Chapter 236: Discipline and Counter-Discipline?

After Celia recovered, she barely rested and quickly threw herself back into her research with full concentration.

Ansu quietly organized the experimental records by her side. The good news was that the harvest this time was quite bountiful; the problem that had stumped her nearly two hundred times was finally overcome.

However, the bad news was...

The next rune combination had become a new stumbling block.

Doing scientific research is really damn hard...

Ansu looked up at the unfinished 【magic formula】 displayed and enlarged by the magic light screen above the alchemy table. It was as complex as a star chart, and it made his head throb.

Designing something like this required not only top-tier magic talent but also incredible focus and perseverance... He truly admired Miss Witch.

After a long time, Celia suddenly stopped her movements.

She frowned slightly, her tone full of hesitation.

“Eh? Why do I feel like the structure this time... isn't quite right?”

As soon as she spoke.

The alchemy table suddenly began to vibrate violently. The instruments on the table clattered, and the mana that had been flowing stably became chaotic, twisting into dazzling energy turbulence in mid-air.

Celia's expression changed abruptly, and her voice rose. “Ansu, leave this place quickly!”

“The third and seventh connection points of the XII rune group have a deviation in their resonance frequency with the mana. This will most likely lead to... the complete collapse of the entire structure!”

“Does that mean it's about to explode?” Ansu immediately noticed that the space between the two of them was warping, and the dark, filthy aura caused visibility to plummet.

“Hurry!” Celia grabbed Ansu's arm, intending to pull him away from the scene.

But Ansu didn't budge.

He remained focused on the magic light screen surrounded by black mist, trying to identify the unfinished 【magic formula】 that was about to collapse.

“No, I have to record this quickly... otherwise, won't we have died in vain?”

“We're about to be blown to bits, what are you still recording?!” Celia was both angry and anxious. Seeing that Ansu wasn't moving, gravity magic instantly enveloped them both as she tried to forcibly drag him away. “Come with me!”

However, the moment the magic gate appeared before them.

Terrifyingly filthy mana swept through the surroundings, instantly shredding the 【Void Corridor】. It even spread to the outside, causing the entire mine to shake violently.

【Reality】

【Radiant Calendar 625, July 15, 18:33】

【Comment: A repeat performance! (Congratulations on obtaining the achievement: Master of Blast Resistance)】

【Grade: E】

【Reward: 5 points】

His consciousness returned.

“It will succeed!”

“This time it will definitely succeed...”

Ansu silently looked at Celia, who was muttering to herself and cheering herself on.

He didn't disturb her experimental progress but quietly walked to her side, turned to the latest blank page, and began to draw rapidly.

The pen scratched against the paper. Complex runes and paths that had been proven invalid gradually filled the page.

When Celia finished her current experiment and her gaze instinctively swept over the manuscript, her eyes slowly widened. Finally, she looked in shock at Ansu, who was resting nearby.

“So... this path doesn't work at all?”

“The next rune group... will actually get stuck here? It seems I should fine-tune it to calibrate the resonance frequency...”

As she spoke, Celia's figure suddenly flickered in front of Ansu. Before he could react, she gave him a tight hug.

“Ansu! Thank you! Thank you so much!”

“I just happened to be stuck here. With you around, I don't know how many detours I've avoided!”

“You're welcome.” Ansu was a bit dazed by the sudden enthusiastic hug, then he sighed and continued to rub his aching temples. “As long as it makes your progress a bit smoother, that's fine...”

Now, he felt a headache coming on just looking at magic runes.

Celia's figure flickered again as she teleported back to the alchemy table, as if she didn't want to waste a single moment.

She grabbed the manuscript Ansu had supplemented, her eyes burning with excitement as she impatiently dove back into a new round of experiments.

...

Over the following time...

The two of them continued to repeat the cycle: experiment, simulation, kiss, explosion, and return to reality.

In every simulation, he would face a version of Miss Witch who had lost control of her emotions due to pollution—paranoid, furious, self-pitying, broken...

There were even times she forcibly bound and imprisoned him...

Like this time.

Ansu silently lowered his head, watching the pitch-black vines that had spread from the shadows at some point, tightly coiling around his waist and limbs.

He had seen these vines more than once. He remembered it was a high-tier nature magic, yet they looked like tentacles as they slowly wriggled...

Furthermore, they slowly contracted and tightened with every breath he took...

Bringing a sense of restraint filled with malicious intent.

This time it was a bit troublesome... because he couldn't even lean over to give her a kiss.

Was there really no way to tune her back?

Ansu looked up at Celia, who had completely entered her witch-like state.

On the verge of a mental breakdown, she was currently acting as a 'desktop cleaning master', roughly sweeping all the experimental materials and manuscripts on the alchemy table onto the floor.

