“Master, I see something red under the water!” Varen shouted in fear as he looked down into the well.

  Hearing this, I got excited and approached to look deep into the well with curiosity.

  There was indeed something red moving there. The fluidity of the movement made it look like red algae, but considering that this was a well, it didn't make sense that something like that would exist here.

  Then Gwen's description from Varen's song came to mind.

  I was now looking at the “burning hair” of the girl, who was apparently just a red-haired girl.

  The light at the bottom of the well really illuminated and highlighted the girl's hair with great intensity, really making it look like her hair was glowing like fire!

  “I believe that's Gwen...” I commented in a low voice as I looked at her with interest.

  Talia also approached the well and looked down before sighing.

  “Yes, that really is Gwen, now I'm going to have to ‘stop’ you from breaking the curse on her.”

  As soon as she said that, Talia took the dagger from her waist and pointed it at me. “Because of the Magic Contract, I am obliged to use all my strength in this battle, so give it your all too, Adam, I don't want to hurt you.”

  Seeing sincerity in what she was saying, I nodded and drew my sword.

  “Your sincerity has ensured that I won't kill you now, Talia, but don't worry, I won't hurt you too badly.” I said sincerely.

  She smiled in relief upon hearing my response and nodded to me, then lunged toward me at high speed.

  It was clear that she was physically stronger than Varen in every way, showing the power of a C-Rank Adventurer.

  Talia's attack was fast, the dagger cutting through the air with a sharp hiss, aiming for my shoulder.

  ‘Not bad for the equivalent of a Low-Class Devil's power.’ I thought, but my body was already in motion.

  As a Middle-Class Devil, my speed was far beyond hers, so I dodged with a side step, letting her blade pass inches from my chest, then conjured a shadow rope with [Creativity Magic], letting it wrap around Talia's wrist.

  Compared to my physical power, my [Creativity Magic] was much weaker, something I had noticed with disappointment during the last few days of training.

  From what I remembered from that anime that used a similar power system, apparently noble demons had unique powers from their bloodlines, and those powers were the only ones that matched their physical power.

  In my case, and in Varen's, that was our power of [Devil Whisper], a power much more powerful and easier to use than [Creativity Magic], but unfortunately not yet as destructive as what [Creativity Magic] could do.

  “Nice try.” I praised her, pulling the rope hard.

  Her hand couldn't handle the difference in strength and the dagger flew out of her hand, sticking into the ground with a thunk.

  Talia widened her good eye in surprise, but she didn't give up.

  She spun her body, trying to hit me with a kick to the ribs, using that brute strength of a Low-Class Devil.

  But my reaction speed was superior.

  So I jumped back, letting her boot just graze my cape, and conjured a second rope, now trapping her ankles.

  With a tug, she lost her balance and fell to her knees, the impact kicking up dust.

  Although I wasn't taking this battle too seriously, my red eyes glowed, showing that I wasn't playing around.

  Talia was breathing heavily, her eye patch crooked, but she smiled, even in defeat. “I knew it... you're too strong, Adam, do what you have to do.” She lifted her chin, as if waiting for a final blow.

  ‘She wants me to finish this.’ I thought, surprised by this woman's determination and confidence.

  Instead of attacking, I conjured one last rope, tying her arms behind her back, firmly but without hurting her.

  Although the rope wasn't very durable, and I knew she would have to try her hardest to get out of it to prevent me from breaking the seal in the pit, I used enough Mana to make the rope last a few minutes under her strength.

  A waste of Mana? Yes, very much so. But I felt a little bad about hitting her in the chin like that.

  “No dramatic fainting, Talia. You're out of this fight for now, and when I break the girl's seal, the contract will be null and void. Now, let me work.” I pointed to the pit, where the blue glow still pulsed, and the bell rang softly, tum... tum..., like a slow heartbeat.

  She laughed, a hoarse sound, relieved. “You're weird, you know that? But it's okay. The girl down there... she's not bad. She was just deceived, like me.” The runes on her scar glowed again, forcing her to try to escape.

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  After confirming the rope's durability, I turned my gaze back to the pit.

  ‘Time to meet the girl,’ I thought excitedly.

  The crystal at my waist was glowing so brightly that it lit up my face.

  Varen, now braver, peered into the water, the girl's red hair still visible, floating like liquid flames. “Master, is she... alive? Or is she some kind of spirit?”

  “Alive,” I replied, feeling the mana from the well with my Devil senses.

  It was dense, almost suffocating, like that of Mana Slime, but more unstable.

  Then I took the crystal from my waist, holding it tightly. “Varen, keep an eye on Talia. If she manages to break free, use the command to keep her still.”

  “Leave it to me!” He jumped up, watching Talia closely, ready to use [Devil Whisper] to stop her from interfering.

  Then I held the crystal over the pit, letting its glow mix with that of the water.

  Feeling the connection between the crystal and the well, I closed my eyes, channeling my Devil magic, and whispered, almost as a test: “Gwen, if you can hear me, hang on, I'll get you out of there.”

  The bell rang louder, TUM!, and the glow exploded, engulfing the well in a blue light so bright that I had to shield my eyes.

  “Now!” I felt her Mana overflowing with rage, and the anger was constantly increasing with her power.

  From the insignificant power of a normal person, to the power of an E Rank Adventurer, to that of a D Rank, rising to C Rank, and finally with the speed of that growth slowing down when she reached the power of a Middle-Class Devil!

