Contract with a Mysterious Demon

"I can't forgive this! It's absolutely unacceptable!" On a certain spring night, with a round moon hanging in the sky, a woman with a hood walked angrily through a dark forest, holding a lantern. Her name was Irene Brighton, 17 years old, and the daughter of the Brighton Ducal family, the owners of this forest. She was absolutely furious. "How could they place such an untrustworthy woman next to Lord Parker? It's impossible!" "Everyone has been deceived by that woman!" Talking to herself quite loudly, she marched through the dark forest. After walking at a fast pace for a while, she reached a clearing in the center of the forest. In the clearing stood an ancient-looking church, eerily illuminated by the moonlight. Normally, such a spooky church would be too scary to approach, but the angry Irene approached without hesitation. Grabbing the rusty doorknob attached to the door, she pushed it open with force. The door creaked open with an unpleasant noise, and she stumbled inside. The door slammed shut behind her. She regained her balance and raised the lantern. The inside of the church was empty, with a thick, heavy carpet covering the floor. She placed the lantern on the floor and grabbed the edge of the carpet. As soon as she lifted it, a large amount of dust rose into the air. "*Cough cough!*" Coughing, she managed to roll up the carpet. Once it was rolled up, she illuminated the floor where the carpet had been with the lantern. "This is it." On the stone floor was a large magic circle drawn in what looked like dark red ink. The circle was filled with characters and symbols that appeared to be ancient. "Let's do this." Standing boldly before the magic circle, she looked up at the full moon visible through the skylight above her. Raising her hands dramatically, she chanted in a loud voice: "Come forth, demon of the underworld, and form a pact with me!" Her voice echoed through the church. But no matter how long she waited, nothing happened. "This is strange." She rummaged through her cloak pocket and pulled out an old notebook. Opening it to the bookmarked page, she reviewed her actions. "The incantation is correct. The pose is fine... What could be wrong?" Thinking it might be the volume of her voice, she put the notebook back in her pocket. Raising her hands dramatically again, she spoke even louder. "Come forth, demon of the underworld, and form a pact with me!!" The magic circle remained unresponsive. After trying different variations, like raising her voice more or changing the timing of her hand movements, nothing happened. After the eighth attempt failed, she stomped her foot in frustration. "Come on! Activate! You're my last hope!" Glaring at the magic circle, she raised her hands toward the sky and shouted loudly. "Come forth, demon of the underworld! Form a pact with me!—I mean, come out already! I'm offering to make a pact with you!!" Her shrill voice echoed through the church. Just as the echo faded completely, a warm wind blew from the magic circle, swirling through the church. "What?!" Unable to withstand the wind, she crouched down and covered her head. The magic circle then erupted with a mixture of purple and black light. (...!) The light and wind grew stronger, forcing Irene to close her eyes. After crouching and covering her head for a while, the wind suddenly stopped, and the temperature around her dropped sharply. (Is it over?) She cautiously lifted her head and opened her eyes wide. In the moonlight streaming through the skylight, a man stood in the center of the magic circle, his eyes closed. He had jet-black hair, chiseled features, and a slender body. He wore revealing clothes wrapped around him like cloth and was adorned with numerous expensive-looking ornaments. Irene stared at him in disbelief. (This is the demon...?) She had expected a talking black goat like those in storybooks, not a human figure. As she stared in shock, the man slowly opened his eyes and looked at her with strikingly red eyes, narrowing them slightly. "It's been 300 years." The demon smiled seductively at her, who was frozen in surprise. "So, what do you wish of me?" His words snapped Irene back to reality. She had to state her wish! She shouted desperately. "Please do something about that woman!" "That woman?" "Ever since she arrived, nothing has gone right! Lord Parker chose her over me for the exchange program! It's unacceptable! I can't forgive it!" As Irene shouted, the demon watched her with his red eyes. Then, looking up at the moon visible through the skylight, he chuckled softly. "Very well. I'll listen. Tell me what’s going on."