Author's Notes:
(To those who guessed correctly to Layla's identity, please tell me how you came to such conclusion. I'm curious how you know it, and if it's by chance, tell me why you think so. I wanna know whether it was obvious, Hahaha😂)
"Mina, huh? That sounds nice. But not as nice as Layla, doesn't it?" <Shin>
"!?"
The slave had a plain look the entire time since she entered the room. But the moment Shin said her real name, she made a very shocked face.
Nobody should have known her real name. Even if there was someone who does know, they wouldn't be able to guess it since she had her appearance changed, as well as her identity, using magic.
"W-What do you mean by that? M-Master? My name is Mina, not Layla..." <Layla>
She tried to act clueless. She had come so far and was never found out. To be suddenly exposed now would mean all her hard work had been for nothing.
But no matter what she tries, she can't fool Shin. Especially when Shin can use [Review]. Nobody can hide their identity from him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[STATUS]
Name: Layla Drakul
Race: Demon vampire
Gender: Female
Age: 18
[Power Level]
- 8700
[Class]
- Swordsmage
[Titles]
- Princess of the demon race
- Slave
[Atrributes]
- Dark
[Divinity]
- Blessing of a vampire demon
[Sacred Abilities]
- Gravity manipulation
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thinking back to when he first saw her status as she appeared on stage, Shin was all smiles. Being able to find such an interesting slave was what he wanted when he had decided to come to the slave auction.
"Ha! Exactly what I mean. Oh Layla Drakul, a vampire. And princess of the demon race." <Shin>
Shin said it with a smirk on his face.
Hearing Shin saying every details of her correctly, Layla can't helped but be surprised.
Her eyes became wide opened. She tried her best to stay composed so as to not get taken advantage of.
Regaining her composure, she asked in a low voice.
"How? How did you know?" <Layla>
She had a serious face on her now. Nothing like the innocent and helpless expression earlier.
"How, you say? Are you that curious? Kukuku..." <Shin>
Shin intentionally try to provoke her.
Layla got triggered. She decided to force him to talk instead. She used one of her spell to attack Shin.
A black circular disc materialised above Shin. After that, a strong gravitational force rain down on Shin.
What was suppose to happen according to Layla was that Shin will be pushed down to the ground. He will struggle trying to get free and get hurt getting crushed. Unable to escape, he will beg for mercy and finally reveal his secret. But nothing happened. Instead, she was the one being hurt.
Due to being distracted by the situation caused by Shin, Layla totally forgot about her current position of being a slave. The slave insignia on her hand glowed before her body was hit by an electric shock.
The black circular disc disappeared. The electric shock also dispersed after awhile.
"Shit! Fucking contract!" <Layla>
Layla cursed at the Master-Slave pact that bind her to Shin. Because of it, she couldn't hurt Shin since he was her master. So before she could do anything to Shin, she had to destroy the contract first.
With a composed face, she gather magic power onto her right hand. She had done the same thing to the contracts she had with her previous masters. All she had to do was forcefully nullify the Master-Servant pact by using her own magic to break it. Simple.
This method of destroying the contract was only known by her. The first time she experimented this was the first time she became a slave. And she had done the same for everyone after that. Obviously it should have been successful. However, as she tried to break the contract, nothing happened.
She was at a lost for words. She tried once again but the same thing happened.
"What's going on!? Why isn't it getting destroyed? I don't understand...!" <Layla>
In the past, it had always work. But now it didn't. Thinking hard, she realised what the reason could be.
She turned and stare at Shin with a shocked expression.
"Y-You! What's your Power Level!? No way yours are higher than mine!" <Layla>
The times she had done this, she came to a conclusion that there was a certain condition in order for her to be able to successfully destroy the contract. Her overall Power Level needs to be higher than the master's power level. Since she had always disguised her true identity and her real Power Level, every master that she had always thought that they were stronger than her. So taking that as an advantage, she easily breaks the contract and then proceed to absorb their magic power, before killing them.
"Hmm... I wonder? It's definitely higher than 8700 PL, that's for sure." <Shin>
Shin said such a specific number purposely. Hearing that, Layla further became wide eyed and in disbelief.
"What...? How did you know my Power Level exactly? Who are you? Do I know you? Tell me!" <Layla>
Layla lost her calm. Right now, she's completely irritated of Shin. He knows everything about her but he refuses to tell her how.
She reached her limit. If she couldn't hurt him with her magic. She decided to try and hurt him with her own two hands. So she went and pounce at him.
Unfortunately, Shin won't allow her to do so. Instead of dodging or block her, Shin grabbed both her hands and then did a spin to switch their position. It was a swift motion. With her momentum, Iris fell onto the sofa while facing upward. On top of her was Shin who had pinned her down. She struggled to get off but both her hands were pressed down on the sofa by Shin.
"Woah there. Is this how you treat your master?" <Shin>
Shin enjoyed picking on her.
"Shut up! I will never be anyone's slave! Whoever you are, you can go die!" <Layla>
Since she can't fight Shin, Layla began throwing abuse instead.
Though Shin is enjoying the situation, he's troubled that Layla was still under her disguise. Shin wants to see her real appearance.
"Your disguise is annoying me. Do you mind dispelling that magic?" <Shin>
"Hah! Why would I do what you say!?" <Layla>
"Kuku... That's not a request, it's an order. Have you forgotten your position?" <Shin>
"Shit!" <Layla>
Layla panicked. She understood full well what Shin said. Against her will, she was made to dispel her disguise.
Her appearance slowly disappeared and changed.
The short brown hair became long and black. Her already cute and pretty face turned even cuter and more beautiful. Shin found it very attractive. He smiled looking at her real appearance.
