"We are here."


    "This place...?"


    I skeptically assessed the dark-themed mansion before me. It was protected by a black, rusty gate. Black tiles were creating a trail to the entrance, and dead flowers covered the sides. The mansion wasn''t any better. It looked abandoned—broken glass windows, spider webs here and there, and dirty painted walls. Crows were chilling atop the mansion.


    This mansion isn''t haunted, is it?


    "Let''s go." Mr. Eliopoulus nonchalantly walked on the tiles, heading to the entrance. I cautiously followed him.


    After crossing the tiles, I came to a halt. I felt something against my neck, and my instincts were telling me not to proceed.


    A thread?


    "Who is this dirty alien, Elio?" A man interrogated, appearing out of thin air. Like a warped shadow in the night. He had long, white hair and red eyes with a butler attire.


    ''Elio''? Are they on friendly terms to the point that they can share nicknames, or is he using a shortened form of his surname as an alias? Knowing him, it''s probably the latter. To begin with, I don''t even know if the name he gave me is his real surname.


    "That''s not important. Take me to Beelzebub."


    Beelzebub? So he''s the demon he spoke about. Also, if this is his butler, then he must also be a demon, right?


    I cautiously and secretly used my [Insight] ability. The red gas that he emitted was leagues above what I''ve seen thus far. The stench even penetrated my mask, but I tried my best to maintain my composure.


    Yep, that''s what I''d call a demon.


    "Not important? You dare say that Lord Beelzebub''s safety is not important?! How impudent!" He directed his hand at Mr. Eliopoulus, materializing a dark ball. "It seems you grew too cocky from My Lord''s generosity. Filthy alien."


    "That''s enough, Hades," commanded a voice from the mansion. All I could see were his red eyes illuminating in the dark, but his black hair and cloak became visible after he walked outside. He stood behind the man known as Hades. I, on the other hand, instinctively deactivated my ability. Within that second, I knew for sure that I wouldn''t have been able to stop myself from puking again.


    So this is Beelzebub!


    "But, Lord Beelzebub!"


    "Silence. You dare defy me?" He looked down menacingly at his butler.


    "He''s right, Beelzebub." Mr. Eliopoulus interfered, walking closer to them. "This isn''t enough."


    "Hmm?" Beelzebub looked calmly at him. "Not enough, you say? What are you talking about?"


    "Isn''t it obvious? I''m getting punished for being impudent, but your butler is guilty of doing the same. That dark ball was enough to erase me had you not stopped him. Interfering in that attempted murder isn''t enough to excuse his behavior." Mr. Eliopoulus smiled wryly, pointing to the ground. "That impudent servant needs to prostrate himself in seek of my forgiveness, no?"


    "You wretch!" Hades cursed in response to his unreasonable request.


    "Sigh. Alright, just get it over with."


    "What?! My Lord!" He pleaded, but Beelzebub didn''t budge. "Ugh... Fine." He begrudgingly went to the ground on all fours, humbling himself. "Please forgive my insolence, Elio."


    "Let''s go. I have something to talk about with you." Mr. Eliopoulus casually ignored the man begging for forgiveness, and daringly walked into the mansion like it was his home.


    "Coming to me with nothing to discuss would be more surprising." Beelzebub ignored the disrespect like it was a futile confrontation. "Aren''t you coming too, mortal?" He asked, looking back at me.


    "Ah... Yes!" I followed them inside, ignoring the grunting man.


    <hr>


    We were invited to the living room. Mr. Eliopoulus and I sat on the same sofa, with Beelzebub seated opposite us. Unlike the exterior, the inside was well-tended. It was probably his way of refusing visitors by making the outside as unwelcoming as possible.


    "So, why did you bring this mortal with you?" Beelzebub asked, wasting no time.


    "Well, all you need to know is that he can and will help us. He just needs you to answer some questions." Mr. Eliopoulus smiled suggestively.


    I don''t care what they are plotting as long as I get what I came here for.


    "Is he worth it?"


    "Very much so. Well? Are you willing to answer him?"


    "Sigh... As long as it isn''t long."


    "Then, he''s all yours, Dr. Stein."


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Wait, I''m really going to question him? I don''t even know what to ask. Hmm...


    "Then..." I leaned forward, taking a serious stance. "What is your relationship with the former king—Eros Haine?"


    In response, he sighed sharply. Even so, Mr. Eliopoulus reacted dramatically.


    "[Barrier!]"


    Unaware of what was happening until I saw furniture flying against the walls, and the remainder of the glass windows breaking, I could tell that the man beside me saved my life.


