Blood Servant

Apocalypse War.

Yicha felt his mind buzz. He tugged at the corner of his mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end, he only managed, "Wonderful."

Wonderful my ass.

The Apocalypse War was wonderful my ass.

Especially since this absurd kidnapping had made him miss the Apocalypse War notification.

The legends every demon knew surfaced from the depths of Yicha's heart. According to demonic records, the Apocalypse War would begin with the descent of the Chaos Child and end with Eternal Chaos ruling over the nine great planes.

No one could say what exactly the Chaos Child looked like, what Eternal Chaos was, or when this would happen.

Yet every demon eagerly anticipated the Demon King's arrival. For nine thousand years, they had been sharpening their blades and preparing, waiting for the day when all planes would merge into the one and only Chaos Hell.

Except Yicha. He thought it was incredibly boring.

Just think about it: all planes merging into one. Every domain of power other than the Power of Disorder would vanish.

What use would all the interesting knowledge he knew still have?

He knew a hundred ways to break dragon dreams and fairy pranks, was familiar with every mutation of Vine Spirits and Soul Reavers, and was fascinated by the strange little inventions humans came up with. Oh, and just a few days ago, he had developed a method to harmonize the powers of order and disorder, but had not yet published it—

"Why are you here? Why didn't you go to the gathering to prepare for war?" A soft, beautiful voice interrupted his thoughts.

Yicha realized that he had just left the goddess standing off to the side.

"It doesn't matter." He glanced over the layered runes on the ground and realized that this isolating spell formation, working together with the polymorph curse on his body, had cut off his connection to Hell and prevented him from hearing this important notification.

"Please grant my request and take me out of here." He swiftly arranged his priorities in his mind.

The urgent matter was escaping first. Then he had to restore his strength and reconnect with headquarters to find out what was happening... His disappearance at a time like this would surely look suspicious.

"I grant it." The goddess sauntered over and spread open her elegantly shaped hand. An ugly scar was clearly visible in her palm. "Smear your blood on it."

Yicha glanced at the strange scar and frowned.

The grooves formed a complex design, depicting a primitive spell used by fairies from the First World Plane.

A blood pact of forced enslavement. Fortunately, he recognized it.

He glanced at the alluring goddess. She wore an excited smile. Yicha had gained a new understanding of how these people from the human plane operated. They really were complicated.

"Hurry. I'll send you away," the goddess urged.

This was an opportunity, after all... Yicha's thoughts shifted, and he bit his finger again, drawing bloody marks across his other palm.

Ignoring the burning pain, he clenched the True Silver Chain behind his back with one hand to capture energy, while the blood-painted palm covered the goddess's outstretched hand.

A stabbing pain shot through both their palms, jolting his nerves.

"Hold on tight." The goddess abruptly pulled him closer and instructed him in his ear.

He tightly gripped that soft hand.

Gravity suddenly ceased to exist. The roaring wind made his eardrums hum.

The scenery before his eyes was swiftly dragged away.

When the wind stopped, Yicha steadied himself and found that the night was dark and deep. He was already standing in a sparse forest.

Looking up, he saw the conical spires of a castle rising through layers of treetops. A small window halfway up one tower was still lit, casting a hazy, dim candlelight.

"You were on the highest floor there just now." The goddess pointed it out to him.

"What do I look like now?"

The goddess gave him a half-smiling glance. "Like a human."

The Malicious Polymorph Curse had not been lifted... Yicha moved his body a little. The good news was that he no longer hurt all over. The bad news was that he still could not catch even the faintest trace of Chaos or establish a connection with his kin.

He had to go back and find the items that had been confiscated from him, then undo the transformation.

And there was the Apocalypse War. He had missed the summons notification. The archdemon Beelzebub would definitely fly into a rage.

"Thank you." Deep in thought, Yicha stepped into the woods.

Then the goddess yanked him back. A pair of purple eyes, wild with excitement, stared straight at him.

"Where are you going? Hahahahahaha!"

The goddess suddenly burst out laughing. Tilting her head, she examined Yicha from side to side. "Oh, right, I seem to have forgotten to tell you. You just offered me your blood, so now you're my blood servant. From now on, whatever I tell you to do, you have to do. Wherever I tell you to go, you have to go."

She leaned close to Yicha's face and tapped his forehead.

"Now, you're not allowed to go anywhere. A demon blood servant... My heavens, that's so rare." Laughing until she bent at the waist, she wiped the corners of her eyes without the slightest regard for decorum. "How should I show you off to everyone... What should I make you perform at parties... Oh, tell me quickly, what can you do?"

Yicha looked at her without reacting.

"I can write books."

"A demon who can write books! My heavens! Listen up! The funniest joke in the world!"

"I specialize in power flow guidance and domain analysis, and I know some secret spells from other races. Also, I know a little about the history of all nine planes."

"Mhm, mhm. Then you must know plenty of strange and unusual things. I've decided—you'll tell me stories from now on. And record the joy that Joyful Saintess Xiqisi brings to the human world while you're at it..."

Yicha glanced at her. "I've never heard that name."

"This name will resound throughout the human world."

Xiqisi grinned viciously. "From now on, when people mention Xiqisi, they will no longer merely say that she is the daughter of Yifomiet, the Hand of Destruction... They will say: the bringer of joy to all living beings, the goddess of half-demon and half-fairy blood, the lord of desire, the holy mother who sows impulse. And you, my demon blood servant... will be my capable assistant."

Half-demon, half-fairy... No wonder she knew ancient fairy spells. Yicha let out a long sigh. "I've already thought of your first story."

"So quickly? It seems you understand your situation very clearly. Good! I like that!"

Xiqisi released their tightly clasped hands and instead affectionately draped an arm around Yicha.

"Joyful Saintess Xiqisi." The demon returned a polite smile as he looked at the beautiful evil goddess so close before him. "Summoned to rescue the demon Yicha. Secretly set up a blood pact, planning to take him as a blood servant... only to suffer the backlash of the blood pact after Yicha used the Vine Spirit Counter-Curse..."

"Vine Spirit Counter-Curse... What!"

As Xiqisi listened, her expression changed drastically. She jumped backward, but Yicha caught her wrist.

Her palm suddenly began to sting.

Sensing that something was wrong, she lowered her head, her expression twisting.

The scarred spell pattern on her palm had been overlaid with another rough pattern drawn in blood. The bloodstains that should have dried were now gleaming with a metallic sheen.

Yicha held out his hand before her. The same design lay in his palm, glowing with an eerie red light.

Xiqisi frantically rubbed at that hand. But the spell Yicha had pressed onto her palm had already taken shape and could not be removed.

The more she rubbed, the brighter the spell became, sinking deep into her pale skin.

The fear of being controlled made her scream.

"The story is over." Yicha shook his head and gently closed his hand into a fist.

The demon's power was bound. All he had done was reflect the power Xiqisi herself had poured into the blood curse back onto her.

At once, Xiqisi felt as though the spell in her palm were being pierced by thousands upon thousands of needles. The pain traveled up her arm and deep into her chest, leaving her almost unable to breathe. Her legs began to tremble, and she leaned against a tree trunk, gasping for air.