158 It's Better This Way
Asher raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised by Grace’s revelation, “You don’t strike me as a kidnapper, Grace,” he said while taking a good look at the two girls and asked them, “What are your names?”
“O-Oni…” The girls mumbled in fear, though the one with the bob hair shielded the other girl by crouching in front of her with a fierce yet trembling gaze, as if trying to protect her from the demonic doll in front of them.
Grace scoffed, rolling her eyes at Asher’s comment, “Oh, how funny of you to say that,” she replied sarcastically and added, “I found these girls when that little bastard Tristan was about to sell them to someone who’s probably working for a very powerful organization. There were originally five girls, but now only these two are left.”
Asher crossed his arms, his expression turning serious. “And how exactly is that my concern? Why did you even bring them here? I’m not running a charity cult here. You better get rid of them since you brought them here,” Asher could see why Grace didn’t leave them there, but that didn’t mean he wanted to take in these two.
Even if they were Hunters, he can’t afford to spare any more resources.
Grace smirked, clearly anticipating Asher’s reaction. “I knew you’d say that,” she said, “but don’t be so hasty. Hear me out. These girls have Metamagic pathways, specializing in Lifeweaving powers. They can heal and strengthen not only themselves but others as well. And guess what? They’re both at level 15, even if they aren’t full-fledged Hunters. They could be quite useful to both of us.”
Asher had his brows raised upon hearing her words.
He knew Metamagic was a broad category that allows a person to manipulate or modify an object or even a living being.
And Lifeweaving was an incredibly rare and powerful ability within the realm of metamagic because it involved the delicate manipulation of the very essence of life itself. Those gifted with Lifeweaving can directly influence the life force of living beings, using their magical abilities. This was why people with such abilities were highly sought after in a squad, especially the Elite ones.
His interest was piqued, but since he found this surprising, he asked, “Alright, but how did they end up here if they’re not exactly useless?”
Asher thought that people with such special abilities surely wouldn’t get sold off that easily. They must have families who wouldn’t sit still.
Grace sighed, her voice taking on a somber tone, “In some ways, our world isn’t as good as it seems on the outside. In the darkness of our world, things like this happen every day. I’ve heard of trafficking cases involving manaborn people, especially young, gifted ones like these two who were probably born in manaless families due to some miracle. The families then are ready to sell them for either financial or other reasons, thinking they’re getting a very good deal. Because of this, these two girls have nowhere to go and are abandoned. Nobody is waiting for them back home, and even if they go back, someone else will take advantage of them.”
Asher realized that he was truly blind in his past life. He never thought things would be this bad in this world, making him feel like laughing at himself.
He was now seeing more and more of the twisted side of the world he was once part of.
Grace locked eyes with Asher, her determination unwavering. “So, I’ll handle them. You have nothing to worry about.”
Asher scoffed, clearly skeptical of Grace’s intentions, “You really expect me to believe that? There’s no way I can just ignore this,” he said, his mind already set on a plan. “I’ll demonize them and see how it goes.”
Grace furrowed her brows, as Asher planned to demonize them just like she feared.
She knew the demonization process would cause the girls to start dying from within, and they were far too young to endure such a fate.
She wanted to protect them and quickly spoke up, “I advise you to not demonize them. Their Lifeweaving abilities will lose most of their effectiveness if demonic power corrupts their bodies. If that happens, they’ll be useless to you. Moreover, it would be wise to have people in your cult who aren’t demonized. You also wouldn’t have to spend any extra resources on them. So you aren’t really losing out on anything.”
Asher squinted his eyes, seeing that Grace was trying to stop him from demonizing the two, “I know. What I meant was I want to make them my Soulservants.”
He knew Radiant mana was the only thing that could fuel Lifeweaving powers with maximum efficiency.
However, this would also mean that they wouldn’t earn him any life crystals even if they become his Soulservants. But he felt they wouldn’t earn much for him anyway.
