The Author's POV

"Shit...what's going on?" 

Recovering from my daze, I quickly drew my sword and calmly looked towards my surroundings. 

I needed to remain calm. I couldn't let my emotions get the best of me like in the past. 

"Huuu..." 

Exhaling, I tried to analyze what was going on. Currently, Kevin and I were trapped inside of a dimensional space with no idea about who was targeting us. Moreover...

...This wasn't something that was supposed to happen in the novel.

Once again, reality and the plot were distorted. 

What was even more unsettling was the fact that this happened despite the fact that no one knew that Kevin and I were going to the Clayton ridge. 

...someone must've tailed us. But who? 

The first name that came up in my mind was of course Gilbert, someone with who Kevin just recently got into conflict...but I quickly discarded such a notion. 

Gilbert was currently under strict watch from certain professors. Therefore, any move he made was extremely risky. If someone found Kevin dead, the first person people would look towards would be Gilbert...and he knew that. Hence why it couldn't be him. 

...if it wasn't him then who? Micheal Parker? 

"Ghhh..."

The more I thought about it, the more I couldn't help but be confused as the frown on my face deepened. 

'Just what in the world is going on?' 

-Vuaaaam!

Glaring towards one of the houses in the distance, Kevin pointed his sword in that direction as a red hue enveloped the body of his sword. Thereafter, he shouted

"Get out, I know you're hiding there" 

"kekeke, guess you found us out" 

Chuckling, a black humanoid creature with two horns on his head and bat-like wings showed up from behind one of the houses.

"Demon!" 

Noticing the identity of the creature that came out, Kevin's whole demenour changed. His body shook as veins appeared all over his face. The red hue around him intensified uncontrollably. 

"I-ll kill you all!" 

"Oy calm down!" 

Noticing Kevin's unstable mind, I quickly headed in his direction in hopes of calming him down.

Kevin's state wasn't good. 

His hatred towards demons was on another level, as his mind right now was clouded with nothing but rage. If he didn't get a hold of himself now, things could get quite messy. 

However, just as I thought Kevin was about to explode, stopping me with his hand, Kevin took a deep breath and said 

"Fuuuu...I'm okay" 

Shortly after he said that the red hue around his body stabilized. 

"Are you sure?" 

Nodding his head, Kevin's demenour turned incomparably serious as he looked at the demon in the air. 

"Yeah...moreover we have a bigger problem to deal with" 

-Fwaaa -Fwaaa -Fwaaa

As soon as Kevin finished speaking as if on cue, appearing from nowhere, multiple black humanoid-like creatures with bat wings and horns on their head appeared in the surroundings.

A twisted malicious smile appeared on each of their faces as they looked down on the both of us like a ripe fruit ready for the taking. 

"Who sent you?" 

Standing his ground, unfazed by the demons that had just shown up, Kevin's cold and emotionless voice resounded across the area.

"Who sent us..?" 

Glancing at each other, the demons in the air merely laughed at Kevin in ridicule 

"kekeke, why must we tell you?" 

"You're merely our prey, what right do you have to ask who we are" 

"Just stand there quietly and let us feast on you" 

Nodding his head, Kevin looked at the demons in the air. There were about fifteen of them, moreover, from what Kevin could tell from judging the fluctuations they released most of them seemed to be <E> ranked. 

"Huuuu...very well" 

Exhaling deeply, Kevin's grip on the sword strengthened as the red hue around his body shot up like a comet falling in the sky. Thereafter, he fully released his <D-> ranked pressure. 

-Vuuuuam!

"I don't know why you're targeting me...but, you'll regret coming after me. Especially not after what I've just been through" 

Feeling Kevin's pressure, the demons didn't even flinch. Chuckling, the foremost demon, the first to have shown up, and the one that seemed to be the leader of the group, slowly caressed his chin as he observed Kevin from above.

"kekeke, Kevin Voss...you're quite popular among us demons...but unfortunately for you, you're not our main target" 

Frowning, Kevin was taken aback. Thereafter, he turned his head in my direction. 

"Hm? Me?" 

Opening my eyes wide, I couldn't help but point at myself. 

Smiling widely, all of the demons turned their attention towards me. 

"kekeke...you must be Ren Dover" 

Stepping forward, the leader of the demons directly called my name and as if a thunderclap had descended, my mind instantly entered a state of turmoil. 

What?

What's happening? How did he know who I was? Were they really after me? 

A million questions emerged in my mind as I couldn't help but look at the demons above me in shock. 

I don't ever recall provoking demons be—no way. 

Stopping my thoughts there, my mind raced as multiple scenarios replayed in my mind. 

The further I thought about it, the more I realized my arrogance and complacency.

...I in fact did interact with demons before.

Not once, but twice. 

Once with Baron of Everblood back in the dungeon, and one more time with the Matriarch, when I killed Elijah, though indirectly. 

Thinking thus far, everything started to click. If it was indeed like I thought it was, then it was either the Matriarch or Everblood who was targeting me.

...now the real question was. Who of the two was targeting me? 

Licking his lips, the foremost demon, the one that seemed to be the leader of the pack cruelly smiled as he turned his attention towards Kevin.

"Well...although we were originally targeting the kid called Ren, now that we have seen you, Kevin Voss...you may as well stay and play with us no?"

"...Or are you perhaps interested in making a contract with us? If you say the word we can make one here and right now..." 

