Taking control of the Dimensional Matrix

Pain twisted her face, and her entire body began trembling violently on the ground.

Lind turned his head, his expression rather strange.

"Hey, are you all right?"

"I'm going to kill... Aaaaaah!"

Halfway through her sentence, Seryu suddenly screamed in agony and began rolling around on the floor.

Lind's eyelid twitched at the sight.

What was going on?

This had never happened before, had it?

He had never seen any side effects from the demon contract, either.

"Actually, I think I can guess what happened."

Esdeath spoke up, looking a little guilty.

"Oh? What caused it?"

"Actually, after I became your Familiar, Master, there was one time when I had some bad intentions toward you."

Esdeath said meekly, "What I felt back then was similar to what she's feeling, only not nearly as intense."

Lind: Staaare—

Well, well.

What exactly had this woman wanted to do to me?

Esdeath gave an embarrassed smile and explained, "It wasn't anything much, really. I just wanted to tie you up and see how it felt, Master."

Lind: "..."

All right.

That certainly fit her character as a sadistic queen.

"Then how did you resolve it?"

"Well..."

Esdeath shuddered, her body twisting involuntarily as her breathing grew a little heavier.

The corner of Lind's mouth twitched.

Could it be...

Surely it wasn't that?

Lind's expression turned strange.

Thinking about it, that did seem quite reasonable.

After all, he could help his Familiars level up quickly.

Esdeath leaned close to Lind and murmured a few words, confirming his suspicions.

"So that really was it?"

Muttering under his breath, Lind extended his senses.

He discovered something.

As time passed,

Seryu's punishment was growing more severe.

It affected not only her body, but her soul as well.

"Looks like this is a hidden mechanism of the demon contract."

Lind rubbed his chin and nodded to himself.

This was pretty good.

It eliminated any possibility of a Familiar harming their master at the source.

His original plan had been simple.

If Seryu proved impossible to tame, he would have no choice but to kill her.

But now it seemed

the demon contract had solved his problem perfectly.

Kurome glanced at Seryu and reminded him, "Master, if you don't do something soon, she'll probably die."

Even she

could sense Seryu's life force weakening.

Looks like it's my turn to step in.

Lind nodded. Looking at Seryu writhing in agony, he felt a sense of responsibility well up within him.

Everyone made mistakes.

As her master,

Of course he had to give his Familiar a chance.

It was his duty to save this lost lamb.

Although he was a Demon.

He walked up to Seryu and said calmly,

"Seryu, whether you like it or not, you're my Familiar now."

"I'm sure you understand by now that you'll be punished whenever you harbor malicious thoughts toward me."

"Now I'll ask you once: do you want my forgiveness?"

"That's the only way to relieve your pain."

Although he had made his decision, Lind did not act immediately.

Things obtained too easily were rarely cherished.

Seryu barely managed to open her eyes and look up at Lind, her mind already reeling from the overwhelming shock.

His figure seemed to have become that of a god.

It made her soul tremble and filled her with an irresistible urge to bow down in worship.

Enduring the pain, she forced out the words, "P-please... please..."

Hearing that, Lind tore away the ropes without hesitation and immediately captured her thin lips.

His forceful invasion made Seryu stiffen.

Yet the pain originating in her soul eased in an instant.

All of this

made her instinctively begin responding, clumsily.

As time passed, she felt an overwhelming pressure.

It felt as though her body had turned to water and melted completely.

In her daze, Seryu seemed to glimpse the truth, to behold true justice.

"Is this... the god of justice?"

Seryu felt her faith beginning to overlap with Lind's imposing figure.

Chapter 30: Taking control of the Dimensional Matrix

The next day.

Dawn had barely broken.

The first ray of morning sunlight streamed through a gap in the curtains.

Lind stretched and pushed aside the arms draped over him.

Originally, he had only intended to relieve Seryu's pain.

But later, Esdeath and Kurome had been unable to hold back and had chosen to help Seryu as well.

"Master, I'm so full."

"Master, Kurome's gotten stronger again."

Looking at Esdeath and Kurome as they murmured softly, Lind smiled.

He sat down in a nearby chair and took out the Dimensional Matrix, looking thoughtful.

From what he knew, using an Imperial Arm required matching its wavelength.

"I wonder if it's really that mysterious."

Muttering to himself, Lind began trying to establish a connection with the Dimensional Matrix.

The result

was unexpectedly smooth.

Before long,

Lind could feel that he was already able to control the Dimensional Matrix at will.

"Looks like this so-called wavelength is related to mental power, too."

After studying it for a while, Lind's expression cleared with understanding.

It looked as though he should be able to use every Imperial Arm.

Even using several Imperial Arms at once would be effortless.

After all, compared to a human's,

his mental power was far too strong.

As he pondered this, a soft moan came from beside him.

Lind turned to look. His new Familiar, who had just experienced her first time, had woken up.

He raised his eyebrows slightly.

The timing made sense. She had been the first to finish the battle, after all.

"I... I'm going to kill..."

Now awake, Seryu's expression turned vicious again.

But before she could finish speaking, her body began trembling.

"Aaaaaah..."

The pain originating in her soul swept through her entire body once more.

She really couldn't behave.

Lind shook his head at the sight.

She had only just been taught a lesson, yet she still couldn't help harboring vicious thoughts.

Still, she was his Familiar, so Lind felt he ought to be a little more patient.

He had her start cleaning to atone for it.

"How have you still not cleaned it properly?"

"Put some effort into it. Don't let me see anything left over."

Under Lind's supervision, Seryu was soon sweating profusely.

After completing the cleanup in a flustered rush,

Seryu took a deep breath and sank weakly to the floor.

Gulp.