The Bet with Death
“……Well, at least you’ve been fulfilling the minimum terms of the contract, so I can’t exactly say you’ve broken any rules.”
One of the contract conditions.
■■ shall, at most once per month, collect a portion of souls in place of Death.
Souls must be collected within one week of receiving their location, and Death must request the retrieval of souls at an appropriate distance, taking into account both the deadline and ■■’s position.
Even while he had been in hiding, Raven had dutifully collected the designated souls exactly as Death commanded, without complaint.
……Though, to be fair, Death had only given him a few “errands” in the early days of his seclusion. After that, he had simply left him alone, curious to see how long the man would keep it up.
“The fact that you haven’t taken any action toward your stated goal of extending your lifespan over the past ten years isn’t an issue. Especially when you already know the face and location of your final target for revenge.”
“……That was only the surface-level objective written into the contract.”
Why bring it up again when you already know everything?
Raven idly prodded at a monster corpse with his dagger and gave a half-hearted shrug. His voice was just as crooked as his attitude.
“The real reason I made this contract was for the ‘complete annihilation of the Gates.’”
The explicit condition that the contract would end once he killed his targets for revenge was nothing more than a way for him to decide when he should die. In the first place, he had set that condition so he could stay alive until the Gates were completely gone.
Thanks to his damn good luck, his enemies weren’t the kind that died easily, which was why he could even impose such a condition.
‘Though honestly, it would be more accurate to call it “taking responsibility for the Gate incident” rather than “complete annihilation”…….’
But it was all the same anyway.
He wiped the mana stone he had pulled from the monster corpse and shoved it into his pocket, then gave a crooked smile as he pointed his dagger at the Gate’s core.
“And right now, I’m closing a Gate. You have no grounds to complain.”
So just leave already.
Whether he spent the next ten years avoiding people or hiding away, when the time came, he would kill that bastard enemy of his and end this life on his own terms.
“……Is that so?”
The uncooperative tone was thick with mockery and subtle irritation.
It would have been perfectly reasonable for him to be displeased, yet Death’s expression remained utterly indifferent.
“You must know that closing the Gates one by one on your own is pointless. That’s why you raised disciples in the first place.”
“……But I failed.”
“I wouldn’t call it a failure.”
“……?”
“Every single one of your disciples has become a giant in their own right.”
The president of the Awakened Association, the president of the Sculpted Soul Masters Association, the president of the Shamans Association, the president of the Fighters Association, and the last one had become the hidden power behind the Empire’s emperor.
As Death silently reflected on their paths and casually checked their current situations, he paused for a brief moment before continuing as if he had seen nothing at all.
“Thanks to them, a proper system for dealing with the Gates has been established. Small villages are still beyond help, but the capital and other major cities have reached the point where they can withstand the Gate incidents reasonably well.”
“……So what are you trying to say?”
“Go find your disciples.”
Death smiled faintly.
He had just seen Raven’s disciples gathered in one place, brainstorming designs for a windowless room, but what did it matter? They had brought it on themselves.
He added, addressing the now-frozen Raven.
“Go see what kind of present your past efforts have created, identify what needs to be improved, and reset your goal before moving forward. It would be best if you visited your youngest disciple, if no one else. The solution to the Gate incidents lies with him.”
“……Why?”
“To solve a problem, you must return to the beginning. It’s strange that you would ask when you already know that.”
“…….”
His youngest disciple… No, he wasn’t even his disciple anymore. He had no desire to see that bastard Deciever unless it was time for him to die.
……But it seemed he had no choice. Raven rubbed his eyes irritably before letting out a long sigh.
“Fine, I understand. So is that the only reason you came?”
“No. Now we get to the main topic.”
“……?”
“Watching you stubbornly waste ten years on meaningless actions suddenly made me feel a sense of urgency. There’s no guarantee something like this won’t happen again, and there’s always the chance you might change your mind and decide you want to enjoy an eternal, undying life.”
The longer Death spoke, the more unease settled over Raven’s face.
And that unease finally burst the moment Death crooked the corner of his mouth upward.
“Let’s make a bet.”
……The unease had taken solid form.
Raven’s wariness shot up to its peak in response.
In the blink of an eye, he had retreated several steps back, his gaze fixed on Death without so much as a blink. After a short pause, he forced his lips into a sharp smile.
“There’s nothing good that comes from getting tangled up with Death, and now you want me to get even more involved? What a lame joke. Why would I willingly take a loss and make a bet when the current situation is already enough?”
“If you win the bet, I will reinterpret one of the contract conditions binding you—‘the body’s time stops’—in a more lenient direction.”
“…….”
“Shall I make it clearer? The part that says ‘wounds do not heal.’ The same part you once exploited by recklessly damaging your body to strengthen it.”
From the moment the contract is established, the time of ■■’s body shall stop.
This was suitable for granting the ‘agelessness’ that came with immortality, but it could also be interpreted to mean that any wounds sustained would not heal. Originally, they had been healed whenever he died and revived, but because he had abused the system by killing himself every time a wound became annoying, Death had reinterpreted the ‘condition’ in the stricter direction.
As a result, even when the current Raven revived, only the fatal wound that had killed him would recover. Everything else remained as it was. It was inevitably inconvenient.
That was why Raven froze for a moment, his eyes shifting slightly. His green irises flickered like a candle flame on the verge of going out, repeatedly fading into a pale grey before returning, carrying a softened light as they moved.
“……Will it be relaxed to the same level as before?”
“No. You would just abuse it again however you pleased.”
The question was essentially a positive sign.
He was halfway convinced.
Death smiled.
“I will allow only permanent injuries by ordinary human standards—such as the loss of a body part—to be healed upon death and revival.”
