Chapter 177 - Chapter 176: Completed Arrangements

Bjorn poured a vat of his blood into a stone bowl. Finished, he handed the bowl to the scholar's leader. "" Bjorn said.

"" Without hesitation, the leader took the bowl and placed it by the leather parchment, written with blood. Prepared, the leader took his feathered quill, dipped it in blood, and continued to scrawl out different symbols on the even stone ground, surrounded by his bickering companions.

Not too far, Kalika leered at the group with her arms crossed as one symbol was written after another, each time stopping and deliberating the next word to write like a king's court. Their rebuttals and counters were almost endless, with each scholar saying their piece of complaining about already preestablished pieces of the contr. It irked her to no end watching the grown demons complain like children. "Wouldn't it be much easier if you made it?"

"The contract I made between you, me, and Donovan was amateur work. The contract they'll make will be iron-clad... And mistake-proof."

"And that's supposed to mean…?"

"It means no unintended penalties. The wrong wording can sometimes end in an unintended punishment if you're not careful. So, it's important that they're specific. The more specific the contract is, the more iron-clad and powerful it becomes. However, the opposite is also true, depending on the material and the level of control you try to give. and when that happens, the contract is rejected."

Kalika scoffed at the remark. "Still... It's taking them forever to finish. I bet Rakon could make a contract faster than these idiots."

Bjorn glanced with narrowed eyes. "That's like comparing a goblin to a wolf. A contract is not an easy thing to make."

"Is that so?"

"Yes." Bjorn said, "And trying to compare them to Rakon is the last thing you want to do for either of them. Not only were they taught differently, but Rakon had the opportunity to study under one of the most renowned contractors before they died. So, there's a reason Rakon was made the previous king's advisor. Having someone who can create a powerful and competent contract within an hour is a very hard thing to come by. Even here in our homeland."

"Hmm..." Kalika raised a brow, then glanced at Bjorn, who watched the scholar's work. "Hopefully I didn't mess up giving those women that contract.... Oh well..."

"Hey, wait!!" Donovan suddenly exclaimed.

Kalika looked to the side and watched as the little demon boy suddenly brushed past with a stone stick and whacked a nearby crystal. Pieces of the crystal cracked and smashed off, leaving nothing except the scatter pieces that the boy collected into his small pouch. Satisfied, the child dashed again, smashing another set of crystals.

"" Bjorn warned. The boy ignored him, running into a set of trees and smashing even more crystals.

"I... Gee... I guess he likes smashing stuff…" Awkward, Donovan turned to Kalika, who watched the boy before turning to the horizon.

"So how long is it going to be until they're finished anyway?" Donovan questioned.

"They should be done in a moment by the looks of it. They just needed to add a few more symbols."

"Good. Then we'll be able to put this whole scholar business behind us."

"I wouldn't get too comfortable yet," Bjorn warned. "Remember, they want to study your-"

"" The scholarly leader announced. He, along with his companions, held the contract for all to see, eventually passing it to Bjorn, who took the parchment, reading it.

"" Bjorn said.

Curious, Kalika peeked and read its contents. skeptical she glanced at Bjorn and pointed to a symbol. "Are you sure about this part?"

"Yes. I talked to Donovan before, while you were reading that journal. So, he's already aware and agreed to the terms."

Kalika grew silent and watched on as Donovan smeared his blood. "There, now my part is done. They can ask me anything they want. But I suppose you or Kalika will have to translate." Donovan said.

"Of course. But we'll get to that part on the cart ride to Kasak. First, they need to examine you."

"Eh?" Confused, Donovan glanced. "Examining me? What do you mean?'

Bjorn raised his head and groaned in disappointment. "Don't tell me you weren't listening earlier."

Suddenly, the leader followed up, smearing a closing of the contract that quickly turned into flames and dissipated.

"O-of course I was listening! You said that they wanted to ask about the surface and about humans!"

"Yes. After I stated that they wanted to study your body."

"W-what??" Desperate, Donovan turned to Kalika. "You were on the cart too! Right, he didn't say that!"

Kalika quickly averted her gaze, indignant. "You really think I was listening to what you two were saying?"

"C'mon Kalika." Donovan straightened, feeling a hand on his shoulder.

"" The leader said.

Terrified, Donovan turned and paled as he saw the hungry horde of scholars, with large parchments and quills at the ready.

"If you listened and objected earlier, maybe I might've been able to work something else out," Bjorn groaned. "So, for now, let them do what they need to fulfill the contract." With a nod of his head, the Leader happily dragged Donovan off to the other side of the road by a group of large rocks.

"Traitors!" Donovan shouted. "You're both a bunch of traitors!"

"Seriously… What an idiot." Kalika exhaled.

With a hint of annoyance, she trailed away. "What was he thinking...?" She stopped at the cliff's edge and looked over the wide horizon of the pit's lakes, the towns, and the large crystals in the distant land across. Feeling a cold breeze, she shivered and attempted to ignore the growing cold. Wanting to clear her mind, she took a deep breath to continue to enjoy the view of the world below. She watched as ships sailed and docked, and how demons flew in the sky with wings abroad over the lake and coasts.

"I almost forgot these demons could fly…" Kalika thought. She turned her gaze to the towns and squinted her eyes past the two towns, spotting a speck resembling what seemed to be a castle-like structure. "Hey, Bjorn." She called. Kalika pointed to the speck she spotted. "Is that the castle those scholars were talking about?"

