Kat glanced up to the sword raised to strike her down. *No probably not while he's jumping between terrified anger and just terrified. I doubt I can make any meaningful change in such a short time…*
*But maybe that's all I need to do? Buy myself some time. What about… hmmm, so the contract is to help him with revenge… what if I instead agree to help him while he tries to take revenge for this incident. That means that once he stops trying to take revenge, the contract is complete right?*
*It gets me time, and it means that I don't have to do anything too bad, I just have to provide assistance. Maybe… help him when necessary while he tries to get revenge? I can maybe use some of my demonic leverage or whatever it's actually called to make sure that it's when I deem necessary instead of him? That should give me a lot of freedom to act while not tipping my hand too far.*
*I need to ask for something else though. Something that makes it look like that's what I'm trying to get instead of the reworded contract.* Kat tried to properly take in the room as well as she could without moving her eyes. He wasn't looking at her, but Kat didn't want to take any chances.
*Dammit, it's all ruins. There isn't anything here that gives me some clue as to what I could ask for. I also really don't want to ask for something suitably demonic just in case I'm forced to get it. Imagine if I asked for the souls of the innocent as payment and he actually tried to give them to me. That is not a thought I want to entertain.*
*Plus, the guy is clearly a scared kid. I don't want to ask for something he can't give me and then have the system force him to pay what I'm owed, or whatever the contract might do to him. I wish I could just ask for a rock or something but he NEEDS to believe that's what I really want.*
*Hey system do you have any good ideas?*
D.E.M.O.N.S suggests requesting one Favour as additional compensation. A favour with no limit is particularly deadly.
Kat wanted to think of a better solution but the system's idea was a good well. *Wait does it count as an idea if it's a program? Is the system a program or an AI? Does it have a soul? Wait, I'm getting distracted.*
*Hmm, system if I do ask for a favour, will that be a problem across dimensions?*
No. When enforcing a Favour from a Contract, User Kat may request that Favour from across dimensional barriers.
*Ok so a favour… some time in the future. Should I make it a while in the future? Or just ask for it?* Kat tried to ponder how exactly she wanted to ask for the favour, but her options weren't great. She kept going back to just asking straight up and letting the boy impose his own restrictions on the favour. It would get him focused on the favour instead of her wording and it would probably be less restrictive then if Kat tried to present restrictions she thought he'd be happy with.
"A favour" said Kat letting the words reverberate for a second before continuing "I promise to help you when necessary while you try to get revenge for this slight against your family… all for one favour in the future"
Kat watched as the boy gulped, seemingly weighing the words she said. "I- I won't be tricked into an endless favour?" he said… but the words sounded hollow, almost implying that while he wouldn't be tricked into one, he might still choose to enter into it by choice.
*Ok, how do I respond?* Kat let the silence stretch, but only slightly, as she was abusing her increased thought speed to consider things. *Do I just let things wait out? Let him keep talking to himself? He already sounds like he's half convinced to just say yes for some reason…*
*Or do I laugh? As if he told some cute joke? Maybe try and imply that the fact he even got this close to agreeing to it is already a mistake? Force him to impose what he thinks are intense restrictions? I mean really I don't care about the favour, I'm doing this to change the wording and to not go to demon debtors prison.*
*Let's go with a polite and soft laugh…* Kat stopped on the thought. *I don't really know how to do that though do I? Shit ok… let's just wait then.*
And so Kat did, she let her cognition return to normal and had thirty seconds pass. The boy broke first, he didn't make it to thirty-five seconds. "Fine. But, I won't do anything that would directly damage my interests… and… I won't do anything that will destroy my reputation… and… no that's all"
*I wonder what the other thing is.* "In that case, I accept" said Kat and… nothing happened.
"Uh…" mumbled the boy
"You must accept as well" said Kat
"Oh um… I accept?" said the boy as a question.
*Oh great. The great contract knows what reluctance is. Is that why people think they are supposed to use their full name and a bunch of other stuff? It proves that they are serious about it?*
"Properly" said Kat letting an edge bleed into her voice that she didn't really feel.
The boy gulped at this, and Kat could see him chewing on the inside of his mouth. The sword in his hand wavering. It danced back and forth, almost like a snake, as if he was trying to find some target, some outlet for his indecision.
Eventually though the boy seemed to make a decision because he grit his teeth and put away the sword and said "I, am Mao Xiang, from the Mao clan and I accept this contract with the demon before me" voice still shaking. *Wait why do I know Mao is the last name?*
But it seemed to be enough as the chains that covered Kat were drastically overshadowed by the purple chains that burst out from her. Where as before they were only impressive in number, now there was something more to them.
As Kat pushed her will into the contract, she could feel a massive weight settle behind the chains, as if it wasn't her that was reinforcing this. Kat would later learn that this assumption was false, she was indeed the one powering the presence behind the chains but… that wasn't a concern for now.
No the major concern was that the boy was screaming his head off. In response to the rush of chains he freaked out and drew his sword… which did basically nothing. The chains seemed to take his act of aggression as a direct offense swarming in even greater numbers than before exploding from Kat, destroying the gold chains that bound her and tightening their grip on the boy.
Kat gulped as she watched the scene. *Did I do this? Is this all because I bargained for a favour? Or is this something else? Is it because I'm rank 2… why?* Kat was trying to wrap her head around the sheer power she felt radiating of the chains.
If her rank one chains felt binding… these almost felt suffocating, as if they were willing to go out of their way to cause additional suffering if they felt they were being denied for whatever reason, and Kat felt a slight fear of them creep into her mind even though these chains were hers… she just didn't want to recognise the fact.
Finally… a few weak purple chains snaked their way across the ground and started to bind her. They just barely made it to Kat to complete the contract. They were weak, especially in the face of Kat's onslaught of chains. They bound her, but only in the weakest sense, and they seemed to have only managed this much because she wanted them to.
It furthered solidified the slight fear in her mind. She didn't expect that her willpower was so superior to the boy in front of her. He might be angry, and wielding a sword, but clearly his will was no match for Kat's, especially when amplified by her demonic nature and she wasn't sure what to do with that information.
*How badly have I bent this contract? What am I even being held to anymore? The other contracts felt properly binding but this… this feels almost like a joke. Maybe I shouldn't have thrown so much of my will behind the chains… I… well I don't know if I was expecting resistance but I wasn't expecting this… that's for sure.*
*System… is this… is this normal?*
D.E.M.O.N.S is cannot share the information of other Contracts…
Error…
Error…
Override DELTATHREESEVENEIGHT*&#@*)912848591
Reconstituting Question…
Accepting new Parameters
Redefining restrictions
No Kat. This is not normal.
Kat gulped and dragged her gaze over to the boy, who had fallen to his knees and was now letting out shuddering gasps.. *Well… I'm not sure that makes this any better.*