Chapter 173: High Level Dungeon (Part 10)

"You alright, Captain?""Just hold on, I’ll heal all of you right away!"

"I’m sorry, I tried to back you up with my Ice Magic, but none of my attacks could break through those cages."

I took a seat on the ground as the others came rushing over, Kelsey and Keira sitting down as well, pained grimaced on their faces.

The Demon they fought was a bit more powerful than the one Aria and I fought, and while we managed to win without any serious injuries, it was far from one-sided, even with our power boost Skills.

I might have underestimated Greater Demons, especially after defeating that Wyvern...it may have been classified in the same Threat Level as the Greater Demons, but their intelligence makes them a lot more dangerous.

They were also a lot more powerful than the Greater Demon we fought during the final Practical Training exam, I seriously doubt I could’ve won by myself.

The Healer then began healing Kelsey, her injuries the most serious, before moving onto Keira. She then healed Aria, and finally me. I let out a sigh of relief as the pain faded, my body relaxing a bit.

I got a few fractured bones from when the Demon hit me with her Negative Energy blasts, nothing too serious but it still hurt to move.

But I’d managed to partially heal my injuries through Desecrator before I killed the Demon, so it didn’t take much Healing Magic to fix me up.

"Are we going to keep going? Because I don’t think we should," Remarked Damien dryly, as I stretched Devour out towards the male Demon’s body and began consuming his corpse.

"Just...just give me a moment. Let’s take some time to rest a bit and then consider what to do next," Replied Kelsey, looking worn out.

Sounds good to me, it gives me a chance to get a better idea of exactly what happened earlier.


Ai?

<Yes, I shall explain, based on my analysis of what occurred>

<I was no aware of this Hidden Skill, so I cannot guarantee that my analysis is completely accurate, as I am basing this mostly off of a sample size of one, and what little information I was able to analyze from the System when it happened>

<It seems you met the conditions needed to unlock this Hidden Skill, which you have named Subjugate>

<It allows you to conquer the souls of upto seven individuals, provided they meet the specific conditions>

<The conditions are as follows>

<First, they must embody one of the Seven Deadly Sins>

<Second, they must be of a similar Power Level to you, it will likely not work if they are significantly more powerful than you are>

<With the boosts from Enrage and Desecrator, you were slightly less powerful than her, but the gap was within the margin of the condition>

<And third, you must defeat them in battle, or at least play a significant role in defeating them>

<Upon meeting these conditions and activating the Skill, you extract their soul, which manifests in a physical form made of pure Mana>

<Following this process, they become deeply loyal and devoted to you, they will follow your every command without hesitation, despite retaining their original memories and personality>

<They also retain most of their abilities and power, but there are some differences>

<In this case, Luxuria has lost her regeneration ability>

<But if she is destroyed in battle, you can summon her again, so long as you have enough Mana>

<You can summon her for a cost of 100 MP>

<Her other abilities, stats and Power Level have remained the same>

Wow...that’s, uh, that’s a lot to process.

I kinda already knew since the System flooded the info into my brain, but I was having trouble processing and wrapping my head around it, it felt like there was a knot in my mind or something.

Okay, so I can get upto seven Monsters under my command, the Apostles of Sin...and I’ve just filled the spot of the Apostle of Lust with Luxuria, which leaves six more vacant spots.

You said that she’s devoted to me, right? Are you sure there’s no chance she might betray me?

<That would be impossible>

<If you were to die, all the Apostles of Sin you’ve subjugated will cease to exist, they are quite literally incapable of betraying you>

<And even if they could, they wouldn’t>

<The sense of loyalty and devotion I’m processing from her presence inside you, it is effectively brainwashing>

Well, yeah, can’t imagine that a Greater Demon would willingly serve a human otherwise.

100 MP to summon her out, huh?

That’s kind of a lot...but considering that she’s as powerful as a high level Ace, I’m definitely not complaining.

What were the command words I chose, again? Emerge and Withdraw, right?

<Yes, but you will also need to chant her title and name, not just either word alone>

You mean, like this?

"Now, <Emerge, Apostle of Lust: Luxuria>," I chanted, glimmering energy flowing out of my chest before taking shape in front of me.

"<Yes, how may I serve you, Master?>" Luxuria greeted me with a smile as she appeared before me, before adding as she slightly tugged down on her dress, exposing a bit of cleavage, "<Would you like to partake in my luscious body, perhaps?>"

Yup, Apostle of Lust indeed.

"Uh...what am I looking at?" Blurted out the Ice Mage in bewilderment.

"You looked like you were deeply zoned out for a couple of minutes and now-...I’m not even sure what this is," Added Kelsey, a perplexed look on her face.

"I didn’t know I could do this either. But apparently, if I meet some very specific conditions, I can subjugate the souls of Monsters I defeat and control them," I replied with a shrug.

<Not just Monsters, it will likely work on humans too>

Huh, that so? Not sure that’d be a good idea, though.

"Woah, for real?! That’s so cool!" Grinned Aria, as she stared at Luxuria in fascination.

"<Master, if I might make a request, could you ask the red-haired human female with the unremarkable breasts to stop gawking at me?>"

"Wha-...?! Kai, can I punch her?" Growled Aria, as she glared at Luxuria.

"Okay, here’s my first command to you, please be nice to her," I instructed Luxuria with a sigh.

"<Very well, if I must>."

Guess she’s only loyal to me...hey, Ai, you sure she won’t attack anyone?

<She won’t if you tell her not to>

<Probably>