Dominance!

Evalline Berdette?! Everyone believed it instantly—this was Berdette’s home turf to begin with, and only moments ago, they had been battered by a volcanic eruption, the white mist of the Sea of Knowledge, the reverse rain of the Flowing Gold River, and other defensive mechanisms. Even the Sanctuary Sorcerers had not been spared. If it was the angelic Berdette clan, they truly possessed the strength to suppress them. Furthermore… Renn and the others struggled to turn their heads, gazing toward Evalin as she leaned against the distant railing, watching from afar. In the dying embers of the fireworks, she gazed expressionlessly upon this group of guests without offering the slightest reaction, like a homeowner watching the show after unleashing the hounds. “Berdette…” Renn trembled all over. In his mind, every single thought of resistance—[stand up], [condense sorcery power], [cast miracle], [activate implement spirit]—was snuffed out the instant it arose. Only emotions such as fear, shame, and panic could remain in his heart. Even anger flared for only a split second before vanishing, unable to serve as emotional fuel! No sealing of sorcery power, no forbidding of physical movement; rather, their thoughts were being directly dominated right at the source of their minds! The Dominance Faction! Never in his wildest dreams had Renn imagined that his very first encounter with Berdette’s Dominance Faction would result in such an utter defeat! Evidently, Berdette was furious with their actions and had directly deployed the Dominance Faction to suppress these intruders who had barged onto private property! “You…” He weighed his words carefully, unable even to utter a harsh phrase, as any profanity circling in his mind was instantly extinguished. “This time, it was the Mercury clan… trespassing into Berdette Manor without permission. On behalf of Mercury, I apologize to you. Please… please forgive us, Miss Berdette.” Zuvendas was the same. A dignified Sanctuary Sorcerer and high-ranking leader of his clan, he could now only squirm across the lawn like a caterpillar. His eyes bulged as he ground his teeth and squeezed out, “The Kasri clan… extends its sincerest apologies to Berdette!” As if prompted by Zuvendas’s words, the others began offering apologies, each louder and more solemn than the last: “On behalf of the Vastino clan, I offer our deepest self-reflection. We shall remember Berdette’s tolerance and honor Berdette’s respect. In the future, we will lavishly compensate Berdette for all losses!” “The Roland clan has taken this lesson to heart and is willing to secure Berdette’s friendship at any cost—even if we must ruin ourselves, we seek only Berdette’s olive branch!” Each speech sounded sweeter than the last, but judging from their contorted, savage expressions, every line could easily be translated as: *If you have the guts, kill me right now. Otherwise, the moment I get back, I’m gathering our people to slaughter your whole family.* Just like the mind faction, the Dominance Faction revolved around three core elements: thought, will, and emotion. The control Renn and the others were subjected to was “thought dominance.” Right now, their very thoughts were directly warped and suppressed, leaving them unable to move so much as a finger, while the sorcery spirits within their souls could receive none of their commands. For the victims, this was an agonizing ordeal bordering on sheer terror. They could clearly feel their thoughts being plucked out and crushed, as if a filthy stirrer were churning endlessly through their brains. Thus, the surrender offered by Renn and the others was brimming with genuine sincerity—they only wanted to escape this humiliating state of being manipulated like puppets as quickly as possible! Yet, faced with the capitulation of Sanctuary Sorcerers and corporate clans, Evalin remained entirely unmoved, cool and distant beneath the night sky. “Ahem!” Yaxiu cleared his throat, gesturing for Lisi and the others to stay calm. He turned and bowed toward Evalin. “Your Excellency Blue Rose, are you willing to accept the apologies of these insolent wretches? Or would you prefer us loyal hounds to punish their baseness and trample their dignity on your behalf?” *Who on earth is Blue Rose? You’re addressing me as if we have some special pet name, but I barely even know you!* *And I didn’t do this! I never intended to dominate all of you so brutally!* *You’ve all got it wrong! The real culprit is Igola Bogin!