"Kanon, I want to test something," I whispered, giving her a soft kiss on the forehead to wake her up.


    The room was still wrapped in the cozy embrace of sleep, and I could see the tiredness lingering in her eyes.


    "What is it?" she mumbled, still looking a bit drowsy. As her curiosity reced the exhaustion on her face, she leaned more onto my chest, as if silently asking for a bit more pampering.


    Unfortunately for her, I''ve already experienced what she has to offer, so I''ve sort of lost interest in ying the in love boyfriend role.


    I activated my Domination, and in an instant, her expression wentpletely nk.


    "I want you to always stay loyal to me, no matter what," I said, using my Oath skill. I knew it had a low chance of working, but I wanted to give it a shot, especially with someone already fully under my control.


    I was banking on my theory that those under my Domination would be a lot easier to control with OATH.


    [Oath: Sess ]


    The sess notification chimed, and it was as if a sweet melody graced my ears. To my surprise, not only did her dominated title persist, but another icon materialized beside it, like an unexpected bonus buff in a video game.


    =====


    Domination =On/Off (OATH)


    =====


    ''Now, I just need to see how powerful that "Can''t be dispelled" buff really is.''


    "Hold this stone" I said, guiding the moon gem to float right in front of her.


    When she touched the gem, I held my breath, waiting for my skills to be block, but nothing happened.


    Curious, I decided to turn off Domination to see if she''d still be loyal without it. I tested her with variousmands, even threw in some silly one. Regardless of holding the gem or not, she stayed true to her loyalty.


    The only thing that didn''t work was my Mind link.


    It was like hitting a wall—I couldn''t create a connection with her while she was holding the gem. Frustrated, I triedmanding her to let go of it. As predicted, the moment she released it, the mental link reestablished itself.


    I kept experimenting until I grasped the overall limits of my power. It was all about getting ready for the future. Just in case I run into someone wielding my kryptonite against me.


    "Good," I nodded in satisfaction. Thank goodness to my genius brain—I managed to find a loophole in the Oath Skill. Now, I''ve got more tricks up my sleeve for my hypnotic skills, as long as it''s with thedies.


    However, Ick the ability to dominate men. Not that I''mining; I don''t swing that way after all.


    After I wrapped up my experiment, I did a bit of tinkering with her mind using OATH.


    The goal was to program her to never forget anything, no matter what external powers she encountered at Cerebrum. I was curious to see which was stronger: my Oath or that device.


    It felt like ying with mental code, trying to embed a failsafe against any memory-wiping shenanigans.


    "Good job, Kanon," I patted her head after finishing up my experiment.


    She did well, ying theb rat and all. Since it was alreadyte, I figured it was best to spend the night here. As for the messy books, a bit of my power was all it took to tidy up the whole ce.


    Initially, Kanon was adamant about me not touching her books, but after a bit of convincing, she reluctantly followed mymand. Sometimes a little persuasion goes a long way, even with the most dedicated book lovers.


    ''Now everything is cleaner ,'' I muttered to myself ,feeling sleeping already.


    "Time for some shut eye after I take care of that body," I said to her, who followed me with a slightly sad look. She was bummed that her messy room got a makeover. She''s the total opposite of someone who has OCD,


    As I walked over to tidy up the dead body in the living room, my heart started racing, and I couldn''t help but be alert.


    "Something is wrong," I mused aloud.


    My focus shifted instinctively to the corpse I had pushed to the side. Squinting my eyes, there was just something about that body that felt off, giving me a strange and uneasy feeling.


    BOOOOOOOOM!


    "Dammit!" I roared in anger as I raised my burned hands upward, Aegis Projections desperately forming a shield around both me and Kanon.


    The unfolding scene yed out before my eyes—a split second, and Dong Ha''s lifeless body erupted into a hot epassing explosion, the mes consuming the entire room.


    I could have teleported out, but the explosion was too fast, leaving me with no time to save Kanon . Fortunately, she was positioned behind me, shielding her from the brunt of the st.


    As for me? I can''t see how I look right now, but it feels like my face has melted beyond recognition. I''m just hanging on by a thread, fueled by the adrenaline rushing through my body, inhuman attributes, and passive lifesaving skills.


    This me was genuinely powerful enough to reduced anyone to ashes, especially at such close proximity.


    "FUCK... IT HURTS!" I gritted my teeth, not out of fear but pure anger. Whoever did this better pray for my death, because if I survive, I''m going to make them suffer.


    BOOOOOOOOM!


    Another explosion rocked the surroundings, and this time it hit with even greater force than before. I could sense my Aegis Projection quivering, but it was manageable.


    BOOOOOOOOM!


    mes erupted for the third time, and the entire room began to cave in. I watched as the floor in front of me started to crumble, each piece falling away as if the very ground beneath me was disintegrating.


    "Leave me!" Kanon cried out loudly as she saw my burned face.


    She thought that I was paralyzed because I was trying to shield her. It was one of those situations where, honestly, I could have teleported us into the air.


    However, I hesitated, not wanting to reveal too much of my skills at the moment. After all, teleportation was one of my secret abilities.


    Plus, whoever did this might be nearby, so I couldn''t afford to waste too much Mind Power.


    "Don''t worry about it; this is nothing," I tried to y it cool.