Chapter 1206

“Really? Are you sure?”

“Yes! Of course, sir!”

“Then let’s make a contract.”

Siegfried infused Primordial Force into his Dark Abyss: Necklace of Greed and Betrayal.

Wooong!

The necklace vibrated for a while and soon displayed various menus before his eyes.

A list of the various powers and authorities the Demon King could use appeared, but they were all utterly useless in combat.

Moreover, they were in the Middle Realm, so he couldn’t use most of the skills listed anyway.

However, Soul Contract was an exception, as binding another’s soul did not count as directly interfering with the Middle Realm, making it perfectly usable.

Siegfried selected Soul Contract.

Ding!

A notification popped up in front of his eyes...

[Alert: Do you wish to use Soul Contract?]

[Input: YES!]

[Alert: Please draft the contents of the contract!]

Following the prompt, Siegfried opened his Inventory and pulled out a piece of parchment.

On it, he wrote the contents of the contract.

SOUL CONTRACT

1. This contract is an agreement between Siegfried von Proa (hereinafter referred to as Party A) and Plague (hereinafter referred to as Party B).

2. Party A agrees to spare Party B’s life in exchange for holding Party B’s soul as collateral.

3. Party B swears absolute loyalty to Party A.

4. Party B shall agree to die at Party A’s command.

5. Party B shall faithfully obey any command Party A gives.

6. Each time Party A strikes Party B, Party B must shout “Thank you, sir!” at the top of his lungs.

7. Party B is worth less than livestock and holds no rights whatsoever.

8. Party B must never reveal the contents of this contract to anyone.

9. Party B shall live as Party A’s slave for as long as he exists.

Signed: Siegfried von Proa

Signed: Plague

“...”

Plague stared blankly at the parchment that Siegfried had handed over to him.

It was called a Soul Contract, but the terms were no different from a slave contract. No, even a slave contract would not be as egregious as this one. The ninth clause on the contract basically stipulated that Plague was bound to eternal servitude.

“Sign it or take another beating. The choice is yours,” Siegfried said with a smile.

“I-I think I would rather die than sign this, sir...” Plague muttered, blurting his thoughts out by accident. He seriously considered dying instead, as signing the soul contract meant that he would be subjected to abuse beyond imagination.

“And who said you get to just die?”

“W-What...?”

“I’ll keep beating you until you sign. I’ll beat you for years if I have to...”

“

H-Hiiiik!”

“So, wouldn’t it be easier to just sign it? It would really save both of us a great deal of time, you know?”

“...”

“Well, I can show you what happens firsthand if you don’t sign it.”

Plague was speechless. He thought that he had a choice between submitting to eternal servitude or dying, but it turned out that there had never been a choice at all.

“I... I will do it...”

After long hesitation, Plague finally stamped his seal on the slave contract.

[Alert: Congratulations!]

[Alert: You have entered into a Soul Contract with the Lord of Pestilence: Plague!]

[Alert: Plague’s soul now belongs to you!]

With that, Siegfried successfully enslaved Plague. It would have been easier if Siegfried had just turned him into an Irradiator, but unfortunately, that was not possible, as Plague wasn't considered a normal creature.

Thus, Siegfried had no other choice but to bind him using the Soul Contract.

***

After the contract was signed...

“Hey, sit down here for a bit,” Siegfried said.

“

Erm...

May I ask why, sir?” Plague asked nervously.

“Because you’re such an idiot and I need to teach you something.”

“What is it you mean to teach me, sir...?”

“Listen to me, you fool.”

With that, Siegfried had a nearby soldier bring over a blackboard and began his lecture.

“You’re wasting your powers right now.”

“

Huh?

I am?”

“Yeah, you are.”

“I am not sure I follow what you mean, sir...?”

“You moron!” Siegfried exclaimed, flicking Plague hard on his forehead.

“

Ack!”

Plague grabbed his forehead and groaned in agony. He felt as if his skull was getting split open by the sheer force of the flick.

“Hey, what’s your power? You use viruses, right? And very powerful ones at that?”

“Y-Yes, that is correct, sir.”

“Then why the hell are you wasting it?”

“W-Wasting it...?”

“Do you honestly think an epidemic is all about being as lethal as possible?”

“

Huh...?

”

“The virus kills people too fast! The infection-to-death cycle happens too fast, you moron!”

“But faster is better, no? I gain strength and grow stronger faster if those infected die quickly.”

Just like his older brother, Romulus, Plague possessed the trait of becoming stronger the more victims he killed using his viruses.

“

Sigh...

You only care about one thing, don’t you? You’re the kind of guy that would slaughter the goose that lays golden eggs for a quick profit,” Siegfried said, shaking his head.

“

Eh?

What do you mean—”

“For crying out loud! Stop asking me and use your head a little!” Siegfried lashed out. Then, he drew diagrams on the boards and continued, “If the people die quickly, you get stronger faster, right?”

“Yes, that is correct, sir.”

“But then all the hosts are dead! That means no more hosts, and the virus stops spreading! How do you expect the disease to travel if an entire village drops dead instantly?! They will all be gone before they even get the chance to move around!”

“

Ah...!

”

“Are you going to keep traveling from village to village, city to city, on foot and sprinkling the virus by hand like an idiot?”

“T-Then what should I do, sir?”

“Just adjust the lethality! Increase the incubation period and slow the progression of the virus, so they don’t die too fast!”

“Is that... actually better?”

“

Argh!

You freaking moron! The hosts need to walk around and spread the virus so more and more people get infected. Do you get it now?!”

“

Ah...!

”

“You might not grow stronger immediately, but if you wait a little longer, then way more people will be infected! There will be thousands of times more victims than now!”

