Deep below the decimated castle of the ruined kingdom, silence and calm shrouded. There was a basement that dwelled. It was covered by dark concrete written with strange runes. The torches lit the dark basement up while protruding from the pillars. It looked relatively ancient compared to the castle above it.
In the spoken deep basement below the decimated castle, the royal members of the collapsed kingdom stood in silence. Everything was too fast for them to react. The queen's death and her sacrifice were soon followed by the emergence of two figures out of nowhere. How a bolt of lightning pierced through this basement from the heavens was even more of a bigger question.
The mist and dust created by the bolt of lightning's impact slowly dissipated. The only thing they could see from it was none other than two figures. They didn't know how the two of them managed to get to this place. But one explanation emerged in their minds upon seeing the two.
The two figures were the result of the queen's sacrifice.
The king stood in shock as the princess was shaken due to the loud bang of the bolt. Then, as the mist and dust completely dissipated, a maid and a military lady revealed themselves. The two were the ones summoned by the significant sacrifice.
A Krieger and a maid.
The Krieger had silver-white hair reaching to her waist. Her light-magenta irises glowed brilliantly as her slit pupils looked at the royal members with a cold gaze. However, the most compelling of her appearance was her crow-like wings behind her waist. They revealed themselves in full glory.
It was as if the queen called upon a fallen angel.
The maid had jet-black hair strapped in a ponytail. She wore a monocle while wearing a victorian maid outfit. She had an aura of nobility and beauty. She was like the perfect maid one could get. Though, her personality, despite having that of a maid, was eccentric on its own.
The two were Alastair Hecate and Soteria.
It was finally time for them to start their second soul deal.
Alastair gazed upon the royal members and turned her head towards the queen lying on the cold dark concrete. It appears that she had been summoned in a strange situation. Fortunately, though, the spoken strange case might bring her profit never to be seen before.
'A monarch family... Judging from their appearance, it seems that they are losing.' Alastair silently thought within herself while gazing upon the royal members. She then turned her head towards her maid, who calmly stood right beside her. "Soteria, a problem had emerged."
Soteria nodded without any hesitation and said with an emotionless voice. "The sacrifice was too big. We simply needed a tunnel for us to slip into. But this tunnel that sacrifice had created is enough for us to go back and in this world for an entire decade. Not only that, but we might not be the only ones that can pass through it."
"Correct... I can't believe that a queen of an entire country sacrificed herself to be the summoner. There are still fragments of the astral energy residue all over the place. Never did I think that a summoner is the problematic one in the soul deal." Alastair shook her head with an expression of annoyance.
After uttering such words, Alastair looked at the royal members once again. She silently inspected them and immediately realized what kind of family they were. 'Idiotic, prideful, and brave ones. I have met a lot of them, and all of which I can consider extremely annoying.'
Alastair thought to herself while staring at the royal members. She then shook her head as this wasn't the time to be thinking within her mind. Alastair looked around and asked with her soothing tone. "Where is your king? I'd like to see him." Her words echoed throughout the basement.
None of the royal members answered her question with a reply. They seemed to be suspicious of her, which was understandable. The royal members didn't want their king to be revealed to a strange lady who was wearing military clothing. Who knows what would happen if their king got disclosed.
Alastair sighed when seeing the reaction of the royal members. A cold expression then emerged from her face as she asked the question once again with a stern tone. "I won't ask you ever again. Where is your king? I have been summoned by the queen and would like to talk with the king."
Stating her reasons, the king shook his head and walked forward. He looked at Alastair with a serious expression and replied. "I am here... I am none other than the king of Chimbell." Revealing himself, Alastair and the king had finally gazed upon each other.
Silence and calm enveloped the two of them, as Alastair stated with a calm tone. "It's time for me to reveal what I am and who I am. After all, all of you are my second clients." A smile emerged from Alastair's face as the royal members gulped. The king nodded and waited for Alastair's statement.
"The queen had summoned a Krieger, a spirit that would kill 10 beings in exchange for one's soul. A Krieger isn't an omnipotent wish-granting spirit. Even devils don't have that kind of power. Anyhow, the worth of one's soul is related to their standing over the entire world."
"Normally, a single soul would be able to take ten lives. But what if a single soul is worth tens of thousands of souls. How many lives do you think one can take? But as I have said before, the worth of their souls is how their judgment would commence. If you want me to kill an emperor, that would obviously fail."
"After all, his soul would be a hundred times more valuable than yours."
"So if you plan to make me kill an emperor to save this kingdom of yours. Forget that thought. Such an idea wouldn't work."
"Also, the maid right beside me is none other than Soteria. A vassal of mine."
Alastair had completed her simple explanation to the royal members. Most of them had serious expressions plastered on their faces, while Soteria couldn't help but facepalmed. She walked towards Alastair and whispered right to her ears. "Lady Alastair, you still hadn't introduced yourself."
