Chapter 266: Get Me Out of Here

*So… is he going to be ok?* Kat directed her thoughts towards D.E.M.O.N.S while watching the boy struggle on the floor as she stood up. Now Xiang just looked rather small and somewhat pathetic. 

No permanent damage was done to Summoner Xiang, however upon seeing the Chains of Contract Summoner Xiang attempted to resist in a poor manner causing damage to Summoner Xiang. 

Kat let out a long sigh as she watched the idiot on the floor. *You know. I have to wonder if I might have taken this to a bit of an extreme… but then I remember that I'm a demon now and that other demons surely would have done worse.* 

Xiang managed to bring in one large gulp of air that seemed to stabilise him. Once he managed that, Xiang took out his sword and slammed it into the ground before using it to pull him to his feet. Once there, he stood up at his full height, which was still nothing compared to Kat without including her horns.

"Ha, now you're my servant for the duration of the contract. Let us head off immediately" said Xiang, tired, but somehow still sounding arrogant.

*Does… does he not know this isn't how this works? What does he think just happened?* Xiang didn't even wait for Kat to make a reply before he turned around and started to head out of the room. Now that he was walking away Kat could see a door at the end of the steps he had seemingly worked up. 

Kat spent a second looking around, before heading after him. *So… why is he so calm now? I mean, there isn't anything in my contract preventing me from just slapping him for being disrespectful right?*

User Kat is correct.

*Wait… I… I don't want to do this but… if I killed him would my contract be complete? He would no longer be looking for revenge but… surely that isn't how this works.*

User Kat is mostly correct. User Kat could dispose of Summoner Xiang and have the Contract complete.

*Surely this isn't normal either right? The Queen and that guy who does this for a living would have made me promise not to attack them or something if it was actually necessary right?*

User Kat is correct. Some Summoning Circles force that into the Contract. Young demons are sent to Dimensions where such steps have been taken already. This Dimension should have the same protection however the Summoning Circle used for User Kat did not. 

*Um… is that because it's old? Actually that is two questions in a way. Is it because the circle was made before they figured it out or is it because over time that part of the circle was destroyed?*

It is likely to be one of the aforementioned suggestions of User Kat, however it is unclear at this time what the cause is. 

*Welp… that's great I suppose?* Kat thought as she made it down to the bottom of the stairs. She found herself in a doorway heading towards a tunnel. Xiang had already headed inside passed the broken doors she could see had fallen inward.

Kat kicked one as she passed it, and the door flashed gold for a moment before dimming. *Strange… I guess they enchanted the doors to be stronger or something? But they didn't remember to enchant the hinges.* Kat let out a small chuckle at that thought. She found it amusing that perhaps the only reason that Xiang had managed to get in was because they only fortified their doors and not anything else.

"What are you laughing about" Xiang growled as if Kat had somehow personally offended him. *Which… actually might not be impossible. How do I want to answer him? Do I want to continue pretending I'm older and more powerful than I seem? Should I let the façade crack a bit?*

*I have no idea what I'm doing really, and I doubt I can keep up the act long. Maybe I should try to answer a bit more casually and then work my way down. If Xiang asks, I can answer that I'm just acting more casual, or something… it doesn't really matter if he believes me because it's too late to change the contract… right?*

Contracts can be changed if all parties involved agree to the change. 

*Welp at least he needs to get me to agree. Anyway, I should really answer.* "I'm just laughing at the poor enchanting done on the doors."

"Poor" shouted Xiang "Poor! You call one of the greatest works of our clan poor!? That seal would last one hundred thousand years if necessary. It opened for me because of my bloodline and the fact I passed the temples test! And Enchanting? You would call it by the same name as those hacks? No it is true Array Formations!" 

"Right…" said Kat thinking about the fact that the doors clearly fell forward… from her perspective… back towards where Xiang must have come from "Even accepting that, clearly the hinges were not given the same consideration" 

Xiang flinched at this but didn't stop moving, instead he starting to speak "Well… what about this hallway?" 

"What about it?" asked Kat confused

"You- you can't feel the spiritual echoes? The power in the walls?" asked Xiang shocked. 

Kat looked at the wall, and saw a plain stone wall slowly falling apart. It was a bit better off than the antechamber but not by a particularly large amount. Um no? Kat flicked her tail across the wall casually and scored a deep mark in the stone. … *Something tells me that isn't what was supposed to happen.* "No, I don't. I can't tell what you are speaking about. These seems like normal walls to me"

"Ha" said Xiang, who was happier now "Seems you aren't that powerful after all if you can't feel the greatness of these halls!" 

"Are you sure?" said Kat with a sigh, as she tried to resist punching the wall just to prove she could damage it and see his reaction. 

��Of course I'm sure. Clearly a lowly creature like a demon has no eye for magnificence" said Xiang. 

*Urgh. Should I feel more insulted that he talked down my entire race? Is this because I grew up human…* Kat glanced at the crumbling rock. *Maybe it's because it's a weak insult anyway.* "Hold up one moment then" said Kat

Xiang paused and turned back, a smarmy grin on his face. *Oh so that's how you want to do it then.* "Watch" said Kat.

Raising her pointer finger Kat lightly placed it on the wall. Xiang scoffed as if this was already a joke. Kat just smiled and pushed her finger into the wall, the stone compressing under it as if it was sponge.

Xiang paled. "W-well, clearly the aura has faded over time of course… and I mean… the temples secret was summoning a demon such as yourself so… I mean… of course, you can bypass the defences otherwise why were you summoned?" 

Kat thought about that for a second, and an idea came to her. *System… was I summoned because there was nobody stronger wanted to come?*

User Kat is incorrect. User Kat was summoned because 70% of the offering price was destroyed over the years rendering the items worthless. 

*Ah… that makes so much more sense.*

So, Kat walked through the tunnel following after Xiang. It was around an hour later that she found herself in a slightly larger room looking even more destitute than the room she was summoned in. In the corner was a stone golem of some sorts with a number of gashes across its chest… though the stone was already crumbling in odd places, and looked to have once been much larger.

"See, that is the guardian of the temple. I defeated it as part of my trial to summon you" said Xiang proudly stepping over the broken remains.

Kat felt like slamming her head into a wall. *No no you really didn't. This thing is so obviously broken beyond repair… and it was like that before you arrived Xiang… He's an idiot isn't he… why did I agree to this? Oh, right Demon Debt.*

Xiang led Kat through the halls. She passed through a number of rooms with 'guardians' in them along the way. Though in reality Kat doubted the claim. There were a few other golems, a spider the size of a dog that looked mummified already, the corpses of a rat pack, and a nest of dead birds.

*This kid robbed a tomb didn't he… but he keeps claiming it belongs to his clan right? So why does he not see how broken down this place is.* As Kat stepped out into the sunlight, Kat looked back at where she had come in. 

It was a cave entrance, with something carved above the entrance. Squinting Kat managed to make out the words. 'Chuu Clan low to medium level demon summoning facility and remote storage'

"Hey Xiang… what does that say above the entrance" asked Kat

Xiang turned and scoffed before saying "That is the ancient text. Nobody alive can read that anymore"