With a resounding crash, the little girl fell to her knees, and along with her, the others, including Bear and the gang, also knelt down instantly. Nidhogg, disguised as a cobra, naturally did the same.

"Great Demon God, I offer these hundred souls in exchange for a single use of your divine power to conceal the energy fluctuations on me, so that your most faithful servant may gather more souls," the little girl said, her voice somewhat stilted yet filled with genuine reverence, as if she were willing to give up everything for this great being in front of her.

She placed several black stones before the mirror, and a ripple appeared on the mirror's surface like flowing mercury. It took more than ten minutes for the "mercury" to envelop the stones completely and disappear.

"A fine offering. Your wish shall be fulfilled!" the voice of the demon god echoed with delight. A thread of pure, wondrous energy began to emerge, slowly flowing into the little girl's body.

The girl showed an expression of extreme excitement and pleasure, letting out a few low moans, a blush creeping over her face.

Moments later, the negative aura around the little girl was hidden, at least to Nidhogg's eyes, a wizard apprentice, it seemed perfectly concealed.

"Thank you, great Demon God, for your benevolence!" The girl looked delightedly at her concealed negative energy and bowed once again.

As Nidhogg followed suit in kneeling, his mind raced. So this was the so-called demon god? It turned out to be an otherworldly being connecting to the wizard world through some unknown means and collecting souls here. To the other world, perhaps the souls of the wizard world were a "specialty."

Reflecting on this scene, Nidhogg was reminded of a certain legendary storybook he read as a child: demons tempting people to fall, offering great power as bait and ultimately devouring their souls, with the critical step being the demonic contract.

Involuntarily, Nidhogg linked the current events to those stories he read in his childhood.

At the same time, Nidhogg felt a twinge of hesitation. This otherworldly being's will, projected through space into the wizard world, was powerful, but due to the barrier of world energies, even grabbing a few stones required significant effort. Clearly, this projection couldn't exert much power in the wizard world. Should he act on this?

Based on his assessment of the guardian forces, it would be a matter of minutes to wipe them out.

After much deliberation, Nidhogg decided against taking action. Firstly, this was his first encounter with a true otherworldly entity capable of projecting its will into the wizard world; his knowledge was too limited for him to recklessly proceed—who knew what peculiar abilities it might possess? Unfettered, ignorant risks were far too foolish.

Secondly, even if he succeeded, what benefit would he gain? The rewards wouldn't justify the risks.

Thus, Nidhogg naturally saw a better option—after leaving the city of Bangar, he would return to the Black Tower Wizard Academy and let Mentor Pearl Arnose handle this matter, which far exceeded a wizard apprentice's level of complexity.

With this plan in mind, Nidhogg put all other thoughts aside and prepared to leave the great hall with the girl.

However, just at that moment, an unexpected change occurred.

"Wait!"

Suddenly, from the watery screen behind them, the demon god spoke with a hint of surprise and curiosity. The group turned around to see the demon god's azure blue eyes in the mirror seem to glow a bit, eventually fixating on Nidhogg.

It seemed as though something peculiar had been discovered on Nidhogg.

"You! Yes, you there. The aura of your soul is different from theirs. Come closer," the demon god's voice was eager, almost jubilant.

"Me?" Nidhogg asked, dumbfounded.

The girl appeared excited, delightedly exclaiming, "The great Demon God has taken notice of you—what a supreme honor that many could only dream of receiving!"

Saying this, she pushed the astonished "cobra" forward, bringing Nidhogg within a meter of the mirror.

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Boom...

A blast of what seemed like fiery waves erupted from the mirror, followed by a moment of silence, then a mighty joyous voice emerged, "What a magnificent soul, such a soul... such a soul!"

The demon god murmured excitedly, as if a gourmet had encountered a rare delicacy or a lecher had found an irresistible beauty.

Simultaneously, Nidhogg was completely transfixed, his eyes filled with limitless desire! This...

Nidhogg's heart roared with excitement, the intensity of his longing so great that even his usually controlled demeanor betrayed his emotions on his face—a fierce desire to possess what lay before him.

"A catalyst! It's the catalyst's aura! A perfect match for my fire elemental magic array activation ritual! Such a wonderful catalyst... so perfect, so exquisite, it's a miracle! I must obtain this catalyst from this otherworldly being—must have it!"

Nidhogg's inner mind was near madness.

In Nidhogg's eyes, the otherworldly being was a vast treasure trove. If not for his lack of power, Nidhogg would stop at nothing to capture this elemental being for his laboratory, even if it meant invading the being's world.

