Wherever it passed, the muscles instantly stiffened, losing all sensation and control, as if they had turned into heavy, unyielding stones.
Even more terrifying, the originally unobstructed Magic Channel within his body was frozen and blocked in an instant by the invasion of this chilling magic!
The flow of magic became sluggish and painful, each circulation scraping against an ice-sealed riverbed, releasing a silent wail.
He could feel his power rapidly draining away, forcibly stripped and imprisoned by this damned collar.
The once abundant magic receded like a tide, leaving only a cold wasteland behind.
Luo Ling’s consciousness began to blur amidst the cold and agony.
He wanted to scream.
He wanted to roar.
He wanted to question this unjust fate, but his throat felt as if an invisible viper had tightened around it, leaving him only able to gasp in ragged, broken bellows like a damaged bellows.
Tears of humiliation welled uncontrollably, blurring his vision—
And also the flashing red light on the magic crystal, flickering like a demon’s mocking laughter.
He had become a complete victim of this Slave Collar, a shell devoid of power, freedom, and even his soul.
“You… What did you do to me?”
Luo Ling’s voice was distorted by overwhelming fear.
He was horrified to discover that his body was trembling uncontrollably, an unprecedented, icy terror spreading madly from the depths of his heart.
It was as if countless tiny tentacles were silently wrapping around and corroding his will, robbing him of control over himself.
“Nothing,”
The Demon Queen’s tone stretched lazily, her crimson eyes gleaming with a cat-and-mouse amusement and satisfaction.
She watched Luo Ling’s fear-paled face and uncontrollable trembling with keen interest.
A cold hand, irresistible in its strength, stroked his disheveled black hair—disheveled from struggle and despair.
Her fingertips traced through the strands with a possessiveness and false intimacy that was utterly sickening.
“Just a little Handmaid Magic, that’s all. From tomorrow onward, you, Luo Ling, will be my one and only exclusive Handmaid.”
She emphasized the words “Handmaid,” the malice in her eyes nearly overflowing.
“I will personally teach you how to serve tea and water like a true maid, how to attend to your master’s every need, how to… use every possible method to please me.”
She paused, her icy fingertips sliding to his chin, forcing him to lift his head and meet her emotionless gaze.
Her voice suddenly turned cold, laced with naked threat.
“If you… perform poorly, or dare to defy me even slightly, then what awaits you will be far more than this little ‘trouble.'”
“Don’t even think about it!”
The remnants of Luo Ling’s pride and fury flared instantly.
He tried to recoil, desperate to escape the suffocating touch.
But the cold magical chains around his limbs gripped him like venomous serpents, unyielding.
Around his neck, the collar symbolizing humiliation and control erupted in a blinding red light.
A pain far fiercer than before, as if tearing his soul apart, surged through his entire body.
“Urgh—!”
He groaned in agony, his body arching violently, cold sweat instantly breaking out across his forehead, his vision blurred by the sudden onslaught of pain.
The Demon Queen seemed extremely satisfied by his reaction.
She slowly crouched down, meeting him eye to eye.
That beautiful face loomed larger before him, yet looked like a demon of hell.
She leaned in close to Luo Ling’s ear, her breath warm—yet to Luo Ling, more piercing than ice—brushing his ear.
Her voice was low, like a serpent’s hiss, laced with temptation and cruel delight, each word burrowing into his mind:
“Don’t even think about it? Luo Ling, do you really believe you still have any choice left?”
She extended a finger, lightly tracing the soft yet humiliating silken dress forced onto his body, her eyes filled with mockery.
“Look at yourself now: dressed in women’s clothing, imprisoned like a lowly plaything in this sunless dungeon, unable even to muster the strength to resist.
Where is your once-proud Holy Sword? Where is your courage and resolve to slay demons and protect the world? Where have they all gone? Hmm?”
Her words were like the sharpest blades, piercing all his defenses and stabbing deep into Luo Ling’s shattered heart.
Yes…
What was he now?
A prisoner dressed in women’s garb, powerless to resist?
A weakling unable to control even his own body and will?
A pitiful wretch who had abandoned his mission, clinging to life in disgrace?
He remembered the sacred mission he once bore—to eradicate demons and protect the peace of the kingdom.
He remembered Eve, his childhood companion, whose eyes were always filled with gentle smiles…
Regret, pain, and despair surged over him like a tidal wave, drowning him completely.
