The Contract with Behemoth
"Well, about that..."
Thanks to having subdued Seong Hyeon first, we were able to begin the battle under extremely favorable conditions. Unlike pursuits in the city, the chase through the mountains restricted the use of mana in order to protect the mountain itself, which made the shortage of personnel all the more critical.
Perhaps because of that, the criminal team focused more on escaping than fighting, and we ended up losing the other two aside from Kim Gabyul.
No—we let them go.
Though they had no way of knowing that.
"It would be best if Seyeon and I chase after Go Sanghyeok, while the two of you go after Lee Jiwoo."
And just like that, I naturally ended up alone with Moon Seyeon.
"Behemoth, did you know?"
Kim Gabyul, who had been quiet until now, opened her mouth.
Ah, right—the subdued Kim Gabyul and Seong Hyeon were still here.
"Behemoth?"
Moon Seyeon, reacting to the name, approached Kim Gabyul.
"There's a fragment of Behemoth sealed in that cave over there."
Hearing that, Moon Seyeon showed sudden, intense interest in the cave.
"Haa."
As Moon Seyeon took interest, Kim Gabyul let out a sigh.
"Would you like to go take a look?"
Moon Seyeon was about to nod absently at my suggestion, then stopped herself.
"Then what about Go Sanghyeok?"
"Unfortunately, we'll just have to let him get away."
"Is that so? What a real shame."
Saying that, Moon Seyeon darted straight into the cave.
"Baek Sejin."
Once Moon Seyeon had gone inside, Kim Gabyul called out to me.
"What is it?"
"Just... don't cause any trouble."
"Come on, what kind of trouble would I cause?"
"...I'll trust you for now."
Kim Gabyul, who had been looking at me with suspicious eyes, sighed and continued.
"Hurry and go in. I'm worried about what kind of mess Moon Seyeon might cause."
As a divine magic user, Kim Gabyul must have properly sensed Behemoth's power. Or perhaps Gabriel had simply told her.
"Haha, nothing will happen, so you don't need to worry."
I said that, but I felt a bit uneasy myself and quickly followed into the cave.
I entered the cave, but Moon Seyeon was already nowhere to be seen—she must have gone deep inside. When I reached the cavern deep within, Moon Seyeon was waiting for me near the entrance to the chamber.
"Ah, you got here faster than I expected?"
"What are you doing here?"
When I asked, Moon Seyeon pointed at Behemoth's horn and said casually,
"A voice claiming to be Behemoth is telling me to touch the horn over there. But normally, if you touch something like that carelessly, it's a one-way ticket to ruining your life, right? So I was waiting for you."
"I've got at least that much judgment."
Moon Seyeon added quietly.
Indeed, I could feel that Moon Seyeon knew dark magic well and possessed outstanding talent. The way she casually overcame the residual thoughts of Behemoth's avatar was impressive.
"Haha, I don't think you need to worry about that."
Smiling, I walked past Moon Seyeon and placed my hand on Behemoth's horn. The moment I touched it, Behemoth's voice rang out as if it had been waiting.
I couldn't speak, so I simply nodded my head. Behemoth seemed to understand my silent nod and spoke briefly.
"Understood. Seyeon? Would you come over here?"
Moon Seyeon, who had been watching me from the entrance, approached at my call.
"What did Behemoth say? Is it really Behemoth in the first place?"
"Yes, Marbas confirms it as well. Behemoth has something to say to you, Seyeon."
Moon Seyeon carefully placed her hand on the horn. Then her body trembled slightly for a moment.
"Seyeon? Are you all right?"
Moon Seyeon, who had furrowed her brow, soon relaxed her expression.
"I'm fine. I was just surprised because a voice suddenly rang out."
After listening to Behemoth's voice for a while, Moon Seyeon spoke to me.
"I want some advice."
"About what?"
"Behemoth wants me to form a contract... is it really okay to do this?"
Moon Seyeon said, looking somewhat suspicious. Her attitude was different from the original work. That made sense.
In the original, not forming the contract would have led to far greater damage, and right now, no one but me even knew that Behemoth's avatar could awaken. In short, the situation had changed.
