"That’s right," Johnny spoke first, extending his hand toward the old knight.

However, the old knight raised the scroll just before Johnny could touch it. He didn’t even look at him, keeping his eyes fixed entirely on Seia.

"May I ask what you intend to do?"

It wasn’t that he distrusted an angel—in fact, after stepping into this world, no one would ever question the righteousness of an angel—but righteousness didn’t mean one couldn’t be deceived.

In the old knight’s eyes, this fellow contractor standing beside the angel wasn’t exactly trustworthy.

He could certainly tell that the man was currently obsessed with achieving something and had steeled his resolve for it, but that alone wasn’t enough to convince him.

"We came back specifically to retrieve it." Seia understood the old knight’s concerns. Having already foreseen the future, she wasn’t at all surprised by the current situation.

Johnny didn’t have much patience. He knew that time was no longer of the essence right now, but the torment and anxiety in his heart weren’t so easily calmed. Thus, he said bluntly, "You’re the one who told me to come here. The future you."

In truth, he had considered whether he should use the Sanctuary to return to the moment Blackheart ambushed him and Roxanne. But realizing he had already resolved to shoulder the responsibility himself, he kept his mouth shut.

"The future?"

The old knight narrowed his eyes, quickly realizing what this meant.

Did I approve of this kid in the future, and then leave it up to the angel to judge whether to give him the contract? And now that the angel has come looking for it, it means she has approved of him too?

This thought made the old knight ponder for a moment. Then he spoke, "What do you intend to do with it?"

"To save someone. And then use it to uncover the true identity of the demon who tricked me into signing the contract, and send him right back to Hell," Johnny said.

This answer caused the corners of the old knight’s mouth to instantly curl upward. "How long have you been in this line of work?"

"About half a month? If you count from the moment I signed the contract, it’s been over ten years." Johnny didn’t know why he was suddenly asking this.

But the smile on the old knight’s face gradually widened, and he finally nodded, handing the scroll in his hand over to the man in front of him. "It’s all yours."

"Thanks." Johnny took the parchment scroll. Looking at the old knight’s current appearance, he thought about it and added, "You looked really cool just now. To be honest, I didn’t expect you to be... uh... just like me."

"Because back then, you just looked like some old guy guarding a cemetery. Of course, you were pretty cool back then too, yeah."

"You’re way cooler than I am." The old knight didn’t find his phrasing offensive; instead, he felt a bit emotional.

How long did it take him to start rebelling against this contract? He could no longer remember clearly, but it was absolutely impossible for it to have been a mere half a month.

Though filled with emotion, he didn’t forget there was a third person present.

"My lady... Angel? How should I address you?" the old knight asked.

This wasn’t just out of a desire to know her name, but also because in the future—who knew how long from now—when he encountered this young man, he could point him toward this clear path.

"Seia," the blonde girl spoke.

"I will remember that name."

The old knight gave her a salute, then turned and walked toward his warhorse.

To a believer, acting this way in front of an angel might seem somewhat disrespectful, but in reality, his faith was surging at this very moment. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Although Seia didn’t understand this contradiction, she had no intention of questioning it.

The golden gateway of light opened once more. Realizing this was a farewell, Johnny looked at the old knight. "See you later."

The old knight nodded with a smile.

When the two stepped through the gateway of light and returned to reality, Johnny looked at the clock.

Hardly any time had passed.

"I have to go," Johnny said immediately.

"Remember your oath before entering the Sanctuary. Though it is not a tangible contract, if you ever betray your resolve from that moment, I will personally send you before the Lord to face judgment."

Seia had no intention of stopping him; she merely offered a solemn reminder.

"I understand."

Johnny could tell that this reminder was actually a threat. He found it reasonable. After all, while he was the one taking the contract, Seia was the one who brought him to get it. If he ended up giving it to a demon later, it would undoubtedly be Seia’s sin as well.

Whether it was Blackheart or that nameless old demon, he wouldn’t give either of them the chance to use this contract.

Father Henn, who was guarding the door outside, had no desire to eavesdrop. The room was well-insulated, leaving him completely in the dark about what was happening inside.

However, seeing Johnny rush out in a frantic hurry less than two minutes into their conversation—with a parchment scroll that was obviously some kind of contract in his hand—still caught his attention.

Frowning, Father Henn immediately checked the state of the room. Only after seeing that Seia was unharmed did he breathe a sigh of relief, subsequently asking about the conversation just now.

"It’s a confidential matter."

Seia smiled at him.

"...I see."

Although Father Henn still minded it a bit, he late-realized something: the flaming skull that Johnny Blaze turned into wasn’t the first case of its kind.

The fact that he hadn’t even heard about it within the Church meant that the previous existence of this kind was also classified information hidden away by them.

Looking at it this way, it was only natural for Seia to keep it a secret. It was highly likely something unsuitable for too many people to know.

With that thought, he stopped dwelling on it. Since Mr. Blaze didn’t seem to need Seia’s help anyway, he simply advised Seia to return to her room and rest.

Seia naturally didn’t refuse.

She went back to her room as usual, scrolled through her chat groups for a bit to see if there was any gossip, and then fell fast asleep the moment her eyelids grew heavy.

But this time, when she opened her eyes again, she didn’t see the familiar yet strange ceiling as she usually did.

Instead, she appeared once more in the world the angel had brought her to when she first arrived.

Heaven.

The boundless sky, the golden particles of light cascading from above, and the angel standing before her, smiling with an expression full of kindness.

So... what was the situation this time?

Seia looked up at the light in the sky.

Just like last time, even though there was no sound and the language was unrecognizable, she ’heard’ the voice of God, understanding His meaning through her own perception.

To put it simply, He and Amber had previously reached a compromise and made concessions. He agreed to let Seia remain active in this world, but if her actions made Him feel she was unfit to stay, He would dismiss her.

However, after observing for this period of time, He had made His judgment: Seia was fit to stay in this world.

Since that was the case, He was also willing to fulfill His agreement with Amber, allowing Amber to save the humans of this world in her own way.

"Save the humans of this world in his own way?" Seia was puzzled by this. Who did ’her own’ refer to? Was it Amber? Or me?

If it was me, that might be a bit difficult. After all, saving humanity couldn’t rely on her alone; it required the efforts of more people.

Only when humans themselves wanted to save themselves would God abandon the idea of a cleansing.

Well, to put it bluntly, they were just short-handed.

Just as Seia was thinking this, two figures that left her stunned appeared right before her eyes.

[Amber: Since I thought the Tea Party felt a bit incomplete with two out of the three members missing, I just went ahead and pulled them both in one go—hehe!]

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T/N: Seia in American Horror Movies Arc: End.

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T/N: If you want advance Chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL