[Salvos] 644. Demonic Contract (Patreon)

644. Demonic Contract

***

Ultis stared in disbelief as she heard the offer that was given. No— it wasn’t an offer. It was a threat. And she was inclined to believe it, considering that monster had just slaughtered all the other members of the Deathsquad Hunters that were with her, except for Aliq and Quid.

Perhaps if it was an ordinary monster, she would have immediately agreed to this offer.

But this wasn’t just a monster. It might have taken the form of an alien creature, however, in reality, it was the Enemy of the Demon King herself.

It was Salvos.

And if Ultis agreed to any terms which were laid out, she would therefore be betraying Regnorex. She would be hunted down just like the treacherous former Heir of the Netherworld.

It was a death sentence. And the twins knew that. She exchanged a glance with Quid who gritted his teeth. Aliq was still frozen in fear— it was like he barely even registered that Salvos was talking.

The Enemy of the Demon King continued speaking casually.

“Look, all I need is your help to lead me to the Demon King’s Domain. It’s not that difficult, really. You guys do have that Tablet of Tracking thing, right?”

She swept her gaze over the three remaining Deathsquad Hunters. Ultis pursed her lips.

“I… we don’t have the Tablet of Tracking. Liquis did.”

“Who?”

The monster blinked in response. Ultis shook her head.

“Liquis— he’s our tracker. You… uh, you incinerated him with your magic.”

“Oh, the annoying one who could predict my attacks? And I used my [Sacred Hellfire] on him too. Which means… it probably burned to ashes. Oops.”

Salvos shrank back like she was embarrassed, and the three Deathsquad Hunters just watched this strange reaction play out. Eventually, she shrugged and turned back to them.

“But surely one of you must remember the general direction to the Demon King’s Domain, right? You can’t all have just forgotten the way back so quickly.”

Now, Ultis couldn’t lie and say she didn’t remember the way back. As a member of the Deathsquad Hunters, she was trained to be acutely aware of her surroundings— to recognize landmarks even in the plain white landscape of the Wild.

So she knew how to return to the Demon King’s Domain. However, she couldn’t bring herself to speak up. She just stood there silently as Salvos peered curiously at them.

“Oh? Interesting reactions… so you guys do know the way back.”

That made Ultis bit her lower lip. Salvos clicked her mandibles together and spread them apart like she was smiling. Aliq finally broke out of his stupor as he stumbled back. He turned towards his twin as he trembled with wide eyes.

“W-what do we do?”

Quid clenched a fist and took a step forward. He shook his head, speaking simply.

“Isn’t it obvious? We do not falter. We serve our King. We shall not aid the Enemy, even if it costs us our lives.”

He strode forward as both Ultis and Aliq could only watch from the side. They didn’t know what he was doing. But they should have known. They just couldn’t comprehend it.

“Are you sure about this? I’m giving you one last chance— I will spare you if you accept my offer.”

Salvos spoke dangerously as she leant down to face Quid. He raised his hand as he created a blue sphere in the palm of his hand, before aiming it at her.

“I refuse to concede to your demands, monster!”

He screamed, unleashing the blast at Salvos. It was a powerful explosion. But it paled in comparison to the combination cast Grand Skill he had used with his twin just earlier. So as expected, Salvos emerged from the clearing smoke unscathed.

She just stared down at him— like she was disappointed. He backed away, cursing as he created another pair of blue spheres.

“You—”

And she slammed down into him. In an instant, she crushed the [Jinn] as Ultis and Aliq could only look on in horror.

“Q-Quid…?”

Aliq whispered, staring at the crushed corpse of his twin as Salvos peeled back. She nodded at herself, before looking down at the remaining two Deathsquad Hunters.

“So… are either of you going to accept the contract? Or are you going to throw your life away for a Demon King that doesn’t even care about you anyway.”

Ultis stared at the monster, before looking down at Quid’s corpse. Her mind reeled as she processed the offer that was given to her. And while she didn’t want to agree with the person who just slaughtered all her comrades… Salvos had a point.

The Demon King didn’t care about any of the Deathsquad Hunters. That was why they were assigned to be the Deathsquad Hunters— to risk their lives to do Regnorex’s gruntwork.

