[Inside an office-like room]
A dignified man with a robust build looked up from the files he was reading. He was alone in the room, his only companion was the lightly lit lamp and the files he was reading. That used to be the case but after a second, a bright blue hue appeared coiled around him.
A dark blue anaconda-type snake manifested itself and coiled around the man's body and the chair he was sitting on.
"What's wrong, Denir?" Asked the man as he was caught off guard by the sudden appearance of the giant snake.
*Hissss*
"You felt danger?" The man creased his brow as he pondered.
He then stood up and looked outside the window. It was 3 am and the moon still shines brightly. The man's pitch-black hair and green eyes with slits instead of round irises were illuminated by the moonlight. Adam Drake Rory, the heir and the step-brother of Arthur.
Adam thought about what his serpent companion might've felt. 'A rival family? A Beast tide? An assassin?' The man thought of different things, knowing that the snake coiled around him had a really strong instinct for danger. But unbeknownst to him, his mark was way off since the danger was already closer than he thought. And it had set its eyes not only on him but also those around him…
—--
An hour before-
After Arthur cast an ancient spell that activated the runes, an invisible dome of undetectable Aera surrounded the whole room.
Nobody detected anything amiss even the guards outside who aren't normal felt nothing. They failed to detect the silent movement of Aera that they should be sensitive to.
It's all thanks to the runes engraved by Arthur, the Veil Array Runes of Perdan. Even Dian didn't notice anything when she entered the room. Even though there were scratch marks around, she failed to notice them. That was the power of the Veil Runes, it was simply impossible for her, a Mortal detect it using her sensory organs.
The powerful formation was a product of the ancient clan Perdan that studied cloaking magic. A secret clan that wanted to separate themselves from worldly affairs and just live in peace. The discreet clan created the Rune Formation to protect themselves and live peacefully in their little bubble, cutting all ties from the outside.
It was something Arthur had stolen from that very clan in his previous life. He had to scheme his way into their treasure volt and risk becoming enemies with his saviors to achieve greater heights. It was their most prized possession, a unique Formation like none other, that can make anyone invisible. Literally and figuratively, since those inside the rune formation will not be seen nor felt by anyone. Their presence will be erased like they never existed. Moreover, its power can scale to the point that even Godlike beings could be tricked if the rune and spell caster were powerful enough.
The runes themselves could even go unnoticed to those who created them, but Arthur was no newbie in using the array formation. The only con it had was that it took him a long time to carve the runes. But now that he can utilize Aera, that is no longer a problem.
It was thanks to these runes that Arthur managed to avoid danger and do his bidding in the shadows in his previous life. Unfortunately, no matter how powerful the runes and the spell were, they still had a weakness. It had a counter spell that made it useless, and Arthur learned that fact the hard way.
Anyway, after successfully activating the runes, Arthur didn't sit idly and immediately slit his wrist.
He drew a red magic circle using his blood. The magic circle was intricate and mysterious and after completion, the circle sank into the floor and disappeared. After that, he drew another one but this one stayed. Ancient-looking symbols glowed in flame-red color as soon as he finished the drawing. He became paler than he was before because the burden was putting a huge strain on his body. Although he had obtained a Vampire's powerful physique, it was too soon for him to be overexerting himself like this. The Aera his body obtained when he transformed was also draining at a rapid pace.
With a content smile, Arthur dragged Dian's unconscious body and placed it in the magic circle. He undid his Vampiric transformation reverting into his normal form. But his hands and fingers stayed the same, it looked inhuman.
Sharp nails protrude on his fingertips as he crouched down before Dian.
Without further ado, he clawed Dian's chest. Flesh parted and blood flowed. If he could, he would have pierced her chest cleanly, unfortunately, this is how those beings like it. 'It's messy but it is what it is' Arthur thought.
It didn't take much time and eventually, he managed to pry open her rib cage. Her slightly beating heart was exposed in front of him. "Ah beautiful…" he admired it for a second before ripping it out!
*shleek*
He brutally pulled the heart and with an ecstatic expression, he devoured it as he murmured cryptic words. Bit by bit he ate Dian's heart and as he was eating it the magic circle glowed. A cocoon of dark red vapor covered Arthur along with Dian's body.
After a while, baleful screeches and demonic roars were heard inside the red miasma that grew in size. If one looked at it from the outside, one would see an ember glow peeking out from the tiny gaps in the blood-red fog. It was as if hell's gate was pried open.
