"Perhaps," Liliana murmured, her eyes narrowing thoughtfully as she stared at Sir Fluffy."This little one might be the key to rescuing Valerian."She reached out to gently stroke the kitten’s head, its purring intensifying under her touch.
"If phistopheles is afraid of it, maybe we can use that to our advantage."
Victor frowned skeptically.
"Use a cute little cat as a weapon against a powerful demon? That’s your brilliant plan?"
Liliana shook her head.
"Not directly. But if we can find a way to amplify its power or make it seem more threatening..." She trailed off, lost in contemplation.
Mariabelle’s face lit up with sudden inspiration."I think I know!" she exclaid excitedly.
"What if we combine Sir Fluffy’s with so of my illusions? We could make it look like an entire army of giant, terrifying cats!" Victor blinked slowly, considering the idea.
’That’s a cute Idea I guess’ Victor mused with a blank look.
"It’s better you reconsider your plan", suddenly Aisha’s hoarse voice cut through their planning, drawing their attention to her slow, limping approach.
Her once pristine robes were tattered and stained with blood, her face pale and drawn from the severe torture she had endured.
Despite her injuries, her eyes burned with a fierce determination as she spoke.
"Forget it," she rasped, shaking her head weakly. "It’s not Valerian who’s our enemy. Don’t forget that."
She paused to catch her breath before continuing, "That woman... phistopheles...she’s not just any demonic spirit. She’s an Ancient spirit."
Aisha turned to Mariabelle specifically, her gaze intense.
"You, Mariabelle Faust, should know about her the most. Your family’s tos...they must have information on how to defeat her."
Mariabelle paled at the ntion of her family’s forbidden knowledge.
"I...I suppose you’re right," she admitted reluctantly.
Mariabelle hesitated, her brow furrowing as she recalled the dark secrets buried within her family’s ancient tos.
"After all, our ancestor was the first Contractor of that demon," she murmured, her voice tinged with unease. "But it’s strange...the summoning thod was sealed by our family."
She looked up at the others, her expression conflicted.
"I never understood why. I always assud it was to prevent misuse of such a powerful being. But now..." Her voice trailed off as she considered the implications.
Liliana stepped closer, her eyes searching Mariabelle’s face.
"Now you think there might be more to it?" she prompted gently. Behind them, Aisha nodded encouragingly. "Find out what your ancestors knew," she urged hoarsely. "It might be our only chance to save Valerian and stop phistopheles."
Victor placed a comforting hand on Mariabelle’s shoulder. "We’ll help you search," he assured her with a encouraging smile.
....
.....
Sowhere Else...
phistopheles stumbled as she and Valerian materialized in a dark, cavernous chamber far from the cathedral’s ruined remains.
Her face was pale and slick with sweat, her breathing heavy from the exertion of their desperate escape.
"Fucking hell," she gasped, running a hand through her disheveled hair. "That was too close for comfort." She released Valerian abruptly, letting him collapse against a nearby stone pillar.
The Djinn leaned against another pillar herself, her dark eyes darting nervously around the unfamiliar chamber. "Those ddling idiots almost ruined everything."
Valerian remained slumped on the floor, his movents sluggish as he slowly regained full control of his own body.
Valerian groaned as he pushed himself upright against the cold stone pillar, rubbing his temples gingerly.
"Ow... that hurts," he muttered, his voice still slightly slurred from the aftereffects of possession.
He glared at phistopheles with growing irritation. "Did you have to treat so roughly? My head is pounding."
The Djinn’s face contorted with rage and frustration.
"It was your damn fault you idiot!" she snapped back, her usual composure completely shattered.
"Our act was perfect! Why did you have to break the spell? If I didn’t escape quickly then Austin might have caught onto our sche!"
She paced agitatedly across the chamber floor while Valerian slowly regained his strength.
"You’re lucky I had that ergency teleportation circle ready or those fools would have gotten their hands on both of us."
Valerian’s shoulders slumped as he let out a heavy sigh, the tension finally leaving his fra now that he was safely away from his friends’ watchful eyes.
