"Give up?"

"W-woof..."

"See? You can bark like a dog if you try." I laughed at the trembling Thori in front of me.

When he witnessed [White Inferno], he tried to teleport away, which was stopped with my [Space Field Control]. Seeing the strongest flame magic of the dragons and knowing that he can't escape, he surrendered.

"A-Are you the Sorcerer Supreme...?" Thori suddenly asked a question.

"Sorcerer Supreme? What's that?"

"You're not even the Sorcerer Supreme?!!" His eyes widened in surprise.

Even though he's a dog, he can display emotions really well.

"You're lying. You must be the Sorcerer Supreme!" Thori snarled at me.

"Look. I don't know what the 'Sorcerer Supreme' is, but I know that you won't get out of here unscathed after you attacked me first." I grinned at Thori.

"W-what are you going to do?! Kill me?! Know that my mother will avenge me and hunt you down!!"

"Relax. I'm not gonna kill you, momma's boy. This is something much, much worse than death." Grinning, I activated a magic spell.

[Curse of Complete Subservience]

A black magic circle suddenly appeared below Thori. What happened next was as expected; a black chain came out which bound Thori in the neck.

"I... can't move?! What is this!!"

Struggle all you want. At your current level, you can't resist a curse of that tier.

After that, a white magic circle appeared on top of Thori. He was kind of sandwiched between the black and white magic circles. In the next moment, the white magic circle embedded itself on Thori's forehead. With that, the magic is complete.

"Alright. Let's go, Thori. I've got a lot of questions to ask." I smiled at Thori who's still panting heavily.

"W-what have you done to me? Why is my body...?"

"Oops. You're mistaken there. It's not your body anymore. From now on, I'm your master. So listen to me, okay?"

"Like hell I would-- kaaackk?!"

Thori didn't finish what he's saying because a black chain coiling around his neck suddenly appeared. The chain was actually an astral projection, connecting Thori's soul and mine. It was the symbol that he's under my curse. The worst part is that the chain directly damages his soul, not his body.

"Every command disobeyed will tighten that chain. Until you die." I threatened him.

Well, I can tighten and loosen it at will but there's no need to let him know that. It's more fun if he's threatened like this, so he will show absolute obedience in the future.

"Kuk! You damned human-- kuaakk!!"

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. You can't disrespect me, your master, from now on. So please be careful with your words~"

I left Thori alone for a moment to let the despair sink in. He won't realize his current position unless I give him time to think about it. Before I knew it, I was already starting to conform to my old habits.

Up ahead, I can see Lynn with a rare serious look on her face.

"What's up? You think it's too cruel?" I asked her.

However, Lynn shook her head. "It's not that."

'Then what is it?' Before I can speak again, Lynn continued.

"Finn, can't I learn magic as well?"

...

"Haaaahhh." I released an exhausted sigh after I slumped on my bed.

It's been a long day. Meeting a school senior, meeting an old subordinate, and then meeting a hound from Hel. After that, I even have to argue with Lynn about teaching her magic.

Although in the end, I agreed to her request. In the first place, I can't always protect her. Like that Harlem incident. If I was not fast enough, it would've ended in the worst case scenario. Since then, the notion of teaching her magic for protection has entered my mind.

It is unavoidable, yes. Because until the 'Curse of the Saintess' remains in her, trouble would always seek us. And it would always get worse each time.

I really need to find a solution to this; the sooner the better.

With that in mind, I just have the perfect 'guy' to ask questions to. Or should I say 'dog'.

"Thori. Who is the most powerful person that you know?" I asked Thori who's similarly lying on his new doghouse.

By the way, he said he would obey me willingly on three conditions: 1. Provide food, 2. Provide a house, 3. Provide an energy supplement, which is my darkforce. I don't have anything against it as long as he remains absolutely loyal in front of me, so I agreed.

Although I can still make him submit with the curse, I don't think that's a good idea in the long run. For a low intelligent creature like the Kraken, the curse was enough to make it obedient. However, for Thori, who might be smarter than most humans, it would be troublesome and time-consuming to make him completely submit to me. And time is what I lack right now.

"Huh? Well, isn't that easy?" Thori lazily looked up to me. "It is, without a doubt, the All-father. He rules all of Asgard, the home of the Gods."

Yep, that's what I thought. I don't think I would want to associate myself with those Gods though. So as much as possible, I want to solve this on my own. I think my question was partly wrong too.

"I'll change my question: what is the most powerful artifact that you know which can grant wishes?"

"What do you want to do with it?" Thori suspiciously looked at me.

I thought for a moment on what to reply. "You saw that girl earlier, right?"

"Yeah. That's the first time I saw a death aura that thick on a normal human."

Just like I thought. It was worsening as time passes.

"Then you know that it can't be removed by any normal means. Heck, even I can't do anything about it with my current powers."

"Hmmmm..."

It seems he's still wary.

"Alright, how about this. I'll give you half a month worth of darkforce right now."

"Deal."

How easy. He didn't even know that that 'half a month' would only take about half of my darkforce right now.

After that, Thori spilled all the beans out.

"Before the beginning of the universe, six different singularities existed. Soul, Time, Mind, Power, Space, and Reality." Thori slowly narrated.

"Once the universe was created, they were scattered. The six singularities, which could be remolded only by powerful creatures, were first used by the Celestials, who used them to grant their race unknowable power enough to dominate several planets."

These six singularities were then known as the Infinity stones.