Aerine swallowed and recalled the stories that she heard from her mother. As a daughter of the sea, Aerine lived and grew up on a small island far away from the current civilization.
The island served as their home as well as a hiding place for the human race. Aerine might be a little innocent and naive due to her simple lifestyle and upbringing, but her mother had already told her the taboos and differences between her kind to humans.
Aerine had especially loved listening to her mother's stories, which was also a part of the knowledge her mother imparted to her. Life on an island was simple, monotonous, and even boring to some degree, so she always nags her mother to tell her stories from time to time.
There were a lot of stories, such as the experiences her mother had encountering strange and dangerous creatures of the deep sea when she left her home and found her destiny on the mainland.
One of these stories was about a powerful being called a Devil. These beings resided in the darkest place in the universe, which was known as Hell.
They entice humans or other races into granting their deepest desires by contracting them and offering anything important to them or even their souls as a price.
Devils were infamous for their sinister dealings, but some were still willing to call upon them and offer themselves to fulfill their desires.
And now, a devil was indeed in front of her. Strangely enough, he was her only salvation to survive.
When she first saw him and caught a wink of his unique scent, Aerine already knew who he was. Her mother had always said that Aerine was special; she could remember any distinct scent of any creature after stumbling upon them once in her life.
And before she and her mother had visited the city to sell their goods, Aerine had met a devil for the first time. Although her mother had told her that it was only a Devil's offspring, she never forgot its scent.
Aerine swallowed in difficulty as she looked at the devil, who was no doubt more powerful than an ordinary devil, judging by his potent scent. Her mind had wandered for a few seconds because of the faint hesitation that lingered within her.
And yet, with her current situation, Aerine had no choice for anything else. Her life was fading with each second that passed, and there were still pursuers in her tail.
Gripping tightly at the hem of the devil's pants, her hand trembled as the tears in her eyes continued to flow down her cheeks.
"I... offer myself. I offer my everything to you, Mr. Devil."
Her desperate cries and helpless expressions could earn anyone's sympathy but the Devil in front of her.
As she uttered the words, the magical words, the devil's crimson eyes squinted amusingly as they bore into her. Aerine felt incredibly exposed, as though she were naked in front of a man, scrutinizing all her body parts, blemishes, and marks.
"Say your name..." he said once more. It garnered the air around them, giving a colder and more dangerous impression.
Aerine swallowed the blood in her throat once more, yet she choked but managed to respond with difficulty.
"Aerine... Moonspring."
The way her name resonated in the surroundings as it echoed the same way the Devil had uttered his words made Aerine realize that the contract ritual had started.
Even though the contract ritual was a bit different from what she knew, she only let the Devil guide her all through it.
"Aerine..." the Devil repeated her name. Aerine's body began to heat up as the pain from her wounds was overshadowed by the heat. She couldn't help but gasp from the pain.
The devil's words made the flow of air increase and become colder, but they couldn't alleviate the heat that Aerine was feeling.
"In my name, from this onward, Aerine... Your everything, including your soul, is mine."
As soon as he finished, the wind roared as if nature were resonating yet fighting his words at the same time. At this time, Aerine couldn't even focus on the changes in her surroundings or look at the man's face.
Aerine had even let go of her grip on the devil's hem as the heat enveloping her body intensified. She cried painfully as the skin in her left chest burned; she could even feel just how something seemed to be emerging from it, marking her.
This tormenting feeling lasted for a few seconds but already felt like an eternity to her. Aerine had never felt so exhausted like this before. At some point, her full day of escaping couldn't even compare to these seconds of pain.
Am I being saved... or being killed?
Aerine had these thoughts in her head before she fainted. After all the exhaustion and pain, her body finally collapsed in the sand. Even with her sleeping posture, the suffering on her face was clearly visible.
The moment that she fainted, Mr. Devil, whom she offered her soul to, stared at her face. Aerine's natural pink hair complemented her pale complexion.
In human or even other races aesthetics, Aerine's appearance was among the top few. And yet the man merely glanced at it without any waves in his heart.
His crimson eyes observed Aerine for a moment before he lifted his head and gazed in the distance. The sounds of frantic footsteps and even maniacal laughter reached his ears.
"Kekeke... You can't run anymore, bitch!"
"I'll eat even your bones... bloob... from making me run all this way. Bloob."
Their voices didn't have the nuances of human speech at all, but it was no problem for him to understand them. It wasn't for long, as the newcomers had approached closer from where they were.
He swept his eyes from the crowd that suddenly halted in their movement and then looked at him warily. There were a dozen deep-sea creatures in front of him. The majority of them had the characteristics of fish, while the two in front looked more like octopuses.
They all didn't bother to maintain their disguises.
"You... blooob... Who are you? bloob." The one that spoke was a human-sized octopus that stood on its "tentacles".
Then one of them noticed Aerine, who was lying down at his feet.
"Give that woman to us!" A commanding voice among the group of walking fishes.
The man remained unperturbed and eyed them; his crimson eyes had long turned black. Instead of responding to them, he opened his mouth and mocked.
"Why are you, walking seafoods, here on my island?" What he said undoubtedly earned the ire of the deep sea creatures.
Calling them seafood was the insult of their kind.
Yet he didn't even bat an eyelid as his carefree demeanor vanished. A dominant filled of sinister aura rose in the air, enveloping the heinous deep-sea creatures.
His deep blue eyes didn't turn crimson, but his stature was enough. He spat out dangerously, "Who gave you permission to set foot in my territory, fools?"
In an instant, the deep sea creatures' eyes bulged out, and they realized they had met someone far more dangerous than anyone they had seen in this world.
Their doom was inevitable. Only seconds later, their flesh had all splattered on the ground; some were still twitching from the sudden death.
After this, he merely shifted his eyes, as though what he did was extremely insignificant.