Aeren entered his room, provided by the man on the throne. He glanced left and right but didn't feel comfortable in this space. Then he saw the man in his true form.
Aeren stared at him. The man looked human with nothing obviously different, but his eyes and appearance revealed he wasn't human at all.
His two eyes looked like an abyss, and his face showed no emotion—like a doll. When he smiled, it felt creepy. His muscles appeared stronger and more developed than any human could achieve, and he stared at Aeren with that unsettling smile.
"Hmm, Aeren. I know you already know about me," the demon said, his voice sounding like a curse. The demon continued staring at Aeren's unchanging expression.
Aeren stared back and nodded. "Yes, I know."
The demon continued studying him, thinking, Is he acting like he's not scared, or is he really not afraid of me? If he knows about me, he should also know how strong I am and what I can do to him. But he's still not kneeling to me.
The demon was confused by Aeren's reaction and waited for him to become his slave. But Aeren just stared back, saying nothing. The demon waited several more minutes for a response but got no answer, so he gave up.
Still staring at Aeren, the demon said, "Let's make a deal." He smiled at Aeren.
Aeren looked at the demon and thought, So demons do make deals with weaker beings.
"A deal?" Aeren asked.
The demon's smile widened, thinking, We'll make a deal where I help you with small matters and take you as a slave. I'll use your endless desires and steal every freedom you can imagine. Heheheheheh.
Still smiling, the demon said, "Yes, a deal. I have a contract with me. We'll give you what you desire in return for helping me bring my real body to this human continent. It's a simple and easy mana contract, right?"
The demon continued staring at Aeren, thinking, Of course this contract won't work against me—how could a mere contract rule over me? I could force him to join me, but I'd lose his loyalty.
Aeren saw the contract but wasn't much interested. He turned to the demon and said, "You don't need to do this for me. I'll help you. I've always admired freedom."
The demon looked at Aeren with confusion, not understanding his true intentions, but demon was relieved he was on his side. Still doubting his words, the demon thought, If something goes wrong, I'll just kill him. What could a mere human do against a demon?
The demon looked at Aeren and said, "Hmm, I'm trusting your word and leaving, but you know who threatens the real me, right?"
Aeren nodded. "Yeah, I know. It's Renn, Lira, and Arin." From the book, Aeren had learned his fate was tied to these three people, with Renn being the most dangerous.
Renn could learn any skill from this world—even cultivation from elves and demon race talents. Most dangerously, he could steal others' skills and make them his own. He was a threat to this demon.
As for Aeren, he had nothing. He couldn't absorb mana from the world, his skills were mediocre, he had no fighting techniques. He used ghost slash, but if anyone could see it, they could defend easily.
But Aeren had his realm, which couldn't be stolen or taken by others. Even if someone took his realm, they wouldn't understand the meaning of his life.
The demon looked at Aeren and said, "Good, Aeren. I know you're not capable of defeating them, but at least try to injure them."
The demon hadn't expected much from him but wanted to tell this to someone.
Aeren nodded.
The demon left his room and disappeared into thin air. Aeren continued staring at the empty space, then looked at the bright red moon outside his window.
Morning came. Sunrise made the world brighter as darkness was banished by the sun.
Roan and Alice stepped outside the unknown forest, waiting for someone. Aeren was with them, along with several other people.
Aeren stared into the distance at an approaching carriage. Alice and Roan were talking like childhood friends when they saw the carriage. Alice called out loudly, "HERE!"
Roan looked at Alice and thought, She's changed so much. She was wild when she was younger, and now she's like a sweet puppy. But I like both sides of her.
Roan smiled at her childish behavior as the carriage reached them. Then he remembered someone was missing. Looking around, he asked the others, "Where's David?"
Everyone noticed David wasn't there, so one guy said, "Maybe he's around somewhere. I'll look for him."
Aeren observed the commotion and said flatly, "He died yesterday."
Everyone heard his words and was stunned, looking at each other. Roan stared at Aeren, understanding his meaning—Aeren had killed David and didn't want them wasting time looking.
Roan felt anger toward Aeren but didn't say anything. Aeren was a powerhouse for the team, and David had been a criminal and rapist. His mind had been excellent, but this was his end.
Roan looked at his team members and said, "Let's go. There's no reason to stay here."
After everyone went inside, Aeren and Roan remained outside. Roan approached him, gazing at Aeren with serious eyes, and said, "Do not kill anyone without my permission." Roan released all his mana while staring at Aeren.
Aeren didn't reply and went to the carriage driver's side, taking that position.
Roan stood there looking foolish. He watched Aeren's back and sat inside the carriage.
All the team members saw what happened but didn't pursue the matter.
The carriage departed.
All the team members in the carriages were looking at Roan because of the incident between him and Aeren, whispering among themselves.
There were three carriages carrying 12 people total. Alice and Roan were in one carriage, while the other 9 were divided between the remaining carriages—5 in one and 4 in another—and they whispered to each other.
"What the hell, man. That Aeren guy didn't even listen to Roan," one of the guys said to the others.
"Yeah, he even killed David and Roan still did nothing about it."
"What if he kills us someday? Then what?"
All of them stared at the third guy, but no one knew the answer to that question. Everyone went silent in the carriage.