Death... and me

[There's one thing I don't understand, though.] Sister Orb could not help but say. [Soul Binding Contracts shouldn't work if a person is forced to sign them, right? Wouldn't the contract all those guys signed be useless in the end?]

Back when Rean and Roan were told about the Soul Binding Contract, they were told that the contract only worked if the person genuinely wanted to form that contract. It prevented things like what just happened, forcing someone to sign something they didn't want to do. So, in theory, even if Gaius, Oem, or Zostemou broke the contract, nothing would happen to them.

Rean laughed in response before saying, "Hahaha! That was supposed to be the case. However, the contracts I used are different from the normal ones. They had been modified by none other than myself! As you know, Light Element Affinity is the best when it comes to dealing with the soul. I have been analyzing how the contract operates and why it didn't work when someone was forced to sign it."

Naturally, Sister Orb's interest was piqued. [Oh! I did see you messing around with the contracts before. What did you find?]

Rean smiled and explained as he made his way back to Falangia's house. "The Soul Binding Contracts were a mix of restriction runes and talismans. The talisman part is what connects with the soul, while the runes are what puts the restrictions. However, the interaction between the talisman and the runes is far from optimal. This imbalance between the two made that any interference during the binding process would result in failure. Can you imagine what could be an interference?"

Sister Orb pondered in silence for a bit and eventually thought of an answer. [The rejection of the contract. That in itself is already an interference. If someone signs something they aren't willing to, that will generate an obstruction for the contract to attach to the soul. Obviously, the runes won't be able to put on the restrictions.]

Rean nodded, saying, "As expected of Sister Orb. You're really smart."

[Hehehe! That's just normal.] Of course, she didn't reject the praise at all.

Rean didn't mind it, though. "So, you could say that the Soul Binding Contract needs a 'clear path' to put the restrictions in the soul. Unwillingness to sign it will obviously not count as a 'clear path,' you see? That's where Light Element comes in. My runes are compatible with Light Element, and most of the souls wouldn't reject Light Element as it is connected to life force. Simply put, I have a much better balance between the talismans and runes than anyone else could. Why? Because I have Light Element Affinity. This isn't something anyone could copy... well, maybe the angel races could, but they shouldn't exist in the Realm of Gods anyway."

[However, that isn't all, right? You said that most souls should accept it even if their owners are unwilling to sign the contract.]

Rean didn't deny that. "You're correct. My contracts are better than the original ones. However, they aren't omnipotent. There is a way to make them not work."

Sister Orb was dying of curiosity. [What is it? What is it?!]

Rean smiled and answered, "Shielding your soul beforehand. If any of them put a Divine Energy barrier on their souls before the contract could attach, then the runes definitely won't work properly. At most, they would feel some pain when they break the contract the first time before the runes and seals completely disappear."

Rean's smile increased even more. "However, no one knows that my contracts have such a flaw. I wonder how many of them even thought about shielding their souls. First of all, this is the Treavin Continent, where such things are very rare. How many of them do you even think know that normal contracts don't work if you're unwilling? That guy called Zostemou and some of his subordinates might be the only ones with that knowledge."

*Aaaarrrghhhhh!*

Suddenly, Rean heard a shrill scream come from the City Lord's estate and smiled. He didn't need to go back to know what happened. "Hehe! It seems like Zostemou really knew about it, so he immediately asked one of his subordinates to break the contract. Even if he knew, he wouldn't risk it himself. As small as the chances might be, he wouldn't risk his own life. Too bad that it wasn't the normal contract, but my own. Hahaha!"

Rean was right. Zostemou looked with a terrified expression at his dead subordinate. He had just got his own soul wiped out, and his body became nothing more than an empty shell. "Impossible... contracts shouldn't work if you're unwilling..."

Zostemou then looked at the other people in the room. He obviously wanted to test it once again. However, no one was an idiot to try it, so they reached an impasse. Well, it didn't matter anymore since even Zostemou didn't try to shield his soul with Divine Energy. He relied on his conception that unwillingness would make the contracts useless, and now he was bonded by Rean's new version of the contract.

Falangia was still at home with Rafatia and Kentucky. Kentucky had always been a lady killer, and even his oversized body didn't change it. Naturally, Rafatia quickly fell in love with him. Not only her, but quite a few women overcame their fear and came to talk with Kentucky, who welcomed all of them with open arms...or wings, for the matter.

He played with the girls, giving all his love, much to Rean's confusion. "Just what do women see in this guy?"

Falangia, surprisingly, was able to resist it and kept herself alert all this while. What if someone came to attack her and her daughter? She couldn't trust Kentucky alone. "Rean!" Obviously, she noticed when Rean appeared.

"Yo! How are things going?" Rean asked with a smile.

"No one came to bother us so far," Falangia replied. "Also, I started to hear some weird rumors. It seems like Gaius began to help people out of nowhere."

Rean laughed out loud before explaining what he had done to Falangia, which obviously shocked the girl. Of course, he omitted the fact that he had changed the Soul Binding Contracts. "You can do that?!"