"Do you have it?" He asked. Sylvia was standing behind him, staring intimidatingly at Naamah.
"I do. Here you go," the blue-haired pure demon said handing a small box to him. "You know," Naamah started. "I have no idea why Alastair decided to follow you. You might not even be the real Dark Majesty and even if you are, you're human now. He could easily kill you and yet, he decides to follow you ... and how do you repay him? Giving full control of Hel to Lilith," Naamah stated defiantly.
Sylvia moved to step between the both of them but he raised his hand, gesturing for the mage to stand her ground.
"Perhaps you should kill me then; take control of Hel and rule the realm with your brother," he suggested.
"Perhaps I should," said the pure demon. "But Alastair would kill me," she stated.
"Hm," he scoffed. "Allow me to make this clear then: if you speak to me in that manner ever again, not even Alastair would be able to save you from me," he stated.
.
.
.
[Saw some more of my memories?]
'Yeah. How could you tell?'
[You've been standing in the same spot for some time now. What did you see?]
'You and Sylvia and Naamah in Hel. Naamah was acting very confident until you threatened her ... I think I've figured out who you are.'
[You have?]
'Yeah. You're an immortal being. Whenever you die, you reappear in a thousand years or so as a different order. Horatius was your pure demon form, Cal-Ra was your human form, and now Waleed is your demon necromancer form. Am I wrong?'
[No. But you're not right either.]
'How close to the truth am I?'
[You're like --]
"Hey! You good?" Ishani asked. "You've been standing still for a while."
"Just feeling a bit lightheaded," Hunter said before walking up to the side of the Indo-African woman. The duo were now in Vali's compound which was large with several crows flying in circles above them.
One of the crows flies down to a nearby tree. "Need? Need?!" The crow shouted.
"Is that a talking bird?" Ishani queried.
"I mean ... At this point, why not?" Hunter responded.
"Need? Neeeed?" The crow persisted.
"Err ... We are looking for the Master of the Paper," Hunter replied.
"In—side!" The crow stated.
The school of mysticism students walked past the tree and through the large door and into the great hall. It was decorated with rows and rows of parchments and papers and scrolls; All of the contracts Vali had made over the years, displayed for his visitors to see.
The pure demon's voice was the first thing they heard from a room beyond the hall. "You're Earthlings are you not? Let me guess, you are here to ask me to help you get back to your realm," he said.
The duo moved to the room where they heard the voice from. The room was also decorated with several contracts and in the middle of the room was a beautifully crafted couch, and on that couch was Vali. The pure demon had smooth whale-like skin, a long slender humanoid body, curving horns, and a blank expanse of flesh where one would expect a face to be.
Hunter could hear Ishani gasp behind him but the sprite quickly spoke before the pure demon could make anything of it. "Actually no," he said. "We're here because of Naamah," the sprite stated.
"I see. What exactly do you want?" The pure demon asks as he got up from the couch he was sitting on and walks up to the sprite.
"We need her help but we know your contract with her forbids her from helping us or something. We came here to ask you to let her help us," Hunter said.
"Hm ... How about something better? I hand you Naamah's contract ... for a price of course," Vali stated. As if on cue, one of his many crows flies towards them, holding a parchment with its beak.
"Can't say that wasn't expected," Hunter sighed. "What could I offer you for the contract?" The sprite asked.
"Your soul," the pure demon replied almost immediately.
"Err ... No. I like having my soul," Hunter refused.
"Then you have no idea what Naamah gave up to me," said the pure demon.
"Really? By all means, enlighten me!" Hunter said.
Vali laughs before moving back to his couch and taking a seat. "I don't want your soul right now," he said. "I want your soul when you die," he explained.
"No," Hunter refused.
"Then there's no point having this discussion. Leave now!" Vali said.
"What if I take the contract with me?" Hunter said, his eyes shifting from the bird to the exit.
"We can spend all day talking about hypotheticals but you'd be a fool if you believe you can leave this building with anything but your lives - and that is if I'm feeling merciful," said the master of the paper. "Look around you," he continued, pointing to the millions of scrolls and papers that were arranged on thousands of shelves from the room to each side of the great hall. "Billions of creatures - humans and mystics - have given to me something important to them and that has made me the most powerful being in all the realms. I could kill you both using no more than a fraction of my power," he boasted.
"Impressive." Hunter sighed. "Fine, let's do it."
"What the hell?" Ishani chipped. "This has got to be the worst bargain ever," she stated. "You don't even know the terms of the agreement," she added.
"It's fine," Hunter said. "I'm sure Mr. Vali over here didn't agree to a bad deal with Naamah," said Hunter.
"Not at all," the pure demon smiles. "If it makes the missus feel any better, I have already paid my dues which means Naamah would be the one in your debt."
"Yeah, yeah. Just so we are clear: you're transferring your agreement with Naamah to me so it would be as though I am the one she signed the contract with," Hunter said.
"And in return, your soul would float over to me when you die," Vali said.
"I must warn you though, I do not intend on dying anytime soon," Hunter said.
"I have the time; I'll wait," he stated. "So, have we reached an agreement?" The master of the paper asked.
[Not yet ...]
"One more thing," the sprite said.
"What?" Vali frowned.
"You cannot do anything that would directly or indirectly lead to my death," Hunter stated.
Vali smiles. "Then we have a deal," he stated.
...
The duo walked out of the main room and back to Vali's compound. "Let's see what you just gave up heaven for," Ishani said snatching the parchment from his hands. She rolls it open and reads the contract. "Oh my God!"
"What?"
"She agreed that she can't do anything in Hel without his permission and if she ever leave Hel for another realm she must return after 3 months in that realm's time. As for her movements outside Hel, she can do as she pleases but must put whatever he asks of her as her priority. Additionally, if he dies, she dies too."
"Holy cow! And what did she get in return?" Hunter queried.
"That's the most shocking part, she just wanted him to open a portal to Earth."
"Huh? That's such a trivial request for such huge consequences. Plus I remember Bahajid saying she knows the spell to bypass Lilith's travel ban so why would she agree to all this?"
.
.
.
"I can't help you," said Naamah rolling her eyes as the Metropolitan School of Mysticism students walked into the building.
"Yes you will," Hunter said. "Our contract clearly states that as long as you're in Hel I can ask you to do whatever," the sprite stated.
"Our contract? Vali transferred the right of ownership to you?" She asked.
"Indeed, he did," the sprite replied.
"And what exactly did you offer him?"
"Nothing too important," Hunter stated.
"Heh," she laughs. "I'm surprised you figured out I was under contract, given how vague I was about it. I thought you'd already be on Nym'Roal by now," she stated. "I guess my brother knows better than to send some fool over here," she added.
"And I thought you'd know better than to sign your life away," Hunter stated.
"It doesn't matter what happens here," said the blue-haired pure demon. "It would be well worth it," she added.
"What could be so good that you agree to become Vali's puppet?"
"Well, I'm your puppet now," she stated. "And like I said: it doesn't matter."
"What's Nym'Roal?" Ishani chipped.
"Your dimension, Earth; It's known as Nym'Roal in the mystic world," Naamah stated before jumping down from her throne and moving towards Hunter. "So, Master," she whispered into the sprite's ear. "About your friend, I know exactly where she is."
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