TBR CH40

Chapter 40: The Demon Contract

The candlelight in the room flickered. Following the markings on the parchment scroll, the candles were arranged in a specific pattern on the cold marble floor.

Edwin already had the habit of keeping his doors and windows tightly shut. Now, with the deep purple curtains of the church drawn, not a single gust of wind could leak into the room.

His movements were meticulous. The summoning circle he drew and the contract book had no errors. The swaying candlelight illuminated half of his face, while the other half was plunged into shadow.

No matter what, his gray eyes seemed as if they would never be illuminated, now appearing more like an endless vortex.

The Bishop knelt on the ground and lit the last candle. Then, he felt the wound he had just cut open with a silver dagger to let out blood begin to grow warm. The silver coin in the palm of his left hand now sizzled as if it were melting.

But even so, he still held it tightly.

The summoning circle on the ground emitted a bright red light. The blood on the ground, which had been almost dry, now looked as fresh as if it had just gushed from a blood vessel.

Then, all the candles went out.

Night had long since fallen, but this was the first time Edwin had felt the thickness of the darkness. In the dense darkness before him, he heard footsteps, though they were very light.

Something was alive, sharing the room with him.

It was quiet all around, until Edwin was found.

It was as if his heart was suddenly gripped tightly. When the demon’s knuckles touched the human bishop’s face, he still felt a strong palpitation.

This was not an emotional reaction, but a physiological resistance.

Demons hated to be looked at directly.

Edwin barely recalled the contents of the book and closed his gray eyes. He felt the demon’s fingers roam over his face, forcing him to tilt his face up slightly, revealing his appearance completely.

The other was sizing him up. He tried his best to appear humble and cautious, but heard a very slight chuckle.

“The Great Archbishop of the Church of Light…”

It was like a mockery, yet also like talking to himself. He heard the demon before him comment, “You have a soul destined to fall. What it desires is the heaviest and lightest thing in this world. Stop pretending to be humble. You don’t believe in gods at all. Your desires and ambitions are endless.”

Being mentioned by his status in such a situation was not a good thing. Instead, it further emphasized the absurdity of the scene.

“Since you have a request for me, then, state your wish, dear Bishop,” Edwin faintly felt that something was not right, as if it had exceeded his expectations, and things were sliding in an unpredictable direction.

But everything was progressing smoothly so far. He couldn’t think of anything else he had to lose.

So he said, “I have some enemies.”

He heard another light laugh, the end of the sound slightly sweet and regretful, his face being ambiguously caressed. “I’m afraid it’s more than just ‘some’.”

“Yes,” Edwin admitted. “The situation seems acceptable for now, but I’m not sure how bad my situation will be after certain things are revealed.”

Even with his eyes closed, he could feel the weight of the other’s gaze.

Had his secret already been seen through?

The candles in the room had gone out. It was already pitch black. Even if he opened his eyes, he might not be able to see the demon before him clearly.

But the Bishop’s eyelids still trembled slightly. He silently sent out a probing gaze, but directly met that pair of ruby-like eyes.

No matter what, Edwin pursed his lips. Hearing no response, he continued. “I must get rid of my current situation, hold on to my current authority, and climb to a position higher than now.”

“Allow me to remind you,” the demon used an honorific, but it didn’t sound very respectful, only like a tease. “Above the position of Cardinal, there is only the Pope. Or do you have greater ambitions?”

“…The royal family.” Edwin said in a low voice, his expression unchanged. The steps from Bishop to Pope were already extremely difficult to climb to the top.

And he seemed not to realize how terrible the words he had just spoken were.

He heard the demon before him couldn’t help but laugh. “I now know why you have so many enemies.”

“Alright,” the devil’s fingers were about to touch his lips. Edwin had never been so close to anyone before. At this moment, he forcefully suppressed the impulse to dodge and maintained his kneeling posture, his back still straight. “Making a deal with a demon comes at a price, my dear Bishop. What can you give me?”

This was a negotiation. When Edwin realized this, his whole body tensed up.

Although, for this question, what he was worried about was not how much he could keep, but how much he could give.

“Everything,” the Bishop finally opened his eyes frankly. His gray pupils were like the smoke born from a scorching fire, spreading endlessly. “What I have now, what I will have, my complete soul, for you to take as you please.”

What a declaration.

Apparently, even the demon before him now had a new understanding of the words “by any means necessary.”

The demon, no, Tarksius, snapped his fingers gently.

Edwin felt his whole body burning, and could even hear the sound of his blood boiling. His clenched left hand involuntarily loosened, and the silver coin fell, but he did not hear the clatter of it hitting the ground. Instead, it appeared in Tarksius’s palm.

He sized up the silver coin. It had the face of the king who currently ruled the empire.

The moment the demon took the silver coin, it symbolized that he had accepted the summoner’s conditions. Now, their souls were bound together by a deal.

The Bishop could very clearly feel that his soul had established a link with the other. This strange feeling made him couldn’t help but cover his heart with his hand.

Edwin knew: the contract could not be revoked, could not be changed.

But unfortunately, that was only on the surface.

Not to mention that as the Dark God, this contract book aimed at the demon Tar had long been ineffective for him. Even if it were effective, with his strength, he could rewrite the soul contract with a flick of his finger.

As for the demon Tar…

Edwin suddenly raised his eyes. The heat in his eyes had not yet faded, but he stared intently at the demon before him.

There was something wrong. This naked premonition finally crawled up his spine, scalding hot.

“You…”

“I’ve been found out,” the demon curled his lips. His crimson pupils flickered in the darkness, like the clearest wine. And Edwin finally realized the source of the confusion that had been haunting him. The usually calm and self-possessed Bishop’s pupils constricted slightly.

