Chapter 152: Death Valley (2) [Non Privi Bonus]

Fex felt himself completely lose control but was confused about why he still had his own conscious thoughts.

’What the hell?’

’I can hear you...’ Kass snickered in Fex’s head.

’So you can read my mind and control me? Wild. Why can’t I speak?’

’I’d have to let you do that. You knew about the dark magic but chose not to do anything. Why?’

’Do you know how hard it is to be a leader in a realm where people cannot leave? It’s hard to find loyal people. Yes, they did some shady things, but they also provided for our sick, our poor... What was I to do?’

’Perhaps not turn a blind eye to recruitment and be stricter with who you let in?’

’Well, they’re all gone now... even the women and children, so how do you feel about destroying a faction?’

This hit Kass harder than she expected it to. If they were an enemy of a god, they should be destroyed. That was her logic. After doing it, however, she had a different viewpoint on it.

’Form a contract with Tyler and you’ll be forgiven by Bahamut. I’m guessing he sent us to destroy your faction to rid the realm of dark magic.’

’You’ll have to destroy a lot more than just my faction to do that. Luckily, I can point you in the right direction. The Pacifist faction is the biggest culprit of dark magic use.’

Kass kept searching his mind and could see the evidence. It was starting to piss her off, so she released him.

"Tyler, we have to see Bahamut right away. Form a contract with Fex. He might not be the most honest familiar you’ll ever have, but I think you’ll grow on him," Kass explained.

"You can’t be fucking serious," Nyx complained.

"Are you sure about this, Tyler? The dude literally had a faction of thieves who used dark magic..." Amanda sighed.

"If Kass knows he’s telling the truth and he’s willing to sign a contract, I doubt Bahamut sent us here just to destroy his faction. He probably knows more about the dark magic users down here and has leads we can follow," Sophie said calmly.

"She is certainly an intelligent young woman. They all love you very much. It’s nice to see," Isis said with a smile.

"Yeah, they’re pretty great. They balance me out, just like all of my familiars do. Can I really trust him, though?"

"Fex? Yes. Contracts can’t be breached... well, you know what happens when they are." She frowned.

"He won’t be that stupid. No one has been since I was. He couldn’t kill you if he tried anyway. You’re too strong now," Ash playfully chirped.

"I honestly think you could survive a full blast without me holding back now as well. You’re very, very strong, Tyler," Leviathan added. "Your eyes are starting to turn gold. Not by much, but there is a flicker."

"Your aura is also stronger than that of any summoner we’ve seen since the Sanju sensei who could summon Mom and Pops. Just keep doing what you’re doing, Tyler. He’ll likely give you a nice stat boost, and regenerating limbs can’t hurt! You could feed Kass forever," Ritsu teased.

’System, make this contract stricter. Make sure he’s with me most of the time and does everything in his power to help us track down the dark magic users in the Eidolon Realm.’

[Contract initiated.]

Fex read over everything slowly before he finally decided to sign it. He sighed and pressed his bloody thumb to the contract, courtesy of Isis’s vines, which were still holding him. He didn’t have much say in the matter. Tyler almost felt bad and wondered how much he really was changing.

’The old me would have never let someone tie up an Eidolon to sign a contract. What is going on?’

"You’re becoming a proper summoner and doing what’s best for your planet. You’re still that same happy-go-lucky kid I met. Stop overthinking it," Vivian told him.

"Thanks, Viv. You, Ash and Shadow know me best. If I start going down the wrong path, please let me know."

"We will. All of us will, Tyler. You’re doing great. Twelve familiars and beyond SSS. You’ll be able to protect those you love and are picking and choosing a good variety. We just need to get that staff to level 10," Rex said proudly.

Ash pricked Tyler’s finger, and he signed the contract.

[Congratulations. You have signed the Mythological Primordial Hydra Fex. When linked, you will be able to regenerate all limbs aside from your head. Only he has the power to regenerate heads. When one is cut off, two more appear. In Hydra form, he can have an unlimited number of heads.]

Another little orb floated into Tyler, who knelt on the ground in pain.

"FUCK!" he screamed.

[20 stat points awarded in each category. Your body is undergoing an evolution. Stand by.]

"Isis, can you make this less painful?"

"I’m sorry, I cannot. It seems you are now at or over 200 stat points in every category. There’s nothing I can do."

Sophie, Amanda, Kass and Nyx rushed to him, and Kass poured some of the jug’s contents into his mouth. Just to be safe, she used the dropper to administer a little bit of the elixir. They watched Tyler’s body break down limb by limb, bone by bone, before it slowly began stitching itself back together again.

"That doesn’t look pleasant..." Fex said while appearing in Eidolon form. "Sorry for being an ass."

"It’s okay. He’s going to be all right. He always is, but is that going to happen to us?" Nyx asked.

"Probably," Ash said while appearing. The rest of his familiars appeared, as they didn’t like the feeling.

"This fucking sucks!" Tyler howled in pain.

******

"It seems he did exactly as you asked," Asura said cheerfully.

"Yes, and Kass did a wonderful job with the interrogation. Fex is the key to ridding this realm of dark magic." Bahamut smirked.

"Do you think they’ll return, or do you think they’ll keep going?" Asura said while kissing his cheek.

"They’ll be back. Tyler will want to know more about his new form. He’s no longer human."