Chapter 77

Vespae Hive, Etson National Forest, Etson - 10:10 AM

“Why are you speaking like you know me, player?” Esaraphelscion asked as I basked in her warm aura. I didn’t have much time, so I went straight into it. Snapping open my inventory, I pulled out that small, lime-like rock from my inventory.

[[Item]]

Esaraphelscion's Memory Orb

(Contains the memory of previous iterations of the Angel of the End, Esaraphelscion.)

“An offering before I make my request, oh magnanimous Esaraphelscion,” I said with a slight bow. Bending was excruciating because of the gaping wound I had in my stomach, but it was already starting to stitch together thanks to the Writhing Belt Whip. As I lowered my head, I glanced at my foes.

I was both pleased and mildly disgruntled to see that Pustibule was no longer alive. The collar around his neck had severed his head from his body, and his two parts laid inside his partially melted glass cage. The thought of it almost made me scowl; because he committed suicide, he denied us both points and loot. No doubt his discomfort would only be momentary with Jeremiah out there ready to summon him back. That damn doctor was even more petty than I imagined.

Amlex, on the other hand, was still alive. It was easy to tell that she was afraid, however. In the farthest corner from us she had backed herself into the wall, eyes stuck on Esaraphelscion as she stood stock still. No doubt the demonic transformation was causing alarm bells to ring through her mind, disorienting her enough that she was momentarily debilitated.

Raising my head, I looked into Sara’s eyes. “Are you going to take it?” I asked softly.

Her gaze shifted from the memory orb to look at me, and I smiled. “Why do you have this?” she asked. While she tried to remain stern and grim, that confusion was coming through loud and clear for me.

“You know that you’ll know once you accept it,” I told her with nothing but patience in my voice. “Though, please remember that we’re on a time limit. Not to mention, I’m not sure how long an unknown entity will be able to black out this meeting.”

[[Warning!]]

An unknown entity is scoffing at your declaration.

[[Notice]]

Your Administrator Black-out [intermediate] has been removed by an unknown entity.

[[Notice]]

Your Administrator Black-out [intermediate] has been reinstated by an unknown entity.

[[Notice]]

Your Administrator Black-out [intermediate] has been extended by an unknown entity.

[[Warning!]]

An unknown entity is smirking at how easily the system bends to their whim.

“Thank you, unknown entity,” I said to the room, both surprised and concerned with what it had done.

“Don’t thank him. He’s nothing but trouble,” Esaraphelscion scoffed while glaring at the ceiling. She grimaced, then shook her head as if hearing something that this unknown entity was telling only her. Reaching out without looking back at me, the angel took the orb and crushed it with both hands. Her eyes clouded over as the memory orb began giving her memories back.

I glanced over to see Kayla and Jeff with Gabrielle, and they all looked flabbergasted by the sight. “Think you could help me out for a moment?” I asked our healer. She closed her mouth and stretched her hand out towards me, and I felt my body begin to stitch together as the golden glow of a stronger spell focused on my stomach. I closed my eyes and took an easy breath. “Thanks, Gabrielle.”

“Yeah, no, uh… No problem,” she replied.

“Oh my Sara?” Kayla asked, almost seeming hesitant to do so. “You can summon an… angel?”

Instead of answering, I winked at her and placed a finger in front of my lips. Jeff might take some time and Gabrielle might be completely lost, but there was no way Kayla wasn’t going to figure it out. “After Florida,” I said.

A sphere of fire wrapped around me and my angel. Instead of the blistering heat anyone else would expect, it felt incredibly safe. Not just from my Heat Resistance passive, but because it belonged to my Sara. The angel stopped hovering and fell to the ground in front of me. I spread my arms, and she slammed me into a tight hug.

It was a good thing that I had just been healed, because I thought I heard my ribs crack. It was a good thing she was constrained by the scenario limits because I was sure she would have killed me if she pulled that maneuver at full strength.

“Gently,” I said through gritted teeth.

Sara lightened her grip, and looked up at me in an apologetic manner. “Sorry, Ant,” she said. “I’m excited, and I forgot how fragile you’re supposed to be.” Her armor shifted into a more comfortable dress, and she let her hair down behind her. I attempted to pick her up like I had before, but found that I couldn’t. She wasn’t heavy, just way farther out of my league than she’d ever been before.

“It’s fine, I promise,” I chuckled. “It would have been quite the way to go out. Death by Sara, I’d almost die happy.”

“Enough of that,” she responded sharply. “I told you that you’re not allowed to die. You have to make it to the end one last time, remember?”

“I remember. Of course I remember.”

“Good,” Sara replied. Sighing, she leaned up and gave me a quick kiss. “I noticed we’re not in the Merder Stadium like we had planned. We don’t have a lot of time, but are you in over your head?”

“Yeah, but I’ll explain it all later,” I told her before clearing my throat. “Oh great Esaraphelscion, I humbly ask that you look over this system contract and decide if you’d like to sign it or not.”

Sara’s eyes went wide as I dramatically produced the system contract I had penned with the Dealer’s help and handed it over. She took it from me gently and began reading. Even though this one was much longer than the contract I had signed with the dealer, the angel finished reading it in seconds.

“Are… are you sure?” Sara asked, looking into my eyes. “I mean, this breaks so many rules. More than my boon does by a really large margin.”

I just smiled warmly at her. “I’m sure. Besides, it comes from a system contract, so it will be done properly. I have nothing to fear so long as I have you on my side.”

“That’s a very flippant attitude to have for someone who has a plan they’ve already had to deviate from,” Sara chided.

“I have a plan, yes, but when has a plan ever gone exactly to, well, plan?” I chuckled. “Things change, and if there’s one thing I learned from going through all of this so many times it’s critical thinking and adaptability. If I see a way to improve the plan in the moment, why wouldn’t I take it?”