Bjorn approached and glanced lazily in the direction. "Yes. It may be hard to tell, but there are two distinct paths and sections left and right of that caste."

"There is?"

"On the right side, that we can see from here, you can see the territory that belongs to my Ogre kin. And on the left. The one just out of our view is the homeland that belongs to the Karnals."

"That's strange…" Kalika remarked.

"What is?"

"By the way you talk, it sounds like this entire pit doesn't belong to the so-called demon King."

"The territory the king rules is great, yes. However, those two territories have belonged to the Karnal's and my kin for centuries, even predating the first demon king. It just so happened that the first of the demon kings entered into a contracted agreement to leave them their territories, and in turn, they would openly trade. And that's part of the reason why Voltrox Castle was built in the first place… From my own understanding at least."

"Hmm…." Kalika glanced again at the castle in the distance. "Didn't think you demons could be so diplomatic."

"We're not some group of savages, Kalika. We do and have warred, but we don't strive for it."

"If that's the case, why'd you demons invade and kill my people?"

Bjorn scoffed. "Last I heard, you were a woman who killed her own sister for power. So don't act as if you care. If you truly cared about your kin, you would've spared the actual Saintess from death."

Kalika frowned at Bjorn's remarks.

"But that's not what happened, did it?" Bjorn finished.

"Tch. You're a bastard. You know that, right?"

"I'd like to consider myself honest, too. But you never agreed to that premise... But with that being said, I am curious… What exactly do you plan to do once you're freed? Will you try to live in hiding? Or will you go out in search of more power?"

"Why do you ask? So, you can go running to Rakon and tell him where I went or what I plan to do?" Kalika cringed, clenching her fists.

"Are you forgetting. This is Rakon we're talking about. He has very little tolerance for disloyalty and even more for traitors. He'd sooner let my head roll before I could utter a single word."

"Right... I almost forgot the most charming feature about him." Kalika quickly became silent, watching as the sky filled with even more flying demons that scanned and searched closer to them. "You know what?" Kalika started. 'I think I'll continue reading Sylph's journal." Without hesitation, Kalika turned and scuffled back to the cart. Arriving, she grabbed the side of the cart, prepared to climb in, when suddenly Donovan's screams pierced her ears.

Kalika jolted up and in time, watching as Donovan wrestled the demons in his undergarments. She watched as the demons reached, then tugged and pulled the last of his clothes on. Donovan's face turned cherry red as he turned in horror, realizing Kalika's gaze was lingering on him. Embarrassed. Kalika flushed before quickly fleeing in the cart, shouting. "YOU IDIOTS!!!"

"I'M SORRY!!!!"

********

Kalika, with her eyes away from Donovan, spoke. "The last question. How many hair colors does your species have...? Ugh.... you know what, I'll answer this one."

"Th... Thanks..."

""

"" The leader smiled happily along with his constituents, who spoke more brightly, talking specifically of Donovan's anatomy.

Trying to distract herself, Kalika glanced around the moving cart, then glued her gaze to the boy as he ate through a pile of random-colored crystals. Soon after, the boy peeked up and panicked, noticing her gaze. hesitant, he took half his pile and shared it with Kalika. ""

Kalika sighed exhaustedly. "< I'm not a god. But thanks... I guess.>" She took the first of the crystals, watching as it quickly turned grey before munching on it herself.

"Kalika...." Donovan called. "About earlier-"

"P-please... Don't talk about it."

"Bu-ut It really didn't think they wanted to see everything."

"Donovan. Please. Stop talking about it. Let's focus on getting out of this place first."

"R... Right..." Donovan rubbed the back of his neck, unsure what else to say.

Awkward, Kalika turned to the pile of crystal and slowly began eating away at it. Suddenly, grabbing her fifth crystal, the cart jerked around hard. The crystal flew, scattering across the floor. "What the hell?"

"" Bjorn announced.

"What? Already??" Donovan peeked and saw the shanty-like homes getting bigger. "C-crap. I didn't put my disguise on yet! H-hold on!"

"Don't panic, you've got another fifteen minutes at least until we arrive."

Ignoring Bjorn, Donovan quickly searched through his supplies, wetting and applying blue mud to him. "U-uuhhh.... Bjorn, you fixed the mask, too, right?"

"Yes, it's inside the empty barrel."

"Great!"

Kalika blurted a quiet chuckle, watching as Donovan continued to disguise himself in a panic. "So... we're almost there...." Somber, Kalika turned and peeked out of the cart, watching as they slowly approached the dock town with demon children, running across the field. sensing a strange watchful presence, Kalika peered towards the hill where a little demon girl and a blue, pink-eyed demon watched.

She saw the woman curl a smile before turning to the children, instructing the group, and leaving. "Strange... Her presence. it reminds me of-"

"" The boy jumped, next to Kalika, trying to get a view of the field and children. "" He asked excitedly.

""

********

"" Rakon questioned. He sat impatiently, hiding his hands beneath his desk, and awaiting his response.

"" Mae tensed, hearing the tightening of Rakon's fist. her eyes, glued, downcast to the ground, with her knee to the ground.

Rakon grimaced, disappointed. ""

""

"" Rakon said. "" He glanced at his blackened hands, watching and bearing with the pains of the black veins continued creeping up his arms as it attempted to overrun his body.