"Then here's the last option I offer you…" The General swept his gaze over the trio as his voice dropped to a low rumble. "You three will sign a Blood Pact."
A cold knot of dread tightened in Nico's stomach as the words hung in the air.
Turning to look at Nom-Nom, he found her staring at him with a rare genuine seriousness in her violet slit pupils.
Peko too was looking at Nico with bated breath.
[Guess I am the only one who doesn't really understand what a blood pact is… though I have an idea…]
Taking a deep breath, he turned to the General as he said, "Let's discuss the terms first."
The General didn't blink as he leaned forward with his elbows resting on the table.
"Simple," he replied. "You will pledge that you will not spread Pantheon's influence anywhere on Fugen… And I will pledge that you will be allowed to live as respected citizens of our nation so long as you don't spread Pantheon's influence or do something to harm the nation…"
Pausing, the General narrowed his amber eyes before continuing...
"… the judge of which will be me."
Nico remained silent as he dissected the words.
[The first part is easy…. So pledging not to spread their influence is like pledging not to drink poison. Easy… The 'harm' clause is vague… if we so much as even fart in his presence, he can claim it as bio-terrorism and kick us out…]
It wasn't a perfect deal, but looking at the General's expression, it was plain to see it was the only one he was willing to make.
"That 'harm' clause is vague, General," Nico still tried to push, "How about we-"
"Take it or leave it, boy,"
[Damn it...]
Sighing internally, Nico turned to Peko and Nom-Nom one by one.
And after receiving their stiff nods, he turned back to the General with a resolute expression.
"Okay… I agree."
-Clap. Clap.
Right after the first clap, the sliding door to the side opened, and a middle-aged woman in traditional robes and drenched in a putrid aura walked into the hall, carrying a tray with a bowl carved from obsidian and a curved ceremonial knife.
She placed them on the table between them before retreating a step back with a small bow.
[She came out awfully fast with that bowl…] Nico thought as he stared at the bowl, and the next second the sudden realization hit him like a physical blow that -
[He planned this from the start!]
"Let's begin… I don't have all day," The General said as he picked up the knife.
He didn't hesitate before slicing his thumb, letting three drops of blood fall into the black bowl, before sliding the knife across the table to Nico.
"Your turn."
Nico reached out and grabbed the ceremonial dagger tinged with the General's blood.
[I should probably take antibiotics after this?]
Sighing, he made a small cut on his thumb before letting three drops of blood drip into the obsidian bowl.
Peko then took the blade with a steady hand before letting her own blood drip without a single flinch.
And after Nom-Nom's turn, the middle-aged woman standing beside the table extended her hand over the mixture.
"By blood and breath," The Woman chanted while her eyes turned blacker than obsidian. "By this Witch as witness…"
The mixture in the bowl began to swirl on its own as her chant morphed into an archaic ramble that none understood.
And the next moment, defying gravity, the blood rose into the air before forming a complex, glowing red magic circle.
"State your pledge," The General commanded.
Nico took a deep breath as he looked at the floating magic circle and spoke-
"We pledge that so long as we are allowed to live as respected citizens of Fugen, we shall do nothing to spread the influence or agenda of Pantheon."
The General nodded as the circle pulsed once, accepting Nico's pledge before speaking his half of the bargain.
"And I pledge that so long as you do not spread the influence of Pantheon, or do anything that I would judge to be harmful to this nation… You will be allowed to live as respected citizens of Fugen."
-Hummm!
The circle pulsed violently as the unfair terms locked into the magical construct.
"Feed it your mana," The General commanded as he pushed his own energy into the circle. And the Trio followed
Nico instantly felt a cold, invasive tendril of magic shoot up his arm before racing toward his heart as it sought to wrap around his soul to brand him.
But before it could touch his soul, a blue window shattered his vision.
-Ding!
{ Alert: External Soul-Binding Ritual Detected.
Source: Blood Pact (Tier-6).
The Ritual is requesting Root Access to Host's Soul.
Do you accept?
Y / N }
[Holy!] Nico fought the urge to smirk as he stared at the prompt.
To anyone else, this was an unbreakable pact, but to the System, it was just a pop-up window asking for permission to install malware.
[Deny.]
-Ding!
{ Access Denied.
Spoofing Module Initiating… Live.
Rerouting Ritual Feedback to 'Simulation Mode'.
Apply to Familiar (Nom-Nom)?
Y / N }
[Duhh...]
-Ding!
{ Access Denied for Familiar.
Visual Effects: Enabled. }
And the next moment, the magic circle flared blindingly bright as the blood that hung in the air crystallized into flaky red embers before vanishing into the chests of the four participants.
And as the light faded and the woman's eyes returned to normal, the General let out a breath, feeling the heavy weight of the Pact settle over his heart.
He looked at the trio and saw the slight flinch in their eyes as the bond took hold.
And the General nodded with a grim satisfaction, believing with every fiber of his being that he now held the leash.
Though in Peko's case, it was true, she felt the searing pain of the pact wrapping around her soul.
"It is done," The General said as his shoulders finally relaxed before letting a slight grin spread across his face, "Welcome to Fugen."
Nico rubbed his chest, feigning a wince of discomfort as he said, "Glad to be here, General."
Nodding, the General leaned back into his seat as he said, "Very well… this estate is yours for the week… after that, you're on your own."
Pausing for a heartbeat, he spoke again, but this time without looking at anyone in particular.
"We're done here."
Nico opened his mouth to reply, but the next second the words died in his throat as the air behind the General suddenly warped.
Like a glitch in the fabric of reality, the space shivered before resolving into the solid forms of four men dressed in black.
They didn't just step out of the shadows; they simply became visible.
Nico's mouth fell open as his eyes darted between the four figures who had been standing mere inches from them the entire time.
[What the…]
He turned his head toward Peko, who looked just as shocked as he was.
[Optical camo? You're kidding me?]
Nom-Nom, on the other hand, looked entirely unsurprised.
Sensing Nico's gaze, she looked in his direction before tilting her head at him as though he were the weird one for never noticing them.
One of the men standing directly behind the General, grabbed the handles on the back of his chair that Nico had assumed were just decorative accents.
And with a Clack, the guard pulled back.
And Nico watched in stunned silence as the terrifying General, the man who had just forced a blood pact on a Greater Dragon, a Phoenix, and the Destined Hero, was rolled away from the table.
The heavy cloth draped over his legs concealed everything from the waist down, but the way the fabric hung over his legs told the whole story.
The Apex Predator of Fugen… was bound to a wheelchair.
Nico sat there, frozen with his mind warring against the terrifying display of high-tier stealth magic and the jarring reality of the General's frailty.
[He runs this country's military… from that wheelchair.]