Chapter 61: Soulscape [ 3 ]
I quickly make a complete turn around but I don't see the demon anywhere on the island. So it didn't copy me and it didn't teleport, so where did it go? Then I notice that the image on the screen is moving, it is still following the demon not far from here.
"Ah, it turned invisible and is flying towards the island that way!"
Mericel says, "How are you going to stop it now?"
"Just watch!"
I imagine another weapon from my world and raise it to my shoulder. I then fire it in the direction of the demon at incredible speed through the air.
Mericel says "What was that?"
"A heat seeking missile. It aims for heat, so it won't matter that it's invisible."
At that moment, the image on the screen jumps and is now going in the opposite direction. He must have seen the missile coming and is now running toward land, but there is no way he is going to outrun it. Seconds later, the screen fills with an explosion and when it disappears, it focuses on the lake.
When the demon emerges from the lake, it is barely five feet tall. It starts running back and forth, I think it's looking for a place to hide. I imagine there is a small cave near him, and when he enters it, I imagine it closing like a mouth on him.
When the demon reappears, he immediately falls to the ground and begins to shake. It looks like it's having some kind of seizure, but when I look, its humanoid torso disappears and it's left looking like a small wolf.
"What just happened?"
Mericel says, "It's just a guess, but I'd say you weakened it enough that it de-evolved."
The demon wolf gets up and runs off down the path that leads to the mountains. I wait and let it go quite a ways before I imagine it turns into a frictionless slide with a spiked pit at the bottom. Watching it slide down bouncing off the walls and then fall into the pit is hilarious and I laugh my ass off.
Mericel says "Are you...are you playing with it?"
"Well, maybe a little bit. But he hurt Ruby, he deserves it."
Mericel says "I can't believe you're playing with a demon!"
I kill the demon a few more times with the howitzer and then when it reappears, it looks more like a wolf puppy than a wolf. It's only about sixty centimeters tall now, and it's still trying to escape. So I imagine a sacred steel cage trapping him and then I imagine the two of us teleporting to stand next to the cage.
As soon as the demon sees us, he takes a deep breath. As soon as I see the glow in its mouth, I imagine a bubble around the cage with no air inside. I wait until the demon suffocates to death before I imagine the bubble disappearing. When the demon reappears inside the cage, I stare at it and wait for it to make a move.
The demon says, "All right, that's enough, let's get it over with!"
"Oh, are you ready to give up now?"
The demon says "Don't gloat, just finish me off."
Mericel says "Yes, kill him."
"I'm going to offer you a choice."
The demon's eyes light up upon hearing this and his ears perk up as well. Mericel looks at me in disbelief. I just smile as I wait for the demon to respond.
The demon says "What kind of choice?"
"Either I throw you in the lake, cage and all, or you agree to serve me."
Mericel says "What, what are you thinking, you can't trust a demon!"
"Of course I wouldn't trust him! I'd be under contract."
As soon as he hears the word contract, the light in his eyes goes out and his ears close. He looks like a scolded puppy, so I want to laugh, but I restrain myself. Mericel looks unsure and seems to want to argue more. I imagine a fragment of my soul and a fragment of the demon merging to form the contract.
The demon and I scream in pain as our soul fragments are torn from us. The two pieces fuse together and create a glowing scroll. I imagine the terms I want appear on the parchment and then wait for the demon to read them.
The demon says, "What, this is a bondage contract!"
"Of course it is! You think I'm going to let you run free and cause chaos? Slavery or death, your choice."
The demon says, "Okay, just kill me!"
I imagine the cage floating over the lake. Then I start to slowly lower it into the water. The demon holds on until the cage is a few inches above the holy water.
The demon says "Wait! Wait! I'll sign it!"
I stop the cage and move the contract towards the demon. Once he signs the contract in blood, I bring it back to the shore and lower it to the ground, then remove the cage. I move the contract closer to me, prick my finger and sign it in blood as well.
There is a blinding flash and a clap of thunder as the contract transforms into a glowing necklace and ring. The ring floats and is placed on my finger as the necklace is placed around the demon's neck.
Mericel says, "You really did it, you enslaved a demon? I'm beginning to understand why you terrify my father so much."
"You and I need to talk a lot more, later. I'll figure out how to reach you."
Mericel says "Okay."
"Demon, tell me your name."
Demon says "Drogomar the Great! Master!"
"Too much, I'll just call you Drog, got it."
Drog says "As you wish, master."
"Now end this escape of souls."
Drog says "Yes, master, I will do it now."
The whole world glows and then the darkness swells and engulfs me again.