Ashley was about to open the chocolate ice cream fridge when he felt an eerie presence, causing him to shudder.
"Something's not right," he muttered.
As if to confirm his thought, a man clad in white armor with intricate patterns stepped out from the corner.
His hair was blonde, long, and flowing with the non-existent wind. He wasn't much taller than Ashley, but he was slightly broad.
A pristine sword that seemed it could split the world in two was sheathed beside him.
His expression was calm and gentle, like he couldn't hurt a fly, but that was what made Ashley even more cautious and on high alert.
Something kept violently tugging at his heart, almost as if telling him that he stood no chance against this figure, that his best chance was to run.
This was the second time he felt that bone-rattling fear, ever since his encounter with his Nether contract.
Though this one couldn't compare.
"I was assigned to check a Celestial's mall after receiving a message of a child robbing the place," the figure said. "So I wondered, isn't there supposed to be a guard that could deal with him?"
His gaze locked with Ashley, causing the newly contracted boy to flinch.
"Only to hear that the guard was killed by the boy." He smiled.
There was something about that smile that kept Ashley on his toes, flight or fight mode already activated.
"Now there's no possible way a scrawny child of the outskirts could defeat a hulk of a mass guard, unless…"
Ashley felt his heart skip a beat.
"…He is contracted. But there's no way a child of the outskirts could be contracted to an Aether Beast since he has no Relic… so that means that he is contracted to a Nether Beast."
It was brief, but Ashley saw it, the darkness in the man's smile, the murderous glint in his eyes.
"I don't know how you survived the contract implementation, and I don't care how you did it." The man's hand hovered on the hilt of his sword. "But as a member of the Divine Contracted Association…"
The man drew his sword. "…I, Sir Luminar, a Divine Pawn, will purify your soul, gracefully."
"Purify my soul? That's just a sick way of saying I'll kill you." Ashley forced a grin, his legs slightly shaking. "You're one of those Divine bastards that think they are righteous, killing off the unfortunate ones who couldn't get a Divine Artifact or Relic to ward off Nether Beasts."
Ashley laughed. "You guys are the worst, thinking you are doing the world good by letting only the rich survive by giving them the Artifacts just to make loot their wealth, while we in the outskirts, who have nothing to offer, turn to Nether Monsters to die by your hands."
His eyes narrowed. "That's why I'm going to kill each and every one of you," Ashley hissed, his legs no longer shaking.
[This one has a potent Aether Beast, but it's still weak nonetheless.] Calcifer murmured. [Alright, runt, if you kill this bastard, then I'll tell you how to activate your Dark Mana.]
"Oh, look at you casually telling me to kill the bastard like it's going to be a walk in the park." Ashley retorted.
[It isn't, you may probably almost die.] Calcifer said nonchalantly.
"Just had to state the obvious." Ashley grimaced.
Killing an Aether Contracted, even the weakest of them, was going to be hard for Ashley who hadn't even awakened his Mana Pathways nor discovered his Mana Zones, talk more or less of even sensing his Dark Core and Dark Mana.
But Ashley was determined to bring this Divine Pawn down, no matter how long it would take or how many beatings he would receive in the process.
Spreading out his arms wide, Ashley took on a fighting stance. "I've always wanted to kill a Divine bastard, so how can I pass this opportunity?" Ashley cheekily smiled.
Sir Luminar returned the smile. "This might actually be fun."
The Divine Pawn flexed his arms once, then dashed towards Ashley, instantly appearing before the harmless-looking boy. He swung his sword in a diagonal manner, looking to cleanly split the child in half.
How merciless!... or merciful?
But Ashley's reflexes were just as fast.
He side-stepped the attack, punching out in a counter, hoping his strength was enough to stagger the Divine Pawn, but…
The armor didn't do as much as bend at his supposed evolved strength.
Sir Luminar, however, retreated a few steps, a surprised look on his face.
"What? Afraid of close-quarter combat against a Nether Contracted?" Ashley grinned.
Sir Luminar shook his head. "Ah, no, I just noticed something…" he paused, scanning Ashley from head to toe with his eyes.
"…you can't use Corrupt Mana, and that's because your Mana Pathways are still Dormant." He smiled darkly in delight.
