[A/N: Well, would you look at that. I didn't drop the fic]
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"Quite direct are we..." Asher frowned.
Morgan studied him for a brief moment before giving a small, indifferent shrug. "You seem like the type of man who wouldn't appreciate formalities."
A faint smirk tugged at Asher's lips.
"You're right about that. So..." He narrowed his eyes, "Shall we talk about my compensation? Morgan of the Valor."
Morgan simply smiled, throwing a paper in Asher direction, who caught it with a smile.
A smile that was way too wide.
'Loot!'
Before he could even glance down at the contents, Morgan spoke.
"A waiver of one hundred million credits," she said calmly, "along with access to Spell Smiths, Valor's training grounds, and a residence in one of the most desirable districts in NQSC."
She paused, watching him carefully.
"Consider it a summary."
Asher's eyes widened.
"What?!"
Morgan's smile deepened ever so slightly.
"I trust that's sufficient compensation," she said smoothly, "for what certain members of Valor have done to you."
For a moment, Asher just stared at her.
Then—
He wiped the drool at his mouth.
"…Sure." he quickly wiped the drool once more. "I-I guess I can forgive you lot."
Morgan broke a wide smile.
"Wonderful."
She paused before speaking again, "Now that Valor's debt has been settled…"
Her eyes sharpened.
"…all that remains is a formality."
She produced another document and held it out toward him.
"This."
The paper stopped just in front of him.
"You may read it, if you wish."
Asher let out a strange, breathy chuckle, barely catching himself before anything embarrassing happened again.
"Ah… right."
Morgan extended a pen.
"Here."
Asher quickly signed the paper as he smiled. "Thanks for the patronage!"
Morgan smiled as well, except, hers was even wider than Asher's, "No, thank you!" she paused, coming closer to him as she met his eye, "Asher... of the Valor."
He froze.
The smile on his face faltered.
Then—
Color drained from it.
"…Wait."
***
"...Fucking bitch."
Asher looked down at his contract, as he clicked his tongue as he glanced over a single phrase over and over again.
[Party A(the awakened) hereby agrees to serve the Party B(clan of Valor) for 5 years.]
He whipped the door open, grumbling to himself. "Sunny! I'm home!"
"..."
"…Hm."
Asher paused, then closed his eyes, trying to feel the weight of Sunny's shadow. "It's still there."
Asher considered calling out Sunny's shadow, but then he shook his head.
No.
There was no need.
After all… after Volume Five, he was blind.
And, he never knows what would happen in the future. It wasn't that Asher was afraid that his friends may betray him... No.
His gaze dropped to his arm.
A strange sensation twisted in his stomach, sharp and nauseating, forcing him to swallow back the urge to retch.
It was himself.
That was the problem.
Both he and Nephis shared the same goal.
Destroy the Nightmare Spell.
But where Nephis walked a narrow, unwavering path—
Asher didn't.
He was willing to do anything.
Anything.
And that was where the danger lay.
Because, in the end, destroying the Nightmare Spell wasn't the true end for him.
There was something beyond it.
Something more important.
He didn't fully understand how Dahila intended to send him back—to return him to the past—but if that truly became possible…
Why would the present matter?
Chances were, after Asher killed the daemons, the present would change beyond recognition anyway.
"Right?"
Asher bit his tongue, clenching his fist.
"Get out of my mind."
The whisper came out strained.
Tight.
"Get out…"
His breathing grew heavier.
"GET OUT!"
A raw scream escaped his mouth.
As soon as he said that, clarity returned to him.
Asher staggered slightly, sucking in air as his chest rose and fell rapidly. His hand came up to clutch his face, fingers pressing hard against his skin.
"Dahila…" he rasped. "What did you do to me…?"
That line of thinking…
That wasn't him.
It couldn't be.
A shaky breath escaped him, turning into a quiet, almost hollow chuckle as his gaze drifted downward.
His reflection stared back at him from the polished tiles.
"I see..."
A memory flashed into his mind as he slowed down his breath.
"Dahila... you..."
—Dong!
Asher snapped out of it as the bell rang.
He straightened slightly, rolling his shoulders as if shaking off something clinging to him. Then he turned and walked toward the door.
"Sunny! Sunny! Are you home?" he called out, voice returning to something lighter. "You won't believe—"
He opened the door.
A girl stood there.
She looked to be in her teens, with dark hair and matching eyes, frozen in place like she had forgotten how to move. Her mouth hung open slightly, her expression caught somewhere between shock and disbelief.
Asher blinked.
Then tilted his head.
For a second, neither of them spoke.
Then, a intense blush formed on her face as she pointed a shaky finger at him.
"You're… you're… you're…"
Asher tilted his head as he stared at her, his intense blue eyes piercing her as steamed escaped her ears.
"You're Echo of the Abyss!"
***
"FUCK!"
Sunny's voice tore through the train carriage, sharp enough to make the surrounding passengers flinch and instinctively step away from him.
His shadow had saw something unexpected.
Rain.. his sister... she had confronted a devil! A incubus, and by the looks of it, she was falling for the devil's charms!
'No! Rain!' Sunny immediately sank into the shadows as he rushed to his home with all his speed. Just then, his phone rang as he frowned.
A gate.
"That bastard..."
Sunny paused for a second, staring at his phone with a clenched jaw.
It was a category two as well... Saint couldn't handle it alone with casualties.
That day, after nearly a year of absence, whispers began to spread once more.
Mongrel had returned.
**
The door burst open with a violent crack.
"Asher, you incubus bastard! Get away—!"
Sunny froze mid-step.
His words died instantly.
Asher sat on the sofa, turning to him with a pale expression.
Rain sat next to him, her face drained of color while her eyes were wide with genuine terror as she clutched the cushion beside her.
The moment she saw Sunny, she practically leaned toward him.
"Ah—Sunny!" she said, her voice trembling. "Please, help Sir Asher!"
Sunny's brain stalled.
"…What?"
Asher slowly raised a shaky finger and pointed toward the projector.
"Sunny…" he said weakly. "This movie…"
Sunny finally gazed the the screen as his eyes became hollow, "Oh, that. Yeah, we can go kill the director if you want. I'm up for it."
Suddenly, the screen displayed Asher kissing Nephis.
—Squash!
The projector was crushed instantly, collapsing into broken fragments under an unseen force.
Sunny felt his heart burst in pain as he stared at the projector.
Rain stared at the two men with hollow eyes with trembling hands.
"Guys..."
Asher stepped forward and placed a hand on Sunny's shoulder, "The projector," he said firmly. "It was the director's fault."
He nodded, as if that settled everything.
"Let's go kill him."
He turned and started walking toward the door without hesitation.
"Come."
Rain swallowed hard, her throat tightening as she stared after them.
She had no idea what was happening anymore.