I know that the price of the contract they made are their own souls.
Of course, since Lion made a contract before we met so I know that the price is his own soul.
It would be too stupid for Alpha to make a contract just for me to get back here in exchange for my soul.
So the price of their contracts are their own souls.
But they seemed too desperate to do everything that is demanded from them that I'm positive that my soul now is the price of their contract.
Let's first understand how a contract with a demon works.
A magical contract with a demon is a binding covenant, where a creature or a being exchanges their soul, their beloved's soul or their memory for power, knowledge, wealth or fulfillment of a desire...
Knowledge?!
Lion...
Lion made a contract with a demon in exchange for knowledge??!!!
I remembered him being obsessed with increasing his knowledge. He wants to know everything. Maybe that's why he fell for me in the first place as I'm fascinating to him.
Everything we talked about is always fascinating to him.
It's not only me that knows about that but almost everyone around him.
Someone mentioned to me a long time ago that before Lion had met me, they thought that Lion's mates are magic and knowledge. He was too much obsessed with them that he ignored everyone around him.
It's as if he has his own world.
Having Ghost as his somewhat constant companion despite their differences, that it was a miracle that their relationship lasted for a long time until now.
There's no concept for friendship in this world as what Lion told me before.
But since I entered their lives, something changed with Lion and the rest of the pack.
They seemed happier and they have great, genuine relationships with each other.
Though it didn't start like that at first.
I remembered that Lion used to be too watchful and wary around them before we mated and even after we mated too, though he started to warm up towards the rest of the pack.
Their relationship with each other grew stronger after I returned back from being in my previous world.
Trust between them became stronger after they performed the blood bond ritual though.
But I still need to soothe Lion from time to time and remind him that he's the first in my heart.
He is and will always be.
....
Since I'm positive that Lion unknowingly made a freaking contract with a demon just for knowledge, I have to continue to review everything that I know about demon contracts and why there's a change of the price on the contract.
By the way, memory seems like a weird thing for a price of a contract but the more that I think about it, the creepier it seems. It's as if the demon is trying to take your identity.
Just like... Subus...
Subus is a demon...
A freaking demon!
But she's not that powerful enough to make contracts. The way Lion told me about her, made her seemed like a succubus to me.
She IS a succubus.
I was just suspicious about that time but soon forgot about it as there were no presence of demons back then.
No wonder she was desperate to be alone with Lion and took advantage of his vulnerability!
Argh!
I hate that... that.. WITCH!
Also, props to the rest of the pack as they weren't tempted by her...
Of course, they weren't tempted since I wasn't around them and Subus needed my scent for her illusion to work.
As our bedroom was filled with my scent and I was also hiding inside the closet, no wonder that Lion let his defenses down at that time.
But yeah.. illusions are extremely powerful..
And it can take your identity if it is successful..
Just like Violet.
....
Argh!
I'm getting distracted again!
Now where was I?
Ah, yes. There are typical elements of a magical contract with a demon.
First, the core components.
The parties consists of the creature/being and a demon.
Of course, we know about the prices which I repeat are either of the three:
Your soul, your beloved's soul and your memory.
The demon grants your desire: knowledge for Lion and me returning to this world for Alpha.
The contract is sealed either by blood, a ritual or a mark on the creature/being's body.
Since I already saw Lion and Alpha's naked bodies, they don't have any mark at all except my mating mark with them.
So it's either by blood or a ritual.
Second, the contract is magically binding, meaning that if anyone violates the terms, they suffer instant deadly penalties.
This is where it gets interesting...
Once signed, the contract is impossible to void, even if the creature/being changes their mind.
But what made it interesting is that demons are notorious for exploiting loopholes to create a worse outcome for the creature/being.
It's always the demon who wins.
Third, there are several consequences of breaking a contract, such as immediate surrender of the soul and...
CURSES!
No wonder that Lion is desperate to do everything that is demanded from him that he seemed like a puppet!
That demon that he made contract to must've found a loophole!
And that demon must've known about me from the high council when I was kidnapped and tortured!
It's like hitting two birds with one stone!
IT'S CONNECTED!
We've been played all along!
It's a game for the demon in which we already lost in the first place!
....
I'm shaking in anger and fear.
And hunger too.
To summarize everything, the more contracts a demon has, the powerful he becomes as it is already known that nobody can manage to break a demon's contract.
The constant presence of demons in this world is a proof of that.
But what kind of demon is powerful enough to be able to do that...
Oh.
The demon king himself.
I don't know if things are moving too fast for me but let me think about everything that happened since I got here.
Lion made a contract with a demon before he met me. A sign that there is already the presence of a demon in this world before I got here.
The practice of dark magic by the members of the high council. The experiments with creatures and beings, like Orm's mother before I came here. And also I'm the last experiment which turned out to be that I'm the one they are looking for.
Presence of cultists in the land of the deserters, the demons in the palace at the territory, all the places we went to especially the area where we got the magic stones.
The abnormal change of nature like the pests during one of the events at the territory and the sandstorm.
Rahab. Enough said.
Thanks Rahab! Now I understand why he warned me not to say the word contract aloud.
And I am now convinced that Maelsa and Leon are working for someone that is stronger than them as they tried to make us find magic stones, not just any magic stones but quite powerful ones too.
