Zafira [4]

Before I could formulate any kind of response, Zafira sauntered over to my desk and placed the contract papers down. With an open palm raised, she summoned a black quill in her grip with a puff of gray smoke.

But before she could proceed, I found my voice. I needed to ask her something. "What's a pure soul? You said I had one."

"Hmm?" Zafira stopped and turned to look at me, sighing softly. "There are three ranks of souls: Heavenly, Pure, and Corrupted. Do you know about the Seven Deadly Sins?"

I shrugged. "Sure, I guess. Wrath, Envy, Greed, Pride, Lust, Sloth, and Gluttony."

"Very good," Zafira declared with a bright smile as if she was genuinely pleased. "It feels good to know that not all knowledge is lost on you mortals. Anyway, all the sins in existence ultimately boil down to these seven. Those who commit these sins carry a corrupt soul. Those who don't, carry a pure soul. Do you ever recall committing any of the Seven Sins?"

I pondered. "Not intentionally. Not that I can think of. But I do remember being jealous of someone… isn't that envy?"

"No," Zafira shook her head. "Jealousy and envy are different. Often interchangeable, but one is a sin while the other is a basic mortal emotion."

"Oh-kay… What about lust? I… um… have pleasured myself countless times," I admitted, a lot embarrassed but way more curious.

The demoness laughed. "Of course. But that's not lust. Sex of any kind – oral, vaginal, anal – outside of marriage, that's lust. Basically, you can think whatever you want, as long as you don't act on it."

Understandable. However, I had another question. "But if those who don't commit sins have a pure soul, what exactly is a heavenly soul?"

"Just avoiding sins isn't enough. A person must also uphold the Seven Holy Virtues. Only then can they ascend to heaven after death instead of being locked in the endless cycle of reincarnation."

"Seven Holy Virtues?" I raised an eyebrow in a silent question.

Zafira rolled her eyes, visibly disappointed. "This is why there are so many corrupted souls in today's world. You mortals have forgotten what you should do and instead focus on what you shouldn't. Love, Hope, Courage, Kindness, Wisdom, Justice, and Fortitude."

As soon as she said those words, her expression turned sour as if she had swallowed a disgusting bug.

Retching, she added, "Ugh, just saying those words makes me sick to my stomach. Anyhow, I suspect whatever trick you're using to block my aura has something to do with your pure soul. Keep it that way unless you really want to be my slave."

'My pure soul? I thought the black obsidian I was wearing was blocking her aura— Ah, fuck! damnit!''

Before I could finish the thought, my eyes widened as I inwardly cursed myself. It was a trap! She had intentionally made me think of what I was using to keep her aura at bay! I had made a severe mistake, and it was too late to correct it now!

"Oh!" Zafira exclaimed with renewed energy, proving my worst fear. She had read my mind again! "A black obsidian, huh? Neat. I should've guessed. But I was right. A black obsidian alone shouldn't be enough to negate my aura. In the hands of someone with a pure soul, however… yes, then it definitely could."

My hand involuntarily reached for the locket around my neck, where the obsidian hung.

Seeing me so frightened, Zafira chuckled again. "Don't worry, little lamb. I won't do anything to you… yet. That obsidian can protect you from my aura but not from me. Sooner or later, I will find your weakness and make you give in. After all, I can only control mortals as much as they let their pleasure control themselves. Unless I make them orgasm, of course. Then they are mine to command. And believe me, you'll be begging me for that soon enough."

I gulped, clutching the black obsidian locket tighter. The demoness smiled wickedly. "Come on, you can stop acting like that. It's fine. As I said, I won't do anything to you yet. I can't."

"You can't forcefully snatch the locket from me?" I asked, suspicious.

"Nope," Zafira immediately denied. "In possession of someone with a pure soul, the black obsidian becomes Divine Obsidian. I'll burn my hand off and still not be able to take that charm off your neck even if I tried."

'So… only I can pull it out willingly?'

"Yep," the crimson-eyed demoness nodded, again invading the private space of my head by using her telepathic powers.

