place that essence in a puppet? You have the ability—
…No, that won’t do either.
To be preempted by another and only able to watch helplessly, I couldn’t accept that.
Day 81.
Anselm tested that on again.
He used Hitana to make waver… using Hitana’s current status and his care for her to shatter my increasingly fragile rationality.
Coupled with the help fate provided earlier, that was already teetering on the edge.
His grasp of hearts and emotions was too perfect, and the plan itself was flawless.
Truly dangerous. The current was no match for Anselm at all… I made the right choice.
If I hadn’t cleared my mories, I could never have deceived Anselm. If he, completely distrusting , had noticed sothing… everything would have been for naught.
I’m sorry, Anselm. I was the one who turned you into what you are now.
Day 90.
Hitana’s birthday… Anselm deliberately invited , probably to use Hitana’s loyalty to strike her further.
Not just that, but also Anselm’s kindness to Hitana, his affection for her, would make sink into the beautiful mories of ti spent with Anselm, only to be filled with regret afterward.
As expected, that girl’s pure loyalty and devotion to Anselm were sothing I could never achieve.
Even the current couldn’t be that pure. What Anselm needed, what gave him security, was exactly a girl like her.
I would probably never beco such a person in my lifeti.
Even if I stood by Anselm’s side, I would always argue with him, challenge his opinions, question his ideas… Thinking this way, a girl like Hitana was indeed more likable.
But I wouldn’t beco a more likable person… nor did I need Anselm to like .
I was only doing what I believed was right, as always.
But that , now, couldn’t make such a resolution.
All she had was probably… regret.
Anselm, with that elusive attitude, with such contrasts and comparisons, left with nowhere to escape.
Only from this observer’s perspective, fully aware of all changes, could I see through everything.
Otherwise, if I were in her place, it would just be another identical person being toyed with by Anselm.
But from this matter… I could confirm one thing.
Anselm was becoming more and more dangerous.
His feelings for Hitana were absolutely not fake.
He needed and relied on Hitana’s genuine love.
Yet even so, Anselm could still use Hitana’s birthday to sche against .
It had beco his instinct. In so ways, he was even more… colder, more resolute than .
Hitana was likely one of the most important people to him in this world, yet he could still use his feelings for her to calculate against .
Stop going further, Anselm.
…
I t Lady Elnilisa.
Her words further confird my thoughts.
She told Anselm had co to see sacrificing emotions as natural, an act akin to instinct.
I already knew this, but hearing it confird from her mouth still brought an… indescribable sadness.
In my conversation with her, I learned sothing even more significant.
Anselm’s disposition underwent a dramatic change in his childhood.
One day when he was ten, he suddenly beca withdrawn, no longer willing to trust others.
My guess was that Anselm, by so chance, for so reason… discovered the existence of fate.
And based on this guess, it followed that… Anselm had been battling fate for a full six years. Six years.
Six years ago… he was only ten.
At ten years old, he had to face the sches and malice of the entire world?
So… that’s why he didn’t trust , never trusted from the start. Living in that kind of hell, who could he trust?
…
That attributed the root of Anselm becoming this way to the Empress’s oppression.
With incomplete information, that was indeed the only conclusion possible, especially since the decisive battle between the Empress and Lord Flal was approaching.
Even if the Empress died, Anselm would still have to face the next Empress.
I, only through these three years, witnessing everything that I experienced, combined with all my prior guesses and understanding of Anselm, pieced together this unthinkable answer step by step.
Even now, I couldn’t be certain if it was correct.
…Lady Elnilisa’s appearance and her conversation with were probably driven by fate as well.
That had now sided with Anselm, wanting to create a weapon capable of killing gods for him… shallow, but that was all she could do, no different from what I thought.
—Without power, I couldn’t help Anselm.
But… sothing felt off.
By my estimation, the decisive battle between Lord Flal and the Empress was only two to three years away, which should be quite urgent.
Yet Anselm showed no pressing need for power…
Why was that?
Day 102.
Anselm… What was he doing?
He actually made call him father.
How absurd!
How could you… what gave you the right…
Calm down… I had to stay calm.
This was his way of taming .
He wanted to shatter my dignity with this title, that must be it… but father, why specifically father?
There were many ways to break dignity, yet he chose this title. Was there so deeper aning?
…
He tricked Ronggor into revealing the truth about Babel Tower.
In these three years, I had actually prepared myself, because unlike , who buried herself solely in research, I could see so much more.
Hendrik and the others had stopped pursuing Grandpa’s ideals.
Deep down, I had vaguely prepared for this.
But as expected… it wasn’t easy to accept. When Ronggor said those words herself, I still lost composure, though only slightly better than .
So that was it.
Anselm not only wanted to crush my dignity but also strip away everything around ?
That … was starting to rely on Anselm more and more.
…I, too, sowhat wanted to rely on him.
I was tired, Anselm.
These truths… these truths, could I stop looking at them?
No… I couldn’t.
You had to keep going, Mingfuluo.
Even if Anselm was so cruel to you now, you had to continue.
…
Anselm took to see Layden.
How did he end up in such a state?
So he left everything to , everything—
Father… you and Mother, did you really care for ?
What exactly… What happened back then?
Why, why did it co to this?
From the elders around to my blood kin, Anselm… did you want to replace everything in my life with yourself? Was that why you chose the title of father?
That couldn’t accept it, and neither could I now, but she had no choice.
She had been thoroughly outmaneuvered by Anselm.
What was Anselm going to do next… I had a very bad feeling.
Grandpa’s death… could it be related to Anselm?
…
No, no… that’s not right.