* Evalin had countless words bottled up inside, but the thought dominance she suffered was the most absolute of all. Not only her movements, but even her speech, her facial expressions, and the furrowing of her brow were completely controlled. She could not even collapse and pretend to faint, because that “action directive” was purged the instant it appeared! She was like a monarch hollowed out by a tyrannical minister, every move and every smile held beneath his thumb. Everyone saw only her tyrannical misrule, blind to the traitorous minister pulling the strings behind the throne! At this moment, the only emotions brewing in her heart were fury toward Igola and bitter regret over her own dullness! She should have noticed it long ago! The moment Rust Crow announced the Four Pillar Cult’s new doctrine as “increase what they desire, grant what they need,” she should have known Rust Crow was Igola—because those very words were the core tenet of Berdette’s Dominance Faction! Rust Crow had expanded the Four Pillar Cult to an unprecedented scale precisely because he had stolen knowledge of the Dominance Faction and applied it to running the cult. Though Rust Crow lacked the blessing of an angelic ancestor, the gifts bestowed by the Four Pillar Gods were likely not far behind! From the very beginning, Igola had never intended to betray the Funeral Agency! He had been gunning for Berdette’s Dominance Faction all along! Even the Gospel had seen through it! Yet even so, a wave of profound confusion washed over Evalin. She had verified multiple times that Igola had no clandestine plots with anyone else; this was entirely Igola acting on his own whims. But… how was that possible? Was he not afraid of losing his companions’ trust? And why had Annan and the others subtly cooperated with his actions? More importantly, how on earth had he seized the highest authority in Berdette, to the point where even she, the family head, was being dominated by him? Had she become the body double, while he was the real Igola Berdette? This lingering confusion teased the blue-haired girl’s mind, making her wonder whether her father had once traveled to the Blood Moon Country and fathered an illegitimate Veela child. “Your Excellency Blue Rose, we understand completely.” Evalin’s silence made no difference; Yaxiu simply continued on his own, “Your command is their fate!” He returned to the Funeral Agency’s ranks. Aside from little Banjie, who was currently sucking on his hands, Alice, Annan, and Lisi were all watching him. Annan’s eyes were bright, seemingly not in the least surprised by what had just transpired. “You knew all along?” Yaxiu asked in a low voice. “I’ll say it again: we simply share an understanding,” Annan smiled. “Even I didn’t expect Igola to play things on such a grand scale.” “Could someone please explain?” Alice sat cross-legged atop a coffin, scratching her head. “What on earth is going on? And what do you mean by an understanding?” Yaxiu said, “The understanding is—why did the young lady bring us to Mengfeila in the first place?” “Huh? To flee Fanmula, and…” Alice pondered for a moment. “To prepare for the upcoming boards?” “Although we were captured by Evalin the moment we arrived in Mengfeila due to the Family Board, even without it, my status as a wanted fugitive was leverage enough. Evalin still would have proposed a deal, exchanging shelter for our stay.” Yaxiu looked at Annan. “In other words, before coming to Mengfeila, the young lady must have foreseen what would follow—after all, she understands Berdette, and she understands Evalin.” “She knew Evalin would try to turn us, and she even knew Evalin would ultimately sell us out.” “So, why did she bring us to Mengfeila?” Lisi answered immediately, “To let us experience being turned and sold out!” “More accurately, to let us step into Evalin’s scheme,” Yaxiu said. “The young lady deliberately avoided discussing anything related to it, watching us step by step become Evalin’s prey… While ignorance turned us into prey, ignorance was also our camouflage.” “In a world where the Gospel can detect lies, only the truly ignorant can lie.” The cult leader glanced toward the purple moth. “Igola might not have guessed that the third leaderboard was the Scheme Board, but from the young lady’s actions, he caught the core theme of this trip to Mengfeila—actively stepping into Evalin’s scheme, and then using that ignorance to turn the tables and deceive Evalin!” *Pretend to be deceived by Evalin, only to deceive Evalin in return?* Lisi and Alice looked at Annan blankly, as if asking, *Why go through so much trouble? Did you have too much free time on your hands?* Annan shrugged. “It wasn't that I deliberately concealed it, but if you couldn't even grasp that much, the Scheme Board wouldn't have acknowledged you anyway.” “Actually, I never intended for you to go so far as deceiving Evalin; that was extra credit. In my mind, as long as you realized I was hiding something, the Scheme Board would judge that you had the potential of a swindler. Clearly, Igola was the only one who passed.” “Then again, I thought Igola would at most swindle some money or something. I never imagined he’d try to swallow Berdette whole…” She spread her hands helplessly. “What does he need us to do?” “Bully them while we have the upper hand.” Yaxiu pointed to the sorcerers squirming on the ground behind them. Annan caught on immediately. “Brilliant… That way, all their hatred will be focused entirely on Berdette. Even if we run away, they’ll only suspect that Berdette hid us!” “Sounds like something I’m very good at.” Alice