Chapter 31: Subjugation Event

  Lily landed in front of her mansion. She thought about “deactivating” her wings but decided against it. Since they were literally a part of her now, she would just hide them when they were impractical—like when she wanted to sleep.

  Maybe she was imagining it, but something inside her felt pleased with that line of thought, that the wings were a part of her. For a brief moment, it was as if someone, or something, agreed with her. She brushed the feeling away. Yesterday had already been enough of an identity crisis. Today, she planned too simply be herself.

  “So… where to place the Maw of Creation…” she murmured.

  The space in front of her mansion was large enough, but she didn’t want to block her view of the lake. “Beside it, then,” she said quietly to herself.

  She opened her inventory and checked the placement conditions again. Every relic structure—whether dropped or bought—had its own set of rules on how it functioned. The [Maw of Creation] seemed straightforward enough: place it, summon the forge, and get a smith as a bonus. The only real restriction was that once placed, it became permanently anchored to the spot. But that wasn’t too big of a problem, though. If she was planning to establish her main base here, it would fit perfectly. Most players had several outposts with relic structures anyway. That way, in case of a guild war or raid, only one location would ever be in danger at a time.

  It was thanks to teleportation networks that this system worked so well. Since most players had a teleportation chamber in their main home linked to every outpost, it was the most valuable and most protected room in any base, even more valuable than the treasure vault. Some even had traps or failsafe systems that would destroy the chamber in case of a successful raid, to keep enemies from using it. But like everything else in Xantia, nothing was ever truly safe. There was no such thing as a one-hundred-percent secure system.

  Still, that wasn’t her concern right now. She had only this mansion, and it would be her home for the near future.

  Maybe later, she could travel south to the Xares Empire and see what had happened there. Perhaps she could find traces of her old guild, her vault in the Asara branch, or even something from her old in-game life. But that wouldn’t happen anytime soon.

  After all, she was somewhere in the northern part of Pangrea, if she had understood it correctly, and the Xares Empire lay in the middle of the continent. Traveling there without major teleport hubs would take weeks, maybe months, depending on how closely the game world of Xantia had been translated into its real version.

  With a sigh, Lily pushed those thoughts aside and focused back on the task at hand.

  She reached into her inventory and pulled out the [Maw of Creation].

  It appeared in her hand as a small black orb with a shimmering shell. She turned it over slowly, fascinated. The surface seemed alive, rippling faintly like liquid metal. Inside, golden dust swirled together with something red that pulsed softly, as if it were breathing.

  Lily tilted her head. “You really are something special, huh?”

  The orb was a structure creation item, much like the NPC creation items. Lissy had once joked that they were basically like Pokéballs—you throw one, and an NPC pops out. And honestly, that wasn’t far from the truth. You could toss it onto the ground where you wanted to summon the NPC or structure, and it would appear within seconds.

  There were two kinds of creation orbs. The first type was already customized. Those were the ones you could see directly in the shop, complete with their stats and details. For example, you might get a level four hundred standard gargoyle as a melee guard NPC, or a pre-built church with a priest for your new village in a standard design you could choose from.

  Boss drops, like this one from Mawdrath, also belonged to that category, they were pre-set and ready to use.

  The second type, however, were empty orbs. You could buy those and then customize them yourself at a creation station. But doing that required a ridiculous amount of materials, resources, and patience. You could design a unique NPC that way, or even a special structure that didn’t exist anywhere else in the game.

  [Doomsday] had a few of those. They were incredibly expensive, but when properly geared and equipped, they could rival real players. Some even said the best ones could substitute players entirely.

  The only downside was their fragility. If one of those custom creations was destroyed, there was no way to bring it back. Once gone, it was gone forever. That made them extremely valuable, and most guilds used them only as guards or emergency reinforcements, never for regular raids.

  Lily rolled the orb in her palm. After a short moment, she made up her mind and tossed the orb in a high arc beside her mansion, where there was plenty of open space. The orb hit the ground with a dull thud, and for a second nothing happened. Then it cracked open, and thick black smoke poured out, spreading across the clearing in seconds.

  Shapes began to form inside the smoke, and strange sounds followed; crunching, grinding, and the screech of metal scraping against metal. Lily stood still, watching the process with quiet fascination.

  The noises slowly grew louder until, at last, the movement within the smoke began to slow. The air shimmered with heat, and as the haze thinned, the shape inside became clear.

  Out of the smoke emerged a structure of black iron and obsidian, its design gothic and imposing, almost as tall as her mansion itself. Molten veins ran like glowing cracks along its walls, converging around a raised anvil platform. The platform was surrounded by jagged, rune-covered pillars that pulsed faintly with light, as if alive.

