"W-Where...? Ahh..."
Elliot was finally awake but when he saw what was in front of him, he looked like he was going to faint again.
"It's unclear how demons were born but what is clear is that they did not come from the Almighty's power."
I spoke aloud so Shin would hear.
From what I observed, he seems to be lacking in basic knowledge based on our conversation on the balcony. I certainly lacked some of them too but thanks to the study I read earlier, I found some interesting things.
"When demons found out that they grew stronger by acquiring a piece of the Almighty's power, they yearned for it."
I looked back at Shin, smirking at his confused face.
"So, what is this 'piece' that I am talking about? The answer is the power bestowed on humans. Almighty's gift, the ability to absorb particles and perform spells. They couldn't have the Almighty himself so they went to the nearest beings who had that same power. They sought humans."
His gold eyes clouded in shock and his lips quivered with uncertainty.
"That's impossible."
"Yes, it seems impossible. It was a gift specifically for us, a power that the Almighty handed down to each person uniquely."
I clicked my tongue.
"However, demons found a way to get it. And it requires only one condition. Can you guess what it is?"
He gulped and answered immediately.
"Official names."
I smiled proudly at him like I was looking at a dog who managed to finish doing a trick after several failed attempts.
Sudenly, Shin glared at me.
"Dark-san, are you thinking of something inappropriate? Your soul color is weird right now. It feels insulting."
"Me? Hahaha! No way. Also, I think it's faster if I show you."
Changing the topic, I looked back at Elliot.
"Ahh... go... let go... p-please..."
"Sorry Elliot but I can't do that."
Apologizing in advance, I clutched his head as he was still stuttering below me, horrified at the sight of the monster in front of him.
Then I looked at the demon and asked.
"Hey demon, would you like to make a deal with me?"
GRUUUUUUUUUUUU!
The demon didn't growl at me like last time. Instead, it was wary.
Some of its eyes were looking at the prey I had in hand while its mouths, slowly drooling with green saliva, were speaking once again in unison.
"Strong."
"I want him."
"Give him!"
"Shh."
The growling stopped.
Moving slowly, the mouths and eyes of the demon shifted together to form one gigantic eye and a mouth filled with razor sharp teeth arranged in a messy circle.
'What the hell?'
My eye twitched as I watch the disgusting view.
'He reminds me of a Mike Wazowski in Monster's university. But he's a messed up version.'
Wait, that's not important.
Clearing my throat, I pointed at Elliot and asked the demon with a smile.
"Ahem, can you make it so that he follows my orders for the next five days? You can have him after that."
"That's all?"
"Yes, that's all. I wanted to try having a servant at least once. Hahaha!"
"Grrrr."
The demon moved around me.
I followed it with my eyes, not daring to break any eye contact and while doing so, I caught the sight of River and Shin stiffening and slightly morphing to their vampire and beastman forms.
'Why are they like that? Did another set of pursuers arrive?'
Well, if it's them they can probably take care of it.
For now, I ignored them and focused on the demon.
'A servant-contract with a short duration. In other words, something basic.'
Strong demons can perform such conditional contract with ease. If this demon is still contemplating it, it means that's not easy for him to do.
In conclusion, it's a low-class demon.
And in the hierarchy, the lower the class of a demon, the dumber they are in the head. They won't propose any other conditions since they crave power too much.
GRRRRRRR!
"Do you agree? If you do, form the contract immediately."
My smile didn't falter as the monster slowly started to grow bigger.
"Dark-san!"
"Stand back."
River was still stopping Shin as I was walking ecstatically to the growing demon.
"Hahaha!"
BOOOOOOM!
Like an overly inflated balloon, the demon exploded. And in its place, a parchment was floating in the air.
I approached it and read the contents. River and Shin ran up to me and read as well.
=====
< Demon Contract >
< For five days, the proposed person will follow the orders of the contracted person in exchange for a piece of the Almighty. >
< Payment: __________ >
=====
I wrote 'Vin Sho' on the payment.
BOOOOOM!
"Gah!"
The moment I stopped writing, the contract exploded. Following this, my body and Elliot's body glowed for a few seconds before the light dimmed down and we were back to normal.
Shin, who was the only person to scream, clutched River's arm and quickly hid behind him in surprise.