stretched lazily. “As long as we don't kill them, right?” “Lisi isn't good at bullying people,” the white-haired girl muttered, scratching her head. Yaxiu hoisted little Banjie over. “Here, use this water gun to support them. It’ll definitely leave a heavy shadow on their fragile little hearts.” “Sennheiser too?” Annan asked suddenly. Yaxiu glanced at her. “When it comes to drawing hatred, one Berdette is enough. Do you really want to drag Sennheiser into it too?” Only then did Annan realize she had asked a foolish question. Sennheiser’s insistence on protecting them earlier had already drawn plenty of hostility. If they gave Sennheiser preferential treatment now, wouldn't that be announcing to the world that Berdette, Sennheiser, and the Funeral Agency were all in cahoots? That would never do. It was far better to dump all of Gospel Country’s wrath onto Berdette rather than spreading it to Sennheiser. As the Funeral Agency group marched toward the sorcerers, Renn and the others felt a sense of dread. “What do you want to do… Argh!” “You… I am a Sanctuary Sorcerer…” “Guh…” The Funeral Agency had not intended to hit them too hard, but this bunch had spent the entire night hunting, jumping, and threatening them, and had tried to split them up and imprison them until just moments ago. Had Igola not pulled off a miraculous turnaround, Yaxiu and his companions would have been torn apart… The moment they thought of that, even if they tried to hold back, their sorcery spirits flew out on their own, demanding overtime. “This is what you get for crossing Berdette!” “Wail, scream, repent!” “If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands~!” The scene quickly devolved into an unsightly mess. Still, with healing miracles available, as long as the sorcerers didn't die, they could all be patched up, so Yaxiu let them indulge. After beating up several pursuers at double-speed alongside his double, Yaxiu felt refreshed and went in search of a new target, only for his foot to accidentally bump into a soft body. Yaxiu looked down and met the gaze of Qinna, who was lying flat on her back. Even pinned to the ground and unable to budge, Qinna remained aloof, cold, and glamorous, her eyes showing not the slightest trace of panic. If anything, Yaxiu was the one who instinctively flinched away. *Isn't this Annan’s designated sector…* Yaxiu turned his head and saw that Annan had completely bypassed Qinna, putting on a show of lecturing her little aunt instead. With a quick turn of his mind, Yaxiu understood Annan’s conflicted feelings. Though the purple moth usually gritted her teeth whenever she mentioned her mother, now that she had an open opportunity to give Qinna a beating, Annan had chickened out and dumped the mess on Yaxiu. What a troublesome pair of mother and daughter. “Yaxiu,” Qinna said calmly, “do you dare touch me?” “Why wouldn't I dare!” Yaxiu flared up in indignation and sat right down on top of her. “I’ve been sick of looking at you for a long time! Don't forget, on the Future Board, you’re just my maid!” “That’s for not respecting me!” *Smack!* “That’s for not calling me master!” *Smack!* “That’s for not wearing my ring!” *Smack!* Qinna watched his palm swing back and forth before her eyes, the wind from his swings ruffling her hair, yet it never even grazed the tip of her nose. Meanwhile, the double behind Yaxiu was slapping its own thigh with all its might to imitate the sound of slaps. “I am wearing it,” Qinna said suddenly. Yaxiu froze. Looking down, he saw that Qinna really was wearing the mist spirit ring. He had assumed the clan heads would boycott these reward rings that symbolized a shameful future, especially since most of them were Sanctuary Sorcerers; the ring’s effects were of little use to them, and wearing it was sheer humiliation. Just as Yaxiu averted his eyes, Qinna suddenly parted her lips and bit down on his finger. Yaxiu was startled, thinking she was about to turn the tables on him. But perhaps because her mind was under dominance, her bite was limp and weak. Yaxiu felt no pain at all; it felt more like his finger was simply held inside her mouth. Noticing that Annan seemed to be looking over, Yaxiu had a flash of inspiration and put on a show with his left hand: “You dare bite my finger?! Let go! You’re courting death! Tonight, I’ll let you know who the real master is!” *Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!* The double slapped its own thigh with tremendous gusto. …… … In the second-floor garden of the Berdette main residence, the door to Evalin’s office swung open quietly. A red-haired girl dressed in a steward’s uniform stepped inside. Behind the desk sat the future reviver of the Four Pillar Cult, the Number One Swindler certified by the Gospel, and the humanoid calamity soon to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with ‘Ghost King Harvey’—Igola Bogin. His eyes were closed, leaning against the back of the chair as if taking a light nap. “Sorry, have you been waiting long?” Anfiel asked. “Not at all.” Igola shook his head.