[Chapter 184: How Do You Want to Die]
"Words carry the power of law? Your world?" Daniel's gaze was as calm as his voice. "Then have you ever heard--"
His tone suddenly grew solemn and deep.
Each word struck like a hammer, resonating through the hazy, pink-tinged space.
By heaven's order and earth's foundation, let all corruption disperse.
Let hidden darkness be brought into holy light.
May the guardians of every direction bear witness and restore what is true.
By sacred decree and sanctified seal, let this command be known above and below.
Let what is bound be released, what is lost be guided.
By judgment and mercy together, be cleansed and be at peace.
Rumble!
The entire space shook violently. The large bed swayed back and forth, and terrifying cracks split the ceiling, sending debris tumbling down.
"What? What have you done? This is impossible!"
The Succubus screamed, alarmed, staring wide-eyed at her mental world nearly collapsing, disbelief etched across her face.
Daniel's voice remained steady, indifferent.
"I have indeed entered your mental world. But at the same time, you have entered my inner world.
And you... are nothing but an evil entity. I need not rely on the power of the body; the Heart Purification Mantra alone is enough to restrain you. If that's not enough..."
His clear, resonant voice rolled like thunder as he continued.
By heaven's order and earth's foundation, let corruption be scattered.
Let hidden darkness be dragged into the light and undone.
May the guardians of every direction stand witness and enforce judgment.
By sacred decree and sanctified seal, let this command be known above and below.
Let the wicked be bound, and the defiant be struck down.
Let hostile spirits be ended and their malice cut away.
By judgment without mercy where evil stands, be silenced and be no more.
In the Succubus's mental space, Daniel's chanting of the Heart Purification Mantra and the Incantation for Purifying the Soul was like planting a grenade inside an ordinary person and detonating it.
The mental realm trembled violently as dark, gaping holes tore open one after another.
"No... stop! Stop it for me!"
The Succubus's blood-smeared face contorted as it roared desperately.
Straining to stop it, the space began to repair itself; the huge black holes started to shrink inward, trying to close.
But with Daniel's relentless chanting, that feeble effort was no more than a drop in the ocean.
Let every illusion be shattered and every falsehood laid bare.
Let no veil conceal corruption, and no darkness escape the light.
Let every chain upon the soul be broken, and every unlawful claim be revoked.
By sealed authority, let this domain be undone and its master brought to judgment.
Let truth alone endure, and let all corruption perish.
Rumble!
The shaking escalated; this world was on the brink of total collapse.
"Shut up!"
The Succubus snapped, turning sharply toward Daniel.
A force struck him; a thin membrane instantly grew over his mouth, his lips almost fusing shut.
But in the next instant, a power surged from Daniel's mouth, shattering the membrane into pieces.
All corruption is ended.
The soul stands free.
Authority affirmed. Judgment sealed.
Boom!
Like a volcanic eruption, the sky caved in and the earth cracked open.
The overwhelming force tore mercilessly at the mental space.
The Succubus was flung aside by the onslaught, the crushing power beating down on her relentlessly.
Her flesh writhed like ripples across a pond, as if it might scatter at any moment.
Daniel stood, his body radiating holy light.
Within this mental space, he suddenly became its master.
His form began growing larger, expanding to reach the ceiling, then bursting through the shattered ceiling.
Within moments, Daniel was a towering giant, over ten meters tall.
With one hand, he plucked the blood-soaked Succubus from the chaos like a farmer plucking a chicken.
She struggled fiercely. "Let me go! Let me go!"
But Daniel's huge hand was the strongest shackle imaginable. No matter how she fought, she could not break free.
"How do you want to die?"
The words rumbled like thunderclaps exploding all around.
Now, Daniel was the master of this mental domain. The Succubus's life or death hung on a single thought.
In his giant palm, the writhing mass emitted sharp, frantic cries.
"Let me go! I beg you... please just let me go!"
Her voice held no seduction anymore -- only raw fear and a desperate will to survive.
She felt the palm, fashioned from pure light, tighten inexorably. This vast, pure power seared her filthy essence, inflicting pain close to obliteration.
"I... I'm useful! I'm useful to you!"
Seeing Daniel's cold, judging gaze remain unfazed, the Succubus screamed. "Don't kill me! I can help you!"
Daniel's grasp hesitated, the giant palm pausing mid-clench.
"Oh?"
His voice echoed through the shattered realm, emotionless.
"What use could you possibly have?"
Clinging to a last shred of hope, the Succubus hurriedly said, "Charm! I can amplify your charm!
Not just illusions -- real attraction, right down to the mental level! I can make you irresistible to the opposite sex! They won't be able to resist wanting you, willing to do anything for you!"
Her blood-red form heaved with excitement.
"And... electronics and the internet! I can sense, manipulate electric currents and data streams! Invade communication systems, erase traces, extract information... more secretively and directly than your best human hackers! I can be your eyes and ears, serving you in the vast digital ocean!"
Daniel was slightly taken aback. Listening to her, the Succubus actually might have some utility.
Her Rank shouldn't be very high -- at most a D-Rank Late Stage, worth about 500,000 merit points.
That's not much help to Daniel.
He wasn't too interested in the charm ability, but the hacking aspect sounded promising.
Frank Douglas had told him to assemble a finance team to help with legitimate tax avoidance. Maybe this Succubus could help with that.
Daniel asked, "Do you understand finance?"
"Ah?" The Succubus blinked, caught off guard.
Daniel said impatiently, "Finance, tax avoidance -- do you understand?"
Sensing his impatience, she quickly replied, "I can learn. I'm a fast learner. Really. Whatever you need, I can pick it up. Just don't kill me; I can do anything..."
By the end, she was close to tears.
Daniel fell silent.
He wasn't exactly comfortable with other finance teams. But if the Succubus handled it, that was different. Besides, she would not need salary; it was essentially free labor.
Sensing his hesitation, the Succubus quickly offered another bargaining chip, her voice barely concealing a fawning tone.
"I can recognize you as my master! I will open a trace of connection in my mental core to you; as long as you think it, you can end me at any time! I... I just want to live! I'll sign the strictest contract!"
Opening her mental core like that? That was actually intriguing.
For a creature like her, it was total trust -- entrusting her life and death completely.
Daniel's giant form began to shrink back to normal size. But the power holding this shattered space stayed strong.
He tossed the Succubus to the ground and looked down at the writhing mass of bloodied flesh.
"Remember what you said." His voice was calm but carried absolute authority. "Open your core connection. If you make a single move against me, you will be destroyed utterly -- in body and in spirit."
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