The answer was simple enough. The Slave Brand held.
Not perfect, not whole, but working.
It bent perception until the target saw the caster through softened eyes. The mind called it trust. Dependency. Need. That dependency locked the will, made violence against the caster impossible in its truest sense.
Seria had wanted to kill him. Every scream, every strike, every fiber of her consciousness had been dedicated to ending him. But beneath all that, something buried kept her blows dulled, her reach held back. Instinct suffocated by leash.
That was why he was still breathing.
He muttered to no one but himself. "She attacked, but the spell tied her down. Gutted her strength without her knowing. That's why I survived."
Her mind screamed for his death. Her body wouldn't obey.
If he was right, then the true trial began now. It wasn't enough for the magic to grip her in the dark corners of her subconscious. To matter, it had to surface, pull itself into full awareness. Only then would it settle. Only then would it chain her beyond breaking.
The flaw was his own. The first casting hadn't been complete. His strength had drained too quickly. His body hadn't held enough magic to drive the nail through.
"Ugh."
Seria broke his muttering with a low growl, sharp teeth bared like an animal daring its cage to break. Her voice carried no words, only the shard of hatred that no spell could silence.
Alain crouched in front of her, his breath still ragged, expression locked. Every second he waited gave her more ground back. The mark would weaken, slip into the deepest chamber of her mind and hide itself. Once buried, the magic couldn't be pulled back.
If that happened, he lost her forever.
He stared at her. And froze.
Because he knew the only method left.
The one he swore he wouldn't touch.
The thought made him clench his jaw until his teeth scraped. He'd refused it before, though the odds of success had always favored it. He'd kept that line for himself, though no one else in the world would have cared.
Because there had once been kindness. Small, stupid fragments of memory, but they survived the betrayal. Through all the blood and the laughter of people who stabbed him when his guard slipped, those moments had clung to him. Proof that not everyone had wielded cruelty. Proof that he hadn't always been something to despise.
And now, here she was. The one who brought him clean warmth when he'd forgotten what it felt like. The one person who smiled at him without pretending.
And he was going to stain her with the foulest spell he knew.
His throat hurt when he forced words out. "I won't ask you to forgive me."
Seria blinked through rage, confusion cutting into her expression now.
"Hate me. That much I'll accept," he said, his voice cracking in its own restraint. "So long as you don't forget me."
Her brow knotted, thoughts clashing in her green eyes. Why speak like this? Why look broken while chaining her? Why now?
The quiet between them ticked one second too long.
Then something fluttered to life.
The shift of air prickled across her skin. Her body tensed under instinct. It was coming again.
"Stop! Don't!" Her voice cracked, no longer rage alone, but fear straining into desperation. She shook against the spell's half-formed grip, snapping her limbs like a snared beast. "Hey—stop this, Alain! What are you doing?!"
He didn't answer.
The silence from him said more than words. His body stilled, his eyes already cast downward, his hand already gathering the black residue of power he no longer possessed to spare.
"Alain! I said stop!" Her throat raw, her voice now begging through force she didn't want to admit.
But he kept moving.
The cool air hit Seria's skin as her partially unbuttoned top fell away, revealing her round breasts.
Alain's gaze lingered on them before he opened his mouth and rushed towards them as if intent on biting them.
"...!"
Seria couldn't help but let out a sharp gasp as his hot breath and wet tongue made contact with her bare skin.
Her back arched as she felt a mixture of pleasure and fear at the foreign sensation.
Despite her struggling like a wild animal, Alain held onto her tightly and continued to explore her body with his lips, teeth, and tongue.
"Ah! Ah! Ah!" Seria moaned with a mix of shame and desire as Alain's hands began to move towards her lower body.
With each touch, it felt as if tiny bugs were crawling over her skin, sending shivers through her body.
Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment and fear as she couldn't control the sounds escaping from her lips under Alain's skilled touch.
And in the midst of it all, Alain's hand slowly moved closer and closer to Seria's most intimate area.
The darkness enveloped Seria as she struggled against Alain's cold touch. Her voice was desperate and filled with fear as she begged him to stop.
"Hey, wait a minute! What are you doing?!" she shouted desperately, her face contorted with fear and desperation.
But Alain paid no heed to her protests, determined to carry out his plan.
He untied the strings at her waist, exposing her lower body, and slowly removed her pants with practised ease.
As he pulled away the delicate lace-decorated underwear that covered her most intimate parts, a shiver ran down Seria's spine.
In the dim light, she could barely make out Alain's figure as he stood before her, his clothing discarded on the ground.
Panic rose in Seria's chest as she realized what was about to happen.
"Please, no...stop it," she cried out through tears and sobs.
Alain clenched his jaw, struggling with his inner turmoil. He didn't want to go this far, but he couldn't let himself falter now.
He recalled the descendants of the Demons who were depending on him, as well as the haunting memory of Margarita's tragic fate.
With renewed determination, Alain reached for Seria's trembling body, his fingers grasping for her naked underwear.
As the foreign object penetrated her mouth, Seria grumbled in disgust.
"Ugh!"
She twisted her body, desperately trying to expel the intruder from her mouth, but it was made of a soft cloth and no matter how hard she tried, it refused to budge.
Instead, it became coated in saliva, making it even more difficult for her to breathe.
"...!"
Alain watched silently as Seria struggled against him, her eyes wide with fear and confusion.
He held his cock firmly, ready to strike, with a surge of strength, Alain forced Seria's body down onto the ground and plunged his cock into her pussy.
"Uuuuuup!"
A guttural cry escaped Seria's lips as pain shot through her body like an electric shock.
Her chin trembled uncontrollably and her screams echoed through the forest, but they were quickly swallowed up by the darkness around them.
Soon, there was only stillness and no one could hear her cries anymore.