Transmigration: I Made A Deal With A Man in Yellow

White-blue energy exploded from Elfriede’s body, pushing the demon several meters back.

The demon managed to raise a protective mana barrier just in time to shield himself.

As if winter had suddenly arrived, frost began spreading across the floor, reaching the walls and ceiling. It froze the blood, broken furniture, and even sealed the door and windows.

The frost released from Elfriede’s body was so cold that even Yves, who wasn’t actually present there, could still feel it through the memory.

"Impossible."

The demon spoke as he lowered the arm he had raised to protect his face.

The barrier he had formed was completely frozen by Elfriede’s frost energy.

Elfriede remained kneeling with her head lowered. Her hair swayed gently in the breeze created by the sudden burst of energy.

Her right hand, which had been holding her sword, released it and reached for the grip of Liliane’s rapier, still buried deep inside her chest.

She slowly pulled it out.

No blood flowed from the wound as she removed the weapon. Only the sound of metal scraping against ice echoed throughout the room.

Once the rapier was completely out of her chest, the gaping wound was clearly visible.

It glowed white-blue.

Then the hole in her flesh slowly began closing, as though something invisible was stitching it back together.

Only when the wound had completely healed did the white-blue glow fade.

"She has awakened..." Yves muttered in shock and relief, unaware that a smile had appeared on his face.

That’s right.

Elfriede had managed to Awaken.

Since Elfriede had experienced a near-death situation that pushed both her soul and body to their limits, her Story Vessel reacted with the Narrative Essence of the world, granting her a Story.

That was how Awakeners were born.

And the first person among Elfriede’s orphanage group to Awaken...

Was Elfriede herself.

"Phew..."

Elfriede exhaled, releasing cold mist from her mouth.

She grabbed her sword from the floor and slowly rose to her feet.

Then she opened her amethyst eyes, which had remained closed the entire time.

They seemed colder now.

Fiercer.

"So this is how Awakening feels..." Elfriede murmured as she clenched her fist, feeling the new power flowing through her body.

She felt strong.

Far stronger than before.

And that wasn’t the only change.

Her senses had immediately reached entirely new levels, which made her slightly uncomfortable at first, but she quickly adapted to them.

In addition, she could now clearly feel the demonic energy pouring out of the demon.

It was repugnant.

Vile.

Filthy.

The demon stood behind his frozen barrier with a strange expression on his face.

He...

He was smiling.

His sharp teeth were exposed as he stared at Elfriede with such intensity that, if looks could kill, she would’ve already died a thousand times.

’Her soul power is truly something else.’

The demon had been searching for a vessel for a long time.

But not just any vessel.

He needed one capable of withstanding his power while also possessing extremely high growth potential.

That was why he had come to this orphanage.

He had latched onto Liliane after noticing her mental vulnerability and planned to use her as his vessel after convincing her to surrender her soul in exchange for power.

Humans were truly foolish in his eyes.

But little did he know that the sibling of his host possessed far greater potential than Liliane herself.

He could already imagine how many greater things he could accomplish with Elfriede.

So he changed his mind.

He would break Elfriede mentally until she submitted to him, allowing him to possess her instead.

Then he would get rid of Liliane.

The mind of a demon was nothing but cold and calculating.

They cared only about themselves.

At his will, the frozen barrier surrounding him shattered apart.

Still keeping his hands clasped behind his back, he spoke.

"How shocking, child. You managed to Awaken while trapped in such a perilous situation."

He smiled.

"Are you certain you still don’t wish to accept my offer? We could accomplish extraordinary things together. Power, fame, wealth... anything you desire."

He paused before continuing.

"As long as you surrender your soul to me."

The wretched demon once again spoke sweet words, offering Elfriede the same thing as before.

However, her answer remained unchanged.

She stared directly at the demon.

"What’s the point of gaining the whole world if, in return, you lose your soul?"

She shook her head.

"Your sweet words will not sway me, demon. You shall fall by my blade today."

