Going back to the point where Iron-eye was making his retreat from the guards, the slaver dwarf himself emerged from inside of his escape route, now finding himself somewhere on the outskirts of town in a forest. This is the area should Iron-eye found himself in a complicated mess like the guards finding of him, and is also where the slaves are transported here as a safe and inconspicuous path for anyone in town to not get suspicious. 

"That was a f.u.c.king close one." Iron-eye breathed a sigh of relief upon knowing that he was able to get away from the lawful authorities of Flocaster. "The Captain and her witless guards won't be able to reach me here. After all, I have the best hidden locks and switches that money can buy, from the shadowy thieves of Blerton themselves, hehe. That b.a.s.t.a.r.d Stephen has cost me a huge amount of fortune and he'll pay for this atrocity!!"

Iron-eye indeed thought of the n.o.bleman Stephen with scorn due to their bad history towards one another. The Walcot has been a thorn on his side for too long with their games of politics and business. If anyone were to benefit from his downfall, then it would be the second son of the Walcot family, no doubt.

"I suppose I should make my way to the Black Market, for now, to get a hold of my contracts so I can start another slavery business anew," Iron-eye muttered loudly to himself. "But I got to be careful in transversing myself to these parts. The guards may be witless, but they are by no means incompetent. No doubt, Madeleine has a.s.signed some extra guards as a precaution around the outskirts in case I was able to escape successfully from town."

"Guards are the least of your concern right now, sc.u.m." A voice instantly made itself known from out of nowhere. 

Iron-eye's heart undoubtedly has pumped nervously at a fast rate at hearing such voice that resonated a whole lot of malice in it. It is of no jest that whoever is speaking to the dwarf right now bear no good intentions.

"Who goes there!?" Iron-eye quickly summoned his axe from his Inventory and gripped it tightly as he prepared himself for whatever vile actions that this individual has in store for him. 

The dwarf's answer came in the form of a mind-agonizing headache that suddenly struck upon him. Although Iron-eye has displayed some resilience in resisting the pain thanks to his decent amount of Willpower, it was simply not enough as he eventually succ.u.mbed to it, and fell victim in a certain spell that centered around his illegal trade.

The last thing that Iron-eye's consciousness registered him is an elf walking towards him calmly.

***

The plan was actually quite simple: Wait until Iron-eye was away from the prying eyes of the guards to not get any attention from the authorities at whatever dark scheme that Stephen has planned for the dwarf.

Months of constant surveillance and subterfuge made all this possible as Iron-eye and his mercenary gang proved to be rather elusive and paranoid, for a good reason in their part. It was only a month ago exactly when Stephen chose to disclose this sensitive information to the guards so he won't be suspected for whatever plot that he has for Iron-eye alone. 

Not every information that Stephen knows has been revealed to the guards though, information which included the location of the escape exit thanks to his reliable contacts from his group who wors.h.i.+ped the Demonic G.o.d, Choros. 

Stephen antic.i.p.ated that Iron-eye will be using this escape tactic to make his successful evade, but with this knowledge that the n.o.bleman possessed, the dwarf's plan backfired horribly. 

The issue though is how they are going to catch Iron-eye in the outskirts without catching the attention of the guards patrolling around the area. Stephen very much knew that Madeleine is a cautious Guard Captain who has back-up plans in case her main plans went haywire, antic.i.p.ating that there will be a significant number of guards who will be in a lookout in case Iron-eye slipped off from their grasp. Not to mention, Madeleine is definitely quite a beauty.

The Walcot is sure d.a.m.n lucky for having her as his fiance. This means that Madeleine loved and trusted him with all her heart. Of course, some secrets should be kept from her, like this unlawful capture of his.

The capture, however, was not done by Stephen directly. The honors belonged to his new acquaintance, the elven Arcanist, Gray Allister. Iron-eye is well-known to be a dangerous and brutal combatant who excelled in dual-wielding axes with deadly and quick precision. His blind right eye is not just for show, a testament to the one battle that he survived when he was forced into overwhelming combat with the notorious bandit clan at Oseginia. As a result, precautions are needed to be taken, and one or two men are enough in performing the deed. A squad or platoon might attract unnecessary attention from the roving guards, and Iron-eye proved to be deceptive and quick on his feet when it comes to evading capture. 