No wonder that Leon destroyed Rahab because of what he did with the dimension stone though I'm not sure if it is really Leon who did it. I have a feeling that it must be Maelsa who destroyed Rahab.
Also, I now understood why the second magic stone was broken in several shards.
Oohh I can just imagine the chaos if someone managed to go to another dimension.
Let me review what kind of magic stones that we got:
Magic stone of Absorption.
Magic stone of Dimension but was destroyed so it doesn't count.
Magic stone of control which was quite powerful as it nullifies magic.
We haven't found the fourth magic stone yet but i know that the transformation stone is quite powerful.
All of these magic stones, if they are absorbed by the demon king, he would be more powerful than before as he doesn't need to use that much magic compared to not having them.
Ah.. so that's why Rahab's actions was considered a betrayal.
....
It's not moving too fast but rather, I was too stupid to notice it all along.
The demon king is here in this world.
And he wants to conquer it as the presence of more demons in this world are a proof of it.
It happened slowly that by the time I noticed, the problem is already great and alarming.
He's looking for someone like me, as the experimentation done by the high council members and cultists are a proof of it.
He is connected to the high council or maybe he IS the head of the high council though I'm not sure about that.
As for Leon and Maelsa, it seems fitting that they are working for him but I don't think they know about his true identity or else a great war will happen at the territory. There is already a large presence of demons that are in disguise that are working in the palace.
No wonder that they are desperate to get the magic stones.
But why would they be desperate? They are already powerful! Unless...
Unless their power comes from the demon king himself...
A contract...
AHHHHH!
Lion, Alpha, Yilan maybe, Leon maybe and Maelsa maybe.
So many individuals are having a contract with the demon king!
No wonder that this world is in danger!
Now I know why the demon king is doing all of these.
Demons crave power.
Now I'm getting a headache thinking about all of these.
I need a break.
....
I can't take a break yet as I kept thinking about how the price of the contract was changed.
As far as I know, there are several ways for a demon to legally change the price of the contract.
If a demon breaks the contract, it may result to him being destroyed, voiding the agreement or the creature/being inheriting his powers.
So they have ways on how to manipulate the contract.
In case that you need to make a contract with a demon, make sure you have a wise lawyer with you.
First, they have this strategy by using the fine print. A demon cannot increase the price but they use hidden clauses, such as interest rates or so. Especially if the demand wasn't made on time.
Demand wasn't made on...
The cuff around my neck.
CURSES!!!!
But wait, Maelsa was the one who put the cuff. Ah of course, he is the one who gives the demands of the demon king to Lion.
Now it's beginning to make sense.
It's proof that the price of Lion's contract was changed.
The demon king is having fun playing with us. He can manage to get me anytime as it seems that he is more powerful than Leon and Maelsa combined.
Maelsa and Leon are powerful than Lion though I'm not sure which among the two is more powerful than the other.
He's taking his time to get me, maybe because he wants to be more powerful than before as proven by his demands in getting the magic stones. And of course, demons are greedy so he wants to conquer this world as well.
Haaaaa....
This is making me stressed.
And distracted.
My thoughts are chaotic and jumbled but I get the picture now.
Now where was I?
The second way the demons try to manipulate the contract is by using the loophole method.
A demon may not change the price BUT they may change the value of the contract's outcome.
For instance, Lion asks for knowledge and in return, he got me.
Hahaha! That's so funny!
That's....
But Lion already explained to me why I'm here in the first place!
Though he didn't managed to properly explain it either as he admitted that he can't understand why a miniscule being such as myself is being absorbed in this world. He explained it to me at the beginning when I newly stayed at his castle.
He explained it to me! He did! He.....
He knew all along.
Why....
Why didn't he tell me?!
Lion, why?!
If I'm correct with my presumption, then it means that the demon king had planned everything in the first place. He was just playing all along.
So everything was just an act.
He already knew about me.
I thought the demons were searching for a being like me but I was wrong. I WAS VERY WRONG!
The demon king already knew and he's watching me.
But.. Lion.. why..
Why didn't you tell me..?
No wonder he was so protective with me.
Now that I realized all of this, there's no need for me to investigate any longer...
I'm so tired...
Anyway, by changing the value of the contract's outcome, like in Lion's case which is me, the contract may increase the cost of the deal, which made the price changed from being his soul to the cost of my soul as I'm now valuable to him.
I'm just a chess piece...
Not even a chess piece but a toy.
Why, Lion...
I don't know what I feel right now...
So that's why he never told me about his contract.
But I don't know why the others are hesitant to tell me about Lion's contract though but they must have an idea of some sorts as everyone knows that a contract price is usually something that is very valuable to you.
Oh.
I'm so stupid.
So, so stupid.
I now understand why everyone is hesitant to tell me.
But on a weird side of the situation, nobody has any idea that you make contracts with demons.
So this made me realize that the demon king is here all along but in disguise.
Now the question is, who is it?
....
My clues for now is that, Leon and Maelsa takes orders from him. Also, he is much powerful than them.
So it means that I haven't met him yet.
Maybe because of my human nature that I'm feeling curiousity to know his real identity.
A sudden noise interrupted my thoughts in which I noticed several guards entering the dungeons.
One of them opened my cell, binded my arms together with magical ropes and roughly pulled me towards them.
I wonder where are they taking me.
Of course I followed them as I have no other choice.