Taming the Protagonist

Chapter 67: Great Despair, Part Four

Blazing, sky-searing flames engulfed the imperial capital, Tianxin, in an apocalyptic scene.

Countless people knelt, trembling in fear, praying for mercy from the two deities, begging for even a sliver of compassion amidst their ferocious, all-consuming battle.

Be it lowly commoners, self-proclaimed noble blood, or transcendent beings who scorned mortals, under such destruction, all could only kneel in awe, entrusting their lives to the mercy of those two—no, those two gods.

“Hahahahaha!”

A wild, unrestrained laugh shattered the flames that incinerated all.

Amidst the all-consuming crimson, a tall, athletic figure trod upon the flames of death, standing proudly.

Her form was tall and powerful, embodying the pinnacle of feminine allure while showcasing absolute strength.

Her long, explosive legs, her slender yet taut waist, the perfect lines of her arm muscles… Her existence was the supreme embodiment of “physical beauty.”

And this body, astonishingly, bore… a pair of large, wide, fluffy wolf ears and a massive, bushy wolf tail.

This beast-like yet not beast, human-like yet not human peerless powerhouse stood in midair, lifting her chin with utter disdain:

“Sulun, you’re far worse than your wretched mother!”

“I only agree with three words in that sentence, Mad Dog.”

Amidst the roaring flames, an empress clad in a crimson-gold robe, crowned with a blood-flame diadem, emerged.

The endless blood flames that covered the sky, as if to incinerate the very concept of the heavens, bowed to the empress’s hands and feet.

She looked at the woman before her, already exuding an aura of dominance over all, and said calmly:“At the end of her great life, everything my mother did was indeed disgraceful. I cannot refute that.”

“But that fact does not mean—”

The eternal ruler of the Empire raised her index finger, declaring indifferently:“You have the right to pass such a judgment.”

A surge of sky-piercing blood flames erupted around the woman yet to claim the title of Wolf Empress.

If these were mere flames, they would have been no different from air to her.

But the fire of the Flame-Feasting Royalty was never just fire.

It was a primal force, encompassing countless ancient, great powers.

In that instant, as the blood flames ignited her—

Time locked, space shattered, souls extinguished, ether burned away… This destruction was as if the burning existence were a book chronicling its entire life, cast into the fire, obliterated by an absolute power from a higher dimension… annihilating all defiance!

In that single moment, the woman, both exquisitely beautiful and supremely dominant, seemed to be incinerated entirely.

Yet… she persisted within the blood flames.

Her flesh and bones were destroyed in an instant, only to reform in a flash.

As time passed, it seemed as though she had never been harmed at all!

“This is… your Spiritual Essence?”

The Empress’s brows rose slightly. “Truly fascinating. Earth, sea, sky… perhaps in ten thousand years, this world has never seen such a unique Spiritual Essence.”

“Mad Dog, you’re quite the fortunate one.”

“Hah, fortunate one.”

The woman, still burning in the blood flames, sneered.

She clenched her fist, no feints or bluffs. Enveloped in the blood flames, unable even to channel ether, she threw a simple, unremarkable straight punch.

And then… the heavens collapsed!

The blood flames blanketing the sky were torn apart by a hundreds-meter-long gash!

The surging shockwave bore a power… strikingly similar to the fire of the Flame-Feasting Royalty!

It was an ability to utterly “overwhelm” all existence—wind, clouds, earth, sea, sky, resistance, space, time… all concepts must yield before this fist!

Before the results of all things’ operations and rules could manifest, this fist of the supreme tyrant had already summoned destruction!

That all-consuming, all-dominating will astonished even the Empress.

“With such conviction, you have no interest in that crown?”

“I’m not like your clan of lunatics, playing house.”

Still burning in the blood flames, the woman rolled her neck, stretching her limbs, as if only now getting serious.

“Once this wretched nation is razed to the ground, I’ll go to higher, farther places, to witness even greater sights.”

“…And you, the last Empress.”

Hitana Lansmarlos, now transformed into the world’s mightiest, laughed heartily:

“Perish with this rotten Empire under my fist!”

The scene abruptly cut off.

Hitana woke drenched in cold sweat from the dream.

The searing pain in her body and the lingering agony in her mind couldn’t stop her from dwelling on what she’d seen.

