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nBeneath the cloak of night, Seraphina aimlessly wandered outside the village. Her vacant gaze rendered her akin to a soulless corpse, her desolation and emptiness surpassing even the solitude she felt trudging through the heavy snow in Red Frost territory. For at that moment, she was subjected to the torment of morality, the torture of faith, and the slaughter of ideals.

nYet at this juncture, the accumulation of all that Seraphina had endured over the days was… even more brutal, an unrelenting cruelty.

nIt was the destruction of her very self at its root.

nThe Seraphina reflected in her own eyes and the Seraphina perceived by the world were no longer the same entity. In the eyes of her beloved, she was no longer the village’s finest hunter, nor the hot-tempered child, nor the prodigy who might have had a promising future but had squandered it. In this village, in the eyes of all those she loved, everything Seraphina Marlowe had experienced before… held no value anymore. For she was reduced to a single attribute — a vassal of Hydral.

nWhat remained of Seraphina was not her loved ones, nor their love for her. In their boundless love, they saw her efforts as atonement for Hydral, as groveling before Hydral, binding her sorrow, joy, anger, and numbness all to Hydral. She had become a person born for Hydral, a parasite she despised — that’s how she was seen in the eyes of her loved ones. And what was even more absurd was that, unknowingly… the reality had become just that. Just as the phantom of Hydral had said to her —

n“Isn’t that the truth?”

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nSeraphina Marlowe was dead. The proud, confident fool who dared to challenge any authority, the wild beast, was killed by everything she loved. Nothing mattered anymore. Her worth, her existence, from now on… in the eyes of everything she cherished, she would live only for Hydral.

nWhen Seraphina’s spirit had died, a deep, hoarse voice suddenly echoed from ahead.

n“Has it come to this?”

nIn the darkness, a figure as robust as a beast and towering enough to inspire awe slowly emerged. Seraphina gave him a numb glance, said nothing, and continued to walk forward.

n“This is… the means and spirit of Hydral, impressive.” The man crossed his arms and said in a deep voice, “When your name was heard in Red Frost territory, we began to study you, Seraphina Marlowe.” “From your birth to now, all your information, twenty-six people, working seven days and nights without sleep, have completed an absolute understanding of you.” “At the same time, we have been paying attention to all of Hydral’s movements, not missing any information since he set foot in Red Frost territory.” “In the end, we came to an unthinkable conclusion.”

nBound by an invisible force, Seraphina listened to this robust man, this “Snow Beast” who had been taken in by the village, say: “All of Hydral’s high-profile actions from the beginning to now were to gather public opinion to the maximum extent. And this public opinion is of no use to him, but… it is very useful to you, Marlowe.” “Under him, you, who are reckless, arrogant, and restless, will undoubtedly make countless mistakes with his indulgence. And do these mistakes have anything to do with Hydral?” “— Of course not, when Hydral’s reputation is soaring, soaring to a point where almost no one would think he is wrong, all his actions are correct. And you, who are divergent from him, no matter what you think or do, can only be wrong, can only be denied.”

nThe “Snow Beast” stepped towards Seraphina, looking down at her expressionlessly: “Everything Hydral has done over more than a month is to turn the entire Red Frost territory into a prison that only confines you.” “To achieve this, the connection of various events, the control of your mentality, the foresight of the situation, the understanding of the entire Red Frost territory…”

nThe Snow Beast closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again, his pupils flickering with intense fanaticism: “This is… Ansel of Hydral! The true regulator and… ruler we need, who can perfectly establish a new country after overthrowing the empire!”

n“…What, do you want to say?” Seraphina’s voice was incredibly hollow, “Do you want to emphasize the greatness of Hydral to me? I probably understand him better than you, better than anyone in the world.” “No, I’m just making you understand the cause and effect before I make a request.”

nThe Snow Beast calmly said, “So, let me introduce myself. I come from the ‘New World’, that is, the revolutionary army. You can continue to call me Snow Beast, or…” “Wendigo.”

n“We now lack a visionary, with extraordinary erudition, who possesses transcendent insights into the empire and even the entire human social system.”

nWendigo, though robust in stature, spoke with a calm tone, not imposing undue pressure: “Destruction alone is insufficient. The new realm built on the knowledge of this era is destined to repeat the same mistakes.” “We need a genius, one capable of conceiving a society that transcends the decaying structure of the empire and puts an end to this foolish cycle.” “Hydral’s domain is undoubtedly the most indisputable paradise on earth within the empire. From the moment he took over the management of Flamelle’s territory until now, we have infiltrated sixteen people, thirteen of whom have defected, and three have even counter-infiltrated us.” “Without a doubt,” Wendigo said, pausing between each word, “Ansel of Hydral is the genius we need.”

n“So, what does this have to do with me?” Seraphina still looked at Wendigo with her hollow eyes, “Do you want to prove his greatness to me so that I submit to him?”

n“No, quite the opposite.” Wendigo took another step forward, and under the moonlight, his massive shadow almost completely enveloped Seraphina. “You must not become his pact head; we will do everything we can to prevent Hydral from having a pact head.” Wendigo’s voice was cold and hard as iron at this moment: “A complete Hydral is a disaster for humanity, no less than Flamefeast. Flamefeast needs to be destroyed, and so does Hydral.” “But fortunately… this generation’s Hydral, Ansel of Hydral, has not yet possessed a pact head, and Flamelle’s life is coming to an end. As long as we ensure that Ansel still has no pact head when Flamelle falls, we can safely cooperate with him to overthrow the empire and create a new world.” “Seraphina Marlowe, Hydral’s intentions towards you undoubtedly indicate that he sees you as a pact head.”

nThe man raised his hand and emotionlessly said:

n“So now, I give you two choices.” “First, watch me destroy your village and kill everyone in it.” “Second, commit suicide right now.”

nSeraphina looked at the monstrous figure before her, and her already dead and hollow heart stirred slightly. But it was not out of anger or fear, but rather… absurdity.

n“Haha… hahaha…” Seraphina did not laugh loudly, but rather convulsed with laughter, completely devoid of reason.

nWhat has become of this world? Nobles, Hydral, the revolutionary army. The revolutionary army, which claims to overthrow the decaying rule of the empire, wants to force her to commit suicide by killing everything she loves. All just to prevent Hydral from having that pact head, to keep him from becoming too powerful, so that he… can join the revolutionary army?

nAnd the nobles… have been helping her village all along, providing them with extravagant resources without asking for anything in return. Even if it was for Hydral’s sake, they made the village a better place.

nHydral… what about Hydral? He is the object of both sides’ courtship and competition. The nobles flatter him, and the revolutionary army boasts about him.

n“You may not believe that Hydral is willing to join the revolutionary army, but I can tell you that Hydral has never stood with the empire, nor is he tied to the emperor.” “He only stands with those who can give him rationality, and that’s all.” Wendigo raised his head slightly, his confidence and composure beyond doubt: “And we have the confidence to give him what he needs.” “So… do I have to die?” Seraphina laughed, “Haha, am I going to die for this?” She no longer knew what words to use to describe the absurdity she had heard, or perhaps the girl who had lost her reason had almost no interest in thinking about these things anymore.

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