Chapter 224: Enslaving a Monster…?

[Dark Step]

Yeah, no. I wasn’t about to mess with anything while I was still in her room. If I was going to interact with the beast that almost killed me, I definitely wasn’t doing it anywhere near here.

The foyer should be safe enough. If anything goes wrong, I’ll just teleport myself farther away.

“Now…”

I stared down at the two choices in front of me.

Both of them were really vague. But at this point, I’d already learned my lesson.

“Clarify.”

[Forceful Contract]

– Creates a contract with the trapped spirit, unable to disagree with any terms.

[Kill]

– Kills the spirit instantly.

Okay, that’s better—but I still need more details before I can actually make a choice.

I tapped on [The Serpent’s Amulet], focusing on the one thing I cared about: what had trapping the False Hydra inside it actually done to the item?

[The Serpent’s Amulet + False Hydra]

[No Synergy Found]

[No Special Effects Found]

…Huh.

So I guess it can affect items, too? Hard to say. This isn’t enough to go on. It might even weaken items if I’m not careful.

Still, that’s secondary. What really matters right now is the description for [Forceful Contract]…

I’ll figure out more of its special effects as I keep using those spells anyway.

Unable to disagree with any terms? That’s insane. If that’s meant literally, then it’s not even a contract. It’s slavery.

And… that’s absolutely wonderful.

Although…

While I’m not exactly bad with contracts, in fact, my last career made sure I’m pretty damn good at them, but I still believe two minds are better than one.

And obviously, when it comes to shady deals…

Who better to consult than a being whose entire purpose is to sow chaos and trick humans into awful bargains?

“Are you there?” I asked aloud.

“Ready and willing~.”

The succubus replied, her form shimmering into view as if she’d just climbed out of my thoughts. Well, she had—there was hardly anything I could keep from her at this point, considering the link between Evelina and me.

Of course, that included her.

“You know this thing better than I do, so quit holding out on me. What kind of terms am I supposed to set?”

“Easy, won’t even take a second.”

The succubus flashed a sultry smile — the kind that hid the weight of the millions of souls she’d already ruined with her contracts, preying on people who were already down on their luck.

FWOOSH!

A contract burst into existence out of thin air, the demonic script curling and rolling in her arms.

“Good news for you,” she said. “I already have a contract template that’ll give you practically full control. Although… this will definitely be the first time it’s used on a creature like that.”

“And you’re sure about this?” I asked.

“Of course. I’m not stupid enough to risk my master’s lover’s life,” she replied, scoffing. “Besides… you’re fun. I’d hate to lose you.”

“Yeah, yeah…”

I took the contract from her and unrolled it, giving it a careful read. And… yeah, she wasn’t kidding. It was vile…

Like, genuinely horrible.

Sometimes I almost forgot what she really was. With the way she joked around and talked, you could almost mistake her for some friendly, mischievous succubus. But no. Underneath all that charm, she was still a demon capable of this kind of evil.

Good thing she didn’t lose her edge.

“You’re effectively neutering it and handing all its powers to me, like it didn’t even exist.” I rolled the paper back, giving her an impressed smirk.

Even I didn’t expect something like that.

“That good enough for you?”

“Definitely. But before I use this as a template, just one more question.”

“So many doubts… but ask away~.”

“Did anyone give you a hard time even with this contract?”

She answered without hesitation.

“None…”

Well… that’s good enough for me.

[Forceful Contract]

’Use this as a template.’

I pointed at the rolled-up parchment, and the blue panel in front of me immediately started filling in the terms. Still, I wasn’t naïve enough to just let it do everything on its own.

I watched every line it wrote, making sure there wasn’t a single typo. The system might look omnipotent, but I’m not taking any chances. I’ve already learned my lesson about making deals.

Even if one of those deals wasn’t exactly made while I was conscious.

“I’m heading out now. Give me a holler if it works, yeah?”

“Fine. Think of it as a thank you.”

