Entrance

Aerine fell silent and could only wait for her contractor to say something, but judging by his expression, there was a deeper reason behind all this. 

"Is it too dangerous?" 

She couldn't help but inquire, nervous. Since it was related to her safety, she thought it wouldn't be disrespectful to ask and know what was going on. 

Lucian looked at her, but he didn't say anything in the end. Hell was a place that Aerine couldn't be privy to, at least for the time being. The moment she had come to know the affairs in that place, she would be embroiled in much bigger chaos this early on. 

Aerine also knew this point, which is why she wasn't asking directly. She might not know a lot of information about the legendary hell; her mother never stopped giving her instructions about the danger it brought, and delving into that place only meant being corrupted by it as well. 

"For others, yes," Lucian answered, his lips going into a straight line as he gazed at the center, where the aura of something was being transmitted. "But it's not that much of a problem for me," he added honestly. 

Aerine didn't refute, as she was aware he wasn't joking. 

And then, the distance that was stretched for some unknown reason since they couldn't arrive at the center after a significant amount of time had passed began to shrink. 

Aerine could only watch this phenomenon with much awe in her heart. The place ahead, which seemed so near yet so far, began to really shrink to its original distance from where they were. 

Her contractor was the one who moved forward first. 

"Let's go," Lucian said. He seemed to lose his patience and interest in leisurely exploring this town with Aerine. 

Knowing that this might be a trap for his contractee, his mood fell, and he only wanted to know what was at play in this place. 

Aerine also didn't protest and followed Lucian. She knew that there was no need to do roundabout ways, as her contractor was strong enough to skip the troublesome paths and lead them to the root of this anomaly. 

At one point, though, as the oppressive aura, at least for Aerine, began to shroud the air, beads of sweat began to appear on her forehead and back, showing signs of being damp with cold sweat. 

Aerine's feet also became so heavy each time she took a step that she was already panting for breath.

However, she only experienced this for about five seconds before the aura that was oppressing her dissipated and could no longer make it difficult for her. It wasn't because the oppressive aura had disappeared; it was still there. 

It was only that there was a far bigger entity beside her. When she experienced this, she then felt a hand make its way around her waist and pull her body against his. 

Aerine was a bit startled by this action, as it was her first time being held like this. She confusedly looked up to see his contractor's face glancing at her. 

"Just get close to me," he ordered calmly. 

His breath somehow brushed against Aerine's cheeks, and it made her face flush. Whether it was from this heat or the situation, Aerine didn't know. 

She could only nod her head. Aerine glanced at Lucian's hand at her waist for about a second before she decided to focus again on what was in front of them. 

At this, she also began to clutch at Lucian's clothes. Since she also noticed that the aura couldn't affect her anymore and that Lucian was close to her.

It didn't take long for them to arrive at the place they wanted to approach earlier.

As Lucian stopped, so did Aerine. Subconsciously, Aerine's hand began to clutch Lucian's clothes so tight that they wrinkled. 

Earlier, what Aerine could see was the normal landscape of the town, but as they got nearer and they were already here, she finally saw the real image of the place. 

There weren't any houses around, or it could be said that the town itself wasn't there anymore; what was left was a huge empty field.

And the emptiness of it wasn't the terrifying one, but the huge swirling hole that was in the ground. 

"W-What is that?" Aerine couldn't help but shout; her heart pounded erratically. 

This was the first time she had seen this kind of horrifying scene. 

Unlike Aerine, this situation didn't make such a huge wave in Lucian's heart, as he only solemnly stared at the hole. It was the one emitting huge pressure that Aerine could barely handle. 

In fact, the aura it emitted was minuscule compared to the real entrance. 

"The entrance to hell..." Lucian murmured, and Aerine managed to hear despite her shaken state. 

Although this was an entrance that was unstable and only common devils could barely enter, it was still a huge issue that there was a hidden entrance here. 

This was the entrance to hell... Aerine repeated this in her mind, and as she processed it, her face paled considerably. 

"W-What should we do?" She nervously inquired; her eyes only stared at the entrance. 

"Nothing." 

"Huh?" At this, Aerine shifted her gaze to Lucian and became bewildered. "Nothing?" She didn't know why that was the case. 

Of course, if Lucian didn't want to do something, Aerine wouldn't be able to force him. She was purely asking out of curiosity. 

Lucian hummed, diverted his attention from the entrance, and bent forward a bit as though checking the inside of the hole. After a few seconds, he looked at Aerine again. 

"This entrance is extremely unstable. Only the bravest or the desperate ones will want to use it." 

Lucian could close it, but he didn't see the need for it. This was not his business, and administering this world wasn't in his authority either. It was up to them to get a headache because of it. 

"This is the root of the anomaly in this town. The entrance, which is unstable to begin with, can't contain the aura of hell; as a result, the whole town has become contaminated." Lucian patiently explained. 

Aerine listened attentively. And then she realized it, and her expression became gloomy. 

"Then... This town can't be saved anymore?" 

"Yes, the corruption is already deep, and this town's residents can't exist in reality anymore." 

Her contractor might not directly say it, yet Aerine knew the hidden meaning behind his words. The residents were all long dead due to the corruption of hell. 

Aerine let out a heavy exhale. Even though this town left horrifying memories for her, she was still quite sad to know that they were all dead without them knowing. 

At this point, her eyes widened after recalling something. 

"What about my groupmates?" Her eyes were filled with anxiety, and she clutched Lucian's clothes much tighter. 

Lucian paused for a moment and didn't say anything. Aerine's heart became even more unsettled because of this. Could it be... they were also...

As she was thinking of the worst possibility, Lucian let out a chuckle. He reached out, then pointed at Aerine's cheek before withdrawing. 

"Don't be sad. They are not yet corrupted to some extent." 

Otherwise, if they were corrupted by hell, Lucian would definitely sense it in their bodies when they saw them the first time.

Aerine didn't immediately sigh in relief and continued to wait for her cotractor's instructions. 

Yet Lucian didn't directly tell her how her groupmates would be saved. 

"Pack up your belongings; we're leaving." 

Lucian only said that as he strode in the direction of the hotel with the confused Aerine.