Volume 2

Chapter 29: The Irresistible Represented by the Snake

Atop the tallest clock tower in the black market, Anselm’s group sat on the roof’s edge.

Hitana clung close to Anselm, while Marina, face slightly flushed, was held in her tall, athletic sister’s arms.

“Marina,” Anselm said gently, stroking Laurence’s head, “How about a game?”

Marina, slightly uneasy in her sister’s embrace, brightened, “Of course, Mr. Anselm.”

“Imagine you’re Mr. Hyena.”

The young Hydra gazed down at the bustling Black Street, the surging tides of shadow fully in his view.

He turned, locking eyes with Marina, “How many things would you need to do?”

“To keep it fair, you can ask me anything Mr. Hyena would know, and I’ll answer.”

The snow-haired girl in a black dress, her demeanor refined, gazed at the streets below.

Though not a transcendent, barely able to discern passing figures, her mind conjured complex scenes.

“…The first thing, of course, is to ensure I complete Mr. Anselm’s task.”

Marina murmured softly, “Mr. Hyena… no, since I’m so eager to sell myself to you, I must be at a dead end, unable to find anyone to back me… Though, it’s possible some factions are still watching, waiting for me to fall, half-dead, to seize maximum profit.”

“So, I must deliver a result that satisfies you after your investment.”

“Good,” Anselm smiled, flicking the lazy rat lounging on his lap, wagging its tail, “Laurence, show Marina the black market’s situation… focus on Hyena’s cleanup of other slave markets.”

Laurence stood on its hind legs, stretching its paws oddly, “Easy, Young Lord, give me a moment…”

Hitana stared at the animated Laurence, unable to resist asking, “Laurence, is the Rat King they mentioned you?”

“Hm?”

Laurence tilted its small head, “Why would you think that, Miss Hitana?”

“Because it’s a rat!” she said, as if it were obvious.

“It’s just a title, a title,” Laurence waved a paw, “That Hyena isn’t a dog either. I’m far too busy for games in the black market… Oh! Done.”

With a wave, several large light screens appeared in the air, each showing different scenes.

In Laurence’s tiny crimson eyes, even more images reflected.

“So cool…” Hitana gazed at the dazzling screens, her obsession with not becoming the Head of Devouring lingering, “Laurence seems to know everything.”

“Just borrowing the perspectives of other rats in the black market,” Laurence said, flopping back onto Anselm’s lap, “A small trick.”

Though it said so, its tail wagged happily.

“Can Laurence control other rats?”

“It’s the ‘beast’ element, after all,” the smug rat said, “A remarkable element, among the most important of the countless ones the Hydras hold.”

“…Really?” Hitana scratched her head, skeptical, “Doesn’t seem that great. Isn’t it just for fighting?”

“The ‘beast’ element extends to so much—domination, devouring, growth, frenzy… That’s why the Head of Devouring has such capacity,” Laurence said proudly, tail raised, “Can I fight like Tyr or Tornado? No, but I’m the most versatile Contract Head under the boss, capable of anything!”

Hitana’s heart itched, yearning to try the Head of Devouring’s power, but she could only dream.

Anselm didn’t interrupt Hitana and Laurence’s chatter, his gaze fixed on Marina’s profile.

From his angle, the transformed girl looked so focused on the screens, exuding a captivating, almost ethereal beauty.

It wasn’t mere physical allure but the charm of her accumulated knowledge, evolving intellect, and refined demeanor—a beauty that seeped into the soul.

Marina, lost in thought, didn’t notice Anselm’s gaze.

Though Laurence minimized the screens, processing over a dozen as a mortal was overwhelming.

“…Mr. Laurence,” she said suddenly, “Can you reduce the screens?”

“Huh? Sure,” Laurence, chatting happily with Hitana, looked up, surprised, “How many?”

“Can you tell which slave markets are controlled by whom?”

“Uh… that’s tricky,” Laurence scratched its head, “Rat brains don’t hold that much. I might not find it.”

“Then… keep the scenes of the most luxurious slave markets, five will do.”

The screens shifted, Laurence following Marina’s request, leaving five slave market scenes.

After a brief look, Marina said, “Mr. Anselm, I’d launch a main assault on these slave markets.”

She pointed to the most lavish one, its decor rivaling Hyena’s.

“Since I’m taking on all other factions, I’d strike the strongest opponent first with maximum force to gain the upper hand… But conquering alone isn’t enough. This is a market, and its leaders are businessmen, so—”

“Mr. Laurence,” Marina kept her eyes on the screens, “Can you show Mr. Hyena’s movements? If I were him, I’d be meeting one of the other three leaders now, or…”

The ordinary girl’s gaze sharpened, “Holding a meeting with ill intentions.”

Laurence quickly brought up a new screen.