“Wow, what a benevolent person you are~.”

FWOOSH.

I sank into the chair in the foyer, letting my head fall against the armrest while I waited for the system to spit out all the terms.

It… really took a while. The parchment itself looked small, but the amount of stuff written on it was anything but. Demon magic, I guessed.

Honestly, the thing worked like a tablet. You could even scroll down to see the rest of the contents.

“Guess I just have to wait this out…”

***

The blue light kept scrolling, line after line, clause after clause.

Conditions were split into sub-conditions, and contingencies were stacked on top of contingencies.

Like someone had taken the idea of “overkill” and turned it into a weaponized legal document.

“…What the hell.”

I dragged my finger down the panel. Whole sections unfolded the second I focused on them: [Absolute Obedience Clause], [Cognitive Override Clause], [Hostile Intent Nullification], [Memory Isolation / Conditional Restoration].

“…She wasn’t kidding.”

I let out a slow breath, forcing my tired brain to keep up. Every line was airtight. This wasn’t just control; it was total control. Even the loopholes had counter-loopholes. If the Hydra so much as thought about resisting, the contract would snap it back into place.

That said—

“Yeah, no. I’m not turning this into some mindless puppet.”

My finger hovered over a few lines, then I started editing.

[Cognitive Override Clause] → Modified: Subject keeps its baseline thought processes unless they conflict with direct commands.

[Memory Isolation] → Modified: Memory erasure limited to external effects only; internal memory remains intact.

[Autonomous Function] → Added: Subject can act on its own when no commands are given, as long as its actions don’t conflict with existing orders.

“There.”

I leaned back, rolling my neck until it popped. If I were going to use this thing, it needed to be useful, not lobotomized.

A completely neutered monster was safe, sure—but a useful monster? Now that had real value. I needed a second brain to crunch formulas for me anyway, and this was perfect for that.

It was a much better deal than just absorbing its skills and leaving it at that.

Still…

My eyes drifted back to one untouched section: [Absolute Obedience Clause].

Yeah… should keep that one as is.

A soft chime rang in my head.

[Contract Ready]

[Apply to Target?]

I stared at the prompt, breathing out slowly. This was it, the fork in the road. I could kill it, end everything clean: no risk, no unknowns. Or I could bind it, control it, and use it.

“…Heh.”

My lips tugged up, just a little.

“Like I was ever going to pick the safe option.”

[Forceful Contract]

[Applying…]

The air in the foyer didn’t get colder, exactly—but it felt heavier. A pressure seeped out from the amulet against my chest, slow and suffocating, like something vast was leaning against the walls of reality and seeing how much they could bend.

CRACK.

Hairline fractures of pale distortion spiderwebbed through the air around me. Not fully visible, but there, just enough to remind me what I was dealing with.

“Stay down.”

The words slipped out more from instinct than anything else as the contract ignited, not in fire, but in writing.

Black, writhing letters spilled from the panel, twisting into chains of script that wrapped around the forming shape. They didn’t bind its body; they bound the idea of it.

SCREEEE—!

The sound didn’t hit my ears. It hit my head, like something was screaming inside my thoughts.

My vision stuttered, and for a heartbeat I forgot why I was here, forgot what I was doing, forgot—

“—No.”

I bit down hard enough to taste blood.

“Not happening.”

The script tightened. The scream warped… then snapped.

Silence.

The pressure vanished. The distortions folded in on themselves, sucked back into the amulet like they’d never been there at all. One last line burned itself across the panel.

[Contract Established]

[False Hydra Bound]

I stayed where I was for a few seconds.

“…That’s it?”

No explosion, no backlash, and no dramatic world-ending flare of power.

Just done.

Then new options flickered into existence.

[Summon]

[Command]

[Status]

“…Well.”

I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.

“Guess I just enslaved a nightmare.”

My fingers hovered over the panel again as a slow grin crept across my face.

“Let’s see what you can do.”

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