The Holy Sword broken, comrades scattered, his beloved lost—and himself left in such humiliation…
The vast chasm and cruel reality threatened to crush his sanity entirely.
His gaze dimmed rapidly.
The golden eyes that once burned with flame now held only endless gray and lifelessness.
As if all light had been drawn out.
The trembling of his body gradually faded—but not from the retreat of fear.
Rather, it came from numbness and despair in the depths of his soul.
“Oh? Giving up already?”
The Demon Queen’s sharp gaze was like a blade, instantly catching the fleeting despair in Luo Ling’s eyes.
She slowly stood.
Her tall, graceful figure cast a vast, oppressive shadow under the flickering magic flames, engulfing Luo Ling where he lay on the floor.
She looked down on him as if observing a ruined puppet drained of all bone and spirit, a cruel yet mocking smile tugging at her lips.
That smile twisted in the firelight, appearing all the more hideous and dreadful, every curve radiating unbridled malice.
“That’s more like it,”
She nodded with satisfaction, though her tone held no true pleasure.
Instead, it was filled with the condescending “comfort” of someone rewarding a pet that had finally learned to beg for mercy.
“The sooner you recognize this cruel reality, behave yourself, and obey, the less unnecessary suffering you’ll have to endure.”
As she spoke, she stood gracefully, her slender hands absentmindedly straightening her luxurious, ornate robes.
The fabric was embroidered with dark gold magic patterns, glinting ominously under the dim light.
To her, the humiliation she had just inflicted was nothing more than toying with an unsightly but ultimately boring insect.
“Rest well, my ‘little Handmaid.'”
Her red lips parted, yet her words were like icy, poisoned needles.
“Tomorrow, your ‘new curriculum’ begins. Don’t disappoint me… After all, training an unruly pet is a time-consuming task.”
The last few words were spoken almost against Luo Ling’s ear, chilling to the bone.
Luo Ling squeezed his eyes shut, struggling not to let tears of humiliation spill forth.
Yet the burning liquid inevitably overflowed, silently sliding from the corners of his eyes, tracing down his pale cheeks, and falling onto the cold stone floor, leaving a dark mark.
Despair surged repeatedly against his will.
He didn’t know how much longer his broken body and fragile mind could endure, nor whether Qi Qi and Liliya had truly escaped safely, far from this hell.
But he knew that as long as he drew breath, he would never let the Demon Queen’s schemes succeed!
He would never let her witness his complete surrender!
“I…”
Luo Ling mustered all his strength, forcing out a single word from his cracked lips, the sound hoarse as a ruined bellows.
He drew a deep breath, the air scraping his throat like shards of glass, but it cleared his muddled mind slightly.
When he opened his eyes again, the once-dull gaze now burned with a faint but unwavering light—like a candle fighting valiantly in a storm.
“I… will not yield.”
Each word was squeezed through clenched teeth, carrying the resolve of blood and fire.
The false smile on the Demon Queen’s face froze instantly.
Her stunning features darkened visibly.
The once languid eyes now brimmed with frigid killing intent, as if a bottomless abyss of ice threatened to freeze and devour Luo Ling’s soul.
“Very well,”
She ground out the words, her voice cold as the underworld.
“It seems you won’t understand who truly rules here unless you’re shown some real discipline!”
She spun abruptly, turning her back to Luo Ling, and called out coldly:
“Come!”
At her command, two slender figures appeared ghostlike at the doorway.
They were dressed in matching black lace Handmaid uniforms, with deep necklines exposing swathes of pale skin and deep cleavage, seductive yet empty smiles on their faces—succubi exuding both allure and danger.
They stood respectfully to the side, heads bowed, not daring to meet the Demon Queen’s eyes.
“Take her to the bath,”
The Demon Queen’s voice was utterly emotionless, yet so cold it seemed to freeze the air.
“Give her a proper ‘cleansing.'”
She emphasized the word “cleansing,” the deeper meaning sending a chill through the heart.
“Make sure she’s ‘thoroughly’ clean,”
She paused, her gaze like a knife sweeping over Luo Ling, filled with naked disgust.
“Don’t soil my eyes.”
As the final word fell, the air in the entire room seemed to thicken and weigh down, laden with suffocating oppression.