Upon seeing the signage for the Warehouse district by the docks, Lars followed the snaking pathways and pa.s.sed by dilapidated building after dilapidated building. Many were half-collapsing, looking like they were many a year past their approved dates for occupation, while the rest were already collapsed long ago.Some of the warehouses looked like they could be aircraft hangars given how tall, high and wide the compounds were while others were leaning on the smaller side. Others still were by now just piles of rubble - an after-effect of the demon invasion.
One thing all of the buildings had in common though, was that they looked abandoned, lonely and... Outright creepy. At least that"s what Lars would have felt if not for the fact that he had a genuine demon whispering into his ear.
Though his particular demon WAS scary right now... It was anything BUT the type of scariness that one would expect from him!
"Lars Lars... Come on, come on, just ask me. Come on! Ask me, okay?"
"......."
"What does that mean??? Say something!!! Just because you"re like, super worried about your friends doesn"t mean you should ignore I, your bestest friend and buddy! What about all our years of friends.h.i.+p??? What about all the days we"ve been through??? Just one time, come on!!!"
"No no no no no!!! I"m not doing it again! Kizorik, I need to focus here, okay!?!"
"Just one time more, pretty please! Aw c"mon!!! It"s not like I have anyone else to talk to since the past dozen-plus years! Don"t you know how unfair it is for us...?!? All I have in this world is you... While you have as many b.i.t.c.hes to talk to as you want!!"
"......" Lars was still reluctant to respond especially given the tense circ.u.mstances he was in. He glanced at the timepiece on his wrist and saw that it was almost 11:30 PM and he had not yet found his destination.
He frowned as his eyes flitted back and forth around him and at the map in his hand, trying to make sense of just where building number x.x.x on YYY street was. The addresses marked on the map went from AAA street to ZZZ street - but skipped from x.x.x street directly to ZZZ street. And so he was here roaming around through the area most likely to be correct - but fruitless so far and unable to find his destination.
And while he was trying to shut out his yammering sidekick"s begging and pleading for him to listen to a joke, he almost let one statement slip him by.
"...Just one time and I"ll tell you the place that you"re looking for!!!"
Lars was stunned and blinked, then asked, "Buddy...?"
Kizorik nodded and folded his arms in self-satisfaction, looking smug that he had all the answers for his contractor.
"Yup yup! Praise me, praise me! I"m great, aren"t I? I know everything rig--"
"WHY DIDN"T YOU F***ING TELL ME EARLIER???"
"....You didn"t ask."
"....." Speechlessness swept over Lars as he could feel irritation bubbling up in his heart. However, he was wise enough to keep his lips zipped and keep quiet lest his whimsical companion suddenly decided to play possum and refuse to speak at this critical time!
With an internal sigh, Lars stopped searching despite his anxiousness to find his friends and gave in, asking mentally, "...What did you want to say...?"
Thankfully Kizorik also understood the urgency of the situation and didn"t play hard to get... Well, maybe just a little bit...
"Ahem! Lars, do you know what I like about you...?"
"At a time like this... b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l...! What is he asking me...?" Lars didn"t express his frustration though and asked innocently, "Yes, o great sir Kizorik... What is it that you like about me...?"
"Boy... It"s because you value your friends."
"??? Isn"t that something completely normal...? Is it anything that special?"
"Hah! Kiddo...! You don"t know even the slightest about it! Okay okay... I probably have to admit, in the first place I"m not like any of the other demons... You could say I"ve always been a bit of -"
"Kind...?" Lars quipped absent-mindedly, then froze as he realised that perhaps he had just made a huge slip of the tongue - after all, weren"t demons incredibly sensitive about being monstrous tyrants who reigned over vast starfields...?
"Whoa whoa whoa! I didn"t mean that okay? You"re like the most furious, ferocious and mean demon I....?" He hurriedly tried to correct himself but stopped when he saw Kizorik nodding slowly.
"...You"re... Right."
Kizorik slowly let out a sigh... Then reached up to his beak to tug at his teeth. With a gradual s.h.i.+mmying of the teeth, he removed his dentures, revealing that he, in fact, did not have sharp teeth at all - he was purely an adorable black and white little furry penguin, cute and huggable!
"...Lars boy... You"re right. I... Sigh, from the start you know that I"ve never really urged you on to kill, destroy or otherwise gain more Abyss Points. The truth is, every other demon would be trying to corrupt their contractor into becoming a killing, slaying and murderous machine, whether or not the contractor lives or dies. That"s because that"s the most efficient way to gain AP - short and quick bursts of action by the contractor, followed by letting the contractor"s soul descend into the Abyss for a quick cash out..."
Seeing Lars pallid and aghast expression upon hearing his words about souls being lost, Kizorik looked apologetically at Lars and explained, "You didn"t know that, right...? Once a contract is signed, the contractor"s soul is forfeit to the Abyss? It"s not in the contract... But it"s the result of anyone accepting the power of the Abyss..."
