A suffocating silence descended upon the dormitory.
Nios's breathtakingly beautiful yet lifeless face "gazed" at the four dumbfounded individuals, a faint curve playing on his lips.
"Ahem," he cleared his throat softly, breaking the stillness.
"So, have you decided? Owning a personal demon is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, you know~"
"Who would want to sign a contract with a demon?!"
Ron's voice was a little shaky, his eyes involuntarily darting back to Nios's perfect face, then immediately flitting away as if burned, his heart pounding.
"Ye-yes!"
Neville tried to straighten his weak back, and although his voice still trembled, his tone was unusually firm.
"Even though we don't understand demons, Muggle stories all say… they are very evil! They bring disaster!" He stared intently at Nios, his palms slick with sweat.
"Nios…" Harry's green eyes, like the sharpest emeralds, locked onto him.
He was the one among the four who understood Nios the most, and thus was the most wary.
"What is your purpose… exactly? What do you ultimately want from us?"
Nios seemed oblivious to their wariness, tilting his head slightly.
His exquisite face showed an almost innocent expression of thought, as his finger gently tapped his chin.
"Hmm… let me think, what kind of 'bait' should I use to reel in you wary little fish…"
"Please don't use words like 'reel in'!" Hermione couldn't help but rub her forehead, her voice filled with strong exasperation.
"That's really disrespectful!"
"Let me see…" Nios murmured, as if listening to some sound only he could hear.
Finally, those tightly closed eyelids, covered with long lashes, slowly parted.
Instantly, a cold chill swept through the entire room!
Those were not human eyes at all!
The eyeballs in their sockets had no pupils, not a trace of white.
There were only two pure, bottomless, pitch-black voids that seemed to swallow all light!
They were like two cold, dead holes leading to nothingness, yet they contained an insight that made one's soul tremble.
All four gasped at the sight of these "eyes," a chill rushing up their spines to the tops of their heads, and goosebumps instantly erupted all over their bodies!
Those eerie eyes first turned to Ron.
"Ron Weasley…" Nios's voice was like a whisper, yet it clearly drilled into Ron's mind, carrying a power that pierced through hearts.
"Your deepest desires… are stronger than anyone else's, aren't they? You want to surpass your brilliant brothers, prove your worth, and gain true recognition… right?"
"As long as you nod, your demon will be your most loyal helper, tearing apart those invisible shackles for you, making you powerful, perfect, and shining with a unique radiance."
Ron felt his heart being clutched by a cold hand.
Nios's words precisely pierced the most hidden corner of his heart, leaving him nowhere to hide, and his face instantly turned pale.
The hollow gaze then shifted to Neville.
"Neville Longbottom, my dear friend…" Nios's voice became deep and sympathetic, as if it could soothe the soul's pain.
"I deeply regret your past experiences.
However… hope is at hand."
His voice took on a hint of seduction, "I already have an idea, a demon that can solve your troubles, a demon that can dispel your gloom and bring you pure joy, a demon… that can protect you and bring you happiness."
Neville's nose stung, and his eyes instantly reddened.
He knew this was blatant temptation, he knew it was hard to distinguish between truth and falsehood, but the words seemed to contain magic, striking at the softest, most yearning part of his heart.
He lowered his head, his shoulders trembling slightly, as emotion and fear fiercely battled within him.
"Hermione Granger…" Nios's "gaze" fell on Hermione, his tone returning to normal, even with a hint of understanding.
"The most rational and perceptive mind among us.
For you, I don't need to waste words."
The curve of his lips deepened, "Because I know, you already have the answer in your heart… don't you?"
Hermione's body stiffened abruptly, as if her secret thoughts had been exposed, and two blushes instantly flew to her cheeks.
She frantically lowered her head, trying to avoid the probing gazes of the other three, her heart pounding in her chest!
Finally, those two bottomless depths of darkness locked firmly onto Harry Potter.
On that exquisite face, a pure yet evil smile blossomed, and two rows of stark white fangs gleamed with an ominous chill in the light.
"Harry… Harry Potter…" Nios's voice was like a lover's murmur, yet it was icy and bone-chilling.