Gray's u003cMana Slaveu003e fitted perfectly well in this scenario, where one spell is the answer in apprehending the dwarf without issue. The elf thought how reliable and useful the slavery spell is in many applications, much to his utter glee.

When Iron-eye finally woke up from his forced unconsciousness, he was baffled at the darkroom that greeted his sights. His confusion was accentuated even further when he felt the state he was in; bounded and chained into a pike-like pillar with a red magic circle right at the floor. The place gave the vibe of an unholy ritual where he is the subject of whatever transgression that is in store for him. 

"Ah, awake at last, good." 

Iron-eye saw his nemesis, Stephen emerging from the darkness in front of him with a triumphant look. The dwarf then gritted his teeth in rage at this indeed.

Stephen is not alone, however. He is accompanied by Gray as part of this task of his.

"Stephen Walcot, you definitely are the bane of my existence," Iron-eye said the human's name with unadulterated contempt. "Come to gloat at your victory now, are we? Whatever demonic trickery you are planning, I will not succ.u.mb to this madness of a sort!!"

"The only demon that I see, is you, Iron-eye." Stephen retained his playful and mocking demeanor. "If you wondering what this ritual is, let's just say that it's an offering to my lords.h.i.+p, to be more specific, the G.o.d of Chaos himself, Lord Choros."

Indeed, Iron-eye was completely caught off guard at this revelation, not expecting the esteemed second son of the Walcot family to be tackled into the affairs that are related to demon wors.h.i.+p. Iron-eye always knew that Stephen is constantly up to no good, but this? It was even beyond disbelief, even for the dwarf. 

"I never expected you to be a demon-wors.h.i.+ping swine." Iron-eye made his comment with a frown.

"Well, like they say… expectations can be a cruel b.i.t.c.h." Stephen merely chuckled at the dwarf's response. "As much as I would love to savor this moment and chat with you all night, my lord is known to be quite impatient and wanted this matter to be settled with as soon as possible."

"Just kill me and be done with it." Iron-eye faced with defiance. "What's the point with all these infernal hogwash?"

"Iron-eye." This time, Stephen's expression turned to a 180, becoming all grim, much to the dwarf's utter discomfort. "You have committed an unforgivable sin that went against Lord Choros' sacred covenant… The debauched act of slavery."

"Slavery?" Iron-eye was genuinely flabbergasted at this. Obviously, he knew and acknowledge that he indeed committed the act, but another different matter though has caused him the reaction he is feeling right now. "What does it have to concern with Choros? He is a demon G.o.d after all, and I doubt such distasteful action of us mortals is what he abhorred. As a matter of fact, he should be commending such unlawful actions."

"Heh, a typical non-believer, always a.s.suming too much without even the knowledge." Stephen shook his head in unamus.e.m.e.nt. "Many people thought of how Choros is an evil G.o.d due to his a.s.sociation with the demons. But what many didn't know is that Choros also represents freedom itself. One to an extent, should not bind themselves with the restricting laws of society, for true chaos is achieved through one's free will without anyone dictating them whatsoever. Your kind of slavery goes everything against my lords.h.i.+p's teachings, a cruel state of Order that suppressed everyone's freedom entirely."

"So, you have brought me here because I have defied your G.o.d," Iron-eye answered with a grimace. "What are you going to do then? Offer my blood or soul to him? To be granted unimaginable power?"

"Power, yes, but not for me," Stephen responded with his arms crossed. ���My new friend here will be doing the deed, all for the glory of Lord Choros."

"Me, huh." Gray's interest was piqued as he eyed the dwarven slaver like a pig that's readied to be butchered. "Well, I'm not going to say no in torturing this ugly fat rat personally. What exactly am I going to do here?" 

"Break his will, crush him, let him bend to me."

It was a dark voice who came speaking to them, causing Gray and Iron-eye to be alarmed. In Gray's case, the voice sounded familiar. It's of no mistake that it's the same one that spoke to the elf at his slumber during the night of the Stephania's attempted kidnapping to her.

