Boom-

The surroundings quaked.

A powerful gale of pressurized wind spread out from the spot I was in as my fist collided against Delilah's open palm.

It all grew silent shortly after that.

The wind died down, and the energy from my fists faded right as it smashed against Delilah's fist.

The world around me stilled.

When I raised my head, Delilah stared back at me.

"This is your first Domain, correct?"

She looked completely unfazed.

Not that I didn't expect it.

'Yeah, there's no way something like this can faze her.'

"....Yes."

"Okay."

Delilah withdrew her hand, stepping back to put some distance between us. As the warmth from the surroundings filled the air, I exhaled deeply, feeling my body gradually settle back to normal.

When I looked up, the scenery had returned to its normal state.

"Not bad."

Delilah commented from where she was.

"With your current progress, you should be able to fully turn this into your own Domain." "Thank you."

"....Show me your other Concept."

"Okay."

Throb-!

Something gripped my eye all of a sudden. It was a strange tickling sensation that felt more like an itch than a tickle. When I raised my head, Delilah's face appeared not far from where I

was.

Surprise flashed her vision as my right eye started to feel incredibly heavy.

I could hardly keep it open.

Soon, my entire right eye turned dark. I couldn't see a thing from it.

"Ah."

Breathing also started to become more difficult.

However, within the darkness, I could see faint purple dots. I didn't know what they were but

it felt like I could control them. But there was something else that was bothering me.

'My legs are starting to feel weak.'

A wave of weakness washed over my body, forcing my legs to wobble.

Moving back, I sat down on a soft surface.

An unusual warmth encircled my arms and legs as I sat down. When I glanced down, I saw thin purple hands gripping my arms, binding me to a chair woven from the same hands.

"Наа... Наа..."

As my chest heaved up and down, I looked up.

Delilah was still there.

A frown marred her features.

The purple dots on my right eye became more prominent. To the extent that they started to fill up my entire right eye.

But there was another problem.

My right eye was starting to become heavier and heavier.

As a result, my head tilted forward.

'What in the...'

I didn't understand what was going on but a part of me knew that it had to do with the purple dots in my right eye.

So...

I went ahead and got rid of them.

'Go.'

Within the dark world that surrounded me, I shifted my entire attention to Delilah. A strange alleviating feeling coursed through my body as the purple dots within my right eye started to fade.

The weight on my right eye also started to lighten up and I could move my head back up. When I did, the sight that greeted me took my breath away.

Delilah remained in place as purple hands emerged around her, clinging tightly to her body. Each purple fleck that faded from my right eye brought forth another hand, gripping her even

tighter.

The white orb within me throbbed and pulsed rapidly as its size grew smaller.

More hands emerged from beneath Delilah.

The hands clung fiercely to her, shoving each other aside to climb higher, tightening their grip. As more of them emerged, the white orb within me shrank, fueling the relentless advance of the purple hands.

In the span of a few seconds, her entire body was drowned out by the hand.

Only her head remained.

Delilah looked unfazed the entire time and just as the hands clung to her neck, her lips parted

open.

"Enough."

Everything came to a sudden standstill.

Be it the hands, and me.

I could hardly lift up a finger as the space around me froze.

A suffocating pressure enveloped the surroundings, making it hard to breathe. Thankfully,

the pressure wasn't directed towards me, otherwise, I would've been in big trouble.

"....I've seen enough."

Cra Crack!

The space shattered like broken glass, giving way to Delilah's office.

When I raised my head back up, she appeared on the opposite end, sitting on her desk with a

calm look. Her slender fingers drummed across the wooden table.

"The extent to which you developed your other Concept is surprising."

"...Is that so?"

I was also surprised by this.

I wasn't the one who had developed the Concept. It was the other Julien. I was just using what

he had developed.

The fact that he was able to develop the Concept to this extent in such a short amount of time

was extremely surprising to me.

It made me question some things.

Like...

Was Julien really untalented? Or was it that his obsession with swords made him untalented?

If it was the latter then Julien was a more monstrous genius than I thought.

"It's not at the same level as your other Concept, but it is also not as complex."

"Complex?"

"Yes, you should be aware of it yourself."

"Hmm."

I leaned back on the chair.

If she was talking about complexity then my first Concept was indeed harder to understand

and control compared to the second one. There were so many patterns and combinations that

I needed to understand before using them.

That was unlike the other Concept which was pretty straightforward.

To some extent, it was similar to Leon's Concept.

Of course, only in relation to the 'dots' part. In regard to everything else, the two Concepts

were completely different.

"Hmm."

Raising my head, Delilah looked to be in deep thought.

With her hand pinching her chin, her delicate brows furrowed. A strange silence filled the

room.

