An elegant black SUV meandered to the outskirts of Alves City. The driver, Alysia, tapped her fingers against the wheel with her eyebrows knitted, lost in thought.
After another twenty minutes of driving, she brought the vehicle to a halt in front of a massive white building surrounded by regular fencing.
Parking her car in an empty space, she made her way to the building.
However, when she passed through the gate, she sensed her entire body being scanned by an invisible power. It lasted briefly, leaving her slightly dizzy before the sensation dissipated.
"Ugh, this weird witchcraft thing just never sits right with me. Feels so creepy," Alysia grumbled under her breath as she stepped into the house.
The interior unfolded into an average-sized hall, adorned with bookshelves scattered around, giving the place a library-like vibe.
From one of the corridors emerged a brown-haired beauty with delicate curves, messy hair and enunciated under-eye bags. She cast a glance at the visitor with tired eyes and greeted with a yawn, "Good morning."
"It's already noon," Mouth twitching, Alysia quipped.
"Huh? Noon already?" Agatha scratched her tousled hair, looking genuinely confused.
"Did you pull an all-nighter on your research again?" Alysia asked, an amused smile playing on her lips as she approached Agatha.
Agatha nodded listlessly. "Hmm. Are you looking for Master?"
"Yeah, is he around?" Alysia inquired.
"When I woke up, Master was already gone," Agatha replied and dragged her feet lazily down another corridor.
Alysia followed behind, disappointment etched across her face. "Just when I have so much to consult him about," she sighed.
"What's the issue you want to discuss with Master?" Agatha asked without turning her head. "Maybe I can offer you some help."
"Well, it's like this," Alysia began, narrating the peculiar details of her contract with Austin, explaining its mutated nature and laying out the specifics.
Agatha nodded along initially, but as Alysia delved into more intricate details, her drowsiness vanished, replaced by sheer bewilderment. "Equality Contract? Sensory Sharing? Mutual Enhancement Link?"
"What the heck are these features?"
"That was pretty much my reaction when I first found out!" Alysia cried out, relieved to find someone reacting similarly.
"That's impossible. I've never heard of a contract with so many features," Agatha shakes her head.
"But it's the truth. Even now, I can feel feedback that continues to nurture my physique from the other contractor," Alysia explained, a hint of helplessness in her voice.
"But that's just not possible. The ingredients I sent to you were meant for a Servant-Master Contract. If the contract became something else like an Equality Contract, then the ingredients needed for the ritual will also be different." Agatha continues to shake her head.
"Are you sure you got the ingredients right?" Alysia had initially assumed Merlin himself had chosen the ingredients, but discovering it was Agatha, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of suspicion. The lady just seemed too unreliable!
"One hundred percent!" Agatha said convincingly. However, seeing doubt in Alysia's eyes, she added, "If you're not sure, then come with me to the surveillance room."
"Surveillance room?" Alysia thought she had misheard until Agatha led her into a room with a multitude of monitors stationed.
Alysia couldn't have been more shocked. "What the hell? You're a witch, aren't you? Shouldn't you have, like, an Evil Copper Mirror or an Eye Ward, or something similar?"
Agatha shrugged nonchalantly. "Why go for the difficult when there's an easier method? Human inventions like CCTV are more cost-effective than our witchcraft. Not to mention, searching for the exotic materials to build those artifacts is difficult now that the Church has expanded its influence to America."
"True..." Alysia couldn't agree more.
Five minutes later.
"See, I chose the right ingredients, right?" Agatha spread her hands innocently.
"Then, maybe the problem lies with me?" Alysia fell into contemplation.
"Why don't we go to your mansion together? Didn't you say the magic circle changed in the middle of the ritual? Perhaps, I can find some clues there," Agatha suggested.
"You're right." Alysia nodded and then remembered another important question. "Oh, and I almost forgot. Do you think you can check on the Seven Deadly Sins' condition?"
"What do you mean?" Agatha asked puzzledly.
"It's like this..." Alysia began to recount Austin's circumstances.
After a while, Agatha couldn't contain her disbelief. "That's absurd!"
"Reincarnated Demons only came into existence a few hundred years ago because High-Ranked Demons desired their Demon Servants, much like Vampires have Blood Servants. Even then, after numerous experiments, it was mostly unsuccessful. The breakthrough only occurred when they came into contact with Witches, which allowed the two parties to establish contact with the third party, the Seven Deadly Sins, turning the concept of Reincarnated Demons into a reality."
"However, due to the conditions set by the Seven Deadly Sins, nurturing Reincarnated Demons proved incredibly difficult. To gain the approval of just one Sin could take an agonizingly long time. After all, with a physique akin to that of a slightly superior human, what could they possibly do to accumulate numerous sins in the presence of Church members and other far more powerful supernatural beings? The likelihood of them ending up as cannon fodder seems more probable than the chance of them succeeding!"
"If I'm not mistaken, the Reincarnated Demon that secured the approval of 'just' one Sin in the quickest time within the past five hundred years did so in one year. And that only happened because the Reincarnated Demons in question were the servants of one of the Dukes of the Infernal Realm, one of the tops of the 72 Demon Pillars, Valefor!"
"As for the majority of Reincarnated Demons, it takes them longer, ranging from a few years to dozens of years!"
"Now, you're telling me someone gained the approval of the Sin of Pride in less than two hours? And he did it just by being cocky in front of some humans? How is that even possible?" Agatha exclaimed, her disbelief deepening.
"But that's exactly what happened," Alysia replied, letting out a helpless laugh.
"Take me to him. I want to see this guy. Not only did his presence lead to a modification in the contract between you guys, but he also gained the approval of the Sin of Pride in less than two hours. There must be something unique about him," Agatha insisted.
"Shouldn't we check the Seven Deadly Sins' conditions first?" Alysia asked.
"From the looks of it, you still don't understand the true nature of the Seven Deadly Sins, huh?" Agatha shook her head.
"What do you mean?" Alysia asked, genuinely confused.
"The Seven Deadly Sins are among the oldest beings in the universe. Do you really think such entities could get into trouble? And even if they did, do you believe the world would be oblivious to it? If they were in any trouble, we would naturally sense it first. Since there's no such ominous feeling, it means they're fine," Agatha explained.
Alysia knew she was like a kindergarten student in front of a researcher witch like Agatha. So, she could only nod her head in agreement with her explanation.
"Let me pack my things first, then we'll go," Agatha said, seemingly excited.
As Alysia watched Agatha leave the room, she dialed Austin's number.
...
When Alysia called Austin, he was in the middle of doing something.
"Ah! Brother, I'm about to come!"
"Wait, Satella, don't!"
"Ah, I couldn't hold it any longer, brother! I'm coming!"
"Ahh!"
The screen immediately showed Satella's character charging into the room with an assault rifle, shooting mindlessly.
Tatatatata!
Tatatatata!
"Hehe, brother, I got one kill!" Satella turned to Austin with a look that begged for praise.
On the other side, Austin looked at his screen blankly.
[You've been killed by your teammate (Demon_Killer?)]
[Please wait for the next round to respawn.]
He then turned to Satella, whose expression was a mix of joy, shyness, and pride.
He could feel his heart aching, but he didn't show it. "Good job, Satella," he said, patting her head, which she gladly accepted.
She squirmed under his palm and revealed a brilliant but shy smile.