It was an ordinary high school class, however, the same could not be said for all the people in it. That’s what Sora thought as he watched Gabriel waltzing in front of him. It was a rather grim spectacle.

Gabriel was unbalanced and unstable in his movements. His steps were heavy and awkward, with little fluidity, yet still full of grace. He had a hunched posture, his feet striking the ground like thunder. But what made the spectacle unpleasant was his joyful state that was not in harmony with his movements. Indeed, he kept snickering, emitting a short and high-pitched sound that resembled a stifled or contained laugh.

“What a beautiful day, don’t you think, my dear Sora?” asked Gabriel, still dancing.

“You’ll see. You’ll have a lot of fun where I’m going to send you. Well, it’s me who’s going to have the most fun watching you.” he continued.

Sora remained motionless, with wide eyes and an open mouth, completely stunned by what he was seeing. However, he was becoming increasingly impatient at the sight of this spectacle. Suddenly, he stood up abruptly, knocking over his chair, his head partially raised.

Indeed, Gabriel seemed to have dissolved the force that kept him in his chair.

Upon hearing the chair fall, Gabriel froze in his dance, assuming a rather strange position. His body leaning forward, both hands raised to the sky, his gaze directed towards Sora’s.

“What exactly are you?” asked Sora in a reserved voice.

“I have several appellations; some call me a demon, others a spirit, and still others call me an angel. It’s up to you to choose the name that suits you best,” Gabriel replied.

“Where exactly are you going to send me?”

“That’s my little secret…”

After a brief moment of silence, Sora slowly and fluidly raised his eyes to Gabriel.

“I want a guarantee,” he said, but this time with a much more expressive voice.

“A guarantee!” replied Gabriel, correcting his posture.

“Who guarantees me that you won’t kill me even if I succeed in what you’re asking me for?”

“I see…”

Gabriel directed his right hand towards the ground. Suddenly, the ground began to shake under their feet, cracks began to form and widen rapidly. It was a portal that was beginning to form. The edges of the portal seemed to sparkle with a mysterious energy as intense light burst forth from the center.

A sheet emerged from the portal and began to levitate and move towards Gabriel’s left hand. Before it reached his hand, he grabbed it with a quick, sharp movement.

“Here is the contract,” he said, approaching Sora and placing the sheet on the table next to him.

After a moment of hesitation, Sora approached the contract to read it. Four lines were written on it:

1. Ten trials will be inflicted upon you.

2. If you succeed in all the trials, your freedom will be restored.

3. If you succeed in all the trials and your freedom is not immediately restored, your host will lose his life.

4. If your host tries to kill you, he will die.

At the bottom of the page, he could also read: Place your hand on the contract if you accept the terms.

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Sora had read and reread the contract’s conditions, but his gaze remained focused on the number of trials.

“Why ten trials?” he asked, biting his lower lip.

“The gods gave Ulysses a difficult quest to prove his worth and loyalty to them. Ulysses had to overcome ten trials to be able to return home to Ithaca, to find his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus. Don’t you find this story wonderful?” said Gabriel, sitting on the table behind him and crossing his arms.

“I, do… Are you ready to win the same number of trials as Ulysses to gain the same glory as he did?” Gabriel said, snickering and rhythmically shrugging his shoulders.

Anyway, Sora knew that if he refused, he would die. He couldn’t try to fight Gabriel. After all, he was clearly not human. He had no chance against him, he thought.

Sora approached the contract, his face tense, his brows furrowed and his jaw clenched. Breathing heavily, he slowly directed his right hand towards the contract. The closer his hand got to it, the more he broke out in cold sweats and excessive sweating.

His hand was about to reach the contract when suddenly he stopped all movement.

“I want you to add another condition: that you will in no way interfere with the trials,” he said.

“And why would I do that?” Gabriel said, staring at Sora’s hand.

“Isn’t it you who has been repeating all along that you wanted to have fun? It’s too easy like this. It will make things much more exciting for you. But I’ll understand if you refuse … you coward!” Sora said, looking down at Gabriel, his eyes sparkling with contempt. His brows were slightly furrowed, and his pinched lips clearly expressed his negative judgment. His gaze seemed to say, “You’re not worthy of my time or attention.”

Suddenly, Gabriel gripped the table so tightly that the wood in his hands exploded into several pieces, making a deafening explosion sound as if the whole world had collapsed. He was clearly annoyed by what Sora had just said.

One might have thought that Sora was panicking at the sight of the contract, but in reality, he was just trying to buy some time to find ways to turn the contract to his advantage. He had grasped Gabriel’s mentality well and knew that he was far too proud to refuse.

Gabriel straightened up with a strong impulse and pointed his index finger at the contract.

“In the end, you’re right, it will be much more fun this way.”

Suddenly, a red light burst from the contract, and an additional line slowly added itself to it as if hand wrote it.

Now there was a fifth condition on the contract:

5. If your host interferes with any of the trials, he will die and your freedom will be restored.

“Go ahead, now put your hand on the contract before I start to get impatient,” Gabriel said, as the light emanating from his eyes changed from pure white to a bright crimson red. It looked as though the light was coming straight from hell.

Without being able to control himself, Sora’s hand landed on the contract. It evaporated, leaving behind only ashes. Sora now knew that he could not back out, but he still had doubts.

“Who says that the contract was real and that the terms written on it will be respected?” asked Sora, clenching his fist.

Suddenly, without warning, Gabriel raised his right fist and threw it towards Sora. However, his fist remained in the air, frozen in an interrupted movement just before reaching Sora’s face.

The movement was so powerful that the tables and chairs behind Sora were pushed back more than a meter. A powerful sound echoed throughout the room, like that of a slamming door.

Sora was caught off guard. He didn’t expect such a reaction. Sweat droplets beaded on his forehead and dripped down his face. He felt overwhelmed by a feeling of warmth, but suddenly, Gabriel’s hand exploded into pieces.

“As you can see, I can no longer kill you. I hope that answers your question,” Gabriel said, as his hand began to regenerate.

“If I kill you, it will be the end for me too. And this time, there will be no regeneration possible.”

Gabriel slowly raised his left hand towards Sora’s face. Suddenly, he gave him a slight flick on the forehead. Sora felt his body being pulled towards the wall behind him. He tried to struggle, but it was no use. It was as if he was being sucked into a black hole.

He let out a sharp scream as his back violently hit the wall. Without having time to regain his senses, hands suddenly emerged from the wall. They were clearly not human hands, or at least not those of living beings. Their skin was as green as freshly cut grass.

The hands slowly began to suck Sora into the wall. He was struggling to break free, but he couldn’t escape. One of the hands covered his mouth, so he couldn’t speak or scream. All he could see was Gabriel’s silhouette getting smaller and smaller until it disappeared from the horizon.