As Marina predicted, our protagonist, Mr. Hyena, sat at a round table.

Across from him was a gaunt, sinister man; to his left, a cold woman with a vertical scar over her left eye; to his right, a corpulent man.

“Whoa, that’s…” Laurence’s jaw dropped, showing sharp teeth, stunned, “That accurate?”

“Of course! Lina’s the smartest!” Hitana said proudly, then whispered, “Well, maybe a tiny bit less than Anselm.”

“Mr. Anselm, who’s the man across from Mr. Hyena?”

“Vulture.”

“Then that lady is Miss Lan Zhi, and the other is Rat King…”

Marina mused, “How do their forces compare to Mr. Hyena’s?”

“Hyena controls nearly half the black market, but what he can truly mobilize, not just nominally, is about a third. The other three leaders hold the remaining two-thirds.”

Anselm smiled at Marina, “What do you think?”

“Mr. Anselm’s Faust identity can’t compare to Grand Duke Sainthue. Though you guarantee no upper-level interference, that’s only for upper-level issues.”

“In our ‘agents’ conflicts… even with Sainthue’s support, my forces are limited. To monopolize the slave market, I’d need to pay a price in other areas.”

“Profit.”

Marina murmured, staring at the screen, her interlocked fingers raising an index finger.

On the screen, Hyena grinned, pushing a radiant gem to the table’s center, leaning back casually.

“Miss Lan Zhi, a former slave, restricts her people from this trade, so my rivals are Rat King and Vulture. They can’t align because, since I dominate the slave market, one of them must hold a smaller share, caring less about it.”

“Mr. Anselm, how’s the relationship between Vulture and Rat King?”

“Hostile competitors.”

“Then, if the offered profit tempts both but isn’t enough to split, what follows is…”

Her slender, pale middle fingers touched, and the murmuring girl pressed them to her lips, saying softly, “Division.”

Hyena, chatting easily, leaned forward slightly, pushing the glowing gem toward Rat King.

The corpulent man smiled broadly, reaching for it, but Vulture slammed the table, sending the gem back to the center.

“Vulture won’t let me expand the slave market, squeezing his profits, nor let Rat King, who doesn’t prioritize it, gain valuable compensation.”

“And Rat King… won’t accept missing this deal.”

Her ring fingers, nails faintly pink, met. Marina, gaining control, nodded slightly, “Conflict.”

Rat King slowly turned to face Vulture, his fleshy face cold, while Vulture sneered, mocking Rat King’s shortsightedness.

Hitana stared at the screen, watching Marina’s calm, prophetic words come true, finding it unbelievable.

“Hiss…”

Laurence, worldly-wise, gasped, “Young Lord never misjudges anyone…”

Who was Hyena?

In a city teeming with the Empire’s noblest lords and strongest transcendents, he dominated the black market—a remarkable businessman.

Though reliant on Grand Duke Sainthue’s influence, other leaders had backers too.

On the surface, it was about ability, and Hyena’s was evident.

Laurence, a curious rat, cared deeply about Anselm’s Contract Heads and companions.

After arriving in the Imperial Capital, especially after Hitana’s display before the Contract Heads, it investigated the sisters.

Hitana was a peerless combat prodigy, a monster bearing two Contract Head powers, acknowledged by all present Contract Heads and Flamel himself.

But Marina… Laurence saw nothing special, just a smart person.

Did Anselm lack smart people?

No, he was the smartest. So Marina seemed just a lackey for odd jobs.

Yet, could an ordinary village girl, in mere months, grow to perfectly replicate a black market leader’s mindset?

“As for what’s next…”

The “businessmen’s” meeting turned contentious.

Marina shifted her gaze to other slave markets.

“This isn’t a true ‘market.’ In its man-made chaotic order, underhanded tactics are legitimate, so it’s time for my initial assault.”

Boom!

An explosion roared from a shop below.

Hitana jumped, but Marina remained focused, watching the chaotic scenes on the screen.

Hyena’s thugs stormed into the slave markets controlled by Vulture, catching those establishments completely off guard.

“The final, and decisive key, comes from the transcendent…”

Marina pressed her last fingers together, speaking calmly and assuredly:

“Power.”

Bang!

At the moment when tensions between Rat King and Vulture were reaching a breaking point, Hyena suddenly slammed a dagger into the table.

He stood up, a ferocious grin spreading across his savage face, brimming with cruel madness.

“The fact that he forcibly swept through the slave markets has been established. Now, Vulture and Rat King have only two choices: either fight back or accept Hyena’s deal.”

“If it were me,” Marina, with her fingers now fully interlocked, smiled, “I wouldn’t tell them I’d found a new backer. I’d let them think this was my desperate, final stand before going mad… Unless they’re truly willing to risk everything, businessmen won’t fight a lunatic to the death.”