They would be better off supporting Grace. At least he wouldn’t have to spend more Life Crystals on her, just in case. It was better this way.
And so he added, “I don’t have to demonize them completely to make them my Soulservants. I’ll just make them sign a contract to sell their souls to me. That way, I’ll never have to question their loyalty. And it’ll help us communicate, since they clearly don’t speak the common language fluently, and I don’t speak Japanese.”
Grace had no choice but to agree, knowing this was the best outcome she could hope for under the circumstances. She just hoped the girls won’t end up in a worse state, even with their souls bound to Asher.
However, after interacting with this young demon named Asher so far, she felt he wasn’t at least the worst kind.
She had come upon enough demons in her lifetime to differentiate between evil and the ones who weren’t outright evil.
Still, the fact that he didn’t refute her advise and also mentioned that he already knew made her feel a bit surprised. After all, most people, be it the human or demon world, were ignorant of how mana circuits work.
This made her wonder about his origins.
“But wait, how are you going to look after them? You are dirt poor now, in case you forgot,” Asher commented as he raised a brow.
Grace smirked, clearly amused by Asher’s concern. She pulled out a black metal card and waved it in front of him with a smug look, “Someone was kind enough to offer me 50,000 mana shards.”
Asher’s eyes widened in surprise at the mention of such a staggering amount of mana shards. He knew that it was no small sum, even for a decently wealthy family.
Mana shards were not only valuable but also incredibly powerful, comparable to the coveted life crystals in the demon world. These crystallized mana energy sources served as currency and a versatile means for hunters to power magical items, enhance objects, and replenish their mana reserves.
Although mana shards couldn’t increase a person’s life span like Life Crystals, they held a unique set of advantages exclusive to the human world. For instance, a level 5 Health Potion from the demon world would never match the effectiveness of its human world counterpart, thanks to the power of mana shards.
A chuckle escaped Asher as he thought about the irony of the situation. “Dead men are most kind, indeed,” he commented, “Let me guess, the man you killed was the one Tristan was going to sell these girls to? Who was he?”
Asher knew she killed a powerhouse since he received a lot of life crystals as a lump sum at one point and knew she reaped the soul of someone quite powerful.
Grace nonchalantly shrugged and said, “I have no idea who he is, but his name was Samuel or something. He did try to threaten me by saying that he was working for somebody I shouldn’t mess with. But I killed him before he could continue blabbering since all that doesn’t matter. If—”
“Wait, wait. Did you just say you killed Samuel, the Earthshaker?” Asher asked with furrowed brows since this name wasn’t foreign to him.
The name was far from unfamiliar to him; Samuel was a high-profile Hunter and a loyal servant to an elite family – the Stan Family. The same family that Lenny Stan belonged to!
Grace, noticing Asher’s reaction, asked with curiosity, “How do you know that guy?” She was surprised because Asher was too young and weak to be associated with someone like Samuel. They couldn’t have possibly crossed paths.
Asher waved off her inquiry with a dismissive gesture. “I just know,” he said, leaving it at that. Grace could tell he wasn’t willing to reveal more about his connection to Samuel.
Inwardly, Asher couldn’t help but think that having Samuel alive would have been a valuable asset. However, he knew that it was an unrealistic expectation.
Changing the subject, he asked Grace, “Did you find any information from Gary that could connect him to Samuel?”
Grace shook her head, her expression turning serious, “No, I found nothing of the sort. I did uncover some other shady deals with various parties, but people like Samuel are careful. They don’t leave traces.”
Grace couldn’t help but feel that this young demon had some kind of mystery surrounding him.
Still, she knew it wasn’t her business and had enough sense to not pry into it.
“Forget it. What I learned from you is more than enough for now,” Asher mumbled as the lips of his doll body formed an eerie smile.
ƥαṇdαηθνε|
But the fact that Lenny was trying to buy five young girls illegally was enough to tell him a lot.