The chamber walls seed to close in around them, the air thick with the scent of sulfur and old magic.
Yes, it was an act. Or perhaps it was simpler than that - Valerian had let phistopheles control him.
The Djinn paused her agitated pacing to study Valerian’s relaxed posture, her expression shifting from fury to sothing more calculating.
"You let her do it," she stated flatly, her voice dangerously quiet."You let that little brat get close enough to break our control with so stupid kitten trick."
She crossed her arms over her chest, her dark eyes narrowing. "Don’t bother denying it.
Valerian shrugged nonchalantly, his earlier irritation lting away into his usual carefree attitude."I’m not denying anything. Cats are adorable, you can’t just hurt them."
He stretched languidly against the stone pillar, seemingly unbothered by the fact that he had just been possessed monts ago.
"Besides," he added with a smirk, "if I hadn’t let that little creature distract , we would’ve been stuck fighting both of them."
phistopheles let out an exasperated sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. "You’re impossible," she muttered. "Here I was thinking you’d been overtaken by so noble urge to protect your precious friends, and it turns out you’re just a softie for cute animals."
She began pacing again, though less aggressively this ti.
"Fine. Whatever. At least our plan worked enough to get us out of there alive."
.....
....
I stood up from floor and stretched my limbs as the aftereffects of submitting my body’s control willingly was taxing.
Since I had to let go of every instincts to resist.
But the question still remains...
Why did I do this...
To explain that I’d need to recount from when I left things unfinished.
...
...
"Mmmmph" I couldn’t say anything since my lips were sealed but.
Apparently Instead of attacking phistopheles decided to accept as her mate.
Nah..
"Mhmmm...Why aren’t you losing your senses Mhmm~, when ahn~ I am sucking....Mhmmm all your mana" phistopheles mumbled between the kiss as she couldn’t believe even her final card couldn’t be used.
Well good luck trying to suck the mana not even my witch wife could finish in a night...
I smirked inwardly as her efforts were all wasted.
But I had enough of playing around...
phistopheles’ eyes widened in surprise as I grabbed her wrist and pressed her back onto the bed, pinning her beneath .
"What do you think you’re doing?" she hissed, trying to struggle against my grip.
But I held firm, my gaze intense as I stared down at her."I need your help, phistopheles," I said quietly, ignoring Isabella’s muffled cries of protest from within.
"Austin Astor is the key to all of this. He manipulated Isabella into summoning you... and now he’s manipulating both of you into fighting against each other."
The demon’s expression flickered between annoyance and grudging interest.
"And what makes you think I would help you?" she sneered, though there was a hint of curiosity in her voice.
"Because we both want the sa thing," I replied calmly.
"To break this cycle of manipulation and control", I paused and inched closer to her face and whispered "To give both of you Freedom".
phistopheles stiffened in surprise as I kissed her, her eyes widening behind closed lids.
For a mont, she remained unresponsive, but then I felt her lips soften beneath mine, her body relaxing slightly into the mattress.
"You’re playing a dangerous ga," she murmured against my mouth when we finally parted, her voice low and husky.
"Freedom is not sothing easily given or taken in my world." She studied with a piercing gaze, as if trying to discern the truth behind my words.
"And what exactly are you proposing?" she asked slowly, curiosity getting the better of her suspicion.
"A deal," I said simply."Help find Austin’s plans and break his control over Isabella... and in return, I’ll help you find a way to exist independently of her body. No more possessing, no more relying on others for your existence."
phistopheles was silent for a long mont, considering my offer.
Then she had look of realisation as she gazed into my eyes.
"Then I suppose you should hear my conditions as well" She said not wanting to give an inch without getting sothing in return.
I considered her words since it was natural she had her conditions.
"So what is it" I asked my voice curious as I loosened my grip on her hands.
This made her quickly get up and push be back on the bed essentially reversing our position as her eyes glead with a mix of mischief and sothing else—sothing softer, almost vulnerable—as she murmured her condition.
"I want you, Valerian," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
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