“Promised unequal benefits to the dissenters.”

Rat King and Vulture both stared silently at the gem on the table, saying nothing.

“A thunderous strike that allows no reaction.”

Hyena’s thugs had essentially steamrolled the major slave markets.

Who could have imagined that a man who’d lost his backer, with nowhere left to turn, would suddenly go berserk and target the slave markets specifically?

“The tyrannical power of a madman.”

The dagger nailed to the table reflected Hyena’s fearless, cruel, and frenzied grin.

Marina let out a slow breath, feeling her blood surge, her wildly beating heart swelling with a tide of pride and satisfaction.

“This is my answer.”

The girl turned to Anselm, smiling brightly. “I’ve completed your command, Mr. Anselm. Did I win?”

“Very good, Marina. Very good.”

Anselm clapped his hands with delight. “Better than I imagined, more perfect… You lacked much information—Hyena’s personality, his behavior, the other leaders’ traits—yet without asking me, you built a usable image in your mind. Did you confirm it when Hyena and I spoke?”

“Yes, from his appearance, physique, speech, choices, and accomplishments… Mr. Hyena must be a meticulous thinker, yet utterly ruthless, with the resolve to burn his bridges. As for the other leaders… I could only assume they weren’t fools.”

Marina gave a shy smile. “I just got lucky and guessed right.”

“This isn’t luck. It’s the result of accumulated learning and growth… As I said, Marina, you have remarkable talent.”

Anselm smiled and patted Marina’s head, making the usually composed and elegant girl happily squint her eyes.

“But…”

His next soft words caused Marina’s expression to stiffen slightly.

“Next,” the young Hydra said, “it’s my turn.”

“You…”

“I said this is a game between you and me. Since you’ve made your move, I should respond, shouldn’t I? I’m not planning to let Mr. Hyena live so comfortably.”

Anselm chuckled lightly. “Though it’s my turn now, in truth, even earlier…”

In the meeting scene, Rat King and Vulture, looking grim, exchanged glances. Then… smiles slowly crept onto their faces, soon turning into mocking laughter.

Before Vulture or Marina could grasp what was happening, a sudden upheaval erupted in the slave markets controlled by Hyena’s men.

Assassins, seemingly pre-positioned, sprang from the shadows, catching Hyena’s complacent subordinates off guard.

They’d taken the markets with apparent ease and let their vigilance slip, only to be slaughtered in disarray. Even those with fighting strength gradually fell behind and were forced to flee in disgrace.

“This…” Marina stared at the screen in disbelief.

“How could this happen? Hyena… Is there a traitor among my trusted allies? Was my plan completely exposed?”

Interests alone only sparked disputes among rivals, not enough to deliver a decisive blow.

For Hyena to truly dominate the slave markets, he relied on the fait accompli of his aggressive move.

Even with the support of Grand Duke Sainthue, he couldn’t stably annex all the markets.

Switching to “Faust” as a backer wouldn’t change that.

The only chance… lay in this seemingly insane yet interest-driven strike, enough to make Vulture and Rat King back off.

The ruthlessness of this blow lay in its unpredictability—no one expected Hyena to dare such a move.

But conversely… if it was exposed, the plan would not only be meaningless but would cost Hyena much of his elite forces.

Anselm waved a hand, laughing lightly. “No, there’s no traitor among you. This is just a…”

“Coincidence.”

He snapped his fingers, and a plain-looking man appeared before Marina.

“Remember him?”

“That’s… the seller of the fake gem!”

“After he changed his appearance and inexplicably followed us, I kept an eye on him and read his mind.”

“In short, as a fence, he worked under Vulture. Shocked by your keen eye, Marina, he thought of recruiting me as a client for Vulture, hoping to gain some profit… Then he saw us walk into Hyena’s slave market.”

As Anselm spoke, Hyena, with a grim expression, tossed the gem aside and left.

“He didn’t want Hyena to grow stronger, and thinking I might be someone important, he wanted to connect with me quickly and introduce Vulture. But… my flamboyant behavior at the auction made him wary of the risk of exposure, so he held back.”

“Until…”

“Until Hyena, until I arrived,” Marina murmured.

“I was too eager. Thinking a legendary adventurer had come, I couldn’t miss the chance. So, without inviting Mr. Anselm to an office or somewhere suitable for discussion, I spoke in the private booth… right outside the auction hall filled with bidders.”

The girl slowly clenched her fists.

“Eavesdropping with magic might not be detected. Even if it was, it might not be traced. As long as he had the nerve…”

“That Mr. Thousand-Legged Insect happens to excel at stealth, disguise, and transformation, making him the best fence in the outer market.”

Marina turned to Anselm, her tone complex.