“That person…”

The girl propped up her face, murmuring in disbelief:

“Was that… me?”

Why did that dream feel so real? Why did it stir… such an irrepressible longing?

—As if that was the future she yearned for.

“I… ugh!”

Escalating pain forced Hitana to clutch her head, halting thoughts of the dream.

Half-opening her eyes, she surveyed her surroundings. Familiar furniture and decor told her she was back in Anselm’s manor, in the room she’d been staying in.

“I’m back…”

The girl struggled to sit up, curling up on the bed, her expression weary.

“Is it all… over?” she muttered, burying her head in her knees. “Is it all… done?”

Hitana recalled what she’d seen and felt before fainting, relieved that she had taken responsibility and hadn’t let Anselm be disgraced.

Yet her lips only twitched, unable to smile.

The malice from then, that overwhelming, tearing malice aimed at her, made it impossible for Hitana to smile.

Only now did Hitana realize how terrifying those “ordinary people” she’d seen as companions could be.

Terrifying enough to make her afraid.

“…Guess I can’t just show my face anymore.”

The girl gave a self-deprecating smile. “If I walk the streets, I’ll probably get stoned, huh?”

“I hope Anselm doesn’t do anything foolish… doesn’t say it’s his fault again.”

“His… fault.”

Hitana fell silent.

The question in her heart remained unanswered.

Why, knowing the consequences of her stubborn actions, had neither Marina nor Anselm stopped her?

She wasn’t trying to shift blame—she just wanted an answer.

Or rather, she feared what her instincts hinted at, something even more terrifying.

In that uneasy silence, the door suddenly opened.

As if to answer her doubts.

Or perhaps… to bring her greater despair.

The girl in a black dress stood at the door, calmly looking at her sister on the bed.

“You were unconscious for three days,” she said. “Mr. Anselm said it’s a matter of soul and spirit, requiring rest.”

“…Mm, ah.”

Hitana opened her mouth, unsure how to respond, shifting her gaze away, unable and unwilling to meet Marina’s eyes.

“It was good that you stood up to admit your mistake in the end,” Marina said. “It’s something you would do.”

“…” Hitana forced a smile. “Couldn’t let Anselm clean up my mess again, Lina.”

The impassive girl nodded, seemingly with nothing more to say, yet she didn’t leave.

She stood there, gazing at Hitana, as if saying… you still have questions to ask.

In the increasingly unbearable silence, Hitana forced a tug at her lips. “Lina, anything else to say? If not, I’d like to rest.”

Then, Hitana saw disappointment in Marina’s eyes.

Yes, disappointment.

An incomprehensible disappointment that deepened her panic.

“Hitana, I thought what happened that day was enough to make you grow up.”

Marina took a step back, saying flatly, “But you don’t even have the courage to face it. I expected too much. Rest well.”

She turned to leave.

“Wait!”

Hitana struggled out of bed, enduring the pain to shout, “What do you mean?! Make me grow up… Marina, what are you saying! You…”

She clenched her teeth, suppressing her fear, trying to make her voice serious:

“You knew… you knew what would happen, so why didn’t you stop me?”

Marina, finally hearing the question, turned to face Hitana.

Those eyes, the same color as hers, eyes she’d seen countless times, always gentle and kind, now held only an alienating, frightening coldness.

“I already gave you the answer, Hitana.”

Her tone was unwavering. “For your growth.”

“…”

Hitana’s body began to tremble, her lips quivering.

Stumbling out of bed, she fell to the floor, utterly wretched.

“My… growth.”

Murmuring tremulously, the girl struggled to her feet, step by step approaching her sister.

“You said… my growth?”

“To make you see your foolishness, your mistakes, your arrogance, and to show you the cruel, merciless reality of this world.”

Marina said without flinching, “You should understand that by now.”

Indeed, everything Marina said, Hitana had deeply felt.

Not just herself, but the reactions, changes, and behaviors of those she once saw as her kind…

all plunged her into deep confusion and self-doubt.

But…

But was that why Marina didn’t warn her, didn’t intervene, letting those who could have lived die so tragically?

Just for her so-called… growth?

“Marina!!!”

Pure rage surged from the deep, black despair in her heart.

