novelraw Chapter 48: The Pact Beneath Capricorn
Chapter 48: The Pact Beneath Capricorn
"Heh... heh..." Hoarse panting sounds slowly emerged from a street corner in Manhattan.
Lemus O'Connor clutched the dagger in his chest, exhausted as he curled up in the street corner.
Blood seeped from between his fingers, soaking through his tattered coat.
Beside his left leg lay another folding knife, along with two corpses with wide-open eyes.
Just two street thugs, clearly the type who overdosed on drugs—how could they possibly stand against someone like Lemus, a veteran who had actually fought in urban warfare in places like Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan?
If he hadn't been left with only one arm, one leg, and one eye, he wouldn't have even been injured while killing these two.
Life-or-death combat was his specialty, and the reason he had survived this long.
But now, he could only dwell on these pointless thoughts.
During the recent confrontation, he had already broken his crutch, and in his current condition, standing up was impossible.
Even if he could stand, what difference would it make? Did he have money to treat the knife wound and spend months recovering?Just thinking about it made it clear—this was utterly impossible.
He was in a situation where if he didn't work today, he'd go hungry tomorrow. Where would he find extra resources to support himself?
"Looking at it this way, death doesn't seem so bad after all?" Lemus felt his life slipping away, gazed at everything before him, silently closed his eyes, and began waiting for his death.
He didn't harbor any great resentment—he just felt his life shouldn't have ended like this.
He was a proud, arrogant man. He didn't believe he had done anything wrong; if anyone was at fault, it was this world!
Watching this man's memories, Bai Yang nodded contentedly. He channeled his Wish Force and quietly constructed a scene in the other's dream that resembled this world.
The complete real environment was replicated into the dream.
Although facing one person wouldn't consume much Wish Force even in reality, thriftiness was a virtue, so he chose to do it this way.
His presence remained unknown to others, but in Lemus's dream, everything appeared remarkably calm:
"Tap, tap, tap..." Very crisp footsteps echoed in the alley, causing the weakened Lemus to slowly open his eyes.
What appeared before him was an extremely "beautiful" human!
Yes, even from Lemus's perspective, he couldn't discern this person's gender, only seeing long hair and a face so exquisite it seemed almost inhuman.
The most miraculous part was that this person stood out starkly from the surroundings, as if not on the same layer—in front of Lemus, this figure appeared completely separate!
An eerie sensation gradually emerged around him, and the peculiar visual effect made his pupils contract sharply!
Soon, Lemus identified the problem—it was the sound!
The sound was gone! The usual noisy sounds of Manhattan had disappeared here!
He strained to peer outward, looking at Manhattan through the narrow gap, and then he saw a dog suspended in mid-air with all four limbs outstretched, and a "person" frozen mid-jump in the distance.
They seemed to have been immobilized—no, not them being frozen, but the world itself had stopped!
Realizing this, Lemus turned his gaze back to the "person" before him, his eyes filled with astonishment. "What... what is this... Who are you?"
Hearing his question, the "person" slowly lifted their head, gazing at Lemus with eyes that seemed almost pupil-less, and uttered an astonished praise, "Brave, fearless, unyielding, valiant..."
"Your soul is even more tantalizing than what Azazel described... So, dying human, would you like to make a deal with me?"
Hearing these words, all the stories Lemus had heard in church, all the legends frequently mentioned in the Middle East, echoed in his mind!
A being talking about deals and souls couldn't be benevolent, nor was it likely a human playing a joke on him.
Who could stop the world in front of him as a prank?
Eliminating all impossibilities, whatever remained, no matter how absurd, had to be the truth!
"Are you a demon or a devil?" Lemus asked, the peculiar sensation making him somewhat intoxicated, as if he might agree to this deal at any moment!
Hearing his question, the other party laughed. "Call me a demon if you wish, call me a devil if you prefer—these are just titles. You could also call me a god! These are all my identities!"
"But you're running out of time, you know? Your blood is almost drained dry!"
His words made Lemus notice that although the world had stopped, his blood was still flowing.
Yet he appeared even calmer. "Anyway, I'm about to die. Agreeing or not agreeing makes no difference!"
Since this was a devil, they would surely want his soul. Lemus felt the other wouldn't let him die so easily.
"Hahahahaha! I love your character, I absolutely adore this kind of personality!" The other laughed heartily. "Lemus O'Connor, I ask you again—will you sign a special contract with me? In my name, in the name of Baphomet! To fulfill your desire for revenge!"
As he spoke, terrifying black-red flames appeared in his hand. After the flames subsided, an ancient-looking, intricately patterned special parchment covered with countless decorations Lemus couldn't comprehend appeared in his grasp.
The man released the paper into the air, and the parchment floated suspended. The words on it emerged one by one, appearing extraordinarily magnificent and marvelous:
【Blood Pact Terms
Article One · Divine Power Bestowal
「Baphomet shall pour molten silver dripping from his left horn tip into the contractor's spinal cord, granting them:
☩ Sight to pierce through the layers of the underworld
☩ Ability to manipulate wordless flames
☩ Power to transform into a midnight mist wolf
Article Two · Soul Collateral
「The contractor shall surrender three divine foundations:
① The ability to shed the first tear before dawn
② The eardrum of the right ear that receives angelic frequencies
③ The Jacob's Ladder between the heart's ventricles
Article Three · Penalty Clauses
「If the contractor's soul retains any inclination toward light:
Baphomet reserves the right to suture their eyelids with moon-milk threads, eternally trapping them in the 666th layer of Cain's Ring
「If Baphomet fails to fulfill commitments within seven moon wanes:
The contractor may use the burnt ashes of the contract to anoint the goat constellation rune, summoning Beelzebub to devour his horns】
Seeing such a contract, Lemus's eyes widened in shock!
Of course he didn't know who Baphomet was—such ancient demon names only appearing in the Bible were still too obscure in this country!
But he never expected this to be an extremely rare "equal contract"—he would have to give, and Baphomet would have to give too!
Moreover, the price he had to pay seemed rather ordinary. What was this "first tear before dawn"? What were "angelic frequencies"? What was this "Jacob's Ladder"?
He had never heard of any of these things!
"If I sign this contract, does my soul belong to you?" Lemus asked.
"No, no, no, how would I dare compete with His Grace Satan for souls? Of course it belongs to Hell!" Baphomet said with a smile. "But certain authorities of yours should indeed come to me!"
"You will permanently lose emotions, holy sense, and faith in heaven. So, will you sign?"
He actually stated the costs directly, leaving Lemus utterly astonished. But after looking at his bleeding chest, he still nodded.
"I'll sign. I know those patterns hide many unequal clauses. I know after signing, I'll become your slave! But I'll sign!"
Of course Lemus would sign—if he died, he would truly have nothing left.
But if he lived, he could at least bring real disaster to those who had caused him suffering!
What Church, angels, heaven—when he was suffering, he never saw them coming to help him!
At least the demon had given him a choice, not complete despair!
As his words fell, both his name and Baphomet's appeared on the parchment:
【Contracting Party: Lemus O'Connor
Shepherd: Baphomet
Contract Established】