Even when Venas perished, Regnorex showed not a hint of pity. His cold facial expression didn’t change when he heard that one of the most loyal members of the Deathsquad Hunters was mysteriously slain. All Regnorex did was command for more Deathsquad Hunters to investigate what had happened.

Ultis wasn’t like Venas. She was never truly loyal to the Demon King— she had admired his ideals about saving Demonkind, but ultimately she was only serving him because she had no other choice. All she wanted was to be left alone, like a plethora of other Demons she knew.

And that was why she knew what her decision was as she turned to her last comrade.

“Aliq, listen to me.”

She held the red [Jinn]’s gaze. He blinked a few times, before backing up with round eyes.

“Wait, you’re not considering…?”

“It’s either we die now, or we die later.”

“But that monster killed my brother!”

Aliq exclaimed, pointing at where Quid lay. Salvos just watched them, her giant figure looming over the landscape.

“Hurry up and make a decision already.”

She pressed them. And Ultis shook her head.

“I understand that. But you don’t want to die in vain, do you? You should want to live on for Quid.”

“That’s…”

Aliq stared silently at his brother’s corpse. He turned back to Ultis. She looked at him pleadingly.

“Please.”

She whispered. He closed his eyes. And finally, he nodded.

“Fine.”

“Thank you.”

Ultis nodded gratefully, before turning back to the monster.

“There’s your answer. We accept this contract. We will help you, but in turn, you will spare us.”

Was it a stupid decision? Ultis didn’t know— but it was the only decision she could make now. The alternative was to die. Even if she was incurring the wrath of the Demon King, she could still potentially survive.

Sure, she was probably going to be hunted down and killed by Regnorex’s other Deathsquad Hunters. But there was a possibility of survival— even if it was slim. That was a better choice than dying right here and now. Aliq understood that too, even if he was angered over his brother’s death. This was what they had to do to survive. After all, they were Demons. It was in their nature to do anything to live.

Salvos drew back as she nodded approvingly, hearing their response.

“Good choice.”

***

And that was that. While I had to kill one of the three remaining Deathsquad Hunters as a threat, they eventually conceded to my demands. I was glad to see that my plan worked. Even if… it wasn’t really my plan in the first place.

I had to improvise once I realized I messed up and destroyed the Tablet of Tracking by accident. And since [My Flames Shall Burn Until Eternity Ends] had a time limit, I forced them to give me an answer quickly. I didn’t want to wait and risk them attacking me when I no longer had an aura of invulnerability protecting me. Even if I could probably still defeat them with ease, there was a possibility the last [Fiend] had a Grand Skill that could instantly kill me.

Fortunately, everything seemed to work out just fine. Now, I had to find a way to explain this new plan of mine to Haec and the others.

They were waiting for me back in [The World Of My Mind]. I wasn’t sure if they were going to agree with me, but I would have to convince them this would work. Because the lives of my friends were at stake, and time was starting to run out.

I began to transform back to my normal self as I heard the notifications from this victorious encounter echo in my mind.

Subspecies [Angelic Devil Princess] Level Up!

[Angelic Devil Princess – Lvl. 166] -> [Angelic Devil Princess – Lvl. 167]

Gained 5 Stat Points and 3 Skill Points!

Class [Draconic Apprentice] Level Up!

[Draconic Apprentice - Lvl. 145] -> [Draconic Apprentice - Lvl. 146]

Gained 2 Secondary Skill Points!

Class [Draconic Apprentice] Level Up!

[Draconic Apprentice - Lvl. 146] -> [Draconic Apprentice - Lvl. 147]

Gained 2 Secondary Skill Points!

Class [Draconic Apprentice] Level Up!

[Draconic Apprentice - Lvl. 147] -> [Draconic Apprentice - Lvl. 148]

Gained 2 Secondary Skill Points!

Class [Draconic Apprentice] Level Up!

[Draconic Apprentice - Lvl. 148] -> [Draconic Apprentice - Lvl. 149]

Gained 2 Secondary Skill Points!

“...you can’t be serious, right? I just need one more level to my evolution! Ugh, this sucks.”

Author's Notes:

I made some edits to the last chapter. Salvos is now Level 167, and I added more details about how Salvos' clones used the [Claw of Corruption]. I also fixed some inconsistencies with Aliq and Quid.

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