Renny, though not yet interested in taking a side contract, was curious about something he'd heard Agent Kaviru say. He went to him and asked if he had a minute.
"Ah, Ayo, of course." Kaviru replied. "You're looking for a side contract?"
Renny shook his head. "No, Agent, not that. At the meeting you said something about retrieving a soul's key… and that the wielder of a soul's key can control the soul, no?"
Kaviru nodded. "You don't even need to finish. I know what you're getting at. You want to know if you can find someone's key in that pit and use it to control them, am I correct?"
"Yes," Renny admitted. "If I could find a soul key there, would it work?"
Kaviru gave him a long look, impressed. "Yes, it's possible. You can find a soul's key there, but only if it has already been captured by a demon. Keys tied to completed contracts might show up. Some won't, sometimes they aren't sealed in beasts, sometimes agents hold them. The only way to know is to check the soul's status in the Soul Library."
"The Soul Library?" Renny asked.
"Where all data on souls is kept," Kaviru explained. "Every demon has access. If you have a soul in mind, check there to see if it's ever been targeted."
Renny thanked him and left the office, a new path already forming in his head. If he couldn't secure the seed he needed, then control would be his weapon. Maybe Daniel's mother, if her soul had been marked before. If not, someone else close to him, a pressure point. Perhaps even the orphanage owner.
The thought was a game changer. But it came with risk. If the key lay in the pit, he'd have to face a beast, and with his current strength, an overall of 85 only because of the fire gun, that would be dangerous. He just hoped fate didn't tie the key to something too strong.
Still, the plan was worth it. With his mind set, he made his way toward the Soul Library.
***
The Soul Library felt more like a cyber café than an ancient archive. Rows of computers hummed quietly, each terminal connected to the vast system that catalogued every soul and contract in Hell. The interface was clean, organized, efficient, you could sort through names, filter histories, and track whether a soul had ever been touched by a demon.
Renny sat down at a terminal, and started with Daniel's relatives. Nothing. No record of the Carters, not even Samantha's family. It meant none of them had ever been marked for a demon's contract, a dead end. He moved on to the orphanage owner, but the result was the same. No contracts, no marks, no prior capture attempts. His trail was drying up fast.
Frustration bubbled up. Renny shoved back from the desk and muttered under his breath as he rose. On his way out, he collided with someone.
"Sorry," Renny muttered quickly, Looking up, his breath caught.
Krovanis Omekro. The Vice President of the Lesser Grade Association(LGA).
"Don't bother," Krovanis said with a dismissive wave.
This was Renny's first time seeing him up close. Krovanis had none of the stiff, ceremonial air of the President. He carried himself with an ease that didn't need a title to command respect. Today he wore a black basketball vest, red-trimmed shorts, sky-blue slides, and a matching cap
Krovanis studied him for a moment, then spoke. "You're the Ezraphor, right?"
Renny wasn't surprised. His face had been plastered all over Hell's meme boards for months, a running joke in the lower grades. He gave a curt nod.
Krovanis gave a small nod back, like that was all the confirmation he needed."Did you find who you were looking for?" Krovanis asked, voice steady.
Renny shook his head. "No, Sir."
Krovanis exhaled through his nose, then leaned slightly closer, lowering his voice."Then do something for me. Search a name. When you find it, bring the details straight to me. Don't waste time."
He slipped the paper with the name of the target and address into his pocket.
"You'll find me there," he added, already turning to leave.
Renny stood there, a bitter sigh escaping his chest. If he'd left five minutes earlier, he might have avoided this entirely. Now he had no choice. But as he went back to the desk and typed the name into the system, another thought surfaced.