The Solution

A thud.

The back of my head. A closed door. 

Big ouch.

I wasn't shocked, what I just heard didn't exactly have me being shooketh to the core. Fact was, aside from being blown back from the initial impact by such a sudden turn of events, I really couldn't find it myself to clap my cheeks and scream my lungs out in a panic.

Maybe it's just cause I was processing it still, I just kept thinking perhaps it wasn't as bad as she was wording it out. I like to think that… but just taking a glance at Irene, rapidly unraveling by the seams, I'm not so sure I should be making any more assumptions too bright and nice.

"So, I formed a pact with a Succubus," I said, going through it piece by piece. 

Irene kept scratching her forehead. "No, no, I coerced you into a pact. Nothing to do with you… you didn't know. That credit's all mine." 

"Nevertheless, I still agreed."