"Who dares summon me?"
A quiet, hoarse voice came from the center of the magic circle.
At that moment, the temperature in the room suddenly began to rise.
A sharp scent of sulfur filled the air.
"Ahem~"
"You, uh... Great Hellish Demon..."
Aron almost choked. He nearly said something he shouldn't have, but at the last moment, he calmly corrected himself.
"I am your loyal follower on Earth."
"I'm in trouble, and I need your power. Urgently. The more, the better."
As he spoke, his tone grew increasingly confident.
Silence.
---
The Border of Hell
A being with a horse-like face, wings, and red-flaming skin stood staring blankly.
"...I have a follower?"
Nastir was confused.
A true follower!
That's reserved for high-ranking demons, those whose names reach beyond hell, across dimensions.
And him?
Just a demon captain in the border of hell.
After the shock, he decided to take advantage of this unique opportunity.
---
The ground trembled.
The flames from the formation flared up again, over a meter high, bright red in color.
Within the fire, Nastir's figure began to take shape: first the head, then the torso.
Aron looked at him.
"Ugh. What a horse face."
"Speak, my follower… What do you seek?"
"Endless wealth? All the women in the world? The power to destroy and rule?"
"I can give you all that. The price is small…"
Nastir recited his offer in a well-rehearsed tone.
"Stop."
"I said power. The stronger, the better."
Before the demon could finish, Aron interrupted him without hesitation.
No jokes. He's summoning a demon from a student room in Kamar-Taj. If he gets caught, he can kiss his head goodbye.
"…"
Nastir's mouth hung open, confused by the interrupted monologue.
"No problem, my follower. I can give you unmatched power. You just need to—"
"I know."
"Souls, right? Of course. Do you have a contract?"
Aron cut him off again.
What's the hold-up, bro? Come on, contract!
"...I have one."
An old parchment fell into his hands.
Aron didn't waste time. He simply took the quill and signed the name: Mordo.
"You're Mordo?" asked Nastir.
"Doesn't matter," Aron waved it off. "The signature is tied to the soul, not the name."
It's not like he didn't know what he was doing. He did his homework.
"Come on now. Give me the power."
"…"
Nastir stared at him in silence.
Something didn't smell right.
This building… this style… looked eerily familiar.
He remembered someone once mentioning a place like this.
And those symbols in the corners drawn in chalk set off all his alarms.
But it was too late. The contract was already activated.
Though he was suspicious, he handed over half his power to Aron.
For one year.
He could still reclaim the power and Aron's soul once the time was up.
But...
Despite everything, he felt only dissatisfaction.
He profited. But he felt used.
As if someone shoved a pen into his hand and said, "Sign or get out."
---
"So… this is what power feels like?"
After receiving Nastir's demonic force, Aron's eyes filled with hellfire.
His eyes were blood-red.
And his gaze full of raw, untamed power.
---
[Ding!]
[Abnormal energy detected!]
[Exorcism system activating purification!]
With the metallic system tone, everything changed.
The next seconds…
The demonic power inside Aron's body, the power he borrowed from a demonic entity, suddenly became… obedient.
Completely stable.
As if it had always belonged to him.
"Hm!?"
Inside the hexagram formation, Nastir, who was already ready to retreat after the contract's completion, suddenly shuddered.
His huge horse face stared wide-eyed at Aron.
"What did you do?!"
"WHAT DID YOU DO!??"
He panicked.
Because he could no longer feel the spiritual imprint of his own power!
The power was still there.
Inside Aron.
But… without any connection to him.
Borrowed power…
Link erased?
"Even that can be purified?"
Even Aron didn't expect that.
The exorcism system had erased even the spiritual connection, so the contract automatically became void.
Because the power no longer belonged to Nastir.
He couldn't revoke it.
And honestly, even if he could...
Aron never planned to give it back.
"You tricked me!?"
"You… human! Filthy human!!"
Realizing he had been deceived, Nastir exploded in rage.
He raised his demonic hand. He began to attack.
But…
Two exorcism formations that Aron had prepared in advance activated in an instant.
White light exploded in the room.
Ffffshh!
In one second…
Nastir vanished.
Along with all traces of hell's presence, including the smell of sulfur.
Even the air became fresh.
---
Kamar-Taj Library
Wong looked up from his book.
"This level of energy instability…"
"This isn't an ordinary exorcism formation. This is power that can expel a Lord of Hell!"
He paused.
Pensive.
"No. Even stronger."
"And two at the same time!"
Wong was stunned.
This level could only be achieved by The Ancient One.
But Kamar-Taj wasn't under attack.
Nothing could be felt. No trace of a demon.
Nastir's presence… completely erased.
Clearly purified by the formations Aron had drawn beforehand.
"Master?"
He tried to summon The Ancient One through sound transmission magic.
But there was no response.
---
Hell, border zone
Nastir was blasted by white light straight into a lake of magma.
He scattered like a sack of rocks.
"YOU HUMAN!!!"
"AAAAAAAA!!"
"Damn it!"
"Mordo!! I won't forget this!"
Nastir barely pulled his deformed body from the boiling lava.
In despair and fury, he roared like a wounded beast.
At that moment, a low-ranking demon appeared.
"Captain Nastir?"
Nastir didn't respond. He just grabbed him and started punching at random. He needed to vent.
But then he paused.
Something was wrong.
"Wait… wait… stop!"
He was too weak.
The white light had halved his power.
And now, even a low-ranking demon was no longer beneath him.
"…"
After being beaten unconscious, Nastir was left lying on the scorching ground, covered in wounds.
A drop of magma slid down his face.
And as he stared at the fiery sky above hell, he burned inside.
He had turned 970 years old. A veteran of Hell's battlefields.
But never, never had he been swindled like this.