I looked at that creature pretending to be a man as he offered me this so-called "mutually beneficial deal," as if I had a say in the matter. If that deal meant he got to survive, then honestly, I didn't mind letting him get the better end of it.
"So, young Sin, I'll start by introducing myself. I'm the last sinner alive, and I was the second to achieve this status of Sinner. I am the Sinner of Wrath, Feltan Zorkiel. Now then—your turn."
I thought about it for a few moments. What should I answer with? Should I use my true name, Monarch of Crimson, or my real name? Well, I didn't have much time to think, so I used both.
"I am the Monarch of Crimson… but you can just call me Alucard," I said, without too much confidence. Clearly, I wasn't comfortable with this abomination in front of me.
"Ah, you still have a true name? Interesting. Well, I guess that means I know exactly what to offer you now."
Feltan stood up inside the cage he was trapped in. The chains that held him clanged—thick, monstrous pieces of metal, the thickest I had ever seen—yet something told me the metal wasn't the reason he was held there.
"How about I make you an offer, Alucard? You burn down the castle on top of us and kill those damned guard dogs for me, and I'll tell you the secret to becoming a Sinner?"
It was an interesting deal, but I knew better than to ever accept the first offer.
"Hm. And what happens if I do that? I can tell when you're lying by how fast your heart beats, so don't think about lying to me."
I was bluffing. Clearly the bluff worked, because in an instant the abomination named Feltan Zorkiel somehow grew ten thousand hearts all at once in his body. I couldn't fathom how that worked—I was overwhelmed just looking at it. Then, just as suddenly, he made all the hearts disappear and was left with no internal organs at all.
"So, how about that for a heartbeat? But I like the gall you had to actually believe you had the ability to even compare to me. So I guess I'll answer your question."
Feltan sat back down on the floor of his cell before continuing.
"As long as that castle stands and my beasts are alive, I cannot die. Well—I can die, but not permanently. And you see, living in this damned cell for eons was… tiresome, to say the least. So I think it's about time I go to my next life. So if that answered your question—how about we make that contract?"
I thought for a few moments. I needed something more from this deal. He was the Sinner of Wrath, after all; he should have something valuable… another Sin lineage would be good. But was there anything else valuable?
Then I heard Gluttony's raspy voice in my head:
'Ask him for his heart after his death. But make sure to phrase it so you get his real heart, not a stolen one.'
'Why? What are you planning?'
'I don't know how to explain it, but I feel like his heart would be extremely valuable in this situation. I don't know why.'
'Alright, I'll trust you on this one then.'
I didn't know whether to trust my Arch Sin or not, but I didn't have anything else to ask for.
"Alright—how about this? You tell me how to become a Sinner, and give me your heart after your death… oh yeah, and give me the Sin lineage of Wrath."
The monster named Feltan raised an eyebrow, then laughed.
"Oh, you devilish bastard. Alright, alright—sure thing, kid. But since you added all those conditions, I'll only tell you how to become a Sinner after you finish your end of the bargain."
But I had one more question—what was stopping him from just not holding his end of the bargain? It's not like I was strong enough to stop him.
"What happens if we don't hold our ends of the bargain?"
Feltan thought for a few moments, then answered:
"Well, a death contract is useless for both of us, so I guess a soul contract will do. If you break our contract, I get ownership of your soul—and same in reverse."
What the hell did that mean? How could you own someone's soul? How did that even work?
"What do you mean by soul contract and owning souls?"
The Sinner of Wrath sighed, holding his head.
"God damnit, you don't even know about contracts… how the hell were you even born, then?"
As much as I wanted to make a side remark about the birds and the bees, I couldn't—because I was scared I'd end up dead. So I just let him continue.
"Basically, if you own my soul, I have to listen to whatever you say, and you decide what happens to my soul. That means you could kill me instantly."
He conveniently forgot to mention that the same would apply to me, meaning I'd be his slave for eternity. But the deal was too good to pass up. Just thinking about the power I'd gain from becoming a Sinner was amazing. And his Sin lineage would at the very least be useful. Gluttony allowed me to heal using flesh and blood—that was one of the main reasons I could fight for so long and had so much stamina. I also had Envy, which was invaluable due to basically being a sixth sense. I had even forgotten what it felt like to not use Envy—it was one of my most used abilities.
So would Wrath also be a passive ability? A combat ability? Something else? Well—we'd see.
"Alright. I'm willing to do that contract."
Wrath clapped his hands, snapping his chains from the walls.
"Great thinking! Well—how about we get to working on that contract?"
The Sinner of Wrath used his own blood and scattered it around the room. As the blood glowed in strange red runes signifying that the contract was formed, I felt my own blood boil from the inside. It was agonizing. I felt like I was burning alive from the inside out. My flesh burned. Agony—pure agony.
My body twisted and thrashed on its own. It hurt—it hurt so much.
I couldn't breathe. It hurt to breathe. I shouldn't breathe.
I grabbed my own neck, trying to choke myself to death, but it was no use—truly no use. The pain was too much; my arms couldn't stay in place.
Slowly—agonizingly slowly—my blood cooled. First freezing, then normal.
"WHAT THE HELL!?" I yelled. My throat was sore from my screaming.
"Ah, yeah, that. Well—you see, you wanted my Sin lineage, but unfortunately, it's quite territorial. So it usually kills anyone who has any other lineage. Congrats, though—you survived long enough for it to cool down."
The damned Sinner gave me a thumbs-up like I had done a good job by not dying, which I guess… I did, in a way.
"Hey, Alucard, did you go unconscious? I kinda need you to get up and do what I asked you, so ugh—don't be a bum and sleep on the floor anymore, okay?"
"And just where should I go then? I don't even know where the hell I am!"
"Ah, okay, fine. Do you have a summoning glyph at the surface? Or a summoning contract? Judging by your reaction, I'm guessing you do not. Okay, here's what I'll do—whenever you're ready, I'll summon you into the middle of the castle at the center of the city. Whenever you want, okay? Just give me the signal, and you go there."
Well… now I had a lot to think of. Like, for starters:
What the hell does this Sin lineage do?
What are the enchantments of the white cloak I got from the Lord of the Dead?
And what the hell are Gluttony's abilities?