Chương 42: Domination
Perhaps it was because multiple investigation had gone without incident that Murata Himeko had forgotten she was facing a Herrscher.
When golden flames began to burn in his eyes, the vast disparity in their life levels was revealed to her for the first time so viscerally. Fine threads pulled, pierced, and entangled her, as if a meticulous master tailor was carefully mending a doll.
This pain was far beyond the erosion of Honkai; it was the threading and stitching of her very soul.
"This is the punishment bestowed upon a betrayer." The redness on his cheeks hadn't even faded yet, but Ren was devoid of any youthful naivete now. He looked down at Himeko, who was curled up on the ground in agony, without a trace of emotion.
Endless kindness would only make people take an inch for a mile. Only when power is truly displayed before them, will they learn to grovel and realize how precious a little kindness is.
"Murata Himeko, you have crossed the line." As his voice fell, the puppet threads suddenly snapped, and countless cracks burst open all over Himeko's body, leaving countless cuts that immediately stained the table red with blood. The food, which was still somewhat appetizing, was now covered in dark red.
Like a discarded, broken toy, Murata Himeko struggled even to breathe. Every inch of her skin was sending signals of pain, even her long red hair had become ugly with the splatter of blood. She lay weakly on the ground like a corpse, one of her dull orange-red eyes soaked in blood, the other staring at the boy standing next to her.
This time, she finally understood that no matter how much the boy had been through, no matter if he seemed tolerant of her probes, the true bottom line had always been there. Once crossed, she wouldn't be facing a boy, but the Herrscher of Dominance.
How did it come to this? Was it Ren's tolerance of her constant tests? Was it the fact that she was not punished for being discovered when searching for clues that caused her to relax her guard? Or was it because she was still trying to interact with him as a St. Freya teacher?
She had probably become a little too complacent.
Her mind was filled with such thoughts, then her vision faded to black.
After Himeko fainted, the golden light in Ren's eyes slowly dissipated. He lightly swiped his fingers in the air, and an Imaginary Space rift opened. A puppet holding a medical kit walked out, carefully stopping Himeko's bleeding and applying medicine.
Using the past as bait and kindness as a shackle could deepen the bond with a puppet, but kindness alone could not sustain this grand performance.
Ren needed a controllable puppet, not a kind friend.
Humans were complex beings. When you chose to give them an inch, they would try to take a mile; it was a primal instinct born of greed. Even kindness, once they grew accustomed to it, would turn into pure evil when it stopped.
If Ren simply assigned her a role without any deterrents, it wouldn't be long before Himeko thought that his authority was negligible. If she were to rebel and secretly help his enemies, even if he could erase her, it wouldn't undo the damage. Not only would he have lost a high-level combatant, but his enemies would also be alerted to his presence.
Therefore, he had to tame her in advance. The method of taming passed down for thousands of years was simple: the carrot and the stick. Give her hope, let her believe that by staying with Ren, she could help the children—that was the carrot. Give her despair; when she defied Ren's interests, punish her with swift and thunderous blows—that was the stick.
Only in this way could he firmly grasp the puppet in his hand, driving her toward Ren's goal without breeding resentment. She would instead pat herself on the back for securing a sliver of hope for the children in a desperate situation created by Ren.
Controlling a puppet was never the key; controlling people's hearts was what made a Herrscher.
…
After confirming that Murata Himeko could no longer escape his control, Ren turned his attention to the current state of ARC City.
Two days had passed since Ren had spread Kiana's photos. Even with the difficulty of obtaining a Shenzhou travel permit, Schicksal and the Hyperion should have arrived in the city by now.
Although he had used Gray Serpent's name, this was also a gift to Gray Serpent. In the original plan, World Serpent was already prepared to make contact with Schicksal, they just lacked an opportunity. And the information Ren provided was the perfect bait.
Therefore, even if he suspected Ren's identity, he would definitely take this opportunity to start negotiations with Schicksal.
Snap.
With a snap of Ren's fingers, a hooded man leaning against a wall in an alleyway had a golden glint in his eyes. He looked up, watching a huge transport plane fly overhead. Under the faint moonlight, the emblem resembling the Chinese character [非] was clearly visible on the plane.
"Schicksal's S-rank Valkyrie, Rita Rossweisse…" Ren muttered to himself.
Though in his memories, this noble S-rank didn't seem to have a very glamorous record – like letting Mei, who was only B-rank, escape from her, or leading a group to surround Kiana, who was only A-rank and still being held back by Sirin, yet still having them escape unscathed, or easily being drugged, almost letting Jackal's combat weapon capture her...
Cough cough, now was not the time to dwell on these things. She was a genuine S-rank, even if she had some setbacks, they were only temporary, right?
Controlling the Chris puppet, Ren quickly left the alley. Now, the entire city was under the surveillance of Gray Serpent's human-like robots. To get any advantage from both Schicksal and World Serpent, he had to be careful.
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