Ord, who had been breathing heavily, tightly closed his mouth. The Deceptor stared at him blankly with a grinning face, then turned his gaze towards Eustar.

Ord thought that if he could, he would rush at him and break his neck. It was horrifying and disgusting to see those cursed, fiery eyes looking at his precious younger brother.

“That won’t do.”

The Deceptor said in a humming tone.

“He’s already my contractor.”

“He doesn’t know anything!” Ord shouted, causing Eustar’s small body, exhausted from crying, to start trembling again.

“He’s still a baby.”

The Deceptor snorted.

“Humans are all similar to babies. In the sense that they know nothing. In their ignorance. But they’re not pure. That’s the worst part.”

“He’s my brother… I won’t let the likes of you, a demon, take him… Cough! I won’t leave him alone.”

The Deceptor’s hair swayed as if curling. With his vision blurred red, even that looked like flickering flames to Ord’s eyes.

Ah. Ord thought. The royal palace is on fire.

Now those flames will never be extinguished and will burn this castle for a hundred days and a hundred nights. Until the last stone turns to ash. Until nothing remains. No one will be able to stop it.

The Deceptor’s face filled Ord’s vision. Up close, his face was even more inhuman. Beautiful, but that’s all. Like a living statue filled only with malice, without warmth or affection.

“Then what will you do?”

The Deceptor said with a cackle.

“Will you make a contract with me in place of your brother? Are you saying you’ll sell me your body and soul entirely?”

Ord held his breath. His instinct, the primal part of him functioning as a living being, was quietly warning him not to. It was screaming that he shouldn’t fall for his words.

“Alright.”

Ord said. He suppressed and eliminated his screaming instincts.

“I’ll do it.”

The Deceptor’s curling, flickering hair momentarily stopped moving and stiffened. Then as he burst into laughter, it began to rustle more fervently, like flames meeting well-dried firewood.

As he burst into laughter, blood flowed from Ord’s ears. He could see Eustar crying, but couldn’t hear the sound.

“Truly touching brotherly love. Rare to see. Yes, quite rare indeed.”

The Deceptor’s fingers elongated. They wrapped around Eustar like bars.

The Deceptor turned his head and grinned.

“But what if your brother is already in my grasp?”

Don’t be fooled. Ord thought. That’s just a threat. He’s just testing me one more time.

‘If I back down here, he’ll harm Eustar…’

Ord raised his tired body.

“Don’t play word games. Make a contract with me. I’ll give you my body and soul, all of it. So leave my brother alone. You can’t touch a single finger on him.”

The Deceptor’s eyes narrowed. As the blade-like nails that had been surrounding Eustar were withdrawn, Ord unconsciously let out a sigh of relief.

“Young human, are you saying I can inflict any pain on you?”

Ord felt a stinging in his eyes. When he wiped them with the back of his hand, tears mixed with blood came away.

It felt like he had entered a dark forest alone where even the branches, bushes, and shadows were all screaming in unison. This is scary. He thought. This is too scary. Scary and frightening.

“Yes, alright.”

“You will become unable to bear children. If you take a bride, she will die from your blood. Your body will gradually weaken and suffer pain worse than death. Will you still do it?”

The bell signaling the final destination rang. Once this line is crossed, there’s no turning back. I’m scared, scared…

But Ord closed his eyes. And he took one step over that line.

“Yes, I’ll do it.”

The Deceptor’s lips twisted. For the first time, a nervous laugh escaped his mouth.

“The foolish and arrogant humans have already overturned the land you’re to rule, will you accept that too?”

At that moment, Ord briefly grasped his fading consciousness.

“What do you mean?”

The Deceptor laughed grotesquely and raised his nails in front of Ord’s eyes. As he pulled his arm inward, surprisingly, the empty space tore open like a wound, revealing another landscape.

“What in the…”

Ord stared blankly at the space within the space, his eyes wide open. It was a ravine. Judging by the rough, jagged rocks, it looked likely to be the Kiesel Ravine.

There was a black hole among the sharply jutting rocks. Ord felt as if he would be sucked into that hole.

It wasn’t an ordinary hole or crevice. There was darkness deeper than darkness pooled deep within. It was so black that it was hard to tell if it even existed.

“This is what human magicians have created. All magicians want to become gods. They’re desperate to create something new. Even though they end up with incomplete things.”

The Deceptor cackled. Ord felt as if something was trying to crawl out of that hole.