Originally, at this point in time, Behemoth's avatar would awaken, causing the mountain itself to collapse and resulting in many casualties.
An avatar. A kind of incarnation that Transcendent Beings use to interfere in the human world. Marbas existing as a lion plushie, and Gabriel appearing as a small angel, could also be considered avatars.
These avatars are usually created only for the role of messenger with their contractors, so they are small and can even hide their forms so that only the contractor can see them. But the Behemoth avatar buried in this mountain was a combat-type avatar created by Behemoth's past contractor for battle against Gabriel's contractor, which was why it was so massive and capable of exerting powerful physical force.
The fact that it possessed even a slight sense of self, despite being a mere avatar, showed just how much effort Behemoth and his contractor had put into this. However, by forcibly creating an avatar in the human world like this, Behemoth was unable to set foot in the human realm for a long time.
Because of that, after losing his cherished contractor to Gabriel's contractor, Behemoth shut himself away for a while and turned his surroundings into a sea of tears... or so Marbas told me. Behemoth was the type to give a great deal of affection to a single contractor for a long time.
That was why Behemoth was the perfect contracted demon for Moon Seyeon. In the original work, Behemoth, not wanting to lose another contractor, doted on Moon Seyeon extremely and wholeheartedly helped her grow smoothly, so Moon Seyeon's combat power in the original was quite considerable. At the same time, he greatly respected Moon Seyeon's own will, merely giving advice and leaving the decisions to her.
What a truly upright Transcendent Being. Whether human or demon, you only realize how precious something is after you've lost it. Behemoth's disposition was probably the same even now, so if she formed the contract, it would be a tremendous opportunity for Moon Seyeon.
In the original, Moon Seyeon's personality was also the type that didn't go out of her way to cause problems, so I didn't need to worry about her causing any accidents. Rather, Moon Seyeon was closer to the just side than the evil one, so this world would become more peaceful with the increase of demon contractors.
That was why I answered Moon Seyeon like this.
"There's nothing bad about forming a contract."
In other words, form the contract. If she formed the contract, Moon Seyeon would gain an advisor, teacher, and friend all in one, which was good for her, and I would gain control of that avatar, which was good for me.
After pondering for a moment, Moon Seyeon seemed to make up her mind and placed her hand on the horn again. Apparently intending to proceed with the contract, I stepped back a little from her. It was my first time watching someone form a contract with a demon, so I was a bit excited.
After keeping her eyes closed and her hand on the horn for a while, Moon Seyeon opened her eyes. Blinking, her eyes rolled around and then fixed on one spot.
"This is Behemoth?"
Moon Seyeon muttered as she looked beside herself. She must have formed the contract with Behemoth and was now looking at Behemoth's incarnation.
Is it over?
I was rather surprised because there had been no signs at all. Usually in games or novels, scenes of contracting with spirits or demons are portrayed with quite a bit of impact, aren't they?
"Has the contract been completed?"
I asked Marbas in a small voice.
As expected, Marbas, being a fellow demon, was sensitive to such things. Moon Seyeon, who had been standing still as if listening to Behemoth, called out to me.
"Behemoth says he has something to say to you."
Suddenly, a small baby hippopotamus appeared beside Moon Seyeon. The baby hippo floated in the air, circling around her. That hippo seemed to be Behemoth's avatar.
"Behemoth, it's a pleasure to meet you."
"Haha, I'll keep that in mind."
Just as planned, I had obtained control of the avatar.
"A deal? What does that mean?"
Moon Seyeon seemed to have overheard our conversation. Normally, wouldn't they take measures so that only we could hear such conversations? Was it because Moon Seyeon was Behemoth's contractor now? Anyway, it looked like I would have to bother explaining the circumstances.
"...Moon Seyeon. So you contracted with Behemoth. And Baek Sejin, I told you not to cause trouble, yet you just stood there watching someone form a contract with a demon? And what's this about a deal? You're going to have to explain this situation properly."
At the sudden voice, my head reflexively turned toward the entrance of the cavern. There stood Kim Gabyul with a sullen expression, one hand on her hip, facing us.
Oh no, it seemed I had delayed too long.
"Uh, Gabyul. About that..."
"It's already been an hour. Get out here already."
"Yes, ma'am."