“So, you used such a ‘coincidence’ to let Vulture learn of Hyena’s preparations, thinking he had everything under control, only to destroy most of his elite forces? This is, this is…”

“Absurd.”

Anselm softly voiced the word Marina couldn’t say.

“Too absurd, right?”

“…Yes.”

“Then what do you think this coincidence is, Marina?” Anselm asked gently. “Did I orchestrate it from start to finish?”

Marina thought for a moment and shook her head.

“No, from the beginning until… until you discovered his identity and intentions, none of it was your doing.”

“Exactly. That’s what we call a coincidence.”

The young Hydra gazed down at the marketplace below, where the chaos of Hyena’s men clashing with other leaders’ forces had spilled onto the streets.

Rat King and Vulture seemed unwilling to let him off easily, and those sea-blue eyes reflected the growing turmoil.

“It’s not that I chose something or dictated its path. It’s merely a passerby brushing past, a feather falling from the sky, or even just…”

Anselm’s voice grew ethereal and distant:

“A fleeting thought crossing your mind.”

Hitana paused, turning to Anselm with a worried expression.

Anselm smiled, whether out of habit or to reassure Hitana and conjured an iron ball the size of a fist in his palm, tossing it casually from the clock tower.

“I merely guided these things, but the path… was always their own choice.”

The iron ball plummeted, striking a man in the melee below, killing him instantly.

“Take Mr. Thousand-Legged Insect’s eavesdropping spell. It could never deceive me or Laurence, but I allowed it, subtly encouraging him to continue.”

“Did I do anything?” Anselm tilted his head.

“I did nothing, merely made him lean toward eavesdropping on my conversation with Mr. Hyena instead of fleeing immediately.”

“So…” Marina murmured, “it’s just a coincidence, just… a coincidence.”

“Yes, just one of countless coincidences—more direct, more fatal.”

Anselm smiled warmly, but to Marina, that smile sent a chill down her spine.

She wasn’t afraid of Anselm himself but of the suffocating, inescapable force his words represented.

“Marina, do you wonder why, when I could crush Hyena outright and win this unfair game, I chose to achieve my goal through coincidences?”

Marina’s voice was hoarse, her palms cold. “…Yes, Mr. Anselm, please tell me.”

“Because it’s a coincidence, and it’s nothing more than… a simple fact.”

The devil’s face bore a cold smile. “A reasonable fact.”

“Thousand-Legged Insect acted because he serves Vulture. If Hyena falls, his boss gains more market share, and he gets more channels. He couldn’t sit by and let Hyena rise again, so with his eavesdropping skills, he took the risk… And with Hyena distracted, unmindful of the outside, and my ‘doing nothing,’ he inevitably continued eavesdropping.”

“The only ‘deliberate’ part was my inaction, nothing more. Hyena knows nothing of this—he sees only his failure.”

“Did he do anything wrong? No, he made the most suitable, correct choice at the time. Yet that very suitability and correctness led him to an unacceptable defeat. Because beyond that suitability, beyond that correctness, there was something he couldn’t see, predict, or calculate… a coincidence.”

“As if fated—absurd, comical, yet real.”

Anselm took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and closed his eyes, a relaxed and radiant smile on his face:

“Without Mr. Thousand-Legged Insect, I could’ve chosen another ready-made coincidence. If none existed, I could create one. Because for this black market, I can alter its rules, its purpose, or even erase it entirely. It’s too small—far too small for me, small enough to fit in my palm.”

“Marina, tell me.”

Anselm leaned in, whispering in her ear: “Now, as Mr. Hyena, how would you… change your doomed fate?”

“I…”

Marina opened her mouth, wanting to say something, anything practical, anything that could glimpse a shred of light in this desperation. But nothing came out.

Change…

How could she change it?

How could it be changed?

If everything—every person, every event—could be turned by Mr. Anselm into a deadly coincidence like this… who could she trust?

No one betrayed her, yet she could no longer trust anyone?

She couldn’t even… even…Trust herself?

Reaching this unthinkable conclusion, Marina trembled.

An absurd, overwhelming terror gripped her mind… Just hypothesizing, just thinking this way, she could barely hold on.

“Marina.”

A hand suddenly rested on the girl’s paling face.

“Don’t go too deep.” Anselm stroked her cheek. “I’m punishing Mr. Hyena, not you.”

“…I, I know, Mr. Anselm.”

Marina took a deep breath, forcing a smile. “I’m fine.”

Anselm watched her for a moment, then said softly, “Shall we continue, or end it here?”

Marina closed her eyes.

In her mind, Elnilisa’s sorrowful and melancholic words surfaced.

“…The game continues, Mr. Anselm.”

The ordinary girl, unaware of what she was challenging, spoke firmly:

“Even without hope, I’ll still try to defeat you.”

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