Chapter 256: A Benevolent Master And A Pitful Snake.

"Begin the process, Ra."

I barked out the order, suppressing the smile threatening to appear on my face. This poor guy, this poor, poor guy, had absolutely no idea what was coming.

And honestly, that was on him. I mean, who the hell did he think he was, trying to scam me?

Knowing exactly what I was thinking, Ra began.

He extended his hands toward the ring carrying Naga, his expression completely focused as my domain began to stir as a massive wave of golden energy traveled towards the ring.

I observed the new power Ra had supposedly awakened after my rank-up. According to him, his control over the domain had increased even further. Well, so had mine but I didn’t really feel like doing this kind of work, so I pushed it onto him.

Naga’s body began trembling as it was pulled back into the ring. A massive shadow of a humanoid figure appeared behind the ring, holding a giant sword as it slashed forward toward us.

I simply raised my hand and swiped once through the air, the attack dispersed before it could even come close.

That shadow was probably the seal that the bastard Heavenly Demon had placed on Naga, restricting his existence to the Ashborn bloodline and that ring.

And in a way... we were tearing it apart.

The shadowy figure didn’t vanish.

Instead, it resisted, as beads of sweat formed on Ra’s forehead. Well, I couldn’t let him struggle like that even if it was a little entertaining. So I extended my hand, calling upon the power of the domain.

A barrier formed around the shadow, trapping it completely. It began attacking the barrier relentlessly, but it was already too weak inside my domain.

And if that wasn’t enough, the power it was facing didn’t come from my mortal self, instead it came from my Cards of Arcana, an almost infinite source of energy behind my domain.

Even if I couldn’t fully utilize it in reality... within my domain, I had enough authority to wield it.

Just then, something from the far edge of my domain flew through the air, a green-colored chain, now carrying a faint golden glint.

Honestly, I had nearly forgotten it even existed.

This chain wasn’t an ordinary piece of work, it was a creation of Eidolon, which Ashavar had received in his first life. I could still remember how he called Eidolon a scammer who failed to save his own child.

Though now that I actually knew the full story, it was completely different.

Still, these chains were a product of the effect of Eternal Vow, the ring artifact Ashavar had forced me to use to get engaged to Arza.

I had stored these bindings back then to avoid alerting Ashavar, thinking they might be useful in the future.

And that use... came today.

After staying in my domain for so long, the chains had been heavily influenced by my powers. More importantly, Ra had tweaked them, breaking the connection they had with Arza’s counterpart.

Her artifact would probably still function as intended but this one was no longer connected to it. Instead... Ra had reforged these chains into something else, something which would work closer to a slave mark.

The moment I suspected this bastard, I knew I couldn’t let him roam free or let him stay near Lyra without a leash.

And if I had asked him for a soul contract or an Oath of Eternal Damnation, something that directly bound him, there was always a risk he might refuse and do something drastic, forcing me to erase such a useful pawn for nothing.

So, I chose this way.

By binding him with these chains as a leash in the name of freeing him from the restrictions placed by the Heavenly Demon, I planned to make him my loyal slave—I mean subordinate.

Hell, I was even planning to give him a body very soon.

Seriously... my benevolence knew no bounds, and yet this bastard was trying to scam me or at least, that’s what I suspected.

But oh well...

That would become clear very soon.

Naga burst out of the ring as if sensing something was wrong and looked at us furiously. Still, his tone remained calm, even as a torrent of violent energy pushed against the seal, while the green chains wrapped around his neck.

"Master... what is this energy...?" He asked, his body tensing slightly, trying to remove the chains slowly wrapping around his neck. "What are you doing, oh great master?"

I smiled.

"Nothing, just a small contingency. You said your life is mine anyway, so don’t mind it. It’ll be over soon."

"There is no need for that, Master. I will serve you even without any restrictions." He continued, a hint of desperation creeping in. "My master trained me to obey the successor, you do not need to worry."

I waved a hand dismissively.

"Oh, then don’t mind these chains. They’re just nominal, just consider them as a fancy locket or something, a gift from me."

His face twisted, probably only now noticing the smiles on mine and Ra’s faces.

