A contract (2)

"Since you've made me laugh I'll give you a warning. Beware of the original ten wielders, they won't take the news that I took favor to a replica holder well. When the screams grow louder, you will know that one of them is near." said the demon as the kitchen around them dismantled itself as if it were nothing but an illusion.

[Gray Verlice, do you accept the deal offered to by the high demon Amaymon?] asked an autonomous voice that seemed to echo throughout the abyss that Gray floated in.

"I accept," replied Gray.

[Then the contract has been made. From this day on all affiliations to holy beings and deities will be severed. Your soul now belongs to the plains of New Vautis hell.] said the voice before silence filled the empty dark void.

***(Throughout the entirety of this fight, the demon controls Gray's body. I've said this to avoid confusion, this isn't Gray fighting.)

"It seems you've come to help your toy," said the goblin as Gray's very blood formed a shield in front of him, blocking the goblin's attack.

Tendrils of blood extended from the stump on Gray's shoulder, snaking its way to his severed arm. A link made of blood dragged the arm back to his body, reattaching itself.

The mark on Gray's arm extended, going all the way until his shoulder. Its design became many times more complex than it had previously been, and it began shining with a hot red radiance.

His eyes turned completely black, with a small red glowing dot at the center that seemed to be an iris. His snow-white hair grew till shoulder length and began glowing with a cooling brilliance.

"I always hated goblin nobility," said Gray, however his voice sounded like an echo as if it came from the deep depths of the abyss.

The goblin turned into a blur, disappearing from Gray's view.

*Ting,* In that very second Gray formed a katana in his right hand, effortlessly blocking the goblin's attack from behind without even so much as turning.

"Burn," whispered Gray, and the flaming red inscriptions that covered the length of the katana let out huge bursts of fire. If not for the goblin's suit it would've been charred meat.

"It seems I've underestimated you demon," coughed the goblin as it jumped back a few spaces.

"But you're forgetting that this isn't a one-on-one," said the goblin with a smile on its face as its beast stalked Gray from behind.

"I haven't forgotten about your puppy," laughed the demon as it thrust his katana into the beast's open mouth.

"Burn," with that single phrase the beast was set aflame, its squeals for help causing blood to flow from Gray's eardrums.

"Yes, that's it. Make this task worth my while," laughed Gray as the smell of burnt meat flooded his nose.

"You dirty demon," shouted the goblin, for the first time changing its reserved demeanor.

It touched the black gemstone at the center of its sword, causing black tendrils to extend all along its length.

"To think I was sent to this backwater area, with nothing but mindless slaves for subordinates, just to be humiliated by a demon? Prepare to face my full wrath," shouted the goblin before throwing the knives it had strapped to its chest. (The suit it's wearing has compartments for knives at the chest area, this was explained in an earlier chapter.)

The demon moved its katana quickly, slashing left and right blocking all the incoming attacks. The second it blocked the last knife, the goblin's blade was an inch away from his eye.

"That's it," smiled the demon, turning into a blur, dodging the attack by a hair.

The demon appeared behind the goblin, slamming it to the ground with a kick. A crater formed where the goblin had been slammed, with tendrils of stress cracks forming all around it.

"It seems this body is weaker than I thought," whispered the demon as it felt a sliver of pain coming from Gray's shattered knee cap.

The goblin quickly removed another knife from its waist, throwing it towards the unsuspecting demon.

"I didn't know nobility fought dirty," laughed the demon as it caught the knife mid-air.

"I didn't know demons were so dumb," laughed the goblin, before inscriptions suddenly appeared on the knife, causing it to explode.

A thick black cloud of smoke surrounded the demon, suffocating it as it seeped into Gray's lungs.

The goblin dashed through the smoke, its blade ready to sever Gray's head.

"Inferno," shouted the demon right before Gray's head was severed, this time pouring in even more power into the gemstone.

The inscriptions along the katana changed, becoming more complex while the gemstone began glowing brighter than it had ever glowed before.

A pillar of fire so high it could be seen all around the city erupted into the air, causing the very air around it to sizzle.

The goblin reacted right as the demon chanted "Inferno," jumping back as many spaces as it possibly could, however even with its ultra-fast reflexes, it couldn't escape the heatwave that the pillar caused.

Gray limped out of the pillar of flames that consumed half the roof, his clothes completely burned off, and his hair shining more brilliantly than it had ever shone before.

[Bloodlust mode has been activated. More blood will be consumed in this mode. Warning excessive use of this mode could cause irreversible side effects.] warned the voice in Gray's head

Two small stumps that looked to be horns protruded from his forehead, a smile on his face as he stared at the goblin with an excited look.

The goblin on the other hand had been tanned due to the heat. Its suit although seeming to have high resistance against fire, had been charred as well. However, the suit seemed to be fixing itself, while healing the goblin from its burns at the same time.

"Corrupt," shouted the goblin, and the black tendrils that covered its silver sword rushed out towards the demon.

"Burn," whispered the demon a second later, however, nothing happened, the red gemstone that was at the center of the katana crumbled to dust, and the inscriptions went dim.

"Fuck,"

(AN: This is still the demon 'Amymon inhabiting Gray's body. I will tell you when Gray returns to avoid confusion.)