By the time Emma regained her senses, the brownish-yellow scroll had already been lightly tossed by Luo Shu and was now caught shakily but firmly in her trembling hands.
Then, the grey quill gently landed in Emma's grasp.
With eyes wide in fear and dread, she clutched the quill, her hands trembling as she prepared to sign her name upon the Familia contract.
Witnessing this, Eriri, as the senior-most Familia member present, couldn't help but ask:
"Can a Familia contract succeed if it isn't signed with genuine sincerity?"
However, the response she received was Luo Shu's definitive answer:
"Of course not."
"Eh?" Eriri was stunned by this reply.
At that moment, Luo Shu's explanation followed:
"If, at the very moment of signing, there isn't the slightest trace of agreement in one's heart—not even a hint of compromise—then the Familia contract will be void."
"Similarly, forcing someone to sign a Familia contract through hypnosis, ability control, or other such means will also render it ineffective."
It was precisely due to these restrictions that Luo Shu hadn't used tools like the Demon Heart—which manipulated minds—to indiscriminately form contracts with Familia members.
The Divine Pantheon Reconstruction System had left no loopholes in this regard from the very beginning.
Hearing Luo Shu's answer, Eriri was taken aback:
"Then what's the point of making Aunt Emma sign this?"
"Then let me ask you this," Luo Shu turned to face her, his gaze steady.
"What if the moment of contract failure is exactly what I need?"
As he spoke, Emma clenched her teeth, exerting every ounce of her will to resist Raziel's control.
Yet the power unleashed by Luo Shu's expended spirituality, amplified by the rule-based ability of the second Angel, Raziel, overwhelmed Emma's spiritual resistance completely.
Compelled beyond recourse, Emma signed her name upon the Familia contract before losing all strength, letting the quill clatter to the ground.
The instant the contract was signed, an intangible force stirred ripples across the Divine Kingdom above.
At this moment, Luo Shu simply observed the fluctuations with a faint smile.
"When a Familia contract takes effect, it inevitably generates a force of judgement, and this force inherently possesses an extremely high authority."
"Under the pull of this force, your true self becomes as conspicuous as ink dripping onto paper."
"After all, the power of the contract operates on your true self, even reaching the deeper layers of your origin."
"Even if you resist this force and cause the contract to fail, this brief moment of judgment is enough for me to lock onto your true self."
In short, Luo Shu had used Raziel to forcibly make Emma sign a Familia contract, then leveraged the contract to invoke the Divine Kingdom's supreme authority, breaking through the illusion created by the clones to directly pinpoint Enigma's true form.
This combo was something Luo Shu had conceived when he first obtained Raziel.
Though untested, his intuition told him the outcome wouldn't deviate from his expectations in the slightest.
And in that instant when the contract stirred ripples across the Divine Kingdom, Luo Shu sensed the fluctuations and immediately locked onto Enigma's location.
"Shiba Park in Tokyo? So that's where you were hiding..."
"Using the daytime crowds to form a barrier and conceal yourself among civilians... An interesting approach..."
Luo Shu smiled approvingly at the pale-faced Emma.
Then, without hesitation, he prepared to spend system points to urgently return to the Divine Kingdom space, where he would use the Star Gate to open a spatial portal at Enigma's location and teleport there.
Though the procedure was complex, Luo Shu's mental processing speed could compress it to under two seconds.
Yet just as he was about to return to the Divine Kingdom space, the fluctuations from the Familia contract quietly subsided within the Divine Kingdom.
Abruptly, Luo Shu's raised foot froze mid-step as he stared at Emma with undisguised astonishment.
Similarly, Emma wore a dazed expression, as if momentarily overwhelmed by a flood of information that left her unable to think clearly.
To this, Luo Shu muttered in disbelief:
"How could this happen?"
At that moment, Eriri voiced the reason for Luo Shu's shock with utter bewilderment:
"The contract's judgment actually went through?"
"Ah, this..."
"Wasn't it supposed to be doomed to fail?"
At this moment, Luo Shu had already given up on returning to the Divine Kingdom, looking at Emma before him with a peculiar expression, before hesitantly saying:
"The system's judgment shouldn't be wrong."
This was the first time Luo Shu had referred to it as 'the system' in front of Enigma.