Hitana roared, stumbling toward Marina, tears welling in her eyes.

“My growth… you let so many people die for something like that?!”

Reaching Marina, she slammed a fist into her sister’s cheek. Marina staggered back, a bruise quickly forming on her delicate face, but her expression remained unshaken.

“What else?”

She looked at Hitana, who gripped her collar, ready to swing again, and said expressionlessly:

“When you grow stronger, more trusted by Mr. Anselm, when your destructive power can affect broader lands, more innocent people… when you make an even more irreparable mistake, ten, a hundred, a thousand times worse than this, should I then fall to my knees, weeping, begging you not to act so recklessly?”

Hitana’s fist, poised to strike Marina’s face, trembled in an instant.

“I tried, Hitana,” Marina said in that indifferent tone that made Hitana’s entire being convulse.

“I tried many times, but it didn’t work.”

“If it had, you wouldn’t be this angry today, blaming me for your mistakes.”

“If it had, none of this would have happened. You’d be Mr. Anselm’s most trusted subordinate, sharing his glory three days ago.”

Her sister’s words, merciless, cold, and brutally cutting, sliced through the faint comfort Hitana had gained from her redemption.

The girl looked at this stranger before her, hearing her alien words, seeing her alien expression, feeling as if a chunk of her heart had been gouged out.

“It shouldn’t… be like this.”

Hitana, tears streaming, let go and slumped to the ground. “Marina… Why have you become like this? Why… why don’t I recognize you anymore?”

How could her sister treat so many lives as nothing, just to… make her grow?

How could such cruelty be worth it?

How could this be something her gentle, ever-forgiving sister would do?

“…”

Marina remained silent for a long time before finally nodding. “Then, so be it.”

Amidst Hitana’s growing unease and fear, Marina said:“Then, consider that you no longer know me.”

“If that will make you grow.”

She turned and left without a hint of hesitation.

Bang!

In the sound of the door closing, Hitana’s trembling hand had only just begun to rise.

“Wuu… ah…”

She no longer had the strength to cry.

The girl could only open her mouth, unable to even weep in such despair.

Her sister had abandoned her.

She had lost the most important person in her life.

“Don’t… don’t…”

Her heart riddled with holes, Hitana frantically struggled to her feet, crashing through the door only to collapse again.

The mansion seemed empty, as if she were the only one left.

She clawed at the floor, forcing herself up once more, staggering up the stairs, the light in her eyes dimming, on the verge of extinguishing.

No… it wasn’t all gone.

There was… there was still Anselm. I still have Anselm… he’s been… the best to me.

“Anselm… Anselm! Anselm… where are you!”

Practically crawling along the railing, Hitana struggled up the stairs, calling out hoarsely in helpless desperation: “Anselm… Anselm, don’t abandon me, you promised…”

You promised you’d… always answer me.

As if responding to her plea, that radiant figure, etched deep in her heart, appeared at the top of the stairs.

“An… Anselm!”

A surge of wild joy overwhelmed Hitana, scattering her despair.

She scrambled up the stairs on all fours, like a believer ascending to paradise, seeking salvation.

“Anselm!”

The exhausted, battered wolf threw herself into Anselm’s arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

In his embrace, she seemed to regain the ability to cry.

Anselm, appearing so timely, wrapped one arm around her waist, the other stroking her head:

“What’s wrong, Hitana?”

“Wuuu… Lina hates me, Lina doesn’t want me anymore.”

The girl wept helplessly, her overwhelming sorrow forcing her to repeat: “She doesn’t want me… doesn’t want me…”

“How could that be?” Anselm comforted her. “Marina wouldn’t abandon you, and neither would I.”

His words instantly calmed Hitana. Through her sobs, she responded softly, “I… I know… Anselm would never abandon me.”

“I… I know I was wrong, it’s all my fault. Anselm, don’t say it’s your fault anymore, it has nothing to do with you.”

Like a puppy, she nuzzled against Anselm’s stomach.

The monster from her dream, capable of battling the Empress and toppling the earth with her fists, now poured everything into proving her worth to Anselm, to tell him—and herself—that she wouldn’t be abandoned.

“Anselm won’t be hated. It’s fine if I’m hated… From now on, I won’t act on my own. Whatever Anselm tells me to do, I’ll do. I won’t think of anything else. Anselm is always the best, always right!”

