Chapter 61: SPELL
Azrael glanced back at the person who had spoken.
The voice sounded familiar.
Eerily so.
Like he had heard it just moments ago.
His gaze narrowed.
"What?" The person asked, stopping just in front of him.
Before Azrael could speak, the person raised his hand and patted Azrael on the shoulder.
[Why did he come back?]
The system asked.
’How would I know?’ Azrael retorted.
"Oh, right, sorry about that," Eriksen said, pulling his arm back.
He walked toward the baby dimensional beast, a flicker of interest crossing his face as he looked at it.
It was a snow white ape.
Unlike its mother, which had stood fully upright, this one was hunched, back bent forward.
Its extra two arms were still developing, noticeably shorter than the main pair.
Two white horns protruded from either side of its head as it stared up at Eriksen.
Eriksen patted it on the head calmly.
Then he froze, turning back slowly.
"Why are you staring at me?" He asked, his tone cold.
"You punched me not even a few minutes ago. And now you are here playing the good brother," Azrael said with raised brows.
"Oh, that," Eriksen said with a sigh.
He lifted the beast from the floor, holding it in his palm as he turned to face Azrael fully.
"That was to make the beast trust you. If you ended its suffering, it would trust you enough to bring its child out."
Azrael furrowed his brows.
"How did you know it had a child?" He asked.
"I have a foresight skill," Eriksen replied with a shrug.
He did not seem to mind sharing that at all.
Not like there was much Azrael could do with the information anyway.
"But you did not need to go through all of that. The beast could have simply given you the child if you had asked after defeating it the first time."
"Yes..." Eriksen let out a slow exhale from the side of his mouth and took a step back.
"Like that would have been so easy."
[You know it is impossible to access the space of a dimensional beast through conventional means, right?]
The system said.
Azrael just nodded as he listened to Eriksen.
"I came back because the Patriarch asked me to deliver a message to you."
Eriksen’s voice shifted as he said those words, something serious settling into it.
Azrael’s pupils dilated slightly.
’What message could the Patriarch have for me?’ He wondered.
"He said the results of your evaluation are out."
Eriksen paused.
He said nothing more.
’Oh, that,’ Azrael thought with a smile.
But he stopped himself.
"Why did you stop..."
"Shush," Eriksen cut him off before he could finish.
"What is it?" Azrael whispered.
"Is there a stronger beast nearby?"
Eriksen shook his head slowly.
"I was trying to build suspense for them. You just ruined it," he said, pressing a hand to his forehead with a sigh.
"For who?"
"Do not worry about it. The people I mean already know who they are."
He did not elaborate further.
"Anyway, the Patriarch wants you in his office once you are done here."
He looked around with a grin.
"Though who knew you were reckless enough to wander into the second ring alone?"
Azrael responded with a wry smile and ran a hand through his hair.
Seeing there was nothing left to say, Eriksen looked at the beast lying lazily in his palm.
"Should I help you both with the contract?" He asked.
"I am not..."
Before Azrael could finish, the system’s screen flashed in his face.
[A new quest has been generated.]
[Fulfil the wish of a dying mother.]
[Quest details: Enter a contract with the baby dimensional ape.]
[Rewards: Knowledge on dimensional beasts.]
Azrael stared at the screen.
’It cannot hurt,’ he thought.
The only reason he had been hesitant was pure laziness. But the reward was exactly what he needed right now.
He accepted instantly.
"Hey, why did you space out?" Eriksen’s voice pulled him back.
Azrael’s body jolted.
"Nothing," he replied. "Please, help us with the contract."
Eriksen smiled.
"Alright."
He dropped the beast, letting it stand opposite Azrael.
"This is a spell I developed after considerable research," he said as a circle lit up beneath both of them.
Azrael processed the rest of what Eriksen said, but the word spell had already lodged itself in his mind.
’Do demons use spells?’ He wondered.
[No. Spells belong to another race’s power system entirely. But he may have a skill that allows him to bypass that restriction.]
Azrael shook his head slowly.
’And here I was thinking I was the overpowered one.’
The circle burst with golden light, washing over both Azrael and the ape.
He felt something shift inside his core.
Like a new presence had quietly settled there.
The circle shattered on cue, dissolving into fragments before disappearing entirely.
"Let me tell you something about this spell," Eriksen said, stepping closer.
Azrael blinked.
[He does not yet know you are slow sometimes.]
The system said with a laughing emoji.
’Who is slow?’ Azrael shot back.
"The spell makes your core recognize the beast as a construct," Eriksen continued.
He smiled.
"That makes it better than a standard essence contract. The beast is treated as a construct, which means you can keep it inside your core."
"That is actually useful," Azrael said with a smile.
"Finally, someone who appreciates what I do," Eriksen said with a quiet sigh.
"You know what, come find me tomorrow."
As he spoke, a circle flared briefly in his palm and vanished just as fast.
In its place was a talisman.
"Tear this from wherever you are when you are ready."
He held it out to Azrael.
Azrael took it with mild reluctance, his gaze lingering on it.
"Use cannibalism on that corpse when you are done here," Eriksen added.
Azrael looked up to respond, but Eriksen was already gone.
"Why would I want to meet him?" Azrael muttered as he dropped the talisman into his spatial ring.
He looked at his new beast, and a smile formed on his lips.