"Human, my patience has its limits," the black cat said, suppressing its frustration. "Let's not make this end badly for everyone. Although, as you said, it's difficult for to interfere with the mortal realm, the things that exist here go far beyond what your eyes can see. Do not think I am truly powerless against you." "It's just that unless absolutely necessary, you don't want to use them because the price is too high—so high that your heart would bleed, right?" Bai Mu retorted. The black cat didn't reply, but it jumped down from the hanging basket. Sotis, silence was an answer in itself.
"Co here, human," the black cat ordered.
Bai Mu put the Cherry Bomb away. The black cat was, after all, an ancient demon. Bai Mu found it hard to believe it didn't have any trump cards hidden away.
But his earlier verbal probing had managed to drag the creature to the negotiating table.
His teammates looked disappointed, regretting that they wouldn't get the chance to blast a hole in the wall.
The black cat walked over to the magic circle, then carried over a few bottles in its mouth containing things like teeth, herbs, and scales. "Place her on this magic circle. We have to wait until she is conscious to proceed. She must willingly agree to break her contract with the house, and then you will be able to take her away."
"When Ellen left the house, didn't she go through this process?" Bai Mu asked.
"She was arrogant and thought too highly of herself. Naturally, she didn't want to pay the exorbitant price to make such a deal with . Besides, there was truly no more value left to squeeze out of her," the black cat scoffed. "She thought that learning magic for a century would allow her to exploit the loopholes in the contract and escape this place by swapping bodies."
"She was indeed a genius, but I have seen countless geniuses like her. She was definitely not the most outstanding one. When she fails to fulfill her contractual obligations, she will naturally face the backlash. Trying to outsmart us will only result in digging her own grave."
"The most fundantal principle of magic is equivalent exchange. If you want to obtain sothing, you must pay the corresponding price."
"But this person is an exception. She never signed a contract with in any form, so those binding forces are invalid against her. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for you to use her to threaten ."
"I have one more demand. Cure her," Bai Mu stated. "In her current state, she will die the mont she leaves the house. I am guessing you possess magic capable of curing illnesses. The reason you didn't teach it to Ellen was simply to use her pain to fuel her desires, wasn't it?"
"I do." The black cat shot Bai Mu a glance. "But like I said, the basic principle of magic is equivalent exchange. If you want to cure her, you must pay the corresponding price."
"To cure a sick person, you must find another healthy person as a sacrifice. Furthermore, she is a witch. Curing her requires much more than just a single sacrifice."
"No matter how much you threaten , what cannot be done simply cannot be done. Unless you can find the necessary sacrifices. Go out and bring back a hundred healthy maidens, and perhaps I can restore her to full health."
Bai Mu asked, "Aside from a direct cure, there has to be so sort of magical workaround, right?"
"Humans as troubleso as you are quite rare," the black cat grumbled.
During their conversation, the giant bear standing guard outside suddenly squeezed through the basent door and lumbered toward the magic circle.
Great Northern Wilderness jumped in alarm, half-expecting the beast to go berserk, but Bai Mu's calm deanor kept him from panicking.
The giant bear stepped into the center of the magic circle without attacking anyone.
"Rejoice, humans. You won't have to pay a thing," the black cat announced. "But you really are a fool, aren't you? She rely sewed a pair of arms onto you, and you're willing to sacrifice everything for her?"
The giant bear opened its mouth and let out a few soft whimpers.
"Fine, fine, I get it," the black cat sighed. "Have it your way. With soone who knows the rules involved, how could I possibly play tricks? Rest assured, I will let these people leave safely."
"Brother Bai, what is this bear... trying to do?" Great Northern Wilderness whispered in his ear.
"Isn't it obvious? It's offering itself as a sacrifice," Yan Yu said, looking at the bear with a hint of pity.
"So it's on our side?" Great Northern Wilderness asked.
"More accurately, it's on the witch's side," Bai Mu corrected. "It's volunteering to sacrifice itself for her."
Bai Mu didn't speak up to stop it. He was a novice when it ca to the mystical side of things, whereas the black cat had been imrsed in it for ages. Even soone like Ellen couldn't escape its sches. Having the giant bear there served as an extra layer of insurance for their safe departure.
Moreover, he could sense a profound feeling of relief radiating from the creature.
For the soul trapped inside that bear's body, this kind of dedication was perhaps the only thing of true value.
It was tired of slaughter, tired of being manipulated. Once upon a ti, it had been a living, breathing human, but a witch had turned it into a Magical Familiar, condemning it to a life of pain and captivity.
No witch had ever treated it as a human being; it was rely an amusing toy, casually discarded in the corner. When they were in a bad mood, they would tear its body apart, and when they were in a good mood, they would use magic to stitch it back together.
Its agony went unheard, and even if it was heard, no one cared.
That is, until the girl appeared and, stitch by stitch, carefully sewed its severed hand back on.
To it, perhaps the physical pain hadn't vanished, but its heart no longer ached. Because of that, when it was in the reception room, it held onto that ordinary ball of yarn as if it were the most precious treasure in the world.
Bai Mu figured that its sudden transformation into a guard was likely because it couldn't bear to listen to the witch crying anymore.
But it was powerless to do anything else. The only thing it could do was use its massive, rough claws to gently pull the bedsheets over her.
Now, however, it could finally do sothing aningful for the witch.
It stood in the center of the magic circle, but its gaze wasn't fixed on the witch in Bai Mu's arms—it was looking at Bai Mu.
They locked eyes, and Bai Mu felt sothing extraordinary in its gaze. It couldn't speak, and its appearance was terrifying, but on the inside, it possessed a gentle soul.
Before the five of them broke into the Ancient Manor, the witch's cries had probably echoed through the halls day and night without end.
Whenever she woke up, she would cry from physical pain, from loneliness and betrayal, from insecurity and anxiety. Those tears had never stopped flowing. Yet, Bai Mu had managed to make the witch's crying cease. It seed the bear found this deeply significant, looking at him as if wanting to entrust sothing precious into his care.
Bai Mu understood what its eyes conveyed just before the magic circle flared with blinding light. The giant creature then reverted to that tiny, delicate Drop Bear. Half an hour later, the group finally left the Ancient Manor.
In Bai Mu's arms rested a doll wearing a dark blue dress.
[Main Quest completed. The Script will be evaluated after the story concludes.]
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