Layla glared menacingly at Shin with her now crimson red eyes. Shin stared back at those eyes, which made him even more interested in her. But even more, was that she is now his.
"Now you know how I really look like. Happy? So tell me who you are already!" <Layla>
Being made to show her self-proclaimed beautiful looks to a complete stranger made her displeased. But even more than that, was how intrigue she is of Shin.
Her curiosity of Shin grows more and more, but Shin was unwilling to satisfy it.
Processing the situation, Layla knows it's impossible to escape. The person in front of her is formidable. Not only that she judge him to be stronger than her in Power Level, but also possess a unique skill to identify her.
"Oh? Not trying to fight back anymore? And here I am enjoying playing with you..." <Shin>
Understanding that it's hopeless to retaliate, she decided to give up.
"Alright, you win... I'll be your slave..." <Layla>
Layla dejectedly declare. However, Shin was not amused.
"There's no win or lose. The moment you appeared in front of me, you're already mine." <Shin>
"..." <Layla>
Layla no longer has any intentions on responding to Shin's words.
Seeing that Layla no longer has any desire to go against him, Shin let go of her hands. He also got off of her and casually sat beside her on the sofa, as if nothing happened.
Layla got up and also sat down. Though she kept her distance from Shin. She was on alert and wary of Shin.
"Before I tell you who I am, I want to know why you're a slave. Seeing your skills, I can tell you're strong. You can protect yourself. There isn't any benefit in being a slave. So why? Tell me everything about you. No isn't an answer. Unless you want me to force you again." <Shin>
Layla stared at him in doubt. She knew that there's no other choice. Until she can find an opportunity to escape, she has to be obey him.
She thought for awhile, thinking of where to begin.
"I'll start off with why I'm a slave..." <Layla>
Originally she wasn't a slave. Like what Shin said, she was a princess of the demon race. A former princess to be exact. Due to unexpected circumstances, she had to abandon her homeland. In order to return back, she had to become stronger. And to become stronger, she had to feed on magic of others.
How she gets it? Since she's a vampire, all she had to do is bite into a person and suck their magic directly from their body. The stronger the person, the more magic she could gain. That's why she always try to get high-ranking nobles to buy her, since they would definitely have strong magic.
"You can get stronger by feeding on people's magic, huh? And the stronger they are, the better? Interesting..." <Shin>
Shin was fascinated with such an information. As usual, an idea came up in his head.
"But why a slave? With your strength, you can easily overpower them. You don't need to lower yourself just to fool them." <Shin>
"Yes, you're right. I could do that. But, it will cause a ruckus. If I do that indiscreetly, I would get caught. That's why I chose to be a slave." <Layla>
By being a slave and be bought by nobles, they will let their guard down. They would think they have control of the slave and hence think the slave won't be able to hurt them. Another advantage is that the slave will be by the master's side most of the time. Other people as well will find this normal, so they won't pay much attention. Being a slave is an easy infiltration method to assassinate anyone. In this case, Layla can kill and absorb their magic discreetly.
Whatever happen after doesn't matter. An uproar could happen when someone founds out that a noble was killed, but it doesn't concern her. All she had to do to get away is escape when she had done her job, and then changed her appearance again. Since nobody knows her real appearance they can't track her. Even if they tried to track the slave it would be impossible. Her new disguise will fool them.
Next thing to do is to repeat the process. Become a slave again with a different appearance, followed by being auction and bought at a slave auction, then kill and absorb the magic of the master at the perfect time. This was what her life was like, ever since she ran from her homeland.
Hearing her back story of being a slave, Shin was satisfied and impressed. She did such a roundabout and slow way just to get stronger. Her determination and dedication to do such a tedious task again and again, caused Shin to like her.
"Alright, that's all I want to know. As for your relation to the demon race and you being the princess, you can tell me whenever you're ready." <Shin>
"What...? Aren't you going to force me to say everything?" <Layla>
"I've already forced you enough. Like I said, you're mine now. You can't run away from me. That's why when you feel like it, you can tell me about your past. As well as whatever problem you have that made you leave your homeland." <Shin>
The things Shin said sounded very comforting. The impression she had on him suddenly changed with that. Up until now, Shin had been ridiculing her. He always acted forcefully. From when he revealed his knowledge of her identity, to when she was forced to dispel her disguise. Her first impression of him was a wicked person.
But the words he said just now was the total opposite of what he had acted like. It was like he is now caring of her, and thoughtful. Like she isn't a slave to him. It made her even more cautious. She replied to those words by just staring at him in suspicion.
"Hm? Still don't trust me?" <Shin>
"Why would I trust you? I've stop trusting anyone. What reason would I trust someone now?" <Layla>
Layla sternly voiced her opinion.
"Kuku... that's alright. You will trust me eventually. You'll be with me from now on. Sooner or later, you're gonna have to." <Shin>
Shin voiced out his own opinion on the matter. Like it's set in stone.
"What makes y-!" <Layla>
"More importantly. Don't you want to know who I am?" <Shin>
"!!!" <Layla>
Shin cut off her words. Hearing that Shin is now willing to tell her who he is, Layla became interested.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door.
"Looks like it's time. Before I tell you, why don't we find somewhere else to talk? And on the way, we should get new clothes for you." <Shin>
They both got up and left the room, as well as the slave auction place.
Author's Notes:
(If anyone is not sure or understand the contents of the Slave-Master Pact or the method of how Layla escapes, please go ahead and comment & ask me your confusion. I feel like my explanation of it was very bad. I will be happy to reply and explain to the best of my ability, without spoiling anything! 🤗 PS: Just saying, I always try to post new chapter every 5 days, once I got at least 10 votes and 100 views on the previous chapter😉)