As Kael carefully moved towards the beast, his heart was pounding heavily; every instinct in his body screamed to turn back.
His injury was making him rather sluggish, but he still continued moving.
'This is definitely dangerous, but this is the first real opportunity I've found since I awakened to actually use my ability.'
He moved within a few meters, but as he turned to look back at the spot where the beast was, it was gone.
Though he had accounted for the fact that the beast wasn't dead yet but seriously injured.
Just as he noticed his shadow change shape suddenly, a dark claw lunged at him and hit him in his waist.
Kael winced in pain; his wound burned deep from within, it had been a while since he had felt that sensation. Nevertheless, he wasn't really scared.
He had the creature speak—the voice shook him and threw him off balance.
It sounded distorted and very grim—as if something was covering or affecting the link between them, making it distorted.
"H-Human."
Kael staggered a bit, but before he could gain his balance, another attack followed, which slammed hard against a part of the mountain.
The impact was so great that he felt his vertebrae almost shatter; he let out a scream.
Before his already battered body hit a surface, the fiend delivered a deadly strike, piercing through his stomach.
He spat out a mouthful of blood.
His entire body was still aching when the beast appeared out of thin air and lunged its claws at him.
He barely escaped it with the help of the cloak.
Within a matter of seconds, he went from broken bones and curious to covered in blood and more injuries.
Remembering what the details on his display screen said, "All parties must agree to the contract."
'Think, there has to be something of leverage against this guy.'
With both "essence sight" and "linguist" abilities working passively, he kept looking at the details of the beast.
"T-The voi-e won't stop; they won't stop."
"Voices? Does he mean the corruption?"
After a few seconds of running, dodging, and hitting, he finally understood something.
He stopped and spoke to the beast for the first time.
" Hey, wait a minute.
I have something to propose to you."
This statement brought the beast to a halt.
'Great, wasn't certain that would work.'
He realized that the beast wasn't completely corrupted—while not unheard of, he had never seen an abyss creature like that in the first place, so it took him a while to realize.
"Propos-l, hum-n what can you do for me?"
Kael smiled and pointed at the beast.
"It seems you still have your sanity intact, but for how long do you think that will last?"
The beast gave off what seemed like laughter, but the static made it hard to understand.
Though it stopped after seeing that he was serious.
"What can you do for me?"
" I have something that could help you with the corruption, but the real question is, what can you offer me?"
On the surface he seemed in control, but in reality, he was shaking on the inside.
He was practically spiritually on his knees, praying to God for this gamble to work.
"I'm not a cheer giver you know."
"What d-o you w-want then?"
'Going great for now.'
He moved closer to the beast, leaving the [cloak of comfort] wrapped around his neck just in case.
Then stopped just about a meter or two away from it.
"Form a contract with me."
He could tell that it had caught the bait; he just had to keep pulling.
"My ability allows me to create a contract with whatever details I want, no matter how ridiculous they are—you just have to agree to it."
The creature had a skeptical look but ended up submitting.
"What are the details of the contract?"
"Here you go."
A display screen appeared before the beast.
He had been crafting details of the contract immediately he got the idea of forming a contract.
Contract Details
Contract type: Subordinate Type
Contract information:
Subordinate must obey and carry out all orders given by the contract owner. [Approved] Cannot harm the contract owner. [Approved]
Subordinate must ensure the contract owner's safety. [Approved]
Orders can reinforce abilities to be able to complete the order at the cost of essence drain. [Approved]
Contract owner can summon a subordinate to anywhere he is located. [Approved]
All contract conditions are possible.
Contract clause: Disobeying the contract owner attracts [Contract clause] punishment. [Default]
'Wow, it all actually worked that way.'
Kael realized some things about his ability in that instant; first was that no matter what the condition was, as long as he had the essence to execute it, it would work.
It could even bend logic and reality within the abilities of an awakened, though with an equivalent price.
The beast shrieked loudly as if to voice its displeasure.
"Y-you s-said yo-you would stop the corruption; without that there's no deal between us.
Besides, there's nothing here that benefits me.
Kael sighed deeply.
He definitely wanted to get the beast as his contract, not only because it was strong, but also because of the indomitable will it showed.
Despite going up against a creature far above it in rank and level, it still wasn't willing to give up.
Though it might lead to minor issues along the line, he was willing to take the risk.
"Don't worry, I already added it to my fourth condition."
He smiled mischievously, revealing his sly and sinister personality.
"Now, time is running out for you—what will you do?"
He had someone scream from far out.
The sound was barely audible.
The beast finally shook its head in agreement.
A voice whispered in his head.
[Contract has been completed.]
[Corruption progress has been reversed.]
[Corrupted creature has been cleansed.]
[Your soul grows stronger.]
"Who's there?"
Just then, a blinding light shone from the beast, obscuring Kael's vision.
Kael lost his footing and fell to one knee.
He was showing a calm presence, but on the inside, his whole body was screaming from the pain that was spreading through his body.
He was already feeling his legs shaking, as if they could no longer support the weight of his body—the sudden light made him lose focus, and his legs gave out.
The voices that were calling out to them seemed to be getting closer; his vision was starting to get fuzzy.
All of a sudden, the spatial tear where the beast and the sea creature came from began to close; as such, it absorbed everything close to it, including Kael and his new contracted subordinate.
The last thing he heard was Nova screaming his name.
" Kael, don't—"
After that, everything went completely dark.