"You bastards, let me go! Don’t bind me, I will kill you. I will kill you! Just release me from the seal. I am warning you."

His voice turned hostile as well.

Damn... that didn’t take long.

I honestly thought it would take at least a few more exchanges for him to show his true self. But I guess being sealed for thousands of years, only to be given hope and have it shattered by being bound again...

...doesn’t exactly build patience.

"Ohh, you’ve hurt my benevolent heart now, Naga." I sighed dramatically.

"You know, I was just about to remove those chains, it was supposed to be just a test of your loyalty." I smiled devilishly. "But how can I trust you after a threat like that? Now I have to make sure you have a proper leash."

"Please, please, Master, I will do anything you ask. I’ll tell you about the ancient treasures the previous successor left behind, and I’ll even reveal a way to become a god faster than anyone... just remove this vile energy..."

Seeing that anger didn’t work, he tried tempting me with information, his desperation clear even though I was sure he didn’t actually have anything worthwhile.

I mean, if he really knew a faster way to reach Godhood, why was he still just a demi-god when he got sealed?

"Nah, too late for forgiveness, Naga. And if you really do have that information... I’ll get it out of you afterward anyway."

I played around with him for a while, buying time, as a faint click echoed within my domain and the storm of energy surrounding the ring began to calm.

"You bastard, I will—"

Before he could finish, I interrupted him.

"Shut up, Naga."

His mouth snapped shut mid-speech, as if his very existence now obeyed my will instead of his own.

"The chains are working just as we expected, Ra."

I looked at Ra, who wiped a few beads of sweat from his forehead.

"I guess our experiment was a success."

Ra matched my smile as we both looked at Naga.

"Go inside the ring."

The moment I spoke, his body was dragged back into the ring without resistance, completely stripped of control.

I willed the ring to float toward me and inspected it in my hand as Ra floated around my hand.

"The pattern around it has changed." He muttered. "I wonder what that rune even means."

The ring now had a strange rune across its surface, too subtle for ordinary eyes to notice. The red gemstone on top had completely turned green.

"By Ra, are you sure these chains will hold him for long? I mean, as strong as they are, Eidolon was still just a demi-god when he created them."

I asked. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Although we both shared the same set of memories and skills, we had divided our focus on different aspects to better manage our minds without overloading them and Ra was in charge of most of these kinds of stuff.

"Well, previously, the chains worked purely on borrowed power from the Heavenly Principles through some kind of contract but now, I have replaced that with the power of our domain."

He continued.

"So I guess it should work and even if this guy somehow finds a way to break free, we will be stronger by then and so will be the domain."

"I guess that’s true. In any case, what do you think we should do about this guy?"

I pointed toward the center of the domain, where the shadow extracted from the ring was still attacking the barrier around it.

"Meh, just kill it." Ra said without a hint of interest.

"Well, that’s an option, I guess but it would unnecessarily attract the attention of that bastard Heavenly Demon."

I said after thinking for a few moments.

"So just keep it locked somewhere for now. We’ll think of something later. And who knows, it might come in handy."

"Yeah, that’s a possibility."

Ra nodded intently.

—

After having a small chat with him about a few other important things, I willed myself to exit the domain.

My body appeared in the same flower garden as before with a sense of utter weakness, contrary to how I felt in my domain.

The ring carrying Naga’s soul was still in my hand as I slipped it onto my finger and called that bastard out.

His face was twisted beyond recognition, but his appearance had returned to that of the family’s founder.

"Don’t come out unless I tell you to and even if you do, act like before and don’t say anything unnecessary to Lyra. Also, the gemstone’s color changed because of a change in wielder."

"Do you understand...?"

I asked.

He nodded stiffly as if trying to resist.

"Yes, sir."

"Good and don’t worry, we still have a lot to talk about later."

I reassured him with a smile.

After all, I had plenty of questions to ask that bastard... but unfortunately, I didn’t have the time to deal with him right now instead of spending it with my family.

So I decided I’d have a proper chat with him later.

With that thought, I walked back toward the main estate.

"I guess... it’s time to catch up with my family."