Bindings of the Subjugator Ch. 03

Baron Dumal had a very plain and average appearance. At age 37, he was about 5' 11", short brown hair, brown eyes, a bit of excess weight, but not quite fat. Not attractive, but not quite ugly either, objectively speaking at least. To Emily, he was abhorrent and hideous, the face of her anguish. At his feet were two young blondes, curled up around his legs. Emily recognized them as Alyssa and Lina. She didn't know where they were from. The baron liked to abduct young attractive girls from around his domain and force them into his service.

Emily felt her Master project his presence throughout the room, and suddenly the baron and his maids were startled awake. The girls tried to scream, but no sound came out. The man merely stared in impotent indignation. Right now, he was just another man, his title meaningless before his natural better. His expression switched to uncertain fear when he saw a crossbow was pointed straight at him.

Lord Nergal pointed his spear at each slave girl in turn and offered them a simple choice.

"Submit or die. Make your choice. I'll have no patience for you."

Both stared at him, obvious terror in their eyes, before meekly nodding, not entirely sure what they were agreeing to. The alternative was death, after all. After a few moments, they began chanting in an eldritch language, their words unknown to Emily. She assumed this must be the same declaration of submission she had uttered on that fateful night, and was soon proven right when the girls' leather collars were ripped to shreds by unseen hands and the same bindings as Emily's appeared around their necks and wrists, engraved in red. The women stared with worried confusion at the shackles that now bound them.

"Take me somewhere I shall not be disturbed." Lord Nergal ordered them. The two blonde maids did not bother getting dressed when they rose up from the bed, heading straight for the door. The expression on their faces made it clear they were still in a state of shock, and did not quite understand what was happening. Before leaving, the demon gave his instructions to his blue-haired servant.

"You may do with him as you like until I return. However, you are not to kill him before then. He yet has a part to play in my plans."

"As you command, my master."

Emily was a little disappointed that she had to restrain herself from outright killing this piece of shit, but this very man had conveniently taught her just how much pain could be inflicted without risk of death. As her true master left the room, Emily's full attention focused on the man she had once called by that title. It was finally time. She couldn't help but gleefully giggle.

"Who are you? What do you want from me?" Now that the more terrifying creature was out of sight, the baron seemed to regain some of his nerves. She hated his voice, but hearing it twisting in fear certainly made the experience more enjoyable. Emily kept giggling menacingly as she slowly closed the gap. She laid her crossbow against the foot of the bed and pulled down her hood to reveal her blue hair.

"Hello, master." She put a mocking emphasis on the second word, her face sporting a maniacal smile. "I'm hoooooome."

It took a few moments for the baron to recognize his old slave, but Emily could tell the very instant he did. "No, you're not-"

"Yes. It's meeeee!" she said gleefully, her face still contorted by a bloodthirsty smile.

"You can't be!"

"We're gonna have some fun together tonight, just like old times... Aren't you excited? You must have missed me so much. But don't worry, your little blue bitch is back."

"Emily, please..."

"Oh, so NOW I'm Emily! NOW you bother to call me by my name!"

Emily was raising her tone, but she knew from experience this room was soundproof. An enchantment made it so you could only listen in from the outside if you were holding your ear against the door, and doing so would alert those inside by lighting up a green gem placed on the nightstand.

"We can talk about this..."

"TALK?!? YOU THINK YOU CAN TALK YOUR WAY OUT OF THIS?!?"

In a fit of rage, the assassin gripped her old tormentor by the neck and threw him effortlessly against the floor. He tried to scurry back, away from her and towards the door, but Emily was quicker, pinning down her prey with unnatural strength, much like he had so often done to her, and pulled out the dagger she had used to kill the mages.

"You weren't punished enough as a child and it shows... But don't you worry sir, we'll make up for lost time."

*******

"You are dismissed. Follow your usual routine as though nothing unusual has occurred. You are not to bring any unnecessary attention onto yourselves or reveal my presence within these halls under any circumstance."

The two newly enthralled maids left the guest bedroom, still fully nude. Hopefully they weren't daft enough to remain that way. The guest bedroom Nergal now found himself in was very similar to the master bedroom he had left a few moments ago. Similar furniture was arranged in the same pattern, but everything was just slightly less lavish. The trimmings adorning the wooden structures were made of silver instead of gold, as though the lord of the mansion wished to remind his guests that they were second to him. A gesture truly reeking of insecurity and vanity.

But Nergal did not come here to appraise a soon to be dead man's tastes in decor. He was here to fully enforce his claim on the premises, and that is exactly what he began to do, infusing these grounds with his very soul, marking them as his own.

It was baffling to the demon that this measure was one humans did not seem to practice. How could one truly own anything without imprinting your essence upon it? The ritual of claiming allowed one to know of everything that transpired within their domain. Nothing could move in or out without the land's master's knowledge.