Asher pushed his thoughts about Samuel and Lenny aside, shifting his focus to the two young girls.
He asked Grace, “So will you be able to talk to them and tell them what they have to do now? “
Grace smiled confidently. “I know enough Japanese to communicate with them. I’ve stayed in Japan many times with my aunt.”
Asher nodded but then raised another concern. “That’s all well and good, but what if they refuse to sign the contract?”
Grace understood the unspoken threat in his question, “Leave that to me,” she assured him, “I’ll make sure they sign without any problems.”
Asher watched as Grace approached the two frightened girls, who seemed to be less scared of her than they were of him. He knew it must be because she talked to them before they arrived here.
Though he couldn’t understand their conversation, he observed Grace comforting the girls in a gentle, soothing voice, much like a caring grandmother would. Perhaps it was her own experience as a grandmother that made her feel protective of the young girls.
He asked Grace whether she could convince them to sign because the way these Reaping Contracts worked was that no demon could force a human to sign it, indirectly or directly. So even if a demon holds a blade to their neck and tells them to sign, the contract won’t work even if the human signed it.
For it to work, the person who signs it should sign it with the intent to fulfill one of their deepest desires. Otherwise, they can’t sell their soul.
These two girls didn’t seem desperate for his power nor did they seem like doing any kind of dealings with him, obviously.
This was why he had doubts on whether these girls would be able to sign the contract.
From time to time, the girls cast timid, skeptical glances at Asher while softly conversing with Grace. He knew they wouldn’t want to make any deals with a demon like him, but they had little choice in their vulnerable situation. He was prepared to do whatever was necessary incase this didn’t work out.
Finally, Grace stood up, helping the girls to their feet as well. She looked at Asher and said with a subtle smile, “They’re willing to sign the contract. You can go ahead.”
Asher subtly raised his brows, wondering what Grace told them.
However, he felt that Common Grade contracts would do for now. He snapped his fingers as two scrolls appeared in his hands, and he gestured to them to take them.
The girls exchanged a nervous glance, the gravity of the moment weighing heavily upon them.
Their hands trembled as they took the scrolls from Asher, their fingers brushing against the rough parchment.
As they unrolled the contracts, their eyes widened in surprise; the letters on the scrolls seemed to morph before their very eyes, changing into a language they could understand. It was as if the contracts were sentient, adapting to their needs and ensuring they comprehended the contents.
After reading it thoroughly, everything seemed just like what Grace told them.
They didn’t know if selling their souls to this enigmatic demon was the right choice, but they also didn’t want to go back to the hell they came from. Maybe things will be better for them, just like Grace said.
All they wanted was to never worry if they were going to die or end up in a situation worse than death every day.
And so, taking a deep breath, they each pricked their fingers against the sharp edge of the scrolls.
A sharp sting accompanied the sensation, and they winced, their eyes shimmering with unshed tears.
Holding their breath, they watched as a single drop of their blood welled up on their fingertips, shimmering in the dim light. They hesitated for a moment, their gazes locked on the crimson droplets before finally allowing their blood to fall onto the scrolls.
As soon as the blood made contact with the parchment, the contracts came to life, glowing with a dark, ominous light.
The girls’ eyes widened in awe and fear as the light pulsed and shimmered, as if acknowledging the bond that had just been formed. The contracts seemed to drink in the blood, the once-visible droplets disappearing into the parchment as the glow intensified.
And then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the eerie light faded. Soon enough, the scrolls also vanished into nothingness.
Asher was impressed that Grace really managed to convince them.
[ You have successfully gained two Soulservants ]
[ +200 Rating Points ]
[ Rating Increased : 1122 -> 1322 / 688 ]
Name: Emiko
Level: 15
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Name: Yui
Level: 15
–
He never expected he would be gaining two new members to his cult so soon. However, he was looking forward to how his cult was going to grow from here on. He surely would need it to fulfill the plans he had for certain people.