Chen Yi checked his honors analysis grade online. As expected, it was an A. Chen Yi couldn’t hold himself back from laughing.
I won…I won.
“Enjoying yourself, I see,” chimed in the man with the goatee.
“Yes, I indeed am enjoying myself. Much thanks to you, Mr. Devil.”
“Please, please Chen Yi. Just call me Lucifer.”
“I would like another deal with you Lucifer,” Chen Yi abruptly requested.
“I am always ready to do business for the right price. What will it be this time?” asked Lucifer with a wide smile that spread from ear to ear.
“I want you to teach me exactly how you perform the magic that allows you to grant other people wishes.”
Lucifer started smiling a big, wide smile. His glistening white teeth shone from the bright lights of Chen Yi’s room. He was very excited.
“This…is definitely a deal I would want to do with you, but this will cost you quite a bit. I request 95% of your soul for it,” Lucifer calmly offered.
“Very well,” agreed Chen Yi, “let’s do the deal.”
Lucifer suddenly lost his big smile.
“I have never met a young man quite like you…Do tell me, though, before you make this deal. Why do you so unhesitatingly agree to this deal? You see, most people would think twice before offering a price along the lines of half of their souls.”
Chen Yi was now the one beginning to laugh, “Because I understand how powerful knowing your magic would be.”
“…Do tell me more,” prodded Lucifer.
“I asked for an A in Honors Analysis. I knew I stood at around a B before the final. There was no possible way for me to score something high enough on the final to pull me to an A. That was the first point of magic. Then, to clarify how your magic works, I wrote a blatantly wrong answer to every single question on the final…”
“…I’m listening to your brilliance,” assured Lucifer.
“When I received my exam back, he marked the questions wrong and pointed out explicitly why they were wrong, just like he usually does. He even commented on what a horrible job I did on the final. Yet when I asked him how I did in the class, he confirmed my A from the school database. He knows I scored a zero on the final yet says I got an A. In addition to that, my grade breakdown now says I received an A on all previous assignments when I know I didn’t. Your magic is so powerful because it gets exactly the desired result, even if it means bending events that have happened in the past. It doesn’t work through the process of making the wish viable; it simply makes it a reality. And that, to me, is a very powerful magic.”
Lucifer suddenly smiled a big, evil smile that resembled that of a predator knowing he already has caught his prey.
“Are you not one bit afraid? You would basically have only 4% of your soul left. Aren’t you worried about the consequences? What if that was enough to kill you?”
“A salesperson is warning the buyer about a purchase? And you call yourself the devil?” challenged Chen Yi smugly.
“As I mentioned before: I am a very honest guy. Even though I collect souls, I try to do so in a rather fair way. And your soul is indeed worth a lot, so I am willing to make you this deal for my personal benefit,” explained Lucifer, “And I quite like you. So let me tell you this. Unless you give up 100% of your soul, you will not be affected at all.”
“So what are we waiting for? Shall we do the deal?” hurried Chen Yi.
“Yes, yes. Let’s close the deal. But just one last question: what if I’m lying to you?”
This time it was Chen Yi’s turn to laugh.
“Well?”
“I’ve seen your power, and I have never craved something so much in my life. Whilst you may be lying to me, that is a risk I am willing to take,” answered Chen Yi.
Lucifer felt a spark of happiness; he felt something spreading throughout his body that he had not experienced for many millennia.
“Very well. I shall grant you the same power as me in exchange for 90% of your soul.”
Lucifer reached his hand and tapped the chest of Chen Yi.
Chen Yi felt a deathly chill run from his spine to his brain before he fainted on the floor of his room.
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