Chapter 189 - A Deal with Demon

"You...really killed the man." 

Luke muttered.

"I sure did, what, is it disturbing you?"

"No, that's not it. Surprisingly, I don't feel anything, not even the urge to puke like how normal people do upon seeing someone being killed in front of their eyes."

"Even so...my friends..."

Staring at both of his palms, this incompetent and weak palms, Luke could only feel nothing but useless. If this palm holds mighty strength, his friends would not have died under that man onslaught. He would be able to protect them, or if that is too much of a wish, he could sacrifice himself as his friends escape to safety. 

"..."

If not for the other students, Sheila might have come at a good time to save one of his friends from dying. Also, she has a single Elixir in her inventory, which could be used to revive dead people, not any lesser than 30 minutes upon their death. Considering it has only been around 10 minutes, they definitely can be revived with it. Yet, she decided to keep her mouth shut. 

If the public came to know she can resurrect dead people, even with that kind of requirement, it wouldn't be a joke if they decided to kidnap her and put her in a secured room all by herself so that they can 'research' her all they wanted. If the boy had been on her side before this happened, she might have considered it. Though his friends are gone for good, that doesn't mean he can only wail in sorrow. Yes, she can give her a chance for revenge, in which he was desperate.

"What would you do now?"

"...Indeed, I wonder too. I can still remember vividly of an event a few minutes ago where my friend, Roy, speaks fondly of wanting to confess to his crush once he got his courage, which didn't exist in his personality. He is a coward, afraid of getting reject, after all. Although his studies result couldn't get any worse, he is the type of man who is diligent in what he does no matter how hard it is to him. I respect that part of him for sure."

By reminiscent of the past, his lips curl up to a smile.

"As for Ryouta, he once told me that he had decided on his future. As someone who loves and enjoys playing games since little, he wished to be a professional gamer with a goal to win in a big tournament, to let his parent knows that he made them proud. With an Asian parent, you must know that they can be pretty 'strict' sometimes. His wish didn't sit well with them."

"Both of them have a dream and bright future yet to explore, but who would have known that they would have to stop their short journey today. I..."

When he realized, he can feel a wet sensation on his cheeks as his eyes started to moisten. It was then, all the feeling bottling up inside of him upon witnessing the death of his dear friends, all those emotions began to pour out in earnest as he cried out loud. Sheila was surprised, he had been calm like an a.d.u.l.t for a while, but suddenly, he started crying like a baby. Though she was surprised for a moment, she soon understood why.

Although her experience was a bit different in comparison to him, she understood the feeling of losing something dear to them. Even at this very moment, as she progressively higher in levels, there is a certain part of her that wishes to investigate the old incident. She wanted to find the culprit, and if they are still alive, she wanted them to suffer no lesser than her regret. 

Due to her current circ.u.mstances and worries about her future, she had no time to waste to investigate something of the past. Perhaps, once things calm down for a bit, she might consider it. Luke's cries last for around a few minutes while Sheila just stood there on the spot like a tree, unaffected by his action nor the surrounding. She even began to think that it might not be such a bad idea to disguise herself as a tree once she got the chance. Who knows, she might learn something from it.

"...I thought your business was with the man, why are you still here?"

Luke asked while wiping the tears off his face. Although it is unbecoming of a man to cry in public, he couldn't care less about it. More importantly, he wonders why the masked guy is still here. That man did mention that the masked guy is someone infamous? He couldn't remember the exact detail as, during that time, his mind is pretty occupied with the situation. The only thing he picked up amidst that is that the masked guy is infamous, that's it. 

"What do you think of this?"

With but a single thought, Sheila slowly lifts her hand and startling the latter, Luke also started floating, at least until his head is almost touching the ceiling, only then did her hand stopped. The person itself was no doubt, surprised and panic for a moment upon noticing his feet not touching the ground, he couldn't help but thinking that he awaken to some kind of supernatural power. But when his mind stabilizes and calm, he noticed whenever his body moves, the hand of the masked guy also moves along with it as if he was directing him as he pleased.

"...Telekinesis?"

"I suppose, as expected of a high school boy? You do know your stuff. Yes, this is indeed telekinesis. How was it, the feeling of hovering in the air? Pretty darn good, I would say."

"Amazing."

"Of course! Just for clarification, If I didn't practice a lot, I would not be able to do this, you know? As the wise once said, hard work paid off."

