Barry's pupils contracted sharply. He instinctively took half a step back, the soles of his boots scraping a pale mark across the ground.
He clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white from the force, sweat filling his palms. The burning rush of adrenaline from saving people a moment ago had yet to fade, but now a chill crawled up his spine.
"A price?" he repeated, his voice tightening slightly with caution as his eyes swept quickly over the other man's face.
It reminded him of stories he had heard from a pastor in church when he was a child, ancient legends about trading one's soul for a wish.
"What are you?" Barry's words unconsciously sped up, as if he was trying to drive away the unease in his heart. "Deals like this only happen in comic books, right? Paying a price in exchange for power sounds like…"
He paused and did not say the word "demon" out loud, afraid that it might anger the other party and trigger some kind of change he could not handle.
Still, he could not stop himself from looking the other man up and down, as if he wanted to find horns or a tail hidden somewhere beneath those clothes whose style he could not place.
Facing Barry Allen's question, Harry felt helpless. Why did everyone immediately think of demons the first time they heard the word lending?
Harry shook his head. "No, I'm not one of those demon mongrels. Rather than calling me a demon, it would be more accurate to call me a demon slayer. The number of demons I've killed ranks near the top even across the entire multiverse."
That was right. After all, Harry had destroyed three-tenths of the Hell Dimension, along with a small fragment of a minor hell dimension. The number of demons he had killed had to be counted in the hundreds of millions.
"I don't need that kind of power," Barry said firmly after some hesitation. He quickly retreated, putting more distance between them, and took a stance that let him start running at any moment. "Especially not from someone who suddenly appeared out of nowhere and started saying weird things like that."
Harry was not surprised by Barry Allen's choice. This was exactly what he had expected.
Only after someone understood what kind of person he was, and realized he had no malicious intent, would they sign this kind of mutually beneficial lending contract.
A stranger like Barry Allen would most likely refuse.
But Harry had never intended to sign a lending contract with Barry Allen directly in the first place. He had other methods, although this method did look like something a villain would do.
Harry let out a wicked little laugh. "Are you sure? If you don't sign a lending contract with me, how many people can you save with your current abilities? Look ahead. Hundreds of thousands of people are being caught in the aftermath of a battle between two superhumans. They are waiting for death in terror, with no chance of escape at all. Are you going to abandon them? Accept it. Accept my power. I have no ill intentions. This is a win-win situation."
Barry Allen looked into the distance. In the frozen image, countless pieces of building wreckage were falling from the sky, crashing like meteors toward the people fleeing across the ground.
Some of them were children. They had only been born not long ago. They had bright futures ahead of them. How could they die at a time like this?
After a moment of hesitation, the kind-hearted Barry Allen truly could not bear to watch those innocent lives vanish here. He gritted his teeth and said firmly, "Fine. I agree."
A brilliant smile appeared on Harry's face. He snapped his fingers, and a contract appeared between them. After Barry Allen signed it, the contract turned into light and shot into Harry and Barry Allen separately.
At the same time, Harry learned what kind of magic Barry Allen was best at. Sure enough, these speedsters were all better suited to time magic.
However, Barry Allen's talent was even better than Quicksilver's. He had only just grasped magic, yet he could already accelerate his own personal time tenfold.
After that, Harry released the time magic he had placed on Barry Allen, and Barry Allen transformed into a bolt of lightning, rushing toward the innocent civilians who were about to die.
Harry looked at his back and nodded. He really was a good person.
Although even if Barry had not acted, the innocent civilians of Metropolis would not have suffered any lasting harm.
After all, once the battle between Clark and General Zod ended, Harry planned to cast time-reversal magic and rewind Metropolis to before the war, resurrecting everyone who had died in this battle.
After signing a contract with this young man named Barry Allen, Harry shifted his gaze toward another target in the distance.
Compared with Barry Allen, this person had no superpowers at all, but his physique had already reached the limit of an ordinary human.
It could be described this way, through training alone, he had turned himself into Captain America.
Harry could hardly imagine what kind of heights such a person might reach if he obtained extraordinary abilities.
Just as he had approached Barry Allen, Harry gradually drew closer to his other target, a man named Bruce Wayne.
Of course, with Bruce Wayne's ordinary human perception, it was impossible for him to discover Harry's presence.
However, when he noticed that the flow of space-time around him had stopped, he reacted completely differently from Barry Allen.
The first thing he did was observe his surroundings. After discovering Harry behind him, he instantly launched an attack.
Naturally, his attack could not harm Harry at all and was easily blocked, but even so, he still did not stop.
Even though he knew he was no match for Harry, he still used all his strength to attack him. Even when his palms became a bloody mess and even the bones had begun to crack, he did not stop.
Through telepathy, Harry even discovered that this wild, frenzied assault was only a disguise. Bruce's mind was frighteningly calm, constantly thinking about how to turn the situation around.
Harry felt somewhat helpless. "Don't get worked up. I have no ill intentions. I only want to sign a lending contract with you."
"A lending contract!" And you still say you have no ill intentions!
When Harry saw Bruce Wayne's expression, he knew exactly what Bruce was thinking. With no other choice, he could only repeat what he had told Barry Allen earlier.
Bruce Wayne was far more mature than Barry Allen. He was much more guarded, but he did not reveal it on the surface. Instead, he looked at Harry calmly and said, "I don't trust you."
Bruce Wayne's behavior reminded Harry of Tony with his anxiety disorder. No, Bruce's condition was even more severe than Tony's. He was wary of everything around him at every moment.
He trusted no one. He only trusted himself.
Harry did not know how to earn his trust, but the man before him should know. So Harry asked, "Then what would make you trust me?"
Bruce Wayne did not hesitate and asked directly, "You want me to become your Lender. What benefit does that bring you?"
Harry did not hide anything and answered honestly, "I can gain the experience of my Lenders using magic. I can borrow their wisdom. At the same time, I can use my Lenders as anchors to stabilize my own power."
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