Chapter 4: Two lost souls
The dim firelight flickered as the obese man's elongated shadow nearly engulfed the trembling girl curled in darkness. The glowing collar around her neck pulsed rhythmically, its light stinging the predator's eyes that burned with carnal hunger.
Stone walls enclosed the cramped chamber, offering no refuge from violation, yet persistent knocking echoed through the iron door. "Warden! This is unconscionable! Emerge at once!" The pleas from beyond went unheeded as calloused fingers gripped the hem of the girl's garment.
"God of Light," she whispered through crystalline tears that streamed down alabaster cheeks, each droplet hammering at humanity's crumbling morality, "if my devotion ever meant anything, deliver me now."
His hesitation lasted three heartbeats - enough.
The anvil materialized inexplicably above his head. Though its texture resembled dough, the impact carried bone-crushing momentum. Cervical vertebrae snapped like dry twigs, dropping the would-be rapist into eternal silence before his knees hit the floor.
Li Bing groaned, every nerve aflame from the heavy fall. Miraculously, some pliant surface had cushioned his impact - this mysterious intervention preserving life where concrete should have granted only death.
As Li Bing lay dazed from the fall, a melodious voice sounded in his ear.
"Are you okay?" The words weren't Chinese, yet he understood them perfectly.
"I'm fine..." Li Bing blinked upon realizing his own speech had transformed into this foreign tongue while remaining comprehensible.
Chi Dan's crafted body is truly convenient. Damn convenient. I could work as an interpreter now.
His vision cleared to behold the beauty before him - a vision of ethereal perfection. Her white robe flowed like celestial clouds, chestnut curls cascading like autumn wheat fields that stirred waves in his heart. Amber eyes, clear as autumn ponds, captivated him... until his gaze snagged on the collar around her neck.
A collar? A COLLAR!
The degenerate's mind instantly conjured SM scenes from adult videos.
The iron door clanged open. A man in his fifties entered, froze during the awkward stare-off with Li Bing, then nervously dragged the corpse of the unfortunate man out before sealing the door again.
Now only Li Bing and the maiden remained in the stone chamber.
"Where... are we? Who are you?" He finally managed, still shaken by having crushed a man to death.
"This is the dungeon beneath Luoshui City in the Phantom Flame Empire." The girl batted mesmerizing lashes. "I'm Ilian... a magic slave."
Time travel! Another world! Li Bing's pulse quickened. First Chi Dan's reconstructed body, now this novel-worthy dimensional leap - his fortunes were truly changing!
"My name is Li Bing." Li Bing now brimmed with arrogance. Though uncertain about the full extent of physical enhancement Chi Dan had granted him, surely it should reach world-destroying levels? This girl before him claiming to be a demon slave - essentially a servant class - might make suitable addition to his harem. She could experience the techniques he'd honed through years of adult film study...
"Li... What a lovely name." Ilian's radiant smile dissolved Li Bing's urge to correct her pronunciation. Let the beauty call him as she pleased.
"Ha!" Holding back his full strength to avoid global destruction, Li Bing punched the stone wall.
"YOWCH--!" The piercing pain tore an undignified scream from him. Under Ilian's puzzled gaze, he attempted to sense legendary energies - magic, inner force, spiritual power - but found nothing.
Reality struck - Chi Dan had granted no actual powers beyond... translation abilities.
"Heavens! This is unfair!" Li Bing wailed. How could a feeble third-rate college student survive in this mythical otherworld? Trapped in a dungeon no less - perhaps permanently...
Cursed! His luck remained abysmal as ever!
After flailing about for while, Li Bing slumped onto the cold floor in despair.
Distant clamor reached his ears. Seeming to read his thoughts, Ilian explained: "That's the Blazing Fury Lord's army assaulting Luoshui City. After eight days of siege, the city likely can't hold much longer..."
"Ilian, I... grew up isolated in a valley with an elderly scholar. When he died, he chanted some spell during his final moments... then I inexplicably appeared here. Could you explain this world to me? And... what exactly is a demon slave?" Li Bing spun lies without blushing - how far he'd fallen.
After feigning tears for a moment, Li Bing noticed Elaine's face already streaked with genuine tears. Such an innocent girl, tragically entangled with scum like Li Bing.
Elaine composed herself and began earnestly enlightening her ignorant companion.
