I frantically looked around, but whoever helped out with my technique disappeared.
I stopped searching, disappointed when I noticed that the demons were smirking.
"Oh, the poor human seems to be lost! What are you looking for?! Someone to come and save you?" one of them burst out, laughing.
I sighed and imagined 3 blue coins appearing in my hand from the Void Space. The demons let out a screech of surprise when a weight struck my hand.
"S-S-Soul Ranker?!! What is Esteemed One doing in hunting our pets?", one of the demons finally asked after a few moments of silence.
I glared at the demons peeking at me behind the tree and then swung my gaze towards the demon who asked me the question. "Next time you don't want someone to kill your pets, CURB THEM! I have better things to do with my time than kill pets of Demons." I paused.
"Hey. What's your name?" I asked.
The demon that asked me the question looked around when he heard no one answer. Then his eyes widened and he pointed at himself. "Me?"
"No, the demon that looks exactly like you that's right behind you," I said sarcastically. "Yes, you. Who ELSE AM I TALKING TO?!"
"Esteemed One, this lowly Demon has the name of Belial-", he started.
"What? What was your name?!" I asked, interested.
"This Demon has the name of Belial. Is Esteemed One interested in me?" Belial asked, excitedly.
"Very interested actually. Say, I need to ask something all of you. I need you to raise your hand if you have the name 'Asmodeus', 'Zapan', 'Beezelbub', 'Mammon', 'Leviathan', and 'Belphegor'. If not, you may go." Two demons, one female and a male raised their hands, while the remaining demons left.
The male knelt to his knees and lowered his head. "This demon's name is Mammon. Next to me is my sister-"
The female demon curtsied and said, "Has the name of Leviathan. It is a pleasure to meet such a handsome Young Master."
"Leviathan! He never said that he would-" Mammon started to say.
"Alright then, I accept all three of you. Follow me." I interrupted. "I would like to say that I am pretty knowledgeable about Demons. So, tell me if I am correct. Belial, you have the Attribute of Fire. Mammon, your Attribute is the Sin of Greed, and Leviathan has the Sin of Envy as her Attribute."
I looked back when they didn't answer, but was greeted with a nice response. Leviathan's eyes were shining and gave me a thumbs up to tell me that I was correct, while Belial and Mammon's had mouths wide open in shock.
I turned away, with a grin on my face, and said, "I guess I was right? Anyways, how much do you guys know of a Family? Or I guess you could call it a Demonic Household. That's what I want to set up. If you guys are willing to join me in making this Family, then we can make a Blood Pact."
"I will join your Household," Belial said. "But, will they?"
Mammon and Leviathan glanced at each other before simultaneously saying, "We will join your Demonic Household as well."
I took a knife from the leg strap I had in my armor and swiftly cut my thumb, while the rest of them had their eyes closed.
The blood dripping from my thumb started to glow and a red circle started to form above us, slowly floating downwards. Soon after, a loud chime sounded, and the red circle disappeared. On our palms, however, was a red, 4 pointed star. The number of points on the star represented how many people were in our family at any point in time. In addition, each of us now had a red teardrop at our eyes.
'DING! Family Household created! Soul Ranker Alex Cyatri detected House name Saligia determined!'
"Now, I will call upon you when I need you to help me, but right now, I'm in the middle of a school exam. So you guys can go back to your families or village and continue with your life. But make sure, that if you cannot maintain your strength, you're kicked out of the Family."
That was a lie; I wouldn't let these gems past my grasp now that I had them. In the future, each of these demons had been one of the most threatening existences to the Soul System, and were able to kill . . . THEM. The scourges of the earth and the worst Soul Rankers, the Divinity Rankers.
But, what I said would definitely be enough to encourage them to be much stronger than their current states. After all, before this, they were stuck in a world of poverty and famine with only the toughest demons surviving. This was like offering them a chance at royalty after years of struggle to have enough food for a day.
"Of course! We will not disappoint you!" the three of them said. They became a blur and disappeared from the forest.
'Now then . . . what was I supposed to do for the test again?' I thought.
A "rustle" came from behind me. I snapped my head backward and grinned. I saw two of the kids from the Entrance Hall that were trying to inspect me. 'And where there's one, there will always be more.'
"He found us! Come out!" the tallest boy hollered.
'I found you? You guys didn't even try to hide lol.'
A group of kids came from all sides, with Augustus in front, and with a confident grin on his face.
"You'll regret messing with our Light Family, you cocky bastard. Do you think that just after grabbing my neck and dumping me to the ground, you can just run away through the space portal and try to finish the entrance exam early?" he laughed.
"Umm, yeah. After all, they're more of us than there are of you. Haha, you thought that I would have just let you come here to ambush me without some sort of backup plan?" I grinned.
A group of teenagers that doubled the amount of the Light Family appeared from the trees and shadows. The tallest one in the middle said, "Well I must say, you have quite good senses, Mr . . . Alex, right? However-"
"Yeah don't worry, I don't intend on relying on you guys. I wanted to try something too." I replied casually. From my back, two giant translucent purple hands were starting to take shape, and those of the Light Family shifted their attention from the Shadow Family to them, shock growing on their faces. "Just watch, learn, and enjoy the show."