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Palan stared at his hand as yellow dust fell through the gaps between his fingers. “I told you, it doesn’t work like that,” Pyre said and shook his head as he reached into his bag and pulled out a yellow crystal. “You can’t gain any benefits without taking on risk.” He placed the yellow crystal into Palan’s palm. “Try setting your penalty as complete hair loss if you break the contract and lower the amount of mana you can take.”

“Lower it even further?” Palan asked and frowned as he clenched the crystal in his hand. Behind him, Justitia stood with her head lowered. “Then is there even a point?” He had decided to ask Pyre about his plan of contracting with every angel present.

“Of course,” Pyre said as he gestured towards the cage the trio was standing in front of. An angel lay on her back with a vacant look on her face, chains binding her arms and legs. “If you can use even a hundredth of their total mana, it’s worth it. Hell, it’s worth it even if you can only use a thousandth. How many angels are here? Close to a thousand? Not to mention the fact they’re all greater angels. Every little bit adds up. And there’s always the option of increasing your penalty.”

Palan grunted. That was true. He crushed the crystal in his hand and began forming the outlines of the contract—a simple, level zero contract. The angel would allow Palan to draw on a hundredth of her mana pool to improve his own strength, and Palan would temporarily halt her torture for three hours a day. If either of them failed to fulfill their end of the contract, then their hair would be lost. This time, the yellow dust in his hand flowed into the air and formed a piece of paper before disappearing from existence.

“It worked,” Palan said and nodded. He knelt down and picked up a sooty branding iron. He marked an ‘X’ on the outside of the cage. Pyre had already informed his helpers about the meaning of the mark. At least, for three hours a day, the torture would temporarily halt. Palan’s contractee let out a groan as she rolled her head to the side, her eyes meeting his. “Enjoy your three hours,” Palan said as he stepped out of the cage and shut the door. He glanced at Pyre. “Onto the next person?”

The old angel nodded and handed Palan three sacks filled with yellow crystals. “There’s a few ants crawling out of some angels that I need to get rid of,” Pyre said before wandering off to a different cage. “You should know what to do by yourself.”

Justitia stared at Pyre as he opened a cage and began to flay the inhabitant with a thorny whip. The orb embedded in the prisoner’s chest began to glow with a bright light as the dwarf who was previously in charge of the torture stepped aside. “Did he just say ants?” Justitia asked and looked at Palan but discovered that he had already moved on. Her brow furrowed as she followed after him, her steps hesitant. Stepping on the bloody floor made her nauseous. She muttered, “Can ants even survive in a place like this without drowning?”

Justitia watched as another contract was created between Palan and an angel. There was a frown on the demon’s face. “What’s wrong?” she asked as Palan’s stomach torso ground its teeth together.

“The range of the contract is pretty short,” Palan said as he walked out of the cell and marked down another ‘X’. “I can’t draw upon their mana unless I’m inside or right outside the prison. I guess that’s not too bad.” Justitia nodded and recalled the contract between him and herself. He’d take her out of the prison as long as she didn’t bring about any harm to him or his companions with a penalty of death on her part.

The wails coming from within the prison started to die down as more and more angels were given relief by forming a contract with Palan. There were a few who refused even while being tortured, but when Palan threatened to increase the intensity of the pain inflicted on the angels around them, they quickly capitulated. For most of the angels, he created a contract that allowed him to extract a hundredth of their total mana pool, but for the others, he could only draw upon less than half of that. He wasn’t sure why, but it didn’t matter. Like Pyre said, every little bit added up.

Palan yawned as he reached into one of the bags and pulled out another yellow crystal. He stepped inside of a cage and was surprised by what he saw. The angel bound with red chains wasn’t broken. His eyes were still clear, though his body was gaunt. The angel opened his mouth. A clump of dried blood fell from his lips as he spoke, “I have a request.”

“You’re not really in a position to be making requests,” Palan said and raised an eyebrow. Justitia gasped when she finally arrived by Palan’s side. Danger Noodle, who was resting its head on Palan’s shoulder, turned and stared at Justitia. Its mouth opened.

“You … know?”

Justitia stared at Palan’s tail with her mouth agape. She asked, “Did your tail just speak?”

Palan frowned and glanced at Danger Noodle. It smacked its lips together a few times before resting its head back on his shoulder. “Sure,” Palan said to the stunned angel. “I believe it asked you a question.”

“Right,” Justitia said and nodded. “Right. He’s—“

“General Akurel,” the captive said, drawing Palan’s attention back onto his thin frame. Not only were his wrists and legs bound by manacles, but red chains were threaded through his knees and elbows, dried blood encasing the metal. On his chest, three orbs were embedded in bloody holes. “One of the four pillars of the army.”

“Well,” Palan said as he looked Akurel up and down. “Looks like you failed as a pillar.”

Akurel grunted, causing his face to distort in pain. “You can say that,” he said and coughed out a mouthful of blood. “But will you listen to my request?”

“Will it benefit me?” Palan asked.

“Yes,” Akurel said. “I will let you draw upon all my mana if you release my subordinates from their suffering: Give them humane lodgings. Let them regain their freedom of movement. Feed them proper food instead of their own body parts. They shouldn’t have to suffer because of my incompetence.”

“Can’t do that,” Palan said and shrugged. “That’s just asking for trouble.”

“I’m willing to be your slave until death,” Akurel said and lowered his head. “I’ll give you my everything: my knowledge, my power, my wealth and prestige.”

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