Reincarnated As A Lion In Another World

Chloe looked at what was in front of her, stupefied. Floating in front of her face was a golden rectangular paper with words scribbled on it.

Chloe understood what was written with full clarity,

An agreement between her and Kael, one that stated she would become Kael's pride consort and enforced absolute loyalty.

There were also other clauses that drew her attention but none was more eye-catching than the clause that demanded absolute loyalty.

It was like a joke to her.

In heaven, she hadn't even joined any pride yet. She had the opportunity to become the consort of a Lord, or maybe a Prince if she was lucky.

If the expedition in this world went without a hitch, she may even become the consort of the King himself.

There was no reason for her to settle for less, and by less, she meant Kael the uncultured lion.

Kael might be strong but there were stronger options out there, far stronger options.

Logically speaking, on a normal day, she could have just accepted to join Kael's pride and betray him later on.

But this contract made that scenario practically impossible. She would still be able to betray Kael, but it would cost her her life.

Disloyalty with the price of death.

Chloe definitely didn't want to sign such a contract. To her, there was no difference between this a slavery with some benefits.

Plus, she didn't know anything about Kael. If she was going to join any pride, the pride leader had to at least be likable to her.

Although she didn't know which universal power was responsible for the creation of such a contract, she couldn't care to ask at the moment. All she knew was that signing the contract was a bad idea.

Kael, sensing her surface intentions, frowned. He squeezed her wings again and pressed his foot harder.

"You don't seem to understand something, this isn't a bargain or a request. Submit or die!"

Purple sparks surged out of Kael's legs, flowing around his feet and sipping into Chloe's back.

Chloe arched her back as she roared from the pain. She was still baffled at how Kael was able to overpower her while still being in his humanoid form.

What she didn't know was that Kael was simply applying common sense and the science of leverage.

"Wait…you don't understand, I can't afford to join any pride right now…"

*CRACK!*

"Aaaaaah!"

Kael's expression was as cold as ice, he was already running out of patience.

Priya stepped forward at this point, "I suggest you comply. Besides, it's a privilege to join the pride of the Primordial Lion."

"What?" Chloe paused struggling, having heard something that caught attention.

However, the image of Katari with her slit throat flashed through Kael's mind again. His patience had reached its current limit.

*CRACK!*

Chloe gasped for breath, unable to cry with the pressure being applied on her back. Kael wasn't holding back anymore, she could feel her spine slowly being separated.

Only in the face of death would one know their ultimate priorities.

"Fine Fine! I accept it!" Chloe said, feeling that Kael would need to apply a bit more force to either rip away her wings or divide her spine into two.

If she didn't agree, Kael would definitely kill her.

As soon as she completed her sentence, a mark appeared at the lower corner of the floating contract, and then the contract disappeared into moats of tiny lights, scattering into nothingness.

A gold crown tattoo appeared on her forehead, contrasting with her black fur. The tattoo glowed for a moment, showing itself to the world as evidence of Chloe's new status, before disappearing.

Confirming that the deed had been done, Kael let go of Chloe's wings and removed his leg from her back.

He could feel a new power forming in the depths of his being, a new affinity being attached to his Lionheart.

Priya sighed, from both relief and uncertainty. Just now, she was ready to give Chloe a swift death, an act of mercy compared to the brutality Kael would have preferred.

"Get up," Kael ordered Chloe. Albeit reluctant, Chloe stood up. Her wings quivered and her fur and feathers began to retract, she transformed into her humanoid form.

Kael observed with an indifferent gaze how her clothes mysteriously appeared to cover her nakedness.

"Priya, I want you to get everyone, especially Nalii, Zabita, N'bayé, Eidel, and Ruda. Find them, I want to know why they were not here to…attend to the situation." Kael turned to Priya and ordered.

Priya nodded before she began walking away. Before she left, she glanced at Chloe who looked like she couldn't believe what was happening.

Because of her and Isaiah, Kael would probably remain in a bad mood for a long time.

*Sigh*

Not saying anything, Kael walked back to the vine cocoon, his steps steady and heavy.

