"Dammit..."

It was a mistake on my part. And not a small mistake by any margin, but quite a big one that could affect all of my future plans!

"...I really didn't want to make this mess. Damned greedy bastard!"

Gritting my teeth, I couldn't help but curse out that greedy ogre bastard that was the root cause of it all.

Now, because of his idiocy, I was forced to make this kind of an over-dramatic scene just to put him back in his place!

'No, I can still salvage this....I will just have to change my plans a little...'

Thinking about the perfect plan I had devised to get into Etheria without leaving any traces, I lightly bit my lower lip.

'...but if I improvise like that, it will leave quite a few holes in my disguise...'

Earlier, that ogre said that our buyer had long since been decided. And since I didn't sense any falsehood in his statement, he must have visited me after making sure that he had fulfilled at least one of the contract terms.

'...and now, everything is ruined! All because of that bloody idiot!'

Unfortunately for him, the contract he signed with me wasn't a common mana-bound contract, but a soul-bound one derived from a Devil's unique authority.

After all, there was no way I wouldn't leave some safety plugs before entrusting a vital part of my plan in someone else's hands, especially when it was a wretched demon!

If he really tried to snitch anything about the deal to others, he would neither get a warning from mana, nor would he simply get crippled from a mana backlash.

The only consequence for breaking a soul-bound contract with a Devil was an immediate death, without any exceptions!

But since that ogre was still alive and kicking, it meant my plans were not completely foiled yet.

However, it did come dangerously close to the critical point, making me realize that the game-like skills I was so heavily relying on could not be trusted so easily.

'...Did his willpower suddenly recover? If so, does that mean my skills can be broken even after the skill effect fully kicks in?'

I couldn't help but make the contract terms strict so that he couldn't spread my secrets everywhere, but I also couldn't let him simply die like an idiot before leaving this realm behind.

So I did what I could, making sure that his spirit was completely ground to dust this time around, so that he doesn't get any more funny ideas about me. But the entire process of doing that now left numerous puncture holes in my damned perfect plan!

As for quietly giving the ogre whatever he wanted from me?

That was simply impossible, not to mention far more dangerous than what I did a few minutes before!

Not only was I different from his perceived image of me in reality, but when he came to renegotiate the deal with me, greed wasn't even the most prominent emotion in that ogre's emotional spectrum!

Instead, his mind was torn between the feelings of fear, rage, and unwillingness – emotions that were most probably born from his willpower clashing with the remaining effects from [Aura of Evil].

If I had decided to simply give in to his demands, all the remaining effects from [Aura of Evil] that I planted into his mind after so much effort and planning would've immediately gone to waste...

Plus, it would also feed into his ego, making him far more unpredictable to properly make use of in my plans!

*Sigh...*

'Right. I haven't lost control over the situation yet...'

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Sitting down inside the cage, I massaged my forehead while my mind raced to find some ways to fill in the newly made holes in my plans.

"...F*ck, I forgot to tell him that he can't leave any prisoner in stock here!"

Now that these demon prisoners knew about my strength, I couldn't leave them behind in this base while I journeyed into the dimension gate alone.

I would have to somehow take them along with me, and there was only one way to make that happen.

'...I have to keep all of their mouths shut. Just relying on my skill isn't enough. But if they are sold to the Etherians...'

In the darkness of the prison room, I supported my chin on top of my hands as a multitude of thoughts flitted past my mind.

'In the end, they are all going to end up in the hands of dark mages, anyway. Then, what if....'

At that moment, I felt a lightbulb suddenly go off in my head!

'...No, now that I think about it, it might be even better for me to get them all past the gate!'

I was so focused on the disadvantages that my previous actions put me in, that I wasn't able to see the opportunities waiting ahead of me...

But now, after seriously thinking back for some time, I realized that I could turn all those disadvantages into the perfect smokescreen for myself!

Slowly yet steadily, a new plan took shape in place of my previous one. This time, even better and more robust than before.

'Now this is what you would call, killing two birds with one stone...!'

The corners of my mouth slowly curled upwards, as I started finalizing the finer details of my new plan.

…

…

Time continued to pass in the dreary darkness of the prison chamber, and after a few more hours had passed, I heard a thumping noise coming from the door once again.

*Gwoong~*

The doors slowly opened, and the dim illumination from the burning torch kept outside seeped into the dark prison room.

All the other prisoners kept in the chamber had been quietly shivering in their places for quite a while now, but I still decided to take some precautions just in case.

'[Aura of Evil]!'

As the unseen wave of pressure swept across the entire room, the weak demons kept inside their dirty cages froze up one by one, slowly turning their heads to face me like a bunch of obedient robots.

"Shhh..."

Holding up my index finger to my lips, I gestured to all of them to remain quiet, while the defective racial skill slowly took root in their minds.

I had to control the range of the skill to not leak out everywhere like before. But since these demons were too weak, it felt much easier for me to handle them, even on such short notice.

I heard a few gulping sounds coming from here and there, before a slightly bandaged-up ogre stepped into the dark room, followed by three other, unfamiliar ogres.

When the bandaged-up ogre sneakily stole a glance in our direction, I noticed his eyes suddenly starting to shake violently!

Tracing his line of sight, I saw that he was looking at the previously deformed portion of our cage, which was somehow back to its original form now.

'Be grateful till you die, useless bastard....'

Needless to say, I was the one who generously fixed those deformations, since I knew that Urgus would have a tough time explaining those horribly bent cage bars.

Obviously, there were some marks left in the places where the metal was deformed, but those marks could easily be mistaken as signs of natural wear and tear.

Seeing that there were other ogres in the room, I stealthily gave him a menacing side glance before burying my head in my legs.

The ogres he brought along with him swiftly went to the other cages and started unlocking them, while one of them came up to our own cage.

But before he could unlock our cage, Urgus stopped him from the side.

"No, you help the others. I got this one..."

"What the.... I'm here to help, and not to eat up your cut! Tone down your paranoia a little, man."

With an incredulous expression, the ogre he interrupted walked away while grumbling.

With a soft sigh, Urgus unlocked our cage and stepped inside, hesitating to take another step while repeatedly stealing glances at Yera and me.

Seeing that the unfamiliar trio of ogres were unlocking a few other cages, I gestured for Yera to get up with my chin, before standing up myself.

"...Don't leave any prisoner in stock, send them all to the same buyer as us if you can, and if you can't do that, just make sure to sell them to someone else as soon as you can."

Walking near him, I gently whispered those words into his ear, to which he nodded his head stiffly while nervously gulping down his saliva.

Giving the terrified ogre a pitying look, Yera stepped outside the cage along with me, before walking alongside me to stand outside the prison chamber without making any sound.

"H-Hey... Hey! You two, take them all out! We need to clean them all out before some of them start dying off!"

Inside, we could hear Urgus' nervous voice barking out commands to the ogres he brought along with himself.

"Just a little bit more, and I'll finally be free..."

Now, we only needed to get past the dimensional gate with the slave buyers, to finally achieve our freedom!