When the door was tightly closed, a soft glow poured down from the dome.

Scott looked around the circular stone hall and was amazed at its simplicity. From the walls to the floor, there are no windows, no carvings, and no decoration.

There is a similar place in the Temple of Collins, a building isolated above the water for priests to perform various callings. There, Scott practiced how to deal with all sorts of otherworldly monsters, including low-level demons summoned from hell.

In retrospect, there was actually no decoration in that place...... The priests hid most of the necessary runes deep under the stone slabs, and no monster could escape from that place, even if something happened. It's just that the white marble with natural textures of the Collins Temple is already a kind of "decoration" itself compared to the gray granite in front of him at this moment.

He wasn't trying to complain about anything...... But this place looks a bit gloomy, and the priests and paladins who are doing all kinds of exercises here are probably not in a good mood.

- I hope that the "guests" he invited will not be dissatisfied with this.

“...... Need help?"

After waiting patiently for a long time, Scott finally couldn't help but ask.

Niya, who had been standing there motionless, turned her head and glared at him fiercely: "Are you in such a hurry to die?"

"I just don't want guests to wait too long. Scott smiled wryly, "That only makes her more unhappy, doesn't it?" I assure you, Niah, I didn't provoke her or hurt her. or trying to control her intentions......"

"You might as well try. Nia replied coldly, but did not continue to stand in a daze.

He walked to the center of the stone hall and laid down an inconspicuous silver ring not much larger than a bracelet. Exit a long distance, withdraw a long distance, and recite ancient and jerky mantras in a language that does not belong to this world.

Bright light began to flow on the small silver ring, circle after circle, faster and faster, and the silver ring became larger and larger. The ground inside the ring seems to be fogged and gradually blurred.

Scott could feel the rapidly flowing magical aura passing through his skin, a strange itch. When you look down. But I clearly saw a faint mark on the back of my hand.

He quietly folded his hands behind his back and watched the black mist rising from the silver ring.

In fact, it wasn't black, but a strange grayish blue. There seemed to be a faint white glow flickering in it. It looks like dark clouds during a thunderstorm.

Dark clouds swirled, gradually condensing into human form.

Scott blinked unconsciously, a little surprised at what he saw—he had expected to appear in front of him a tall, plump, imposing woman...... Demon, but at this moment, standing in the silver ring, is more like a little girl—a little girl with a good figure.

She wasn't much taller than Nia and had no horns. There is no tail, and there is no sheep's hoof peeking out under the tight-fitting crimson sleeveless long skirt. The open-toed strappy sandals made her look like she was frolicking on the sunny sands of the farther South Islands a moment ago, her bare arms were muscular, she had healthy, lustrous brown skin and thick black hair, and her big dark eyes were warm and bright, looking around with almost innocent curiosity.

As Nia puts it, she's "pretty and hot...... It's just very petite, half a head shorter than Tess, and it looks like a very suitable pair for Nia.

But even from a distance, Scott could feel Nia's tense for a moment.

He took a few steps forward, intentionally or unintentionally half-blocking the little thief behind him.

"Fortunately. He spoke cautiously, "Manisha...... Thank you for your willingness to accept my invitation. ”

"Not everyone can call me 'Manissa'. ”

From Hell...... But the woman who didn't look like a demon spoke, her voice clear and crisp, "But whatever, since you are a friend of Niya, I can still give you this 'honor'." ”

Her lingua franca has a slight southern accent...... Sounds a lot like Nia.

"But I have to say, I was a little disappointed. With a look of regret, Manisha gestured with her finger "a little bit", "You know, a demon like me has no chance to leave hell, and I thought that this time I would finally be able to experience for myself what this world favored by the gods is like...... As a result, you showed me such a gray stone house. Hey, you 'invited' me here, didn't you? shouldn't you give me a little more respect? Even demons wouldn't entertain their guests like that. ”

...... She even "talks a lot", which is very much like the usual Nia.

Scott had to remind himself not to let his guard down, but it was really hard for him to show much hostility towards such a ...... "little girl".

