Read Novel Full Chapter 529 - 329: Blood Contract
Chapter 529: Chapter 329: Blood Contract
It possessed dominance, an overwhelming authority over space itself. When expanded, that dominance could reject, suppress, and even control access within its influenced domain.
He recalled reading a passage long ago.
"The greater the temporal storage level, the greater the sovereignty it exerts."
Such an artifact was normally something only royal-class beings could wield. For it to end up in Ivy’s hands was... extraordinary.
At first, Damien had worried about how to infiltrate the base, but after multiple failed attempts, he reluctantly withdrew and decided to wait.
’If force cannot open the door, then I will move a piece on the board.’
As he stood there considering his next move, he noticed someone being shoved out of the base.
A young woman stumbled forward, Grace.
Her face was flushed with anger, her fists clenched as she pointed back toward the gates. "You’ll regret this one day!" she shouted. "All of you!"
No one responded.
Grace ground her teeth. "Just wait until I pass the second assignment. I’ll make everyone who looked down on me pay."
With that, she turned and stormed away.
Damien watched her quietly. ’Interesting... resentment, ambition, and just enough pride to be useful.’
He decided to follow.
Grace joined another queue further away, muttering complaints under her breath.
Damien listened carefully, memorizing every detail, every frustration she revealed.
Occasionally, he stepped in to assist her, offering food, helping her navigate procedures, even striking up a conversation.
His tone was warm, his words smooth and articulate.
Grace, who had never encountered someone so attentive and charming, gradually found herself drawn to him.
She began to look forward to their conversations, her earlier anger softening whenever he spoke.
Damien noticed the shift immediately.
’She’s falling for it.’
Though inwardly pleased, he maintained a gentle demeanor and subtly hinted at his own dissatisfaction with the base.
He knew Grace disliked the place, but not enough to destroy it outright.
She was clever enough to understand that only one person truly held control here, and she herself could never seize it by force.
An empty promise would never convince her.
So Damien offered something tangible.
"I can give you a permanent residence inside the base," he said quietly one evening.
Grace frowned. "You expect me to believe that?"
Without hesitation, Damien produced a property deed and handed it to her.
The document was real.
Grace’s eyes widened in disbelief as she examined it. She was stunned into silence.
Had Marco been present, he would have recognized it instantly, the very deed he once showed Damien, now repurposed as bait.
Grace looked up at Damien, her expression filled with emotion.
"If you really give this to me," she said, her voice trembling slightly, "then... I’m willing to marry you."
Damien chuckled softly, the sound warm on the surface.
Inside, however, he sneered.
’Marry you? Do you truly think you are worth that much?’
However, Damien did not allow even a trace of mockery to surface on his face.
Instead, his expression softened, his gaze turning almost tender as though he were a man deeply moved by affection rather than calculation.
"I am not the kind of man who proposes lightly," he said gently.
"I do not want a freeloader by my side. If you wish to become my fiancée... my partner... then I must confirm that you are worthy of standing beside me."
Grace’s heartbeat quickened.
She had already dated half the elite families in her college and had long understood that wealthy men often "tested" the women they claimed to love.
Those who passed such trials lived comfortably; those who failed were discarded without hesitation.
So when Damien proposed something similar, she did not find it strange.
"What kind of test?" she asked, trying to keep her voice steady.
Seeing that she had almost completely fallen into his rhythm, Damien slowly pulled out a folded sheet of paper.
"This," he said, unfolding it carefully, "is simply a contract."
The parchment felt slightly rough, and the faint scent of iron lingered upon it.
In truth, it was no ordinary contract.
It was a blood-bound agreement capable of binding two individuals beyond simple words.
Whether the person before him was human or superior being did not matter.
Once signed, betrayal would become impossible. Even the intention to reveal his secrets would be suppressed by the contract itself.
"Sign this," Damien said calmly. "As long as you remain loyal, you will gain everything I promised."
Grace hesitated. For a moment, doubt flickered in her eyes. But she quickly reassured herself.
’It’s just paper. If something feels wrong, I can walk away.’
With that thought, she took the pen and signed her name.
The instant the ink touched the final stroke, a faint crimson glow pulsed across the parchment before vanishing into her skin.
Grace stiffened.
A warm current spread through her body, wrapping around her like invisible silk.
At first she thought it was merely nerves, but then her breathing steadied, her senses sharpened, and the world around her seemed clearer than before. Even distant sounds felt crisper.
When she opened her eyes again, there was something subtly different about her.
Damien observed her transformation with quiet satisfaction and gave an approving nod.
"Your first task," he said softly, "is to find a way to get Angelina out of that base."
Grace nodded immediately. "I understand."
Her eyes appeared slightly dim now, the earlier spark replaced with a subdued obedience.
The blood contract did more than prevent betrayal.
It also ensured that Grace would never question Damien’s commands.
Her will had not disappeared, but it now bent toward him like a marionette’s strings.
............
Meanwhile, far from them, Silas was struggling.
It was not the zombies that troubled him.
It was a thought he could not digest.
’Ivy... and Jade... soulmates.’
Even though Ivy had already spoken to him and reassured him, insecurity gnawed at his chest like a parasite.
As he fought a zombie, slashing through decaying flesh, his mind wandered.
’Zombies avoid Ivy. Would they avoid Jade too? Could he wield the same protection simply by being near her?’