"Oh... right..." Alastair forgot the most important part of her explanation. That was none other than her introduction. The princess stood forward and questioned with a calm voice. "Then what is your name, strange lady? You sure have a name. After all, your maid does have one."
"Hmm... My name? Well, hmm..." One would wonder what Alastair was hesitating for.
"My name is Alastair Hecate, a Krieger." Alastair nodded to herself after uttering such words as Soteria gazed upon her master with a certain level of confusion. She was still wondering why her master had hesitated before. Though, at the moment, that wasn't the problem.
"Alastair Hecate... I heard that my mother was the summoner. Does that mean the contract towards you is different from the summoning?" The princess asked the most crucial question. A smirk emerged from Alastair's face as she replied with a tranquil tone. "Correct."
"The summoner is the one that summons a Krieger. The contractee is someone that is consented by the summoner to a soul deal. You see... There is a lot of legal implication that needs to be done. Unlike the devils, Krieger tends to be on the lawful side."
Hearing Alastair's words, the princess nodded and thought about it for a while. The king was in silence as numerous thoughts passed through his mind. While thinking about the Krieger, a strange idea emerged within the king's head. He stood forward and questioned with a calm voice.
"Krieger Alastair Hecate, are there any limits on the contractees you can have?" Such a question sounded throughout the basement. Alastair immediately got ahold of the king's idea. She then answered with a teasing smile. "There is no limit as long as the summoner consented to the contract."
"You are onto something, old man."
Alastair knew the idea the king had within his mind. She wouldn't reject it as the entire idea would give her profit despite giving her more work. It was like an entire gold mine presenting itself to Alastair. But to get the gold, she must work for it. Such was the representation of the situation.
"Well, then... It appears that you already got what I have in mind, Alastair. Would you agree with it?" The king questioned with a serious voice as Alastair simply replied while shaking her head. "My words mean nothing to the entire contract, so let's rephrase it."
"Do you agree with what you are thinking, old man?"
Hearing the words of Alastair, the king turned his head towards the royal members around him. They understood what he was trying to say and knew that it was the only path for them. So, gathering their bravery, idiocy, and pride, they stood forward and gave their own answers.
"I'll follow the king no matter where he goes."
"This is the only path for all of us."
"I have already lost everything. But even then, many still haven't lost all of it."
"If this is what the king commands, so shall be it."
Their words echoed throughout the deep basement below the decimated castle. The princess looked at them in shock as she also wanted to sacrifice her life to the kingdom. But before she could utter such brave words, a hand stopped her from continuing.
It was none other than the hand of her father.
"Cecily, you don't have to sacrifice yourself. When we will be gone. Someone needs to take care of the kingdom." The king uttered with a tranquil tone. He knew that he was giving such a heavy responsibility to a child. But that was the fate of those within the royal family.
"B-but..." The princess's name was Cecily. She found herself frozen upon hearing the words of her father. She knew that if all of the royal members had died. No one would be able to take care of the kingdom. It would split apart and slowly get eaten by the empire.
"I know that I am giving a heavy responsibility to you. But I am doing this because I trust you. I know that you will survive. I know that you will repair this kingdom back to its former glory. You might even make it go passed beyond it." The king said as he smiled at his daughter.
"Oi, oi, this ain't the time for that, old man. Besides, I won't be able to take anything before completing the contract. This shouldn't be your farewell." Alastair said while slightly chuckling. To be honest, despite being annoying, idiotic, and brave royal families tend to be intriguing.
Of course, Alastair speaks from experience. Whether from enemies or by being friends, they were still the same. That was what Alastair had learned from them. Straightforward bastards that seemed to exist in every world.
Hearing Alastair's words, the king sighed and uttered with a disappointed tone. "I thought that I was going to die at the very moment. I would have died with a bang for my daughter." His words sounded with a teasing tone as the princess gritted her teeth.
"Father, you sure are kidding, right?"
It had a cold tone which made the king freeze. He slowly turned his head towards his daughter and answered with a wry smile. "Of course, that was nothing but a joke. I thought to liven up the atmosphere. Especially after the things all of you had gone through."
"Now, let us start, shall we?"
The king looked at Alastair and walked towards her. The royal members followed behind him as the princess simply stayed on the spot. He had a single tear that fell from his eye. No matter how much he stayed positive. In the end, the pain of loss was approaching him.
Seeing the royal members and the king, Alastair smirked and replied. "Then, let the soul deal begin." A silver light then shone over everything in the basement. Lightning bolts sounded one after another as a distorted sound echoed all over the dark concrete.
After a while, a paper emerged out of nowhere. It shone with brilliance as if it was made in the heavens. The paper levitated in the air as the contract process had begun for Alastair. At the moment, there are at least seven contractees.
All of which were worth over thousands of souls.