Clearly pleased and a little bit proud of herself, Sheila started talking about how much effort and time she put in practicing the skill in detail. Of course, she omitted from speaking about the Trial Tower and some other important stuff. The only thing she spoke of is those that didn't matter much in her opinion. If she wasn't hiding her face behind a mask, Sheila is sure that she won't be as talkative as she is now. To her, she was currently roleplaying as a character named 'Shiro.' 

No matter how much anti-social she is in reality, she can be quite talkative once she's in the game. After all, in the game, she is just a speck of dust among many gamers in the virtual world. Even if her character is in a crowded place, it won't stop her from doing the side-mission of killing some chickens for some gold. But if it had been in real life, one would assume her to be mute as no matter how hard they tried to talk to her, she won't utter a single word to strangers.

"The way you phrase it though, it sounds almost as if you're treating it like a game, which is a bit surreal to me."

Sheila didn't say anything but smiles at him in response to his precise remark. 'He isn't wrong though. I mean, with the system looking straight out of RPG, it would be strange for me to NOT treat them as a game. As a proud gamer once said, living a life like a game is nothing but delightful.'

"However, I still couldn't understand. What was the point of telling all that? What do you gain from doing something like this? I'm just a high school boy, I might drop out of school though, and considering what I've been through, there's no way I could live a normal life."

"That's exactly where I came in. Don't you wish for revenge?"

Luke couldn't help but flinch upon hearing the latter words spoken by Sheila. If it had been under normal circ.u.mstance, he would just laugh it off like it was nothing and went back to his life. However...

"...what are you talking about?"

"You don't need to play the idiot to me. I can see it, within those average looking eyes of yours, there's a small fire, it started flaring up the moment I spoke the trigger word."

"Even if that's true, nothing can be done. After all, I'm just a high school student at the end of the day."

"True. If you were to murder someone in this society, it won't be just your life that would be ruin as a result. But, fret not as I shall give you power for your cause."

Luke couldn't help but widens his eyes in surprise. It would be a lie to say he didn't wish to have a power like him, which would make the mad man bow to his might. Also, as a high school student, he still had the childish thought of wanting to be the protagonist of his story, imagining himself summoned to another world, the beautiful princess would beg him to save their world with his god-given power and all that. It would be a lie that he never imagines that sort of childish thoughts, he is pretty much a teenager, after all.

"Is that possible? Or, are you perhaps, some kind of devil offering me power at the cost of my soul?"

"Whether I'm a devil or buddha, that didn't matter much, isn't it? What matter is that you will get power, if given enough time, you can be even stronger than the current me."

*Gulp!*

"But that sounds too good be to true. Tell me upfront, what do you want from me?"

"Nothing much. Personally, I think I'm the one having a loss in this deal if I think about it, however, in the long run, it might pay off. So in essence, I'm investing in you, you can say. You will get power but at the cost of working under me. Sounds fair?"

Luke took a moment as he silently ponders carefully on his choice. A few seconds later, he slowly asked.

"What kind of work are we talking about? Let me get this straight, I'm not a murderer, killing machine. If it was that kind of dirty work, I'd rather not to."

"Haha, no no, you are under a misunderstanding here. I need no killing machine, I alone am enough. From a different perspective, working under me could be said to be 'dirty work,' but from my perspective, it is for the greater good. Nah, I'm just kidding. Honestly, if you listen to my goal and what would become of the future, I'm sure you would not hesitate to join my side. However, that is understandable as I never speak any of that to you."

"Well, long story short, I want your loyalty, that is all. I don't care what you do in your free time, however, when it comes to working, I want you to take it seriously. And I can promise you this, it ain't dirty work as you imagine it to be. If there is even any of it, I would do it myself. If you want to take revenge for your fallen friends, then take my hand."

"...It sounds like I'm under a contract with a demon, though."

Luke couldn't help but mutter with a wry smile.

"Nevertheless...If I can truly get my revenge, I don't care about anything else. Though I just said I am no murderer or killing machine, I don't mind becoming one if that is what it takes to accomplish my goal. Since God didn't answer my helpless prayer, I don't mind taking the demon's hand."

"That's a deal then."

Luke slowly hovering down until he reached the ground before he stepped forward and took hold of her hand, firmly shaking their hand as a sign of a deal that would surely change his life from now on. But of course, the boy himself didn't know that yet as of now.