(Erika POV)
Black Death: Bridling Fealty.
It is one of the S-rank spells of the Black Death magic that I have been granted by none other than Lord Daelus.
By just hearing the name of the spell itself, one can safely assume that its purpose is to force the target of their desire complete fealty to me, servitude without exception as I would say, restraining them like putting a harness on a horse's head and dictating their direction or path as what the Bridling word suggested.
Fufu, a rather fitting name, was it not? It was Lord Daelus who suggested it himself.
Unlike my other meager mind manipulation spells, like the one that I have used at the Dragon siblings, this spell possessed a 100% rate of success, so I can be sure that Ken Bruce the Magus of Infinity would be adhering to my will without question after I have completed the spell's process.
In short, I can say with complete confidence that Bridling Fealty is the number one mind control spell that shaped the will of a person as it involved altering the inside of their mind as what I would see fit to turn them into my loyal minion who would follow my every order to the death as if they were devoted to me.
But there's a catch when using this spell.
I can only cast this spell once I have gathered the necessary sacrifices and offer them to my Lord.
Sacrifices in the form of living humanoid beings, whether they were humans or demons.
But not just any sacrifices though.
To be more specific, I needed six A to S-rank individuals based on how powerful they were and to conduct a ritual for their potent souls to be offered to Lord Daelus. Then, he would permit me to use the spell of undeniable enslavement. Whether these individuals were Mages or not, it matters not to him.
The more powerful the soul, the more enticing it was to my Lord. The souls would also serve as a catalyst to activate the spell at its intended capacity.
While sacrificing six to control one appeared to be a bad trade at first glance, it was not the case for me.
When one found pleasure in slaughtering and putting powerful fools beneath my feet on a regular basis, then such activity only felt more like a fun pastime rather than a bothersome chore.
Using it without his permission, however, would yield a dire consequence consisting of reducing my overall magical power by half permanently as well as unimaginable pain.
At least, that's what Lord Daelus told me. Although, I would not dare to even attempt such brazen action that would offend him. A testament to my undying loyalty to him.
It's the reasons that were mentioned as to why I became his chosen, after all, fufufu.
The prospect of being weaker just so I can enslave someone truly baffled me, so six souls it is then.
As a result of all this information at hand, I'm currently inside Ken Bruce's mindscape in my attempt to tinker with his way of thinking to my liking.
Well, a good part of me that is to be exact.
Every tendril or slime was a part of me and they all share the same consciousness or will, just like the amputated arm that transformed into a tendril and stabbed Ken Bruce in the stomach.
It's like having multiple versions of myself and the feeling of it is somewhat strange, that's all I can say.
And this part of me was the one that entered Ken Bruce by his mouth like a parasite and invaded the depths of his mind.
Like every other mindscape, this felt empty and dark as a void, but if I focused deeply on my magic, then I could discern some elements like the fabrications that played his willpower and understanding.
Hmm, let's see, it's time that I corrupt this fragile and young mind of his so he can be my slave for all eternity, fufufu.
Imagine, the Magus of Infinity himself, being my faithful minion. Oh, how the possibilities and ways to use him were truly endless.
Hmm, perhaps I shall turn him into my devoted lover? Him siring a spawn of mine is also quite a tempting prospect and it's been months since I had the pleasure of having sex with someone in bed.
Hey, even someone like me still had her needs.
The first thing that I'm going to do is to let him copy my Black Death, then it will be the two of us who shall serve Lord Daelus and acquire even more tremendous power.
Speaking of that, did he realized the repercussions of copying my magic? Was that the reason why he has shown no signs of using it despite having the capability to learn it through his unique magic?
Strange. Perhaps the boy was a lot more cunning than he looked.
And I do love my minions who were clever like that, fufufu. Save me a lot of trouble in molding them as I saw fit.
Now without further ado, it's about time that I make good use of my tendrils and spread them out so I can finally commence the ritual of enslavement.
"Hoohh, what's this? You lost, little kitten?"
While performing the deed, I was interrupted by an echoing and sinister female voice, much to my shock.
"What the?!"
And my astonishment did not stop there when all of my tendrils were suddenly cut off and subsequently burned quickly in an instant.
Another strange thing was the nature of the flames themselves. It was silver in color, none that I have ever seen as I shockingly stared the charred remains of my tendrils down below.
Well, this was a first.
Never have I experienced some kind of entity speaking from inside my victim's mind, and even more so when they were even capable of harming me in this mental state.
In addition, the now eerie presence that I started to feel was absolutely overwhelming. As a result, my breathing turned jagged and I also had trouble maintaining my posture due to how intense the pressure was.
