Let the Whales Fight, This Shrimp is Leaving! - Chapter 12

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 12
“Oh, by the way.”
Idir’s eyes curved into a thoroughly satisfied crescent.
“If you betray me, I will cut off your limbs and shred your flesh while you’re still breathing.”
Not you, but that man over there.
It felt as though those unspoken words hung heavily in the air.
“Gasp…!”
Having barely escaped Idir’s iron grip, Holdin collapsed onto the floor, desperately lunging for breath.
The sudden rush of air scraped against his raw throat, triggering a violent fit of coughing that brought tears to his eyes.
Meanwhile, Idir pushed herself up, nonchalantly smoothing down her rumpled attire.
“I’ll make the contract.”
She stepped calmly and purposefully toward the demon.
“Not me, though. That man will.”
Holdin remained sprawled on the ground, still wheezing to fill his starved lungs.
‘Since things have come to this, I have no choice.’
He already knew what Idir was after.
Therefore, only one path remained to break this deadlock.
‘Find the culprit first and seize the information.’
Once he possessed what that woman desired, he could flip the tables once more.
‘You’re not the only one desperate here.’
He did not know how much Idir Hubert truly understood about demons, but Holdin dared to possess total confidence in one thing.
When it came to demons, he knew far more than she did.
* * *
The demon’s eyes gleamed a vivid scarlet.
[Are you trying to gamble with us? Is this a joke?]
[How foolish, Idir.]
I merely smiled in silence.
‘A joke?’
Did this honestly look like a joke to them?
If this were truly nothing more than the pathetic, futile struggle of a miserable human, a mere joke…
“Pfft.”
Then why weren’t they doing anything about it?
Try as I might to suppress it, laughter kept bubbling up.
They had dropped so many blatant clues because they thought they held the upper hand, and now they were trying to act completely unfazed.
Of course, I was interpreting the situation entirely to my own advantage, but…
‘Even if it was just a wild guess, a correct answer is still a correct answer, right?’
If a demon failed to secure a contract after being summoned, they were forced right back from whence they came.
Moreover, due to some unknown restriction, they currently couldn’t exert their full power.
If their ability to cross into the Human Realm was limited, then my summons must have been a godsend to this demon.
And an angel could not freely return so long as a demon lingered in the Human Realm.
‘Besides, he definitely said it.’
That he would grant ‘one chance.’
It was certain that Deyan had formed a contract with a demon.
Since he bore the Curse, his soul must be held as collateral.
Yet, for some reason, the angel had not executed Deyan on the spot.
I could deduce two possible reasons for this.
Either because Deyan was still a living human.
Or because the sin hadn’t been committed of his own free will.
Therefore, a sliver of salvation still remained for him.
‘If I play this card right…’
I could ensure Deyan Boislav Nemanic would never be able to betray me.
I was the one holding the leash.
Though it began as a reckless gamble, my choice would ultimately prove correct.
‘Because I will make it so.’
I took a long stride toward Beval.
“I’ve changed my mind. Human whims are naturally fickle, after all.”
[Fascinatingly provocative. Just my style.]
“That man will become the contractor in my stead. That way, you get to stay in the Human Realm, Lord Beval, and I get my revenge without putting my soul at risk.”
[Indeed. And that rigid, duty-bound angel will be stuck here as well.]
Beval darted a crimson tongue out to lick his lower lip.
Black smoke swirled within his flashing magenta eyes.
[This should be entertaining.]
As soon as I regain my strength, I’ll slaughter that angel too.
…I thought I caught the faint whisper of that thought, but I chose to ignore it.
Beval’s hand gently caressed my cheek.
[Cease this at once, you vile creature!]
Just then, the angel’s booming rebuke thundered through the space.
Countless shards of blinding light came hurtling toward us.
The demon’s eyes flashed crimson for a fraction of a second.
The scattering shards of light were instantly swallowed by black smoke, vanishing into nothingness.
[Even if I’ve lost some strength, I’m not so weak that I can’t handle a single angel.]
“Urgh…! You…!”
Letting out a soft chuckle, the demon pulled me close to his side.
Simultaneously, the surroundings plunged into pitch darkness.
[Idir.]
I felt his breath tickle the nape of my neck, and then a low voice resonated directly inside my mind.
