novelraw Chapter 88: Contract 2
Chapter 88: Contract 2
< [EXP: 200/700] >
< [Soul Essence upgraded] >
< [80/200 SE] >
< [60% Corruption] >
*****
Too many thoughts crashed into Axel’s head at once and there was the one that stood out more than the rest.
’Ares knows that I’m a demon!’
That fact hit harder than the Skavvern’s punch ever had. Axel stared at the system screen, but his mind drifted. If Ares knew demons existed... then why had he acted clueless when his alien sister came to the academy? Why deny it back then? Nothing was lining up.
"Axel!" Ares shook him hard. "Do something already! Are you thinking about the chicken you left at home?"
Axel blinked and looked at Rick again. His friend’s breathing was worse now.
Inside his head, Axel spoke quietly to Aurora.
’Aurora... what exactly am I about to do?’
There was a pause, then she answered.
"I do not know," Aurora said.
’You don’t know? You’re supposed to know what demons do. How do I even go about this?’
Aurora wasn’t exactly helping so Axel shifted his focus back to the contract.
< [Would you like to offer a contract? Y/N] >
"Yes."
The moment he selected it, heat rushed through his body. Axel felt like his eyes were burning. That was because his eyes were flaring a dark red colour now.
Nile, who was standing in front of Axel, stepped back instinctively.
"What the hell..." she muttered.
Kinsey noticed it too, but she didn’t react much. She already knew what Axel was.
The system screen shifted to another tab
< [Infernal Contract Initiated] >
< [Based on target’s condition, you can only prolong life for a month] >
"A month? That’s way too short!" Axel panicked, but he didn’t have much time. Every second he wasted meant potential death for Rick.
< [Requirements for contract: 20 SE] >
< [Corruption Level must be at 30%] >
< [Requirements successfully met] >
< [Speak the terms aloud ] >
Axel leaned closer to Rick.
"Rick," Axel said quietly. "I can keep you alive for one month. After that... I take your soul."
Rick’s eyes fluttered as he could barely understand the words coming out from Axel’s mouth.
Ares grabbed Rick’s collar and shook him gently. "Say yes. Just say yes, buddy!"
Rick swallowed hard. His voice was barely there.
"Y-Yes..."
< [Contract Accepted] >
< [Rick Mobius – 1/5] >
< [Reward: +50 EXP] >
< [New Title Acquired] >
< [Soul Broker] >
Axel barely registered the title he had just earned when Ares exhaled sharply. Then he looked past Axel.
"Do it again," he said. "For Jayden and Kora."
Axel turned to him. "How? They’re unconscious. They can’t agree."
Ares shook his head. "Doesn’t matter. Give them what they want, which is life and that’s enough."
He was right in a way. It didn’t matter if they agreed to it or not. As long as they appreciated it, it meant they were indebted to Axel. Ares’ knowledge of contracts and how they worked made Axel wonder just how much Ares knew about demons than he was letting on.
"They’ll appreciate it when they wake up," Ares said flatly.
Axel hesitated, then moved to Jayden first. He knelt and activated the contract again.
"One month." Axel said. "Life in exchange for your soul."
Saying it out loud felt weird to Axel.
"What the hell is he talking about?" Nile asked, watching Axel perform.
The system confirmed it and Axel did the same thing for Kora. Both were successful
< [Three Contracts Successfully Signed] >
< [– 60 Soul Essence] >
< [Soul Claim Countdown: 30 Days] >
The numbers began ticking down. Almost instantly, Rick gasped for air.
The claw lodged in his stomach shot out like it had been pulled by an invisible force. His wound closed up immediately, his flesh knitted together and color returned to his face.
Jayden groaned next. His twisted arm snapped back into place with a dull crack. Kora’s ribs shifted and everything started resetting themselves as she sucked in a sharp breath.
All three were alive.
Nile stared at them, wide-eyed. "What the fuck did you just do?" she asked with a panicked voice.
Ares stood and looked at her calmly. Almost smug. "He saved their lives. The same lives you put in danger."
Nile clenched her jaw and turned to Axel. "What are you?"
Axel didn’t answer her. His eyes were locked on Ares.
"You knew," Axel said. "About me, about the contracts and about all of this."
"Well yeah, I read a lot of books so.. "
"Are you a demon slayer?" Axel asked.
