CHAPTER 98: THE CROWNED PRINCESS

The next day, after resting his spirit and fully recovering his reservoir of black mana, Caius returned to the depths of his soul sea.

The liquid obsidian waters hummed with quiet, contained power as Caius materialized atop the island. Nearby, the Black Flame Demon stood tall and vigilant, its towering frame cloaked in dark, liquid fire that looked as though it had been thoroughly baptized in the black mana pool itself.

Not far away, the glowing barrier circle that had previously trapped the demon was completely gone. In its place, a steady stream of pure, dark energy flowed from the central island directly into the demon, feeding its essence without restraint.

The Arachne princess huddled at the far edge of her own binding circle, trembling violently.

She stared at the Black Flame Demon in terror, watching how the terrifying creature had been hollowed out—turned into a docile, silent slave devoid of its former ego. She looked at the rich black mana bathing the demon and felt a desperate, burning desire to feast upon that dark energy, yet the fear of losing her mind and becoming a mindless puppet kept her frozen in place.

Caius walked up to the boundary of her circle, his face emotionless.

Without uttering a word, he raised his hand and condensed a slender obsidian blade, complete with a dark, shimmering thread trailing behind it. The princess hissed, pulling back in sheer panic, but the domain's gravity crushed her to the ground, pinning her helpless against the stone.

Caius stepped forward and drove the obsidian needle directly into her crown point.

A piercing, shrill scream echoed across the soul sea, shaking the pillars of the ancient temple. Caius held his grip, expecting the same rush of memories to flood his mind, followed by the complete destruction of her identity.

However, as the obsidian thread locked firmly into her crown point, Caius felt a sudden, unexpected resistance.

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The dark thread fused cleanly into her essence, but the cleansing wave of Crown mana didn't wipe her mind. Her ancient memories, her royal pride, and her conscious identity remained intact. When the princess finally raised her head, her multi-faceted eyes were wide, clear, and intelligent. She looked up at Caius and bowed her head in absolute submission, docility settling over her posture—yet her core personality was still there. She knew who she was. She was a higher-ranked Arachne, a royal entity of her species.

Caius stood frozen for a second, genuinely shocked.

Then, a distant memory of Old Bones's lesson came back to him. The old assassin had once warned him that dark elves could never truly mind-control higher-level Arachne beasts; their royal soul foundations made them completely immune to traditional mental control and memory erasure. Lower-ranked creatures—like the lower Arachne or the mindless Flame Demon—could have their minds wiped clean, but higher-ranked beasts naturally resisted complete mental rewriting.

So that's what Old Bones meant, Caius thought, examining the thread. Dark elves can't mind-control higher-level Arachne. They're immune to having their minds erased.

He paused, studying the princess as she knelt before him.

Well, as long as she obeys without hesitation, it won't be a problem.

Caius waved his hand, deactivating the circle barrier that had kept her imprisoned for so long. The princess gasped as the restrictive pressure vanished, leaving her completely free within the domain. Delighted, she immediately crawled toward the black mana pool, dipping her limbs into the dense, rich energy to feed. The deep, burning hatred that had once filled her eyes whenever she looked at Caius was gone, replaced by absolute loyalty to her new master.

"Step out," Caius commanded, testing her spatial transition.

The princess bowed, slipping smoothly through the threshold into the physical realm. A second later, following a sharp mental command, Caius uttered, "Dismiss," and she retracted seamlessly back across the veil, materializing effortlessly within the soul sea once more.

Caius observed her transformed appearance with an analytical eye. Unlike the male warrior, who was entirely dark, the princess was not completely black. She possessed a human-like upper torso with two slender arms and two legs, flanked by four razor-sharp, bladed arachnid limbs extending from her back. Her skin was framed by sleek, obsidian chitin armor, and atop her head sat a delicate, dark crown structure formed of pure Crown mana.

She didn't turn completely dark, but she gained obsidian chitin armor and a black crown, Caius noted, inspecting her sleek, lethal form. Hmm... oh well, she looks good in that form.

He turned his back toward the temple steps, satisfied.

As long as the key held and the bond was absolute, the manifestation was a complete success.