Contract Contest #10 - Round 7 - Vote 1

3. Title: Something Familiar About Her

By: Rosen King

While searching for a servant who's gone missing from the manor, Mila spots a raven who seems to be mimicking someone calling out to a pet.  She tries to follow the raven, but loses track of it at a crossroads.  However, a cat approaches her from the shadows, and transforms into a humanoid form.  Mila prepares to fight, but the cat girl begs for Mila's help.  Her name is Luna, and she used to be the familiar of a witch named Dorothy, but she was kicked out of her home. Now the witch has begun searching for a replacement familiar and ensorcelling women in the area, both human and otherwise.  Those who are rejected as familiars are kept as hypnotized thralls who guard her lair. Luna knows she won't be taken back, but is concerned that her mistress's search will put her in conflict with a nearby vampire lair, which turns out to be Dorian's manor.   Since Luna's bond with her mistress has been severed, she can only take her humanoid form at the crossroads where Dorothy first became a witch, unless she takes a new mistress in the same place.  In exchange for Mila's promise to keep Dorothy safe from harm, Luna offers to become her familiar. 

As they approach the witch's lair, Luna explains that she was once a normal cat with a loving owner, Dorothy. But Dorothy made a pact with a dark power to become a witch, and Luna was given a human form so she could be her owner's familiar and lover. She didn't mind that Dorothy seemed to love her dark mistress more than her, but their relationship became strained and Luna lashed out at the demon(?), angering it.  Dorothy abandoned Luna in an attempt to appease the demon, though Luna assumed this was because the demon was controlling Dorothy's heart.

Mila navigates the woods to Dorothy's lair, aided by the raven calling her towards the right path just as it had before, calling her a "good girl" when she follows. They find the witch preparing a potion that will be part of a ritual to renew her contract with her mistress, though she's still waiting for a suitable familiar. Mila fights and defeats her, but a shadow descends on the area and takes on a vaguely feminine form with glowing eyes.  It mocks Dorothy's weakness and moves to attack her, but Mila intervenes and fights it.

Bad Ending: If Mila is defeated at any point, Dorothy thanks Luna for finding the perfect new familiar.  Luna is reluctant at first, but quickly gives in to Dorothy's headpats and helps prepare her spell.  Mila is transformed into Dorothy's new catgirl familiar, and Luna is allowed to stay with them as a pet.

Good Ending:  Mila defeats the shadow, who seems to smirk before fading away.  Dorothy feels her magic fading and cries out for her mistress not to abandon her.  Mila chastises Dorothy for her hypocrisy, but Luna tries to comfort her. Mila is suddenly scratched by the raven, who then perches on the cauldron and once more calls out as if summoning a pet.  Mila takes the hint and adds her blood to the cauldron, offering to make a covenant with the witch.  They travel back to the crossroads and perform a ritual that binds Dorothy to Mila's dark power, restoring her magic.  Dorothy apologizes to Luna, saying she was right when she told the demon(?) that Dorothy deserved a better mistress who would be there to love her in person. She thanks Mila for being that mistress, but Mila tells her that a good servant is as important as a good mistress, and she should be more grateful for her two loyal familiars. Dorothy is confused, saying that a common witch can only have one familiar. The raven watches from afar, murmuring one last "Good girl" before smirking and fading into the shadows.

8. Title: The Legacy of The Huntress

By: A. Walker

Mila will find a new contract posted, but this one appears to be a little different from the rest because it reads as such: "Greetings Miss Sinclair, I am Delia, an amateur historian of sorts, whose expertise lies in the history of famous vampire hunter clans, now your own is one of most renown even though it has not been active in a bit of a while. Even so, your current condition has come to my attention and I was wondering if the two of us could meet at the ruins of your old home in order to remind you of a couple of things from your marvelous past." Mila is suspicious from the start, the knowledge of this "historian" in regard to her loss of memory is worrisome, even so she can not afford to leave someone that knows so much unaddressed so she sets forth towards the old ruins.

    Arriving at the former HQ Mila finds the place as deserted as always, until she notices a piece of paper nailed to the grave of her mother, she goes to grab it only to hear a gust of wind approaching from behind, she dodges out of the way only to see the grave now broken in half by a towering woman holding a giant spear. The woman's visage is peculiar, she has a set of wings, but the feathers are both black and white, the same dichotomy being present elsewhere on her body: blonde hair with multiple black streaks, heterochromia in her eyes, one blue, the other red and lastly a broken halo above her head paired with a set of short horn under it. Mila rises to her feet and asks her attacker who she is.

    The angelic figure holds her battle ready pose, but answers Mila's question, revealing herself to be her guardian angel who was tasked to take account of her deeds until the end of her days. Well that moment has come already, but in spite of that Mila's soul will only be judged when there is no trace left of her in the world of the living, as a result Delia has been left waiting for hundreds of years for Mila to finally receive the punishment she deserves, eternal damnation for trampling all over her own legacy only to fulfill her depraved fantasies. The angel had enough of waiting and chose to let herself fall from heaven's favor and become a demon only to hasten Mila's arrival to hell's gates where she intends to torture her soul for the rest of eternity. Upon hearing the confession of the deranged angel Mila is taken aback, but only for a short time as she takes out her whip and readies for battle. 

Bad Ending:

If Mila is defeated, Delia will hold true to her word and will destroy Mila's vampiric form, dragging Mila's soul into the demonic realm where she will be personally tortured by her in a very ironic fashion. Delia will break her mind with constant sexual stimulation until the point she will remain only a husk unable to feel any sort of satisfaction from anything imaginable, at which point she will be transformed into a lesser demon forever subservient to the mistress that broke her.

Good Ending:

Mila is victorious and the angel finds herself flabbergasted at her defeat, reduced to a pathetic, crying mess on the ground, yelling about how she sacrificed her spot in heaven in vain. Mila starts feeling pity for Delia and in a rush of emotion she confesses her guilt for what she had done to her family, but also explains that now she has another one that she wishes to protect to the best of her ability and if Delia is unable to find any sort of virtue in that act then she was never fit to be an angel in the first place. The angel lifts herself from the ground, with a new look in her eyes one of remorse and apology which ultimately leads to Delia swearing herself in Mila's service. Mechanically speaking she will become a battle summon similar to Aeriseth where she will deal some damage and inflict the bleed status effect as a guarantee.