The two, each harboring their own agendas, stared at one another.

The demon god was first to speak, "Do you desire great power? The power to effortlessly slay those who have wronged you. I can grant you that!"

Nidhogg's heart brimmed with joy—this sugary line came straight out of a devil's temptation in a novel, yet it was truly happening now!

This is simply... wonderful!

Bang!

With a face full of sickly longing and greed, Nidhogg prostrated himself on the ground, crawling toward the mirror as if he were the divine servant from a biographical novel, appearing utterly consumed with "madness."

Nidhogg cried out, "I want it! I want it! Great Demon God, how can I obtain such powerful strength?"

Nidhogg's act was vivid—just like someone desperate for greater power at any cost.

The demon god in the mirror seemed to have anticipated this, and a pulse of glee emanated from it.

"Simply deliver your soul to me after death, and I will bestow upon you mighty power! From what I've heard from other followers, your world is ruled by a caste called wizards? Though I'm unsure of your wizards' exact prowess, the power I grant you will surely surpass the level of a wizard."

The demon god continued his temptation.

Power not inferior to that of a formal wizard? An otherworldly being unfamiliar with the wizard world?

Nidhogg felt reassured, still wearing that sickly expression but deeply relieved inside. "What use is a soul after death? I am willing to give it to you. How do I deliver my soul to you?"

Though his face showed eager, passionate madness, internally, Nidhogg was screaming: "Contract! Contract! Contract! Say it—mention the signing of a contract!"

"All you need to do is sign this contract."

The delighted voice came from the mirror, as Nidhogg breathed a significant sigh of relief.

The contract had finally been mentioned...

It was only after nearly half the time in an hourglass that a contract, crafted from the hide of some unknown creature, painstakingly emerged from the mercury-like mirror. This was presumably one of those demonic contracts from the legendary stories.

In those stories, anyone signing such a contract would receive great power in the short term, yet ultimately meet a tragic end, their soul becoming food for the devil.

Essentially, it was a sinister object cursed with ill fate—a hallmark tool for the archetypal villain.

As the demonic contract emerged from the mirror, Nidhogg noticed a small flickering black flame on it—perhaps equivalent to human blood?

"Once you sign this contract, you will..."

Bang!

A violent sound of glass shattering echoed through the hall, stunning everyone present as they rubbed their eyes and gaped at the mirror, which had been utterly smashed to pieces.

The little girl was stupefied!

Bear, Hammer, Axe, and several knights were stupefied!

Even the "black mage" guards rushing in from outside were stupefied!

Everyone looked at Nidhogg in shock and disbelief. They couldn't comprehend why the person favored by the great Demon God would do such a thing; it seemed so impossible that they wondered if they were hallucinating.

Nidhogg retracted his fist and snatched the "demon contract" from the ground into his arms.

Simultaneously, among the shards of the shattered mirror, a strong surge of energy ripple resounded, and the demon god's furious voice echoed, "What are you doing?! Do you not desire great power anymore?"

Nidhogg sneered coldly, "You don't understand the true power of wizards, foolish otherworldly creature."

"You wicked, deceitful, insidious being, you have deceived the great Extinction Flame God. I have marked your soul's essence, I have remembered you! I now know your world's coordinates, and soon, your world will be invaded by my divine power. I will find you in your world! I will eternally imprison your soul in the most filthy, revolting creature's belly, I will..."

The demon god's enraged roar from the shattered mirror quickly faded. Without this mirror, the entity couldn't maintain its will's projection.

Invasion of the wizard world?

Nidhogg nearly laughed himself silly—was this some backwater world's native?

Infinite worlds do indeed have more powerful civilized worlds capable of invading the wizard world, but even among those so-called civilized worlds, only two have encountered the wizard world throughout history, let alone having the power to invade.

Moreover, since the entity claimed its projection could reach the wizard world, it implied their world was not incomprehensibly distant from the wizard world, and it was certain no other civilized worlds existed near the wizard world.

Otherwise, the wizard world would not be as peaceful as it is.

The wizard world had always been the one invading other worlds—when did other worlds get the chance to threaten the wizard world?

However, the demon god's words did remind Nidhogg of something. He picked up another scrap of glass and tucked it into his robe.

Perhaps, this object still contained the coordinates of the other world...

Boom!

With the indestructible flame armor summoned, Nidhogg burst out of the underground chamber like a being of fire, ignoring all obstructions.

This mission trial was hereby concluded!