The heavy, crushing pressure of the grand hall seemed to slow time itself as Xaria knelt on the cold marble floor. The glowing purple mana chains hummed with a quiet, lethal energy, sending faint ripples of heat against her charcoal-slate skin. She stared down at the polished stone, her molten amber-gold eyes wide with a mixture of suffocating despair and raw, agonizing frustration.
Her revolution was dead. Her hideouts were ash. But worse than the loss of her weapons was the terrifying realization that the lives of her entire species now rested completely on the whim of the predatory young prince standing over her.
"I... I yield," Xaria whispered, the words tasting like poison on her tongue. She threw her head back, her dark wine-red hair falling wildly over her armored shoulders as she glared at Raizael with desperate defiance. "I will call off the remaining hidden scouts. I will surrender my claim to the lower valleys. Just... swear that you will not execute my kin. They only followed my orders. Let them live as laborers, and my life is yours to do with as you please."
Raizael let out a soft, low chuckle that carried no warmth, only the absolute satisfaction of a victor. He stepped closer, his heavy royal boots clicking against the marble before he extended a long, pale hand. With a lazy, almost patronizing familiarity, he let his fingers brush against her velvet rose hair, lightly patting her head.
"A wise choice, Princess of the Shadows," Raizael murmured.
"Don't touch me!" Xaria hissed, flinching away from his hand as violently as her restraints would allow, her sharp elven ears twitching with intense disgust. "I surrendered my army, Prince Raizael, not my dignity. Do not think your foul demonic hands can defile me just because I am in your cages."
Raizael's smirk only widened, his crimson eyes flashing with an unholy amusement that made a cold shiver run straight down her spine. He didn't look offended at all; instead, he leaned down until his breath brushed against her pointed ear.
"Oh, Xaria, you have completely misunderstood your situation," Raizael whispered, his voice smooth and dripping with a dangerous, calculated confidence. "We are going to be married very soon. As my future royal bride, of course I am going to touch you a lot. In fact, you will learn to beg for it."
"W-What?!" Xaria gasped, her eyes widening in absolute shock. The sheer absurdity of his statement shattered her remaining mental composure. A prince of the demon realm marrying a captive, rebellious slave leader? It defied all political logic.
Before she could even demand an explanation, Raizael turned toward the shadows near the grand throne. "Morrigan. Sylphiri. Step forward."
From the dim corners of the hall, the two formerly untouched pillars of the Celestrix Empire stepped into the light. Morrigan walked with a quiet, submissive grace, her silver hair flowing beautifully, while Princess Sylphiri followed with a slightly flushed face, her eyes fixed on the floor to hide her lingering shame."Take our new guest and her lieutenant to the western royal suites," Raizael commanded, his voice carrying the absolute weight of his Sovereign's Gaze. "Clean her up, dress her in clothes fitting for a royal fiancée, and ensure she doesn't leave the room. She belongs to the palace now."
Morrigan gave a soft, compliant nod, her silver eyes briefly catching Xaria's stunned gaze with a look of silent, shared understanding. Sylphiri reluctantly stepped forward, helping to unlock the mana chains and guiding the completely bewildered dark elf princess out of the hall.
As the heavy doors closed behind them, Matriarch Lilithia glided over to Raizael's side. Her obsidian wings flared subtly, and she tilted her head, her amethyst eyes narrowed with genuine curiosity and a hint of jealousy.
"Marriage, Raizael?" Lilithia purred, her long fingernail lightly tracing the edge of his armored shoulder pad. "I thought you brought her here to break her pride. Why elevate a rebellious dark elf slave to the status of your royal wife? What game are you playing?"
Raizael casually caught her hand, leaning down to plant a brief, teasing kiss on her lips before pulling away with a cold, enigmatic smile. "That, my dear Matriarch, is a royal secret for now. Get the vanguard settled. I have some thinking to do in my study."
With a playful pout, Lilithia watched him walk away, her tail flicking with anticipation.
What a selfish and stupid being.
Safely back inside the quiet sanctuary of his private study, Raizael leaned against the heavy mahogany desk and let out a long, controlled sigh. The neon-blue system interface floated silently in front of his face, displaying his newly upgraded stats, but his mind wasn't on the numbers. It was on the vast, terrifying trajectory of the original novel's plot.
"If I don't move fast, Caelum is going to steamroll this entire continent," Raizael thought, his crimson eyes narrowing as he reviewed his memories of The Cosmic Prophecy of Celestrix.
In the original script written by that hack author, the Chosen Hero Caelum, was supposed to start his legendary journey from the holy capital of the Celestrix Empire. Caelum wouldn't just march straight to the demon gates. The novel was an epic, slow-burn conquest. Caelum was destined to travel from region to region, village to village, and estate to estate, solving local crises, defeating minor bosses, and gathering absolute political and military alliances along the way.
Every single territory Caelum saved would join his grand coalition. And in every unique species territory he visited, whether it was the high elves, the beast-kin, or the hidden dark elf clans, he was destined to rescue and charm a beautiful heroine who would join his harem and provide him with legendary elemental cores.
Xaria was supposed to be one of those core pillars. In the original timeline, after Raizael's father Atlas executed her king, Xaria was supposed to wait in the shadows until Caelum arrived at the mountain borders. Caelum would save her from a demon patrol, win her absolute loyalty, and use her dark elf shadow faction to bypass Malgora's frontline vanguard defenses, leading straight to Raizael's effortless slaughter.
Ultimately, Caelum would gather an unstoppable multi-species army, march into the heart of the Umbral Sovereignty of Malgora, and slay the Demon King.
"But the ending of that book was a complete disaster," Raizael muttered to the empty room, a dark smile forming on his lips. "Caelum fails to stop the true apocalyptic calamity, and the entire world burns anyway. If I want to survive the true ending, I cannot let the Hero build his coalition."
By proactively capturing Xaria and forcing her into a royal marriage alliance, Raizael wasn't just claiming a beautiful woman, he was systematically cutting off Caelum's future vanguard route and stealing his military assets before the Hero even set foot outside the Celestrix borders.
To survive his destined fate, Raizael didn't just need to defend his castle. He needed to control every single estate, valley, and region around his borders, rewriting the map of the world before the Hero of light could even finish his training.