The vines parted ways to show what was inside.

Within the four-meter-tall cocoon, Katari's body, now in her humanoid form, lay on the ground which was wide enough to contain her full length.

The inside of the vine cocoon brimmed with vitality, the walls glowed green and the air was fresh. Yet despite the overwhelming life force being gathered in the cocoon, Katari lay on the floor, barely alive.

Moving closer, one would see that the slit had vines creeping into it. Vines extended from the walls and the ground, creeping into her throat through the slit.

The vines, in their own mysterious way, were substituting for the damaged part of her neck, working hard to transmit vital energy into her body.

This vital energy was being absorbed in substantial quantities from all over the vine-covered mountain and the nearby trees.

Unfortunately, as impressive as it looked, it was insufficient. Katari was still dying, but very slowly.

Most of the vital energy was directed toward keeping her alive instead of actually healing the injury. If even a little amount of energy was diverted, her life force would rapidly fade away…

Something so fatal just couldn't be healed away so easily.

Kael knelt down slowly, fearful that heavy movements would disrupt this makeshift life support.

"Katari," he whispered, touching her forehead gently. She didn't react, her eyes remained closed, her skin remained pale, and her body remained mostly unresponsive.

Compared to Katari's usual cold and indifferent expression, her current state was that of vulnerability and helplessness.

Her skin was pale due to a loss of blood, touching her skin, Kael could feel how cold she was. Her overall body temperature was still dripping very slowly.

The green horns grew out of Kael's forehead again as he controlled the vine cocoon.

The vital energy was sucked out of vines from beyond and expelled into the cocoon, increasing the overall vital energy concentrated within the area.

If an ordinary animal with surface injuries were to be present l, they would feel all these wounds being healed just by being close.

The vital energy flowed into the vines that crept into Katari's neck, supplying her with more external life force.

For a moment, the rate at which she was dying slowed down significantly. It was only now that the edges of the slit shifted a bit.

"I'm…sorry," Chloe said from behind him. She had walked over to him, unsure why, and just stood there, watching him take care of Katari.

"Hmm," Kael heard her, but couldn't care less. 'Sorry' wouldn't help him save Katari, only make him feel better.

Chloe kept quiet, understanding that Kael didn't want to hear her voice. She could already feel small aches whenever she thought of just stabbing him in the back or running away.

The pain was negligible but would surely worsen if she went ahead with it.

This was her fate now, she realized, tied to this lion from a lost world. She could only sigh, at least she was alive.

"Kael?" Another voice came over into his mind, it was his mother's voice, Nalii.

With her were Diane and Zabita, Priya was still looking for the rest.

The previously stoic expression on Kael's face immediately disappeared, replaced with a deep frown and an upside-down smile.

"Where were you, mother?" He asked, he couldn't help but lace his tone with a hint of aggressiveness.

"Kael I…" Nalii began.

"Where were you?" Kael asked again, turning around to look at her.

Nalii kept quiet, unable to give a satisfactory excuse. That she was high on those purple mushrooms was not a good thing to say right now.

Kael had seen her when she took the mushrooms, yet here he was, questioning her. Still, she didn't feel displeased, Kael's anger was understandable.

"Where were all of you?" Kael asked, finally revealing that his question was directed to everyone.

Zabita lowered her head, allowing her black hair to shade her eyes from his sight. She had been so focused on refining her control over metal that when she realized the commotion, it had already ended.

Diane was a bit bolder, her head remained high and her back remained straight, "I was preoccupied with the other threat, Your Majesty.

Commander Bibi and Ken…"

"Enough," Kael snapped, causing Diane to reel her head back. Her ponytail swerved under the influence of the morning breeze.

Subconsciously, the three of them all looked to Chloe, the grey-clothed winged lady who stood behind Kael.

Chloe could see from their expressions that if Kael wasn't here, she would probably have been ripped to shreds.

Kael sighed, there was no use acting like this, the deed had already been done.

"Nalii, come, we might still be able to save Katari," Kael changed his time and spoke to his mother, "... might."