Darius Supreme

Darius remained silent, then smiled softly. "Are you sure, Miss Xielia? Once you fall under my system of laws, you cannot go back to being what you are now." 

The Elven Princess waved her hand and manifested an excited smile. "Wait, you\'re saying I can actually become a part of these laws?! Then yes, that is even more reason for me to follow you!" 

Then she smiled cutely. "Also, you don\'t need to use my full name. When dealing with non-elves, we usually shorten our names to better engage in conversation. Just call me Xela, please." 

Darius nodded. "Alright, Miss Xela. We can talk more in a bit, but first I\'d like to directly convert you into my own system of laws that you seem to like." 

Without prompting him, Foldo snapped his fingers and led his servants out, closing the door to make sure his master had privacy. Darius chuckled at Foldo\'s insight, and even Gunner nodded with satisfaction. 

Gunner of all people knew that what was to happen next was special and frankly quite a sacred activity, especially with how one\'s life would be greatly elevated from the meager Faustian System to the level of the Supreme System. 

Gunner gazed at Xela the elf and smiled with respect. He respected her for being able to recognize the value of the Supreme System with her senses and for her to so willingly agree to come under it. 

5 years ago, he had only agreed because he had seen something in Darius\' eyes that had moved him, something that had galvanized him to seek a path forward when he had been at his lowest point. 

Yet, this lass had chosen to come along because she understood the value of doing so. Such wisdom, to Gunner, proved that she was worthy to become his sister under Darius. 

Darius himself was a bit skeptical. It had to do with his naturally cautious nature and his lack of understanding of Faust\'s people, especially non-human races. Her eagerness made him suspect that Xela might have other ulterior motives for agreeing to become his Branded Servant. 

However, he was not worried about them. All he had needed from her was to be willing before he had started the conversion. Afterward, whether she liked it or not, she would be bound to him by loyalty and he could simply ask her about her ploy. 

As such, he commanded. "Accept my blessing, Xela." 

The Elven Princess lowered her head. Since she was not as tall as Gunner, he didn\'t need her to kneel so he could place his hand close to her. Just as he had done with Gunner, Darius spoke in a calm voice; 

"Kiss the ring and will yourself to become my Branded Servant." 

Xela unhesitatingly kissed the plain silver ring on Darius\'s finger, and a prompt showed up before Darius. 

[Detected target for branding with the System Brand. Proceed?] 

Darius assented then watched as a strange light emerged from his ring and covered the body of Xela in its entirety. While this went on, he noticed many messages appear in his mind. 

[Target has been assessed to be a willing candidate. The candidate is healthy and below the stage of Journeyman. All conditions met.] 

[Candidate name: Xieliartorsobotar Staonroefuso. Candidate race: Elf (Royal bloodline). Candidate class: Cleric, Candidate subclass: Divine Maiden.] 

[Overwriting existence… auto-educating with provided Infopack… quantizing statistics… establishing loyalty…] 

[Congratulations, Candidate Xieliartorsobotar Staonroefuso has succeeded in becoming your Branded Servant! 

Note: At the Journeyman stage, you can only have 2 Branded Servants!] 

The light subsided and Xela rose to her feet with a surprised expression. Her eyes as she gazed at Darius were filled with respect and reverence. 

"I, Xela, am your Branded Servant henceforth, Master Darius. Your enemies will be my enemies and clearing your obstacles shall be my utmost goal!" Xela pledged sincerely, making Darius ponder since her words were not just similar but the very same ones Gunner had uttered at the time. 

Was it a default line all Branded Servants would say upon conversion? Interesting! 

"I accept your pledge Xela, and welcome you to the family. First things first, I would like you to explain a few things to me. Firstly, how you were able to notice the Supreme System? Secondly, how you knew about the Supreme? Thirdly, why you straightaway agreed to follow me after stating that I would become a Supreme? Finally, why you seemed excited about falling under the Supreme System?" Darius asked calmly. 

Since Xela had already been provided with an infopack by the Supreme System upon conversion, there was no need to say misleading stuff like \'my system of laws\'. After all, she practically understood the Supreme System as well as Darius and Gunner did currently. 

Xela smiled and moved to sit down at her desk. "Well, for the first question, it\'s something that I was barely able to sense using my racial characteristic, but when I activated the blessing given to me as the Divine Maiden, everything became clear." 

Darius nodded. So that meant that while superior races could sense the Supreme System, it was probably only as good as human Master-stage experts. That was what he was most concerned about right now. 

Xela continued. "As for the Supreme, it is not a secret to the upper echelon of the Elven race. That is exactly why the Holy Sons and Divine Maidens are groomed by each Elemental Faction within the race, to reach that elusive stage." 

"For your third question, I agreed because of what I saw and felt. I could sense that you were speaking the truth as a Divine Maiden and my interest was piqued. After all, if I get to follow you before you become a Supreme, in the future I\'ll be able to proudly beat my chest and claim that I was your direct vassal and helped you rise." Xela remarked while giggling lightly. 

Her face, however, became a little stiff at this point. "As for your fourth question, the answer is twofold. On one hand, I wanted to come under your power of laws because I saw the beauty and power it possessed." 

Her expression became infatuated as she gazed beyond Darius with misty eyes. 

"It has to be the most beautiful thing I have ever seen."