Chapter 5: The Seed and the Number! |
As the voice faded, Downs instantly felt a surge of power flood his entire body. Even his brain felt as though a warm, flowing liquid had been injected directly into it.
The overwhelming sensation caused him to pass out on the spot.
Krog remained conscious, but he was now firmly bound by the seal within Downs'' body, stripped of all ability to move.
The demonic contract itself allowed for a certain degree of wordplay, especially when stipulating timeframes.
In such situations, an ambiguous description could actually work to one''s advantage.
The power of the Abyss that protected the contract was driven by the subjective, intelligent judgment of the Abyssal Will.
Even a vague violation of the agreement would trigger the intervention of Abyssal power.
However, once a specific condition was laid out—such as ''before'' or ''after'' a method was completed—the timeframe for protection became rigidly defined. Therefore, at the exact moment the method was completed, the demon Krog was entirely devoid of the contract''s protection.
This was a nuance that novices to demonic contracts easily overlooked.
"An Abyssal magic array... You aren''t human!" Krog''s voice echoed from within Downs'' body. The inverted pentagram array was fundamentally an Abyssal demonic spell. Unlike merely speaking the Demonic Language, this was something humans simply could not cast.
Furthermore, as far as Krog knew, even the vast majority of demons were incapable of deploying such an array.
"That is none of your concern. Now, you may be silent!" Nemus declared. Krog, who had been about to say more, was forced to shut his mouth. The second clause of their demonic contract demanded that he maintain absolute secrecy, and that clause was very much still in effect.
For stipulations with such clear directives, the binding power of the contract was absolute.
As for Nemus, he could feel the Oath-Keeping Precept beginning to provide feedback.
[Precept Information Updated]
[Qi Instrument: Oath Rope (New Additions: Seal Attachment; Silence Control)]
His personal Qi Instrument had gained two brand-new supplementary effects.
This was his reward for successfully playing both sides of the board.
His contract with the demon had been fulfilled, and so had his agreement with Downs.
With the demon firmly sealed within Downs'' body, the seal effectively became a permanent fixture.
And by having the demon enter his body, thereby granting him demonic power, Downs'' end of the bargain had been fulfilled by Nemus as well.
Naturally, with the demon incident resolved, his agreement with Opper would also be considered complete. When the time came, he would reap another reward from the Oath-Keeping Precept. This was truly catching three birds with one stone!
Meanwhile, Downs, who had only been unconscious for a brief moment, finally woke up.
His first instinct was to tear open his shirt and stare at the inverted pentagram array drawn squarely on his chest.
He scrubbed at it frantically, rubbing his skin raw and red, but the array remained entirely unaffected.
"L-Lord Nels!" Downs finally accepted the horrifying reality that a demon was locked inside his own body. Trembling uncontrollably, he looked at Nemus and scrambled over on his hands and knees. "I don''t want to be a demon''s vessel! It hurts so much right now..."
Before he could even finish, Nemus kicked him aside. The sharp flare of pain instantly snapped him back to his senses.
"I will speak, and you will listen!" Nemus stared down at the shepherd. Though the words were a strict command, his tone remained deceptively gentle.
"I could execute you right here, right now, under the charge of colluding with a demon."
"However, this is not a punishment. It is an opportunity."
"Let me enlighten you on a fundamental truth of this world. Many things are fixed from the moment you take your first breath. If you are not born with them, no amount of desperate effort will ever allow you to attain them."
"You were born with a worthless life. If it were not for this demon, you would spend your entire mortal existence without ever touching a sliver of true power."
"Have a thorough chat with the demon residing within your body. Both of you will soon come to understand the reality of your situation." Nemus was not the least bit worried about the two conspiring against him. Between the contract, the sealing array, and the inherent greed of human nature, all the cards were stacked firmly in his favor. Besides, the best way to prevent a betrayal was simply to never offer them the opportunity in the first place.
With his profound understanding of human nature, the psychological shifts of someone like Downs were glaringly obvious to Nemus.
