Willem mingled among the nobles as one who belonged with his people. Though his speech was not at the level that Kinsey was able to display, he felt comfortable enough speaking without words to warrant the correct responses from his guests.

With the help of Anna's mind magic, he had essentially become a part of the family for all nobles. In their eyes, he was an equal, a close friend, or a lover; depending on what the opposite party lacked in their life. Willem used this new identity to get the materials he wanted. Many nobles promised to reach out to their retainers and get the items asked of them.

When the One True King finally revealed himself, with his beautiful wife in high spirits, and his remarkable children greeting guests, the party went into full swing.

This of course meant an end for Anna's mind magic, but she had played her part perfectly. Now it was time for Willem to take a backseat and see how things played out while playing his part.

The King came to address his people, and, as if on queue, when the music died down momentarily the King amplified his voice with magic and greeted the nobles.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, my kin. Today is a glorious day for the Bastion of Hope, as we have made steady advances towards a brighter tomorrow. Through magic, my wife has regained her youthful vigor and is now capable of doing the things she had once resigned herself to no longer pursue." The King looked around the room with a large grin on his face as he introduced his wife to the party. The congregation clapped excitedly when the Queen first appeared, and many expressed shock at her appearance.

An older woman presented herself before the crowd, wearing an exquisite blue dress and adorned in large jewelry. Her smile lit up the whole room, as if a shroud of darkness had been scattered away before her presence.

There were no words exchanged, nothing passed her lips but a curt smile. Instead she grabbed a glass of wine from one of the waiting staff, drank it and rushed down the stairs to dance with the other nobles. The music started up again and she had become the center of attention, dancing to her hearts content.

Willem watched the Queen as if she were a test subject, noting the blue under her finger nails and the bruises forming on her neck. Though the bruises were covered up with makeup, they could not be concealed by true vision granted through magic. Willem had no doubt in his mind they were side effects of the compound he created.

There was also an unnatural flow of magic going through her body. Like a snake coiling around her heart, it seemed to squeeze at her life force while she smiled and danced. If anything, it appeared as if the Queen was entranced by the spirit of dancing.

Willem was unsure if this was caused by his potion or another influence. Knowing personally that there were existences like demons that invaded the soul, it was entirely possible for something to invade her in much the same way.

Speaking of demons, it was soon time to deal with the one inside himself. He had harbored her for a while now, and even the strengthening potions and recovery potions were wearing thin. If she had been of use, maybe his opinion would differ, but as of recent she had been defiant and uncooperative.

The party continued on until the early morning. At roughly two in the morning, the nobles finally began to head home with heavy feet and corrupted minds. The last to leave was the One True King, the Queen and their two children. The prince had attempted to call on Kinsey all night, hoping for a sliver of a chance to be with her until the morning and was unsuccessful. The princess had been neglected by Willem and decided to stuff her face until the event was over.

Once they had left, it was time to do what needed to be done. Willem headed to the basement where the elf had been placed and unlocked the wards protecting the room. When he entered, he noticed the elf staring him down directly, not attempting to avert his gaze in any way.

"I was told your name is Beyrut Swiftfoot. I will be your new torturer." Willem took from his spatial spell a few potion bottles.

"Do what you will, you cannot break me. You humans are too weak, inferior, and inbred to do anything of lasting consequence." Beyrut spit toward Willem.

Willem moved his body easily out of the line of fire and took from his spatial spell a mithril dagger adorned with rubies.

"First we will test your resilience." Willem splashed the elf with a corrosive acid and watched as it melted his skin.

The elf, despite being in a tremendous amount of pain, showed no signs of discomfort on his face. The acid began to slowly burn and fade, while the burnt flesh fell off the elf's body and new tissue began to regenerate. After about seven minutes, the previous wounds were all but gone, with only minor scars to tell the tale.

Willem found this fascinating, it was just the same as if magic flowed through his body. However no matter how much he searched, he could not find an ounce of magic surrounding the elf.

This must be the bloodline the stories and books talked about. Willem cut the elf open and the green blood that flowed was placed into a vial for later use.

"Next test." Willem splashed the elf with the disruption potion Kinsey had made. It seemed to have quite an effect, as the elf looked visibly weakened. He howled in pain at the deep gash down the middle of his chest, showing the bones comprising his rib cage.

The elf screamed in agony as he wrestled with the bonds that held him. Just as he was on the verge of passing out, Willem force fed him the mind flaying potion and forcefully close his mouth. With no other choice, the elf swallowed the potion and immediately began to seize.