Stephen simply gave respect to the voice by bowing his head in a dignified manner. "Lord Choros, it's an honor for you to grace us with your chaotic presence."

"Yes, Stephen. You have proved to be a worthy and loyal va.s.sal yet again. I'm pleased with your performance." Choros said with approval. 

"Your words do me great happiness, my lord," Stephen replied with sincerity. 

"Indeed," Choros said and then turned his great attention to Gray. "Ah, Paragon, a pleasure to be in your presence once more. It appears that you have brought me a great gift today, in the form of a conniving little dwarf."

"P-paragon!!??" Both Stephen and Iron-eye were beyond shock upon hearing this new information regarding Gray's hidden status.

"Well, I wouldn't want to disappoint Stephen, my new friend here." Gray ignored the pair's surprised looks as he responded nonchalantly to Choros, remaining calm despite being in the presence of a dark deity. "That, and you also promised me to unlock the ring's full potential."

"Yes," Choros answered in agreement. He then started explaining what Gray is supposed to do. "Your task is simple really. I want you to demonstrate how chaotic you can be, inflicting him so much pain and agony that he wished he is dead."

"Oh, is that all?" Gray stated with a stoic look. "If that's the case, then it's definitely going to be easy. Hopefully, the b.a.s.t.a.r.d is resilient and won't die quickly before experiencing true horror and pain."

"I wouldn't worry about that," Stephen a.s.sured the elf. "The magic circle that was performed by a fellow wors.h.i.+per, a u003cPriestu003e, is called the Circle of Unending Existence. The circle revives anyone from the dead quickly with their bodies perfectly intact. The catch is that a person must stay in the circle three seconds after his death for him or her to be revived, just before the soul will permanently depart from the body. As a result, this circle is an efficient way of interrogating prisoners with no worries of death. Combat-wise, it's rather impractical for it takes time to set-up the circle itself, and it also has a size limit before losing its entire magic efficiency. If you wish to use it in battle, you have to prepare the circle in advance, but the mana cost is quite demanding as what my priest friend said."

"I see." Gray nodded in understanding. "This means that the victim will experience a loop of some sort that prevents him from his demise. If we're done here, I should meet this priest of yours so I can learn about the circle. Might come in handy in the future."

"Very well." Stephen agreed.

'Let's see, how am I going to deal with this dwarf's torture?' Gray contemplated on what method of suffering that he is going to perform tonight. 'I could use u003cSoul Transfusionu003e, just like the time with the Bandit Boss in Chadena, but I wanted to try something different, something that's on the more physical side of torment. Hmm… Aha!!'

With a mischievous grin, the elf cast a spell from his a.r.s.enal that he learnt from his apprentices.h.i.+p with Rarsu, something that he has not used back in the Chadena bandit extermination since he wanted to see the full extent of his u003cMana Slaveu003e spell and how the slave fair efficiently in direct combat. That, and the outcome was already favorable that he didn't really find the need to use this spell. But for this situation, however, it's the perfect call and opportunity to test it.

"I'm feeling a little lazy, so I'll let my beloved summons do the b.l.o.o.d.y deed for me," Gray said while channeling his Mana for this dark venture of his. He pointed his hand to the ground as he uttered the spell name mentally in the Elharis language. When the summoning is finally over, two violet menacing-looking spectral dogs are now seen in their full glory. 

The dogs vigorously resonated with a magical aura of the same color, ready to fulfill their master's debased wishes at any time. The dogs themselves are slightly bigger than the size of an average adult German shepherd back at Gray's original world.

"Iron-eye, I would like you to meet my two adorable hounds, Pandora and Meatball," Gray smirked while presenting the pair of hounds. "I'm sure they would love to play with a fun fellow such as yourself."

Indeed, the eyes of Iron-eye could only widen with fear at seeing the dogs gnarling fiercely at him with their salivas dripping down from their sharp canine fangs.

The u003cArcane Hounds of Apocalypseu003e made themselves known to the room, ready to rip the dwarf violently apart with their brute animalistic strength.