Palan’s vision focused on the brown ceiling above him. His eyes flickered, and he saw an armored figure in the corner of his eye, standing with its back to him in front of a door. He tried to turn his head, but found that he couldn’t. His forehead, neck, chest, arms, and legs were restrained by metal chains.“He is still unconscious?” a feminine voice asked.“It seems like it.” The armored figure’s back rustled. “It can be hard to tell because his eyes are always open.”“You can take a break,” the feminine voice said. “I will watch over him.”Palan refocused his eyes on the ceiling and steadied his breathing. The armored figure stepped out of the room and an angel with short white hair sat on a seat next to the bed he was strapped to. A wolf barked from somewhere at the foot of his bed and chains rattled. The angel extended her hand and waved it over Palan’s face.The angel sighed and sat back against her chair when she got no reaction. She pulled out a silver orb from a sack undernea

Raea walked with Palan next to her down an empty road. She wore a red robe while Palan wore a white cotton t-shirt and brown pants. Palan turned his head and frowned before walking off to the side. The sky was bathed in red as one sun began to set.“Hey, don’t wander!” Raea said and grabbed Palan’s elbow. “As a contracted demon, you have to stay within thirty meters of me at all times.”“You can’t be serious,” Palan said.“Very serious,” Raea said as she tugged Palan along the road. “I can’t draw upon your powers and you can’t draw upon mine if we’re separated more than that.”“Draw upon my powers?”Raea smiled. “Did I forget to mention that?”Palan jerked his arm out of Raea’s grip. “There’s nothing actually stopping me from going more than t

“Are you sure this thing can support two people?” Palan asked with his brow furrowed. He sat behind Raea with his arms past her waist, grabbing the cantle with his hands while his feet were underneath Raea’s in the stirrups.“Yes,” Raea said and pat the horse’s neck. “My magic can cure other creature’s exhaustion.” The troop of cavalry advanced at an even pace down the dirt road with Emergency Victuals running alongside Palan and Raea.“If you say so,” Palan said and glanced at the wolf running beside him. “Why are angels killing off lizardmen? I heard that angels were benevolent and loved everything. At least that’s what the demon who claims to have been here said.”Raea tightened her grip on the reins. “That demon most likely only visited the capital then,” she said. “All the angels that live in the capital possess no sin. They would help send a demon home, unlike other places in Div’Nya.”“That doesn’t explain why you’re killing off lizardmen,”

Palan licked the blood off his fingers and glanced at the two skeletons next to him. The rabbit-demon corpse remained mostly uneaten and intact except for her arm, which Emergency Victuals was still gnawing on. Palan let out a burp and stared at the dire wolf. “You eat too slowly.”Palan leaned back against the wooden wall and gazed at the surrounding angels. He could still hear Raea sobbing in the room behind him. He rose to his feet, causing the spectating angels to take steps backwards. His bones cracked and his muscles rippled as he stretched his arms above his head. He muttered to himself, “I got stronger again. Were they special?” He nudged the two angel skeletons away with his foot.“There he is!” a voice called out from behind the spectators. An angel wearing a robe pointed at Palan. Four angels wearing armor stepped around and encircled Palan while raising their spears at him.One of the guards frowned. “You are

“What were you hiding from me?” Palan asked as the horse galloped down the straight dirt road, heading towards the third outpost. Raea sat in front of him with her hands on the reins. Her short hair bounced in time with the horse’s hooves. Her subordinates followed behind her in a wedge formation.“It’s not really hiding information,” Raea said, keeping her eyes on the road. “It’s more like not telling you things because you probably wouldn’t have formed the contract with me if I told you.”“Alright,” Palan said while frowning, “so what were you hiding from me?”Raea sighed. “I come from the Caelum household,” Raea said and used her hand to touch a badge that sported a pair of white wings pinned on her chest. “It’s a well-established family in the capital, producing generation after generation of virtuous angels. My father is the head of the family. I’m the youngest child out of seven, but I’m the only one that got sent to the borderland.” Her lips twisted