The Mark.
Like the seal a demon imprints on their contractor, a mark signifies subordination, a symbol of submission between demon summoners. Although I was still a novice in demon magic, I knew enough about the implications of a mark. I had co dangerously close to becoming a marked one myself.
Malebris, the demon summoner who had pursued Ray, had declared he would mark , turning into his slave. He said I would beco a servant, an experint, and ultimately, a sacrifice.
Being alive yet unable to claim that life as your own—that is what a mark represented, at least from what I knew.
“Let just ask this to be sure,” I began, wanting to clarify if the mark a was asking for was the sa as what I feared.
“Is this mark the sa one you use to make a person your slave?”
a nodded.
“...From what I’ve heard, it’s used to establish a hierarchical relationship between summoners, building a system of control,” I said, recalling Malebris's claims.
His boasts might not have been entirely trustworthy, but from the way he had spoken, there had to be so truth to it. My suspicion was confird by a’s next words.
“You’re exactly right.”
But why would she ask for that?
I couldn’t understand.
I had lived as a slave, never knowing when or why my life might be snuffed out. The slave mark on my body had once been a deadly curse, able to end my life at my master’s whim.
Even now, though the magic was removed, the scar remained, a reminder of the weight I had carried for so long. The stress of living with a gun aid at your head, wondering when it might go off, was sothing I would never forget.
I kept that mark hidden not only to conceal my past but also because seeing it reminded of those painful mories.
And yet, a was asking for that kind of mark to be placed on her willingly. It was incomprehensible to .
But a calmly explained.
“A mark isn’t entirely one-sided. It’s a two-way bond. It’s just that the control is heavily skewed in one direction.”
I thought that didn’t change anything, but a’s next explanation shattered my assumptions.
“The one who holds the power in the bond can also take on the burdens of the other, if they choose.”
“Burdens? Like a curse?” I asked, confused.
“In most cases, yes.”
Now I understood why a had asked to mark her.
It wasn’t that hard to grasp, really. I had simply been blinded by my negative experiences with the concept, leading to an instinctual rejection of the idea.
“Your contracted demons are stronger than mine. I can sense them. The two great demons lurking behind you, Roman.”
Normally, a summoner wouldn’t be able to detect another’s contracted demons. Even Hecate, who a acknowledged as superior, couldn’t do that.
But sohow, when it ca to a, it felt natural that she could.
Dark elf intuition, perhaps? Whatever it was, it made sense, in its own strange way.
“So, you want to use the mark to shift your burdens from your current contract to mine, is that it?”
“Exactly.”
“What about Hecate?”
Seir and Lerazie had told Hecate’s contracted demon was of exceptionally high rank. If even my two demons were impressed, it ant Hecate could easily mark a herself.
“Burdens don’t just disappear, Roman,” a answered.
A mark couldn’t erase the cost of a demonic contract. It could only transfer that cost to soone else. Soone would always have to pay the price.
“But you’re different, Roman.”
a’s voice carried an unshakable conviction, as though she understood better than I understood myself.
“You’re loved by demons. You receive limitless gifts from beings who would normally strip away life and soul in exchange for their sweet power. You could probably dispel even my burdens with a re breath. And in fact, you already have.”
That one act—when I had helped her sleep—seed to have been more significant than I realized.
“Even though the mark would force you to obey my commands?” I asked, looking for a reason not to agree.
“Would you?”
Her question left without an answer.
“I can’t say for sure, can I?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Excuse ?”
“If you wanted to, I wouldn’t mind.”
She had already made her decision.
a’s request wasn’t sothing made in the heat of the mont. During those two weeks in the Abyss, she had thought it through, analyzed it, and arrived at this conclusion.
She was ready to give up everything, as long as I would take on her burdens in return.
“…Was this what you discussed with Hecate?” I asked.
“No, I didn’t tell her.”
That only complicated things further.
Should I grant her request or not?
I fell silent, lost in thought. a waited patiently, giving the space to think.
