Chapter 10: Obsession

Duke Bryan took a step away from the screen in the meantime while his infiltration unit was on standby.

He found the lack of defensive measures hard to believe. Almost like he was up against a novice.

'Is there really a land owner who is naive enough to trust technology?' He thought in disappointment.

He turned the screen off and went to his lab. A look of derision appeared when he looked at a servant.

"You'll help your master, right?" He asked the maid who had been tasked with escorting him promptly.

His body smelled of chemicals and plants, with a slight tinge of blood. The maid knew exactly why.

A part of her wanted to refuse. Her face twisted in fear as she tried to refuse his overbearing 'request'.

However, such feelings were useless…

An overwhelming obsession appeared on her face that eased the fires of life in her composed eyes.

She nodded in a way a slight bit different from how Jake Arcadia eagerly followed Clara's commands.

The emptiness in her eyes showed a lack of independent thought, but didn't seem hypnotised.

That slight contradiction was favourable to him.

The Duke walked into his lab. He opened the door to reveal why his clothes reeked of compounds.

Chemicals and glass beakers were surrounding him everywhere. Unhealthily clouded Ether was about.

Still, the maid didn't seem to be able to refuse going in. Horror started to fill her internal mind.

Her desires cut off from her actions…

"Why did you call me?" Waiting behind a cloud of cloudy external energy was a powerful redhead.

Her clothes seemed esoteric. Skimpy in a few areas despite having the outer layers similar to a Chinese hanfu dress. A thin robe draping a qipao that exposed her stomach. A sash just underneath her modest chest holding everything together.

Although Bryan found her attire uncouth and maybe even a bit demeaning, he knew his pride shouldn't be an enabler for him to make the worst mistake he could: Offending this scary woman.

"My apologies, Miss Demon." These words made her squint, but not for the reasons other would expect. She stomped over in his direction and waved away the cloudy miasma covering her face.

The features of a pale beauty were unearthed.

"My name isn't literally 'Heavenly Demon'."

"My apologies, Heavenly Demon."

"Who said you could address me by my title?" Even though her words were grating on his nerves, the Duke showed patience and composure. His smile didn't fade even as he continued to speak to her:

"Our collaboration is on equal terms. You help me with some odd jobs, I provide you with medicine and materials you need to become stronger. Is the nature of our relationship somehow different now?"

Seeing his cold eyes, the red-headed beauty frowned… but she backed down from taunting him.

"You know I hate this smelly place. The Qi in here is murky… especially from the things you're doing."

Her eyes landed on the expressionless maid who was proudly watching her with an unblinking stare.

No, 'pride' couldn't describe the nature of the chains that bound her to the words of the Duke.

The woman simply titled the 'Heavenly Demon' spoke while putting down her earlier thoughts:

"What's this?"

To her, she felt no abnormalities in the Aura or Mana of the maid… It didn't look like brainwashing.

Still, she knew the only servants who ever saw her never lived longer than a day. What was this ploy?

"Nothing… I wanted to test out a new medicine I'm making. She agreed to help me in this experiment."

"Does she know that 'experiment' will make her die a dog's death?" Her words caused no reaction.

This caused wrinkles to appear on her forehead.

"Don't bother scaring her off."

"You did something to her."

"Maybe… but how does that-

"If we're on equal terms, you should explain this."

"…" He neither agreed nor refused. However, the way he sighed showed he had no other option.

He moved towards a nearby table. There, two mysterious stones were placed next to each other.

That along with colourful liquids and thick gasses.

Next to a colourful cream yellow gemstone was a black and ominous stone that didn't glow at all.

Although the Heavenly Demon couldn't recognise them, she felt a familiarity towards the latter one.

"What are these things?" She pointed at them.

"On the right is a 'Spirit Stone' and on the left, the one you're pointing to, is a common 'Beast Stone'."

"So you used them in my 'Cultivation Pills'?"

"I'm surprised you're taking this in so easily. Here I thought you'd reject the notion of this material and try to kill me." Duke Bryan genuinely smiled. That sincerity was disgusting enough to make her mute.

She watched him intently, and he clearly knew the thoughts she was trying to convey without words.

He went into detail:

"These Beast Stones are what drop from Dark Beasts of both Animalistic and Monstrous nature."

"Why are you call them 'Dark Beasts'?"

"It's just for specificity. Don't mind the wording. I needed a new term after meeting a certain Beast."

"Right… Get back to what you were saying."

"I make your Cultivation Pills through mixing Beast Stones with other materials. After all, Beasts in general become stronger by devouring these mediums. Ascenders should too… theoretically."

"Theoretically?" That last statement didn't make sense to her. Regardless, it was good research.

"You could probably make more connections with strong people from the Martial Realm if you sold it."

"That would never happen." He said with clearcut certainty, continuing: "Only you had succeeded."

These words made her think of many things to come up with an idea why, but she didn't tell him.

There wasn't a need to ruin her monopoly just yet.

"I'm satisfied." The brief glimpse of enlightenment that flashed by her eyes didn't escape his notice.

He couldn't help asking:

"Do you know why this always happens? My father and grandfather had been studying for years, but we had never gotten an answer. Scans show no abnormalities in the Mana extracted from them."