"From the moment we first met, your small, wary heart has never truly opened to me… Why is that? Aren't we the best of friends?"
He theatrically placed his hands on his cold chest, a sad expression on his face, though it might have been more convincing if he could have hidden the smile on his lips: "Your aloofness… it truly makes me so sad, so heartbroken…"
"Nios!" Harry's voice, like a drawn sword, cut through Nios's poor performance.
His gaze was firm and sharp.
"Creating demons is an extremely evil act in itself!
If we are truly friends, I beg you, stop this dangerous plan! Don't create more beings like Azazel!"
"Oh? My dear Harry," Nios's "sadness" instantly vanished, replaced by a playful mockery.
"Have you forgotten… what Azazel himself told you and Hagrid when he was enraged?"
He deliberately drew out his words, guiding Harry's memory.
Harry frowned, recalling the first encounter with Azazel.
Suddenly, a sentence, then obscured by anger, clearly surfaced: "Azazel represents… the Seven Deadly Sins… and… the Seven Heavenly Virtues?!"
These two utterly contradictory terms, uttered by Harry, were like boulders thrown into still water, instantly unleashing a raging torrent in the hearts of Harry himself, Ron, Neville, and Hermione!
The entire room fell silent again, leaving only the heavy breathing of the four due to their shock.
The smile on Nios's face instantly became incredibly radiant, full of fanaticism and pride.
"Bingo!" He snapped his fingers crisply.
"Exactly! The Seven Deadly Sins and the Seven Heavenly Virtues!
Azazel, my first creation, he simultaneously embodies the Sin of Lust… and the Virtue of Chastity!
Lust symbolizes life's most primitive, wildest impulses!
And Chastity represents the moral shackles meticulously constructed by civilized society!"
His voice grew increasingly high-pitched, and he even stood up excitedly, spreading his arms as if presenting his greatest masterpiece to an unseen audience:
"This is my creation! My art! Rather than saying Azazel is a demon in the traditional sense… it's more accurate to say he is a spirit condensed from humanity's own desires and moral conflicts!
He is the concrete embodiment of the contradictions deep within human nature!"
"Then why is he in the form of a demon?!" Hermione was the first to break free from her shock.
Her rational mind immediately grasped the core contradiction, her voice sharp with agitation.
"According to you, he should be half-angel, half-demon!
But what we saw was clearly a pure demon! How do you explain that?"
Nios lowered his arms, "looking down" at Hermione from above, invisible mockery seemingly radiating from his hollow eye sockets.
"Heh, naive," his voice was cold and full of disdain.
"Do you really think… humanity's gossamer-thin morality can suppress the primal desires, as hot as lava, that stem from life's basic instincts?"
Like a lightning bolt splitting through the fog!
The four understood that Nios didn't deliberately create demons, but rather the weight of human nature itself caused the side of desire to outweigh the side of morality!
Therefore, only demons would be born!
Although they were all still underage children, in the relatively precocious Western cultural context, they also understood this cruel truth.
A complex light flickered in Harry's eyes, and he hesitated before speaking: "Then… is it possible for you… to only create angels that represent virtues?"
"Of course~" Nios replied with unusual readiness, then poured cold water on the idea.
"However… I would never do that."
Watching the light of hope ignite in Harry's eyes, Nios cruelly extinguished it.
"Even if I were to create an angel representing 'Chastity,' it would be destined to be fragile and weak.
Not only would it be unable to defeat the 'Lust' demon, but it would very likely be greedily devoured by the latter the moment it was born… If the angel representing 'Chastity' were devoured, then what would happen to this world?" Nios let out a few chilling chuckles.
"Heh heh… Trust me, you wouldn't want to know."
He paused, his voice taking on a cold, almost cruel rationality:
"Rather than creating some 'angels' that are destined to be devoured and are utterly worthless, it's better to forcibly merge these opposing twins from the start!
Let them eternally fight and contend within the same vessel!
During this long, mutually restraining 'weakness period'…"
Nios leaned over, his slender fingers gracefully flipping open the demon book on the table, precisely pointing to the contract's termination time.
"…This! This is our best opportunity to control it! The contract's termination time! It's also our biggest safety net!"