A giant red ogre demon sat chained to a brick wall. He gazed at the crescent symbol on his chest —a harsh reminder of his predicament.
After waiting for so long, the door finally opened with the sight of another giant demon. A light blinding his visage, and before he could speak, the demon fell straight to the ground beside him.
The demon, Bjorn, jumped in shock as he saw the bloodied head of Gorm staring straight at him.
"
` head was thrown to the other side, and his body followed suit.
"
Zigfred soon showed his face, demanding Bjorn's attention, "
Zelak entered the room and perked an amused smile. "< Well, would you look at that. You did enslave him.>"
"
Bjorn glared at Zelak, but before he could get a word in, Kalika peeked into his cell.
"Good. So you are alive." She noted.
"Kalika? What are you-?"
"Alright, now let him go," Kalika demanded.
Zigfred raised a brow, leaving Zelak having to repeat Kalika.
"
Kalika pouted and grumbled at the Incubus.
"What's going on? How did you get here?" Bjorn asked.
Zelak spoke up. "As much as I would prefer you to rot in hell, the champion insisted that she have you by her side."
"Champion?" Bjorn gave a confused glance at Zelak.
"I think he means me. He's been calling me that this entire time. I'm honestly getting annoyed."
A cold shiver ran down Zelak's spine as he felt Kalika's piercing gaze.
Kalika sighed. "Not that it matters right now. I'd prefer to get this farce done and over with so I can escape this stupid dream. For now, just hang in there, you'll be out soon."
Just as Kalika turned to leave, Bjorn called out to her once more. She stopped and turned a glance at him.
"Tell me. Why did you come here…? I thought you hated our kind. So for you to save me… it…"
"Tah. Isn't it obvious?" Kalika questioned. "Of course, I hate your kin. But we made a contract, and you promised to show me the way out of here. I don't care how weird and deranged this dream becomes. I'm not leaving without you."
Kalika whipped her head around and departed. "Come on, Zelak. So we can finish this."
Zelak followed on Kalika's order, leaving Bjorn to watch on in curiosity.
"Was she… always like this?" Bjorn wondered to himself.
********
Within a small brick chamber, decorated with chairs, a table, and a bed, Donovan laid on the grass-stuffed bed, tossing and turning. He fought with the pain that surged through his body, writing, tossing, and turning as she clenched his hands.
Eventually, after some time, the pain lessened, and he managed to open his eyes.
"Ughh… wh… where am I?"
Donovan looked to his side and saw his blood blade resting calmly on the table.
"
Donovan glanced at the door and found Charla practically jumping up with joy. Without hesitation, she ran straight his way.
"
"Ah crap!! Donovan shielded himself. But after a while of not feeling any sort of embrace, he peeked and saw her unable to move, frozen in place, poised and attempting to still reach after him.
"Why is she…" The event of her becoming his slave resurfaced in his memories. "Oh, yeah…"
He gazed at the new, strange crescent symbol on her chest before looking straight at her. To Donovan's shock, tears started to well up in her eyes.
Charla tried her best to hold her tears back and began shouting. "
Donovan could only cringe in confusion.
"What is she saying???"
Donovan listened as Charla kept talking in desperation of her very desires she wanted to do with him, all in her demon tongue.
"It feels like she is trying to tell me something important… It's either that or…"
Charla pouted and shifted her gaze to his crouch. Tracing her gaze, it became abundantly evident what she was after.
Donovan became flustered, "C... Can you get out of my room!"
On command, Charla's body moved on its own and she she closed the door behind her, she cried out. "
SLAM
A cold sweat ran down his face, and he sighed in relief. "Gee… That woman is dangerous. I…. I should find Kalika."
Donovan moved to leave his bed, but then a sudden pain washed over him. His heart beat a thousand miles an hour, forcing him back into bed.
He glanced back at his sword on the table. "Damn it! It feels like my heart is on the verge of exploding!
Slowly, the pain subsided, and his heart returned to normal. "I'm still alive. If I'm here, Kalika's probably not too far… Maybe I should wait for her and that demon Zelak…"
Donovan shook. "But hopefully she gets here soon, that succubus outside is freaking me out!"
********
Some time later, as Kalika and Zelak journeyed through the tunnel to see the treasure trove, horded by Zigfred, they finally came across Donovan's room. And just outside his room was Charla, crying to herself.
Seeing this, Kalika and Zelak approached with some caution as she continued to cry and whine to herself.
Kalika cringed upon seeing the snot that drooped from her nose. "
Zelak quickly distanced himself.
Charla wiped her nose and gazed up at Kalika with tear-filled eyes. "
Kalika was dumbstruck. "Huh?"