That wasn’t it.
This was Anselm’s tactic to break , to ta .
My persistence and pursuit had to co from within, of course, of course…
How could I… be aningless?
It took a long, long ti to calm down.
Anselm’s question… I couldn’t refute it.
I couldn’t refute why I was so obsessed with that ideal when I had never interacted with any commoners, never truly witnessed their lives.
But… but I was much better than that outside, who had nothing but ideals.
In my heart, there was still Anselm.
I could more calmly… calmly face all this.
Perhaps Anselm was right.
I only wanted to change the world; I never truly cared about the commoners.
But the question was, where did these thoughts, this persistence, co from…
There was another key point: Anselm’s question could be applied to himself.
He said his pursuit of ideals was a lie, but I knew clearly, it absolutely wasn’t a lie.
So… where did Anselm’s sincere passion co from?
As a divine species, why was he so… unique?
Fate, Anselm who knew fate, Anselm who mastered knowledge beyond his era, whose personality and thinking were nothing like a divine species or a noble, so distinctly different.
And… Anselm, who seed able to anchor the unknown, knew the developnt of so many things with perfect clarity.
I felt I was no longer far from the truth.
…
To further push that ’s submission, I was now trying my hardest to interfere with her recovering mories, making them only deepen her guilt toward Anselm.
And Anselm played a ga with …
Two territories, but not about war, a ga that brought only benefits and no harm to both territories.
I thought for a long ti but couldn’t figure out what Anselm could exploit in this ga.
He set extrely strict rules: no interference from transcendents, and all competitive thods had to be legitimate.
If the ga had no such restrictions, I could guess how Anselm might use it, but with these limits… wasn’t Anselm just purely doing good?
What was he trying to do?
I hoped this ga would have a good outco.
Day 117.
I lost completely.
My vision and Anselm’s vision… were never on the sa level from the start.
This was a disaster, yet I foolishly thought it was a miracle.
From beginning to end, it was just a disaster.
So many sacrifices, so many costs, and in the end… all it amounted to was a single bottle of Water of Redemption?
The alchemical tools ant to benefit commoners with transcendence were traded by the greatest beneficiary for a chance to beco transcendent.
They didn’t care about anything; they only wanted to beco one of the transcendent.
Not only did my ideals feel hollow, but even with tangible tools in hand, even with Anselm removing so many obstacles for , I… couldn’t do it.
Damn it… damn it! Damn it!
Anselm wanted… to destroy .
He wanted to destroy this immature, foolish, empty .
Even… even just observing, I felt that despair… the despair of being nothing, of my life having no value.
But I wouldn’t fall… I wouldn’t, I couldn’t.
Perhaps it wasn’t because I had to cling to that ideal, but because… Anselm was waiting for .
Day 108.
That tried to follow Anselm’s orders to retrieve the Soil Enhancent Potion from Ivora.
But she was severely injured by Ivora… this was an opportunity, a chance for the already faltering to completely turn to Anselm.
Taking advantage of this injury, I needed to manipulate the mories she recalled, inserting a fabricated mory among the real ones, one strong enough to seal the deal.
So, I made Anselm appear angry in that mory, extrely angry, questioning if all the emotions he invested were fake.
—This was what I originally imagined Anselm would say, but he didn’t actually say it… even at that mont, he didn’t want to feel hurt.
This mory was enough to be the final winning move.
She was now completely emotionally dependent on Anselm, and with this… Anselm should be at ease, right?
…
Grandpa’s death… I didn’t want to record this part.
This diary was to ensure I could think clearly to help Anselm and to serve as proof for , nothing more.
……
So, I didn’t want to record that kind of pain.
I could only note that I finally understood Anselm’s plan. He wanted to create a new , a whose life revolved solely around him, a who saw him as absolute, supre, everything.
Day 152.
It was ti for to leave, to finally see the light of day again.
After these days of calm, I had deduced Anselm’s next step.
He had shaped a “Mingfuluo” he needed, one completely dependent on him, and then… he wanted to face off against that “Mingfuluo,” that is, Helen.
Only one of us, or Helen, could exist.
By his understanding, I should be eager to destroy Helen now.
Perhaps I could show that I had awakened, no… Anselm might be expecting my “awakening,” but I couldn’t do that.
I lacked Helen’s absolute dependence.
No matter how much Anselm… favored now, without that “absolute,” I might not get the truth.
He might tell , but only… maybe.
I couldn’t let any accidents happen.
The next steps were simple: just wait until Helen gained Anselm’s complete trust.
***
This diary should end here; my task was complete.
These final words were for you, who will take up this diary… I didn’t know whether to call you Mingfuluo or Helen, but I believed that after reading this diary, you were surely .
I could only… tell myself this, tell you, tell Mingfuluo, tell Helen.
You might be empty, and I… might indeed be empty too.
You and I, born from the sa soul, our lives were designed, false, worthless.
But Anselm… could make it real and vibrant, could give it value.
He could inspire my creations, could point in the direction forward, so it didn’t matter if I understood nothing.
Because he truly shared my vision, he truly… put in so much effort for that vision.
Anselm, you kept saying everything was a lie.
But who would go this far for a lie? Who would train their subordinates into such elites for a lie?
Who would shape Hydra’s domain into a land admired by all for a lie?
It was never a lie; it was clearly… your cry, a cry for help.
And I heard it, Anselm.
…But you might still be a bit disappointed.
After all, my help to you wasn’t entirely for your sake; it was still for myself.
Because as long as you were by my side, my life wouldn’t be empty.
You wouldn’t be my entire life, but you could be its aning.
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