"This continent is called the Radiant Realm, home to hundreds of nations. The Church of Holy Light permeates every corner of this land. Approximately every millennium, a Demonic Rift opens, unleashing hordes of infernal creatures. The clashes between continental alliances and these demonic legions are known as the Celestial-Infernal Wars - six such cataclysms have occurred, the most recent ending just twenty years ago after three years of carnage."
"Yet the Sixth Celestial-Infernal War bore unique traits. First, it erupted thirty years earlier than prophesied. Second, the demons manifested unprecedented traits - innate arcane abilities. Their sudden assault obliterated Shangri-La, the Eastern continent's paramount military power, within months, humiliating the entire realm. Amid this crisis, the previously marginalized Church of Holy Light from the White Wing Kingdom launched the historic Eastern Crusade while the Seven Paragons emerged as legendary figures. Thus began the full-scale continental counteroffensive against the demonic forces and their thralls. The war culminated in the demons' annihilation, cementing the Holy Light faith as the dominant religion. Even our continent's name changed from Europa to the Radiant Realm."
At the final stage of the war, allied forces discovered over 600,000 demon children under six years old - including infants - in the Demon Emperor's City. Zidane, the Light Archmage among the Seven Heroes, invented "Demon-binding Collars" that completely sealed these demonic remnants' innate magical abilities. The Church subsequently sold them as slaves across the lands, forcing them to atone for their ancestors' sins through physical labor and loss of freedom. These children became known as Demon Slaves.
After the war, the Seven Heroes dispersed: Dragon Knight Totti, Mountain King Carlos, Sword God Raul, and Elven Prince Beckham inherited the leaderless Shangri-La Empire, establishing the Holy Dragon Kingdom, Holy Mountain Kingdom, Holy Blade Kingdom, and Holy Elven Kingdom respectively. Cleric Figo ascended as the new Pope of the Light Church, while Archmage Zidane and bard Marilyn Monroe retired from public life...
The Great Holy War devastated continental elites, nobles, and royalty, plunging the realm into renewed turmoil. Despite the Light Papacy's mediation, wars between nations, rebellions, secessions, and suppressions continued unabated. Oppressed races like beastmen, dark elves, and remaining demon worshippers maintained underground activities, pushing the continent toward fresh chaos.
The neighboring Phantom Flame Empire, once a powerful realm, collapsed when Emperor George Best and Crown Prince Karl Best fell in the war's final days. The empire fragmented into noble-led territories..." Elaine demonstrated remarkable storytelling skills, completely captivating Li Bing - though his attention lingered more on her physique than her narrative.
"Our Luoshui City was established by the Second Prince with northern noble support as the southernmost fortress of the legitimate Phantom Flame Empire. Located along the Luo River tributary of the continent's greatest waterway, the Dragon River, it serves as our empire's bulwark against southern invasions. Nine other great nobles founded Tiger Flame, Iron Flame, Golden Flame, Silver Flame, Bright Flame, Wild Flame, Cold Flame, Crimson Flame, and Azure Flame - all named after their personal guard legions. Who could have foreseen the mighty Phantom Flame Empire's downfall..." The more Elaine spoke, the more Li Bing sensed her extraordinary bearing - utterly unlike any slave's demeanor.
Seeing the confusion on Li Bing's face, Ilian smiled bitterly. "The Guen family has hereditary rule over Luoshui City. My father, Count Guen, commanded ten thousand Luoshui Legionnaires as the former lord. After my mother's early death, my father passed last month - the title should have gone to my sister. But Otaga, the Holy Light Church priest who served my father for decades, produced my father's diary accusing me of being a demonic remnant... Now Otaga rules the city, my sister was taken by the Church's Tribunal, and I became a demon slave. That warden nearly... Though perhaps he's pitiable too - a veteran soldier terrified when the Flame Horde's thirty thousand troops besieged the city. They massacre every town they take..."
An unfamiliar urge surged in Li Bing - to protect this wounded soul, though powerless.
"Don't be so sad," Ilian forced a smile, sensing his turmoil. "I was even a Holy Maiden candidate once, blessed with healing magic..." Her voice trembled, tears resurfacing.
Li Bing suddenly realized they were kindred spirits - both playthings of cruel fate.
He tentatively embraced her shoulders. Instead of resisting, Ilian buried her face in his chest. He felt damp warmth spreading through his shirt as her petite frame quivered against him. His heartbeat synchronized with her tremors. For the first time in his life, Li Bing felt like a real man.
Two lost souls finding solace in shared despair.
The fragile moment shattered when Ilian's muffled voice rose from his chest: "Li... There's something... growing larger against my leg."