Chapter 387: The Contract with Death

“I accept the deal, but only with the system as the official intermediary.” Allison said.

Shit. No. Don’t.

Luke felt the mana gather in the arrow. The current flowed up from the core of his soul, racing through his limbs until it pooled in his hand. It was alive and hot, pulsing in time with his heartbeat. The energy coalesced around the projectile; with each passing second the charge thickened, the air itself trembling around it.

“And so it shall be, through the System,” the archangel declared.

“What are you doing, Rhiannon?” Erza snapped, irritation sharpening her tone. “Giving up that easily?”

The archangel strode forward until he stood before Allison. The scrape of his stone wings against the floor sent a metallic whisper through the hall, and he turned a cold gaze on Erza.

“Anyone who interrupts my conversation will die,” he said, his voice ringing through the chamber. The words carried impatience, but beneath it lay a threat as heavy as a blade.

He shifted his attention back to Allison and the others.

“The System will mediate. Do you accept the terms? It will be simple. If you refuse, I will have to kill. I cannot risk anything.”

“No killing,” Allison answered, voice steady. “I will only accept the deal if no one is killed.”

The archangel exhaled slowly, annoyed, then nodded.

“Then they must agree to the contract. But first, you must accept the terms officially. Squeeze my hand to seal it; I do not want you to change your mind afterward.”

Allison drew a slow breath. For a flicker of a moment her eyes wavered, fear, doubt, resignation, then she lifted her hand.

[Are you going to let Allison Rhiannon be sacrificed?]

A notification bloomed in front of Luke. It was nothing like the usual system windows. This one felt almost alive, woven from pale, twisting filaments that darkened toward their edges, as if stitched from the thread of his own thoughts. It hit him in that raw, predatory part of his mind.

[ARE YOU REALLY GOING TO LET ALLISON RHIANNON BE SACRIFICED?]

The message flashed in huge, brutal letters, hovering inches from his face. Luke’s heart tore in his chest.

No.

The scream did not leave his throat; it rose from somewhere deeper. He watched Allison, her hand poised to close the pact with the archangel. Every muscle in his body tightened.

There would not be enough time. The mana he had gathered still needed seconds, seconds he did not have. Desperation burned hot and sharp in his chest. He moved to improvise, to do whatever it took.

At the very moment he was about to act, Allison froze. Her hand hung suspended in the air, a breath away from the archangel’s palm.

“What are you doing?” he demanded, impatient. “Come on, do it. You have to seal the agreement with your own will!”

Allison looked at him, calm, but her eyes contained something deep and unspoken.

“Before I accept the deal,” she said quietly, “may I ask one last question?”

The archangel ground his teeth. The sound was half stone, half flesh, like rock trying to split. Impatience flickered across his face, but he forced his voice into control.

“You may,” he replied, the restraint barely holding back the storm beneath.

Allison drew a long breath before she spoke. The silence stretched until it felt too long, everyone holding their breath, waiting for the next move.

“Once you’re inside my body, the agreement that stops your current body from killing them won’t apply anymore. It doesn’t extend to mine, does it?”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

The hall fell utterly still. Even the air seemed to hesitate, thick and heavy. Every pair of eyes turned to the archangel.

“What a pity,” he said at last, his voice low, almost a whisper. “I was nearly fooling you.”

The motion came suddenly. He lifted his spear, the metal flashing cold and precise.