"And how do I know you're not lying?" I asked.

Her reaction to my question was more intense than I had thought.

For the first time since she appeared before me, Zafira looked truly offended. She gasped, crossing her hands over her chest in a dramatic fashion. "Wow! I'm insulted that you would even insinuate such a thing! I am a royal demon of lust, rightful heiress to the throne of two Profane Realms! Demons shiver in fear when they hear my True Name! I'm not some petty imp seeking to deceive you! I don't deal in lies, only seduction!"

…Woah!

That was… way too dramatic.

Note to self: never accuse her of lying.

Well, on the bright side, it appeared she was, in fact, not lying. Besides, if she wanted to take away my locket, she certainly possessed the power to do so. The fact that she didn't only mean that she couldn't.

'Not to mention, her potent seduction abilities can actually be far worse than any lie.'

Seeing me ease down a little, Zafira huffed and turned around to sign the contract.

•••

It didn't take long for her to finish signing. She used the pointy tip of the black quill she had summoned to pierce one of her fingers and use her blood as ink to write her name.

After signing, the contract papers burst into black flames. That startled me a little, and almost instantly, I felt an alien connection take root deep within my heart.

I felt linked to her. A weak feeling, but it was undoubtedly there. I felt that I could command her within the restrictions of the agreed-upon terms. She was now my… familiar.

I had a demon familiar!

But… what now?

I swallowed hard. "S-So, um… now what?"

Zafira tittered at that and went to lay back on the bed, crossing a leg over another, exposing even more of her luscious thighs.

"Well, I could think of a few things for us to do if you remove that pesky little locket of yours," she purred softly, patting the spot beside her as if asking me to join her in bed.

"No thanks," I declined, politely keeping my eyes from wandering down her tempting body.

"Fair enough," she sighed as if bored by the prospect of what would be—to me—utterly life-changing.

Yet, on her face was that ever-present smile of hers that never seemed to waver. "Our pact requires me to aid you in gaining power. You used a lot of language to dictate what I should do, what I had to do, and what I couldn't do. Yet the obvious gap in your knowledge left the methodology up to me."

I cursed myself again. No doubt she had already surmised some loophole I hadn't accounted for.

"Yet I am bound to complete the task to the best of my ability... which leaves a conundrum. You asked me to help you become a master of arcane arts and mystic knowledge. The latter is doable, but the former is a bit tricky," she took a short pause.

"Arcane arts, or magic, is different for every species. I'm a demon. I use the truest and most pure form of magic – the Primal Magic. Humans are incapable of performing Primal Magic. Most use little party tricks and call it magic. I can teach you that and even make you considerably stronger than most human mages, but the thing is, we don't have the resources available to start your study as of now," she added.

"...Okay, and?" I asked, probing further.

She shrugged. "I could get you those resources, but it would take time. A lot of time. And even a lot more effort. So, why don't you just become a member of a human magic society, and I'll start helping you from there? After all, then we would have all the resources we'd need."

"You say that, but I don't know where to even start looking for a magic society,'' I expressed, to which Zafira laughed.

"No worries. They will come looking for you soon enough."

"How do you know?"

"Magic societies scout for potential mages. Anyone who displays a talent for magic is recruited by them. They have magic sensors placed all over the world to achieve this task. Your summoning ritual must've created a disturbance in their sensor field. Most of them must've already pinpointed your location. As soon as their recruitment period starts, they'll contact you," Zafira explained calmly. "Of course, there's also a faster way where you wouldn't need to learn anything, and you'll be able to use strong magic."

"Oh?" I arched my eyebrows. "What's that?"

"Lose that locket and come let me fuck your brains out. With your consented orgasm, I'll devour a part of your soul and replace it with mine. You'll be my most precious slave, and you'll be a strong halfling!"

"...No thanks."

"Tsk," Zafira clicked her tongue in annoyance before quickly putting on a happily excited face. "Fine. You have my full interest, anyway. It's been a long time since I did anything other than show up and turn my summoners into willing fuck pets. This is bound to be much… much more fun."