In an instant, the dark mindscape illuminated, turning the whole empty world from black to white.
Then, my mouth turned agape upon seeing the entity.
It was a silver-haired woman.
She was sitting in a crossed-legged manner on a tall silver throne with gold ornaments while her head leaned on her right hand, placing herself around fifteen feet above from where I stand.
The woman's expression was passive at best, but I could see the coldness of her silver eyes, chilling my every being.
I knew at that very moment that this woman, whoever she was, was extremely dangerous. Simply being around her was gravely suffocating.
Before I was about to make my retreat, my eyes widened when my body failed to follow its fleeing instincts, trapping me at where I stood.
Then, the woman spoke once more.
"Erika Aventus, is it? Trespassing inside one's mind to alter their memories to your sickening liking? How presumptuous of you, little girl."
I gritted my teeth and eyed her with disdain. Despite feeling startled, I'm not one to simply back down just like this!!
I've faced S-rank Mages, Powerful Warriors and Knights, Legendary Magical Beasts, and many other foes worthy of singing by the Bards. Why I even thwarted numerous assassination attempts from those filthy Assassins all by myself.
I'm not about to let some no-name bitch humiliate me like this!!!
"Who are you!? And how did you know my name!? I demand that you release me this instant!!"
The woman maintained her frigid expression towards me as she seemed to be unpleased by my questioning and defiance.
To insult me even further, the bitch even had the audacity to yawn in boredom.
"You dare to compel demands out of me despite being bound like the filthy cur you are? Huh, if you are trying to be a comedian, then please come up with a better joke. As you can see, I'm not even laughing."
"Why you!!! How dare you insult me like this!!! I'm not going to let this mockery stand for any longer!!!"
To blazes with being cautious!! This bitch is going to pay for disrespecting me like this!!!
I am Erika Aventus, the Dark God Daelus's chosen!!
I'm not going to be embarrassed by just anyone!!!
Even when in deep anger, my ears are not yet deaf by such intense emotions when I heard the woman now preaching to me.
"How despicable of you, little girl. In victory, you would gloat over your enemies, going so far as to trample their pride and beliefs. But the moment when you find yourself in their dismal position, you get easily enraged, unaccepting of the inevitable defeat. A little humility or two would certainly do some wonders for you."
Damn her, who the hell does she think she was for lecturing me?!!
"Humility? Please, why would I waste my time pondering over such a nonsensical value? If I was being humble, then I would have not reached the power that I achieved in the first place. Even when trapped, it does not matter. I can still slaughter you tenfold without even moving a single step, whore!!"
I conjured my tendrils and allowed them to let loose as they were directed at the woman who was the source of my great remorse.
The bitch did not even bother changing her crossed-legged position from her throne, much to my annoyance. Without even lifting a finger or any incantations uttered whatsoever, the same silver flames appeared and scorched my tendrils to ashes.
Her action was too fast for me to even counter as I suddenly felt a burning sensation coming from my body.
"H-how!?"
The feeling started to worsen as the flames materialized and begun to engulf my entire body.
"Gggrrrraaaaaaahhhh!!!!!"
I screamed in unadulterated pain as the heat of the silver flames was much profound and intense, none that I had ever felt before. It was perhaps in the same league as Dragon Fire or even worse.
Curse this fucking whore!! She'll pay dearly for what she has done to me.
"A word of advice. When you declare something with words, make sure that you can back it up with your actions, so you would not make a fool out of yourself."
"I'll kill you!!! I'll murder you and everything that you hold dear, bitch!!!!!"
A dark chuckle came from her mouth before turning into a frown once more. But this time, her grimace was a lot more severe. I trembled at how menacing she now was.
It's been a long time since I've undergone a certain emotion, something that I only experienced from two individuals.
Lord Daelus himself, and the leader of our organization… The Father.
And that emotion was none other than Fear.
"Hmm, you're starting to nauseate me even further. Maybe my flames were not enough to break you?"
Right directly above me, I could now see a silver floating magic circle spinning in a clockwise position. But at this point around, I knew of this magic since I have seen something similar from a certain Mage from the past.
The magic circle was filled with complex arrays, but I could discern the crescent moon symbol that was engraved in the middle, a magic that was only capable of being cast by none other than a Lunaria.
"And you wish to kill me? How cute."
With a snap of her fingers, the spell took effect as a concentrated beam of lunar light made its destructive aspect to me.
"Know your place… worm."
Unbearable pain was evident all over my body before being completely disintegrated by the devastating Lunar spell.