[I’ll play along with your cute little trick. Since we’re in the same boat, let me share one more piece of information…]
I wondered if this was what it felt like to receive a suffocating confession of love.
Goosebumps erupted down my spine, and my heart gave a sharp throb.
Beval’s voice was intoxicating enough to utterly shatter my past arrogance, back when I foolishly thought a demon’s temptation could only be so sweet.
[The only reason that overgrown pigeon merely pinned that human to the wall is because his soul hasn’t been completely ensnared yet.]
I had come perilously close to missing this crucial detail.
[Use it to your heart’s content. Me, and the angel too.]
Warm fingers gently traced the curve of my neck.
[However, if you lose this game you’ve proposed, I will claim my price. In my own way.]
His hand slithered slowly down my back as if counting each vertebra he intended to collect, before halting at my waist.
He tightened his grip around my waist. Easily pulled by his strength, I found myself pressed flat against the demon’s chest.
[So do your best. Who knows? Perhaps you truly will end up holding the world in the palm of your hand.]
Heh.
A brief, mocking chuckle rasped against my eardrums.
The very next instant.
Beval pulled away from me without a shred of lingering attachment.
My senses snapped awake all at once, as if waking abruptly from a vivid, sweet dream.
‘It’s burning.’
Belatedly feeling a flush of heat, I hurriedly covered the back of my neck with my palm.
“What did you do to me?”
[Nothing major.]
Beval replied lightly, giving a casual shrug.
[I engraved the Summoning Mark upon you. So I can manifest before you whenever I wish.]
“…”
“Shouldn’t that be engraved on me instead?”
Holdin, who had been coughing and rolling on the floor, cut in to protest.
Beval cast a disdainful glance at him, letting out a faint, mocking sneer.
[I can appear before my contractor whenever I please. So why don’t you stop looking so pathetic and get up?]
Beval hauled Holdin to his feet and slapped a heavy hand onto his shoulder.
Then, like a back-alley thug, he dragged him into a corner of the room.
“Argh!”
Without a word of warning, he bit down hard on Holdin’s hand and swallowed the blood.
[Blegh, disgusting. Of all people, it had to be the blood of such an ugly bastard.]
I quietly watched the exchange between the two.
Beval used Holdin’s blood to scribe a sigil on his own palm, then slammed it directly onto Holdin’s forehead.
“Hey, you damn demon! This isn’t some slave branding!”
[Are you not currently being treated as nothing less than a slave anyway?]
“Well, that’s true, but still!”
[Idir.]
As I stood there blankly observing the scene, the angel, Sariel, approached from behind.
[You have already committed a grave error.]
“…And?”
[You will have to pay the price for this sin one day.]
“…”
I merely turned my head to look up at the angel.
With the unblinking gaze of a strict overseer, he was detachedly observing everything, including myself.
I silently endured Sariel’s hollow, dry stare.
‘Bound by rules, yet forbidden from intervening,’ was it?
I had no idea what the single chance the angel mentioned truly entailed.
But no one in their right mind would dare commit a crime right in front of such a severe, uncompromising warden.
That would be the logical conclusion for an ordinary person, but…
‘I’m already out of my mind anyway, so it doesn’t matter.’
I decided to seize the opportunity to ask something I was curious about.
“Are you going to punish that man?”
I pointed toward Deyan, who was nailed to the wall.
The man, having lost consciousness again in the interim, hung completely limp.
[Later.]
“So you mean not right now?”
[I see you are attempting something entirely transparent.]
Sariel closed his eyes slowly, letting out a soft sigh.
With a flick of his finger through the empty air, the spikes driven into Deyan’s shoulders vanished into thin air.
It was a casual dismissal, effortless as blowing out a candle.
I stared at Deyan as he slumped down onto the floor, my mind whirling.
‘If he can’t punish him immediately, why bother pinning him to the wall in the first place?’
Was it to set an example and deter me from contracting with the demon?
As if something so trivial could ever suppress my ambition.
Sensing a sudden touch, I glanced down to find Sariel holding my hand.
It was the very hand that had turned red, blistered, and distorted from being thrust into the flames to summon the demon.
‘I had completely forgotten about the pain.’
A pure, white light enveloped my hand. As a soothing chill washed over the flesh and the throbbing ache began to dull, a soft sigh escaped my lips.
“Lord Sariel. Is there a path to salvation even for a human who has sinned?”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————