Taming the Protagonist

Chapter 75 : Fate · Future · Part One

Anselm stroked Hitana’s head, saying gently: “It’s been a while, Hitana.”

His voice and form were so clear and distinct in Hitana’s eyes, no longer the blurry illusion of her dreams or the empty phantoms she saw in her collapse these past days.

Before Hitana stood the real, tangible Anselm Hydra.

The dagger fell to the ground, and the trembling girl could no longer suppress her emotions, throwing herself into his arms and sobbing uncontrollably.

All the loneliness, fear, despair, and… the lack of understanding, the self-denial of these days poured out in that moment.

She desperately tried to stop crying, to not be so weak and pathetic, but her tears and sobs wouldn’t cease.

“Anselm… Anselm…”

The wolf, who had lost everything, even herself, clung tightly to Anselm, embracing the only thing… she truly had left.

“You saved me again… once more…”

The girl, so frail in that moment, murmured in shame and humility, her trembling body unable to stop.

“It wasn’t I who saved you, Hitana, it was you who saved yourself.”

Anselm cradled Hitana’s face, saying softly:“The mark on you only activates when you refuse to give up on life, only when you don’t want to perish, will I come to your side.”

He lowered his head, gently pressing his forehead against Hitana’s:“Only if you don’t give up on yourself will I not give up on you.”

“…But.”

Hitana’s tear-filled eyes held both reassurance and a trace of confusion.

Not give up… on myself.

But I had already—

“Alright, now it’s time for our private conversation.”

Anselm let go of Hitana temporarily but still held her hand, turning to face the boundless night:

“So, I’ll need the irrelevant parties to leave.”

“Wendigo, leader of the New World’s Dark Tide unit.”

Anselm’s voice was calm, yet in that calmness was a terrifying pressure only the strong could sense.

It was an absolute oppression, undiminished even after splitting himself into nine, originating from the apocalyptic beast Hydra at the sixth stage of the [Abyss], the [Endpoint] tier!

“One of the eleven fifth-stage commanders of the New World, a staunch supporter of the destruction faction, a master of illusion.”

He couldn’t help but laugh, as if the reality was too absurd: “A figure like you, willing to toil as a laborer in this village for so long just to force Hitana to kill herself—should I admire your resolve or lament your indifference?”

“…Hydra.”

Wendigo’s low voice echoed from all directions.

“What?Just calling my name, still not showing yourself?”

Anselm raised an eyebrow slightly.

“Only a fool would make pointless gambles at this moment.”

Wendigo’s presence seemed to melt into the night, his voice omnipresent:“No one knows what you’re capable of, or to what extent… just as I thought my barrier had blocked everything, yet you still appeared by Lans’s side.”

“Because people learn from their lessons.”

Anselm said cryptically: “When you’ve been hurt deeply enough, you either avoid what can harm you or do everything to… prevent that harm in advance, don’t you?”

Wendigo fell silent briefly, then nodded in understanding: “I see… if that’s the case, it makes sense that you put so much effort into ‘protection.’”

“What do you want to say to me?”

Anselm said leisurely, not forgetting to gently stroke Hitana: “If you want to leave, I can’t stop you.”

Wendigo fell silent again, seemingly weighing something carefully.

“…No, I don’t think the time is right yet.

If I had to say something, it would be just one thing.”

“Hydra, we are not your enemies.I believe you know this well—your clan’s true enemy, the only one, has always been one thing.”

“Not the Empress, not the Empire, not me, but the madness that erodes you, the abyss that devours you.”

Then, no more sound came.

The faint moonlight under the deep night grew clearer, the barrier enveloping the surroundings dissipated, signaling Wendigo’s complete withdrawal.

And… the two strikingly realistic corpses on the ground vanished as well.

“Yota?Carver?!”

Hitana’s pupils contracted sharply, and she instinctively tried to crawl over on hands and knees, but Anselm held her back.

“Don’t worry, they weren’t real.Your friends are still out there looking for you.”

The young Hydra smiled reassuringly: “I told you, Wendigo is the Empire’s foremost master of illusion.Without some effort, even I, as I am now, could be deceived, let alone you.”

“So… so!”

Hitana clutched Anselm’s sleeve tightly, the hope and longing in her eyes so vivid: “They’re okay? They’re fine, right?”

Anselm sighed: “It might have been a bit much… but it doesn't matter.”

Though he said this, he patiently repeated: “Your friends, your family, none of them were harmed.

The destruction faction may be dangerous radicals, but they’re not yet extreme enough to do that.

He was only trying to force you to comply, to make you kill yourself.”