"I"m... Sorry boy. I"m so sorry... I don"t know what"s come over me though - why am I bringing all this up at this time? Maybe... I just don"t have a good feeling about letting things continue without telling you..."
Lars was unsure how to respond. He was already stressed out enough as it were about Seline and Charley being kidnapped - and now he had just found out that his soul was forfeit the moment he died...? What was he supposed to feel? How was he supposed to react?
"Kiddo... I really don"t know why, but I felt I need to tell you these now. You deserve it. You"ve been the best contractor to me, being kind and gentle, understanding and listening to me. Listening to my lame jokes... Though yours are even more lame... Heh!"
Lars smiled slightly upon hearing that and mentally reached out to rub his buddy"s belly and soft, downy head before Kizorik continued.
"But kiddo... I guess I"ve never told you either... We demons... We s.p.a.ce beast descendants, if that"s truly what we are... Our souls are also slaves to the Abyss! The moment we should perish, we would be resurrected in the sp.a.w.ning pools of the Abyssal realms, forever a slave to be revived again and again, all to sow, reap and harvest for the gains of the nefarious Abyss..." Kizorik closed off his statement with a heavy and long sigh, looking distraught and resigned to an unavoidable fate.
Lars too felt heavy hearted. He had read through the contract many times in the badly scrawled barely legible script but had not noticed any such clause - specifically because it seemed there was no such clause in the contract! And yet it turned out that the enforcement was not through the contract but merely the end result the moment a person received powers from the Abyss!
But Lars did not leave it as it was, and pressed Kizorik to ask, "Buddy..! Don"t give up hope! I know, you feel guilty and all about pulling me into this situation, but I don"t hold it against you! After all, it was either this or I"d just have my soul devoured by that Allheaven G.o.d thingy!"
Kizorik looked up to Lars heavily, his lids drooping but now slightly perked up and cheered up at his contractror"s weirds.
"Really...? Kiddo... Lars... You really don"t blame me for it...? I, this useless penguin who only knows how to eat and deceive people into working for the Abyss... But can"t even bring myself to get my contractor"s to hurt anyone...? You really don"t blame me...?"
Lars nodded, though he still kept one eye on the time, then said, "Yes. Kizorik, my pal! For me... You are the one who gave me a new lease on life... A new chance at starting anew... A new chance to right the wrongs of the past and smash the teeth of the Allheaven Divine Empire and those devils behind them! Come on buddy! Let"s do it together! And..."
"We"ll definitely, surely find a way to destroy the chains of slavery of that Abyss... And send those devils back to wherever they came from once and for all!"
Lars reached out (mentally in his mental world) to pat Kizorik on the back, then held out his fist for a fist b.u.mp. His eyes were br.i.m.m.i.n.g with pa.s.sion and emotion, and it slowly but surely infected his contracted demon.
Kizorik looked up and looked Lars in the eye, and as he did so, the strength, determination and fire slowly returned to his gaze as he lifted up a flipper slowly to "fist b.u.mp" with his "bro".
"You promise...? You... We"ll, together, find a way for both of us to be released from the Abyss" bonds...?"
Lars smiled slowly and locked eyes with his best friend by now and said with eyes glistening with slight wetness, "Yes... Buddy... I promise...!"
Kizorik tried hard to keep his scowling appearance and remain cool, but a smile crept across his face (beak) and he quickly turned away to hide the fact that he was equally touched and embarra.s.sed.
He shot some acid comments over like, "Hmphh!! Not like I care anyway!" and "What could you, you little useless b.u.g.g.e.r do anyway!" but Lars just smiled emotionally, glad that his little buddy"s blazing heart was back.
And hopefully he would be charged up and ready to rumble for good from here on!
Lars then checked the time again - 11:52pm. He really had to hurry now!
"Buddy, now... Let"s get Seline and Charley back, shall we?"
"Oh, right! Your friends... While traveling past the alley back there, I felt a strange tingle. Curious about what could be happening around there, I sent out a little bit of my senses just to check things out, searching down the alley and down the stairs at the end, all the way descending down to the waterfront. And lo and behold, there was nothing!"
"........" A speechless Lars was... Speechless as he heard Kizorik"s useless sharing. He was about to explode in irritation when Kizorik shook his head in disappointment and explained.
"Kiddo! Don"t you understand...? How can there be "nothing" when I scan it? I mean, literally, "nothing"...? There wasn"t even any trace of anything at all, not even the ebb and flow of water! It was like a void, emptiness and everything lost! My bet - that should be your destination."
"Wait... Kizorik... I follow you so far but, why would the Underworld set a meet-up location so hard to find in the first place...? Unless..."
Lars eyes narrowed as he had a bad premonition about things.
"Unless they had no intention of a hostage or goods exchange in the first place at all... d.a.m.n! Let"s hurry and go! No holds barred, it"s 100% all out from here on!!"
He began to channel his mana and release his seals hurriedly as he ran along the pathway in the direction Kizorik directed.
And he prepared the prize that Duke Leanne had personally given him as a reward for the tournament - something that upped his game more than double!