  Lily let out a slow breath. “Now that’s a forge,” she murmured.

  The massive gates of the forge opened with a deep rumble, and a red light spilled out from within, casting long shadows across the ground. A towering figure stepped through the haze.

  It was a hulking demon with skin the color of molten iron. His upper body was bare except for a blacksmith’s apron of scorched leather. In one hand, he held a hammer almost as large as Lily herself, its head glowing faintly with heat. His yellow eyes scanned the surroundings before finally locking on her.

  “Who dares to call upon the Maw of Creation?” his voice boomed, echoing across the lake. “I am Igrath Mawforge, one of the Thirteen Hammers of the World. Speak, and give me your reason!”

  The curiosity in Lily’s eyes vanished instantly.

  “Oh, shit…” she whispered under her breath, realizing her mistake.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  She had completely forgotten that this could happen. Normally, created NPCs were automatically bound to their summoner, but unique drops were different. Since the forge came with its own special-level NPC, it could trigger a subjugation event.

  That meant she had to defeat him. If she failed and died, he would vanish forever, leaving only the forge behind. But if she managed to win, he would swear eternal loyalty and stay with her until his death in-game.

  Great, she thought grimly. A subjugation event.

  And then the other thought hit her. Wait… if he kills me here, do I actually die for real this time?

  Her eyes widened.

  “Ah, crap. And of course, I’m not even wearing my gear… why would I wear armor around the house?” she muttered, feeling her stomach twist.

  Igrath took another heavy step forward, his presence radiating heat.

  “Ahhh… calm down…” she muttered to herself, forcing a breath before straightening her posture.

  Her eyes met his, steady and cold. “It was me,” she said, her voice firm. “Princess Lilithia Nocturne. Princess of the Abyss. Ruler over the damned. Blood of the high demons. How dare you speak to me like this? I killed Mawdrath, the Endless Hunger, with my own two hands and claimed his forge as my prize.”

  Igrath paused, his gaze narrowing as he looked her over once more. He was easily two heads taller than her, his expression unreadable behind the faint glow of his eyes.

  “Blood of the high demons?” he rumbled, his voice like distant thunder. “I do not bow to a self-proclaimed princess. If you are truly of high blood, then prove it!”

  “Ah yes, of course…” Lily muttered. “Shit.”

  The ground cracked beneath his feet as he leapt toward her, his hammer raised high over his head.

  “Shit, shit, shit—” Lily’s instincts kicked in before her thoughts could catch up. Her hands moved on their own, guided by muscle memory honed through years of PvP fights.

  Her inventory flashed open, and she pulled out her weapon—[Nocturne Crownblade]. The massive two-handed sword materialized in her grasp just as Igrath’s hammer came down.

  She swung upward and caught the blow mid-arc. The impact sent a shockwave through the clearing, dust kicking up around them as metal clashed against metal. The force drove her down to one knee, the floor beneath her cracking under the pressure.

  “Damn… strong,” she hissed through her teeth.

  His strength was easily on par with hers, maybe higher. As a smith, he likely had naturally boosted strength stats, which meant he was probably somewhere around level nine hundred.

  But there was no time to think about it. Igrath stepped forward, swinging again, his hammer leaving trails of red heat in the air. Lily rolled aside, wings flaring instinctively to keep her balance.

  “Alright then,” she growled, tightening her grip on her sword. “Let’s see if you’re as tough as you look.” The brief exchange had stirred something inside her, and Lily felt her fighting spirit awaken. She was ready to take this seriously.

  Lily pushed off the ground, her wings snapping wide as she shot toward the demon. The air cracked behind her from the sudden burst of force. While closing the distance, she began buffing herself under her breath. It was her usual opening set when a fight started, an old habit built from hundreds of boss battles and countless PvP fights.

  “[Infernal Resonance]. [Hellfire Infusion]. [Demonheart Surge]. [Crimson Edge]. [Hellfire Shield].”

  Each spell flared to life around her in quick succession. Her body was instantly engulfed in black flames, the air around her hissing as her power surged. Her eyes burned crimson, and with each beat of her wings, her speed grew.

  By the time she reached Igrath, her vision had changed completely. The world around her lost almost all color; only red, blue, black, white, and yellow remained. Every movement felt sharper and quicker, guided less by thought and more by pure instinct. She could feel her mana draining with every heartbeat, but her strength had multiplied tenfold.

  Igrath barely had time to raise his hammer when her sword came down. The [Nocturne Crownblade] slammed into his weapon with a sound like thunder. The impact sent a shockwave through the clearing.

