963 Chapter 963 Stairway out of the Ground
Kat and Sue spent a while longer asking a few clarifying questions just to get all the details ironed out. Nothing shocking ca up, and it was all minor stuff like making sure there’d be food for Lily or so ti for rest. When they finalised the deal though… that’s when things were different.
There was of course the normal swarm of chains from Kat wrapping around the old man, though Sue’s own set of chains also ca into play. Sue’s chains were a silver, nearly matching the colour of her hair. There was just a touch of blue in them, especially when the light caught the chains and flas, but that wasn’t too surprising. No, what was really surprising were the two additional chains that shot from both Kat and Sue. Kat’s eyes itched as she watched them vanish through the wall.
The additional chains quickly wrapped around each other so that there was now only two, slightly larger chains… but they still looked rather distinct. One set of chains looked… weak for lack of a better word, it seed to flicker in and out of existence and seed to barely be able to remain at all. Kat wasn’t sure what it signified, nor what it ant for it to be so weak. The chains were also thinner then the normal lot. It looked more like oversized necklace chains then proper chains for binding like the swarm.
The second set of chains seed almost like it was trying to be as different as possible to the first. They were heavy, each section of the chain the length of Kat’s arm and twice as thick. If it wasn’t for the occasional spikes, Kat would’ve thought these chains weren’t for holding prisoners but for keeping a bridge together. They felt weighty and despite the multiple chains binding the old man… Kat felt like if she had to pick the deadlier of the two… she’d chose the heavy set of chains instead of the mass.
Once the chains vanished the old man stumbled a bit, nearly tripping over the chair leg before righting himself. He was breathing heavily, sweat cascading down his face as he shivered. “Right… glad that’s done…” mumbled the old man.
*What the heck happened there? Why is he so tired? What’s with the two extra chains?*
[Why are you asking ? Ask D.E.M.O.N.S]
The chains identified by User Kat are linking the other parties involved in the deal. While the Summoner will bear so of the cost for the summoning, the Summoner in question was ordered to perform it by the individual the thicker chain chased after.
*Yeah… I suppose I should’ve expected sothing like that. Makes sense that we have so way to ensure the person actually responsible for the Contract is punished if things go wrong.*
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Once the old man recovered, he made his way to the door and proceeded to knock according to what was clearly a pre-arranged patter across various places on the door. After waiting for a responding nock, he returned another series. Kat and Sue actually started to get a bit bored as things dragged on because it took a full TEN MINUTES of knocking to get the door to open up. Once the door finally opened, it was to a blank corridor that was all stairs. There wasn’t even any torches. Just light coming from sowhere that kept the corridor illuminated.
The old man then grinned at the two of them before sprinting up the stairs. Kat watched him go for a few monts before turning to Sue, “What the heck was that about?”
“Eh… probably a test to make sure we weren’t enthralling him. If his mind was dulled too much he wouldn’t be able to knock out the correct answers. It’s also probably a code, with different responses based on what they knock back to him. Probably to prevent us just ripping it out of his mind. It’d take too long to assimilate the code to use it ourselves to escape,” Sue paused, “And now that I have provided you with the service of knowledge, I require the service of being carried up those fucking stairs,”
Kat raised an amused eyebrow and Lily tilted her head cutely from her position on Kat’s shoulder. “What are you both looking at like that for? Especially you Lily, you’re getting a free ride anyway. Do you know how many damned stairs are in this place? I don’t, because I can’t see the end of them from here and I’m telling you that’s too fucking many. Crazy ass cultivators probably use it as punishnt for weak sexy demons like who don’t spend 110% of their lives training. Thus, I request being carried as paynt,”
Sue made grabby motions towards Kat as if she was a kid asking to be carried. It looked kind of silly, because nothing about Sue said child at all. Certainly not her looks, and not her attitude either. That being said, Sue wasn’t heavy in the slightest and carrying her wouldn’t be an issue. Honestly, the biggest complaint Kat has about carrying Sue is interacting with her wings.
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It wasn’t too much a problem though. Kat simply scooped Sue up into a bridal carry and took off up the stairs. It didn’t take long to make her way up, especially once Kat started to notice that the stairs seed designed to be climbed multiple steps at a ti for those with enhanced physiques. They were just a bit too sharply inclined for a natural mortal’s stride. Kat managed to find great success with a sort of half gliding technique where she kicked off the ground, let her wings carry her forward just a tad, then kick of a second ti and repeat the process.
It actually let her pass the old man after a bit. He clearly wasn’t Rank 3 himself and he was taking the stairs on at a ti. Even if he was much faster then any normal human, the fact he was still placing his foot on every step when he didn’t need to was slowing him down massively. Kat gave him a grin as she passed… but the man was focused on the climb ahead and might not have seen it.
*I wonder if this counts as good practice for my body control. Everything has to move perfectly in synch and while it is taking a bit of thought to make sure I don’t miss any steps, adjusting to the slight wind currents with my wings, or poor angles I jump off with when the stairs aren’t perfectly level. This really is a neat training opportunity. Huh… guess this is also why Sue complains about cultivators being obsessed.*
Kat managed to make it to the exit first, to the surprise of nobody… but the only thing there was another large steel door, just as enchanted as the previous one. Kat sighed as she looked around the landing for a good place to sit but found nothing. In the end, she just put Sue down and then took up a spot in against the wall, with Lily moving to her lap. Kat happily gave Lily a few scratches while Sue pouted at the wall. “I suppose the real jokes on us,” said Kat.
Sue sighed and answered in agreent, “Yeah, it is. I an, I’m not that surprised. I’m actually more annoyed with the fact I didn’t think about it before. I an, this is a super secure bunker for summoning demons. Why would they only have the one door? Heck, the real question is if this is the only other door, or if this is just the next door we need to get through,”
“Ugh, I don’t want to spend half a day slowly making my way through half a dozen doors. I think I’d want to try and dig through the walls just on principle if it starts getting too annoying,” responded Kat.
“Don’t let them here you say that,” said Sue with a laugh. “If you start breaking down the walls it’ll be a massive pain. Just think of it. Technically we haven’t broken the Contract, but nobody will be happy with us and we have to spend two days here with them. Heck, when we are called to the sky boat… they might ‘just so happen’ to give us the wrong ti and force us to catch up. Then we’d be at risk of getting in trouble for breaking the contract. Not seriously of course, but certainly at risk,”
“Wait really?” asked Kat.
Sue gave a ‘so-so’ gesture, “Depends who is causing the trouble and how much. If the patriarch, or the old man directly order it they’re at risk of getting punished as well. If it’s just people annoyed with us or taking their own initiative though… well… then it gets more complicated. Especially if it’s just annoying, and not too much of a problem for us to overco,”
“Hmmm…” grumbled Kat.
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