While Andrea was talking to Raea, another conversation was happening between a certain demon and a half-angel. A table was between the two, a platter of cookies laid atop its surface. Palan stared at the pink, heart-shaped cookies before raising his head. “The hell is this?” he asked.

“Contract destruction cookies!” Pyre said and crossed his arms over his chest. “What do you think? Those higher existences won’t refuse something like this, right? Who would suspect these cookies could dissolve even a contract between an angel and the Creator?”

“You have to consume them for it to work?” Palan asked.

“That’s right,” Pyre said and nodded. His brow furrowed as he checked the end of the platter and lifted a few cookies up. “I’m missing a few. You didn’t eat any while I wasn’t looking, right?”

Palan snorted. “You think I’d ever eat something you created?”

“Well, I suppose that’s fair,” Pyre said and stroked his chin.

Palan picked up a cookie and sniffed it. It smelled odd, but not in a bad way. He was tempted to try it, so he put it back onto the platter to avoid the temptation. “You’re sure these will work to dissolve their contract with the Creator?”

“I’m 99.9% certain,” Pyre said. “I’ve had angels and demons form contracts with each other, starting from level 1 and then all the way to level 9. It dissolved them all. I haven’t been able to contract anyone with the Creator though, but I created these to counteract the Creator’s essence.”

“Any side effects?” Palan asked.

“Why?” Pyre asked and raised an eyebrow. “Were you considering on taking one for yourself?” He chuckled at Palan’s darkening expression. “I won’t tell Raea, no need to worry. The only side effect I noticed was extreme despair, but that probably has more to do with my treatment of the experimental people rather than a side effect of the cookie itself. There is one really noticeable effect though, which is why you want to feed the cookie to all the higher existences at the same time. A golden smoke drifts out of your mouth after eating one … very similar to the smoke you’re exhaling right now…”

Palan’s eyes widened as golden smoke sneaked out of his nose and the corners of his lips. He glared at Pyre and seized the half-angel with his tail. Black flames erupted from his back, but they dissipated as the smoke continued to pour out of Palan’s body. Something was being taken from him, forcibly wrenched away, leaving an uncomfortable sensation in his chest. Palan snarled, revealing rows upon rows of sharp teeth. “You think I won’t kill you? It seems like it’s been a while since I last made an example of somebody.”

Pyre gasped as his ribs cracked. Danger Noodle tightened around his torso, constricting him while crushing his bones. A trickle of blood ran down the side of his mouth as more cracking sounds rang out. He managed to breathe in when the snake loosened for an instant, but his breath was forced out in the very next second as Danger Noodle constricted again. “I-it wasn’t me…,” Pyre said as his head slumped forward.

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“You’re denying it even now?” Palan asked. Pyre’s face was turning blue, but Palan didn’t care. His hands curled up into fists, and he punched the half-angel’s shoulder. A snapping sound echoed through the room, but Pyre didn’t have the ability to cry out. A bone pierced through his collarbone, blood gushing from the puncture. “You thought you could rob me of my powers and live!?”

The half-angel’s body was thrown to the ground with a sickening splat. It was a miracle that he was still alive. Danger Noodle hovered above Pyre’s body and glanced at Palan. “Kill…?”

Palan’s brow furrowed. He shifted his gaze towards the trembling dwarf in the corner of Pyre’s lab. “Do you know how to make these cookies?”

The dwarf frantically nodded his head. “I-I’ve been here the whole time. I know the exact p-process,” he said and gulped.

Palan stepped forward and placed his foot on Pyre’s forehead. The golden smoke pouring from Palan’s nostrils was thinning. It would stop after a few more seconds. He flexed his hands and attempted to draw upon Raea’s powers. Nothing happened. Palan glanced at Pyre’s face. The half-angel seemed to be laughing to himself, causing Palan to snort. “You can die knowing your last invention worked.”

A wet cracking sound rang through the air as Palan transferred his weight to his foot. Blood and brain matter pooled beneath him. Kill first, ask questions later. Who knew what else Pyre had planned? What if he was robbed of his pride too? Palan’s expression darkened as the room trembled. A black ball formed in the air in front of himself, pulling everything in the room towards it. He canceled his power before it could consume the cookies. At least his pride was intact. But he should’ve known Pyre was up to no good. Someone who just wanted to watch the world burn wouldn’t work for anyone peacefully.

Palan glanced at the dwarf assistant who was standing in a puddle of urine. “Make me more cookies,” Palan said as he gathered the heart-shaped pastries and stuffed them into the bag by his waist. He lifted Pyre’s corpse with his tail. He could feed it to Andrea; maybe she’d become more knowledgeable.

Palan frowned the whole way back to his room. Pyre had been dealt with, but what about the aftermath? If Raea found out… Palan cursed as he kicked Pyre’s corpse. That’s probably what the half-angel was aiming for. What better way to bring about chaos to the world than to piss off Raea even further? She was unstable enough as is. If he had to fight her, could he kill her? She had more mana but a weaker constitution. If he—

“Palan!”

A familiar voice snapped Palan out of his thoughts. He smiled at the child bounding towards him. “Andrea.”

“You’re back!” Andrea said and tackled him, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her head against his stomach. “You’re finally back!”

“What do you mean?” Palan asked, raising an eyebrow. “When did I leave?”

Andrea shook her head. “You were gone for a very long time,” she said and pulled away from her brother. She grinned at the corpse hanging from his tail. “But now you’re back.” Her smile grew wider. Her brother finally saw reason after being freed from his contract. The solitary brother from her memories had returned. “But there’s a little problem.”

“Hmm?”

“I think Raea’s really mad. I went to her room, and she tried to kill me,” Andrea said, biting her lip and lowering her head. “Did I do something wrong? I just wanted to be her friend.”

Palan shook his head and ran his hand through his sister’s hair. “No,” he said. “You didn’t do anything wrong.” It was Pyre’s fault. It seemed like Raea had discovered the missing connection. Palan wet his lips with his tongue. Usually he looked forward to confrontation, so why was he feeling so uneasy right now?