Chapter 144: Devil’s Bargain

Far away from Earth, deep within the Abyss, a medieval mansion stood beneath a crimson sky.

Its architecture resembled something from an ancient kingdom, with towering stone pillars, elaborate carvings, and long corridors illuminated by floating spheres of red light. The walls were decorated with ornate patterns, and dark velvet curtains hung from the high windows.

The mansion was beautiful.

It was also profoundly unsettling.

At the center of its grand hall, a man knelt on one knee.

A Japanese S-Rank known by the name Dowan.

His black hair fell across his forehead as he bowed his head, both hands extended before him. Despite being an S-Rank Awakened, he carried himself with the humility of a servant standing before royalty.

And royalty was precisely what stood before him.

A woman regarded him from several steps away.

Her beauty was almost unreal, with pale skin, flowing red hair, and eyes that seemed to hold a depth far beyond their appearance. She wore an elegant dress that contrasted sharply with the dark, ancient atmosphere of the mansion.

There was no need for a throne to establish her authority.

The entire hall seemed to exist for her sake.

She was Lilith, Archduke of the Abyss and ruler of its vampires and succubi.

Dowan kept his head lowered.

"My lady, I have come to fulfill the conditions you set before me."

Lilith regarded him with mild interest.

"Have you?"

"Yes."

"And you understand what it means to enter a contract with me?"

Dowan swallowed.

"I do."

"Do you?"

Her voice was gentle, almost affectionate.

Yet something about it made the air feel colder.

"An Archduke’s contract is not a gift freely bestowed upon every human who kneels before me. You have crossed a considerable distance to reach this place, and I imagine you have sacrificed much along the way."

Dowan remained silent.

Lilith stepped closer.

"Tell me, Human. Why do you desire my Power?"

He hesitated.

For a moment, the image of a young woman with long hair and a determined expression appeared in his mind.

Emilia.

His childhood friend.

The person he had spent years protecting, even when she never asked him to.

His fingers tightened.

"Because I lack the strength to protect what matters to me."

Lilith studied him.

"How noble."

Dowan lowered his head further.

"I don’t seek power for its own sake. I simply want to become strong enough that no one can take away what I’ve sworn to protect."

A faint smile touched Lilith’s lips.

"Humans always say such beautiful things when they stand before me."

She raised one hand.

A thin line of crimson appeared across her palm.

Then a single drop of blood emerged.

It was unlike ordinary blood. It shimmered with a dark, ruby-like radiance, and the Essence contained within it was so dense that the air itself seemed to tremble.

The drop slowly descended.

Dowan extended his hands further.

It landed in his cupped palms.

His breath caught.

Even without touching it, he could feel the immense power contained within that single drop. It was as though an entire ocean had been compressed into something small enough to rest in his hands.

Lilith withdrew her hand.

"Drink."

Dowan looked up.

"My lady?"

"Once you drink my blood, the contract will be finalized. Your body will be empowered to accommodate my power, and you will receive the gifts I have chosen to bestow upon you."

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"But understand this, Dowan. Power always comes with a price. My blood will grant you strength, but it will also bind you to the nature of the one who gave it to you."

She leaned closer.

"And once you have accepted it, there will be no returning to the person you were before."

Dowan stared at the blood in his hands.

He knew how rare this opportunity was.

An Archduke’s contract was something most Awakened could only dream of. The Archdukes were not beings one could simply approach and ask for power. Their territories were dangerous even for S-Ranks, and the journey to reach one alive was an achievement in itself.

Most who tried never returned.

Yet Dowan had made it.

He had stood before Lilith and received her gift.

All that remained was to accept it.

He lifted his hands toward his mouth.

"Thank you, my lady."

Lilith’s smile widened.

The moment the blood touched his tongue, an immense surge of Essence erupted within his body.

His muscles tensed.

His breath caught in his throat.

Crimson light spread beneath his skin, tracing glowing patterns along his arms and neck. For an instant, his shadow stretched across the floor, taking on a shape that didn’t quite resemble a human being.

Dowan gritted his teeth as the power flooded through him.

His heart hammered.

His vision blurred.

Then, gradually, the sensation began to settle.

A new presence had awakened inside him.

Something ancient.

Something hungry.

Lilith watched the process with quiet satisfaction.

"Welcome to my service, Dowan."

The contract was complete.

And the man who had entered her mansion was no longer quite the same person who had knelt before her.

---

Elsewhere in the Abyss, a prestigious city floated high above an endless expanse of clouds.

Its enormous towers rose from islands of stone suspended in the sky, connected by bridges that stretched between them like strands of silver. Waterfalls spilled from the edges of the floating landmasses, descending into the clouds below without ever seeming to reach the ground.

At the center of the city stood a magnificent castle.

Its walls were black, its spires sharp enough to resemble blades, and its highest towers disappeared into the mist surrounding the heavens.

Inside the castle’s grand hall, Luvian stood before a solitary figure.

The person before him had long white hair and wore dark clothing adorned with intricate patterns. Six enormous black wings extended from his back, their feathers so dark that they seemed to swallow the light around them.

Above his head floated a black halo.

It was not a ring of light, but something resembling a void carved into the air itself.

The figure stood with his back turned toward Luvian, gazing through a vast window overlooking the floating city.

For several moments, neither spoke.

Then Luvian raised his head.

"I have come to request a contract."

The figure remained still.

"A contract?"

His voice was quiet, yet it carried effortlessly through the enormous hall.

Luvian straightened.

"Yes."

The figure slowly tilted his head.

"A contract with an Archduke is not something one requests lightly."

"I understand."

"You possess a brave soul, awakened."

The figure finally began to turn.

Luvian felt the pressure immediately.

It wasn’t merely Essence. It was something far more overwhelming, a presence that made the very air seem to bend around its owner.

The Archduke’s face came into view.

His expression was cold, almost emotionless, and his eyes held the distant indifference of someone who had witnessed countless ages pass beneath him.

Lucifer.

The Dark Lord of the Skies.

The strongest of the Archdukes.

He regarded Luvian for a long moment before speaking.

"You’re the first human to ever cross my land."

Luvian lowered his head in a respectful bow.

"I’ve had my ways."

"Tell me..."

Lucifer’s six wings shifted slightly.

A faint gust swept through the hall, carrying the scent of distant storms.

"For what do you seek my strength?"

Luvian hesitated.

He had prepared an answer during the journey. He had considered how best to present himself, what to say, and how to convince the strongest Archduke of the abyss that he was worthy of a contract.

Yet standing before Lucifer, those rehearsed words suddenly seemed inadequate.

He lifted his head.

"My own current power is insufficient."

Lucifer stared at him.

"And there’s something I seek to challenge."

For a moment, the hall remained utterly silent.

Then the Archduke gave a faint, almost imperceptible smile.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures, is that it?"

He turned away again, looking out over the endless sky.

"Tell me, Luvian. If I grant you my power, what will you do with it?"

Luvian’s expression hardened.

"I will surpass my current limits. I will become strong enough to stand above those who once looked down on me, and strong enough to seize the opportunities that were previously beyond my reach."

Lucifer remained silent.

Luvian swallowed, then continued.

"I will not waste the power you grant me."

For a long time, the Archduke said nothing.

Then, slowly, he turned his head.

His six dark wings spread slightly behind him, casting enormous shadows across the hall.

"You wish to make a contract with me?"

Luvian bowed once more.

"Yes, Lord Lucifer."

The Dark Lord of the Skies looked down upon him with genuine interest.

"Very well."

The clouds outside the window began to churn.

Far below, the floating city trembled as though an unseen storm had awakened around it.

"Let us see whether you possess the strength to bear the sky."