I Am The Heroine's Father: The Cannon Fodder's Ascent

Chapter 49 - The Pact

"Johan Von Matilda... but, how can you see me?" Velmire asked, his voice filled with pure shock. This was the man he least expected to meet—ever.

Johan moved his hand from his forehead, raising both hands toward the sky. "Spirit Pact: Contract."

Johan didn't bother replying, forming a purple-colored contract piece of paper out of nowhere—

"I, Johan Von Matilda, shall revive you and tell you everything I know about the man who attacked you. In return, you will carry out the requests I ask of you. I will ensure that these tasks never harm you, your loved ones, or the Crimson Empire. You, Velmire Sevarin, shall fulfill them to the best of your ability. Even a single moment of conscious refusal... will result in immediate death."

Johan spoke loudly toward the purple sheet, as if it were a microphone. The contract glowed violently.

Velmire's eyes widened, staring strangely at Johan and the floating piece of parchment.

It was already bizarre that Johan could even find and see him... but to know about a man like him, possess the ability to revive the dead, and create a contract that could kill him?

He grew more suspicious by the second. Johan was, after all, famously known as more of a con artist.

Johan finally looked at Velmire, his eyes distant. "I owe you a lot... for helping me with Alya. That's why I'm doing this. That's why I'm trusting you. I hope you can trust me enough too..."

He knew this manipulation technique from back home—he used it repeatedly on his sister. Reminding someone of a shared memory... it pulled out the emotions they felt back then, making them more likely to agree to your request.

Velmire's eyes softened. Truth be told, he respected Johan—respected him the most.

Johan was the man who chose to sacrifice everything dear to him to save a world that hated his guts. If Johan had chosen not to sacrifice it all—his Alya—then the world would've long ended.

Velmire, suppressing the surge of emotion, spoke in a forced calm voice, "The requests... are they about Alya? I know what happened in court... Don't tell me you're planning to unseal her. I will never—"

"It's not. I would've never sealed her in the first place if all I wanted was to unseal her. This is about Lucifer... the man you fought," Johan said calmly, spacing out each word, letting them sink in.

Velmire's pupils dilated. "Then what about the aura of death everyone's talking about!?" He tried to suppress his curiosity about Lucifer, but that was what concerned him the most.

That man—Lucifer—was strong, no doubt. Strong enough to end the world. But after fighting him once, Velmire was confident he had a better chance now. He could rally all the Mantles, seek help from the Divine Generals of the Aurelian Empire, and call upon the other Holy Dragons.

There was a real chance they could win... if he just sealed Kratos first.

But with Alya... he couldn't take any risks.

Thousands of memories surged in his mind, his eyes reddening.

"I'm able to use a part of her strength... I am becoming death. You can already see the changes in my body, right?" Johan said patiently, flashing a smug, all-knowing smile.

Velmire's eyes widened. He focused on Johan's body. Yes—the change in his Aether and physique was unmistakable.

Johan released a bit of his aura—an unmistakable aura of death.

Velmire immediately believed him.

"...Then it's even worse. You're no better than the Goddess of Death," Velmire said, hesitant.

"Do you want to take a gamble here? Or let Lucifer kill everyone? Die here without ever confessing to Orihime? Let the Crimson Empire fall? You and I both know Orihime's not nearly as capable as you. The Empire of Love will become part of the Aurelian Empire sooner or later. Queen Lovia, that so-called goddess you admire, is just a brat—easy to manipulate or kill."

Johan cut straight to the point.

Velmire bit his lip, his expression hardening. "Tell me about Lucifer first. Then I'll sign." He exhaled deeply. Johan was still the same old ruthless man he'd known—

An undeniably evil man... with a good heart.

'He couldn't have betrayed Alya like this otherwise... Or maybe he's just an evil scum who sees the world only through a lens of maximum profit. If he truly wanted to save Alya, wouldn't he have abandoned all power instead?' Velmire thought, unable to make sense of Johan's contradictions.

Johan smiled knowingly, his voice turning cold. "Lucifer is the King of the Devils. The negativity of the world. In the Bible, he's said to be Ymir's negativity... but no. He's more than that. He's a part of Ymir's soul—not a byproduct of it."

Velmire's eyes widened.

'How can someone even know this kind of thing!?' Demons were humanity's greatest threat—humans, elves, dwarves, dragons. Thousands of wars had been fought against them.

And those demons were led by their evolved, deadlier form—Devils.

Even now, in this so-called peaceful century (aside from human-on-human conflict, at least), no one had seen a Devil in person. Yet the myths persisted. Not to mention... it was proven that Alistar was an organization run by Devils, so they did exist.

'Even a Stage-0 Demon required the full might of a Holy Dragon to defeat... and I fought the King of Devils? No wonder...' Velmire's face tensed, his breath growing heavier.

He couldn't ignore this threat. If Johan was telling the truth, humanity would be wiped out.

Johan nodded, satisfied by the reaction. "I'll tell you the rest after you sign the pact. You see, then you can trust me more—because I literally won't be able to lie to you." (Even though I didn't lie once till now.) Johan used the oldest trick in the book—cliffhanger.

Velmire finally exhaled and gave a slow nod. The purple paper flew instantly into his hand. With his finger, he signed—

Velmire Sevarin

The sheet then glided back to Johan, who signed it with his real name—

Johan Von Matilda

And with that, the contract exploded into a cloud of shimmering purple particles, which scattered into nothing.

Johan's smile widened.

Until—

"By the way... did you ever even love Alya? Did you want to save the world from the reincarnation of the Goddess of Death before it fully manifested? Or was it just to avoid the risk of losing power and going against the entire world? I could understand either reason," Velmire asked with a calm curiosity.

He had wanted to know the answer to this for the longest time.

Johan's eyes turned red, his nostrils flaring. For the first time since arriving here—

He felt this much anger.

It wasn't just 'his' rage. It was Johan's memories overwhelming James in Johan. The hundreds of flashbacks he already had in just few days were enough to give him an answer.

Author's Note: Guys, I think I cooked good in the next Chapter, it's beautiful, I am literally jumping all over my room. It was a good day. Idc anymore. This book is gonna be awesome. And damn, Tbate is ending I just learned, feels like the end of an era.