At this point, Anselm couldn’t help but chuckle lightly: “He could have directly cast the spell on your soul, but he still chose to create physical illusions.That’s cautious enough.”

Hitana, learning that her family and friends would no longer face any harm, had completely lost her strength.

If Anselm hadn’t been holding her, she would have collapsed limply to the ground.

Thank goodness… it’s all over.

No one was hurt, no one died, everything ended in the best possible way.

Ah, no, there’s still me.

Should I show Anselm something at this moment?

Hitana gazed at that face she hated, loved, and could never lose again, opening her mouth.

Show Anselm my loyalty… erase myself, willingly let Anselm dominate me, a loyalty where being a puppet is fine.

Hitana’s grip on Anselm’s hem tightened, and kneeling on the ground, she trembled all over.

Should I bow down, kiss Anselm’s feet, and tell him I’m nothing anymore, just his possession?

The girl tried to bend her waist, but no matter how hard she tried, her body only bent slightly amid the trembling.

No matter how much her heart yielded to Anselm, how much she fawned over him, her body, herself, the dignity Anselm acknowledged… resisted it all fiercely.

I should do this, but… I don’t want to.

“Anselm…”

The pitiful wolf, who had lost everything, looked up, gazing at her devil with pleading eyes: “Do I have to… do this to stay—”

“Can you stand, Hitana?”

A gentle voice sounded in her ear.

“…Huh?Oh?I… yes, I can.”

Hitana clumsily wiped away the tears welling up again in her eyes, struggling to stand with Anselm’s support.

“Let’s take a walk around your village.”

Anselm didn’t mention anything about “loyalty,” “self,” or “conditioning,” but simply said this, smiling as he took Hitana’s hand: “It’s nighttime, but that has its own charm, doesn’t it?”

“…Okay.”

Hitana responded softly, her expression dazed, unsure how to reply.

So Anselm led her, strolling around the village.

“Though those fawning types changed its look, I remember most places clearly, and so do you, Hitana, right?”

Anselm remarked, pointing to a large, withered tree: “When you were five, you climbed this tree, fell, and were fine, but you scared Marina to tears.”

Hitana froze, her mind quickly recalling the memory—Marina’s crying and her frantic comforting, all so vivid.

But… How did Anselm know this?

The young man continued leading the increasingly bewildered girl through the snow, recounting, as if they were treasures, countless little moments from Hitana’s life since birth, some so trivial she’d forgotten them herself.

“At nine, in winter, you had a snowball fight here with Ruiyota and a few others.You made two boys cry, and Ruiyota followed you, laughing her head off.After that winter, they stopped playing snowball fights with you.”

“At ten, in summer, you and Marina snuck to that lake to swim, got caught by your Uncle Lart, and were scolded harshly when brought home.”

“At ten, in winter, you brought back a huge wild boar, shouting excitedly, drawing the whole village.You still keep its tusks in your bedroom as a keepsake, right?”

“At twelve, in spring, you were heading to Tianlu Tower for school, and the whole village saw you off.”

“At sixteen, this year.”

Anselm looked at Hitana, speaking with a mix of nostalgia: “You and Marina were taken by Count Chishuang.

The next day, I arrived in Chishuang City, and to curry favor, before he could enjoy you, he handed you over to me.”

“Anselm… I…”

Hitana’s mind was in chaos: “You… have you been watching me from long ago?”

“Watching?No, not that.Before you were ten, I didn’t even know you existed.”

Anselm shook his head with a smile.

“But, but why—”

“Want to know the answer?”

The young Hydra stood in the wind and snow, letting go of Hitana’s hand.

Hitana instinctively reached to grab it, but Anselm dodged.

A fear of abandonment surged, but before she could plead, she met Anselm’s eyes.

It was a seriousness she’d never seen in his gaze, and…

Resolve.

“Hitana,” Anselm gazed at the girl who had endured so much suffering, “do you hate me?”

“I, I don’t, I wouldn’t—”

Hitana instinctively tried to deny it; she could no longer hate Anselm now.

“Answer me with your heart, Hitana.”

Anselm’s voice grew cold: “Do you truly hate me, or rather… hate everything I’ve done to you?”

“Do you hate me for toying with your soul, trampling your life, hate all my ‘arrangements’ for you?”

“…”

In the night and snow, Hitana’s body trembled uncontrollably.

Not from the cold, but from something… she couldn’t put into words.

At that moment, Hitana sensed something.

She felt her answer would decide her future, her life from here on.

“Hitana, ans—”

Bang!

Once again, Anselm was grabbed by the collar and pinned to the ground by Hitana.

But this time, Hitana wasn’t frenzied or irrational.