Right now, Downs was terrified of the demon''s existence due to his deeply ingrained beliefs. But very soon, that terror would morph into ecstasy over the demonic power he now possessed. His newfound greed, coupled with his fear of returning to a pathetic future, would forge the perfect lock to keep Krog permanently bound.
He would inevitably begin to negotiate with Krog and perhaps even reach some form of twisted cooperation, but he would absolutely never allow the demon to leave his body.
Simultaneously, bound by the rigid rules governing demons, Krog would inadvertently become the perfect medium for Nemus to completely control Downs.
While Krog was still somewhat green as a Lesser Demon, he was a true demon nonetheless. Once he calmed down, he would quickly realize that Nemus was the sole entity capable of determining his fate.
Securing a barely adequate enforcer and using the Precepts to bolster his own strength had taken him a full day and night. The efficiency was merely acceptable.
''It is a pity that Finback Village is far too small, and its ties to the Precept Church are severely limited. The moment this village is gone, those ties will be severed completely.''
''I cannot just act recklessly and strip this place of all its resources. Otherwise, I would be able to reach a level rivaling the Golden Rank in a mere matter of days.''
Mentally taking stock of the forces currently at his disposal, Nemus could not help but sigh in disappointment.
There were only two supernatural paths in this world: the Life Path and the Soul Path.
Practitioners of the former generally relied on Breathing Techniques to ignite their Life Potential, while the latter utilized Meditation Methods to continuously expand their Spirituality.
However, for ordinary beings, no matter how intensely they practiced their cultivation, their potential for improvement was always severely limited.
The inhabitants of this world simply referred to these limited and quantifiable metrics as ''power''.
After a rough analysis, Nemus had chosen to label this concept as an Attribute Value, effectively translating their potential into measurable numbers.
Generally speaking, the absolute limit for the Black Iron Rank was ten. The vast majority of living beings would hit a complete plateau in their advancement long before they ever reached that ceiling.
Take the body''s original owner, Nels, for example. As someone with a noble surname, he had a rather privileged upbringing and had relentlessly trained his body for years. Yet, had Nemus never intervened, his Attribute Value would have permanently stagnated at a mere seven.
If one wished to continue growing and shatter those innate limits, they needed to elevate their own Number, which would consequently cause the Sublimation of their very Seed.
Beyond the Black Iron Rank was the Iron Rank, and beyond the Iron Rank stood the majestic Golden Rank.
Fortunately, Nemus was a Heterogeneous Demon. Were he anything else, the rigid law of the Seed Number would have suffocated his potential entirely.
Throughout the entire world, only an infinitesimally small number of living entities were capable of altering their inherent Seed Number.
''At present, the greatest Number at my disposal stems directly from a fragment of the God of Precepts''s Divinity Count. This is one of my most tremendous opportunities, and it serves as the absolute foundation for my continued ascension.''
''However, to perfectly harness the power of this Number, I am inextricably reliant on the Precept Church, and entirely dependent on the Faith cultivated by its followers.''
''Nels was utterly incompetent. The pathetic sliver of Faith he managed to steal is barely enough for even a simple experiment. In fact, his bumbling attempts likely exposed more of our plans than they helped.''
''I need to probe the old pastor at the church as soon as possible, and then eradicate him without delay!''
''I must seize absolute control over the Faith of Finback Village immediately. Once that is done, I can plot my infiltration into the upper echelons of the Precept Church.''
The rest of the night slipped away as Nemus lost himself in his intricate scheming. As the first light of dawn began to crack over the horizon and the distant cry of the giant whale echoed through the sky, Downs was already standing nearby. He waited by Nemus''s side with utmost reverence, ready to receive his next set of orders.
"Pick up the demon corpse by the door. We''re going to pay Opper a visit!" Nemus declared, a cold smile curling his lips. He was already eagerly anticipating the next influx of power from the Oath-Keeping Precept.
Comments 2