Ashley shuddered, his eyes constricting as cold sweat slid down his back.
Sure, that was true, but how could the Divine Pawn have known at the first exchange?
Unless…
[He has fought against a Nether Contracted before.] Calcifer completed his thought.
Ashley instantly became more wary.
An enemy who knows your weakness and has had experience fighting against those like you, while you don't know anything about them, was a huge disadvantage, especially for Ashley.
Suddenly, there was an extra air of confidence around Sir Luminar, his expression turning lazy.
"Your Mana pathways are Dormant meaning you can't access your Dark Mana," Sir Luminar cocked his head to his side. "So you can't even be considered a threat."
Lazily playing with his sword, he glanced at Ashley and shook his head in pity. "…You're just a pathetic child of the outskirts." He sighed.
Ashley frowned.
Sure, he was pathetic and weak, but to be called that to his face… was something he didn't take lightly.
"Getting cocky, aye Divine bastard," Ashley gritted his teeth.
"Oh, so the child of—"
"Enough with your crap!" Ashley cut him off. "I said earlier that I was going to kill you, and I am still going to do it."
Sir Luminar sighed. "Alright then, but I can't comfortably fight someone weaker than me unarmed, there's no honor in that, so please choose any tool as your weapon."
Honor? In killing children? Just what kind of sick bastards were teaching these hopeless fools?
Ashley lingered for a moment, then cautiously walked towards the cleaning equipment section, not taking his eyes off the handsome Divine Pawn, and picked up a mop stick and broke it in two.
He took on a fighting stance, and in his hands, the two broken sticks were held like daggers.
Sir Luminar suppressed his laughter. "Well, every weapon should be honored."
Sir Luminar readied his sword, but did not take on a fighting stance, as if already convinced that the fight wouldn't take long.
Both armed men stayed still, eyes locked onto each other, waiting for a sudden move, then…
Ashley rushed forward this time, his body arched like a ninja.
Sir Luminar just smiled and prepared to counter when Ashley did the unexpected.
Less than a few meters away from the Divine Pawn, he threw one of his makeshift daggers forward.
Ashley might not have that great amount of Battle IQ, but he was smart enough to understand one thing.
The Element of Surprise.
Momentarily startled by Ashley's approach, Sir Luminar cut through the mop stick in a simple move.
But Ashley had already dived towards his side, using the broken part of the other stick to deflect his outstretched hand before tackling him to the ground.
Surprisingly, it worked!
It might have been a stupid move, but it was the only thing Ashley could think of before his next plan.
***
"Mana drain?"
[Yes, it's a skill that I use to absorb Mana from other Nether Beasts, but in your case… I'm not so sure if you could use it, but it's worth trying.]
"You tell me about a skill that could help me and the next moment decide that I can't use it." Ashley dead-panned.
[Hey, I'm the one who doesn't want my vessel to die before I take over his body, that's all.] Calcifer defended. [Besides, if you succeed, you could Awaken your Mana Pathways and maybe Mana Zones too.]
"Tch… fine, how can I activate it?" Ashley asked.
Calcifer stayed silent for some moments before replying, [Imagine you're a vacuum cleaner and your palm is the vacuum, then imagine the Mana you want to absorb as dirt and you are trying to take in that dirt by sucking it in.]
"What kind of sick explanation is that?" Ashley hysterically shouted in his mind.
[You asked how to activate it, and I told you how you could, using human tools as an example, so your pea-sized brain could understand.]
"You're the worst teacher ever." Ashley groaned.
***
'Alright… Imagine yourself as a vacuum trying to absorb dirt…' Ashley repeated in his mind.
Ashley's eyes glowed dim purple, then his perception changed.
He saw beyond the Divine Pawn's body, thin golden lines that channeled from his Divine Core to various parts of his body where there were countless numbers of golden nodes connected complexly with each other and one that stood out from them, being slightly bigger and thicker than the rest.
'Mana Pathways and Mana Zones…'
Not allowing himself to be distracted, Ashley swiftly held Sir Luminar's neck in a choke.
"…and absorb it!" He whispered.
Then, his fingers began to glow.