The Author's POV

The room was beautifully illuminated by a glittering chandelier placed in the middle of the ceiling.

Click―!

The handle on the door to the room clicked as it was opened, and a moment later, a tall, graceful figure dressed in black clothing that were rather revealing entered the room, casting about.

Priscilla Pertinol didn't look around as she quietly walked toward the far end of the room, where a large window stood.

Arriving at the window, by her side, was a massive, 10-foot-tall glass pane that was gently tilted toward the side of the wall.

Reflected in the mirror was a graceful figure with long pink hair that reached the ends of her back, stopping right above her waistline. Two thin horns protruded from the top of her forehead, separating her hair and leaving her unable to hide her pristine looks that seemed to make any man drool.

Her face was carefully composed in an almost-statuesque placidity, absent even of the slightest emotion as her red eyes gazed past through the window.

"How many people have decided to sign up for the task?"

In the moment that she opened her mouth, the area behind her warped, and a black figure appeared out of thin air, with one knee to the ground and a respectful expression.

"We've received several applicants so far."

"A rough estimate."

"About a hundred or so."

Priscilla's delicate brows furrowed ever so slightly, unable to disguise her annoyance.

"This little?"

"Yes...it appears as though the other houses have put up similar quests."

"I see."

Priscilla gave a curt nod, the hint of a frown on her lips indicating that she did not appreciate having her hand forced in this manner.

"Looks like they caught on to my intentions."

"It appears so..."

The servant answered, his head lowering and his voice becoming quieter.

"What do you plan on doing? Will you still proceed?"

"..."

Silence filled the room as Priscilla contemplated. Originally, she had anticipated having more than a thousand different participants join her on this quest.

It wasn't just about her fame and good looks that attracted people to join her mission; it was also the fact that the monetary reward was high.

high enough to attract

wasn't impossible for her to beat. Her goal was to recruit as many talented

would see through

there is a spy

Priscilla's facial features as she peered at

one knee, suddenly felt a powerful pressure bear down on his body for a split second before

"Disappear from my sight."

"Understood."

of his words, his figure quietly melted into the background of the room, leaving Priscilla by

Tak. Tak.

walked toward the chair of her desk and donned a fur-trimmed

it open with a light swing of her arm, the cape followed her as she walked toward the far end of the room, where she opened the large wooden door and then

with what I

***

that they won't find

carefully examining our surrounding environment, his eyes darting toward

to pull it down as far as he could, he didn't look much different from someone

like the demonic energy has

"Haa..."

placing my hand over his shoulder, and

only group wearing hoods. If you look

of people surrounding us as we stood in the middle of a large plaza. One look was enough to tell that the vast majority of them were demons, but a closer inspection revealed that

only referring to the people

a few other people who had the same plan as us and were concealing their identities by donning hoods that were very similar

even less as we perfectly blended

"You're right..."

eventually became calmer after becoming aware of the other hooded figures that were surrounding

"Has everyone gathered?"

room, reaching the minds of each and every one of the

voice wasn't particularly loud, but it effortlessly made its way into the heads of everyone present, and there was a slight alteration in the

fine control of demonic

was almost on the level of my control with

Tak.

the plaza, and with

many people present

'This is dangerous.'

that of Suriol, an individual who had been close to achieving the rank of prince and was the same individual who had come close to defeating me some

be able to win...but

wasn't even one of the strongest demons in this city made me

increased a notch as I took a small step

"Hm..."

that was erecting itself behind her. He was

behind her while