A week had passed since Theo's victory at Mount Etna, yet the victor himself was still bed-ridden. His condition was much worse than anyone thought. The external and internal wound he received wasn't that severe, but the shock and stress and exhaustion his body held back were too much for someone of his level. The fact that he overused [Vaporizing Slash] did not help either. His body was burning, his throat sore and dry, and his lips cracked. It was not something healing magic or medicine capable of healing, only rest and time could help him. It was quite a miracle he didn't suffer any long-term damage, not counting his finger of course.

He had burnt his left little finger to forcibly stop the blood flow and prevent festering. Gae Bulg curse was no joke. A wound that never close was prone to infection, festering, and rotting. There was the option to completely cut his finger. A wound not caused by Gae Bulg should eventually heal. While it seemed like a loophole in the curse, there was no guarantee it would work. He didn't want to gamble his finger on some fine-print loopholes.

Ed, Lyana, Vivi, Val, and the Miracle had recovered earlier than Theo. Sir Aslan assigned a few servants to take care of him when he couldn't move, with Vivi and Ed helping. Lyana and Val sometimes came to help too, but they were bad at taking care of other people they usually make it harder for the servants.

Calamity had also recovered from her shock and injuries, she was starting to cope with her loss of power and her new body. He didn't tell anyone the truth, except for Ed, Lyana, and Vivi, with Val realizing the truth on her own. There was no need for other people to know she was the former Fire Lord who planned to kill them.

Her appearance made her look like a human, but Theo didn't expect Apocalypse to also change her body function to exactly as a human. She needs to eat, drinks, sleep, urinate, and defecate. Drinking and urinating was especially difficult considering how afraid she was of water.

He knew that she was afraid of water, but didn't realize how absolutely terrified she was of it.

Before she lost her power, she could vaporize any body of water whenever she saw one. But now, she froze whenever she got close to a water and cried when she felt it touching her skin. And crying made this into a deadly cycle that always ended up with her losing consciousness. Which meant urinating always ended up making her faint. And the only way she could drink water was during her sleep, and it took a lot of effort and magic to safely put water into her stomach.

It was only after four days of experimenting and tweaking with her control screen, a screen Theo got after making her his soul slave, that she could function more like a normal human. She didn't faint as often after that, but doing anything that has to do with water was still an unimaginably cruel torture for her that stressed her mind to its limit.

During the week he was bed-ridden, Calamity - who he now called Cally - had tried to kill him more than a hundred times. Thankfully, she only targeted her anger and hatred at him and was fine with other humans. Despite that, and despite the fact that he had almost absolute control over his soul slave with the control screen, he only restricted her free will a little bit. It was annoying at times, but he liked it that way. She was fiery and full of energy, prideful and unbreakable, yet his slave nonetheless.

When Theo opened his eyes after a long sleep, Calamity was straddling his body with her fingers coiling his neck. She had level up twice after doing some training of her own, but she still wasn't strong enough to choke him. There were a lot of ways to suffocate someone easily, but she seemed to only know choking by hand.

He grabbed her neck and pulled her close. "This is how you choke." He tightened his grip just enough to make it hard to breathe without closing her windpipe completely. She scratched and punched and kicked, but was too powerless to do anything.

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Theo looked the inside of his tent and felt the presence around. Like he had expected, no one was there beside him and Cally. Of course, if there was someone else besides them, she wouldn't be able to come close much less choke him.

But this also presented a golden opportunity for Theo. While he had plans to make her submit to his will in the future, he was not in a rush. He could make her submit anytime with just changing a few sliders and pushing a few buttons, but he didn't want to do it. He would savor every single moment of slowly disciplining and training her, of breaking and stripping away her pride.

He couldn't do as he pleased with other people around, however. He was limited to normal disciplining and training method when other people were watching. He didn't want his image to be tarnished, and while he didn't know how Vivi or Val would react, Lyana and Ed would be disgusted and repulsed at the sight of such act.

Theo picked the water-filled mug next to his bed with one hand and raised it above her face. "Beg for mercy, beg me for your life." Calamity stopped struggling and stared him right in the eyes. Her eyes were stiff with terror yet filled with unyielding spirit. Her voice was unnecessary.

A sadistic grin crept on Theo's face. His face was filled with joy and delight and excitement. It filled her with even more dread than the threat of water. "Good, good, that's the spirit. Just keep resisting, keep fighting, keep struggling ... please. It wouldn't be fun otherwise."

He slowly poured the water, making sure she felt every, single, drop.

Her eyes opened wide. Her muscle stiffened. And she started hyperventilating. Her stoic defiant expression was gone, replaced by a face frozen with terror. Any thought of defying, any thought about her dignity or pride were washed away by the water flowing down her red hair.

Theo released her neck and put down the mug. Her body fell on top of him, powerless like a puppet without string.

He stroked her wet hair "See? In the end you're the one suffering from your own pride. For me, it just feels ... wonderful."

He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her next to his body. Normally, she would retaliate whenever he touched her even with a soft touch. But now his embrace was rough, yet she didn't move a finger. Her body was unresponsive, her face frozen, and her gaze blank. He knew she was still there, still watching the world, still hearing sounds, still smelling, and tasting, and feeling, and thinking.

He maintained that position for a few minutes to make sure she felt just how much water was on her body.

After a while, he positioned her to a sitting position and stripped her wet clothing. He watched her face and admired her body. Her big breast and pristine skin. Her wide hip, firm thigh, and beautiful feet. Her soft palm and slender fingers. Her Mature charming face and long flowing crimson hair. Her ruby eyes and red shapely lips. Pasion and lust were ignited within his heart like never before. She was beautiful like a statue or a doll especially made for him.

He picked up a dry cloth and wiped the water from her hair and body. He was careful and left no drop unwiped, left no part undried. His touch was soft and caring this time with no apparent ill intent. Then replaced her wet clothing with a new and dry one.

He laid her body on his bed and lay next to her. He hugged her tight and enjoyed the feeling of her warm body. She was slightly warmer than human, perfect for hugging and cuddling in the coming winter.

He put his lips close to her ears and whispered with a gentle voice. "See? If only you listen to me, you don't have to feel the cold wet water on your skin. You don't have to be afraid of anything. You just rest on my warm and dry embrace and I'll take good care of you."

He stroked her hair and kissed her forehead, before making her sleep using the control screen. He followed her to the dreamland soon after. He was still tired and haven't recovered enough. The doctor said he needed a week more of rest, but he thought he only needed two.

A long-repressed desire woke deep within him as he slept. It was not a simple carnal desire, but a complex desire to conquer and possess the woman he embraced. It wasn't as mundane as wanting to own her heart and body. He wanted everything about her. Her soul, her mind, her past, her future, her destiny, her everything.

Something changed within his heart when he gazed at her bare body. Something about her appearance made him revert. Something about her flipped his switch. It was a small change, but a change nonetheless. If he realized this he would have stopped the act. It wasn't a change he wanted, he loathed it. If this goes on, it would undo all the good Mary had done for him.

But alas, he didn't realize it.