Dazed and Dum-Dum

Hector Fawley was trembling with fear, and even the spider silk beneath him could be seen shaking visibly.

Lucida Slughorn asked in a hoarse, trembling voice, "What... what do you want now?"

"Don't overthink it. I'm here this time with genuine sincerity to free you two." Skylar took a step back, drew his wand, and said with a smile, "I've never been a cruel or bloodthirsty person, and Gemma isn't anyone important to me. There's really no need for us to fight to the death... As long as you two obey me from now on and work for me, why can't I give you a chance to start a new life?"

"Hmph!" Lucida said coldly, "You think you're that kind?" Earlier, she too had harbored hope of being rescued, of being released (perhaps at the cost of her family's life), which was why she endured humiliation and obeyed Skylar's orders, committing acts that trampled on her dignity and insulted her person... But with each indelible humiliation, each more agonizing experience than death, her heart had long since died.

She had long lost the will to live.

The only reason she didn't die was because Skylar had sealed off all her ability to die, and those two traitors were also regularly feeding her nutritional supplements to maintain her life.

Skylar wasn't offended. He nodded seriously and said, "It's true." He waved his wand in the air four times, and a hissing sound rang out. Wisps of red and yellow sparks shot out from the void, and as the sparks dissipated, a piece of parchment appeared out of thin air and hung there.

Skylar mumbled a long and complex incantation, and with Skylar deep voice, one ancient character after another slowly appeared on the parchment. This script did not belong to any script known to wizards or Muggle in the present world, and it was even hard to say whether it was human script at all.

Finally Skylar stopped chanting, his pupils flashing with an eerie emerald light, and said coldly, "Lucida Slughorn, are you willing to exchange your lifelong freedom for the right to live, to serve me, Skylar Malfoy, as your master for life, and never betray me?"

Lucida was initially stunned, then her eyes gleamed with undisguised ecstasy. With all her might, she cried out, "I... I'm willing! Let me be your servant! I'll do anything to be free from this suffering!"

Skylar turned to Hector and said coldly, "And you?"

Hector hesitated for a few seconds, then gritted his teeth and whispered, "I'm willing too, to serve you as my master, as long as..." He Lucida, "I can live with all my limbs intact, I can use magic, and I can move freely without going against your will..."

Skylar knew perfectly well what he was planning. He was clearly afraid that Schelling would exploit the loopholes in their language to turn them into disabled, imprisoned servants, or even Muggle without any magic. Even if they survived, they wouldn't be facing the new life they wanted.

Skylar smiled faintly, raised his eyebrows, and loudly proclaimed, "Alright!" Then he raised his wand high, and a powerful whirlwind swirled outwards from him.

The tip of the wand emitted a light as bright as the sun, illuminating the entire dungeon until nothing could be seen.

"Ancient spirits, unleash your ultimate punishment—" Skylar chanted the ancient incantation, which sounded like musical notes. His voice trembled slightly, clearly indicating that this magic was a great strain on his body. He seemed to have used all his strength, almost roaring as he uttered the incantation, "Eternal Slave Blood Curse!"

The parchment spontaneously combusted from bottom to top, then transformed into two burning, strange runes that shot into the foreheads of Hector and Lucida, respectively.

Two screams rang out simultaneously.

Their skin first began to wrinkle, like dry tree bark. Then, it was as if an invisible, powerful force was squeezing their entire bodies from all directions, compressing them from the outside in, causing each part of their bodies to gradually sag. Their figures grew smaller and smaller, their skin became more and more wrinkled, and its color became an increasingly eerie pink...

Their size shrank to about 3 feet before stopping.

They stared in disbelief at their own hands and feet.

Skylar first drank a bottle of Magic Restoration Potion, then snapped his fingers, conjuring a full-length mirror of normal height, reflecting their current appearance.

A long nose, large, pointed, bat-like ears, and large, round, tennis-like eyes...

They transformed into House Elf!

Hector glared angrily at Skylar. He opened his mouth, wanting to utter a Skylar, but before he could say anything, his expression suddenly changed. He rushed to the wall and slammed his head against it, drawing blood from his forehead.

"You naughty Dum-Dum, you naughty Dum-Dum, Dum-Dum must not insult your master, not even in your heart. Your master is supreme, your master is my whole life, serving your master is my greatest mission, obeying your master and doing your master's bidding is the only meaning of my existence..."

"Stop!" Skylar uttered a single word in a low voice.

Hector —or rather, Dum-Dum now—stopped immediately, ran and knelt before Skylar, raised his head with a fawning expression, and asked, "What are your orders, Master?"

Skylar ignored him and turned to Lucida, asking coldly, "And what about you? I've kept my promise. You're alive now and will never have to go through those terrible nightmares again. Do you have any objections?"

"No, no, no!" Lucida said "no" three times in a row, shaking her head vigorously like a copper bell. "Dazed is very satisfied with this treatment. This is what Dazed deserves. Dazed has absolutely no dissatisfaction and will not have any complaints. From now on, Dazed will obediently serve its master, absolutely loyally obey all of its master's instructions, and will definitely satisfy its master!"

"Very good," Skylar nodded, appreciating their obedient attitude. These two were not simply victims of a simple Transfiguration Magic.

This is a new Blood Curse that Skylar developed from the "Gorgon's Curse" on Sarf, combined with the Ancient Elf script he obtained in the Elf Ancestral Land, creating the "Eternal Slave Blood Curse".

Both of them had an invisible "Enslavement Blood Mark" etched on their foreheads. This not only turned them outwardly into House Elf, but also subtly and gradually transformed their minds, spirits, and souls, making their thoughts increasingly like those of House Elf.

Whenever they have any thoughts that are detrimental to or disobey their master, their inner self will drive them to punish themselves severely; whenever they do anything that benefits their master or complete the tasks assigned by their master, their inner self will be filled with genuine joy. Over time, under the shaping of this reward and punishment mechanism, loyalty will be firmly imprinted on their souls, causing their personality to completely degenerate into that of House Elf.

"I have now established an intelligence network spanning all of Europe, and it is still expanding. I urgently need help. After you come out with me now, I will place you under the command of my most trusted servant, Dobby. From now on, he will be your captain and leader. You must obey all his orders and follow all his arrangements and deployments, understand?" Skylar said.

"Understood!" Dum-Dum and Dazed replied loudly at the same time.

Skylar's lips curled into a slight smile, revealing a triumphant grin.