Previously, he'd always used 'Familia contract' as a substitute to mislead Enigma into thinking he'd discovered her whereabouts through some contractual means.
But now, such secrecy was meaningless.
After all, the Familia contract had succeeded... Enigma probably already knew everything she shouldn't.
Sayuri Sawamura flipped through the Divine Pantheon's group chat at this moment, staring at the newly appeared Enigma before turning to Luo Shu in confusion:
"Luo Shu, what exactly just happened? Can you explain?"
Hearing this, Luo Shu also wore a conflicted expression:
"Simply put, Enigma passed the system's judgment and became your comrade, my Familia."
"But why?!" Eriri asked, dumbfounded.
At this, Luo Shu turned to Emma:
"That's something we should ask Miss Enigma!"
"At the moment the contract took effect, you didn't... by any chance have thoughts similar to agreeing to the contract, did you?"
Hearing this, Enigma looked at Luo Shu with an extremely complicated expression, letting out a soft laugh:
"So that's how it is... No wonder the SDS suddenly established the Demigod evaluation system, no wonder you could become the SDS Director so quickly..."
"Turns out you're the same existence as those behind the Hell Sect..."
"A so-called god, is it?"
Enigma sighed, then lowered her head as if accepting reality:
"I didn't agree to sign the contract."
Luo Shu frowned at this, wondering if there was actually a problem with the Divine Pantheon Reconstruction System.
Then Enigma gave a self-deprecating smile:
"From the beginning, I planned to use the Sawamura Family as intermediaries to negotiate with the SDS."
"At the same time, I believed in my heart that any contract scroll you produced would inevitably have compulsory enforcement, and that with my power, I couldn't resist and would definitely be forcibly contracted."
"It seems that because of such thoughts, the Divine Pantheon directly passed the Familia judgment, determining that I voluntarily signed the contract."
After these words, not only were Sayuri and Eriri stunned, but even Luo Shu was internally exclaiming, 'What the hell?'.
It could be judged like this?
So, as long as you don't agree when signing the contract but think you can't avoid it, the Divine Pantheon Reconstruction System will pass the Familia contract judgment and forcibly sign you up?
After all, if you yourself believe it's unavoidable, then of course the Divine Pantheon will make your dream come true!
"To think it could work like this..."
Hearing this, Eriri suddenly remembered something and said in realisation:
"Now that I think about it, I was also reluctant when first joining the Familia. At the time, I was actually thinking I'd agree first and see, then withdraw later if anything happened, but the Divine Pantheon Reconstruction System still passed it."
"Because I thought at the time that joining was acceptable, so the system just... passed it?"
"Is it really that flexible?"
Luo Shu was left speechless upon hearing this.
The scene where he had pressured Eriri into signing the contract back then was only slightly better than with Enigma—essentially coercion followed by incentives.
So Eriri's reluctance had probably been the dominant factor at the time, yet the contract had ultimately been approved.
From this perspective, the Divine Pantheon's Familia contract seemed rather domineering in its judgment.
'Did it forcibly approve the contract as long as there was even the slightest thought that it might succeed or agreement might be given?'
With this in mind, Luo Shu began scheming.
Since Enigma had already signed the contract, making it a done deal, couldn't he exploit this minor loophole in the Familia contract to pull off something?
For example, could he trick a potential Familia member into aligning with his stance, then use Raziel's future-writing ability to make them inadvertently sign the Familia contract?
Hiss... that might actually work!
Just as Luo Shu was pondering this, Sayuri Sawamura, standing beside him, could no longer hold back and blurted out:
"So, what do we do about Emma now?"
The moment she spoke, the gazes of all three present immediately focused on Enigma.
Faced with this, Enigma gave Sayuri Sawamura a deep look before smiling at Luo Shu:
"I imagine the value of a core member of the Hell Sect is somewhat higher than Sayuri's, wouldn't you agree?"
"That's certainly true."
Luo Shu nodded in response, then, just as Enigma's lips curled into a smile, he declared:
"But I choose Sayuri!"
"Therefore, in the name of the Chief God, Enigma—summon your true self before me!"
Hearing this, Enigma fell silent for a long moment before finally forcing a smile:
"As you command, my Chief God."