Forsaken By The Gods, I Made A Contract With the Demon King

Levi awoke to a sharp, throbbing pain coursing through his body, every nerve screaming in protest.

"A…r…gh…"

He groaned, his eyelids fluttering open to reveal the battlefield around him, littered with the remnants of the brutal clash.

The once towering monstrous bird now lay lifeless—a massive carcass of feathers and sinew sprawled across the scarred earth. The silence was almost deafening, broken only by the soft whisper of the wind sweeping over the desolate field. But then, faintly, there was another sound….Munching?

Levi turned his head painfully toward the noise. There, perched on the fallen monstrosity, was his small black bird—Noir—methodically drilling holes into the creature's body, eagerly devouring its flesh.

"You're eating alone? What about me?" Levi muttered, his voice hoarse.

-Caw, Caw

Noir barely acknowledged him, letting out a soft, disinterested caw before returning to its feast, entirely focused on its meal.

"You greedy little glutton…" Levi chuckled softly, though the motion sent another wave of pain through his battered body.

He tried to move, but his limbs felt heavy, weighed down by exhaustion and the lingering effects of the fight. His muscles were far from healed—walking normally would take some time.

Despite the pain, Levi couldn't wait any longer. He opened his notifications, eager to see the rewards he had earned from the hard-fought battle.

[You have killed a Pseudo-Fallen rank monster - Lord of the Dark Skies]

[You have obtained an Artifact - Key of Lunacy]

The first set of messages was familiar.

Still, something caught his attention—the Black Wing wasn't a full Fallen rank monster. It seemed it hadn't fully tapped into its powers during the battle. For instance, it never used its shapeshifting abilities, something that had given him serious trouble when he faced the Black Wing of Lunacy on the second floor.

Levi didn't know why, but he was grateful.

His gaze shifted to the holes Noir had made in the monstrous bird's corpse. Inside, he spotted three glowing cores!

Those were fallen rank cores. He didn't had the opportunity to use them when he defeated the black wings on the second floor as they were used to create his dominion but now….now he was curious to find out how much essence he would gain from them!

It woud definitely help him greatly to bring up his essence bar. And that wasn't all—he now had the body parts of a Fallen rank creature.

The beak, talons, and feathers alone would fetch a high price in the market, probably more than enough to cover his journey to the Favored Ones Academy.

Somehow, despite the overwhelming odds, he had not only achieved his goal but had also grown stronger in the process.

As Levi scrolled further through the notifications, he noticed something unusual—an artifact.

This one felt special, like a guaranteed drop instead of the artifact he received randomly. After all, the Goddess herself had promised he would receive the Keys after defeating the monster, and there it was.

Off in the distance, near the fallen bird, a small key shimmered in the twilight. It gleamed against the backdrop of the desolate land, but it was far.

Levi was in no shape to move his body but he knew what he had to do.

"Hey, Noir! Can you grab that shiny thing for me?" Levi called out.

This time, Noir didn't even glance at him, completely engrossed in its feast.

"That damned bird…" Levi muttered under his breath. He knew Noir had heard him—the bird just didn't care.

Sighing in frustration, Levi cursed his fate. Slowly, painstakingly, he dragged himself across the battlefield toward the key, each step sent streaks of pains across his body.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he finally reached it, clutching the Key of Lunacy in his hand.

It was a strange key, seemingly forged from silver, yet its surface was a labyrinth of intricate patterns that made Levi's head throb just from looking at it. The key pulsed faintly with a dark, otherworldly energy. Its metal appeared warped and twisted, as if shaped by the very madness of Lunacy itself.

Tiny black feathers clung to its surface, reminiscent of wings, while the air around it shimmered with chaotic power that sent an unsettling chill through the atmosphere.

"This is… quite interesting," Levi muttered, staring at the key, his mind struggling to comprehend its purpose. There was something deeply unsettling about it, as though it harbored a secret too dark for any sane mind to fathom. Yet despite the discomfort it invoked, Levi instinctively knew this artifact held great significance.

After all, this was the key to one of the bindings that chained the Goddess.

Intrigued, Levi opened the key's description.

------[Key of Lunacy]-----

Description: A child of Lunacy who rebelled against the gods for his mother—brave, but foolish. What it sought to protect ultimately became the shackles for the same. It longs to free its mother. Fulfill its wishes.

------[Key of Lunacy]-----

"Child of Lunacy…" Levi whispered, his voice still hoarse. "This is the second time…"

The Goddess had called him by that name too, but with an added twist—Lost child of Lunacy. What did that mean? Could this key have a deeper connection to him? The thought gnawed at him, a curiosity that refused to be ignored. But no matter how much he wanted to understand, the meaning behind it all seemed just out of reach.

Even the description was cryptic, filled with riddles and hints that left more questions than answers. Frustrated, Levi shifted his focus to the abilities section, hoping it might provide some clarity.

[Abilities] : ______ _____ (Locked)

"Huh?" Levi frowned.

After everything he had endured, the abilities of the artifact were sealed? Levi felt a wave of irritation rising within him. It was as if he had been scammed.

"Seriously?" he muttered, staring at the locked abilities. The exhaustion in his body only made the disappointment sharper. But what could he do?

After a few more moments of scrutinizing the key's intricate details—admittedly fascinating despite his frustration—he sighed and pocketed it. No point dwelling on it any longer. He shifted his focus to the next set of notifications, which quickly reignited his interest.

[You have cleared the Sanctum - Lunacy of the Black Wings]

[You have obtained an Inheritance - Tautha De Danann (Incomplete)]

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