Ignoring the leader of the demons, Kevin turned around and looked at me. Holding tightly onto his sword he said 

"Ren, I attack from the front, you cover me from behind" 

Taken aback for a moment, I proceed to nod my head. 

"Alright..." 

-Fwap!

"How dare you ignore me!" 

Noticing the fact that Kevin had ignored him, the leader of the demons flapped his wings. Thereafter, like a bullet, his body shot towards us. 

"Attack!" 

-Fwap! -Fwap! -Fwap! 

One after another, more and more demons shot down towards where Kevin and I were. 

"Watch out!" 

Watching the demons dive towards us, moving backward I proceeded to draw multiple circles in the air.

-Vooom! -Vooom! -Vooom! -Vooom! -Vooom!

Shortly after I drew the fifth circle in the air, revolving around me, five circles quickly encircled the area I was in. 

"Ready!" 

-Booom! 

Shooting upwards, Kevin's body flew in the air as he met the demons mid-air.

"Huuup!" 

Appearing before one of the demons, Kevin quickly attacked. 

-Spurt! 

Slashing his sword forward, as if he was cutting through butter, one of the demons in front of Kevin split in half. 

"What!" 

Opening their eyes wide, all of the demons around Kevin looked at him in shock. Ignoring their shock, Kevin looked towards me as he shouted. 

"Ren!" 

"On it!" 

-Swooosh!

Moving two rings upwards, Kevin quickly stepped on one of them and proceeded to acrobatically move in the air. With every step he took, his blade would reap through a demon. 

-Spurt! -Spurt! 

Staring at the rings beneath Kevin's feet, one of the demons couldn't help but turn their attention towards me. Thereafter, extending his sharp claws towards me, the demon flapped his wings as his body shot toward me like a bullet. 

"I'll kill you!" 

Matching Kevin's tempo as I moved the rings beneath his feet, I soon noticed a demon quickly heading in my direction. Shaking my head, I proceeded to ignore him and kept moving the circles beneath Kevin's feet. 

"You'll pay the price for ignoring me human!"

In a matter of seconds, the demon appeared right before me. As his sharp nails neared my face, the demon couldn't help but smile maniacally as he shouted 

"Die!" 

-Click! 

...However, right before his nails were about to dig into my neck, a clicking sound resounded the area I was in and the demon froze in mid-air. Opening his eyes wide open, the demon looked at me in horror. He could no longer feel his body. Trembling he pointed at me as he weakly said 

"I-impossible! weren't you supposed to be F ranked?" 

-Thud

As soon as he finished those words, he dropped dead on the ground. A small hole appeared on the top of his forehead. 

Glancing at the demon beneath my feet for a brief moment, I proceeded to turn my attention back towards Kevin as I softly said 

"Sorry but, you're a week late..." 

"What?" 

"What happened?"

Looking at the scene below them in a daze, some of the demons in the air couldn't help but freeze for a split second. 

Wasn't he supposed to be weak according to the reports?

According to the reports they received, the student named Ren Dover was supposed to be <F-> rank at best...yet, staring at the dead horror-stricken demon beneath his feet, the demons in the air couldn't help but lightly shudder. 

The demons knew that information was flawed...

"Are you forgetting about me?" 

-Spurt!

Without looking back, a faint smile appeared on Kevin's lips as another demon died by his blade. Although he didn't see what had happened, he didn't need to see what had happened.

He already knew what the end result was going to be. If even he didn't know how to deal with that attack, what could some measly lower-ranked demons do? 

"Let me!" 

Noticing that the situation was becoming unfavorable, the leader of the demons took a step forward, and immediately an enormous pressure started emanating from his body.

-Vuuuam!

It was almost on equal terms to Kevin's...

"Die!" 

Extending his hand towards Kevin, his long sharp nails stabbed in his direction.

-Clank! 

"khhhh..." 

Blocking the attack with his sword, Kevin couldn't help but almost lose his footing. Fortunately, I pushed another ring forward, beneath the unstable foot, and helped Kevin regain his footing.

"Thanks" 

Briefly glancing at me, Kevin nodded his head.

"What are you waiting for? I'll take on Kevin, you attack him!" 

Noticing the ring, glaring at the other demons before him, the leader of the demons pointed towards me as he shouted. 

"Quickly kill him! Don't just stand there...do something!" 

-Fwap! -Fwap! 

Thereafter, heeding his command, all of the demons apart from the leader dove down in my direction.

Seeing the numerous demons heading in my direction, a deep frown emerged on my face. 

There were about seven of them...However, as I looked at them, something didn't add up. 

From the way the demons were behaving something felt off...despite their comrades dying by our hands...they seemed way too calm. It was as though they weren't even scared of us to begin with. 

Almost as if they weren't worried about losing against Kevin and I...

...As my thought paused there. I quickly glanced towards my surroundings in hopes of finding anything that could help me. Yet, to my disappointment, I found nothing.

'Just what were they planning...'

"huuuuu..." 

Exhaling, I closed my eyes. 

Too many factors that were well outside within my scope of reason just appeared. Although I was somehow remaining calm, it was not enough. 

I needed to be calmer. More ruthless. More decisive. More indifferent...

Slowly the color within the world disappeared as everything around me rebuilt itself in this three-dimensional space. All sorts of distracting thoughts escaped from my mind as the world around me turned black and white. 

The emotions on my face disappeared, and everything around me turned into chess pieces. Quietly looking up at the demons above me, I softly mumbled

"Monarch's indifference...."