Elfriede pointed her sword toward him.

The demon’s smile disappeared, his expression returning to its previous coldness.

"I truly shouldn’t have asked twice. You stubborn humans only stop being stubborn when you’re standing on the brink of death."

The moment those words left his mouth, he crossed the distance between himself and Elfriede in the blink of an eye.

One hand remained clasped behind his back while the other shot toward her neck.

This time, Elfriede could see the attack coming.

It wasn’t slow.

But it was slow enough for her to react.

Elfriede remembered that when fighting a dangerous opponent, where even the smallest mistake could result in death, she needed to remain calm if she wanted any chance of winning.

So she focused and pushed aside everything she was feeling so that her emotions wouldn’t distract her.

With a twist of her wrist, Elfriede turned her sword and slashed at the incoming hand.

Clang!

Instead of the blade slicing through flesh, it recoiled the moment it made contact with the demon’s hand.

It felt as though her sword had struck metal.

Elfriede’s eyes narrowed in confusion.

’How is he doing that?’

She stepped to the side as another attack came from the left, narrowly avoiding having her throat ripped open.

Elfriede planted strength into her forward foot and slashed.

Clang! Clang!

Hand and sword collided again and again.

The demon’s hand shot toward her side at terrifying speed, but Elfriede pushed it away using the flat of her blade.

She then tried to close the distance between them.

However, she accidentally put too much strength into her legs.

Her body shot past the demon and slammed hard into the wall.

Bam!

The demon turned around and smiled.

"Oh? You’re not accustomed to your new strength yet, are you?"

His smile widened slightly.

"You had better adapt quickly, or you’ll die."

The demon dashed toward her and threw a fist covered in demonic energy toward her face.

Elfriede watched as the fist approached.

It looked almost slow to her now.

But she knew that if it connected, her face would be crushed into tomato paste.

She immediately tried to figure out how to move fast enough to avoid it using her new power.

Mind you, she had never been taught how an Awakener was supposed to use their abilities.

At the orphanage, they had only been trained physically.

So she had no idea what she was doing.

But then she felt something.

Something was being absorbed into her body and stored within her.

It wasn’t oxygen.

It was something far more primal.

Somehow, instinctively, she understood that she could control it.

So she did.

She allowed the energy to run wildly through her veins.

Then she moved.

Just before the fist could smash her face apart, Elfriede disappeared from where she had been standing.

In only a few moments, she crossed several meters and appeared farther away from the demon.

Bam!

The demon’s fist slammed into the wall, leaving a massive crack across it.

"You’ve survived for an entire minute against me. That’s impressive."

The demon sounded genuinely amused.

This time, Elfriede attacked first.

Using the same method, she circulated that strange energy through her body and dashed forward.

She swung her sword upward toward the demon.

But once again, she used far too much power.

The attack became clumsy and easier for the demon to defend against.

And because of that mistake, she was punished.

A fist buried itself into her stomach.

Bam!

Elfriede was sent flying backward and crashed into the wall.

"Cough!"

She spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Tsk, tsk. You still cannot control your new power. How pitiful."

Elfriede would be lying if she said the demon wasn’t getting on her nerves.

Especially since he was controlling the body of her own sister.

Moreover, she was also becoming frustrated with her new power.

She didn’t understand how it worked, nor could she properly control her new strength.

Whenever she used the strange energy running through her body, her speed and strength increased drastically.

She also had no idea how all the ice covering the room had come from her body.

From what she understood and had heard before, Awakeners gained unique powers tied specifically to themselves.

So she could already guess that the ice was part of her own ability.

The only problem was that she had no idea how to use it.

’Your...’

Elfriede suddenly heard a voice.

Her head snapped to the side.

’Sto... tem.’

Elfriede froze.

She had genuinely believed she had been hearing things earlier.

Before, the same voice had told her to dodge an attack.

And now it was speaking to her again, although she couldn’t clearly understand what it was saying.

Only after a few more seconds did the words finally become clear.

’Story System.’