Forced Play

"Sir Chao, the bag is ready."

Dane's voice came from outside the door.

Chaoyang slowly let go.

It wasn't because he couldn't bear to hurt her, or because he wanted to let her suffocate on her own. Rather, amid the flickering fragments of memory, he'd caught a strange emotion whose tone clashed with everything else, like a reflection hidden beneath the light. He couldn't be completely certain where this faint negative emotion came from, but it wasn't hard to guess.

The moment he noticed this flaw, a new idea surfaced in his mind!

—He could take control of Elodie and make her serve the Demon!

It sounded outlandish, but on closer thought, there was no fundamental conflict between Angels and Demons. If he succeeded, the benefits would be enormous.

After all, what Chaoyang complained about most was his own lack of combat ability. If he could recruit an Angel as a bodyguard, wouldn't that be a huge win? Demons weren't afraid of so-called "betrayal" under the terms of a contract. The only difficult part was getting the other party to willingly sign one. Once the contract was sealed, Elodie would no longer pose any threat.

Aside from that main reason, Chaoyang also wanted to learn more about "natural enemies" from her.

If he hadn't been in another world, if he'd happened to be in some city on Earth at the time... then things might have ended very differently.

And the Dream Entry Technique couldn't be used for detailed questions and answers. If he wanted to learn about Angels, he had to pry it out of her.

"No need for the bag for now. Do you have an extra bed? Help me clear one out." Chaoyang hoisted Elodie over his shoulder again and opened the door. Dane stood outside, looking surprised.

"We do... What do you plan to do?"

"Heal this Evil Demon," he said offhandedly.

"You... want to heal an Evil Demon?"

"She hasn't fallen very far. There may still be hope for her." Chaoyang smiled at him. "Our God hopes Paradise will turn no one away. Even Evil Demons deserve a chance at redemption."

Dane's expression changed slightly.

The tight line of his mouth relaxed. It was clear he'd had misgivings about killing an Evil Demon who looked exactly like a human girl. Now... he felt reassured.

He silently approved of this approach.

This absurdly sharp insight... Chaoyang shook his head helplessly. The more familiar he became with demonic abilities, the more he felt as if he could converse with people without even opening his mouth.

"Of course. Please, follow me!"

Dane turned and led the way.

Just then, Chaoyang felt the faint Wish Force stir again!

What was going on?

He didn't have any contracts on hand right now!

Could it... have something to do with the pure white thread on the journalist?

Chaoyang looked at him with Demon Vision. The white thread was still there, unchanged from before.

"Sir?" Dane turned to look at him.

"It's nothing. Let's go." Chaoyang came back to himself.

The whole ordeal dragged on from afternoon until evening.

He didn't trust two ordinary people to watch over Elodie, so he could only keep an eye on her in the room. It wasn't until the sky outside was ablaze with sunset that she showed signs of waking.

"Sir, she's awake," Judy noticed first.

Chaoyang nodded and got up, walking to the bedside. While the other two weren't watching, he'd made another duplicate, leaving his real body somewhere far from the bedroom. It wasted a lot of Wish Force, but for safety's sake, it was better not to skimp. "You two, step back a bit, in case the Evil Demon lashes out."

Dane and Judy obediently retreated to the doorway.

"Um... I've been wanting to ask you," Judy said cautiously. "What exactly does it take to save an Evil Demon? You said she isn't truly human, so exorcism probably won't work, right?"

"That's right. Only the power of God can restrain an Evil Demon," Chaoyang replied calmly. "To be honest, this is my first time trying this, so I don't know the odds. I'll do my best."

"Please... do your best."

"Mm..." The girl let out a pained moan and slowly opened her eyes. Her blue gaze was unfocused; she clearly hadn't recovered from her extreme weakness.

"You've been asleep for quite a while," Chaoyang said, leaning over her.

"Where am I..." She squinted at him for a moment, then suddenly changed expression. "You're that Demon!"

As she spoke, she tried to sit up, only to find that her hands and feet were tied to the edges of the bed frame.

Fear showed on Elodie's face.

Chaoyang didn't miss the change.

"Evil Demon, don't be rude to Sir Chao!" Judy called, peeking around the doorway.

"E-Evil Demon?" She turned in astonishment and only then noticed the other two people in the room. It didn't take her trained eye to see they were both ordinary humans.

When Judy noticed her gaze, she quickly hid behind Dane.

"You... haven't signed a contract with him..." Elodie said, forcing the words out despite her weakness. "Get out of here, quickly. Don't believe anything this man says! As long as you don't sign a contract, you can still be saved..."

"They have," Chaoyang said out of the blue. "More precisely, the contracts are already complete, so you can't see any traces."

He had a vague suspicion that Angels might have a unique vision of their own, one that let them track Demons and see through things that weren't real.

Elodie clearly didn't believe him. "Hmph. Is this another one of your tricks? If they'd completed contracts with you, you'd already be playing with their souls!"

Chaoyang shrugged, unconcerned. He knew he didn't have to refute her himself.

Sure enough, Judy immediately defended him. "Sir Chao isn't lying to you. He really did sign a contract with me, and it was completed flawlessly! I don't know what you mean by souls, but it sounds like a lie!"

Elodie opened her mouth, but for a moment, she had nothing to say.

A trace of amusement rose in Chaoyang's heart. This was exactly why he'd left the two of them there. "Your name is Elodie, right?"

"How do you know my name?" She was startled again.

"So you don't even know about Dream Entry, yet you're so certain that contracts steal people's souls?" Chaoyang said coolly. "Besides... Dream Entry isn't harmful. Without the knowledge I planted in your dream, you and I would still be speaking different languages."

"I—" Elodie abruptly shut her mouth.

Only then did she seem to realize that what they'd just been speaking wasn't any language from Earth.

"You still haven't answered my question, Evil Demon!" Chaoyang suddenly raised his voice, abandoning his earlier calm tone to demand, "Have you ever met anyone like me before? If not, what makes you so certain a stranger would take someone's soul?"

It seemed no one had ever asked Elodie that before. She stammered for a while before arguing, "But you—"

Chaoyang grabbed a handful of flour he'd prepared earlier and threw it in her face. "Exorcism!"

"Cough, cough..." Elodie accidentally inhaled some flour and began coughing violently.

"Answer me!"

"Because of the awakening—"

Chaoyang threw another handful of flour!

"Don't try to dodge the question with irrelevant words. Answer me: have you ever met anyone like me before?"

"I..."

"Exorcism!"

"Cough, cough—ugh, cough, cough, cough—" Elodie curled over as she coughed.

"Is this the exorcism ritual of the God of Paradise? Incredible..." Dane pulled a notebook and pencil from his chest pocket. "Please allow me to record this."

After several rounds, a layer of fine powder coated the girl's hair and cheeks. Her weak voice had dwindled to little more than coughs.

"I... will..."

Chaoyang reached into the flour bag again. "Exorcism!"

"Sir, I think she was trying to say she'll answer," Judy reminded him.

Chaoyang stopped.

Elodie looked on the verge of tears. After catching her breath, she spoke haltingly. "I haven't met anyone... cough... I'll tell you, all right?"

Dane and Judy exchanged a glance, thinking the same thing.

The Evil Demon had yielded.