Though her actions gave her answer, there was no trace of “hatred” in her demeanor.

Only… sorrow.

“Yes, I hate you, Anselm.”

The girl’s waist gradually bent, her head resting on Anselm’s chest, speaking softly:“I hate you, hate all the so-called arrangements you made for me, hate that you had to tell me yourself.”

“You already had everything of me, so why did you have to tell me?”

She slightly raised her face, her heartbroken and sorrowful expression causing Anselm’s gaze to falter briefly.

“So I understand—you want me to willingly submit to you, right?To abandon even the last shred of dignity and self, knowing how you’ve toyed with me, right?”

Her voice trembled: “So now, you ask me this to get my answer, right?”

Hot tears soaked Anselm’s shirt.

“I want to say… I really want to say, you've won, take everything from me, as long as you still let me stay by your side.”

“But… but…”

Hitana raised her head, tears streaming, nearly howling as she shouted: “Does it have to be like this?Why… why can’t I stand by your side with my own will?”

“Anselm… I don’t want this.”

“…I hate you.”

Hitana poured out her heart to Anselm.

Even in that moment, when she was so desperate she’d willingly abandon herself and become a puppet—

Deep in her heart, she still held that unwillingness.

That hatred.

Hatred for having her life toyed with, hatred for Anselm pushing her to this despair.

She recognized her weakness, her smallness, but even so, she didn’t want to abandon herself and become a puppet controlled by Anselm.

In the depths of the despairing wolf’s soul, that wild beast still roared unwillingly.

Why does it have to be this way?

Why am I left with no choice?

Now, she has spoken her true feelings.

The girl released Anselm’s collar limply, a pale smile tugging at her lips.

It was over, or perhaps her resistance was within Anselm’s expectations?

Would he comfort her next, winning her gratitude and loyalty in another way?

But it didn’t matter anymore.

As long as she held onto herself for even a day… Hitana, as an individual, could never accept Anselm’s control.

Like an unsolvable deadlock.

A deadlock Anselm left her with, unsolvable for him too.

But… was that the truth?

Was this the outcome of this intricate series of events?

In Hitana’s dark red eyes, Anselm’s face was reflected.

Under her pained and bewildered gaze, that face… broke into a smile.

“Well done, Hitana.”

He reached out, stroking the despairing, broken girl, closing his eyes with relief:“This is what I wanted to hear, your hatred.”

Hitana stared blankly at Anselm’s serene smile, overwhelmed by an incomprehensible sense of absurdity.

“What do you mean… this is what you wanted to hear?”

A spark of life flickered in Hitana’s soul, and she gripped Anselm’s collar tightly, saying urgently:

“Anselm, what do you want me to do?”

“Hitana.”

The young Hydra opened his eyes again, gazing at her with the same solemnity and resolve.

“You hate me for all the arrangements I’ve made for you this past month, hate me for trampling your life.”

“So, what if I told you that everything you’ve experienced from birth until now was planned, just like what I’ve done to you?”

“…Are you insane?”

Hitana’s lips trembled: “Are you using such absurd words to excuse yourself?”

“I’m not excusing myself, Hitana.”

Anselm held Hitana’s face, making her look into his sea-blue eyes.

“I’m only stating this—if everything in your life was controlled by some being, if all your joy, sorrow, delight, and pain were driven by that being, if all the despair you’ve endured was ‘fated’—”

The young Hydra, in that moment, bared his true fangs, a… hatred so familiar to Hitana.

“Would you hate that being as you hate me… no, would your hatred for It be a thousand, a million times greater than for me?”

Hitana didn’t collapse, because Anselm’s words were too absurd, too absurd for her to respond.

“I know words alone can’t make you trust me.”

Anselm smiled, pulling a ring from his pocket.

“This is…”

Hitana looked at the ring in Anselm’s hand in disbelief: “This is that—”

“The heart-stealing ring you destroyed.I had my father reforge it, adding new functions.”

“As long as I allow it, you can see everything revealed in my heart, including the images of my thoughts.”

Anselm personally placed the ring on Hitana’s finger, then continued gazing into her eyes.

He gripped Hitana’s hand tightly, saying word by word: “Hitana, what I achieve depends entirely on whether you believe what you see, on whether you believe me.”

“Now, Anselm Hydra opens his memory and soul to you.”

“I’ve come to show you what your future, your fate, would have been when I arrived in Chishuang Territory, when Hydra had never meddled in your life.”

In my stunned gaze, Anselm said with a radiant smile:“Hitana, this is the first utterly reckless gamble of my life.”

“All I can do is trust that you’ll believe me.”