"I just have to sign this, right, kid?"
Looking like this was all a huge hassle, Toji Fushiguro held a piece of parchment covered in bloody patterns. He was carefully reading the text on it.
Toji had completely recovered to his pre-battle state. He was healthy, and apart from his tattered clothes, his spirit and physical condition were at their peak.
The only trouble was Toji's Inventory Curse. The ugly little spirit's aura was incredibly weak.
Kenmei had healed Toji, pulling him back from the brink of death.
But his old partner, the "Inventory Curse" that served as his arsenal and had been raised for years, was still in critical condition.
The two words at the very top of the parchment were written in a font filled with a sacred aura: "Contract." It embodied solemnity and seriousness.
This was the "Non-Aggression Pact" Kenmei had drafted—no, was about to formally sign—with Toji. Once signed, Kenmei and Toji would stay out of each other's way. They would go down separate paths and owe each other nothing.
Kenmei's obligation was to heal the Inventory Curse after signing.
Toji, on the other hand, had to adhere to the following terms. Violating any rule would trigger the punishment mechanism.
Here are all the clauses:
Clause 1: Toji Fushiguro's assassination mission against Yomi Isayama is cancelled, and he cannot accept any future missions that would harm Yomi Isayama.
Clause 2: Toji Fushiguro cannot accept assassination missions against Kenmei Isayama.
Clause 3: Toji Fushiguro's Cursed Tool, the Split Soul Katana, temporarily belongs to Kenmei Isayama. It will be returned only when the 500 million yen ransom is paid off. During this period, it cannot be forcibly taken back.
If Toji Fushiguro violates any of the above clauses, he and his family will be executed.
"Correct. If you have no objections, just sign your name at the bottom of this contract."
Kenmei smiled at Toji. The smile on his face was truly eerie, and the way he looked at Toji was all wrong—like he was watching a clown about to sign a treaty of national humiliation and surrender.
This was highly abnormal. The contract clearly stated three clauses in black and white. Aside from the last one about owing 500 million yen—which was worse than killing Toji—the other two were within acceptable limits.
Why Kenmei had that expression was truly baffling.
But at this moment, Kenmei was already using his mental inducement ability to guide Toji to sign his name on the final clause.
Toji looked at Kenmei's smile. Although he felt a bit uneasy, the feeling quickly dissipated because the contract seemed impossible to enforce anyway.
Especially Clause 1 and Clause 2.
The assassination mission was trivial. Did Toji ever care about mission constraints when he wanted to kill someone?
Toji couldn't just do charity work occasionally? If he wanted to kill, he killed.
This kid was truly naive.
He thought the kid would use the Reverse Cursed Technique to extort him, but these were the only terms.
The Inventory Curse absolutely had to be healed. Only when wrapped in the Inventory Curse, acting as his arsenal, was Toji the feared "Heavenly Tyrant."
"This kid really has a lot of tricks."
After repeatedly confirming the contract was harmless to him, Toji signed it.
At the same time, Toji felt a bit ridiculous inside.
He was a Heavenly Restriction user. Leaving aside how a contract generated by Cursed Energy could supervise him, whether it could bind him at all was questionable.
But this was exactly what Kenmei wanted to see. To reassure Toji, he had even converted his Mana into Cursed Energy to construct the entire contract. If this guy still didn't sign, he really didn't know what was good for him.
If Toji refused to sign, Kenmei might have killed him on the spot.
Toji's life was given by Kenmei; killing him again wouldn't be hard, would it?
"Should I teach this naive kid a lesson later?"
Toji shook his head. Forget it. I'm not a villain.
"The kid is so innocent, I'd feel bad bullying him."
Thus, with their own hidden agendas, both signed their names on the contract.
"Contract Established!"
A majestic voice rang in both Toji's and Kenmei's ears.
"Hahahahaha!"
Kenmei's smile became uncontrollably wide. Once this contract was complete, it was irreversible.
"What's so funny?"
Toji was still oblivious.
But the next second, green flames erupted on the parchment with a whoosh, burning away all the text on the surface.
Sacred? Now the contract looked completely different, filled with an ominous, bloody aura.
The original three simple rules had expanded to nearly a hundred.
When Toji saw the second clause transform from "cannot harm Kenmei Isayama" to "must obey all of Kenmei Isayama's orders with top priority," the absurdity in his heart was indescribable.
"It's not over yet."
Kenmei revealed a wicked grin. His words sounded like the devil's whisper in Toji's ears.
Suddenly, the single sheet of parchment began to split layer by layer, the text on each layer glowing as if burning.
Rip, rip, rip...
The contract parchment began to separate. In the end, nearly thirty ultra-thin sheets of parchment were pulled out from inside, each wrapped in a bloody aura.
Each sheet contained hundreds of clauses. Kenmei had really outdone himself.
Toji nearly fainted seeing this. He had clearly signed one contract, so why did all these contracts have his signature?
This wasn't waste paper; it had become his deed of sale.