"
"AGAIN!?" Kalika turned to Zelak, shocked.
"< N… No…>" Charla flushed and squeezed her breast defensively. "
"
"
Like an adoring, obsessed fan, she squeezed her face as she drooled, conjuring the fantasy of ill acts she could potentially perform. "
Kalika, hearing Charla's manic ramblings, found her mind adrift in space. "Who is this woman?" It felt as though all logic in the world was thrown out the window.
"
Charla froze. She darted her eyes at Zelak.
"
"
Charla pouted. "
Zelak rolled his eyes. "
Zelak then turned back to Kalika, who seemed to be in a complete daze. "
Kalika jolted out of her stupor and shivered. She quickly distanced herself from the women, practically hiding behind Zelak.
"
Kalika glared at Charla, indignant. "Me and big mouth, why did my stupid dream have to become much more perverted?" she continued, glaring, and she growled softly, unsure how to handle the situation at hand.
"
Kalika raised a brow and glanced at Zelak, who sighed.
"
"Enslavement contract?"
"It's the same contract Rakon wanted to put you under for refusing to complete your previous contract. It's mostly called a Zorbian contract since the materials for it are made from God Zorbian himself. But to find it requires luck and a deep mine."
Kalika eyed Zelak more skeptically. "How much did you watch with that so-called clairvoyance?"
"More than I needed to see," he said.
A dark aura grew in Kalika.
"I-I didn't watch more than I had to!!" Zelak defended.
Charla could only watch on, terrified by the newfound power Kalika wielded.
"Y-you saw m-me and R…"
The Dark aura immediately dissipated, confusing Zelak and Charla, and as their attention kept on Kalika, they noticed her face slowly flushing red.
"If I ever see that bastard again, I'll kill him. I hate that bastard with all my heart!" She exclaimed, "How long will it be until that stupid demon friend of yours is done!?"
Zelak's eyes brightened after a moment of waiting for an answer. Zelak's eyes bled. He wiped them clean. "It shouldn't be too long now. Do you want to check on the human before we go?"
"No. If he's sleeping, I'd rather let him rest. Besides, it's starting to get boring exploring these long tunnels."
"
"
Charla cocked her head in confusion. "
"What happened now?" Kalika asked irritably.
Zelak watched as Charla traced her fingers across the stone ground, as she pouted with tears welling in her eyes.
"She probably tried to seduce the human using some of her words. When it comes to the cubus folk, they sometimes rely on their words to seduce their prey. But since the human couldn't understand her, it probably helped him escape her seduction."
Charla began to mumble incoherently, becoming self-critical of herself, all before starting to plot her next steps towards her goal.
Kalika side-eyed Charla. "She's determined. I'll give her that."
Kalika pushed on ahead. "Let's go."
Zelak hurried by her side, taking the lead. All the while, Donovan weakly called out from his room. "K- Kalika? K- Kalika?"
Donovan opened his door weakly, only to meet with Charla, still plotting out her plan.
"
He slowly closed the door.
"
Before Charla could move, Donovan yelled out. "Stay right there! Don't move a muscle!"
Charla stood stiff, unable to move. Once again, she was put under an order she couldn't understand, leaving her to cry out from her misunderstood intentions.
********
Within a chamber, there were barrels filled with an assortment of skins and shelves of vials of blood. Along one side of the wall was a shelf specifically made for scrolls and other assortments of contracts made by Zigfred, just like the one he was crafting.
Zigfred continued to work in silence as he carefully drew each symbol on the piece of parchment on his desk. He finished putting the las to the many symbols on the parchment and watched as a subtle glow emitted from the symbols.
"
He stared blankly at the contract with thoughts clouding his mind.
"
Hearing the approach of Kalika and Zelak, just outside his door, he repressed these thoughts. "
Zigfred opened the door and welcomed Kalika and Zelak in with a gesture. They both silently entered.
""
"
Kalika looked around the room, feeling a subtle sense of nostalgia washing over her. Curious, she pulled a contract from the shelf and examined it.
"
"
"
Zigfred turned to Zelak. "
"
Zigfred scoffed. "
Zelak became silent. After a while, he finally spoke back up. "
Kalika rolled the contract back up and placed it back. She watched as Zelak conjured his sword, slit his finger, and dropped blood on the contract.
"
Zigfred then opened a drawer within his desk and pulled a black parchment. He handed it to Zelak.
Zelak unfurled the black contract.
Curious Kalika approached to get a closer look.
"
Without warning, Zigfred dropped his blood on the center of the contract, then with a brush, drew a symbol that translated to 'Transfer'.
The symbol glowed, and a second later, Zelak smeared his blood, causing the contract to glow in recognition of their ritual.
"