“All that hard work,” Pyre murmured as a layer of yellow dust accumulated on the floor. The majority of the angels were in the process of dissolving the contracts they had formed less than a day ago. A few of them chose not to do anything, picking the option of death instead. Pyre sighed and shook his head as the angels who hadn’t complied were flattened by an invisible force, their organs jetting out of their mouths. “So much waste. They could’ve been experimented on first.”

Palan ignored the half-angel’s complaints until he confirmed all the contracts he had created were destroyed, losing his hair in the process. Raea stared at the pile of limbs and red metal that surrounded them, looking for a path out. Palan didn’t bother with that and directly walked on top of them, heading towards the prison exit. A voice called out to him, “I suppose this means we no longer have a deal?”

The angel underneath Palan’s foot made a squelching noise as the demon pivoted and faced Akurel’s cage. Raea tiptoed to her demon’s side while Pyre was picking up metal and muttering something about cleaning up messes. He regretted sending all the dwarves away when Raea began indiscriminately throwing fireballs throughout the prison.

“Who is he?” Raea asked and furrowed her brow. “You don’t have a contract with him, do you?”

Palan shook his head. “He wanted to form one. He’s some hotshot executioner,” he said as he approached the cage. “Originally, he’s the person I wanted you to help me with.”

“Originally,” Raea said and smiled. “Which means you don’t have any more plans for him, right?”

“I don’t, but Pyre might,” Palan said and shrugged. If he did accept Akurel, his strength may increase, but was it worth the change in personality he might receive? Palan snorted as he thought about the possibility of an altruistic demon. It wouldn’t be able to survive in either Eljiam or Div’Nya. “The deal’s off. I’m not interested in your powers.”

“Wait,” Akurel said as Palan and Raea turned to leave. His brow furrowed as he leaned forward, straining against the chains buried in his body. “Isn’t there anything else I can do for you to spare my subordinates? Even if it’s not giving you my mana, I can still assist you in different ways can’t I? My power is altruism, I can increase the scope and intensity of your abilities. If you don’t want to form a contract with me, I’m willing to wear a slave collar.”

Palan halted. “Would that work?” he asked Pyre. The half-angel in the distance dropped the metal bar in his hand and frowned.

“Slave collars weren’t made to work on angels,” Pyre said and rubbed his chin. “And let’s not mention the fact that’s it’s a taboo amongst the halflings.”

“Can you make one that works on an angel?” Palan asked. Raea frowned and pinched Palan’s waist. “What? I’m not even allowed to own a slave?”

Raea pursed her lips. “I guess it’s not as bad as forming a contract,” she said. “And you won’t be interested in him sexually…, right?” A crease formed on her forehead as she stared at Palan. He flicked her nose.

“Don’t talk nonsense,” he said and turned his attention back onto Akurel. “If I can get a slave collar that works on you, I’ll consider taking better care of your subordinates.”

Akurel sighed as he relaxed his body, sinking against the chains. “Then I guess I will have to wait,” he said. “I already know the answer, but I don’t suppose my life could be traded for the angels’ lives that you are going to war with, right?”

“Don’t get too greedy now,” Palan said and snorted before walking away with Raea following after him.

“So, there’s no more contracts?” Raea asked, dusting off her clothes. Her robe was stained with soot, and the lower half was drenched in blood and yellow powder.

“There’s Pyre’s,” Palan said, gesturing towards the half-angel who was also leaving to find his assistants. “But you already knew about that.”

Raea nodded. “There’s no mana transfer, so that doesn’t really matter. Anyone else?” she asked, squinting at his face. She wanted to find a clue that signaled Palan was lying other than the obvious crash of lightning. It could help her in the future—maybe other people had similar mannerisms.

“There’s her,” Palan said and pointed at Justitia as they exited the prison. She was still sitting in the same place, drawing doodles on the ground with her finger.

“I’m what?” Justitia asked as her body stiffened. She raised her head and saw Raea glaring at her. She tried to swallow, but her mouth had become unusually dry.

“Let me see your contract with Palan,” Raea said with a frown. She didn’t want to treat Justitia too badly. They were friends—or companions at the very least. Justitia nodded as she caught the yellow crystal Raea dropped into her hands. She grasped it until it shattered, the pieces flowing upwards and forming a yellow parchment. Raea snatched it out of the air and began to read. She nodded. “Acceptable.”

The weight on Justitia’s back was lifted. She blinked and exhaled before rubbing her eyes. She had heard the screams coming from within the prison after Raea entered, and she really wasn’t a fan of any actions that could elicit a scream from her.

“Who else?” Raea asked Palan.

“There’s no”—a black cloud began to condense over Palan’s head—“… not many left,” Palan said. The cloud dispersed. “Just a few demons that I made contracts with above ground. Remember that time with the centaurs?”

“Vaguely,” Raea said. Her brow furrowed as she tried to recall the recent events. The only thing that came to mind was an annoying angel who kept pestering her while riding a bull-headed demon.

“Well, I made a few deals to set them free as long as they owed me a favor,” Palan said and shrugged. “I have no idea what happened to them actually. I guess it doesn’t really matter.” He cleared his throat. “I never got around to asking. What were you doing with the harpies anyway?”

Raea’s brow furrowed. “You’re avoiding something,” she said and pursed her lips. “Who else do you have a contract with?”

“Mm. No one…”—thunder rumbled in his ears—“important,” Palan said and rolled his eyes. Couldn’t this lightning-happy Creator let him off the hook just once? He thought about remaining silent, but he figured Raea’s reaction would be worse than if he just told her. “Just some minor side character named Abaddon.”