Ares shook his head. "This isn’t the time for that, Axel. We need to get out of this hellish cave before another one if those things come."
"This is the perfect time," Axel said.
While these was happening, Jayden and Kora had finally regained consciousness fully. The first thing they remembered was seeing an actual Skavvern and the next, it attacked them. That sudden surge of memory made Jayden freak out. He suddenly screamed, immediately grabbing everyone’s attention.
"There was a Skavvern!" he shouted, scrambling backward. "It was right here—right here! I saw it!"
Ares grabbed his shoulders, trying to calm him down.
"Jayden... calm down. It’s dead. You’re safe." he tried to assure, but Jayden didn’t hear him. His eyes darted wildly until they landed on the body lying a few meters away.
His breathing broke and his crash out got worse.
"No... no, no, no," he whispered, then shouted again. "That’s real. That thing is real! Are you seeing that? We’re screwed! The entire human race is screwed!"
Jayden kept rambling on about how the entire planet was now in danger. In a sense, he was right. Everyone knew that a Skavvern showing up on an Atlas planet would mean that they were planning something. An attack maybe.
Due to Jayden’s screaming, Rick sat up sharply and Jayden’s panic finally caught up to him. He was also attacked by the One-tailed so it made sense for him to panic as well
Nile, who was watching all of it in silence, decided that she had finally had enough of Jayden and Rick.
She stepped up behind Jayden, placed two fingers against his temples, and sent a sharp jolt of electricity through his head.
In an instant, Jayden’s eyes went pale as his body slumped into the ground.
Seeing Nile attack him, Kora screamed. "Jayden!"
She lunged at Nile without thinking. Nile turned and caught her wrist mid-swing. She twisted it and sent another current through her body. Kora stiffened, then collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
Rick tried to back away, but he was too late.
"Wait—" Nile touched him and Rick also went limp.
She successfully incapacitated three of them without breaking a sweat
Electricity crackled softly along her fingers as she turned back to the rest of the group.
"Anyone else?" she asked.
No one answered. She exhaled slowly.
"Good."
Her eyes locked onto Axel. "Start talking. What are you?"
Nile looked like she was ready to electrocute everyone in the cave in one go. Before Axel could respond, Kinsey interrupted.
"He’s a demon." she revealed bluntly. "An Imp to be specific..."
The cave went quiet. Nile stared at Axel for a long moment.
"A demon?" she finally said. "Aren’t demons supposed to be evil and shit?" She tilted her head slightly. "If you’re evil, tell me why shouldn’t I kill you right now?"
"What a show off," Ares muttered, taking a step in front of Axel. "If you touch him," he said calmly, "you’ll have me to deal with."
Nile raised a brow, amused.
"You can’t overpower me," Ares continued. "And you know it."
He glanced at the unconscious bodies on the ground. "He saved their lives. That has to count for something."
Nile looked back at Axel. Finding out she’d been traveling with a demon didn’t seem to bother her much. She didn’t look threatened. If anything, she looked annoyed and her usual cold tone returned.
She pointed at Axel, Ares, and Kinsey. "You three owe me explanations." She turned toward the cave exit.
"But that can wait. We’re leaving. Now."
***
Ares carried Jayden and Kora without effort, one over each shoulder like dead weight. Axel carried Rick. He was lighter than he should have been, his body still warm but completely limp.
As they walked, Axel’s mind wouldn’t stay quiet. He kept asking himself how he was supposed to explain this to Rick.
He knew the lore about demons that when a contract ended, the soul was claimed and taken to hell.
Rick didn’t deserve that.
He didn’t deserve to burn in some fiery pit and Axel didn’t want to be the one who dragged him there.
But there was nothing he could do about it right now.
Regardless, they kept moving.
By the time they reached the Oval settlement, the area was already crowded. Other groups had returned ahead of them.
They looked happy and excited. They were laying out piles of beast shards they had acquired.
One group stood out from the rest. Their leader was grinning, holding up a sack full of glowing shards.
"Thirty beasts," he said loudly. "Thirty shards. What a clean run! Haha!"
A few people whistled at that.
Axel’s group on the other hand had only two crystals and three unconscious bodies alongside.
Axel adjusted Rick’s weight on his shoulder and looked ahead.
"What a day..."