“What? Why would you bother trying to learn anything if you’re going to die straight after learning it?” It didn’t make any sense to Kal, well none of what this bloody gorefiend was saying made much sense. Why was it so cordial?
“Oh, that does not matter in the least. My master has assured me that my return to a more well-attuned shell will be swift,” the butcher replied, its voice almost smug.
“What do you mean, return? Isn’t resurrection impossible?”
“Oh for a mortal that is normally true but for my kind it is a necessity but I cannot tell you all my secrets. Just take to heart that if we have an accord I will allow you to slay this shell.”
Kal obviously didn’t trust this thing, how could he? It was a bloody giant mish-mash of body parts and called a butcher. But Kal needed to expand his knowledge, he had no idea how long he would be stuck in the abyss so he needed every piece of knowledge that could increase his power.
But then there was the damned Soul Maw.
Over the last three days getting down here, he had lost another sixty points of will and thirty to both his wisdom and perception. He had kept his birthright and mind in check so far but could he risk wasting three days down here, likely without leveling up to combat the loss in attributes?
“Every other demon I have come across has tried to kill me ever since I got here, why are you different? And what assurances can you give me of my safety?”
“Yes well the lesser kin have very little self control and it is in our nature to destroy your kind. I of course would normally do so as well but when there is knowledge to be gained I can be convinced otherwise and I have already been convinced. The affinity of your mana is quite potent and wrathful. The fate of my shaped ones has already demonstrated that. My master and I wish to learn more.”
“Right, then why have you been sending your shaped ones after me all this time?”
The butcher’s expression didn’t change at all as it listened, “Those I shaped are of weaker minds than other gorefiends. My lord impressed his desire for you to come here into their minds but once they were slain for the first time they lost that command. All future attempts at communicating through the shaped ones failed as I am not skilled enough in brainworks to alter them for that purpose.”
“Why not have your master do so then?”
“My master is unable to affect the shaped ones who still remain inside the trial area. The system has applied stricter restrictions on his actions due to property of his that I may not discuss. Though he is blessed by the Lady of Bloody he is restricted by the system all the same.”
Kal was honestly surprised at how apparently straight out the bloated thing was speaking. It was hard to read due to its twisted face but Kal detected no deception.
Kal wasn’t so sure about showing this demon his wrath or at least not letting him inspect him that closely if at all. HIs birthright was involved in its integration which he suspected was why the butcher wanted a closer look. The shadow had reacted strangely once it felt the effects of his skill. Then reacted badly when Kal used Slayer’s Intent. Why exactly he didn’t know but if this demon was so willing to bargain perhaps Kal could learn more.
Mention of this Lady of Blood caught Kal’s interest. Perhaps that was the thing from his visions, so if he stayed he may be able to learn more about that as well.
The butcher’s twisted face remained in its twisted grin while Kal thought, not moving at all. It made Kal feel as though he was looking at some kind of corpse statue and not an actual living thing and maybe that was more true than he realized.
The thing was surprisingly patient, any other demon he had come across he was sure would have attacked him by now if it was going to. But Kal had to realize that most of the demons he had seen up to this point were all minions of some higher masters, even the elites were not the ones holding the reigns, just one of their stronger minions.
“I am not convinced just yet but I am tempted. I will be more inclined to accept if you can tell me anything about this,” Kal raised his hand so that Soul Maw was visible.”
If Kal was going to consider the butcher’s offer he needed to know everything he could about the ring so that when the trial ended he could find a way to remove it. If he was lucky the butcher could help him with that.
The butcher looked at the ring its face expressionless for several seconds but then it twisted in rage and its eyes flared up, burning a bit of the skin of its forehead,
For fuck’s sake, really!
Kal leaped backward expecting an attack but nothing came, instead the butcher turned around and snatched another vial of the workbench, downed it then did the same to two more. Its eye flames soon calmed and returned to normal. Turning back, the butcher spoke, “I will not harm you mortal, the presence of that ring is a disgrace to my kin, “ its voice was neutral again.
Wonderful
“Right, well tell me how to get rid of it.”
The butcher’s eyes flared slightly again, “You can’t, not without having its sibling Soul Devourer. My master will peel the flesh from that damned lumixet for this!” The butcher's face twisted again into a snarl but quickly returned to its normal neutral mask, “How long have you worn Soul Maw?”
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“About a week,” Kal saw no harm in telling the demon that. He doubted it could use that information against him unless he thought Kal was close to being dominated.
The butcher looked surprised at his answer, its eyebrows rising above empty sockets, “And you remain undominated, interesting. To find someone with such high will is uncommon among classes like yours. I understand now that three days may seem like a waste of time while you are under such a timer but either way, you will not be removing that ring for some time mortal.”
“You know who has the Soul Devourer?”
“Yes and though you have fought well inside of this trial mortal, you would last a second against the wearer of that ring.”
