Chapter 184: Control Through Fear
"Master," a woman with tan skin and brown eyes bowed her head in reverence. It was Demi, the city governor.
However, instead of having the authoritative demeanor expected of someone with her high position, she now prostrated herself, fully submitting to avoid offending the figure in front of her.
The dimly lit bedroom was shrouded in the quiet of the night, the shadows from the moonlight filtering through the curtains casting a light on a figure that looked like the incarnation of evil itself.
Dark bones with red lightning patterns etched across them stood out menacingly, and unlike before, this time the figure was around 6'5" in height, making his whole presence even more imposing.
Every time the red orb of light in its eyes flickered and moved, the woman felt like she was being looked down upon by a real death god.
Terrifying, dangerous, and brutal. Those were the only words that could describe it.
"Good, I thought you would fail, and I'd have to kill you," Reign chuckled, his voice intentionally cold and threatening to show her who's boss.
He figured out that the best way to control others was through sheer fear and intimidation.
"I will never betray your trust!" Aiku bowed her head and planted it on the floor.
She had successfully possessed Demi's body and was now in full control.
Looking closely, no one would be able to figure out that she was being possessed.
Unlike in the movies, she looked perfectly normal, and her muscle movements were smooth, with nothing odd about her.
Even the negative energy that Reign had felt before was no longer present, completely masked by her new human body.
"Not if you want to keep on living. It would be a shame if you die again," Reign warned as he released his aura to suppress her.
Aiku's eyes widened with fear as she felt his aura enveloping her, suffocating her breathing.
The oppressive weight of it pinned her down to the ground, making even the slightest movement feel impossible.
Beads of sweat formed on her brow, her breaths coming in shallow gasps as she struggled against the invisible force constricting her.
In this very moment, she questioned every decision that led her to this point, wondering if reclaiming a human body was worth the torment of serving a being which was evil to the core.
Reign's smile twisted into a sadistic grin as he watched her squirm. "Remember, Aiku," he whispered, his voice a sinister and filled with killing intent, "I can let you live... or just kill you anytime."
Her body trembled as she struggled to find her voice, her eyes darting around nervously on the floor.
"Y-yes, Master," she stammered, her tone filled with fear and submission. "I-I understand... I would never disappoint you. "
"Good," Reign nodded his head in approval, and removed the pressure on her body.
Aiku sucked in a deep breath, relief flooding through her as she was finally able to breathe again.
Deep down, she loathed herself for succumbing to his manipulation, but the fear of his wrath kept her rooted in place.
She did toy with the idea of leveraging her new authority to launch an attack against him.
With the power of the city military and the hunter association at her disposal, she could end his reign of terror once and for all.
However, the thought of an assassination from within her own shadows, with Arc and Shackler lurking, made her shiver with dread.
She was still unaware that Reign had just made a fool out of her, tricking her into believing that she was under constant surveillance..
So with a heavy heart, she resigned herself to her fate, knowing that she was now at his mercy.
"I want you to gather all this information first," Reign instructed, handing her a file.
He had written it himself, and its contents were his inquiries about the current fighting power of the city, and some important information.
Aiku accepted the file and quickly scanned its contents.
"I will gather this information tomorrow," she responded obediently.
Reign simply nodded and proceeded with his next instruction.
"I also want you to find a way to create an event that would force a lot of people to come together," he added.
"An event?" Aiku's confusion was evident in her voice.
As the governor of the city, her authority was strong enough to organize such gatherings.
But why did he wanted that?
The question gnawed at her, leaving her uncertain of his intentions.
"Don't ask questions and just do it," Reign sneered in contempt.
In his mind, Aiku just had to do her job and leave the thinking to him.
This was only the beginning of his plan. She would need to carry out several more tasks for everything to fall into place perfectly.
If all went according to plan, he would have access to hundreds of thousands or maybe even a million of human corpses, an amount that would automatically elevate his power. The sheer scale of it all made him excited
"I'm sorry," Aiku hurriedly apologized, feeling the weight of Reign's disapproval.
As she racked her brain for a way to fix her blunder, a memory from Demi surfaced in her mind.
"Master, I just remembered something. Please grant me the right to speak," she requested, her voice filled with submission and deference.
"Speak," Reign replied,
"There will be a big concert two days from now. If we make the tickets free, more people will come. We can also pay for advertisements to increase its exposure," she explained.
Demi's memory had now been integrated into her, making her more knowledgeable than Reign about the inner workings and outer workings of the city.
In fact, her common knowledge about the world had already surpassed Reign's because she had the memories of someone who grew up in this city.
He paused for a moment as he processed her suggestion.
"A free concert with heavy advertising," he mused. "That could work. It would draw a large crowd, making it the perfect opportunity."
Aiku nodded eagerly, relieved that her idea was accepted.
"Yes, Master. I can make the arrangements immediately."
"Good," Reign said, his tone softening slightly. "Make sure everything goes smoothly. We can't afford any mistakes."
"I understand," Aiku replied, her voice trembling a little. "I'll handle it all and ensure nothing goes wrong."
Reign gave a nod. "Remember, your success keeps you alive. Don't fail me."
"I will!" she replied, bowing her head.
She didn't know exactly what his plan was, but whatever it was, she was certain that it was related to killing a lot of humans.
The thought of him planning to massacre everyone at the concert crossed her mind.
However, after considering it, she dismissed that idea.
He was too careful and methodical to do something so impulsive. His plan must be something else, something more sinister and calculated.
'The humans in this city are done for,' she sighed inwardly. She felt a pang of pity for them, knowing that someone like him had come to their city with such dark intentions.
"I'll take my leave now," she bowed.
"Okay," he nodded.
Without wasting another moment, she turned to leave, already planning to call the necessary contacts to get the job done, and at the same time get away from Reign.
She was gripped by the fear that he would lash out and kill her on the spot.
'Did I scare her too much?' Reign wondered to himself as he heard her rapid heartbeat.