"I'm sorry there isn't much to see here, but if it weren't for the respect, I wouldn't have chosen to meet you here. "I'm not a self-confident person, but I'm still worried that I don't have enough strength to stop you. ”

“...... Stop me from what?" Manista tilted her head to look at him, "what do you think I'm going to want to do?"

"I don't know. Scott replied, "That's why I'm more scared." ”

Manisha giggled.

"I thought people like you wouldn't admit what they were afraid of. She said, "Well, at least you're frank enough...... Then I might as well be honest with you, this place is itching all over my body, and if you're not going to invite me somewhere else, we'd better get this over - you know what I want. ”

Scott stretched out his hand, and on the palm of his hand, the diamond-shaped crystal seemed to still be buzzing and trembling and whispering.

For a moment, he saw something extremely dangerous in Manissa's slightly narrowed black eyes—greed.

He had long known that a demon could not have sent his friend out of hell out of pure kindness, or because he hated chaos, to solve this unexpected crisis for him and the world. For her, this crystal is undoubtedly a powerful weapon...... But how will she use it?

Can he really make another dangerous bet for the sake of a game that doesn't have much chance of winning?

"I can give it to you. He suppressed the strong uneasiness in his heart, ignored Niya's surprised gaze, and calmly spoke, "In exchange for Nia Meyer's freedom." I don't know what pact he made with you, to break it, and from then on, his body and soul will never have to go back to hell without you...... or the control of any demon. ”

Manissa raised her slender thick eyebrows with some surprise: "...... That's all?"

"That's all. Scott repeated firmly.

Manitsa looked at him quietly for a long moment, then turned her head to look at Nia, who was standing there blank with a blank face, and chuckled and clapped her hands gently.

"Deal. She said cheerfully, "Do you need me to give you another contract or something?"

“...... No. Scott replied, tossing the precious crystal to her, "I believe in you." ”

Manissa took the crystal accurately and held it up in front of her eyes, the glittering light imprinted in her black eyes, mysterious and fascinating.

“...... To be honest, I thought you were going to lie to me with a fake - and luckily you weren't that stupid. She put down the crystal with a pleasant smile and tilted her head at Scott, "You don't believe me, but luckily, I don't trust you either." I don't know what the hell you're up to, but I'll know...... Anyway, I'm willing to participate in this game - it seems to be a lot of fun. ”

She held out a hand to Nia and recited a short incantation.

"You're free, Nia. She let out a long sigh as she put her hand down, "I'm going to miss you...... Will you miss me, dear little one?"

Nia looked at her blankly, her lips slightly open, but she didn't say anything, as if she still hadn't figured out what was going on.

"I'll miss you, too. Manissa looked at Scott and her smile deepened, "But I think we'll probably meet again...... Maybe it's in this world, maybe it's in hell - seriously, you might love that place. ”

She smiled and waved at them, her body blurring, turning back into a gray-blue mist and disappearing silently into the silver ring.

The silver ring did not return to its original form, it turned from silver to black, then to a thin circle of black ash, and after a few moments, even that little ash was gone.

Scott stood there, staring at the empty ground in a bit of a trance, until someone punched him the waist.

"Scott Chrissus!" Nia, gritting her teeth, glared at him, "What the hell are you doing?!"

“...... You're doing what you wanted to do. Scott looked innocent, "Isn't that what you want to trade that thing for your freedom?"

"And you could have simply given it to me and let me do what I wanted to do!" Nia yelled at him without appreciation, "What is this?!want me to owe you a favor?!"

"Do I need it?" Scott asked rhetorically, "and, Nia, to be honest, is it really your freedom that you want to trade it for?"

“...... That's none of your business!" After a moment of silence, Nia jumped up in exasperation and exclaimed.

He did lie to him...... But at the moment, it doesn't matter.

Scott smiled nonchalantly and reached for the soft curls on top of his head.

"Anyway, you're free, Nia...... Can't you be a little happier? Would you like a glass of wine to celebrate? The bottle you stole from Lockburg last time is still hidden in my room. ”

Nia slapped his hand away.

"Crazy!" he scolded, but at some point his eyes turned red, "You don't even know how you died!"

"Actually, I probably do. Scott replied calmly, with an indescribable ease in his heart.

He still didn't know what to do...... But he knew exactly what to do. (To be continued......)