Dark Lord in Chains 95 (Patreon)

A smile grew on my face as I conjured a small ball of fire, making it dance in the air, a  few feet above me as I tested my newest ability.  

Figuring out a new discipline of magic had always been a happy affair, providing me with more options, which, in turn, meant that I was getting stronger. However, it was a bit different from the current magic I had been using, as I could feel the magic itself was awakening cheerful emotions in me, far more intense than I usually felt. 

No wonder Cinder was calling it the living fire. 

Which was also the reason that, even as I made the little fire dance a foot away from my fingers, I still didn’t lose all my tenseness. The fire was obedient, but only like a pet lion with lackluster training was obedient. 

And, my skin still throbbed with pain to remind me of the cost of it lashing out. 

“Impossible,” Cinder repeated after a minute of watching me control the fire. “H-how could you do such a thing. It’s not supposed to work like that.” 

“Maybe I have a special bloodline,” I answered, which, in my experience, was the easiest answer to give under such circumstances. I had a great deal of experience with people’s reactions once I had managed to discover a different way of using the magic they had dedicated their life to. 

And it was never gratitude, even if I was willing to teach them the new, more efficient way. Maybe it was about the way most people learned magic — through a very strict traditional education, revering the process — but they seemed to take affront on my innovative ways. 

“Maybe,” Cinder said, taking my explanation at face value as she watched. 

I played with the little fireball for a few minutes, making various shapes to test the limits of my control, then I turned to Cinder. “It’s now your turn, why don’t you show me the benefits of the transformation.” 

“R-right now?” she answered, panic growing on her face immediately. “I’m not sure if now is the correct time—“ she started, her pointless platitude clearly an excuse, which was why I pressed my finger on her lips to silence her. 

“There’s no time like the present,  show me how much your abilities grow,” I ordered. 

I expected more argument, but even as I delivered the order, I could feel the connection between us getting stronger, enhancing the order with a sense of gravitas. It wasn’t like a compulsion, at least not the kind that was impossible to break. It was more like my order getting some extra weight. 

Interesting benefit, though clearly unnecessary considering the speed Cinder followed my order. She raised her hands, and suddenly, flames covered the sky, enough to make me glad I had played safe when I had been setting up the wards that would keep this little meadow hidden and suppress the radiance of her magic. 

Though, the only reason they survived was that she didn’t want to damage the wards. If she wanted, she could shatter the wards easily. 

I was fascinated as I watched the dance of the flames, especially since she showed no sign of strain even as she channeled her magic. 

Avoiding a fight had been the correct response, I realized as I felt my mouth dry suddenly. Even if her power had been enhanced by the weird resonance that happened, the comfort and ease she had been displaying as she created a huge wall of flame in the sky with complete confidence s showed that she was yet to begin tapping into her expanded capabilities. 

Even with the shield and tether, a fight had been a dangerous proposition unless I went for a killing blow, assassin style. Though, considering the potential implications of killing her, I would have probably chosen to retreat using the Blade of Shadows. 

Still, even as a part of my mind was occupied by the way her magic had been flickering in front of me, a bigger part was occupied by observing the way her magic had been working on.  

While my method of using living fire worked well, allowing me to cast incredibly strong fire magic with little consumption, it was nothing compared to the great efficiency I could feel from Cinder as I slipped my own mana to hers to watch the process more intensely. 

Clearly, they had a reason for preferring their method of surrender. 

Soon, I noticed a shadow on the corner, tensing for a moment before I realized it was Isolde, coming to check what was going on. 

I gestured for her to calm down and go back to her own training. She just nodded before returning, not bothering to push the situation, or even asking about the reason for the commotion. 

Or even making a comment about the mostly-naked state of the sexy phoenix, her skin covered in flames.  

Her obedience was really useful. 

After chasing away Isolde, I said nothing for a while, watching Cinder as she continued to cast. Soon, she started to get more and more confident with her new limits, her test spells getting stronger as she started to touch her new limits. 

A frown occupied my face as I watched the change of her spells, then I interrupted her with a spank. “Enough,” I called. 

“W-what? Why?” she stammered as she looked at me, her face flush with excitement, showing that she had been feeling an intense version of the pleasure I had felt earlier. 

“Your spells are getting sloppier the more you cast,” I said to her with a frown. There was no doubting about the sheer power, but there was more to high-end magical combat to it. 

“What do you mean, clearly, the stronger the spell, the better, especially since I can still cast it quickly?” she asked, a question that earned a sigh from me. 

“Not exactly,” I said, even as I realized that, despite the great aptitude she had displayed, she must not have any practical combat experience. Her earlier spells had been much more structurally sound and well-crafted, which, at that point, I attributed to her combat awareness, but after those new spells, I revised that information. 

It was probably about the competence of her tutors rather than her approach. 

I couldn’t help but feel disappointed. “Cast another fireball, as strongly as you can,” I said, pointing at the center of the opening. 

She was clearly annoyed at my words, and as a result, cast the spell with even more power, clearly intending to invalidate my comment. 

I responded by a much more simple spell, a small bolt of ice that was targeting the core of her fireball, one that destabilized its structure completely, so what was supposed to be a great explosion of fire fizzled out halfway, turning into an inferno. 

It was still a devastating fire unlike a normal fireball, which would have fizzled out, showing the advantage of the living fire. 

Still, the loss of impact was enough to convey my point. 

“I must have miscast it,” she said with a stubborn frown as she repeated the spell, only for it to fall apart even worse this time. After three more repeats, I decided to cut her off. 

“Do you understand my point now?” I asked her. Admittedly, it was not a trick that anyone could easily repeat, as I had to apply the full range of my skills while also leveraging the tether to get such an impressive result. 

But that didn’t mean leaving easily-leveraged weaknesses in spell structures was a good idea, especially on a relatively simple spell like a fireball. The weakness would have been even more obvious in a more complicated spell. 

She just nodded, too frustrated to answer. “With your words, sweetie,” I said, slapping her ass to punctuate my question. 

“I said I understand,” she growled in frustration. 

“Good,” I said. I was tempted to push her a bit more about the disrespect she had been showing me, but I managed to hold back. She was clearly not used to being admonished directly like that — reinforcing the idea that she had come from a well-off family and was pampered greatly despite her failure to transform. 

And,  about transformation. 

“So, tell me, what’s the true meaning of a phoenix transforming?” I asked. 

I watched her expression flicker as I asked that. The first response was anger, but it was a reflexive one, one that clearly came from a lifetime of habit, evidenced by the speed it disappeared as the realization replaced it, remembering it was not a problem for her anymore. 

Yet, the elation that replaced them was not pure, underlined with hesitancy as I felt her magic move as she tried to ascertain the barrier that limited her since childhood, leaving her facing the unknown. 

An understandable concern; if the transformation meant exactly what I thought it meant. 

“It’s the embodiment of the final cohesion between a phoenix and the living fire, the sign that we are … true avatars of the living fire,” she said, the last part carrying no small amount of bitterness, as it was also admitting failure for her. 

“And, what’s the final result,” I asked, curious for a more concrete answer. She chose to answer more directly and raised her hand. 

And a fiery bird, majestic and intimidating, appeared on her palm, flapping its wings calmly. A small model of the true form, carefully. 

But still enough to confirm that the stories about the huge birds of flame were not just something to look like gods to the masses. 

All that remained was to decide what to do next.