Clumsily, urgently, as if fearing the pain Marina inflicted, she eagerly displayed her “growth.”

“I’ll never cause Anselm trouble again, so… so Anselm won’t abandon me, right?”

“Of course,” Anselm replied with a smile. “Even if you don’t change, even if you cause more trouble, I’ll keep you by my side.”

This promise fully reassured Hitana.

She stopped crying, and the wolf, having found her place and reliance, let go of everything, nestling in Anselm’s arms, basking in the peace his promise brought.

Yet, in this hope.

In this peace that freed her from all pain, all sorrow, all despair,

Anselm Hydra, the devil from the abyss, leaned down and whispered in Hitana’s ear.

“But you might not stay.”

“…Huh?”

The boy tightened his hold on the girl teetering on the cliff’s edge, not to save her,

But personally… cast her into the irredeemable abyss.

He closed his eyes and said to the now corpse-stiff Hitana: “You know I never lie to you, don’t you, Hitana?”

“Now, you should ask me your question.”

“Ask me.”

Anselm cupped Hitana’s face, gripping her eye corners, forcing her eyelids open, compelling the increasingly terrified, despairing girl to meet his gaze.

“No…” Hitana murmured, trembling. “No… Anselm… no…”

The devil showed no mercy in that moment.

“Hitana, ask me that question.”

“No… no!”

“Ask me why—”

“I don’t want to! I don’t want to ask! Please, Anselm… please, don’t say it. I’ll listen to you, I’ll do anything you say… don’t tell me… don’t tell me!”

“Why didn't I stop you from doing that?”

Hitana collapsed to her knees.

The once-proud, wild, arrogant, willful girl, destined to defy the world and walk the path of absolute dominance as the Azure Wolf Empress, knelt on the ground, pleading in a voice so humble it groveled in the dust:

“Don’t say it… Anselm, please don’t say it… Isn’t this enough? I’ve grown, I won’t make mistakes again… I…”

“Why did the ring on your finger suddenly go out of control?”

“An…selm…”

“Why did the crowd’s riot erupt so quickly? Why didn’t the city guard appear? Why was your conversation with Count Ironstone recorded?”

“…”

“Why did he have the courage to try to ruin my reputation? Why were there so many inconsistencies in what happened three days ago?”

Hitana sat like a puppet, arms limp, head tilted, eyes hollow.

She seemed to force herself to abandon all thought.

Anselm crouched down, placing his hands on her shoulders, speaking gently:

“Hitana, today, you don’t need to ask me.”

“I’ll tell you everything.”

“I’ll tell you, from the start, this was all my design. From the moment you learned of my policies, secretly recording the meeting with Count Ironstone, your shift in attitude and confusion over what to do with the Shadow Crystal, the ring that reads hearts, the aid to the poor, your unilateral actions, and Count Ironstone’s subsequent changes and handling.”

“—Everything was within my expectations and arrangements.”

Anselm gently stroked Hitana’s cheek, whispering:

“Everything you did, every sin you committed, was all my design, all within… the path I set for you.”

“Because I know you. Because I am the one in this world who knows you best.”

“And that’s not all.”

He tenderly pressed his forehead to hers. “Dear Hitana, if everything you’ve experienced recently was my arrangement…”

“Then, from the moment we met until now, everything you’ve gone through…”

“—What reason is there for it to escape my control?”

“…Fake?”

Hitana’s eyes twitched.

Those lifeless eyes met Anselm’s sea-blue gaze.

“All… fake?” Her lips moved, her voice hollow, devoid of emotion.

This was the purest, most absolute despair.

No emotional fluctuations, no sorrow, no pain—only… a dead silence, a pitch-black despair.

“No, not fake, Hitana.”

Anselm’s tone was unprecedentedly earnest. “Everything I’ve done for you, all the emotions I’ve invested, are absolutely real—otherwise, I wouldn’t be telling you this now.”

“Everything is real, absolutely, purely real. It’s the truth of the world operating according to its natural laws, like the cycle of day and night, the rising and setting of the sun.”

“I only guided, never making anything ‘fake’ or ‘unreal.’”

“Like… fate over all beings.”

