I left Luliak behind with an assassin.

  Step step step- I walked as fast as I could back to the camp, my thoughts spiraling into worst case scenarios. Actually, plausible scenarios.

  I'm going to die. I'm really going to die.

  At this point, I didn't care about the monsters in the maze or my injuries.

  I wouldn't be able to do anything regardless.

  I thanked the gods that my memory was as good as it was in this state.

  The current Luliak right now--however, was equally as dangerous as his situation--consumed with envy.

  In his past, Luliak was an exceptional child, but always looking up at his older sister in her shadow. He resented how everyone only seemed to look at her, adore her, give everything to her, while he himself got nothing, just because he was a 'little' less talented and a few years younger.

  In truth, Luliak was tremendously talented in magic, far more than his sister, but he couldn't see it. His resentment grew over time, and he began sabotaging his sister, little by little... Until he found himself premeditating her murder.

  Fortunately, before he could go through with it, he was caught, and exiled forever from the noble Rosamund family.

  A notorious reputation that plenty in noble circles have heard. They will never forget--even in the Demonic Realm, the price of ever-consuming envy.

  As such, upon finding out that Luliak was going to attempt getting into the academy--where his sister was--his family sent assassins to kill him inside of the entrance exams.

  Naturally, as an independent entity, the academy wouldn't care for these ulterior motives, only putting a few restrictions on them.

  Those don't matter though, because I've already met one of them!!

  And I unknowingly left them behind with Lully.

  A small panic grew uncontrollably in me.

  Thankfully, there are other people there too, but if they decide to do a 'kamikaze' then I could die at any time.

  I summoned the magic contract I signed previously, and it appeared magically, unfurling to reveal a glowing signature at the bottom.

  Moreover, I have to protect someone this unstable. A cold sweat ran down my back.

  What if Luliak suddenly gets angry with me? What if he becomes bored? What if I accidentally show something I'm better than him at?

  Or, maybe he might just kill me on a whim once I prove no more use?

  At the same time, Luliak at this time is quite powerful, so this contract is more like a double-edged sword.

  It only reminded me of how careful I have to be when interacting with him.

  Even if Lully wasn't directly pointing a staff or ball of fire at me, the danger never disappeared.

  Grrr...oof!

  Hearing a small growl in the darkness, I used [Killer's Instinct] to locate and shoot it down quickly. I walked past it and didn't bother picking up its corpse.

  And there's still the threat of monsters...

  I know I said I couldn't care less about the monsters previously, but who am I kidding? They are still a very real threat. If I were to go alone in this maze...I'm not sure, no, I definitely wouldn't be able to survive.

  Feeling the pressure from all sides, the assassin, Lully himself, the monsters and the maze, and other points of information that I have yet to recall about Lully's situation... I felt like passing out.

  "But, right now, what I need to pay attention to the most--is it keeping the assassin in check?"

  Thud!

  "Ugh!"

  Retreating a few steps back, I found that I'd bumped into a wall. I looked both ways into each intersection.

  "Hmm, here, I think it's here..", I went left. Looks like my eyes are still deteriorating.

  ...I should have never have went with Millie's group. I've just been making mistakes after mistakes since I came here.

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  "Haiz...", I sighed deeply.

  As I walked down the hallway, I saw a bright fire in the distance, and got closer, closer...until I was right by them.

  "Hey Cael, you're back!"

  "What took you so long?"

  "Welcome back."

  Suddenly, as my gaze skimmed over the peaceful atmosphere, a wave of relief washed over and drowned my senses. However, it was only until I spotted one specific person that I snapped back to rationality.

  I have to remind myself. Even if nothing is happening, something still is. I just don't know it.

  My gaze trailed over to the most important person in the group.

  Verna tilted her head, "So? What did you find?"

  I smiled.

  Because the assassin is her.

  It couldn't have been any worse for me, who has virtually no social authority or credibility within the group. I'm injured, can barely fight, and am the weakest person here. Moreover, I'm not familiar with anyone, especially after going to scout for some time.

  Then, the only clean way out is..!

  I sat down, and tapped Lully on the shoulder.

  "Huh?", he turned his head, eyes wide, "What?"

  I whispered, "Hey, I got a bad feeling from this group. Why don't we separate? Surely, we can handle ourselves."

  He talked loudly, "What are you talking about? Silly, there's no reason to."

  I froze. There's no reason...to?

  My head felt doused in cold water.

  Wait, does he not know anything..?

  Stunned, I knew pushing further would only cause more resistance, in addition to Verna listening in, so I retreated and just looked down in a 'brooding' manner.

  So, I really have no one here, huh? Maybe because I was used to it, I wasn't too fazed by the additional troublesome variable.

