The Author's POV

Wam―!

In the final moments before everyone left for Melendoir, the smile on Kevin's face slowly receded as he watched Jin's back slowly merge and enter the portal.

After Jin's figure disappeared, the portal gradually began to contract, and an eerie stillness began to spread throughout the space that Kevin was occupying at the time.

He did not move from his spot and maintained his gaze on the same spot where the portal had previously stood.

His eyes gradually closed, and the mana around him froze completely.

After what seemed like an interminable amount of time, Kevin finally opened his mouth and mumbled something.

"This is for the best. It looks like things are working in my favour."

Licking his lips, Kevin opened his eyes and turned around. Without so much as to say another word, he quietly left the room.

Clank―!

***

Melandoir, Hoag's Object Galaxy.

Crunch―!

As soon as I stepped into Melendoir, the very first thing that I was able to hear was the gentle crunching sound that was made by my foot as it pressed against the dirt beneath my feet.

My entire body had a heaviness to it that suggested the gravity of this world was significantly stronger than that of earth, but it wasn't really anything that hampered my ability to move about freely.

Perhaps it was because I had reached a point in my life where even ten times the normal gravity of the earth didn't seem to have much of an effect on me or because of something else entirely, but I felt no sense of real discomfort, which was all that mattered.

"Huuuuu..."

My hearing, smell, and taste gradually started to come back, and when I opened my eyes, I was greeted by the sight of a vast land that was covered by a red sky.

It seemed as though the grass in this location was even greener than in some of the earth's most scenic locations, and the large, towering trees were spread out across the landscape in such a way that they filled every available space in my field of vision.

"Quite different from what I imagined..."

In the beginning, I had anticipated coming across a location that was more analogous to the demon world―which I had once visited―but instead of receiving a world that was comparable to that one, I was shown a world that was absolutely breathtaking.

Was it possibly due to the fact that this location was formerly the primary world in which the elves lived?

...I wasn't sure.

"Haaa..."

I was about to turn around to look at the others when, all of a sudden, both of my feet came to a stop, and I closed both of my eyes.

Within a split second, I felt every pore of my body open up, and just like when I arrived back on earth from Immorra, the demonic energy that was present in the air quickly rushed toward me, sending me into a wave of extreme ecstasy.

As the demonic blood that was contained within my system started to move in a more fluid manner, I felt every single pore of my body start to relax.

"Haaa..."

I let out a long and relaxed breath, feeling oddly refreshed.

"Heph!"

I was startled out of my reverie by a loud, throaty sound, and when I turned around, I was shocked to see Amanda, Jin, and Melissa staring at me with pale looks while holding onto their throats with one hand while opening and closing their mouths repeatedly.

Almost like a fish that was out of the water, desperately trying to take in oxygen.

"...It looks like the demonic energy is too dense for you guys."

With a single glance, I discovered the source of the problem. It was the fact that the air was devoid of any mana and only contained demonic energy.

Unlike the demonic world, which actually had a bit of mana, albeit almost none existent, this place, shockingly, had a single trace of mana, as the demonic energy here was many times thicker than that of the demonic world, which resulted in the suffocating sensation that the others were feeling.

It was also important to note that there was almost no mana in the atmosphere of Immorra; however, in contrast to demonic energy, aura was not as corrosive, which was why the others were able to remain on the planet without experiencing any difficulties.

...but now that I wasn't in Immorra, I was presented with a new issue.

One that I, fortunately, had the solution to.

"I didn't think I would have to do this, but it seems like we have no choice."

With a complicated look on my face, I extended my hand, where three contracts appeared, and I handed them to the others.

"Here, sign this. If you sign it, you won't have any problem with the demonic energy that is in the air."

Despair-stricken, the others snatched the contracts from my hands and unfolded them carefully.

I didn't move from where I was standing; I just kept staring at their faces as they went through a remarkable transformation right in front of my very eyes.

I spoke before they could say anything else.

"Just sign it. It's a complicated story, but let's just say that I have demonic blood running in my body and can now make demon contracts."

Raising my hand, I pointed at the contracts and continued.

"If you read the contracts, the time that it will be in effect will be one month, earthen time. You don't have to worry about it being permanent."

"You could've definitely told us this before coming here..."

Melissa gave me a death glare with her eyes, which gave the impression that she was planning to devour me alive.

I shrugged my shoulders.

"Just sign it. I wasn't aware that the demonic energy here would be so thick that there would not be a single shred of mana here. I'm not omnipotent. I don't know everything."

After a brief pause, during which I fixed my eyes on Melissa, I lowered my head and mumbled in a tone that was barely audible for anyone to hear.

"...Trust me, if not for the situation calling for it, I definitely wouldn't give you the contract. Although you've calmed down a lot over the recent years...I can already imagine just how moody you will be once you sign the contract. Hot water is definitely not going to be enough..."

"Pftt..."

My head snapped in the direction of the muffled laugh, and as I did so, I noticed Jin quickly turn his head away.

My eyes squinted.

'He definitely heard what I said.'

Who else but the assassin with the specialized hearing sense?

"Ukh...fine."

Fortunately, Melissa did not hear, and after giving me one last dirty look, she signed the contract.

Jin and Amanda followed her example shortly after.

Immediately after they gave their approval of the contract, the document visibly shook for a split second before disappearing from their hands, and I felt three links being formed inside of my body at the same time.

After that, the demonic energy that was in the air started to slowly enter their bodies, and everyone's facial expression changed to one of displeasure.

I quickly reassured.

"Stick with it. It won't hurt for much longer. Just bear with it for now. It should pass within the next hour or so."

"Ugh, easier said than done. It feels as though I'm being licked all over by a dog."

I cocked my head in response to Melissa's mumbled complaint.

Did you actually get that impression? My recollection of that was quite a bit different from what she was describing.

'Eh, who cares.'

I shrugged my shoulders and sat down, crossed legged, on the ground.

Following my example, the others did the same, and I closed my eyes and started to beckon the demonic energy in the air to move in my direction.

Gradually, the space around us became extremely quiet.

*

Two hours later.

"Done."

The gentle sound of Melissa's voice snapped me out of my meditative state just as quickly as I had entered it.

When I finally opened my eyes, I saw that she wasn't the only one who was finished; Amanda and Jin had also finished what they were doing as well.

At first glance, they appeared to be the same as they had been in the past; however, if one were to pay close attention, one would notice that the demonic energy in the air was gradually moving toward their bodies.

It was a clear indication that the contract signing was successful.

"It looks like everyone is done."

I similarly stood up and patted my clothes clean.

Then, tapping on my bracelet, I took out a large map and opened it.

"Is that the map of this planet?"

Amanda spoke to me while she was standing next to me, having sneaked her way over to where I was standing without my noticing.

Looking at her, I nodded my head.

"Yeah, Kevin gave it to me before coming here."

"Has he already been here before?"

"Beats me."

I shrugged my shoulders and feigned ignorance.

I wasn't exactly able to share with her the information that Kevin possessed a system that included an in-built map of every single planet in the universe.

"Oh, I see..."

Amanda didn't seem too disappointed with my answer, as she just merely looked at the map with me.

It wasn't long before I heard Jin's voice echo beside me.

"Since you have the map, where are we going?"

"Ka Mankut."

I replied slowly, turning my head to look at him.

"The capital city of this planet and the city where the world tree resides."