As the area of his claim grew, Nergal could feel the manor become a part of him, absorbed into his being. He could feel the weight of each servant sleeping in his beds, each guard on duty, walking in his gardens, as though they were walking on his own skin. Every object in every room became indisputably his. Every horse in the stables, every dog in the kennels, every rat in the walls.

In Nergal's homeworld, this would not have been so easy. Every inch of land was spoken for. If there was something you desired, you first had to remove its current owner's claim, a painstaking and arduous process, and none would be foolish enough to just stand by and watch their possessions be stolen from them. If there was something you desired, it had to be pried from your enemy's broken, defeated hands.

Not so in this new land. For miles around him, Nergal could feel no one contesting his will. Everything was simply... available. Finally, his new land was fully connected to the woods he already owned. The Feldrenar had to stop himself there, for he was beginning to cross the threshold of inefficiency. The further one was from the object of their claim, the longer it took to do so. It would take far less time for him to physically move to the edge of what he currently owned and perform another claim, but that would have to wait.

Nergal bid his cerberons, Misery and Agony, back to his side. Guided by their master's all-seeing presence, they would have no trouble avoiding being seen. That would have been... inconvenient. Claiming land and beasts, incapable of thought was one thing, but claiming sentient creatures was another entirely. And mortals had the nasty tendency of finding courage in numbers. Nergal would have to subjugate the inhabitants of the mansion in small groups at a time, lest they gather enough foolishness to attempt slaying him.

These new servants would not be getting the same treatment and care Emily had received. For now, the only modification he had in mind for them was to expand their mana veins. This way, the demon's own energy regeneration would be increased exponentially.

Nergal had a busy schedule ahead of him for the night, and so he returned to the master bedroom so that he may proceed with his next task.

*******

Why? Why wasn't it enough? This was the culmination of twenty years of hatred, why did it feel so hollow? Emily had finally done it, she was finally free, so WHY did it feel like a part of her was dying along with her tormentor? Was she never to be rid of him? Why, why, why, WHY, WHY??? What more could she do? Emily thought that once the deed was done, she would finally be able to move on, free from her past and into her glorious future at Lord Nergal's side, why did this miserable wretch refuse to loosen his grip upon her soul?

Emily was startled by the sound of the bedroom door opening, her true lord entering the room once more. He knelt down beside her, and gripped the head of the wretch beneath her, still alive, if barely. Suddenly, the room was bathed in an unholy sanguine glow, and the baron's body was caught in spasming seizures, before going limp.

The demon rose back up, before turning his gaze to his servant.

"Hollow, isn't it?"

"It's done..."

"And now you have nothing."

"Why? ...Why am I still not free from him? Why isn't it enough?"

"Because there is no such thing as enough. Contentment is ephemeral; without a goal, life is meaningless. You have achieved your goal, and now you have no concrete aspiration."

"How can I live like this?"

"If you've not the strength to desire everything, then serve one who does. Pledge your heart to me. Take my cause as your own and assist me in my eternal conquest. You've no need to set your own goals. You need only serve."

Did he know this would happen? Did he help her execute her vengeance, knowing it would never bring her the peace she sought? For the first time, Emily found herself resenting the choice she had made that fateful night and the demon who had given her that choice. But her line of thinking soon shifted.

The world was a cruel and unjust place, this she had known for as long as she could remember. If she tried to face it alone, she would die broken and defeated. Emily finally understood. She had been born in chains, and that is where she belonged. She had always been born to serve. Who was she to think she deserved a choice? Just an arrogant girl who didn't know her place. But she knew now, she knew what her lot in life was. To obey her superior. He knew better than she did. Lord Nergal would tell her what she should want, and she would want it because Lord Nergal knew best. No thoughts, no desires, no doubts. Only servitude and obedience.

Emily shoved the carcass beneath her aside. She tried, oh so desperately, to discard her past along with it. It didn't matter anymore; it shouldn't matter anymore. Lord Nergal would tell her who she should be, that was all she needed. But try as she might, she was simply too weak of mind. Emily did what slaves should do and bowed down before her master, prostrating herself before her better.

"I surrender everything to you, my master. I beg of you, rid me of my will, that I may serve you better."

"No."

"I'm too weak to rid myself of my past! Take it away from me! Let me truly become nothing but the enforcer of your will!"

"No."

Emily wanted to insist, but she was reminded of the lesson she had just learned. The master had decided. It was not the slave's place to disagree.

"It seems you've misunderstood me. I have no desire to ruler over an empire of corpses, or to lead an army of dolls. Your will, and your mind, are precisely what make you most valuable to me."

"What should I do, then?"

"Devote everything that you are to my cause. What I desire, you should desire for me to possess. Pour yourself into this task completely and utterly, and you shall never want for a sense of purpose."