And pried open it was…
After being covered by the red fog Arthur stared straight at a red circular door that manifested three feet above the floor. The door slowly opened, and a grotesque-looking humanoid lump of rotten flesh came out of it.
Arthur's gaze was that of worship and devotion as soon as he saw the Demonic figure. He was already done consuming Dian's heart and was trembling in excitement. He looked at the being in front of him and kneeled. Arthur's mouth was bloody, and his lips were quivering from excitement.
He was showing perfect servitude "Oh glorious Demon from Hell, my true name is Arthur Severus Rory. And I offer the soul of this pitiful thing to you Oh Great One! All I ask is that you grant me power to fulfill my desires." Arthur's eyes were like that of a fanatic.
The Demon was humanoid and had a plump body. Its body was made of grotesque reddish-green rotting flesh and its eyes were numerous on its face. It was bald and had no mouth, nose, or ears.
The Demon's numerous eyes looked at the young boy in front. It was pleased with what it was seeing, unaware that there was a dome covering the room.
It hovered closer to Arthur and conjured a dark magic circle. The magic circle glowed in purple as sinister substance leaked from it.
"HuM-han… (Human)" the Demon uttered. It was a low-class Demon that was barely able to express its thoughts. Its voice was like that of a lion's deep roar partnered with the sound of crackling lighting.
"Yu ar… Kontrag wid merrrg (You will forge a contract with me)" the demon urged. It was pleased with how perfectly Arthur completed the ritual, so it wanted to forge a contract with him immediately. It could see that Arthur's current state was weak, but he had a dark heart, the darkest it had ever seen. Arthur's demonic nature had surpassed any human the Demon met before. 'This human is useful' it thought.
Arthur knew exactly what to do after seeing the magic circle. He took his index finger and rubbed it against his bloody wrist, after that he smeared it on the purple circle.
*Badum!*
Arthur heard his heart thumped loudly.
*Badum!*
The beat intensified and became louder as it beat faster.
*BADUM!* *BADUM!* *BADUM!*
Arthur felt like his heart would burst but it was nothing compared to the feeling that came surging in afterward. Arthur felt like his soul was burning. His body convulsed extremely because of intense pain. It's like something was being etched into his skin using a hot metal rod but it felt more painful. Not long after, Arthur felt malevolent demonic power budding inside of him. 'Soul Branding… good thing I didn't put any condition, or this would last much longer' Arthur thought as he winced in pain.
Arthur and the Demon were linking their souls at the moment. They're creating a link that the Demon could use to lend his power to Arthur, its new devout follower. The Demon only felt a slight discomfort but other than that it felt nothing. Its numerous eyes were curved into a crescent as it watched Arthur writhe in pain.
Just thinking about how it would use the link to control Arthur or take his life with a thought made the Demon feel arrogant and powerful.
Arthur gasped for air as he felt like there were thousands of needles flowing in his veins. His throat was dry, and he could feel his soul burning! It was burning as if he was in Hell. The Demon enjoyed the show and after about ten minutes, Arthur splattered and panted on the floor. A mark slowly manifested on the back of his right hand.
After seeing that the contract was successful and that he had dominion over Arthur, the Demon hovered above Dian's body. Although her heart had been pulled out, her soul was still intact. Demons prefer fresh souls, and they also love sucking it out of a body. A weird Demon thing, if you will.
The Demon's bloated belly began to crack horizontally and after a while, the crack parted and a mouth with countless teeth appeared. It didn't take long before a suction power appeared. The Demon was about to devour Dian's soul when it stopped all of a sudden. It turned its body with stiffness toward Arthur who was slowly standing up.
Arthur's teeth became jagged as he flashed a smile toward the Demon. He looked haggard but that didn't stop him from smiling brightly like a child as he slowly reverted into a Vampire.
"Surprised? Me too." Arthur slowly walked closer to the Demon who was too stunned to think. It was a low-level Demon in the end. It mostly moved based on instinct and its instinct was screaming like crazy. I had only one thought, it's that Arthur was dangerous. The Demon slowly felt the atmosphere of death around like that of Purgatory as it watched Arthur approaches.
