In distant Hell, Anbaixiu watched the triumphant Paluriel.
The erinyes was toying with the freshly acquired soul coin, seeming genuinely unable to put it down.
Just moments ago, Anbaixiu had allowed Paluriel to play the part in person to torment Gustavo Fring on a psychological level. The old man hadn't gleaned a shred of intel and had even lost a useful assistant in the process.
When it came to manipulating human hearts, Paluriel was undeniably superior. Even Anbaixiu couldn't force people to turn on each other with just a few spoken lines, but this madwoman could. Her ability to directly sense the deepest emotions of others was simply formidable, allowing her to pinpoint fleeting psychological fractures and break someone down with effortless ease.
"What's so special about that soul?"
To Anbaixiu, the young assistant's soul was utterly mundane—merely baseline quality, completely unremarkable if deposited in a bank.
Paluriel, however, replied, "You aren't a devil, so you don't appreciate how precious a soul like this is. Youthful ambition, a promising future, yet choosing the wrong side out of fear of death just when courage was needed most... The flavor of that despair and regret—*hiss*—it's truly unforgettable. If you took this to Mammon and pitched the story, the value of this soul coin would multiply a hundredfold.
"I told you before to hand Raul's soul over to me, but you refused. His soul is quite special too—far better than the one I'm holding."
Ever since deciding to cooperate with Anbaixiu, Paluriel had taken a liking to chatting about the past—specifically, everything Anbaixiu had experienced after she fell to Hell. Anbaixiu couldn't dodge her questions even if he wanted to, as the madwoman could directly sense his emotional fluctuations and piece together ninety percent of the truth on her own.
Unless Anbaixiu hid away inside the mirror and ignored her entirely, he was stuck; given their partnership, many matters required face-to-face deliberation, so the madwoman had wheedled quite a lot out of him.
Yet Anbaixiu was genuinely surprised that Paluriel thought so highly of an ordinary, unremarkable mortal like Raul.
"What's so special about Raul?"
In Anbaixiu's eyes, Raul was merely a mortal intoxicated by power. Men like that were a dime a dozen; which impoverished serf didn't harbor ambitions of rising above their station?
"You don't understand. Do you really think he turned against your student purely for the sake of power? Would a man who protected his younger sister since childhood turn against her solely out of ambition? Clinging to a patron is just clinging to a patron—hugging the Alchemy Association's thighs is hugging a patron, and clinging to his own sister is also hugging a patron. To a petty slave owner like him, one thigh is as good as another. Why turn against her?"
Paluriel's words gave Anbaixiu pause.
Truth be told, he had never paid much attention to Raul's inner thoughts. Although he had known Raul for a long time, they had rarely had a serious conversation. In Anbaixiu's eyes, there was nothing noteworthy about the man, yet Paluriel claimed Raul harbored deeper secrets?
After pondering for a good while, Anbaixiu managed to venture, "Are you trying to say Raul couldn't accept the shift in their dynamic? He was originally the family patriarch, the protector, only to find in the blink of an eye that his sister no longer needed his protection."
"Spot on. As expected of the man who managed to kill me—compared to other boring trash, you're much smarter."
Anbaixiu rolled his eyes. "Gee, thanks for the compliment."
"Haven't you seen plenty of parents or elders who treat their children like pets? Just like that foolish man, they were once the pillar of the household. But suddenly, one day—oops!—the little creature they raised has grown up. Not only does it no longer need feeding, it can even bestow handouts upon them like charity.
"'The child's wings have grown too sturdy, and far too quickly. How did I suddenly become the one under someone else's control?' The bitterness sets in: 'It must just be my bad luck. If I had been given the same opportunity, I would have been the one to prosper.'
"Watching the child you once cherished most turn into an enemy you must conquer... what a complex, exquisite emotional transformation. And if he ultimately dies at your student's hands, staring into his sister's eyes in his final moments as memories of their childhood flash before him... Tsk, tsk. A soul like that is vastly more precious than any ambitious youth. After all, people who care deeply about both sentiment and ambition are exceedingly rare."
