The clinking of silver cutlery against porcelain sounded incredibly sharp in this silent room. At this long table sat twenty people who called themselves the "pillars" of the Kingdom of Solstheim. Pot-bellied dukes, aging generals with useless medals, and ministers usually busy debating taxes.
Now, they all sat rigid. The lavish food before them—roasted venison with truffle sauce, imported wine, and the finest wheat bread—went completely untouched. They were too busy staring at one thing: the end of the black chain wrapped around my hand, connected directly to Princess Elena's neck as she remained kneeling beside my chair.
I cut a small piece of venison, chewed slowly, and swallowed.
"The meat is a bit overdone," I murmured softly, yet my voice was enough to make the palace minister at the end of the table flinch. "But, considering you've been busy preparing for the apocalypse, I suppose I can forgive your chef this once."
I glanced at Elena. She kept her head down, but I could feel her body trembling every time one of the nobles looked at her with pity or disdain.
"Elena," I called out.
She didn't answer. She only tightened her fists against the marble floor.
I pulled the chain slightly, forcing her to look up. "I'm calling you, little dog. Where are your manners?"
"Y-yes... my Lord," she answered with a breaking voice. The pride that had been blazing earlier that afternoon now looked like a candle nearly extinguished by a storm.
"Good." I took another piece of meat and held it toward her mouth. "Eat. You'll need the strength to serve me throughout the night."
That was when someone lost their patience.
A large man with a thick beard and a maroon cloak stood up abruptly, his chair clattering backward. His name, according to my system window, was Duke Vargus, commander of the western garrison.
"Enough!" Vargus roared. His voice thundered, filling the dining hall. "I don't care what kind of demon you are, or what black magic you use! You cannot treat the Princess of the Realm like an animal in front of us! This is an insult to all the blue blood of Solstheim!"
I stopped chewing. I laid my silver fork down slowly and rested my chin on both hands. I looked at Vargus with the most sincere smile I could give—the kind of smile I usually gave to low-level players right before I wiped their entire progress from the server.
"Blue blood?" I asked with a curious tone. "Interesting. I've always wondered, does blue blood stay blue when it leaves the body, or is this world's system just exaggerating?"
"You think you can scare us all with your flying sword toys?!" Vargus drew a short sword from his hip. "All of you! Why are you just sitting there?! He is only one man! If we attack together—"
Sring.
A small golden ripple opened right above Vargus's plate. It wasn't a sword that emerged, but a short, curved dagger with a blade pulsing in deep purple. [The Soul-Stitcher].
Before Vargus could swing his sword, the dagger shot out like lightning—not toward his heart, but toward his shadow on the floor.
STAB!
The dagger pierced the neck of Vargus's shadow.
Instantly, Vargus froze. His eyes bulged, his hand holding the sword trembled violently, but he couldn't move a single inch of his muscles. He stood there like a statue that had just been petrified.
"What... what did you do to me?!" his voice choked, coming out only as a painful whisper.
"That is the Soul-Stitcher," I explained while pouring wine into Elena's glass, then forcing her to drink. "A unique weapon I looted from a very talented assassin. As long as that dagger is pinned to your shadow, your soul cannot command your body. You are now a spectator inside your own shell, Vargus."
I stood up from the chair, walking slowly around the long table. Every noble I passed held their breath, trying to shrink their bodies to avoid my attention.
I stopped right in front of Vargus. I could see the veins in his neck straining as he tried with all his might to move.
"You talk of the honor of blue blood," I said, stroking his thick beard with my fingertip. "Let's test just how precious your blood really is."
I flicked my fingers again. Five golden ripples appeared surrounding Vargus. From them emerged five needle-like thin blades, each a meter long. [The Needle of Eternal Agony].
"These blades won't kill you," I whispered in his ear. "At least not anytime soon. They are designed to maximally stimulate every pain nerve in your body without damaging vital organs. In my world, this was the punishment for those who tried to steal from my treasury."
Jleb. Jleb. Jleb. Jleb. Jleb.
The five needles pierced Vargus's body simultaneously—in his shoulders, thighs, and stomach.
Vargus wanted to scream. I could see his mouth wide open, the blood vessels in his eyes bursting from the pressure of the immense pain. However, because his shadow was still locked, not a single sound escaped his throat. He could only vibrate microscopically, letting the pain shatter his sanity in absolute silence.
"Behold," I said to the other nobles, pointing at Vargus, who was now beginning to shed tears of blood. "This is what happens when you use your voice for something useless. I do not like unnecessary noise."
I returned to my seat, pulling Elena's chain so she crawled closer to my lap.
"Now then," I looked at the remaining nobles, whose faces had turned a sickly yellow-green from nausea and fear. "Let us continue this banquet. Who was the one who brought the list of holy artifacts?"
An old minister with hands shaking violently pushed an ancient parchment scroll toward me. I took it, skimmed it, and tossed it into Elena's face.
"Read it for me, Slave. Tell me what interesting toys you've been hiding beneath this palace."
Elena picked up the parchment with trembling hands. Her voice wavered as she began to read the list, one by one. Every name of an artifact she mentioned made my eyes gleam. The Heart of Sol, The Shield of Aegis, The Crown of Wisdom...
They all sounded like World-class items that would look very good inside my Vault.
"Enough," I said after she read the first ten names.
I stood up, pulling Elena's chain until she was forced to stand on weak legs. I glanced at Vargus, who was still standing rigid, now with a pool of red liquid beneath his feet.
"Turns out your blood is still red, Vargus. Disappointing."
I waved my hand, and the dagger in his shadow vanished. Vargus's body instantly collapsed to the floor like a sack of grain, unconscious—or perhaps his soul had already been totally shattered by the pain.
"I am going to the artifact vault now," I told the nobles. "Stay here. Do not leave, do not move, and do not try to call for help. If, when I return, even one person is missing from their seat... I will consider your entire families as my next PK targets."
I walked out of the dining hall, dragging Elena behind me. I didn't need to look back to know they would all remain sitting there, pinned by a fear far more powerful than any magic.
This was just the beginning. This kingdom was only the starting point. I would gather all the power that existed in this world, and when I was finished, there would be no more heroes, kings, or gods who could stop me.
"Come, Elena," I whispered, stroking her pale cheek as we entered the dark corridor toward the underground vault. "Show me where you keep the heart of this world."