Clap, clap, clap.
The crisp sound of slaps rang rapidly through the quiet moonlit night.
By the wreckage of the carriage, Morrigan sat leisurely atop the broken remains. She looked down at the small figure curled up on her lap and spoke in a light tone:
"Ahh, this is what you asked for—anything you want me to do."
Upon hearing Morrigan's words, Nikki teary-eyed glared at her, then averted her face in a mix of shame and anger.
Not far from the carriage, the Bug Mistress knelt in disbelief, watching everything unfold.
This… this is…
She couldn't believe it. The usually proud and defiant Nikki-sama was being pinned onto Morrigan's lap and spanked?!
It looked like a child being disciplined by an adult.
It was utterly surreal. She silently wished this scene would repeat a few more times.
"Little she-devils like you deserve a good spanking," Morrigan said.
Smack!
Her delicate hand landed heavily on Nikki's rear, causing her petite body to flinch.
Tears began streaming uncontrollably down Nikki's face.
"W-w-w…I was wrong! I was really wrong!"
"Death Witch-sama, Nikki-sama is still young. She cannot withstand this punishment. If you're still not satisfied, please hit me instead."
The Bug Mistress knelt beside Morrigan, pressing against her leg and pleading softly.
But Morrigan, seeing the light in the Bug Mistress's eyes, felt a strange sense of familiarity.
Instinctively, she pushed the Bug Mistress's head away from her lap and blurted out:
"Stay away from me, you pervert."
"Heh… heh… after spanking Nikki-sama, it feels so good…"
The Bug Mistress even stuck out her little tongue, as if to lick Morrigan's hand.
Hel quickly intervened, pulling Morrigan's hand back. She had thought Lily had been excessive in the realm of perversion, but here, there was an even more extreme individual.
Hel's intervention distracted her from spanking Nikki further. Morrigan let Nikki down, straightened her skirt, and looked down at them from above:
"Alright, now that I've vented my anger, I'll spare you—for now. But deathless crimes do not go unpunished. From this moment on, you two are my slaves. Do you understand?"
"Y-Yes, Mistress," the Bug Mistress answered immediately.
Nikki hesitated, struggling for a moment before reluctantly saying:
"I… understand."
"And then?" Morrigan prompted.
"C-Can I not say those two words?" Nikki asked cautiously, lifting her watery, innocent eyes to look at Morrigan pitifully.
Morrigan remained unmoved, her gaze cold and unyielding.
After a long pause, fearing another spanking, Nikki finally said reluctantly:
"M-Mistress."
At the instant she spoke, far away in Heim Castle, Hel felt her Death Divine Mark tremble.
A strange energy surged from Morrigan's hand through her soul and shot toward Nikki's forehead.
Immediately, Nikki clutched her stomach, curling up in pain, whimpering and sobbing.
The Bug Mistress watched in distress but, glancing nervously at Morrigan, didn't intervene.
After a while, Nikki's sobs ceased. She slowly stood up, her hair matted with sweat and sticking to her forehead.
This time, her expression was filled with complicated emotions as she looked at Morrigan.
"From now on, you are Nikki's master."
As she spoke, Nikki slowly released her hands from her stomach, revealing a blood-red mark beneath.
From the moment the energy was sent from Hel, Morrigan understood what it was.
This was the product of losing the blood-throne battle—a ritual far more terrifying than mere soul enslavement.
While soul or bloodline enslavement affects supernaturals under gods, this contract born from the Blood Battle for Succession could even control deities.
Its official name: Slave God Mark.
It represented the most severe punishment for those who dared rebel against higher deities.
A god bearing this mark ranked even lower than the lowest servant god—a mere slave to their master.
"So that's why you were so reluctant to call me 'Mistress,' huh?"
At the same time, a new black status tag appeared on Nicky:
[Slave God Mark: Loyalty +404 – Even a deity cannot disobey your will, or else…]
Shhh~
Hel, hiding in Heim Castle, gasped. This bonus was insanely high.
However… testing the bond between her soul and Nikki, she realized the contract could not be used indefinitely. With the strength of her soul, she could only create eight more contracts.
Once all nine were filled, she would not be able to form new contracts unless she actively terminated an existing one.
"So essentially, nine absolutely loyal subordinates?" Hel mused.
She controlled Morrigan to select a +340 loyalty tag, [Hel's Loyalist], and applied it to the Bug Mistress.
Instantly, the Bug Mistress's gaze toward Morrigan softened dramatically, making Hel uneasy.
She nearly forgot the Bug Mistress was a pervert; would she shift her attention next?
Glancing at the Bug Mistress's [Nicky-sama's Dog] (+233 loyalty), Hel's stomach tightened. Too much loyalty had already been applied. Perhaps she should swap tags.
Before Morrigan could act further, her expression changed suddenly. She swiftly gathered the corpses from the mound and, taking Nikki and the Bug Mistress by their collars, leapt into the air, gliding across the ground toward the distance.
Half an hour later, several small figures appeared on the horizon, heading straight for Heim Castle.