“And all this—” Hydra grasped the wolf’s hand, “—was only for your growth.”

Growth.

The two words that pierced Hitana’s ears, caused her pain, filled her with despair.

Yet now, after enduring so much suffering, so much immense despair, those two words… stirred ripples in her dead heart.

“Grow…th.” Hitana murmured blankly.

“Yes, growth.”

Anselm, for some reason, closed his eyes and said softly, “The growth you deserve, to become a better you.”

“Hitana, your justice and kindness are self-perceived.”

“I’m not denying your character or actions, but you haven’t seen your true nature.”

“Your kindness isn’t true moral kindness—it stems from a… sense of belonging and closeness to your ‘kind.’”

“You see all those with similar experiences, raised like you, as your kind, so you’re always willing to help them unconditionally, cherish them, draw close to them. To your enemies, the nobles, you harbor unconditional hatred and hostility.”

“That’s your true nature, and I want you to see it.”

Anselm held nothing back. “I want you to realize you were never their kind, that good and evil aren’t as clear-cut as you think. That’s the growth I hope you achieve.”

Growth, growth, growth…

“Ha… haha…”

A flicker of light appeared in her dark red eyes.

Her numb, lifeless face twisted into a smile.

“Growth… haha… growth.”

Those two words stirred not water in Hitana’s heart…

“Hahahahahaha!”

The wolf laughed maniacally. “Growth! Growth! Hahahahaha!”

But fire!

“Growth!”

Despite her mental exhaustion, her soul riddled with holes, her body utterly weary, she suddenly surged up, slamming a ferocious fist into Anselm’s face!

That fire was the savage, unyielding wildness etched in the depths of her soul, burning with… the flames of rage!

“Growth!”

Hitana, having knocked Anselm to the ground with one punch, straddled him, laughing wildly.

With no restraint, intent on beating him to death, she rained fist after fist onto his head.

“Growth! Growth! Growth! Hahahahaha! Anselm! Hydra! The growth you wanted! Growth!”

Laughing and crying, her face twisted in terror and madness, Hitana howled hysterically amidst the gruesome scene of splintered bone and spurting blood and flesh:“This is my… growth!”

“Go die, all of you, just die! You, Lina, you lunatics, you maniacs, hahahahaha… My growth, my everything, what I’ve been through, my… wuu… wuuwuu… hahahahaha!”

“Hydra… Anselm…”

The blood-splattered girl leaned down calmly, pressing against the headless corpse’s chest.

“I know you won’t die, right? This is part of your plan too, isn’t it?”

She closed her eyes, savoring the fading warmth.

“Anselm, I really like you.”

“I’ve grown, just like you wanted.”

After a long, long time, she suddenly opened her eyes, her gaze cold and indifferent.

“But so what?”

The wolf, who had torn through despair with claws and fangs, stood up, looking down at the corpse with indifference.

“So I’ve grown. What does that mean? You think I’ll keep working for a bastard like you?”

“Plan or no plan, I… heh… I don’t care anymore.”

“Go on, keep playing your high-and-mighty game, arranging everyone and everything, Hydra.”

Hitana flicked the blood from her hands, speaking with disinterest: “No need to bother playing house with me anymore. Go keep Marina company. You two must have a lot in common—growth… growth… hahahahaha!”

Laughing, she kicked Anselm’s corpse away, wiping away her final tears with a bloodied hand, and turned to leave.

***

Five minutes after Hitana left, Saville appeared in the corridor, expressionless.

He looked at the bloodstained, horrific murder scene, his eyes twitching, suppressing the rage within.

The old man instantly reached Anselm’s corpse, carefully retrieving a vial of potion from his pocket and injecting it into Anselm’s chest with utmost care.

Within three seconds, Anselm’s head regenerated at a terrifying speed and in a gruesome manner.

“…So this is what dying feels like?”

Anselm touched his face, sighing. “Not pleasant.”

“Young Master,” Saville couldn’t help but ask, “though your life isn’t bound by physical death, without even a single Contract Head, this kind of loss… it’s too great.”

He paused, then said gravely, “I hope Miss Hitana is truly worth this.”

“Hm… hm?”

Anselm blinked, tilting his head. “Worth? If we’re talking worth, why would I let her hit my real body? Does that fool Hitana even know the difference between a high-grade duplicate puppet?”