Her burden was her dreams—taken from her, replaced by nightmares that replayed her worst mories. It was a cruel price, forcing her to relive the pain over and over, depriving her of restful sleep.
But maybe it wasn’t just about the dreams.
Given how ticulously she kept her exploration logs, and how she checked them the mont she woke up, it seed likely that her mories, too, were part of the price. She was losing pieces of herself, forgetting everything she experienced, all the emotions and monts that made life aningful.
“...Alright.”
“What?”
“I’ll do it. I’ll grant your request.”
a’s eyes widened in surprise, as if she hadn’t expected to agree so easily.
“But you’ll have to teach how. I don’t know how to do it.”
“…Okay!”
§
It was nearly dawn by the ti a left Roman’s room and descended to the first floor.
The first thing she saw was Hecate, sitting at the counter, sipping from a bottle of wine she had clearly been saving for a special occasion.
“Hecate.”
“…Congratulations.”
a pulled out a chair and sat beside her, acknowledging the unexpected congratulations.
“So, does this an you’ll be leaving now, too?”
With the exception of its ghost mbers, there were only five people left in Telema School. Of those, only Hecate and a really cared about the school’s affairs.
If a left, Telema would lose its status as an official school entirely.
“No. I’m staying.”
“…Why? You don’t have to worry about the burden anymore. You could easily rise to the level of an expert.”
“That’s exactly why. Roman doesn’t want to be protected by anyone.”
Roman’s goal was ascension, to grow stronger.
All his progress so far had co from fighting for his life, battling to survive. If a beca part of his journey, it would make things safer for him.
But having a around would also stifle him, a psychological comfort that would slow his growth. Roman understood that well.
So, he had rejected her offer to follow him, vowing to et her on equal footing one day.
“Hecate.”
“Hm?”
“I’m going back into the Abyss.”
But a wasn’t content to wait for Roman to catch up to her.
“Alone? The team you used to work with… they’ve all retired or…”
Died.
So had perished in the Abyss, others had been caught in deadly disputes.
The passage of ti had claid them all.
“I’ll contact so of the other mbers.”
“Good. Alcaine will probably join you.”
“And about the thing Roman found... It’s the real deal, isn’t it?”
The book Roman had found. Apart from the first page, its contents were encrypted. Roman had entrusted it to Hecate for appraisal.
Hecate had known imdiately what it was. And even a had suspected, though she wasn’t entirely sure.
“Yes. It’s her handwriting—Wollstonecraft.”
Cordelia Wollstonecraft, the founder of Les Lyman and the first Grand Duke alongside the legendary explorer Rovard, the mother of alchemy.
The book Roman had found had been written by her.
Knowing this only increased a’s astonishnt.
Roman had destroyed a chanism created by Cordelia Wollstonecraft, overloading it with an imnse amount of mana. When a realized this, she knew for certain.
“Roman is… special.”
“I know.”
“Hecate, you…”
“a.”
At Hecate’s firm tone, a closed her mouth.
“Even if Telema is crumbling, I’m still the school’s leader. I’ve never forgotten that. I never will.”
There’s pride, even for those who have fallen from grace.
Hecate downed the rest of her drink.
§
“I’ll join the school. With a’s situation and the cipher to decode, it seems like the right move.”
Roman opened his coin purse, wondering how much the entrance fee would be. His pouch was stuffed with silver and gold coins, with platinum coins peeking out here and there.
He grabbed a handful and laid them on the counter.
Silver rupees worth a thousand each and gold rupees worth ten thousand clattered down in a cascade of shimring light.
“Will this cover it?”
Roman’s voice didn’t register with Hecate at first. Her senses were entirely captivated by the dazzling pile of coins before her.
Her eyes, ears, even her mouth—everything was fixated on the fortune in front of her.
And realizing that it was indeed real, that the amount totaled a staggering 88,000 rupees, Hecate could no longer hold herself back.
“ too! Give a mark too!”
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