Tarksius spread his hands, a look of regret on his face, but it was only superficial, not what he truly felt. “I’m sorry, Bishop. I think you’ve chosen the wrong summoning target.”

Edwin had already realized this at this moment.

The moment their souls linked, he had clearly felt the power of the other’s soul. It was not the overwhelming demonic power of a lord-level or above that he had hoped for. It was much weaker, far weaker.

The demon before him had disguised himself well.

This contract book came from the inter-layer of an old book in the deepest part of the Holy See’s library, satisfying all the requirements for summoning an ancient demon, like a forbidden secret.

The conversation and probing just now had been incredibly real. Coupled with the records in the contract book, he had not doubted the other’s strength at all.

But now he perceived with incomparable clarity that the other’s aura could even be described as insignificant.

He was just a low-level demon.

The priests in the Holy See were all humans, borrowing the power of the God of Light through prayer. Their very duty was to oppose demons. Although as humans, it was difficult to confront high-level demons, the situation of low-level demons harming the world fell under the jurisdiction of the church.

The classification of demons was very strict, and the gap between each level was like a chasm.

Looking down from the white tower where the Bishop resided, at the square that was perpetually suffused with a holy aura, countless low-level demons had already been burned to death, becoming their final resting place.

This was a scam.

And Edwin was the deceived human. His soul was now bound to a weak demon, which not only did not help him at all but even made his situation more severe.

He couldn’t even harm the other party, not even indirectly considering it was not allowed.

Tarksius looked at the other’s face with great interest. To be honest, the Bishop’s performance just now had left a deep impression on him. His ambition was like a raging fire that burned everything, and his soul also shone with a resolute light because of this scorching temperature.

What would he think, knowing that everything he had hoped for had become a bubble, just a demon’s joke?

The Bishop’s face was pale. The demon’s strength was very good. He could clearly see the unavoidable wavering and vulnerability flashing in the other’s eyes. This was human nature. But what surprised him was that Edwin had accepted the fact in a very short time.

He sounded very tired, his pupils covered again by a gloomy gray mist. “…What do you want to get?”

Tarksius casually told a lie. “Same as you, Bishop. I also have some enemies I don’t want them to find.”

The young demon’s silhouette was now clear in the Bishop’s eyes, which had adapted to the darkness. Edwin lowered his eyes, his fingers digging into his palm, leaving dark red marks.

But he knew some mistakes were irreparable and could only be accepted and reflected upon.

“The contract book has a condition about distance, doesn’t it?” Without needing to recall, the various information about this contract was reflected in the demon’s mind. He said in a low, malicious voice, “I’m afraid you’ll have to hide a demon within the Holy See.”

This was the Dark God’s true purpose. The black book had urged him to go before the Holy Son, to show his harmlessness as much as possible, to stop the so-called system. For this, Tarksius needed an opportunity to infiltrate the Church of Light.

What was especially important was that this opportunity had to be unrelated to the Holy Son, to show that his current state was as impregnable as the fabricated lie.

But Edwin had indeed given him a great surprise.

The Bishop’s soul and his restrained, calm appearance were two complete extremes. Just by looking at this “believer” who was close to the highest position in the Holy See, it seemed all the beautiful adjectives about piety could be applied to him. And he was still young, yet he could use the little grace that had leaked from the God of Light’s fingers with such proficiency.

Perhaps within the current Holy See, only the Pope and the Knight Commander’s strength could steadily surpass Edwin’s.

Yet his soul burned continuously and fiercely, shining with a resolute light.

Such a dazzling soul, Tarksius thought. No matter which lord-level great demon he summoned, they probably wouldn’t be able to resist this temptation. But unfortunately, the Bishop had found his contract book.

The Tar who had hastily written the contract to summon himself back then, although lacking in strength, had an astonishing talent for survival skills like disguise. So his contract book exuded the aura of a powerful demon lord from beginning to end.

The purpose he had left the contract for was…

Tarksius abruptly stopped his thoughts. Following this line of thought would lead to some past he was not willing to touch at this time.

He just moved closer to the silent Bishop.

Now he could see very clearly. The demon before him was cunning and cruel, like some kind of beast, but he had a pair of beautiful pomegranate-red eyes. These eyes were enough for him to mesmerize people. Staring at them for a long time felt inexplicably like the slight intoxication after drinking.

Tar smiled politely at Edwin. “We haven’t introduced each other yet. You can call me Tar, the demon Tar.”

A name he had never heard of, not belonging to any demon of lord-level or above.

The Bishop had already stood up by now. It was unclear what he thought about having knelt according to the ceremony, only to end up summoning a low-level demon, but his tone had completely calmed down. “My name is Edwin. As you can see, I am the Bishop here.”

“You…” He now reacted to the excessively close distance, and retreated a little with some resistance. “What I can do is let you stay in my room. Any other place in the church is not safe enough for you.”

The Bishop’s arrangement was quite good.

Tarksius thought, although he planned to take a walk in the Holy See first thing tomorrow morning.

Some things were not suitable for deep investigation when one was tired. As the star trails gradually slid to the other side of the sky, the human and the devil in the room inexplicably reached a certain harmony in the silence.

Edwin lowered the dark, heavy curtains of the four-poster bed, which covered the demon’s figure behind the curtains, although compared to the attempt to pretend it didn’t exist, this was still a bit powerless.

Tarksius was also considerate enough not to point out that the Bishop’s breathing was abnormally steady, and he was obviously not asleep.

Being sleepless all night when one was tired was probably not very pleasant. But Tar, as the culprit, did not feel any guilt. He didn’t really care. For the Bishop, anyway, they couldn’t harm each other, and this couldn’t be changed.

This was the first night the human and the demon spent together.

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