Though Emily understood the words, putting them into action wasn't so simple. She couldn't just force herself to not care about certain things. But maybe, just maybe, if she truly put everything she was into this goal, if she gave it all to serve Lord Nergal, she really could achieve true, lasting happiness.

"I shall take your words to heart, my master. Perhaps one day I shall become worthy of your expectations."

"Perhaps." With this, the subjugator held out his hands towards the corpse laying on the floor. Lord Dumal had perished at some point during the conversation, and Emily hadn't even noticed. A fitting end for scum like him, dying unnoticed and uncared for.

Suddenly, a bright beam of light flashed between Lord Nergal's hand and the baron's carcass, bathing the bedroom in an ominous purple glow, it seemed like some kind of essence was being drained from the body and into the demon's hand, before solidifying into some sort of violet crystal. Within the gem, there seemed to be a lone flickering ember of flame, glowing steadily.

"What is that, my master?"

"This is a soul shard. I've trapped Gillon Dumal's soul in a crystallized prison of his own sins, where he shall relive his final moments again and again, until the shard is physically destroyed."

The demon held out the soul shard to his thrall.

"Take it, as both a gift and a lesson. You may focus your mind into the shard to once again indulge and revel in his demise, but know that until you are ready to break the shard and set him free, you, in turn, shall never be rid of him."

Emily hesitantly reached for the gem. Examining it in her hand she could see that what had appeared as a flame within the gem was in fact the scene of her revenge. She saw herself, straddling the man who had tormented her all her life, as she choked him. Focusing deeper, she could almost...

*******

... feel her hands around his neck, denying his lungs the air they desperately craved.

"I HATE YOU! I FUCKING HATE YOU! PIECE OF SHIT! HOW DOES IT FEEL? NOT SO FUN ANYMORE HUH? FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU!"

It felt just as cathartic as the first time around. Emily felt like she could do this forever, but...

*******

...no. This satisfaction was hollow, she understood now. A sweet poison. The girl knew she would come back to this in moments of mental weakness, but she couldn't lose herself to it. And neither could she forgive. Not yet, maybe not ever. Why would her master torture her with such temptation...

She wasn't given the time to continue wallowing in self-pity, as Lord Nergal lifted up her chin with his index, calmly forcing his slave to look up at him. She felt a slight prickling sensation frow the claw under her jaw, and suddenly the purple runes that covered her body flared back to life, visible once more.

Emily didn't understand what exactly each rune did to her, but she knew they were how the demon had transformed her into her current form. They were his gift to her, and she found great comfort in their presence. They made her feel more alive than she ever had before.

Emily felt her master engraving new symbols into her flesh, carving lines into her forearms, and as he did so, the girl felt like... something was being added to her very being. Like she was becoming more than she had been.

Behind her, Emily felt the presence of... two things that were her, but also weren't. Part of her, yet separate. Misery and Agony, her master's hellhounds. Somehow, they had become a part of her. It was unlike anything she ever before could have imagined. Like she had three separate yet connected minds, although the hounds' consciousnesses couldn't be quite described as such. They weren't capable of thought, not in the way she was used to, but it was almost like thoughts. More like impulses. Emily found that she could will them into action, much like one would move an arm or a leg.

Emily was completely bewildered. Missy and Aggy had become part of her. Lord Nergal once again brought a claw underneath his thrall's chin, and she again felt the prickling before her bindings once more faded from view. A question came through the girl's mind.

"Is this how I feel to you, my master? Do you feel me as an extension of your own self? Can you compel my every action with only a thought?" Strangely, that last question didn't make her worry in any way, even though she knew it definitely should.

"Not quite. This manner of dominion is only possible with lesser creatures, incapable of complex thought and reasoning. I can feel your presence, however it remains distinct from my own. Your free will remains, for the most part."

The demon's gaze turned to the mutilated husk, blood soaking the carpet it laid upon.

"Clean your mess. There is much yet to be done."

Having seen firsthand the efficiency with which the hellhounds could dispose of a carcass, Emily knew they were up to the task. No one would ever find Dumal's corpse. There wouldn't be a corpse to find.

*******

Hey there! Thank you for reading chapter 3 of Bindings of the Subjugator, I hope you enjoyed it. Please tell me your thoughts in the comments, I'd love to hear your feedback.

Sorry it took so long, I rewrote this chapter multiple times because I just wasn't satisfied with it narratively. I got frustrated and took a step back to gather my ideas for a bit.

Honestly, I'm still not 100% satisfied with it, but I don't want to spend even more time on this one chapter.

On a side note, few things annoy me on Literotica more than reading a good story and then boom, some kink I'm not into, totally ruins the mood. Nothing worse than finding out 13 chapters in that the author has a scat fetish they didn't feel like disclosing beforehand. I don't wanna do that to you, which is why I list potentially upsetting subjects at the start of each chapter.

If there's any particular kink you absolutely do not want to see, let me know in the comments and I can disclose whether or not I have any intention of including them down the road.