“But this is a headache for me too. It wasn’t what I wanted, but it ended up in my sphere of influence. Things that were just pinpricks until now have all become entrances. If left alone, they’ll gradually widen and grow. What will jump out of those enlarged holes?”

A chill ran down his spine. Ord unconsciously looked down at his own hands. They were shaking severely, regardless of his will.

Whether it was the Deceptor’s doing or something else, horrible images flowed randomly into his mind. Ord could know its name. He could know what impact it would have on this country.

That is a sink. Ord thought. It will spit out monsters, draw in ghosts, grow larger and larger, and eventually swallow this country.

The Deceptor sighed. It was a refreshing sigh, like someone who had just finished an invigorating run.

“So I’m in an unfair position too. I didn’t incite those humans to create these holes, but I have to pay the price for all of them.”

“…It’s because of you that these holes have grown. Right? You… When you rose from hell, these opened up too.”

“It was a collision of energy. I didn’t force them open. That’s why I said I’m being treated unfairly, didn’t I?”

Unfair, he says. Ord laughed helplessly, forgetting even the serious situation. A demon talking about being treated unfairly.

“If you handle this in my place, I’ll change the contract as you wish. Well, it was your parents who summoned me, so don’t you bear some responsibility too?”

The Deceptor cackled viciously again. Ord knew it was a trick, but he couldn’t back down.

“Alright.”

“The contract period is until you turn 42. As many as my spirits. After that, you die. And your soul becomes mine. Bound to me forever, obeying me.”

As Ord nodded, the Deceptor’s laughter grew louder.

“Very well then, young human. I’ll change the contract as you wish.”

At the same time, dark red smoke rose from beneath Ord’s feet. It entered his body through his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. It choked his breath and tore through his insides.

“Aagh…!”

His knees buckled involuntarily and a scream escaped. He felt like he was about to lose consciousness. No, it would be better if he could lose consciousness, but even that wasn’t possible.

This isn’t real. Ord thought. Such terrible pain can’t exist in this world. Even God wouldn’t know. That such pain exists.

— You are now my contractor, Ord Hyanmorik.

The Deceptor’s voice seemed to echo in his head. Ord sobbed and wailed. It felt like this pain would never end.

— I’ll remove your brother from this contract. But since my hand has touched him, the seal is engraved on his body. But don’t worry. When the contract is fully completed, the seal will disappear… You must close all those damned holes. Before you die. If you fail, not only will you die, but the seal engraved on your brother’s body will also be impossible to erase forever. And he too will live a life far from human happiness, just like you. Of course, he won’t be able to have descendants either.

No. Ord thought. This can’t be…

At that moment, the Deceptor laughed in a high-pitched voice.

— You should have examined the contents of the contract carefully until the very last one. This is how foolish humans are.

The smoke swirled. Ord reached out towards Eustar, who was screaming and flailing his arms and legs. It’s okay. Ord thought.

It’s okay. I’m coming. Your brother will save you.

I’ll get you out of here.

The Deceptor, who had shed Baso’s skin, cackled and leaned his upper body towards Ord.

“Not much time left, Ord Hyanmorik. I look forward to how sweet your soul, riddled with hatred, anger, and regret, will be.”

Ord opened his mouth as if to retort, but instead of words, only rough coughs came out from between his lips. Ord, who had suddenly coughed up bright red blood, clutched at his chest, his eyes wide open in even more agony.

It feels like someone put a fireball in my heart. Ord thought. It was hot and painful. It felt like branding the inside of his chest with red-hot iron.

“You created that ridiculous group called Tentinella or whatever to save Eustar, and even rescued a witch touched by demon blood to make her your companion… Tsk tsk, well? I wonder if that witch will truly come to love the brother you risked your life to save.”

“Cough! …Hack, ugh…!”

“But don’t worry.”

The Deceptor’s voice became very thin. It was a very wicked chirping.

“I’ll let that witch bear your brother’s offspring. I’ll let her taint that blood and continue the foolish name of Hyanmorik.”

“What… Cough!”

The Deceptor, who had stopped speaking, slowly straightened up. In the blink of an eye, he had returned to the appearance of Baso, the loyal head servant. He wore a mean smile that he would never have made in life.

He said,

“I will call for the royal physician, Your Majesty.”

A wheezing sound came from between Ord’s blood-stained lips. At that moment, his consciousness faded away helplessly.