"Do demons like explosions or something? Is something going to explode again?"
"I don't think so."
River answered.
I stretched my body and looked at their direction.
"That was the first time you saw a demon, Shin?"
"Yeah."
The gold-haired thief nodded and added while moving out of River's back.
"Honestly, they're much tamer than I thought."
"That's true. But that's also because the demon you saw was a low-class."
My voice grew serious as I thought about demons.
'We were just lucky that the first one we encountered is a low-class demon.'
If we encountered a mid-class or a high-class demon, it would have been a different story.
That's not all.
I looked at them with a serious expression and spoke.
"The demon we saw is nothing special compared to the seven devil houses that have a demon of their own. In fact, Pheregor must have an extremely strong demon by their side."
"What do you mean?"
Shin asked.
River also had a confused look in his bandaged face.
Seeing their expressions, I shrugged and shaired my deduction in a matter of fact tone.
"It's just my assumption on how their business works."
I've thought about it a lot of times.
When River's information said that Pheregor was on the top of the market when it came to slavery, I figured that the rough summary would be something like this.
"They probably steal children, name them, lock them up, then they record their names in a book. Whenever a customer is interested in the children, they buy the names and ask a demon for a contract."
"It's a slave business so normally, they would ask for a lifetime of slave contract where the child follow the master's orders until death. It's a complex contract but not impossible for a high-class demon."
"The customer gets a slave, the seller gets money, and when the slave dies, their souls go to the demon. Perfect plan, right?"
Finishing my discussion, I looked at Shin with a smile.
"That's why the moment they know your name, you'll always be on the mercy of other people and in the end, your soul will be devoured by a demon. In return for that, the demon gets stronger. It will be able to perform more complex spells and form a more elaborate contracts."
My smile became wider while looking at their sweating foreheads.
Even with my normal eyes, I could see how Shin got goosebumps and how River paled with his already pale body.
"Do you understand now? If we didn't catch you that day, if River and I had not escaped, our life would have been like that."
"Dark, stop."
"Hmm? River, why are you glaring at me?"
"Haa."
Sighing, River signaled Shin with his eyes. Following his line of sight, I looked down and noticed that the gold-haired brat was starting to shiver.
I immediately stopped smiling.
'Did I scare him too much? It's true though.'
But I think I scared Shin of getting an official name.
I looked at River and wiggled my eyebrows. Truthfully, I don't know how to handle this.
"Calm down, Shin."
Noticing the shift in the mood, River stated a fact.
"There is a way to permanently avoid being contracted to a demon."
"Really? What?"
Shin looked eagerly at him.
"To not get named at all."
"Oh."
Hearing River's answer, Shin's body slumped.
'At least I can tell that he still wants an official name.'
I snicked mischievously and grinned at him with a teasing look in my eyes.
"Bwahaha! If you don't get named, you won't get the chance to perform spells. All you can do is look at me enviously as I perform destructive spells. Hahaha!"
Shin glared at me.
"What? Who says I'm not going to get a name? My abilities are obviously going to be better than yours!"
"Hohoho! Why don't we have a match when we have them, huh?"
"Bring it on, you crazy bastard."
And before I knew it, I was grabbing his hair and kicking his stomach while Shin was bitting my arm and pushing my cheek with his palms.
"Haa."
Shortly after that, River sighed again and got in between us.
"I'm not a babysitter."
He said something barely audible as he dragged us out of the forest. But I didn't hear him since I was busy fighting with Shin. And Shin probably didn't too.
In the midst of our fight, I saw someone on the edge of my sight.
'Oh, right. I almost forgot.'
Temporarily, I stopped attacking Shin and turned to the idiot standing still in the forest. His eyes were blank as if it lost its light forever.
I called out to him, not caring about such thing.
"Elliot, follow us!"
Elliot's body flinched, as if it received a signal, and then he started walking robotically to us.
I looked back at Shin who was still pulling my neck as he tried to strangle me while being held back by River.
Crack. Crack.
I cracked my knuckles and went back to fighting him.
Just so you know, not long after that, River threatened to throw us off a sinkhole if we didn't stop. Though we didn't know where he found a sinkhole, his eyes was so serious we believed it.
That's how both Shin and I arrived home while shivering.