"I'm not joking. Your stage is Elite 1-star, so you should be able to make contracts with two familiars!" Kerparos's voice was weak but urgent. "You saw my strength. I'm not weaker than your succubus. Contract me—you won't lose, you won't get tricked!"
Afraid Logan would refuse, Kerparos used the advantage of having three-headed and three mouths, talking nonstop.
Logan listened to his rapid-fire pitch, still unmoved. "If Lilith absorbs you, she'll become even stronger."
"Why should I waste a contract slot on a monster with an unknown origin like you?"
As he spoke, Logan stepped forward again. Lilith's Life Drain beam was already shining on Kerparos.
Feeling his last bit of life slipping away, Kerparos panicked. "I'm not some unknown monster! I'm from the guardian clan of the Gate of Hell!"
"For thousands of years, countless humans falling to the Gate of Hell have had to face the trials and exploitation of the Demigods of our clan!"
"I know lots of human secrets! You're a familiar tamer, right? I can see you haven't opened a familiar space yet!"
"Spare me, and I can help you open a purple familiar space!"
"I also know countless training secrets for familiar tamers. I can make you the strongest familiar tamer in human history!"
"Trust me. I swear on my soul—I won't break my word!"
Logan had said only one sentence, but Kerparos's three mouths answered with a barrage of words.
Still, seeing how eager and sincere it was, Logan lightly patted Lilith's shoulder and told her to leave Kerparos half alive.
Only after Lilith had drained Kerparos until it was barely alive did Logan slowly walk up to it and place his hand, one by one, on each of its three-headed.
In an instant, a vast dark energy covered Logan and Kerparos.
A mind link and a life channel quickly formed between the man and the beast.
As the contract took hold, Logan drew on his Mental Power and magic energy. Following what he had learned at school, he began to heal Kerparos's wounds.
At the same time, the Mental Power and life force Lilith had left in Kerparos stopped raging and, through Logan's palms, rushed back into his body.
Without Lilith's power holding it down, Kerparos's Regeneration returned, and even the near-fatal injuries began to recover.
Logan didn't stop until the Three-Headed Hell Wolf's body was fully healed.
Just as Logan took Lilith's hand and the two of them climbed onto Kerparos, Yelena and Sawako arrived, riding their own familiars.
Seeing Logan and Lilith on the back of an unknown creature, with ruins all around, Yelena and Sawako froze with their mouths open.
Suddenly, Sawako's pupils shrank. She stared hard at Kerparos. "Is that... the Three-Headed Hell Wolf? The Black Church's guardian sacred beast?"
When she heard this, Yelena also looked at Kerparos.
Like Sawako, she froze on the spot, her face full of shock.
"Logan, th-this is a Legend-stage monster, the Black Church's prized beast. You actually tamed it? That's unbelievable!"
Yelena let out a soft cry, then guided the Icebound Phoenix to slowly land, trying to stop in front of Logan.
But as soon as it got close, the Icebound Phoenix started shaking all over and kept whimpering.
Caught off guard, Yelena staggered and fell to the ground, looking quite embarrassed.
After just a moment of awkwardness, Yelena felt a terrifying pressure.
Up close, Logan felt to her like a mountain standing in her way.
Mysterious, powerful, unshakable.
Familiar tamers have sharp senses. Making Yelena feel this way clearly means Logan's strength is now so great that even she can only look up to him.
Is this the person recommended by the Lord of Twilight City?
That legendary woman really has sharp eyes!
Yelena thought this to herself as she instinctively stepped back, putting some distance between herself and Logan.
Seeing this, Logan understood it was the lingering aura from when he had just activated his [Infernal Lord Form].
He didn't plan to explain. The Philosopher's Stone was Logan's trump card, and he didn't want too many people to know about it.
"Yelena, Sawako, the crisis of the summoning ritual is over," Logan said. He gently patted Kerparos on the back and, right in front of the two girls, ordered the Three-Headed Hell Wolf to meow like a cat.
Afraid of Logan, Kerparos really didn't want to, but it could only obey.
"Meow..."
Seeing the feared beast acting cute like a cat, Yelena and Sawako gave awkward smiles, feeling very envious inside.
"Logan, Lilith, I'm so glad you're both okay." Yelena took Sawako's hand and sincerely felt happy for Logan. "Since the crisis is over, Sawako and I will go look for an exit first."
"Logan, you and Lilith just went through a big fight. Stay here and rest for a bit."
With that, Yelena ignored Sawako's look and pulled her away from Logan.
Only after they had walked far did Yelena let go of Sawako's arm and sigh. "Logan still has to collect the Blood Cultivation Realm's resources. Let's not make things harder for him."
She then headed straight toward the entrance to the Blood Cultivation Realm.
Both of them were exhausted now and had no desire to explore it anymore.
Sawako stuck out her tongue and followed Yelena back the way they came.
Outside the Blood Cultivation Realm.
Military support had already arrived.
A large number of military familiar tamers and magic equipment were brought to the site.
Natalia directed everyone to set up the formation and soon locked onto the space fluctuations of the Blood Cultivation Realm.
"This is the spot. Blow the space open!"
As soon as Natalia gave the order, the military magic array quickly lit up.
Huge magic energy flowed along the rune lines and formed a forbidden spell.
A strong pull suddenly appeared in the void. Everyone stumbled a few steps toward the center before barely steadying themselves.
Then the pull flipped into a push, throwing people back.
Some weaker soldiers fell on the spot. Even Mark and Charles swayed a little.
For a moment, the laws of physics in this space went haywire.
Massive energy sank into the core of the void, crushed the rules of space, and caused a collapse effect.
Seeing some people about to lose their footing and get dragged into the vortex by this force, Natalia let out a cold snort. Those being pulled into the air suddenly stopped in midair.
While Natalia was holding everyone in place and resisting the spatial collapse, the passage to the Blood Cultivation Realm opened.
Seeing this, everyone rushed toward it.
But right after they stepped into the Blood Cultivation Realm, they ran into Yelena and Sawako.
Natalia sighed in relief when she saw the two were fine.
Then she looked them up and down. Noticing Logan wasn't with them, her gaze turned cold. "Are you two okay? Where's Logan?"
After hearing this, the two women looked at each other first, then honestly told how Logan performed in the exploration of the Blood Cultivation Realm.
When she found out that Logan had made a contract with the Three-Headed Hell Wolf, Natalia's face lit up; she was almost grinning from ear to ear.
She turned her head to look at Principal Mark beside her, and saw Mark and Charles standing there in a daze, still stunned.
However, Mark looked overly excited.
As for Charles, he seemed more worried and disappointed.
Slap!
Slap!
With two quick slaps, Natalia snapped both principals out of it. "Stop spacing out. Hurry up and assess Logan's current potential."
Hearing her, Mark and Charles held their cheeks and began calculating seriously.
Soon, Mark reached a conclusion. He smiled and reported to Natalia: "City Lord, just as we expected, before Holy Girl Evelynna made a contract with an angel, her growth potential was only at the Silver Rank."
"After she contracted an angel, her potential jumped to Gold Rank."
"We had rated Logan about the same as the Holy Girl before—also Gold Rank."
"But now, with elite 1-star strength, Logan not only suppressed the Black Church's sacred beast rampage, he also contracted it as his second familiar. With results like this, there's no way he stays at Gold Rank."
Mark and Charles looked at each other and took a deep breath.
"We believe Logan now has at least Diamond-level growth potential."
"With this potential, if he uses it well, he'll surely become a Legend—maybe even reach Saint-level."
...