“Damn it! Damn it, damn it—!”

She cursed hoarsely, and then that incredibly gloomy aura locked onto Ansu once again.

In the next moment, the black vines snapped tight, forcibly dragging Ansu back in front of Celia.

They were so close they could hear each other's breathing. Ansu could clearly see the hideous black cracks spreading across her cheeks and her dark-red eyes, swirling with madness and pain, right in front of him.

Eh? She's actually giving me an opening?

Ansu steeled his heart and gathered a burst of mana in his bound arms. The moment the mana erupted, the coiling force indeed loosened slightly.

A hint of bewilderment flashed in Celia's eyes, but it was immediately replaced by a more surging anger.

“You... you dare to resist me?”

Her voice was very low, but it carried a bone-chilling coldness.

“Ansu... you are not allowed to resist me! You are mine... you are my possession! I won't allow even a single thought of resistance from you!”

She began to sneer, and her pitch-black demonic claws suddenly rose. “If I had known, I should have locked you away forever! I want you to never be able to escape again... I'll break all your limbs! So that for the rest of your life... you can never resist me again!!”

The vines tightened along with her churning rage, as if they were going to crush Ansu's bones.

But in that split second of loosening, Ansu had already made his move.

He suddenly struggled forward, nearly colliding with her, and his hands firmly cupped her cracked yet still beautiful cheeks.

Her dark-red pupils constricted sharply, the killing intent swirling within them clearly visible.

“Ansu! You—mph!”

“Mph...”

Her harsh words were forcibly blocked by Ansu. The killing intent melted away rapidly like snow under the sun.

Along with it, the tightly coiling black vines also silently loosened and receded as her body softened and her will gradually dissipated...

Ansu didn't stop. As if venting some frustration, he continued to deepen the kiss while using one hand to wrap around her slender waist, sliding further down to begin some even more excessive actions.

“Ngh...!?”

Celia finally came to her senses. She struggled out of the nearly suffocating kiss, panting heavily. She raised her eyes, which were clouded with mist, trying her best to put on an expression of cold anger.

“Ansu! What on earth are you doing? We're still working... why, why are you touching my leg!”

Before she could finish her sentence.

Her entire body trembled violently, her voice filled with shame and helplessness. “Ansu... stop touching me like that! I...”

The cold expression she had worked so hard to maintain had now completely vanished.

In its place was a look of pure embarrassment and resentment.

“So you're allowed to punish me, but I'm not allowed to punish you?” Ansu finally pulled back slightly, looking down with a cold smile at her flushed cheeks and flickering eyes. “Who told you to torment me like that just now? And playing with bindings? Where on earth did you learn to play like that!”

“I... wasn't that because I was corrupted by magic!” Celia tried to defend herself, her voice weakening. “The normal me would never do that... Ansu, let go quickly...”

She began to push against his chest in resistance, but to her alarm, she found that instead of letting go, Ansu exerted force with his arms and picked her up in a princess carry.

“Ansu, let go of me... let go! Where are you taking me?”

“Corrupted by magic? Then that's perfect.” Ansu carried her and turned toward the living area within the 【Void Corridor】. “I'll treat you. I'm the best at treating this!”

“I'm better! I'm really better now!” Celia panicked completely, her voice both urgent and embarrassed. “Put me down quickly! Ansu... my experiment isn't finished yet!”

“I don't believe you.” Ansu didn't stop.

“Ansu—!!” Celia was truly angry now.

Ansu's footsteps stopped at the sound.

He looked down at the face in his arms. The black cracks on her skin had stopped spreading, her cheeks were almost completely red, and the frantic magical aura had long since vanished.

It seemed she really had been tuned back to normal.

But Ansu still quirked an eyebrow playfully and asked on purpose, “Really better?”

“Better, better!” Celia nodded repeatedly.

“Then do you know what you did wrong?” Ansu pressed with a smile.

“I... I didn't do anything wrong!” How could Celia possibly let go of her pride? She argued righteously:

“The one who was wrong was the version of me that lost her mind after monsterization, not the real me! Think about it, Ansu... how could I possibly break your limbs and lock you up? How could I be that yandere...!”

Ansu looked at her speechlessly. It was his first time seeing someone dissociate from themselves like this.

So the bad things were done by the bad witch, and the good things were done by Celia?

But then again, even in her non-corrupted state, some of Celia's obsessive and paranoid behaviors didn't seem much better, did they?

“Then it seems you still haven't realized your mistake!” Ansu shook his head and made a move to continue toward the soft, large bed in the bedroom while holding her.

“I worked! I was wrong, okay! Ansu~”

Celia quickly changed her tune, her voice turning soft and sweet.