“……And if you win?”
“I will place a limit on your conditional indefinite lifespan extension.”
“Be more specific.”
Don’t try to gloss over it.
The moment he won, he could simply say, “Let’s set the limit of that extension to right now,” and come to collect his soul.
“I will change it so that, starting from the end of the bet, I will grant you the ten years of lifespan you have wasted.”
“That puts me at too much of a disadvantage. ……And I wouldn’t exactly call it ‘wasted.’”
“You have already extended your lifespan by 150 years. The world is growing nervous because the balance has been broken. And if I must respond to your latter opinion, if spending time doing something you know is meaningless is not a waste, then what is?”
“…….”
Those words were a bit too harsh. He had nothing to say in return, though.
More importantly…. Raven blinked.
“150 years?”
“Yes.”
“Oh……”
He hadn’t bothered to count, so he hadn’t realized. So much time had already passed.
……How old had he been when he made the contract with Death? Twenty-four?
“I really…… have lived long enough.”
“Then—”
“But that’s one thing, and this is another.”
The moment of positive reaction was gone. A wicked smile spread across his face.
“What if I refuse?”
As if he hadn’t expected the word “refuse” to come out of his mouth, Death blinked for a moment before letting out a short, dry laugh.
“How bold of you to act so defiant when you are living on my mercy.”
“No. This was clearly a fair contract with a price attached. The word ‘mercy’ doesn’t suit it.”
“……You would do well to consider who holds the advantage in this contract.”
“You will hold the advantage the moment I die. At least for now, there is no need for me to fear you.”
“It seems you’ve erased from your memory the disadvantages you suffered when I reinterpreted the contract conditions. Or rather, what would you do if I, in a bad mood, simply ignored the contract and came to collect your soul?”
“Because I know that’s impossible.”
Ignore the contract?
What nonsense. Raven let out a small laugh and shook his head.
“If that were possible, you wouldn’t be trying to modify the contract in the form of a bet. The only things you can touch are those whose breath has already been cut off and died. You cannot touch me, who must remain ‘alive’ until the contract with you ends.”
“…….”
“And as for the reinterpretation…… at most, it just makes things a little more annoying, doesn’t it? In the end, all I need is to be able to move.”
In a situation where the contract only ended once its ‘purpose’ was fulfilled, Death would never allow him to be left in a state where he couldn’t move because his limbs had been severed. Since Raven himself thought that as long as he could move and breathe, it was enough, what was there to fear?
“……You.”
Apparently annoyed by Raven’s constant retorts, Death’s aura suddenly surged.
In response, the green light in Raven’s eyes, which had been flickering precariously the entire time, went out with a snap, revealing grey irises once more.
A chilling voice echoed in the darkness.
“Do you truly believe that body of yours is alive?”
With eyes that clearly could not see what was in front of him, Raven gave a small laugh.
“Why wouldn’t it be?”
It was precisely because this body belonged to the living that his soul was being crushed like this right now.
He spread both arms wide as if to prove a point.
The corners of his lips rose, and a faint trace of amusement surfaced in his dull, lifeless grey eyes. While his face mimicked cheerfulness, his mouth spat out a playful tone.
“—How can you call me dead when I am so vividly before your eyes?”
Startled by the sudden polite speech, Death stared at Raven.
No, it was more the content than the politeness. He knew exactly what the other man was reciting.
“With blood and flesh that have not rotted, how can you claim to seize a living soul?”
……It was the lyrics of a song sung at funerals.
A song derived from a kind of ‘plea’—one that refused to accept the death of a loved one, desperately praying that Death would not take their soul and that they would simply return to life. And yet here he was, boldly reciting it like this.
Whether Death looked dumbfounded or not, Raven continued to recite the lyrics slowly and deliberately, as if reciting a poem, while wearing a sharp smile.
“For it is still too early for you to come.”
Death realized it then.
The cheerfulness he was mimicking was built upon the calm madness of someone who had already gone insane.
“I’ll accept the bet, so if you’re done with your business, get the hell out of here.”
The pleading lyrics asking him to wait just three days were gone, replaced entirely by rude remarks.
Death, who had been listening quietly, let out a hollow laugh.
“……You were planning to accept from the very beginning.”
“Well, yeah.”
At 174 years old, he had certainly lived long enough. The reward for winning wasn’t bad either. There was nothing to gain by making the world hate him even more, and Death didn’t look like he would back down. If he won the bet, the guy probably wouldn’t complain about his lifespan extension for a while.
‘Besides, the severed parts of my body had already reached their limit even with the fairy race’s medicinal herbs, so it was inconvenient. This actually works out nicely.’
Just being able to worry a little less about injuries was enough.
The only reason he had refused at first was because he didn’t want to obediently dance to the tune of such an annoying bastard.
“You’re not going to ask about the details of the bet?”
“You’ll tell me even if I don’t ask. You can send it through the crows later.”
“……I’ll tell you now.”
Watching Raven’s fingertips as he kept rubbing at the corners of his eyes, Death withdrew his aura.
As if it had been waiting for this very moment, the grey eyes were once again dyed with a strange green light. Watching the scene of inhuman eyes shining clearly, Death spoke slowly.
“I understand you have been with your Guardian Spirit since before you made the contract with me.”
“……?”
The hand that had been rubbing his eyes so roughly it looked like it would bruise came to a stop.
Why was he suddenly bringing this up……?
“Do you know the Guardian Spirit’s name?”
“Ah.”
No way.
It seemed the Guardian Spirit had the same thought. He broke the silence he had maintained the entire time and sent a message.
The Guardian Spirit ??? hardens his expression.
“Find out the Guardian Spirit’s true name.”