"I didn't think it would be this broken. It's not fully unlocked yet but it's already this powerful." Arthur continued as he moved closer and closer. The Demon didn't have an ounce of a clue as to what Arthur was mumbling about. It was focused on Arthur's move, every step he took shook the Demon's very core.
'Devil Origin Physique with the core ability Hell's Messiah. Truly marvelous!'
Arthur thought joyously as he clenched his hands. It wasn't the first time he had unlocked this Physique, so he knew how powerful this was.
In his previous life, or to be exact in the future, he would unlock it after forming a contract with a powerful Devil. At that time, he was already quite powerful. But his power wasn't enough to contest the beings that descended from beyond. In his search for more power, Arthur came to know a group of Devil and Demonic worshipers. He secretly joined them and learned their ways. He studied every text and tried countless experiments on how to escape or maneuver around the branding of the Soul.
The sole hurdle in escaping a Demon's clutches.
Eventually he managed to find a way, but the cost was high. To successfully escape the branding of the soul he had to sacrifice one of his physiques. He would let the sacrificial Physique take the burden as he uses it as a conduit to suck all the Demon's power using another Physique. That was the plan.
Even if the Demon retaliates using the Soul brand it wouldn't affect Arthur, only the sacrificial Physique. Although it pained him to sacrifice such a unique constitution, it was necessary.
A physique was not something like grass that could grow anytime, and he didn't know if he would be able to unlock it again once it was destroyed. It was a precious power, so he didn't want to use it on low-level demons.
The price was high, but the reward was higher.
The next step was making contact with a high-level Demon. He didn't dare make a contract with a Devil since these beings carried a status higher than Demons. They were also more powerful than Demons so the condition to summon one was higher and riskier. His goal was to stay unnoticed while gaining power. Summoning a Devil would make all of his plans fall to ruins.
Also, his method of escaping the Soul Branding had a high chance of success if the target was a Demon. If the target was a Devil, then the percentage of success will drop greatly. He also hadn't had the chance to experiment with low-level Devils since there are very few of them. This fact made Devils always keep tabs on each other, so it was hard to meet one.
In Hell, a Devil will always be above a Demon, that was the absolute fact in that realm. Their power gap was simply insurmountable. But even so, there was one being who managed to break this hierarchy. In all of Hell's history, there was only one Demon that became a Devil. And it wasn't just a normal Devil, the Demon-turned-Devil was more powerful than the majority of the Devil. It was only below The Profane Seven.
And Arthur had made contact with that very Being. It wasn't his intention and was simply a miscalculation. Without any room for escape and to not disrespect the Devil in front of him and anger it, Arthur steeled his resolve and signed a contract with the said Devil. He refrained from attempting to escape the Branding of the Soul and just let it happen. Any sign of action would be surely noticed by the Godlike Devil, so it was futile.
But in the end, Arthur wasn't someone who would accept being under anyone. Before the contract was signed, he made some modifications to it as he bargained with the Devil. He clung to the little hope he might have to escape in the near future.
As the contract was being carried out, to his surprise, Arthur felt something as the brand was being etched into his soul. A feeling that he was very familiar with, an ember. The birth of a new Physique and the trigger was the Soul Branding he had tried so arduously to escape from. After the Brand was etched into his soul Arthur felt something was still missing. It was a feeling that he knew too well. The Physique wasn't fully awake yet. There was still a missing condition that he had yet to figure out. But in the meantime, he had to familiarize himself with becoming a Devil's Servant. One of the key things he found out as he served the Devil, was that he wasn't bound to the it. He could escape whenever he wanted, but in the end, he stayed to learn and discover more. An ancient being was his master so it should be fruitful to stay.
The Devil also seemed oblivious to the snake it had taken in, it didn't feel anything amiss.
There should've been a mysterious power that compelled Arthur to obey his "Master" but there was nothing, nonetheless, Arthur still obeyed and showed absolute servitude. Also, thoughts of betrayal will be met with painful agony but even after thinking of killing or scheming against his "Master" Arthur felt no backlash. His Devil Master was also weird. It simply wanted Arthur to search for meal recipes to indulge in. He was sent to different worlds in the process. A story for the future…
But eventually, that day came…
Arthur was invited to Hell by his "Master". After going through the gate, he felt something inside him change, a name manifested in his mind, and he knew then and there that his unnamed and asleep Physique had been fully unlocked and awakened. After that, he faked his death and changed his appearance, and concealed himself once more…