Chapter 383: Ansu's Dejection and Tenderness

1. Home
2. /
3. Series
4. /
5. Mind-Controlled by the Villainess? I’ll Turn the Tables and Make Her Mine!
6. /
7. Chapter 383

The heart-wrenching, excruciating pain suddenly stopped.

His vision blurred violently, and Ansu found himself back in the City of a Thousand Stars, right before he had started the simulation.

Beneath his feet were charred ruins and broken walls, the scent of smoke mixed with the burnt odor of magic lingering in the cold air.

Celia was staring at him with a fierce glare, her black magic flames churning, her killing intent yet to dissipate.

【Reality】

【Radiant Calendar, October 19, 625, 03:05】

【Rating: B】

【Reward: Points * 60】

【Remaining Points: 123】

【The world is at the threshold of a massive crisis. Host, please choose: Do you wish for Celia to inherit the memories and combat experience of this simulation?】

【Yes / No】

He was back...

Back to the exact moment before they had reconciled, when they were still at each other's throats.

In this simulation, his plan had clearly gone smoothly, yet he had still underestimated the false god's methods.

Time was running out...

By tomorrow morning, the endgame would arrive.

But he had tried every possible method... Ansu was completely out of options.

A powerful wave of dejection washed over his entire body. Standing in place, Ansu felt his mind go completely numb.

Celia frowned slightly, her eyes locked onto his expression.

To her, just a second ago, Ansu had been doing everything he could to stall for time, his eyes filled with a desperate will to survive. Yet in the blink of an eye, those eyes had gone completely dark...

Powerless, dejected, as if all his energy and spirit had been utterly drained.

It was as if his entire being had suddenly collapsed.

A flicker of surprise crossed her eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a cold sneer.

“What, trying to trick me again?”

She scoffed inwardly. To think he'd try to play the victim in front of me...

But Ansu no longer had the energy to argue. He merely shook his head gently.

“What, lost your tongue?” Celia's voice was icy as she pressed closer.

Ansu sighed softly in his heart. His consciousness focused on the translucent system panel, and he silently pressed the option.

【Yes】

“This is the most precious memory I promised you. I'm returning it to you.”

Having said that, he turned, walked over to a relatively intact bench, and sat down. Bowing his head, he let himself sink into a numb, heavy fatigue.

The moment the option was selected, Celia's eyes flew open.

Countless scenes, emotions, and searing memories flooded into her mind without reservation.

“I...” Her pupils trembled slightly as she instinctively raised a hand to her forehead.

The chaotic memories connected rapidly—the scenes projected by the Filthy Heart, the memories hidden deep within his heart, completing their entire story. In the end, they shattered the fragile bubble she had built in her heart.

And so...

Her emotions froze at the final moment of the simulation.

Just moments ago, she had watched with her own eyes as Ansu spat out black blood, his body rapidly disintegrating until he dissolved into a mist of blood...

“Ansu...”

The fierceness and frost in her eyes gradually melted, leaving behind nothing but a heart full of sorrow.

She walked over to the bench. Seeing Ansu's dejected posture, her voice softened slightly. “Ansu! You have to pull yourself together...”

“Yeah...” Ansu murmured in response, his fingers running through his hair. “I'm thinking... I'm already trying to find a way.”

His voice was incredibly hoarse.

“I'm so tired...”

Celia saw him like this, and she felt an ache in her own heart.

Throughout this entire journey, he had planned endlessly and risked his life time after time, all to save her...

He had been so close to succeeding...

Yet, in the end, he still couldn't defeat the God of Clamor and Filth.

She sighed softly, reaching out to support his arm with a gentle squeeze.

“If you're tired, rest for a bit.”

“Ansu, let's leave first.”

She swept her gaze over the surrounding ruins, her eyes slowly drifting toward the depths beneath the southern part of the academy.

Terrifying mana was surging down there, and that familiar, indescribable will was already beginning to manifest.

The remnants of the City of a Thousand Stars had already completed the evil god summoning ritual.

“He's about to wake up.” Ansu clutched his hair, muttering dejectedly to himself. “He can ignore the dimension of time... and alter mana. We can't win.”

Celia watched him silently without saying a word. She knew exactly what had just happened to both of them.

But so what?

“It's not the final moment yet,” she said, her voice calm but carrying an unquestionable resolve. “As long as time hasn't run out, there must be a way.”

As her voice fell, a deep blue magic circle slowly lit up beneath their feet.

With a flash of light, both of their figures vanished from the ruins.

In the next instant, space warped slightly, and the two landed steadily inside the lab in Norvigel.