Saville’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Then you—”

“This…”

Anselm rubbed his temples, murmuring with a mix of confusion and relief:“I find it strange too, Saville.”

“This is probably only the second time in my life I’ve felt guilty about someone.”

He glanced at the blood and brain matter on his body, frowning slightly. “The effect was almost too good. I’ll need to temper her personality better in the future.”

“…” Old Saville didn’t know what to say, only sighing softly.

He even wondered if that wild, savage girl had some succubus blood in her.

“Alright, clean this up. It’s time to move.”

Anselm stretched his neck. “There’s still time before the final act. Well… the final act isn’t all that thrilling, just a natural conclusion, no need for high expectations. But before that, there’s work to be done.”

He muttered to himself, his eyes narrowing slightly:

“Focusing on Hitana’s solo dance these past days, I’ve neglected a lot.”

“The North… heh, the cradle of the Revolutionary Army.”

Aside from the Revolutionary Army themselves, no one believed they could succeed—not even some of their own members.

Yet they did succeed, absurdly, laughably, farcically.

[Fate, if you’re determined to let the Empire fall, to make my entire existence a sacrifice,]

A deep, abyssal hue burned in Hydra’s eyes.

[Then I’ll make it rise again in an even more perfect form… standing for millennia!]

***

Hitana gave herself a quick cleanup and left Anselm’s mansion.

Was she at ease? Not at all. She was deeply sad, in pain, and lost.

But she had grown, in a single moment.

A moment condensed with countless great despairs.

She had lost her sister, the first—and perhaps only—person she ever loved, and had no idea where to go.

“…Go home.”

The girl murmured softly.

Yes, home.

The only thing she had left was home.

Bang!

A stone came from nowhere, striking Hitana’s head.

The wolf tilted her head slightly, her hair covering her eyes.

“You destroyed our homes! Calamity, monster!”

Someone shouted, followed by countless others opening windows, echoing loudly.

In this sudden wave of hatred, Hitana raised her hand while wearing the ring.

“Hatred…”

She sighed softly. “So much hatred.”

The wolf’s figure vanished, reappearing the next moment by a low building’s window, her hand smashing through to drag out a middle-aged man.

He still wore the angry expression from his shouting, unaware of what had happened.

The next second, his eyes bulged, his body curling in pain.

Hitana tossed him to the ground, stepping on his stomach, making him howl in agony.

“That just now…”

The girl’s lips curled into an excited, dangerous grin.

Like a wolf baring its fangs.

“You were throwing the stone, right?”

Bang!

She kicked the man several meters away, then strolled over, bending down to ask, “Was it?”

“I… I…”

“Whatever.”

Hitana scratched her neck. “I did ruin your homes, but—”

She tilted her head, expressionless:“So what?”

“Ultimately, wasn’t it the nobles who killed your families? Why didn’t any of you storm their homes, or the merchants’, but instead flocked to Hydra’s, hating him, hating me?”

Suddenly, no one spoke.

“Ah, I get it.”

Hitana laughed, grabbing the terrified man and slamming a fist into his face, nearly shattering his jaw.

“Because Hydra never hurt you, and I never truly attacked you.”

“That’s… all there is to it.”

In that moment, most of the hatred Hitana felt turned to fear.

“I… saw you as my kind.”

She laughed freely, yet with immense sorrow and pain. “Hydra never lied to me. Not seeing you as my kind… doesn’t that make everything clearer?”

“Growing up is a great thing.”

The wolf scanned the empty streets, the locked doors and windows, facing the silence, facing… the fear born from hatred, and roared:

“You only fear the nobles, but not me or Hydra, so you had that courage. Courage… hahaha! You call that courage?”

Her laughter subsided. Hitana tossed the half-dead man aside, declaring to all who hated her:

“Let me tell you now.”

“You should fear me.”

“You should fear Hitana Lansmarlos!”

Roaring, she crushed the ring she couldn’t remove, shattering it with her bare hands!

“No need for this thing either. Keeping something of his on me feels… disgusting.”

Dressed in her hunter’s outfit, carrying a small pack, Hitana strode forward under countless fearful gazes, heading toward the distance.

Toward where her home was.