Chapter 108: Won’t Take No For an Answer

The blue light in the grand throne room faded completely. Ayanokoji and Miyuki were gone, sent back to the academy grounds.

Goddess Viona sat alone on her white velvet throne, staring at the empty space where the two students had just stood. Her golden eyes were ice cold.

Belis remained kneeling at the bottom of the steps, his forehead still damp with nervous sweat. "Your Divinity... are we truly letting them go? If the other summoned students learn of their defiance, the entire class may refuse to cooperate."

"Do you take me for a fool, Belis?" Viona said, her voice dropping to a low, dangerous whisper.

She stood up slowly, stepping over the shattered porcelain and crushed berries on the red carpet.

"They dare speak to me of contracts. They dare look at a goddess with pity and defiance," Viona sneered, her nails digging into her palms. "Ayanokoji thinks he has trapped me with his little logic. He thinks because I cannot afford to kill them, I have no choice but to let them do as they please."

"Then what is your will, Lady Viona?" Belis asked, quickly rising to his feet and bowing low.

"Follow me," Viona commanded. "We are going to the Vault of Antiquities."

Belis’s eyes widened slightly. "The deepest vault? Beneath the cathedral?"

Viona didn’t answer. She swept past him, her silk robes trailing behind her.

They left the throne room through a hidden doorway behind the altar, stepping into a narrow spiral staircase made of solid obsidian. Down and down they walked, descending hundreds of feet beneath the palace foundations. The air grew damp, heavy, and thick with ancient mana that had gathered over centuries.

At the bottom of the stairs stood a massive gate made of black iron. It had no keyholes or handles. Instead, seven glowing magical seals were etched across the metal surface.

Viona stepped forward and pressed her palm against the center seal. She released a concentrated pulse of her divine golden mana.

One by one, the seven seals flared with bright white light and unraveled. With a deep, grinding groan, the heavy iron gate slowly slid open, revealing the royal vault.

Inside, rows of stone pedestals stretched into the gloom. Each pedestal held ancient artifacts, cursed grimoires, and weapons from forgotten eras. Some hummed with dark magic, while others glowed with holy light.

Viona ignored the swords, the enchanted armor, and the glittering jewels. She walked with purpose down the central aisle, stopping in front of a dark stone chest bound with silver chains.

She waved her hand, and the silver chains snapped with a sharp metallic clink. The heavy stone lid lifted on its own, floating aside to reveal what was kept within.

Resting on a bed of faded black velvet were several dark metal armbands.

They were made of a strange, dull black alloy that seemed to swallow the light around them. Intricate, thorn-like patterns were carved into the metal, and at the center of each band sat a small, blood-red gemstone that pulsed faintly, like a tiny beating heart.

Belis peered over her shoulder, his breath hitching as he recognized the artifacts. "The Torment Bands of Zeroth... Your Divinity, these were banned by the First Holy Synod four centuries ago!"

"Rules made by mortal priests do not apply to the goddess who created them," Viona replied flatly.

She reached into the chest and picked up one of the black armbands. It felt freezing cold to the touch, but the red gem brightened the moment her divine aura touched it.

"How many are left?" Viona asked, looking down into the chest.

Belis leaned forward, counting the rows with a trembling finger. "Exactly twenty, Lady Viona. No more, no less."

"Twenty," Viona murmured, a cold, cruel smile finally returning to her lips. "More than enough."

"Your Divinity... these bands do not simply compel obedience," Belis warned in a hushed tone. "They dig into the wearer’s flesh and latch onto their nervous system and mana core. Once locked, the wearer’s free will is completely erased. They become living puppets, entirely bound to the master’s voice."

"I know exactly what they do, Belis," Viona said, turning the cold metal in her hand. "And that is precisely why I came down here to retrieve them."

She looked at the rows of black bands, her eyes gleaming with malice.

"Ayanokoji was right about one thing," Viona continued, her voice filled with venom. "If I force thirty-seven rebellious teenagers onto the battlefield, they will run. They will hesitate, they will cry, or they will wave white flags and surrender to John Smith’s soldiers. I cannot trust their loyalty. I cannot trust their hearts."

She clenched her fist around the armband.

"So, I will simply remove their choice."

Belis swallowed hard. "You intend to put them on Hero Ayanokoji and Hero Miyuki?"

"Of course," Viona chuckled, a dark, mocking sound. "Ayanokoji has a sharp mind. He understands the enemy’s weapons. He understands their tactics. I will place a band around his arm, and he will become my personal grand strategist. He will plan every ambush, every trap, and every deployment without a single thought of defiance. He will serve the Solarian Empire whether he wants to or not."

"And Hero Miyuki?"

"She is an S-rank divine healer," Viona said coldly. "Her tears and moral weakness disgust me. With this band around her arm, she will not hesitate to heal my paladins. She will stand behind the frontline and cast high-tier regeneration spells until her mana runs dry, without uttering a single complaint about her precious homeland."

Viona turned back to the chest, pointing at the remaining eighteen armbands.

"Take the rest," she ordered. "We will identify the eighteen strongest combat heroes among the summoned class. The frontline vanguards, the high-tier elemental mages, and the heavy paladins. We will not waste them on the weaker students. Only the elite."

Belis nodded slowly, though his hands shook as he reached into the chest. "And how do we get them to wear the bands, Lady Viona? If they know what these are, they will resist."

"They are naive children, Belis," Viona smiled cruelly. "Tomorrow morning, you will summon Ayanokoji, Miyuki, and the eighteen chosen heroes back to the cathedral. You will tell them that I have had a change of heart. Tell them I am granting them sacred relics from the royal treasury to aid them in their deep dungeon exploration."

She tapped the red gem on the band in her hand.

"The moment they slip these over their forearms, the thorns will pierce their skin and lock onto their bone. By the time they realize what has happened, their minds will belong to me."

Belis carefully gathered the heavy black bands into a leather satchel, bowing deeply. "A brilliant plan, Your Divinity. With twenty fully controlled heroes leading our legions, the imperial army will have both raw magical power and the strategic knowledge of the other world."

"Exactly," Viona said, turning toward the vault’s exit.

She looked up toward the ceiling, picturing the western ocean where John Smith’s iron fleet floated.

"John Smith thinks he has won because he sank a few wooden boats," Viona whispered, her voice full of dark satisfaction. "He thinks he can mock me from across the sea. Let him come. When his soldiers step onto my shores, they will not be greeted by frightened peasants. They will be greeted by his own former classmates, turned into mindless killing machines that obey my every command."

Viona stepped out into the dark hallway, her silk robes rustling in the cold air.

"Prepare the cathedral for tomorrow morning, Belis," she commanded. "It is time to put our heroes on their leashes."