Transmigrated as a Ghost

With uncertainty hanging in the air, Marcus contemplated what do.

Certainly, they could just try attacking the Archdevil before them, but he was not like anything else they had faced so far in the special dungeon.

Not only was he higher level than any of them, but from what Mrazivý had told them, he had the stats and skills of an entity at the peak of its level. Just like all of them.

This would not be like the battles they had just fought with the army of monsters that were all far weaker than them and could be taken out by the thousands. This guy meant serious business.

‘Perhaps we can get out of this without a fight. I do not think he would be able to beat all of us if we came at him together, but he seems quite confident and might have something up his sleeves.’

After weighing his options, Marcus told everyone to standdown but not to let their guard slip.

“Oh, this is a bit of a surprise. I honestly thought you would recklessly come at me with the hostility you have all been sending my way. Can I take this to mean you wish to talk?” The Archdevil said with a pleased grin on his face that made Marcus want to punch him.

“Yes. You are not a mindless drone like everything else we have been fighting. You are correct that you have not really done anything to us personally. And since you are intelligent, we are willing to hear out whatever it is you want to say.”

“Certainly! Let us speak of a few matters. But first you must all be a bit tired. At least allow me to show you some hospitality.”

With the wave of his hand the Archdevil unleashed a wave of magic, and on a few seconds after a number of chairs, a couch, and some cushions came walking into the room on their own.

Everyone tensed up as this happened, but as the magic seemed mundane enough none of them reacted violently.

“Please have a seat and we can hammer out a deal that benefits all of us.” The Archdevil said with a sly smile on his face.

However, neither Marcus nor anyone of the members of his team accepted the devil’s hospitality.

They did not trust him in the slightest, and for all they knew the pieces of furniture were mimics that would try to eat them the second they relaxed.

“Very well, you may stand if you want. I suppose we will be closer to eye level that way.”

After that the Archdevil pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it over to Marcus. Since he had identified him as the leader.

“And what might this be?” Marcus asked before taking the outstretched paper.

“This is a copy of the contract I was coerc- I mean incentivized to sign with the administrator that runs the world this dimeson is linked to. If you read it over, you will understand exactly why I am here and what I want from all of you.”

With his eyes narrowed and being extremely cautious, Marcus took ahold of the contract and began reading through it.

‘Wow, the administrator really made him sign this!’

Once he had read through just the first couple paragraphs of the contract, Marcus looked up with a bit of pity for the devil that was forced to sign a fairly unfavorable binding document.

To sum it up the devil was to man this separate dimeson linked to the special dungeon where he would maintain the facility that produced monsters.

Apparently, these monsters at specified intervals would be transported away and were actually some of the ones that would appear in regular dungeons all across the world.

Of course, the devil was not doing all this for free, and would apparently be raised to beyond the max level of this world and given immense power when his term was over.

“Though if you manage to kill at least ten individuals that enter this floor you can immediately be set free. That seems to be the easiest way for you to get out of here, so I understand why you said it would be better for you if we had been killed by the monster army. But that begs the question. Why are you not just trying to kill us?”

Marcus after saying this put on some pressure towards the Archdevil that seemed to have all the motive in the world to kill them all.

“Yes, that certainly would be the easiest way. If ten of you would be willing to offer no resistance and let me kill you, I would not complain.”

The Archdevil then flashed another wicked smile and looked down the line as if try to find any volunteers.

“Do you want to try it?” Marcus said with fury rising in his voice.

At this the devil held up his hands and sat back in his chair. Then erased the slight bit of bloodlust he had been emitting.

“No, if I though that was a good idea, I would have attacked you all the moment you entered this place. I realize that in a fight against all of you on my own, I would stand little change. One on one I would probably beat any of you, likely even against three of you seeing as you are all exhausted. But if all fourteen of you were my opponents, I would surely lose before killing ten of you. Anyway, before you start questioning my motives, continue reading and you will understand what it is that I want with you.”

Before going on, Marcus sent the Archdevil a glare.

Naturally he was wary since this being had plenty of reason to want them all dead, but he was also frustrated for making what he considered a rookie mistake and not finishing the contract before leaping to conclusions.

Quickly he read through the rest of it and finally came to understand what this devil wanted from them.

“I see. If you make a deal with us, you can get out of here much quicker. The details of this contract state that you have to serve here for three thousand years, but it seems to be missing the condition for which we can help you be released earlier. So, if you would not mind answering two questions mine before we continue. First, how long have you already been here, and second, what is it you need from us?”

“Yes, I suppose I can answer both of those questions of yours. For how long I have been here, it has been one thousand twenty-eight years already. For the first half millennium I was able to get by okay, but even an immortal like me can get tired of the monotony of this place. Frankly nearly two thousand more years of boredom is not appealing.”

The Archdevil then let out a long sigh and motioned to the miserable state he had been living in for over a thousand years.

“Now as for the second of your questions. You would need to sign a contract with me. I have already long since figured out the details of it and for individuals such as yourself it should be easy enough. All you need to do is collect a hundred thousand souls and offer them up to me to me within five years. Do this and I will allow you to leave without any resistance.”