  Needing to protect a character fated to die here, facing a situation I manufactured in my own story...

  My eyes drooped. Lully intended to enter the academy to kill his sister, where she has no protection. It was only right that he died here, so that it wouldn't interfere with the story too much.

  But perhaps this is just something I'll have to do eventually.

  I clenched my fists shakily.

  I need to cause a butterfly effect.

  I looked around the four of them.

  Millie noticed something and called out, "Hey, you look...so pale. Are you okay?"

  I nodded, "Mhm. I just saw a ghost, no worries."

  Millie laughed, "Haha, that's funny."

  Despite my vivid recall of everything so far, I knew I was still missing something. Something that if I grasped, could possibly turn the odds slightly in my favor.

  There's a reason why Verna is still waiting for the 'right moment', I just can't seem to remember...

  "?", I felt someone nudge me from the side.

  I turned my head, and saw Handon.

  He talked slowly and quietly, "Don't mistake this for anything. I just want to finish my question from before..."

  Oh right, what did he ask before?

  I raised my eyebrows, "Yes, sorry, what was your question before..?"

  Then it clicked.

  My eyes went wide. It's you.

  I was taken back to the depths of my mind.

  Up until Luliak was caught, he had no allies, and no one supporting him. He had to do everything alone, from planning to execution to handling the aftermath of his countless attempts of sabotage.

  Or at least that's what Luliak thought.

  There'a reason he wasn't caught all this time. And that was because Luliak had a secret ally.

  An alliance born from equal hatred of his elder sister, a noble family named Bruin helped Luliak throughout his life, allowing him to remain safe until his exile. They were also the reason Luliak wasn't immediately executed upon being caught.

  So in the maze, the Bruin family, knowing there would be assassins sent after Luliak, sent their own bodyguard.

  The youngest heir of the family, Handon Bruin.

  Unfortunately, this wasn't enough to stop Verna's agenda. Why?

  He fidgeted with his hands, "Er...is he nice? Lully, I mean."

  My eyes narrowed. Because Handon was just a kid.

  As a regular teenager, he drowned in guilt. It made sense. His father's wish was to protect Luliak--but Luliak also killed countless people.

  Moreover, he couldn't even bring himself to do anything, seeing Lully and Verna sit right here, side by side. Truly, is he not a pathetic heir?

  In the original story, it was also when Verna found out that Handon was in this indecisive purgatory that she realized that Handon wasn't going to be able to stop her at all if she decided to kill Lully.

  Although I'm not exactly sure what to do with this information...I just need to maintain this equilibrium for now, until I find a solution.

  As I felt more and more uncertainties pile up, I decided to just go with my gut.

  My smile widened, "Nice? Of course. Lully saved my life."

  "I don't like judging people by rumors."

  Handon clenched his fists, frowning slightly, then retreated, "Oh, okay.."

  Now left alone, numerous points, variables, slivers of information, all of it surrounded me. If I was dreaming of walking through a dark tunnel, the light at the end would be rapidly disappearing from sight.

  A dark motivation settled within my gaze, consuming my panicking heart whole.

  "I need to pay attention to this, I need to pay attention to that. There's the guy too, and then her...", I whispered obsessively.

  ...What am I going to do?

  On a large desk, where tens of demons were watching the Aspirants inside the maze above, one worker watched the hologram displaying Cael closely.

  Cael summoned his magic contract, panicked when discovering Luliak's identity, and rushed back to the camp.

  The next moment, his colleague leaned in.

  The colleague reported monotonously, "Cael's soul was examined, and a binding contract has been confirmed. He's tasked with protecting another applicant, Luliak Rosamund."

  Listening to his colleague, the worker nodded, "Confirmed. Engaging conditional eligibility protocol."

  The colleague returned to his working area, and the worker searched through the various papers on the table to find a specific profile to alter. The profile was familiar, one that he had evaluated before.

  --Profile 890--

  Name: Cael

  Defining Features: Red hair, red eyes, upturned mouth...

  Description: An orphan with no registered family members, originating from...

  Current Evaluation: Pass upon death

  Without much thought, he magically altered the words on the paper.

  Current Evaluation: Fail upon death

  He put it away. However, the worker noticed another paper lying near his desk. He brought it closer and looked at the documented Aspirant profile.

  --Profile 1--

  Name: Verna Ruth

  Defining Features: Brown hair, short hair, brown eyes...

  Description: A slave kidnapped from birth, now working under the Rosamund family as an assassin. Originates from...

  Current Evaluation: Fail upon death

  He scanned the profile from top to bottom. Comparing the profile to Cael's, he concluded the evaluation to be sufficient, and put them both away, getting back to work.