[Soul Contract].

It was one of the skills I learned from the demon. It allows me to contract with other creatures and use them as my companions.

This skill is really powerful, but I wanted to hide it for as long as possible. Firstly, it could serve as a trump card, and secondly, revealing this ability could make me attract unwanted attention.

As someone hiding the fragment of a demon in my mind, I wanted to avoid that if I could.

Despite that, I decided to reveal this ability at this moment.

There were two main reasons.

The first was that without using this ability, I could hardly interfere in this battle. Although I hate to admit it, it’s a fact that right now I’m much weaker than Andrew or Ley in her berserk state.

In fact, Ley could probably subjugate me in seconds if she went all out. I'm only holding on because Ley was holding back to avoid injuring me.

And the second reason was to protect Ley.

Ley’s skill, [Mental Interference] is really powerful. It has the potential to control other human beings and turn them into slaves.

Such a dangerous skill should not be revealed slightly. Many people will try to take advantage of her if they learn of her skill’s true power, and some others won’t hesitate to eliminate her just to make sure something like that never happens.

Mother was aware of that possibility, so after Ley awakened her skill, she hid it from the Awakened Association and registered it as a slightly different skill, [Mental World].

Mental World is a skill that allows the user to create a mental domain around him where he can use his mind to affect the surroundings. It's also powerful, but not as dangerous as Ley's true skill.

Up to now, Ley had lived while using her skill to imitate the effects of Mental World, that way, nobody had suspected the true nature of Ley’s skill.

But now, Ley had used her skill to control a group of alligators.

Anyone with a bit of insight could notice that something is wrong, and in the worst case, conclude that just as Ley can control monsters, she might also be able to control humans.

That must not happen.

Thus, I decided to show my hidden skill, [Soul Contract].

Soul Contract is a skill that allows me to control monsters to make my bidding. It’s barely similar to what Ley did to the alligators.

I plan to use this similarity to fool the people watching Ley’s actions.

It’s not uncommon for siblings to awaken similar skills, thus, I can argue that just like me, Ley has a different skill that allows her to control monsters.

It’s a bit of a stretch, but it should be enough. As long as our mother does an appropriate follow-up to this matter, Ley will be safe.

With this, I only need to worry about something.

Bringing Ley back to normal.

“Saphire, Scarlet, I need your help.”

[Mm.]

[Meow~!]

The tattoos on my body lit up, and two creatures materialized out of thin air.

One of them was an expressionless little girl with black hair and blue eyes. Although she looked like a human, she was actually a lamia, a powerful monster that inhabited the rivers and lakes from another world.

The second creature was a cat. But she was not a normal cat, instead, despite her cute appearance, she could manipulate fire freely.

“Go!” I shouted.

Saphire and Scarlet obeyed. In a second, Saphire’s legs turned into a snake tail as she slithered into the swamp water and advanced towards Ley.

Scarlet, on the other hand, jumped on a tree and started to throw small fireballs in Ley’s direction.

I followed behind Saphire while readying my spear.

“More nuisances.” Ley’s expression became dark. She glanced at my two partners and extended her hand in their direction.

Her mental energy coalesced into several invisible stakes that rained on them.

Neither Saphire nor Scarlet could detect Ley’s attacks, but I could. After using Understanding to perceive the invisible stakes, I conveyed the image to Saphire and Scarlet.

Thanks to that, the two of them managed to avoid the attacks easily and continue attacking.

That was the terror of Soul Contract. It did not only allow me to contract with powerful creatures, but we could also communicate anything mentally at any time.

Ley frowned. She waved her hand, crushing Scarlet’s fireballs while evading Saphire’s attack.

Right then, the water below her surged up, entangling her feet and stopping her movements briefly.

It was Saphire’s [Water Manipulation]!

Ley’s expression changed. Before she could break free, Andrew and I appeared before her, swinging our weapons decisively.

“Get lost!” She shouted. Mental energy exploded from her location, blowing away the water entangling her as well as Andrew and me.

Andrew snorted. His sword was enveloped by a bright glow as he unleashed a powerful blow.

“[Lone Sword]!”

Light surged out of his sword, flying toward Ley with an unstoppable moment.

Ley’s face became livid. She pointed with her finger, releasing a beam of mental energy that clashed against the sword move, creating a powerful shockwave.

At that moment, Saphire manipulated the water again.

Several water snakes rose from the swamp, surging toward Ley from different directions.

At the same time, Scarlet’s body was covered by flames as she pounced toward Ley’s neck.

“Useless!” Ley snarled and released even more mental energy.

First, she blew Scarlet away, then, she shattered every one of the water snakes.

She was so powerful that it seemed like she could fight all of us by herself without any problem.

But due to that, she lowered her guard.

Just when she thought she had dealt with the attacks coming toward her, she felt her body being restrained by something.

Dozens of water snakes appeared around her suddenly without her noticing!

It was Saphire. She had used an illusion to hide some of the water snakes from her.

Ley hurriedly tried to break free, but there was no way we would miss this opportunity.

Karime froze the water snakes, strengthening Ley’s restraints as Andrew and I charged toward her once more.

Ley was flustered. In a panic, she released a burst of mental energy in an attempt to force us back.

But we were ready.

Andrew unleashed his domain and used it to fight Ley’s mental energy and I filled my body with lightning, using my spear to break through it and reach Ley.

The next instant–

*Bam!*

Ley’s body was blown against the ground.

She gasped in pain and her eyes opened wide, but we were not done yet.

I knew that the people infected by the seed were not that easy to defeat. Unless they are unable to continue moving, they will keep fighting nonstop regardless of their injuries.

If I want to stop her, I need to make her lose consciousness.

Although I felt uncomfortable harming my little sister, I knew my priorities.

But at that moment–

[Boy, run!] The demon suddenly shouted.

‘Huh?’

I felt a chill on my spine.

Ley was looking at us.

“All of you… must die…” She muttered.

And a storm of mental energy ravaged the place.

 

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