That was until she raised her head and looked straight at me.

"Have you... Ever thought about combining the two Concepts?"

***

'A hero never gives up in the face of adversity. They rise to the occasion and become stronger under it.'

- Justice Man.

Theresa couldn't give up like that.

Not after suffering such humiliation. She wouldn't let herself. Staring at the door that led to

the third Demon King, she glared at it fiercely.

It wasn't over yet.

"What's going on here?"

Right on cue. The Henchmen entered the common room.

Patting her clothes clean, Theresa stood up and puffed her chest up. She then walked to Leon

with confident strides and nudged his clothes. At the same time, she handed him the paper.

"What is it?" "Sign."

"What for...?"

"Show."

Theresa didn't feel the need to lie to the Henchman.

"Oh? Just that...? Sure."

He was as easy as they came. Swiftly taking out a pen, the henchman signed the paper. Nodding in satisfaction, Theresa

carefully rolled the paper and tucked it in her pocket.

Good.

Her confidence which had previously been shattered, started to return.

As expected of the Henchman.

He was as stupid as his face.

Even so, things were far from over. She had yet to handle the biggest hurdle.

What exactly could she do to make her sign the paper? The third Demon King. She was a tough

nut to crack.

Sitting down on the sofa, she pinched her chin and fell into thought.

"Hmm."

What exactly could she do...?

Her mind was blank. Whatever strategy or skill she had at her disposal seemed useless and

meaningless at the moment.

"What's wrong, Theresa? Is something bothering you?"

"...Yes."

She was indeed stumped. Her mind just couldn't come up with any measure against the third

Demon King. Leon sat down next to her.

"Tell me what's bothering you?"

"Aoife."

"...And what exactly did she do?"

"Didn't sign." "Ah... I see what's going on."

The Henchman leaned back on the sofa.

"Hmmm. I think I have a way."

11 ?"

"You don't believe me?"

Shake. Shake.

"Am I that unreliable?"

Nod...?

"Then I won't say anything."

Shake. Shake.

"Reliable. Reliable."

"Hee... look at you changing the narrative so quickly."

Leon pinched her in the nose causing Theresa to squint in discomfort.

"S,stop."

"You need to pay for disrespecting me."

"M,mercy!"

"Am I reliable?"

"R,reliable."

"Look at you lying so openly like that."

"Ah...!"

Theresa's arms flayed around as the Henchman, evil as he was, squeezed her nose tightly.

"Alright, I'm now satisfied."

Leon patted his hands and then proceeded to pat the child's head.

"You want to know how to convince Aoife to sign, right?"

Nod...

"Well, to be honest. It isn't that hard."

"...?"

Leon stood up from the sofa and walked up the stairs that led away from the common room. A

question mark popped above Theresa's head as she looked at his fading back. Where is he

going?

She didn't have to wait for long as he returned with a bottle in his hand.

It contained a strange yellow liquid. She recognized it.

"Do you know what this is?"

"Drink."

"No, what drink is this?"

"Beer."

"Good. Do you remember what happened the last time Aoife drank this?"

"!"

"What do you think will happen if she drinks it again?"

"...!"

In other words, they were going to poison her. So long as the third Demon King got the beer in

her system, she would sign it?

"So how about this? I'll help you again, but you must promise me something in exchange."

Theresa hesitantly looked at Leon. What was this guy plotting? She squinted her eyes.

"Don't look at me like that. I'm not going to ask for much. Just... make sure to brush your teeth two times a day. It isn't that hard... Eh. Maybe it is."

Taking note of Theresa's twisted face, Leon let out a hollow laugh. As expected, this was a lot

harder than he thought.

It couldn't be helped though.

The girls, for some strange reason, had become incredibly attached to Theresa and he

couldn't stop them from nagging all day long at her. So long as he could get Theresa to brush

her teeth, he'd be able to free himself from a couple of nags.

Surprisingly, Theresa eventually nodded her head.

"...Fine."

"Oh?"

Leon was pleasantly surprised. He hadn't expected her to agree. It had to be noted that getting Theresa to brush her teeth was twice as hard as getting Kiera to stop swearing for a couple of minutes. Basically, an impossible task.

"You promise?"

Nod. Nod.

"Really... You're really going to do it?"

Nod...!

"Really?"

"...Hurry..."

"Ha."

Leon smiled happily.

"I guess the fucke... Keum, I mean Julien did end up coming up with a useful suggestion for

once."

And so. Having happily convinced Theresa to brush her teeth twice a day, Leon hopped to Aoife's room.

Staring at Leon's departing back, Theresa's face twisted menacingly. Lowering her head and

staring at her hands, she mumbled.

"...I have sold my soul to the devil..."

A stupid looking one.