Seeing Paluriel's look of sheer relish, Anbaixiu was once again reminded that his worldview was utterly incompatible with a devil's. He could only reply offhandedly, "Understood. Emotional value is value too, right? But are you sure you're not just letting your imagination run wild?"
Detecting the disdain in his tone, Paluriel scoffed mockingly, "You've always possessed that insufferable pride. Even when you were living in sheer squalor, you acted as though everyone else was beneath you."
"Slander, surely?" Anbaixiu countered. "I'm such a humble person."
As a transmigrator who had started with nothing, surviving through years of wretched misery—spending most of his time half-starved and hunted by enemies—how could he have ever harbored pride?
Paluriel sneered further, "If you were truly humble, would you have failed to fit in anywhere? When you were alive, which adventuring party could you actually stay with? When working for a lord, how many days could you ever last? After knocking around for centuries, you ended up turning yourself into a lich—transforming by your own hand, without even a single protector by your side!
"If not because you were a misfit unable to get along with anyone, then why? Because you preferred being alone?!"
If there was anyone Anbaixiu admired for sheer venom of tongue, it was the madwoman before him. Every single word she spoke aimed straight for the jugular. Back then, Anbaixiu had wanted nothing more than to strangle her.
Now, however, Anbaixiu merely smiled. "Back then, I did prefer being alone. Nowadays, though, peace and quiet are hard to come by. After all, I have a lover, an apprentice, friends, and even a daughter—unlike a certain someone who attained quasi-deity power yet doesn't even have a single worshiper."
Paluriel narrowed her eyes, sneering disdainfully, "You think I lack followers? I simply refuse to keep company with idiots. Take those devils I've rounded up over the past few days—do I even spare them a second glance?"
Paluriel hadn't been idling during this period. Following her own master plan, she had begun conquering the surrounding lords.
Her abilities were beyond question; without mobilizing a single soldier, she had brought the lords of several territories before Melina, compelling them to swear fealty and even sign contracts offering up their souls.
In a short span of time, Melina's territory had doubled in size again. The previously overcrowded population returned to normal densities, and full-scale regional construction was now underway, temporarily easing the resource shortage.
Paluriel remarked irritably, "Could you tell your daughter to take things more seriously? Is she really your flesh and blood? I don't see an ounce of administrative talent in her."
Anbaixiu gave a cold snort and fired back, "My daughter is none of your business to criticize. Melina's talents may not lie in territorial management, but aren't you expanding her borders all the same? This is the fate you've always pursued—if you take issue with it, go duel the Goddess of Fate."
Paluriel's expression instantly warped, her teeth gritted in fury.
"Fate" was a taboo word for both Paluriel and Anbaixiu, though their sore spots differed. Anbaixiu loathed hearing anyone talk about "destiny" or being "fated," while Paluriel hated nothing more than being told she "didn't understand fate."
Having successfully shattered the madwoman's composure, Anbaixiu knew when to quit while he was ahead. He immediately shifted the topic: "I've temporarily granted you access to the magic mirror. Go easy on that knowledge exchange feature. Our goal is to make the Alchemy Association collapse from within. You can reap a few souls along the way, but don't botch my grand scheme."
"I honestly couldn't care less about ordinary souls. But you've dumped this on me, dumped the territory's affairs on me, and haven't even lifted a finger while Mammon goes around establishing Hell Bank with great fanfare. What on earth have you been busy with lately?"
Paluriel stared into Anbaixiu's eyes, seemingly trying to pierce straight through to his thoughts.
Anbaixiu smiled faintly. "Something of paramount importance, of course. I swear, it has everything to do with bringing an end to the Blood War."
Anbaixiu truly wasn't lying—for he was indeed occupied with something momentous: the God of Alchemy was on the verge of completing his ascension.
Chapter 581