As Adrian led his group inside the imposing stone walls of Mortimer Castle, he barked a final order to his troops, his voice cutting through the tense silence.
"Keep an eye on everyone. Anyone who acts suspiciously, anyone who tries anything—kill them without hesitation. Even if you just find their expression suspicious, you can kill them. "
The soldiers nodded in grim acknowledgment, their expressions determined as they fanned out to patrol the castle grounds.
The atmosphere was thick with tension, but Adrian's unwavering presence gave them confidence. They had just won a decisive battle, and they weren't going to let any threat undo their victory.
Once inside the grand chamber—the heart of the castle, where the head of the Mortimer family once presided over affairs—Adrian moved towards the large, ornate chair positioned at the end of the room.
The chair, carved from dark, polished wood, was adorned with intricate engravings symbolizing the Mortimer family's legacy. But now, Adrian would claim it, as victor over the fallen house.
Baron Mortimer and the other prisoners were forced to kneel before Adrian, their wrists bound with heavy chains. The room was dimly lit, casting long shadows that flickered ominously against the stone walls.
Adrian lowered himself onto the ancient seat, his eyes cold and calculating as he looked down at the defeated Baron and his accomplices.
His presence commanded absolute authority. The weight of the moment hung over the prisoners like a guillotine, but Adrian's calm exterior gave nothing away of what was to come.
With a flick of his wrist, Adrian summoned the system, navigating to the store with effortless ease. His gaze lingered over different choices before he selected the Soul Slave Seal. His thought lingering over the option as he turned towards the prisoner.
Adrian's eyes remained fixed on the three prisoners kneeling before him, their defiance silently lingering in the air.
He took a deep breath, as his finger hovered over the purchase button, the system's familiar, mocking voice rang in his head.
"Oh? The great Adrian Everhart needs a seal to make his enemies bend to his will? I thought you had enough charm to make them kneel on their own."
The taunt was laced with amusement, and Adrian's eyes narrowed slightly. He ignored the system's derision, focusing instead on his task. He had no time to entertain the system's jabs—not when something this critical was at stake.
With a single thought, Adrian dismissed the mockery and purchased the Soul Slave Seals. Three seals appeared before him in the form of translucent symbols glowing with a sinister, ethereal light.
"Your opinion, system, is noted," he muttered under his breath, his voice filled with icy sarcasm. "But irrelevant."
The seals shimmered in the air, waiting to be used. Adrian turned his gaze back to the prisoners, his expression hardening once more.
"Vincent. Isolde. Asmodeus," Adrian called out, his voice steady but dark with authority. "Do you wish to live… or die?"
None of them answered.
Adrian's lips curled into a smirk, seeing their silent defiance. "I was giving you a choice out of courtesy, but since you don't appreciate it, it doesn't matter."
With a decisive motion, he unleashed the first two Soul Slave Seals. The ethereal chains shot forth from his hands, striking Vincent and Isolde.
Their bodies convulsed as the magic forced itself into their souls, and they screamed, their defiance shattering as the intense pain tore through them.
The room grew eerily silent as Vincent and Isolde's agony turned into something far more unsettling.
Their faces slackened, their expressions transforming from fury to a grotesque, wide-eyed adoration.
Their gazes shifted from the cold floor to Adrian, now filled with a disturbing reverence. They dropped to the ground, fully prostrating themselves before him, their voices trembling with worshipful intensity.
"My lord… my master…" Vincent rasped, his voice hoarse from the earlier pain, now shaking with awe. "We exist only to serve you… to obey your every command. Please, forgive our earlier defiance."
Isolde echoed his words, her voice filled with breathless devotion. "Our lives are yours, Lord Adrian. We are nothing without you. Command us, and we shall obey without question."
Their change was immediate, absolute, and terrifying in its intensity. Gone was the defiance, replaced by blind, fervent fanaticism.
Their every word and gesture radiated the unwavering loyalty of zealots to their chosen deity.
The sight sent a ripple of unease through the room, even among Adrian's own allies. Seraphina's and rest of his women eye's widened, as they looked at the incomprehensible scene right before their eyes.
Asmodeus watched in horror as his comrades—the people he had fought beside, the ones who had once stood as equals—were reduced to groveling shadows of themselves.
His eyes widened, disbelief etched into every line of his face. He clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white, his nails digging into his palms as he forced himself not to look away from the spectacle.
The sight of Vincent and Isolde, once proud warriors, now reduced to this... this made his stomach churn.
His lips curled back in disgust, a low growl rumbling from his throat. It wasn't just anger or hatred. It was something deeper. Revulsion.
"You…" Asmodeus spat through gritted teeth, his voice low, trembling with fury as he turned his burning gaze toward Adrian. "What did you do to them? !"
His words were filled with venom, and the sheer intensity of his disgust radiated from him like a wildfire.
Every fiber of his being recoiled from the sight of his once-defiant comrades, now hopelessly devoted to the very man who had crushed them.
Asmodeus knew that he was next.
"They would rather die than serve you, and yet…" His eyes flickered to the prostrate forms of Vincent and Isolde, their words of devotion still ringing in the air. "You stole their will... twisted their very souls! This is not victory... this is a curse."
For a brief moment, Asmodeus's defiance flickered with something more—a spark of desperation, an almost pleading look in his eyes, though he masked it quickly with his sneer.
He could feel the weight of what was coming, the inevitable tightening of the noose around his own throat.
Asmodeus didn't break easily. But witnessing the fate of those who stood by his side, witnessing their complete erasure of identity... it shook him to his core.
In his mind, one terrifying thought echoed: Would he, too, lose himself like they had? Would his own soul be torn apart, until all that was left was a hollow shell of servitude?
Adrian, however, remained composed, watching the two former enemies grovel at his feet. The level of devotion they now displayed was beyond his expectations.He felt slightly creeped out at this scene.
He then shifted his gaze to Asmodeus, the last of the three, who had been rambling with a desperate look on his face, totally ignoring his probing.
Unlike Vincent and Isolde, Asmodeus was different. There was a dangerous edge to him, something that set him apart—a volatile power that Adrian had seen firsthand when Asmodeus summoned that abyssal beast in their earlier battle.
If he could summon beasts that might have capability to undo the Soul Slave Seal, it could have catastrophic consequences.
The tension in the chamber thickened, the eerie silence lingering as Adrian deliberated over his next move.
Meanwhile, Vincent and Isolde continued to whisper fervent promises of eternal loyalty, their bodies still pressed against the cold stone floor in absolute submission.
The air grew colder, the weight of Adrian's decision heavy upon him as the eyes of everyone in the room remained on him, waiting for him to choose what to do next.