Kal frowned, “Just tell me who it is and I will decide that I will not be dominated.” Kal’s birthright flared slightly, it didn’t affect him since he wasn’t using wrath but all the same, the anger he felt at the idea of being dominated resonated with his birthright.
The butcher’s eye flames flickered between a few different hues before falling back into their normal red-green, “Quite a presence you hold for one at such a low level,” the butcher said, tilting its head slightly, “perhaps we can add that piece of knowledge to our bargain. Stay for the three days and learn from me as I do from you and I will tell you the name of the bearer of your ring's sibling before you slay me. Do we have a deal?”
Kal wasn’t enthusiastic about spending three days with a bloody demon but he couldn’t miss a chance at finding out who had the other ring. Let the demon inspect his wrath was also a worry, what was stopping the butcher from simply betraying him the moment he had seen enough of his wrath, “Fine but with one condition, you can only perform your test on the last day.”
The butcher nodded, a seam along its belly opening, seeping puss, “Agreed,” the butcher raised its short arm and a small pool of blood welled up before bursting into green-red flame then in its place was a small scroll, “I will prepare the contact.”
“Wait, you're writing up a contract?” Kal asked, confused. He hadn’t thought it would be so official.
“Of course, you are from a different plane so a contract will work in this instance.”
Before Kal could respond he received a notification and it opened by itself.
Planar Contract
Ilgathar of the 1st wished to enter into a contract with Kalum Lesta of the 73rd. A planar contract is bound to the souls of those who enter into it. Those who break or attempt to circumvent the spirit of the contract will forfeit an amount of power equivalent to the level of the breach, this penalty is enforced by the system.
Kal’s eyes widened slightly after reading the description. Perhaps staying would be safer than he had expected, if none could enter the butcher’s territory while Kal was challenging the butcher and the butcher was unable to betray him due to the contract he had nothing to worry about besides what information he may be giving to the demon.
“You have not seen a planar contract before?” The butcher asked, obviously noticing Kal’s expression.
“Well no, I haven’t. I didn’t realize something like this existed. What does the part about first and seventy-third mean?”
“A human without knowledge of planar contracts? Interesting. That mortal, I will teach you once the contract is in place.”
Kal couldn’t blame the demon, it was probably just as suspicious as he was about Kal’s intentions as Kal was about the butcher’s, he had slain countless demons and the seeker's shadow before coming here to kill it.
“Fine, how do we finish the contract then?”
“As I am the one preparing the contract I will state the terms and if all is satisfactory to you, when prompted simply accept the contract.”
Kal nodded and waited for the demon to continue.
“I Ilgathar of the first will instruct Kalum Lesta of the seventy-third in the art of mana manipulation and detection for three days, beginning at the moment this contract is finalized during that time if either of the bound souls is extinguished or their shell is destroyed, the living member will be in fault of the contract and should receive the penalty. In addition, I will tell him the name and location of the wearer of Soul Devourer and will answer questions that will do no harm to my kin or hamper the will of the Lady of Blood. In return Kalum Lesta will allow me to perform a test on the affinities of his unique resource then I allow him to slay this shell I now inhabit, completing this contract.”
As the butcher finished speaking Kal received the notification the butcher mentioned.
Do you accept the terms of the planar contract? Yes / No
Interestingly the color of the notification was different to the others he had seen. It was not the default red that was most used since he altered his status and not the brilliant gold of the system event notifications. This one was red but laced with the sickly green color of the butcher’s mana. Just looking at it Kal could sense the butcher's mana embedded in the notification.
“Why can I see your mana in the notification? I haven’t seen anything like that before,” Kal asked, wary of some kind of trap.
“I see you have some knowledge of mana already. That is good, the mana you can sense in the notification is the part of my soul that has been bound to the contract. It is also the part that is lost or destroyed upon breaching the contract. Once you accept your portion will be added as well.”
Kal wished he knew more about these planar contracts, it almost sounded too good to be true. His experience with Soul Maw didn’t encourage him to just carelessly believe the notification. He wished there was a way he could tell if the notification describing the planar contract was legitimate. The need to know who held Soul Devourer was enough to convince him though, his soul was apparently already at stake, what was one more risk?
Kal nodded, “Yes.”
Suddenly the notification still floating in front of him flared brightly as he felt a sliver of wrath enter the notification. It was a strange feeling, it felt like it was dragged out of him by tiny invisible strings, not at all like how his skills worked.
The scroll in the butcher’s hand flashed as well and began to float above its hand, unrolling itself. Across the surface of the scroll, Kal could see the bright crimson flame of his wrath swirling together with the red-green mana of the butcher before sinking into the scroll, forming text. Kal expected the text to be illegible like the harsh writing all over the walls but surprisingly he could read it. It was simply the terms spoken by the butcher. A moment later the scroll closed with a snap and a flash of light and Kal got another notification.
Title acquired: Planar Binding I
The butcher hadn’t watched the contract complete, instead, Kal noticed it was staring intently at Kal’s chest. When it saw that he noticed it smiled, “Yes much to learn indeed.”