“Mmhmm.” Sara glanced back down at the contract, her eyes blurring as she read through it faster than I expected. “Do you mind if I change some of these?”

“Go for it, but we don’t have a lot of time. It’s not like the system will let you stretch this out-“

“Done,” she said as the contract glowed orange for a split second. “And you’re right that we don’t have a lot of time. Please sign it.”

Sara handed the contract back to me and I saw that where I needed to sign was farther down than it was before. While I had a healthy amount of skepticism about the Dealer when he came with a contract I couldn’t read, I found that I had few qualms with trusting Sara about this contract. Being under a time limit didn’t help, though. “Does it still do what I intended it to?”

“Yes,” Sara replied quickly. “Added in some clauses that you wouldn’t know about but will protect you and potentially stop a disaster later down the line.”

“Stop a disaster?” I asked even as I signed the contract without hesitation.

“Angel rules,” she said simply before taking the paper and shaking it once. A second copy flew free from it, and I grabbed it and shoved it unceremoniously into my inventory. “Less than a minute left. Hold up your left hand.”

“Are you saying an angel is going to cause a disaster?” I asked. Even as I posed the question I raised my left hand and watched her carefully. She did not deign to give me an answer.

Sara reached up towards her halo and ran a finger all the way around it. A beautiful, haunting melody played and I found myself entranced by the sound. Twice around, thrice, she continued circling her halo with her finger before a golden ring fell out. She caught it easily and reached down to slide it onto my ring finger.

“I do?” I asked more than said, and arched an eyebrow at her.

“I’m not opposed, but save it for the Patron’s Ball,” she teased.

“Oh, man, I actually have a reason to go to the Patron’s Ball this run,” I said, nodding. “I’m really stoked for it now. It’s definitely going to be better than going with old man Kronos.”

Sara laughed. “With this gift, the pact is sealed.”

[[Notice]]

You have signed a Patron’s Pact with the Hidden World Boss [Esaraphelscion, Angel of the End].

I swiped away the notice, already knowing what the rest of it would say. That wasn’t what was important; this moment was. Even with a dead Pustibule and the threat of the Vespae queen lurking nearby, I wasn’t going to let a second of this go to waste. I wrapped my arms around Sara again, resting my head atop her warm, flaming hair. A part of me was glad that she had put up these flames around us because I didn’t want Kayla and Jeff to see me so vulnerable. Another part of me just didn’t care.

Sara wrapped her arms around me tightly, though not so much that she hurt me this time. “You squash that wasp, okay?” she requested.

"Consider it done,” I replied softly.

“It’s finally happening,” she said, her voice an odd mix of happiness, sadness, and pride. “I finally get to watch you play this unjust game. At long last, I’m not alone anymore.” I nodded, searching for the right words and coming up empty, and she leaned up to whisper in my ear.

The warmth of Sara’s heavenly fire disappeared all at once, leaving me surprisingly cold. As I heard the Mills running towards me, yelling words that didn’t quite reach my ears, I raised my left hand to admire the ring that she had left me. It was a simple gold band that looked exactly like her halo. I brought up the properties of it.

[[Equipped]]

Esaraphelscion’s Love

(Break Free)

From Esaraphelscion’s Kiss to Esaraphelscion’s Love, I thought to myself with a chuckle. What an upgrade. “I love you, too,” I whispered to the air around me. I knew Sara would hear; she was on this journey with me now.

“What happened?” Kayla asked, nearly bowling into me before skidding to a stop. Gabrielle had gone to heal Thomas and Corwin of their poison, and I saw that Amlex was still frozen in that corner. We locked eyes, and she cautiously tilted her head at me.

“I’ll tell you after Florida, promise,” I said.

“Okay, summoned an angel, cool, cool,” Jeff said. He hadn’t taken his eyes off of the Vespae at all since Sara’s disappearance, and I could see that he was starting to break. “You got something we can do about that?”

“Yeah,” I said, reaching up to pat them both on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, this will be over soon.”

I walked towards Amlex calmly with a pep in my step that I couldn’t deny. My angel had come to visit me, and did so early. What a time to be alive. A screen popped up in front of me and I couldn’t help but laugh at it.

[[Patron Quest: Defeat the Vespae Queen, Amlex!]]

I wasn’t prepared to begin writing quest screens today, so I’m sorry if this isn’t exactly what you were hoping for?

That queen has gone too far, and her demonic transformation is an affront to all things heavenly. I charge you, Anthony Franklin, with defeating her for good. Also, she beat up Thomas and the dog. While I don’t appreciate a demonic Evolution Hound being on the team, it’s… fine. I’ll get over it. Dogs can be cute.

Anyway, kill the Vespae queen. Please. And don’t die.

Objective: Kill the Vespae Queen, Amlex.

Reward: +1,000 points, random drop from the original Amlex fight.

I hit Yes to accept the quest as I approached the target. An extra thousand points and a drop from the original fight, huh? The implication that there were new items in this fight excited me even as I worried that they would be demonic in origin. Stopping ten feet away from Amlex, the Vespae had started moving again though it seemed unsure.

“Anthony… Franklin? You?” she asked.

“Not the Anthony Franklin I was two minutes ago, but yes. I am Anthony Franklin,” I responded. When I raised my left hand and showed off Esaraphelscion’s Love, the Vespae growled at me. Instead of responding, I spoke the words that Sara left me to activate my transformation into something far more powerful than this paltry demonic insect.

“Break Free,” I said slowly, my voice thrumming with power. “From The Shackles Of Man.”

Amlex rightfully fled through the hole Sara had made when she descended through the ceiling, and I used my new wings to chase right after her.