  This is more power than I imagined!

  It explained why Talia was so concerned about letting other people try to free the girl from the pit. With a power level like that, there were probably few people in the city who could stop her.

  The blue light from the pit exploded in a wave, and the ground shook as if something alive was tearing the earth apart.

  Suddenly, a figure emerged, flying out of the pit above me, until it landed on the other side.

  It was Gwen, her red hair shining like liquid fire and her white eyes lifeless, filled with pure rage.

  She didn't look human, she was like a broken spirit, driven by raw mana.

  “This is more than I expected!” I thought, a little worried, squeezing the crystal, which pulsed hot in my hand.

  She would be the first enemy of my level that I would face in this world, and as much as that worried me, my blood began to pump harder as I got excited about the fight I was about to have.

  “Master, she's not happy!” Varen shouted, backing up a few steps with his lute raised, ready to use [Devil Whisper] to help me.

  Talia was also surprised and widened her good eye. “Adam, be careful! She's out of control!”

  Before I could respond, Gwen moved her hand, and the air crackled.

  Three shadow daggers, dark as night, formed around her, floating.

  ‘The blade of music...’ I recognized it immediately, feeling the dense mana.

  “My Noble Mark is pulsing just like when I found Varen dead in the forest... her blades could be like the Devil Whisper! That's the potential the Noble Mark is sensing in her!” I thought excitedly, but I didn't have time to admire it, as her daggers flew toward me, cutting through the air with a buzzing sound.

  Jumping quickly to dodge the attack, my Middle-Class Devil speed saved me by inches.

  One dagger stuck into the stone of the well, causing it to crack, while the other two spun back toward Gwen, as if obeying her.

  “She's fighting on instinct, without consciousness.” I realized, pointing my sword at her and preparing to defend myself from her blades.

  Knowing that talking to her in this state would be useless, I tried to use [Devil Whisper] to try to reach her mind. “Gwen, listen! I don't want to hurt you, I'm not your enemy!”

  And it worked, causing her to stop for a second, her white eyes trembling, but then the rage returned.

  More shadow daggers appeared, five now, and she threw them in an arc, aiming at my chest.

  ‘This is getting serious.’ I thought worriedly as I saw that the daggers were traveling at a very high speed.

  To dodge, I rolled to the side, using my sword to cut one dagger in midair, but another one still grazed my cape, leaving a thin cut.

  Since the cape was made of mana, the dagger passed through it like a hot knife through butter.

  But the crystal in my hand glowed brighter, and I felt it pulling the mana leaking from Gwen, as if it were drinking her energy.

  “Varen, stay behind the well!” I shouted as I ran in a zigzag pattern, dodging another barrage of daggers.

  He obeyed, almost tripping, shouting, “Master, don't let her hit me! I'm just the bard!”

  Talia, still struggling with the ropes, muttered, “Keep going, Adam... she's weakening.”

  Then I used [Devil Whisper] again, making my voice echo in the air, more intense, trying to search for any trace of consciousness in her. “Gwen, remember who you are! You are not this rage!”

  Each word seemed to hit something in her, because the glow in her red hair dimmed, and the daggers began to tremble, less accurate.

  This made the crystal vibrate, hot, sucking more Mana.

  I felt her power drop from a Middle-Class Devil to something closer to a Peak C Rank.

  Feeling her power waning, Gwen let out an inhuman scream and launched a storm of daggers spinning like a whirlwind.

  ‘Now she's desperate.’ I realized this, conjuring a shadow barrier, blocking most of them at the cost of a lot of Mana, but even so, a dagger cut my forearm, burning like ice.

  ‘Damn, that hurt.’ I thought, gritting my teeth, but the crystal glowed even brighter, and Gwen staggered, falling to her knees, her Mana now at the level of Varen, a Low-Class Devil.

  Slowly her eyes cleared, the white giving way to a confused brown.

  The shadow daggers disappeared, and she looked at me, panting. “Who... who are you?” Her voice was weak, hoarse, but human.

  “Finally,” I thought, ignoring the pain in my arm.

  Kneeling in front of her, still holding the crystal for good measure, which now glowed softly, I replied. “I am Adam, the person who pulled you out of the pit, and you are Gwen. I will free you from this curse, but I need you to trust me.” I held out my hand with the crystal, feeling her mana stabilize.

  Varen, peeking from behind the pit, let out an exaggerated sigh. “Master, I almost died of fear! But those knives of hers are incredible!” He laughed nervously as Talia, finally free of the ropes, stood up and massaged her wrists.

  “You did it, Adam, thank you.” Talia said, her tone mixing relief and caution. “The contract is broken, but even though I no longer have any responsibility to protect her, I just want to make sure, you'll take her with you?”

  “She has potential, she'll be a good addition to my group.” I said confidently.

  Talia nodded at me. “All right, I'm sure that in a group with someone as powerful as you, she'll have a better chance of not causing any damage.”

  Then she looked at Gwen guiltily for a few seconds and waved at me before leaving, giving us privacy for the conversation we were about to have.

  ‘I still wonder why she thought I would investigate the well with the clue she gave me at the tavern... something to ask her later.’ I thought, turning my gaze back to the red-haired girl.

  Gwen looked at me, then at the well, the confusion on her face turning to determination. “I... I don't know what happened, but I want answers.”

  Then she tried to stand up, but fell, weak.

  “You'll get answers,” I said, helping her to her feet.

  XXX Author Note XXX

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