Chapter 113: The Demon’s Contract

The white bat drooped its ears and wings, only watching my reaction.

The reason Feltron ended up like this was simple.

He’d been thoroughly beaten by Abel Carius and lost most of his authority.

—Grr! Th-this humiliation! It’s disgraceful.

Feltron was tightly bound and dangling from the ceiling by a rope.

He couldn’t resist at all.

I was far stronger now than when Abel Carius was active in the north.

Back then, I only had Beast’s Heart and greatsword mastery.

But now?

Equipped with insane skills like Extreme Choice and Destructive Retribution.

For Feltron, who couldn’t even maintain his true form after losing his authority, winning a direct confrontation was impossible.

That’s why he kept scheming weird plots.

If he had the power for revenge, would he have bothered with such things?

He was called a hero among the northern nomads, after all.

“If you answer properly, I’ll let you go like a gentleman. Got it?”

—How can I believe that? After you trashed my lair!

“Hey, watch your mouth even if it’s crooked. The ones who smashed everything up were those guys you were controlling.”

—No, that was originally a trap. This was my new hideout.

“Whoa! This guy’s shamelessness is on another level?”

It didn’t seem like conversation would work.

So what to do?

“Ready? Squirrel Thunder?”

—Of course.

“Go!”

—Chahat!

With a light nod, Shugl immediately leaped.

That wriggling warm-up wasn’t entirely pointless.

The flying kick landed perfectly.

Thwack!

With such light weight, the sound wasn’t loud.

The power was negligible too.

But Feltron was a tiny bat shape, similar in size to Shugl.

Then, that’s enough.

Bound by the rope and hit, the pendulum of terror began.

Spinning wildly at tremendous speed.

—Uwaaaaah! Stop! You lunatics!

Whether he screamed or not, Shugl rampaged regardless.

Swinging limbs precisely like some kung fu master.

—Ahyo! Aja! Chyo!

“Hey hey, stop. He’ll die.”

—If he dissipates from just this, he’s no demon. Can beat him way more.

“He’s lost his authority. Cut him some slack.”

—Tch! Tsk! Back in my day. When I saw a senior demon, I’d greet with a headbutt. Consider yourself lucky.

Shugl clicked his tongue, eyeing Feltron, then shook his head.

He seemed thoroughly displeased.

Wait, do half-demons have seniors and juniors?

Half-gods or half-demons were chunks of authority lost by transcendent beings from other dimensions.

Sensing my curious gaze, Shugl shrugged.

—What’s with that? We guide the later ones if we form first.

“Ah?”

Absurd answer, but I decided to let it go.

Wasn’t curious about half-demon hierarchies anyway.

“Anyway, you can do it?”

—Of course.

“Good. Then let’s contract.”

I grabbed Feltron’s head and said.

Honestly, minor procedures didn’t interest me.

Shugl would handle it all.

The content mattered.

“Alright, let’s start.”

—You’ll release me after the contract?

“Of course. But on this condition.”

—What?

“You become my subordinate.”

—No, just no revenge is fine.

“If you’re my subordinate, you can’t anyway, right? I hear demons have strict master-servant bonds.”

—That’s…….

Seeming hit at the core, Feltron trailed off.

I gave a chilling smile and nodded lightly.

“Shugl. Ready?”

—Squirreeeel!

As the mad pendulum was about to resume, Feltron nodded vigorously.

The contract was the only escape.

—Ah, fine. I’ll do it!

Thus, I gained another half-demon subordinate.

From Adam to Shugl and now Feltron.

I could be called an authority collector.

Whatever.

No more annoyances, and a minion to boss around; that’s good.

Restoring the Sordin Order wasn’t as easy as thought.

I smacked Feltron’s head.

“Ugh! This really. Completely wrecked it.”

Smack!

Though a being with demonic authority, he could only bounce far away.

My power was overwhelmingly stronger compared to him.

—Kuek! There was no other way. What to do about the resistance!

“Shut up. Embarrassing.”

Feltron was now my complete subordinate.

So I had to clean up the mess he made.

The truth people don’t know: responsibility falls on the higher-up.

“But this is too much?”

The Sordin Order had lost everyone from the archbishop to senior priests.

Only two mid-level priests left.

The rest were all junior priests or unordained students.

Even a mountain monastery would have more clerics.

On the brink of extinction, basically.

If we train priests from now and resume services, will Sordin respond?

If the god abandoned humans, the order was done.

Regaining trust might require unknown costs.

Worst case, nothing would work.

Still, just in case, I talked to a mid-level priest.

“Nice to meet you, Your Grace. I am Terence, priest serving as Sordin’s eyes and ears.”

“Ah, yes. Hello.”

“Thank you truly. Without support, our order would’ve walked the path to ruin.”

“Don’t mention it. It was only right.”

“Because of that vile demon…….”

“H-ha ha! I handled that guy, so no worries.”

I scratched the back of my head and laughed awkwardly.

Actually, this mess’s culprit was Feltron.

He was getting disciplined by Shugl in the back.

—Roll left! Roll right!

—Senior, really this much?

—If I say, you do. Talkative.

—Sigh! My fate.

But no one realized the white bat dominating the Sordin Order was him.

Just seen as my pet.

No good in revealing.

I didn’t tell the furious Priest Terence the truth.

What would knowing do?

Beating worthless Feltron wouldn’t restore the smashed order.

“Actually, I came for religious reform.”

I explained the Aramid Order events in the capital.

Priest Terence’s face grew angrier.

“They took in such people as clerics? Huh! Rotten to the core. Of course, we never accept such villains.”

Even if there were corrupt ones, it didn’t matter.

Feltron had made them all unable to use divine power anyway.

Clerics eroded by demonic energy couldn’t serve the god anymore.

Though they could as believers.

“Anyway, the Sordin Order should receive government support. His Majesty won’t just watch.”

“Sniff! We’ll repay this grace without fail.”

“I ask for nothing. Just help many as before, and don’t profiteer off divine power.”

“We absolutely will. Perhaps it’s a blessing in disguise.”

“Huh?”

“Actually, our order had corrupt clerics too. Just hidden in the shadows.”

“Good chance to go the right way.”

“We’ll see it as an opportunity from the god.”

Thus, I promised support to the Sordin Order.

Now leave them to rebuild, and we’d go our way.

But Priest Terence cautiously asked.

“That underground cavern.”

“Yes.”

“Did you perhaps see a glowing rod? It’s our order’s sacred relic, vital for rebuilding. It suddenly vanished…….”

I reflexively looked at Feltron.

But he seemed clueless.

—It was never there?

Then where’d it go?