Chapter 334: Bonds of Mastery
Alexander let out a low grunt as he reached his climax, holding Vanya tightly by the hips and filling her. The woman’s body shuddered in his arms before going limp against the wood.
In that instant a fresh blue light flickered in front of his vision, displaying a floating system prompt.
[Charm Slave: 99.99%]
"What’s this?" Alexander muttered under his breath.
He tapped the translucent screen with his fingertip to expand the notification details. A brief description appeared before his eyes:
"The domestication percentage will progressively decrease every hour, varying according to the intensity of the feelings and emotions of the subjected slave."
There were no further details or extra information on the panel.
"Damn system, you never make this easy, do you?" Alexander grumbled, wiping a hand across his sweaty forehead. "Is a user manual too much to ask for? Whatever... at least it turned out like I expected."
Vanya, her body trembling and her pale skin still flushed from the exertion pushed herself up from the counter. With calm steps and a distant gaze, she headed toward the ground-floor bathroom to take a shower.
Alexander watched her walk away with a raised eyebrow, visibly intrigued. Did the skill actually take effect? he wondered to himself, studying her composure.
Alexander pulled his pants back on and followed her to the bathroom doorway. Spotting her under the stream of water, he leaned against the doorframe and locked eyes with her.
"Do you feel any different in any way?" Alexander asked.
Vanya paused her hands for a second beneath the water, running her fingers through her wet green hair before looking back at him sideways.
"No," she answered in a calm voice. "Everything feels normal."
"Let’s take a quick shower," Alexander said, stepping back from the doorframe. "We need to cross over to the other world as soon as possible."
"I’ll be ready right away," Vanya replied without a objection, rinsing the soap off her body with docility.
Alexander thought about it for a second and changed his mind. He let Vanya finish her bath and walked upstairs with a firm stride toward the second floor. Entering the room, he ordered the girls to get dressed and head downstairs.
When the women came down and spotted the light-green-haired girl standing by the counter, they froze in their tracks. It took them a few seconds to process what they were looking at before they finally recognized her.
To all of them, Vanya was practically a ghost. They knew her name and her reputation as their true leader, but they had never seen her face or known her location. They could only communicate with her by leaving letters or encrypted messages at specific drop points throughout the city, which she would retrieve in secret.
Seeing her there in person, disarmed and displaying a submissive gaze in front of Alexander, sent a shockwave through them.
Vanya was widely renowned as the top assassin and the most dangerous operative in their group. She was always assigned the most grueling infiltration missions, and she had never failed a single time. The fact that she had been caught and subdued so easily by Alexander was simply inconceivable to them.
Alexander crossed his arms as he watched the group’s reaction. Now that he no longer had to fear internal conspiracies or betrayals behind his back, his position was significantly better. Initially, he had been worried that leaving Old 5 and the men in charge would end up setting a trap for the girls in his absence. His original plan was to leave a few of them behind to keep watch over the tavern, but with Vanya’s threat neutralized, that issue was solved.
His eyes drifted over to Kayla. The blue-haired girl was the only one in the group who wasn’t bound to him by a control skill like [Charm] or a direct contract; however, up to this point, she had been quite compliant and showed no signs of betrayal.
Well, I’ll let things stay like this for now, Alexander thought, keeping silent as he studied them. I also want to see what happens when I formally mark her... whether anything changes in the system or her attitude. It’s too powerful a skill; I need to learn its limits.
"I don’t know what messages ended up being sent or if you reported the news about the three slaves, so we’re playing it safe," Alexander said in a firm tone. "Brianna, stay here and watch over the tavern until we get back. Kayla will stay with you to keep an eye on things."
Brianna and Kayla nodded immediately, obeying the command without a second thought. Alexander turned toward the green-haired assassin, fixing her with an authoritative glare.
"Vanya, transform into Brianna and follow me," Alexander ordered. "We’re going to the other side to report a few things, gather reinforcements, and we’ll be back as soon as possible."
Vanya didn’t utter a single word; she simply lowered her eyes. In a split second, a faint magical mist shrouded her body as her figure began to fluidly warp. Before the astonished eyes of everyone present, the assassin’s height, curves, face, and even hair color shifted until she took on Brianna’s exact appearance.
The girls choked back gasp of pure amazement. Brianna slapped both hands over her mouth, taking a step back as she stared with wide eyes.
"That’s... that’s impossible!" Brianna exclaimed, touching her own cheeks to reassure herself that she was the real one. "She looks identical to me! I can’t spot the slightest difference!"
"Wait... say something," Sydney cut in, stepping forward to examine the impostor up close. "Speak, I want to hear your voice."
Vanya glanced at her sideways and flashed a subtle smirk.
"Is this enough for you, Sydney?" Vanya said.
The tone, pitch, and subtle nuances of the voice were identical down to the last detail. Sydney flinched, and even Kayla narrowed her eyes, stunned by the sheer perfection of the disguise.
"Unbelievable... she sounds exactly like you, Brianna," Kayla muttered, shaking her head.
Alexander took in the display with self-assurance. Knowing the infiltration would be flawless, he turned and headed toward the chamber housing the transport mechanism.
"Enough," Alexander commanded. "Get everything ready to activate the portal. We’re leaving now."
The girls snapped into action immediately, beginning to manipulate the activation runes. A vibrant glow began to engulf the archway, opening the passageway between the two worlds as Alexander prepared to move his pieces in the human realm.