"Who knows? Anyway, let's get to business. If you won't say, then I'm won't hesitate to cut you off."

"…" For a brief moment, Bryan let his guard down enough to fall into an 'emptiness' just like the maid.

"Heh… Haha…" After chucking, he sighed out of agitation from being so close yet far from the truth.

He needed to get it out of her mouth, but he knew the inevitability of loss if he tried to pry it from her.

It was similar to the mental instability Jake felt when he'd learnt of the true nature of his parent.

"You know… People like me are different from people like her." Bryan started to defend himself.

"I don't care about what you do."

"You should. I'm important."

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"Sure." Her mouth said one thing, but her eyes were stating that he couldn't be compared to her.

A king of ants had nothing in front true greatness.

"You don't understand one bit. You think I'm drowning in a worthless feeling of superiority?"

"Like I already said: I'm not feeling interested."

"LISTEN! I've heard of how hierarchies have been established in your 'Martial World' from another. I know you see me as nothing special, but this world is nothing like your own. We of Gaia are different."

"If I hear another one of her ravings, I'll kill your myself. In front of my greatness, you should be honoured to even lay eyes on me. An ungrateful fool like yourself dares try and lecture me!"

A cruel and demonic power arose from her body. It was a heavy form of energy different from 'Mana'.

While 'Mana' was always separated into Attributes consistently, 'Qi' was whatever it was cultivated as.

As such, the Demonic Qi she used was something he'd never be able to understand his whole life.

Regardless, the Duke decided to prove his claim.

"You… defend me with your life. Protect me even if you have to die." The redhead raised a brow.

Did he think a mere maid dared to stop her?

The frail servant had already buckled onto her knees in fear. Asking anything was worthless.

However, her expectations were exceeded.

The mere non-combatant maid manifested her broom-like Spirit Essence and charged at her.

Her face filled with 'loyalty'…

That was the last moment of the woman's life before she fell to the ground like a stringless doll.

Blood started to stain the floor at that moment.

She didn't know what this eerie feeling was in the beginning, but now she realised what he meant.

Her eyes started to widen, but she held back her confusion to act like she had understood nothing:

"How useless… What a waste of life."

"Not worthless. Just small." The grandiose way the Duke carried himself after doing this angered her.

She already knew this maid would die, but that was only because she happened to know too much.

The Heavenly Demon took no pleasure in useless slaughter. They only dirtied her finger momentarily.

"I understand." She gave up pretending.

The conversation would go nowhere unless she accepted the reality he was trying to convey.

"You do?"

"You used a drug to amplify her obsession with being your loyal maid. You took advantage of it."

"Correct, but not entirely right."

"Don't speak in riddles."

"I'm not. You know… 'Class' is innate to us Gaia Humans. It decides who and what we want to be."

"You made your point." She lifted her finger in and pointed at him a way that heightened his instincts.

She wasn't having any more of his nonsense.

If he continued this farce, he'd taste her Heart Puncturing Wind Demon technique firsthand.

The threat of death finally made him regain his senses. The Duke swiped back his hair and spoke:

"My apologies… You might say that there are a lot of people in this kingdom who are… 'unstable'."

"I can see that."

"…I understand saying anything else will threaten my life. I'll get straight to the reason I called you."

"Finally…" She lowered her deadly weapon. A label that was given to her index finger un-ironically. 

"Please protect my children."

"Huh?" His sincere expression was a big surprise.

"My children… They have been acting weirdly ever since that interesting girl of mine returned home."

"I know. It's not like they keep their relationship a secret. I saw how harmonious it was the way here."

"That's what bothers me."

"That your children are too intimate with her?"

"No… It's just… They haven't been studying magic ever since she came here. It's way too strange."

"…You called me here for such a stupid reason?" A finger was raised to poke out his heart once again.

"It's not a jest."

"I don't have children, but I know the thing kids hate most is studying. You're overreacting."

"Look at that body there." He pointed at the fallen maid, uncaring and disrespectful of her corpse.

Though that could be said for both of them.

The only thing that came to their minds was the thought of who was responsible for 'cleaning' it.

The Heavenly Demon hesitated. 

Duke Bryan used that opportunity to explain:

"She died because she wasn't favoured by Gaia enough. Because if she were, I'd be the one in misery. In terms is value, a 'Maid' is a small cog in this kingdom. Essential, but not hard to replace."

"You're saying… You're obsession is innate?"

"That's what I've been trying to say. My family is made up of Wizards. Studying is our life's calling."

"And you can't deny it?"

"That's not the point here."

"Isn't it?"

"Will you protect my children?"

"…I'm only doing this because they're cuter than you are. I don't understand how you had those kids. Especially that little girl… 'Lucia'. A devil like you doesn't deserve an adorable girl like her."

'You hag…! Eyes away from my girl!' She found the way she called his kids cute to be a bit unnerving.

He hoped none of them really took her fancy…

"Do we have a deal?"

"…Alright. I'll accept this request. You better help me find good materials for my sword as payment."

"You have my gratitude." He extended his hand to her politely, but she didn't even give a second look.

Her body sped past him in the blink of an eye.

The Duke took his hand back embarrassedly and looked at the corpse again, his only thought being:

'My wife will want this.'

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