12 Chapter 12: the cost of power

The room lay ensconced in darkness, save for the flickering flame of a solitary candle perched atop the bed, uh.....I hate dark places

"Does it really have to be this dark? It's kind of spooky, and I don't like it," I remarked, directing my question to Baalkaroth.

"It's better in the dark. It's a requirement for me to appear as fully as I can. This procedure needs to go perfectly. If something goes wrong, both you and I will pay the price," he explained.

I grunted in dissatisfaction, uneasy about relying on such an entity.

"Getting cold feet, are we?" he sneered, his voice dripping with arrogance.

"Don't get arrogant, devil. You need me to survive, so you're like a parasite, no more than a dog scrapping for left overs. Now, stop asking stupid questions and proceed."

"You don't know how much I wish to kill you right now, but not before torturing you and showing you the dead bodies of everyone you care about.It's all your fault that I am forced to exist like this "

I laughed, a sad and bitter laughter. "Good luck finding anyone... people like me are destined to loneliness.Also you made your own bed yourself, blame your greed alone."

The demon grunted, and from the shadows emerged an entity that seemed to blanket the entire room. Even in the obscurity, I discerned subtle movements, a manifestation of his presence . The decision made earlier to sacrifice my left eye for the devil's power to summon him and wield his blood-shaping abilities resonated in my mind,was it really safe to do that was I being too greedy?....maybe I should have just been satisfied with shaping mana using my mana pool , however the more I thought about it the more I realised that I needed every edge I could have if I wanted to survive both against the same fate of the novel and Lucas.

The shadow, like an ethereal tide, moved towards my left eye. Bracing myself for the excruciating ordeal, I bit down on my arm to muffle the screams that threatened to escape. The sensation was nightmarish—an unsettling feeling of worms devouring my eye, a teeming mass of entities squirming around and infiltrating my eye socket. The agony, both physical and psychological, bore down on me.

''Is it too much?'' The demon said with a small laugh, I said nothing I would not give him such pleasure.

The searing pain lasted only a few seconds before vanishing, leaving in its wake an uneasy sensation of my skin shifting around my eyes. The urge to retch surged within me, a nauseating feeling threatening to overcome my resolve. Yet, fueled by the sheer determination not to grant Baalkaroth the satisfaction of causing me discomfort, I fought against the rising tide of nausea, 

"We are done," Baalkaroth's voice echoed in my mind, the words carrying the end to the pain.

As the declaration settled in, I stopped biting my arm, only to discover a thin, viscous stream of saliva connecting it to my mouth. Breathing heavily, I decided to observe the aftermath.

I staggered to the bathroom, and turned on the sink , I let the stream of water flow down. With trembling hands, I cupped some water, attempting to rinse away the lingering discomfort. Bringing the handful to my mouth, I spat out the water, washing down with it the lingering nausea.

As I gazed up into the bathroom mirror, i watched as my left eye, the sacrifice made in exchange for the powers changed. The pupil had morphed into a menacing slit like that of a anale , Its color, once a warm brown mirroring the other eye, now manifested as a chilling shade of grey,...seems like part of me had become a devil.

I turned to the shadowy presence of Baalkaroth lingering in my mind, the unease evident in my voice as I asked, "Can you morph it back? I don't want anyone to discover this''

Baalkaroth sighed in the recesses of my mind, his voice carrying a tone of reluctant acceptance. "I can do it, but every time I use my power, it will revert. Are you sure about this?"

I nodded, my resolve firm. "Proceed." I watched as the eye shifted back to its usual appearance, a seemingly unremarkable brown.

"So, what did I gain from sacrificing my eye?" I inquired, curious about the newfound abilities.

 "Now, you can wield your blood like a weapon, altering its structure and hardness at will. Additionally, with my eyes, you can see the souls of living beings. It won't be of much use unless you're dealing with people who are trying to hide. Their souls are like fires that can't be concealed from your sight."

I frowned at the revelation that I couldn't control other people's blood as Baalkaroth did. Expressing my discontent, I grumbled, "Can't I control others' blood like you do?"

Baalkaroth chuckled and replied, "Hah! It's a miracle that a puny human like you can wield such abilities. Count yourself lucky for what you have."

Deciding on testing my powers, I bit down on my finger, I drew blood and let it fall against the sink. Focusing on my arm muscles, I flexed them thinking that maybe with it I can activate my power, to my surprise and pleasure I witnessed the blood hardening and transforming into sharp and smalls spikes that ruptured the sink.

A triumphant grin crossed my face ....

Releasing the tension in my muscles, the blood returned to its liquid form. I murmured to myself, realizing the full extent of my power, "I can also change the structure of the blood leaving my body,not Only of that inside this will be very useful for the future" I said with a small chuckle 

Observing the clock, I saw it was one o'clock

. A yawn slipped out, indicating bedtime. Baalkaroth sighed''I forgot you mortals waste time sleeping'' He said with disgust .

 "You are not one to talk . Even one of the greatest devil to ever exist, now follow a mortal's whims , you're my lapdog, that's all you are right now, no more no less"

I said with a small chuckle pleasured at how it infuriated the devil.

Honestly I prefer having him around much more than Favian, with him I can at least entertain a discussion apart from also being mildly entertained by seeing him vexing....from my words alone . He loved tortoruing and scaring me down there, but now he is just my slave, and the thought of that kind of excited to no end...