“

Oooooh!

”

Plague finally understood what Siegfried was trying to say, and it was proven by how his face glimmered with realization.

He realized his foolishness after hearing Siegfried’s reasoning. He admitted that increasing the lethality to kill the victims quickly was a mistake.

“Now do you get it?”

“Yes, sir!”

“Then what do you need to do from now on?”

“I must control the lethality so the virus spreads more!”

“Good, that’s it. Well done,” Siegfried said with a nod. Then, he nodded, “Also, kids and the elderly are basically defenseless, so adjust the structure of the virus so it’s only fatal to adults, okay?”

“Yes, sir!”

“Can you handle things alone from now on?”

“Please leave it to me, sir!”

“Good. Let me continue.”

And so, Plague spent a long time receiving Siegfried’s lecture on how to spread epidemics properly.

“You will now head for the Marchioni Empire.”

“As you command, sir!”

“Make sure you focus on the big cities and spread your virus, got it?”

“Yes, sir!”

“After wandering around a bit, you can hole up somewhere and relax while the people gradually start dying. It’s easy profit.”

“I’m getting excited just thinking about it!

Kuhuhu!”

Plague was already excited with anticipation. Though he had become a lowly slave, he realized that he could unleash a far more terrifying epidemic if he followed Siegfried’s teachings.

“Now go and do what you have to do!”

“Yes, sir!”

“And just one more thing. You’re dead if my empire suffers any harm, got it?”

“I-I will remember it well!”

“Be sure you do.”

“Yes, sir!” Plague exclaimed in response.

Then, he handed Siegfried several vials filled with liquids of various colors.

“Please take these, just in case,” Plague said.

“What are these for?” Siegfried asked.

“They are the cure for the plagues I spread.”

“

Oh?

”

“You will not be infected by my diseases if you take these. And if you do catch it, then these will help you recover quickly.”

“Thanks.”

Plague even went so far as to provide Siegfried with vaccines and cures before trudging off toward the Marchioni Empire.

“

Kekeke!

He’s surprisingly easy to talk to for a demon,” Siegfried muttered with a chuckle.

***

After sending Plague away...

“

Tsk...”

Siegfried clicked his tongue with a bitter look.

“What’s wrong? It sounds like a pretty sweet revenge to me,” Cheon Woo-Jin asked.

“It is, but... Even though they’re my enemy, deliberately spreading a plague doesn’t exactly sit well with me.”

“

Hm?

What do you mean by that?”

“I mean, think about it. Almost all of the victims will be innocent civilians, no?”

“

Huh?

Are you turning into some kind of humanist now? Since when did you, of all people, feel guilty about the things you do? Feeling guilty isn’t like you, man.”

“What did you say, punk? Feeling guilty isn’t like me? What do you think I am, some kind of psychopath?”

“H-Hey, that’s not what I meant.”

“I would actually feel better if we just faced them in an all-out war.”

𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

“But that’s impossible, and you know that. You can’t win against them now.”

“I know. That’s why I’m doing this,” Siegfried pouted and replied. Then, he let out a sigh and said, “Civilian casualties are tragic, but there’s no helping it in the long run. Civilians are the backbone of both the military and the economy. I can’t just leave them be when they will eventually turn into soldiers or produce war supplies for the army.”

“Yeah, you have a point.”

“They’re the ones who started using dirty tricks. First, they tried to wipe out our empire by redirecting the storm, and now, they’re trying to destroy us by forcing a volcanic eruption. What other choice do I have? I have to retaliate like this or else it’s my people who will get hurt.”

After saying that, Siegfried shook off his guilt and started making his way back.

‘

It’s either my empire or the Marchioni Empire. One side has to be destroyed for this to end. No mercy. I’m going to destroy them completely,’

he thought, hardening his resolve.

This was not the time to pick and choose what was good or wrong.

He had to be prepared to do whatever it took for his own survival as well as the well-being of the Proatine Empire.

“Let’s go.”

“Okay.”

And so, after wrapping up the plague and dispatching Plague as a means of counterattack against the Marchioni Empire, Siegfried returned to the imperial palace with Cheon Woo-Jin.

Then, he immediately convened an emergency council. Since the Marchioni Empire was trying to destroy the Proatine Empire by making sure that the Dragonhead Mountain would erupt ahead of time, they had to come up with a countermeasure.

Unfortunately, the problem was that Dragonhead Mountain was within the Marchioni Empire’s territory, so there was no easy way to deal with it.

Marching in with an army to kill the magicians was not an option.

If they were to do that, then they would be handing the Marchioni Empire the perfect excuse to invade the Proatine Empire and crush it.

The Marchioni Empire would simply deny they had tried to cause a volcanic eruption, and instead accuse the Proatine Empire of spying on their territory.

With that, it would give them the perfect justification to declare war, one that would be backed by the people.

“

Ughh...”

Siegfried’s head was hurting from the whole mess. He had to do something, but he couldn’t invade without giving the Marchioni Empire the perfect reason to start a war.

No matter how much he racked his brains, he couldn’t think of a good way to stop the eruption without starting a war.

‘

Think... Use your brain...’

He quietly gathered his thoughts and racked his brain over how to resolve the crisis, even as his ministers argued back and forth.

‘

There must be a solution...’

His thoughts went on and on until it was already late in the night.

Siegfried brooded over things even hours after the emergency council meeting had ended without any results.

‘

Huh?’

An idea struck him just then, causing his eyes to finally light up.

‘

If that works... It might actually be even better, wouldn’t it?’

A good idea had just come to him, and this could just be what he had been looking for.