I Died and Became a Noble's Heir

Chapter 546: Dog

Jack’s expression remained neutral as he examined his newest bound servant.

The woman who’d severed his hand, who’d forced him to choose between self-mutilation and total body consumption, who’d represented Council authority and three centuries of Soul Warden hunting.

Reduced to a kneeling supplicant who viewed him as an unquestionable authority.

"Do you remember who you were?" Jack asked, his tone clinical rather than curious. "Before the binding?"

"No, Master," Mira replied immediately, her orange eyes tracking his position with focus that held no recognition of their previous encounter. "My existence began when your chains claimed me. Everything before that is... absent. As if it never occurred."

"Do you know what you are?"

"I am yours, Master. Whatever purpose you assign, whatever role you command, whatever fate you decree. My will is your will. My power is your power. My life is yours to spend or preserve as you see fit."

Jack’s lips curved into something that wasn’t quite a smile. "You’re a dog now. Nothing more. You’ll follow orders without question, fight without hesitation, and die without complaint if I command it. The Council member you were is dead, erased, so that not even your soul remembers what it once represented."

"Yes, Master," Mira replied, her tone showing no emotional response to the degradation. Just acceptance of truth stated by an unquestionable authority. "I am your dog. I will serve with absolute loyalty until you decide otherwise."

Jack’s fire hand moved in a complex pattern, flames tracing symbols that opened a portal back to Floor 25. The gateway stabilized within seconds, its edges crackling with a mix of lightning and fire that marked it as his creation rather than a simple dimensional tear.

"Go through with the rest of the demons," Jack commanded, his tone making clear this was dismissal rather than assignment to specific duty.

"Wait in the castle until I have use for you. Don’t speak to anyone, don’t take initiative, don’t do anything beyond waiting for orders. You’re storage now. Useful capability filed away for when circumstances require your deployment."

"Yes, Master."

Mira stood and walked toward the portal without hesitation, her steps measured and confident despite having been resurrected moments ago.

Jack opened over a thousand portals simultaneously across the battlefield, the gateways crackling into existence.

The bound creatures filed through in organized lines, their discipline maintaining perfect order despite the massive number being transported.

Single-file formations moved with military precision, each demon knowing exactly which portal to use without verbal instruction or visible coordination.

She disappeared into the gateway’s darkness, joining the thirty thousand demons who were already returning to Floor 25.

Within two minutes, the battlefield was empty of demonic presence.

Jack stood alone amid the destruction his technique had created, his blackened arm hanging at his side while residual smoke from the explosion continued dissipating through the barrier’s cracks.

Then the movement caught his attention.

Rhys was running toward him from the shrine’s south entrance, his winter-ice eyes wide with concern as he took in Jack’s transformed state and injured arm.

Behind him, Lyra emerged from the shrine’s doorway, her expression shifting from confusion to horror as she registered the crater, the slag, the destroyed marble that marked the site of intense combat.

Father Caelen proceeded at a more measured pace, his observational skills meticulously cataloging details with tactical precision, while his primary concern remained Jack’s welfare.

But before any of them could speak, green light erupted from Rhys’s chest.

The illumination was bright enough to make Jack’s vision adjust automatically, the radiance carrying qualities that transcended simple magical display into something approaching a natural phenomenon.

Wind picked up despite the barrier’s enclosed space, swirling around Rhys’s position as power manifested.

Sylph emerged from her contractor’s body.

Her small form glowed with internal luminescence that matched her green coloration.

Gossamer wings beat frantically as she flew directly toward Jack’s position, covering the distance in seconds.

She stopped hovering at eye level with Jack’s face, her tiny features twisted into a horror-and-concern expression that seemed out of proportion to her size.

"Your arm!" Her voice was high-pitched but carried weight that made ignoring her impossible. "What did you do? That’s Elemental Necrosis... I’ve seen it before! Most people who get that have to chop off parts of their bodies just to survive! You can’t let it spread past the shoulder, or it’ll reach your heart, and then you’re dead, binding or no binding!"

Her wings beat faster as her agitation increased, creating small gusts that ruffled Jack’s blood-soaked hair.

"How long do you have? Seven days? Six? You need to find a solution immediately! Dvine healer, alchemical treatment, something! People have died from this because they thought they had time to prepare properly. The necrosis accelerates faster than most expect, and by the time pain starts signaling real danger, it’s already too late for clean amputation!"

Jack’s expression remained neutral despite Sylph’s panic, his tactical mind appreciating the information even as he recognized it mostly confirmed what the System had already told him.

"It’s manageable," Jack stated, his tone carrying confidence he didn’t entirely feel. "I have solutions available. Seven days is more than sufficient."

Sylph’s tiny face twisted into a skeptical expression that made her look almost comical, despite the genuine concern driving her reaction.

"Solutions? What solutions? Divine healers are nearly impossible to find on short notice, and alchemical treatments for Elemental Necrosis require ingredients that take weeks to acquire, even if you know where to look!

"I’ll handle it," Jack replied firmly, his yellow and orange eyes tracking her hovering form with a focus that made clear this topic was closed to debate further.

"Focus on more immediate concerns... like the fact that I just dealt with two Council members."

Sylph went completely still, her wings freezing mid-beat for a full second before resuming their motion.

Her tiny mouth opened and closed several times without producing sound, as if her consciousness was struggling to process what she’d just heard.

"Two... Council members?" The words came out as a barely audible whisper. "You fought two Council members and survived? That’s... that shouldn’t be possible. They hunt Soul Wardens. That’s what they do. That’s what they’ve done for hundreds of years! Forty-two Soul Wardens eliminated, most of them much older and more experienced than you, and you’re telling me you faced two of them and won?"

Her voice was rising in pitch and volume with each word, disbelief mixing with something approaching awe despite her obvious concern about Jack’s injury.

"I was certain they’d kill you," Sylph continued, her tiny hands gesturing emphatically despite having no audience beyond Jack and the approaching group.

"When Rhys told me Council members had arrived, I thought that was it. End of the line, start planning for a new contractor because this one’s dead. And you’re standing here telling me you took care of both of them?"

"One is dead," Jack clarified, his tone matter-of-fact despite discussing eliminating high-level threats. "The other was sent somewhere he won’t be returning from. Both threats have been neutralized permanently."

Sylph’s hovering form slowly descended until she landed on Jack’s left shoulder.

Her tiny weight was barely noticeable against his constitution. Her wings folded against her back as she settled into position, green eyes tracking his blackened arm with continued concern that wouldn’t be easily dismissed.