The decision weighed on Leon like a physical burden, pressing down on his shoulders with the responsibility of what he was about to do. Garrett sat across from him in the earthen chamber, perfectly still, those dead eyes waiting without expectation or concern.

I can't let him remain unchecked, Leon thought, the logic cold but undeniable. Not when I don't know what might trigger him. Not when a single wrong stimulus could turn him into something catastrophic.

The memory of the abyssal corruption in the king of shampain is still fresh in his mind – that monster wearing human skin, spreading corruption like a disease. Garrett wasn't at that level yet, but the potential was there, lurking beneath that emotionless surface like a bomb waiting for the right conditions to detonate.

It's not punishment, Leon rationalized. He hasn't done anything wrong. This is prevention. Protection. For everyone's safety – including his own.

And perhaps most importantly, for the blue-haired girl's wellbeing. If Garrett lost control, if the corruption deepened or spread, she would be the one to suffer most. Either from losing her father figure entirely, or worse, from becoming his victim if the abyss consumed what little humanity remained.

How will he react if I tell him? Leon wondered, studying that vacant face. Will there be anger? Resistance? Or will it be like everything else – just data to be processed?

Force was always an option. Leon's power dwarfed Garrett's so completely that physical resistance would be meaningless. But that felt wrong, crude. If possible, he wanted agreement, even if it came from an emotionless calculation rather than understanding.

Leon's voice turned cold, matching the logic driving his decision. "I'm going to place a slave mark on you."

The words hung in the earthen chamber like a death sentence. Outside, muffled laughter drifted through the walls – the blue-haired girl's voice among them, bright and carefree.

Garrett's expression didn't change. Not a flicker of surprise, no tension in his muscles, no widening of eyes. Nothing.

"The corruption makes you unpredictable," Leon continued, his tone clinical. "Your abyssal affinity could evolve, deepen, spread. If something triggered a loss of control, you could kill everyone around you if I weren't there to save them. The mark ensures that won't happen."

Still nothing, Leon observed. No pride to wound, no freedom to mourn. Just waiting for more information.

And James, his first slave, could never handle this man, with him being a level 10 with an S rank class.

"For your safety, for everyone's safety, and especially for your daughter's wellbeing, this needs to happen."

At the mention of his daughter, something shifted minutely in Garrett's posture. Not emotion, but attention. Focus.

"I accept."

The words came without hesitation, without struggle, without even a pause to consider. As if Leon had asked him to pass the salt rather than surrender his autonomy.

"However," Garrett continued in that same dead tone, "I have a condition."

Leon raised an eyebrow, genuinely curious what this empty man would consider worth negotiating for.

"My primary directive must remain unchanged. Protecting my daughter supersedes all other commands. Nothing can override this. Not even you."

The giant's dead eyes fixed on Leon with an intensity that transcended emotion. "I can feel it – the power in your body. It makes my very being tremble with recognition of a superior predator. You could destroy me without effort. But even so, she comes first. Always."

Interesting, Leon thought. He can't feel emotions, but he can sense power differentials. And despite recognizing my overwhelming superiority, he still prioritizes her protection.

It wasn't love driving this demand – Garrett was incapable of love now. It was something more fundamental, carved into whatever remained of his consciousness so deeply that even abyssal corruption couldn't erase it. A purpose that transcended feeling.

Leon studied him for a long moment. The smart thing would be to refuse, to ensure absolute control. But looking at this hollow man whose only anchor to humanity was protecting a cheerful teenager, Leon made his choice.

"Accepted. The mark won't override that directive."

Garrett nodded once, a simple acknowledgment of terms agreed upon.

"Remove your boot," Leon instructed.

Without question, Garrett reached down and pulled off his right boot, revealing a foot that seemed too normal for someone so fundamentally changed. Leon moved around the chair, kneeling beside him.

I'll make it discreet, he decided. No need to advertise his status.

Dark mana gathered at Leon's fingertip, condensing into a point smaller than a grain of rice. Unlike the elaborate marks he'd placed on others – visible signs of dominance and control – this would be almost invisible. A tiny black dot on the back of Garrett's foot, hidden by any footwear, unnoticeable unless someone knew exactly where to look.

The mark settled onto skin without resistance. Usually, there was some pushback – the target's will fighting against subjugation, their mana resisting foreign influence. But Garrett's energy simply... accepted it like dropping a stone into still water that didn't even ripple.

Empty, Leon thought again. So empty that there's nothing to resist.

The mark solidified, the connection establishing itself in Leon's mind. He could feel Garrett now – not his emotions, because there were none, but his presence. A void in the shape of a man, tethered to his will.

"Done," Leon said simply.

Garrett pulled his boot back on with the same mechanical precision he used for everything. They stood simultaneously, moving toward the entrance as if they'd just discussed the weather rather than fundamental changes to Garrett's existence.

They emerged from the earthen chamber to find the evening settling over the dungeon site. The survivors had organized themselves into small groups, sharing soup and quiet conversation.

At the same moment, Seraphine emerged from their room, her purple hair slightly mussed from sleep, but her eyes clear and alert. The rest had done her good – the exhaustion that had weighed on her was gone, replaced by her usual sharp awareness.

She moved toward Leon immediately, while Garrett, following Leon's unspoken command, walked toward the other survivors where his daughter waited.

"Feeling better?" Leon asked as Seraphine reached him.

"Much." Her eyes followed Garrett's massive form. "What were you discussing with him? He seems... different from the others."

Leon's expression darkened slightly. "He reached Level 10 immediately upon awakening. Unique grade S rank class – Abyssal Knight. But more concerning..." He paused, making sure they were out of earshot. "He's classified as a corrupted human. The abyss has fundamentally changed him."

Seraphine's eyes widened, understanding the implications immediately. "That's... gods, that's dangerous. What did you do?"

"What needed to be done. I marked him with a slave mark."

Instead of judgment or concern, Seraphine nodded with approval. She didn't know much about the abyss, but knowing what happened to the king, it was not something good, even though she knew that. "Smart. Someone with that level of corruption walking free... it would be like leaving a lit fuse next to gunpowder."

"My thoughts exactly."

They stood together for a moment, watching the survivors. The blue-haired girl was chatting animatedly with others her age, occasionally glancing at her father with obvious affection. Garrett sat perfectly still beside her, neither eating nor drinking, just... existing.

"I need to check the second dungeon site," Leon said. "You all stay here for now."

I could put them in dimensional space, he considered. Safer, more efficient. But they've just survived a trial. They need to be in the real world for a while, to process what happened. I can't just keep them in the dimensional space always, especially when there is nothing that can progress them in terms of strength in there, like a dungeon.

"Let's go," Seraphine said immediately.

Leon didn't argue. After gathering a quick meal – infinite soup from the spoon along with preserved foods from his inventory – they ate in comfortable silence at another earthen table he'd created. The soup was hot and nourishing, perfectly spiced, exactly what bodies needed after stress and exertion.

Once finished, Leon swept Seraphine into the familiar princess carry. She settled against him naturally now, arms finding their position without thought.

The world blurred as Leon moved, the ground exploding beneath his feet with each superhuman stride. The journey that would take hours became minutes.

They stood before the second dungeon site as the last rays of sunlight painted the sky in deep purples and oranges. The portal hummed with stable energy, that familiar blue glow unchanged from when they'd left it.

But something felt different here. The air itself seemed charged with possibility, with change, with the promise of revelations yet to come.

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