Villain's Odyssey: Enslaving heroines, Conquering Villainesses
Chapter 54: Seed of obsession

Chapter 54: Chapter 54: Seed of obsession

"Go that way," Natalia said, and Asher nodded, pushing the wheelchair toward the more open street as they approached the teleportation zone.

"Um, Asher," she suddenly said, breaking the silence once again.

"Yeah?" he replied.

"That thing you did in that... illusionary world. How is it possible?" she asked.

It was an understandable question. The concept of using ether in the body started with a very special organ—the ether core. This core had another organ attached to it, from which ether valves spread throughout the body. The ether core itself was connected to the heart—for humans, at least—and it was from the heart that it generated the minimal initial energy to begin the process of absorbing and purifying atmospheric ether, which was naturally ’contaminated.’

Atmospheric ether was considered contaminated because when a person used their ability or cast a spell, they used the already refined version of ether in their body—ether unique to them. In other words, ether that possessed their signature. After use, this ether dispersed into the atmosphere, and since it still carried that person’s signature, it was considered ’contaminated’ since no one could use ether that wasn’t of their own signature.

Think of signatures like blood types—if someone was type A and another was type B, their blood wasn’t compatible. That was the theory behind ether signatures.

Nature itself purified this ether through trees, grasses, and various other methods, but even the purest form couldn’t be used by humans. Why? Because it still possessed a signature—that of nature itself.

So only ether matching a person’s signature could be used by that person.

The ether core’s job was to draw ether from the surroundings, process it, and convert it to the individual’s signature while removing impurities. That processed ether was then passed to the ether pool attached to the ether core. This pool stored all processed ether, and once an individual reached their full storage capacity, the ether core switched to passive mode—absorbing ether but not processing it, instead dispersing the absorbed ether back into the atmosphere. This was why an unawakened person could still absorb ether passively, though it meant nothing. It was just the ether core reacting to subtle pulses from the heart, which still provided the initial energy for full awakening.

Now, to the ether valves—the reason for her question. The valves connected to the ether pool transported ether throughout the body, and their size varied. This diameter depended on the size of the ether pool itself. A small ether pool meant small valves; a larger pool meant larger valves. These valves directly affected mana output, which influenced the potency of spells or abilities used.

You couldn’t force out more ether than your valves permitted—it was impossible. The only way to increase output was constant spell training and ether pool expansion, which would likewise affect valve size.

So for Asher to expend all his ether in one attack?

IT DIDN’T MAKE ANY SENSE!

JUST HOW BIG WERE HIS VALVES FOR THAT TO BE EVEN POSSIBLE?!

"I don’t know," was all Asher could say. Honestly, he really didn’t know. Perhaps it was because somehow he was bypassing the restrictions his alter had placed on him through the slave bind? Maybe that was why? Since he couldn’t give a definitive explanation, he’d just leave the issue as it was. He’d eventually figure out why.

’Wait,’ suddenly, an idea struck him.

What if, by some weird chance, the slave bind was allocating him a certain amount of ether from his enslaved partner?

’That... actually makes sense.’

[Perhaps,] came the cryptic response.

As always, it was vague about anything concerning the slave seal. It seemed to delight in making him rack his brain over something it could have just answered directly.

"You don’t?" Natalia asked, and this time she looked genuinely concerned.

It was understandable—not being able to control your ether expenditure was suicidal. It wasn’t practical in battle at all. Would the attacks be potent? You bet they would, but what if the opponent dodged? What if you were surrounded and your attack only got a portion of the enemies? What then?

"That’s why I came here," he responded, and her eyes widened.

’So he came to fix his problem,’ she quickly understood why he’d been able to get admission even without being a noble. He was a special condition the academy wanted to understand... at least, that’s what she thought.

"What year were you admitted to?" she asked, a bit apprehensive.

"That? Um, third year," he said, and her expression dropped.

’No.’ She didn’t understand why, but those words killed her mood entirely.

"Not... second?" she asked hopefully.

"No, third," he confirmed, and she frowned even more.

"But you were at the second-year dorms when I met you... Are you sure?" She bit her lip nervously.

’Second? Oh, now it makes sense.’ That was probably why he’d encountered her. His mistake stemmed from the fact that he’d still been in second year before his expulsion, so he’d completely forgotten the third-year platinum building was somewhere else entirely. No wonder he hadn’t seen many familiar faces in the hallway of the ’elite lounge.’

"No, I think I just got lost then," he scratched the back of his neck with a nervous smile.

But she didn’t respond.

He looked at her and frowned.

This was completely unexpected.

"What’s wrong?"

He asked, noticing the way her shoulders had tensed, how she was gripping the armrests of her wheelchair a little too tightly. There was something in her expression he couldn’t quite read—disappointment? Sadness?

’She wanted me to be in second year,’ he realized suddenly. ’She wanted us to be in the same year.’

[Obviously]

<She’s getting attached too quickly,> his inner voice observed. <That could be problematic.>

<I can’t let another ’Emilia’ come into play, I have to control it,> Asher thought.

"Natalia?" he said gently, crouching down beside her wheelchair so they were at eye level. "Is everything okay?"

She looked at him for a long moment, and he could see her working through whatever emotions were swirling behind those eyes.

...

...

A/N- Your gift is the motivation for my creation. Give me more motivation! Also, if you have enjoyed the story so far perhaps you can try dropping a review, the author would appreciate that, thanks!

Villain, out!