"What was that?" Nick couldn't help asking.
"That was the Ocular Serpent, a Fallen," Vernon answered after a sigh.
Nick took a deep breath. "A Fallen?"
That was a level seven Specter!
The last level seven Specter Nick had seen was Envy's avatar.
This was a Specter that could destroy Crimson City on its own.
"So, how does this Death Pact work now?" Nick asked.
"Just try thinking about not going to Anatomy or refusing to help us," Vernon said as he started putting the things away again.
Nick did just that, and a short moment after doing so, he felt like some kind of force was slowly constricting his heart.
Nick's face immediately became white, and he stopped thinking about reneging on the contract.
Slowly, the constricting force lessened.
It was almost like a snake that had loosened its hold.
"That is going to be your death if you think about betraying me," Vernon said. "Naturally, the same is true for me."
Nick nodded and watched Vernon put the things away.
The first thing Nick noticed was that the Zephyx crystals were gone, but he wasn't surprised by that.
The seven kilos of Zephyx had probably been used to summon the Ocular Serpent to officiate the contract.
'Gaining power by officiating contracts does not sound reasonable for a Specter,' Nick thought. 'This sounds more neutral or like a net-benefit for humanity, and I've never heard of any Specter like that.'
'Most likely, it gets power by doing crooked promises or something.'
Nick looked at the ornate sheet of metal that Vernon was putting away.
'But it's probably suppressed by Aegis, and they probably turned it into a contract enforcer or officiator.'
'And instead of gaining power the normal way, it just takes a couple million credits worth of Zephyx.'
'Makes sense.'
Vernon finished putting the things away and walked to the side of his office.
He lifted the open suitcase and put it on his table.
"Get in," he said. "I don't have access to the Elixir. We need to get it."
Nick furrowed his brows. "You don't have access to it? Isn't that something that you should have secured before we signed the Death Pact?" he asked in annoyance.
"That's not your problem," Vernon said. "I'm the one that's going to die if I don't give you the Elixir."
Nick looked at Vernon for a bit longer before he turned into mist and entered the suitcase.
Vernon closed the suitcase and walked out of his office with it.
He walked past a couple of doors and knocked on one of them.
"What?!" came an annoyed shout from inside.
Vernon just opened the door and stepped inside.
He was now inside another office, but this one was a bit bigger and more orderly.
Beside the big desk at the end of the room stood a beautiful blonde woman who glared at Vernon.
However, when she saw who it actually was, she calmed down a bit and looked back at a bunch of papers on her desk.
This was Aria Light, and she seemed quite agitated.
"What is it?" Aria asked, not looking up from her desk.
Vernon wordlessly approached her.
BANG!
And slammed the contract he had just signed onto the table.
Aria raised her eyebrow at the uncharacteristically rude action and read through the contract in a single second.
Her eyes shot open in a mix of shock and fury.
"Did you also become insane?!" she shouted.
Vernon just neutrally looked at her. "It's the best shot we have," he said.
"How can you consider this a shot?" Aria asked in exasperation. "That guy is a Veteran!"
"Expert soon," Vernon said.
Aria narrowed her eyes and glared at Vernon like he had just killed her children.
Vernon just looked at her for a couple of seconds before he sighed helplessly.
"I can't tell you why, but I have faith in him," he said with a defeated voice.
Aria's face scrunched up in a mix of disgust and skepticism. "Aren't you always going on about how he killed your son? Where did that change come from all of a sudden?"
"That didn't change," Vernon answered. "I still think he did it."
"However, whether that is true or not doesn't matter right now. Kugelblitz and our survival are all that matter right now, and I can't think of any other way to deal with Anatomy."
Aria looked at Vernon for a bit before she focused on the contract again.
Ten seconds later, she groaned and ruffled her hair in frustration.
"We're really scraping the bottom of the barrel here," she said before handing the contract back to Vernon.
"So, you're giving me the Elixir?" he asked.
"Am I just supposed to let you die like that?" Aria answered with a sigh. "You probably signed that Death Pact on purpose before asking me so that I'm forced to give it to you."
Vernon didn't confirm nor deny.
Aria sighed again. "Give me a second."
She walked to the back of her office and opened a secret safe.
Aria retrieved something and put it on the desk.
It was an ocean-blue bottle made of crystals.
"There," she said.
Vernon nodded, but instead of approaching the desk again, he just held his briefcase forward.
Aria raised an eyebrow.
Vernon opened the briefcase, and a cloud of mist left it, which quickly transformed into Nick.
When Aria saw Nick, her eyebrows shot up in surprise.
She had not sensed him at all!
She, an Early Hero, hadn't sensed the presence of a mere Peak Veteran.
"Hi," Nick said neutrally with a nod at Aria.
Aria closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
She felt a bit embarrassed due to her conduct earlier.
She was usually much more composed, and she also only acted like this since she knew that Vernon was the only person here.
However, the more she thought about it, the calmer she actually got.
The fact that Nick could stay hidden in front of her was shocking.
If he could stay hidden in front of her, he should be able to do the same thing with other Heroes.
Maybe there was actually a small chance of success?