In the elf's mind, he watched everything he ever loved burned in a pillar of flame. The potion pervaded his mind, twisting his fear into an amalgamation of horror that trapped him. He cried and screamed in terror, begging for reprieve.

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Willem siphoned some of his own magical power and tap on the elf's forehead. The magic temporarily cleared his mind long enough for him to beg for the sweet release of death.

Willem could not oblige.

The elf spilled everything, the torment too great for him to continue suffering. The invasion plan and the standing force of their soldiers, as well as the clans that were part of the first wave. Willem memorized it all, so that he could recall it at a later time for the King.

When Willem felt like he had gotten enough information, he removed his magic from the elf and let the potion permeate his mind once more. After it had, and the screaming continued, Willem set the wards and left the room again for some well deserved rest.

On his way back up, Kinsey and Anna were waiting at the top of the stairs, their ears pressed against the floor. Willem spotted both of them before they had even seen him coming, and he held his breath to sneak up on them. Using darkness magic, he snuck behind them and screamed from the top of his lungs.

The force of the yell scared Kinsey and Anna out of the daze they had been in while trying to listen to Willem's conversation and almost made them tumble down the stairs. Willem laughed at both of them and headed toward the bedroom. They both followed him sheepishly, thoroughly embarrassed about getting caught in the act.

The white tiger cub was busy chewing on one of Willem's favorite leather boots.

Willem reminded himself about the demoness and told Kinsey and Anna to go to bed ahead of him.

Willem headed toward his study and locked the door, setting the ward to ensure no one saw what he was about to do.

He carefully took out the Astral Spider body, which had previously been hollowed out of all blood and meat. There was minimal damage caused from the hunt itself, and it would serve its purpose quite well.

Willem took his time carving out the life binding technique and infusing it with his magic on the carapace of the spider. In the final moments of the binding technique, he coaxed the demoness to try and take his soul.

The demoness, having been trapped this entire time, jumped at the chance to take over the host body.

To the outside world, Willem appeared to be inscribing onto the carapace, but inside he was waging a war on the demon. He tore through her body with darkspear, while all damage inflicted against him by the demoness was healed with darkness healing.

The battle felt like it was taking hours, though only a few minutes had actually passed. Due to the fact that this battle was internal, the flow of time was controlled by Willem and in theory was much different to anything that could be described.

The demoness knew that she was losing, but could no longer stand being confined within his body. She struggled with everything she had until she was completely exhausted and on the verge of death.

That was when Willem chose to strike. He forced the demoness out of his body and into the carcass of the dead Astral Spider as he finished the life binding technique. Quickly he poured the rest of the Astral Spider's blood over it's body.

The life binding technique had taken hold and began to transform the carapace, restoring it to life. However the soul of the Astral Spider was no longer there, and the life binding technique instead branded the demoness to the body as if it was the soul.

The demoness howled in anger as she had been tricked, as the life binding technique reconnected the broken limbs, missing meat and blood from thin air. After twenty seconds, the technique had finished and the Astral Spider sprung to life once more.

However it was different, as the demoness now had complete control of the body, and Willem had complete control of the demoness.

His command of her abilities was the same as Anna, and no matter how the demoness tried to leave the body, she was stuck and could do nothing. She felt completely helpless, and Willem could feel her fear. So palpable, he could almost feed off it.

The sixteen foot tall Astral Spider towered over Willem, but dared not move without her new Master's permission.

Willem weaved magic over the Astral Spider body and transformed it into the spitting image of the demoness, except more human looking. No horns, or tail, and no brimstone as she walked. The demoness was stunningly beautiful, with an ethereal glow making her appear as if she were a dream come true.

Willem spoke in his mind his demands of the demoness, and information poured into his mind, as if a natural spring had been unearthed. Any questions he asked were answered to the best of her ability, because she no longer had any control over her own thoughts.

When he was done, Willem commanded the demoness to go to the bedroom and sleep until he woke up and gave her orders. She growled but said nothing, and did as she was told, having no other choice.

Willem thought deeply about what he had just done. Though the process itself seemed quite simple, in truth it was incredibly dangerous. If the demoness had been a little stronger, she may have resisted long enough to attach herself to something other than the Astral Spider. Not only did he put Kinsey and Anna in danger, as well as that tiger cub, but if any part of the life binding technique failed or did not accept the demoness as a replacement soul it would have rebounded and potentially killed him.

The only solace for Willem was the fact that if he had not done it now, the demoness would have slowly eroded his soul anyway.

At least now he has a fount of knowledge and full access.