  He was thrown backward with brute force, crashing into the side of the newly formed forge. The black stone splintered under the impact, glowing cracks spreading from where he hit.

  Lily didn’t pause. In the blink of an eye, she was already in front of him again, her wings cutting through the smoke like blades. She swung the flat of her sword sideways, striking him in the stomach. The hit landed with a sharp metallic clang, and the massive demon was sent flying across the clearing, his body crashing towards the ground like a falling meteor.

  Before he could even hit the ground, she vanished from sight, her body flickering forward in a burst of hellfire. She reappeared beside him, twisting midair, and kicked him upward with a powerful strike that sent him soaring fifty feet into the sky.

  The force of the kick rippled through her leg, and a trail of embers followed his ascent.

  As he reached the peak of his fall, she was already there above him, appearing in a blink, her silhouette outlined by the sun.

  “Got you,” she whispered, and slammed her open hand across his face with a backhand strike that cracked like an explosion, her other hand still gripping the sword. She didn’t want to kill him, only end the fight and finish the subjugation event. Still, as her blood raced and her body moved on instinct, she couldn’t deny it anymore. This was fun, far more than it had ever been in the game.

  Lily hated to admit it, but deep down, she was a battle junkie at heart. And it seemed that habit hadn’t vanished just because the world had suddenly become real. At least she still had enough control over herself to stop before things went too far.

  Igrath plummeted back to the ground like a comet, the impact shaking the earth beneath him. A crater burst open where he struck, sending smoke and dust billowing outward in a wide circle.

  Lily hovered above the devastation for a moment, wings spread, her body still wrapped in black flame. She panted lightly, her mana burning like wildfire through her veins.

  Then she looked down at the crater, sword still in hand. “You wanted proof,” she said between breaths. “There it is.” Then, she descended slowly toward the crater, her wings stirring up the dust as she landed on the cracked ground. Igrath lay there half-buried in rubble, smoke rising faintly from his skin. His hammer was lodged several meters away, sunk deep into the earth.

  Lily stepped closer and pointed the tip of her sword at his throat. The black flames still blazed faintly around her. Her voice was calm but cold.

  “Once more,” she said, her eyes glowing faintly red. “I, Lilithia Nocturne, Princess of the Abyss, call upon your forge. And in my endless mercy, I give you a choice—return to the depths from which you came, or swear eternal loyalty to me.”

  For a long moment, there was only silence. The air still shimmered with heat, and the ground around the crater glowed faintly red from the impact. Igrath’s chest rose and fell heavily as he lay there, his molten eyes staring up at her.

  Then, slowly, the great demon pushed himself up onto one knee. The defiance that had burned in his gaze before was gone, replaced by something else—recognition.

  He lowered his head. “You have proven yourself. Only a true high blood could possess the strength you have just shown,” he said, his voice rough but steady. “Your flame burns true, and your will does not waver. I was forged to serve power, and power you have proven!”

  Lily kept her sword raised a moment longer, watching him carefully. “So?” she asked, her tone calm. “What is your answer?”

  Igrath bowed his head fully. “I, Igrath Mawforge, one of the Thirteen Hammers of the World, submit to you, Lilithia Nocturne, Princess of the Abyss. My forge, my hammer, and my strength are yours to command.”

  Lily lowered her blade and nodded slightly. “Good,” she said. “Then we understand each other.”

  Igrath looked up at her, his expression grim but also resolute. “We do, my Princess. From this day, my fire will shape your world.”

  Jesus, so dramatic, Lily thought, watching the demon kneel. Just like in the game… I really have to wonder how different he actually is from his NPC version. He even followed the subjugation event…

  Lily wanted to tell him to rise and finally end this now awkward encounter, maybe even take a look inside the forge, but before she could speak, another movement caught her attention.

  From the edge of the forest, her cultists came running toward her—grim-faced, out of breath, and with knives drawn. They must have seen or at least heard the fight from their house and rushed over.

  “Princessss!” Sevrin’s voice cut through the clearing as they came to a stop at the edge of the crater, eyes wide as they took in the scene.

  She looked at them with a raised eyebrow. “And what exactly do you think you’re doing here with your daggers?”

  A breathless Marie stepped forward, still trying to catch her breath. “We… we thought you were under attack… we wanted to help…”

  Lily sighed and lowered her sword, the last of the black flames fading around her. “Well, thank you, I guess? But no worries. This is Igrath Mawforge, our new smith, and we just happened to have a little sparring session.”

  She glanced at the towering demon, who stood now silently beside the forge, smoke still rising from his shoulders.

  “But it’s good that you’re here anyway,” Lily added with a faint smile. “We have a lot of work ahead of us.”