“Ansu, we're back.”

Celia helped him sit on the edge of the bed. Looking down at his dejected face, her tone softened slightly without her realizing it:

“Do you want to rest for a bit? If you're feeling unwell... go get some sleep.”

Ansu shook his head.

“Then... do you want to eat something?”

“There's less than a day left,” Ansu said, his voice muffled. “We might very well die here. I'm not in the mood to eat.”

“Then you...”

Celia was momentarily at a loss for words.

She could tell that the ending of this simulation had dealt too heavy a blow to him. He still hadn't recovered from that overwhelming sense of powerlessness.

What he needed right now was perhaps not encouragement like “keep it up,” nor was it analysis. He just needed a little bit of comfort.

Celia sighed, sat down beside him, and patted her lap.

Just like usual, she called softly, “Come here.”

As if triggering some underlying source code, Ansu didn't even open his eyes. He groped his way over and obediently lay down on her soft lap.

A touch of tenderness appeared in Celia's eyes as her fingertips gently brushed through his messy hair.

With his eyes still closed, Ansu suddenly spoke. “How are you feeling right now?”

Celia shook her head, looking a bit dazed. “My mind is a mess right now. Too many memories are crowded together...”

“There are the ones we experienced together, the ones you simulated in other timelines, and those forcibly altered by the God of Clamor and Filth... they're all jumbled together. It might take me a very, very long time... to slowly digest them all.”

Ansu kept his eyes closed. “The ones related to the mana anomalies are all fake memories He altered. He only touched a few key nodes.”

In reality, He had changed the mana of that time—an underlying rule that transcended time—thereby generating new memories. Calling it a direct alteration of memories and history wasn't entirely accurate.

“Yeah, I know.” Celia nodded gently, her fingers still tidying his hair. “I can tell them apart.”

The warmth of her palm transmitted through his hair, comforting and reassuring.

Ansu turned his face, reaching out to wrap his arms around her waist, and rubbed his cheek against her flat stomach.

A wave of warmth washed over him, mixed with the faint scent of roses on her body.

The atmosphere remained quiet for a long time. They were like two people who had drifted in a storm for too long and finally reached the shore, licking each other's wounds, greedily enjoying that hard-won warmth.

However...

Celia's cheeks quickly began to redden because Ansu's nose was rubbing against her stomach, his breath brushing through the fabric. It tickled so much that she couldn't help but shrink back slightly.

“Ansu...”

In response, Ansu went even further, burying his face deeper and taking a deep, satisfied breath.

“Stop kissing, stop messing around...” Celia was both annoyed and amused. “You looked half-dead just a moment ago. How did you get so energetic all of a sudden?”

Ansu opened his eyes with a smile and looked up at her.

“After all, with my Miss Witch comforting me personally, of course I'd recover instantly.”

“My wife's scent is just like catnip~”

“Slick talker...” Celia turned her face away slightly, her ears flushing a deeper red. “As long as you're feeling better. Only when you pull yourself together can we keep looking for a way.”

“Lap pillows are the best.” Ansu lay back down, staring blankly at the lab ceiling. “Lap pillows are supreme...”

Miss Witch's ample bust blocked a small portion of his field of vision. Looking up, he couldn't see the expression on her face, but he could imagine her helpless yet gentle look.

“You really are...” Celia sighed helplessly.

Although the situation was incredibly pressing and time was constantly ticking away, they still indulged themselves for ten minutes, thinking of nothing and doing nothing.

Yet those brief ten minutes of tenderness felt as though they had recharged all the energy they needed to set off once more.

Celia looked down, meeting Ansu's quiet gaze.

Of course he had to save such a gentle and beautiful witch.

He had to save himself, and he had to save everyone.

Ansu thought.

Once his mental state had recovered significantly, he sat up and suddenly asked, “Do you have any sweets? Something really sweet, exceptionally sweet.”

“Yes, in the kitchen of the manor upstairs.” Celia looked at him in confusion. “Why do you suddenly want sweets? Don't you usually dislike them?”

“To recharge my brain.” Ansu slowly closed his eyes and activated his 【Mind Palace】 within his head. “I might be overusing my brain next...”

Although they seemed to be at a dead end, these past few simulations had been too rushed. Each time, he had been deduction with extreme anxiety.

This time, he was in no hurry to continue simulating.

He needed to pull himself out of the swamp of consecutive failures first. He would utilize his Mind Palace—this flawless memory library that could be accessed at any time—to examine every single clue, detail, and missed possibility, one by one.

There had to be something he missed. There was definitely something he had overlooked...

...

PrevNext

PrevNext