He stepped forward, his boots echoing faintly against the stone floor.

"Nexar, give me the slave collar," he said, extending his hand to the side as if reaching for something that wasn't there.

I frowned, confused. What was he doing? There was nothing in that direction... just air.

Was he joking? Those absurd options he threw at me earlier already sounded insane. There's no way he's actually going to follow through with them.

Yet his expression remained calm... too calm.

That casual, almost indifferent look sent a cold shiver through me. There was something eerie hiding behind that faint smile.

Then, before I could even move or speak, a faint shimmer appeared above his open palm.

Tiny sparks of light twisted together, forming thin threads of red and black energy. They wove into something solid... a chain?

My eyes widened. What…? The sound of metal links settling filled the tense air as the object took shape completely, a real slave collar, glinting faintly with a dull, sinister glow.

How could an item just materialize out of thin air? Was he using elemental magic? No, that shouldn't be possible.

Even with magic, transforming raw elements into a formed object required a divine gift, something like an Engineer(A+).

Without that, no spell could create crafted metal, let alone enchant it instantly.

He took a step toward me, the newly-formed collar dangling loosely from his fingers.

"How long are you going to take to choose?" he asked, his lips twisting into a smirk.

I felt heat rise in my chest and a bitter laugh escaped me.

"Kehh…" The sound came out like a snort. "You filth could never get what you want from me. You'll die by the hands of the servants of the gods once they come to find me."

My voice was steady, sharp with anger. I stared right into his eyes, refusing to show fear.

He didn't answer. Just silence. Cold, heavy silence that made my heart pound faster.

Two can play this game.

I lifted my chin, my voice low and trembling, not from fear, but from the burning pleasure curling in my chest.

"You have two options too~," I said, swaying closer. "Either release me now and die an easy death... or face torture through my hands until you beg me to kill you. But I won't kill you just then. You'll die slowly, a horrible death, after I'm done with you."

Even saying it made something dark stir within me.

The thought of watching his composure crack, hearing his screams, feeling his pride fall apart... it filled me with a twisted thrill.

The image of it wrapped around my mind, tightening like smoke.

Then he smiled. Slowly, quietly, as if my words were nothing but a familiar tune. His hand shifted to his katana, fingers brushing the handle like he was greeting an old friend.

"I'm glad you didn't change," he said softly.

He stepped closer until our breaths touched. I

could feel his warmth, the faint hum of power running through him.

In his hand gleamed a dull, metallic ring... that slave collar. A D-rank one, of all things.

My brow furrowed. What's he planning to do with that pathetic thing?

There are far better versions out in the market, advanced, precise ones that could dominate even high-tier warriors for a time.

A D-rank collar was weak; it could only control someone two tiers below the user's aura mastery. I could break such cheap restraints with no effort at all.

A small, victorious curl touched my lips. My aura mastery was twice his, and he knew it. Whatever trick he thought he was pulling, it wasn't going to work.

He raised the collar and, almost tenderly, fixed it around my neck. The cold metal brushed my skin, and I felt… nothing.

No crush of suppressive energy, no seal running through my veins.

"Kehhuh.. What are you going to do with that?" I asked, letting out a derisive snort.

He didn't answer. His silence was unnerving, almost too calm.

Then, in a single swift motion, he drew his katana. The sound of metal sliding free filled the air, sharp and clean.

Before I could even react, he swung, light flashing across the room.

Clannnggg..

The iron chains tethering me shattered with a heavy clang, the pieces scattering across the stone floor in a ringing chorus.

For a heartbeat, I couldn't move. Then the weight on my limbs vanished, and I dropped to my knees, gasping.

My legs trembled from weakness, and the single piece of torn cloth covering me swayed faintly as I caught my breath.

This fool just… released me.

A grin spread slowly, stretching across my face. The dark aura I'd been forced to suppress all this time stirred again, pulsing in my chest like the beat of a drum.

I felt it rise, swirling through my body, curling around my fingers in a storm of black lightning. The faint bitterness in my lungs transformed into laughter.

"Pfft," I scoffed, letting the energy flare. "You fool!"

I stood tall, driving two fingers straight at his throat, ready to crush him. Black aura crackled madly around me, filling the air with the omnious crackles.

"KNEEL!" he commanded, his voice simple and calm.

But before I could grasp it, the world twisted.

Thud.

My knees struck the floor so hard I barely noticed the pain. The dark current around me fizzled out, vanishing like smoke in the wind.

My body refused to obey me... I tried to rise, but my muscles locked in place.

Fear shot through me in a sharp, burning wave.

"What…?" I whispered. My fingers trembled, pressed against the cold ground. The aura... it was gone.

He stood in front of me, slightly bent, his shadow falling over my face.

The chain hung from the hilt of his sword.

He leaned in close, his eyes calm, voice slow and dangerous.

"Now then, Merin… my little slave," he said, each word sinking deep into me, mocking what I had once commanded. "How should I pay you back?"

"Wait… how.. how is this possible…" The words left my lips in a broken whisper.

My voice shook, my breath came uneven, and a tremor passed through my body.

My instincts thrashed inside me like wild animals, warning me of something dreadful... something I couldn't fully grasp yet, but my very soul sensed it.

He crouched down until his eyes were level with mine. The chain coiled around his katana's hilt brushed the floor with a soft clink. The sound echoed faintly in the still chamber.

"You don't have to know that, Merin," he said. His tone was calm, so maddeningly normal that it made my heartbeat quicken in dread.

An uneasy chill crawled up my spine.

"What you have to know is…" He leaned in slightly, the shadows twisting over his face.

His words slowed as if savoring each one. "I can always make you tell me what I want to know… with just one word."

A grin crept onto his lips, curling slowly until it reached both corners of his mouth.

Behind him, the flicker of the fire cast long, trembling shadows across his features. The light made his face blur and shady, his grin twisting with the flame until he looked less like a man and more like something born from darkness.

A devil.

"Hiek."

My breath hitched. He moved closer still, close enough that I could feel the warmth of his breath brush against my neck.

My body trembled violently. Every instinct screamed at me to run, to fight, but my limbs stayed locked in place.

It felt as if invisible threads pulled at me, keeping me still, forcing me to confront him.

"But I won't make you spill the beans," he murmured, his voice low, almost amused.

"Hehhehheeh.."

Then he laughed, softly at first, trying to suppress it, but the sound carried that sharp edge of something unhinged.

It made my stomach twist. I could see it in his eyes: he was imagining something terrible.

He rose and turned toward the fire. The faint clinking of his katana chain followed his movement.

My eyes trailed after him as he stopped before the flames where a piece of iron glowed red-hot, resting in the embers. The heat shimmered around it, breathing light into the otherwise dim chamber.

"Well…" he said after a pause, his words oddly quiet, almost thoughtful. "At least not until I'm satisfied."

He untied the leather shirt that hung over his shoulders and wrapped it around his hand before gripping the cooler end of the glowing iron.

A faint hiss filled the room as metal scraped over stone, sending tiny sparks into the dark.

The firelight reflected off the red surface of the rod, bathing the rough walls, and me, in flickering shades of crimson.

My pulse roared in my ears. I didn't move. I couldn't.

What's he going to do with the rod...? The answer is obvious.. but my brain refused to draw that conclusion.

Before I knew it my body tried to getup, run, but all it managed was to tremble.. the effect of the slave collar.. and his command, Kneel."

"Now then, Merin."

Hisss...

"SPREAD YOUR LEGS."

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