    "MORTAL, YOU DARE MENTION THAT FILTHY NAME IN MY PRESENCE?!"


    "Calm down, Beelzebub. He doesn''t know anything. That''s why he''s asking. You know what will happen if you get angry, right?"


    After what appeared to be some sort of threat or warning, he immediately calmed down.


    "You''re right. Forgive me. I lost my cool. [Reparation]" He snapped his fingers, bringing all of the furniture back to their original state and position.


    "My Lord, do you need me? I sensed hostility." Hades appeared behind our sofa, wielding a black blade threateningly.


    "No, it''s okay. Stand down and guard the entrance."


    "Yes, My Lord." He once again disappeared, complying with his master''s command.


    Things are awkward now.


    Beelzebub reached out to the table between us and cupped a glass filled with fresh blood. He drank to cool down and continued: "That shitty king is the fool that destroyed my nation—Hell. I managed to take down his strongest knight and weakened that shitty king enough to the point he''d be affected by the miasma of Hell. I then escaped through the portal I initially created to declare war on the aliens. Now, here I am, hiding in one of the two hostile Factions until further notice."


    He called it a hostile Faction, but unlike the Rebel Faction, the Forsaken Faction wasn''t proactively attacking the rest of the nation. But it doesn''t seem like something he''d mistakenly mention. Does that mean he''s planning on attacking the nation sooner or later? I mean, it does align with their goal, but it''s personal. Unless Beelzebub have enough influence over this Faction to bring them in his schemes.


    "Miasma of Hell?" I queried.


    "It''s what stimulates one''s impure blood," Mr. Eliopoulus answered.


    "Wait... Stimulate? Doesn''t that mean..."


    "That''s right. It''s not something that activates on its own unless they have a high impurity. However..." He paused, glancing at Beelzebub.


    "You''re making the young mortal confused because you''re mixing the story." Beelzebub took another sip of blood in the glass. "Let''s just start from the beginning when the demons were also angels."


    And so, I was informed about the origin of aliens and humans. Also, how angels and demons came to.


    After hearing his story, I realized that my enemy wasn''t specific people. It was a ''thing''—impurity. Of course, that didn''t change the fact that it was specifically four people who I wanted to kill, but to prevent something like that from happening to someone benevolent or me if I ever found someone in my life, I had to get rid of the source.


    From what I was told, there were three levels of impure and pure blood: low-level, middle-level, and high-level. Everybody had both impure and pure blood, but what set everyone apart in strength and mentality was the difference in level between the two types of blood. Not only that, but above low-level, impurity affected your physical abilities, and purity affected your mentality.


    That''s why there were naturally born strong people who weren''t consumed by their malice. If they had a middle or high level of purity to help stabilize and balance that malice with a strong, unwavering mentality, they could make use of the impure blood.


    Here are the formulas and outcomes:


    ☆Low-level impure blood + low-level pure blood= Normal humans. Average strength and no strong beliefs.


    ☆Middle-level impure blood + low-level pure blood= Malevolent humans—criminals. They did nefarious deeds. They were also stronger and more violent than normal humans.


    ☆Low-level impure blood + middle-level pure blood= Benevolent humans. Nothing out of the ordinary, but unlike your typical selfish humans, they prioritized people more and showed consideration. They were as strong as normal humans, but their strong mindset allowed them to put in the effort to build a strong body.


    ☆Middle-level impure blood + middle-level pure blood= Normal aliens. They were twice as strong as your typical human. They had more strength than a crazy, strong criminal, but except for the ''crazy''—they remained rational, not being persuaded by malicious intent.


    ☆High-level impure blood + middle-level pure blood= The same as criminals but for aliens. Examples would be those three bullies, but they didn''t particularly have unique strengths, so I''m not sure.


    ☆Middle-level impure blood + high-level pure blood= The same as benevolent humans, but for aliens. An example would be my sister. There''s also a Faction for these people—the Church Faction, residing in the South Pacific Ocean, along with the Central Faction.


    ☆High-level impure blood + high-level pure blood= The strongest of aliens. Like your typical human and alien, it''s mainly dependent on which one is stimulated first. Impurity can be stimulated by the miasma of Hell, a traumatic childhood or experience, and purity can be stimulated with a pleasant upbringing or a gentle heart. This allows them to rationally decide their path with overwhelming strength. For benevolence, the current Knight Commander of Division One of the Iode Order, Alpha Iode, is a good example of one with high purity and impurity. She used her impurity to boost her physical strength for her pure goals. As for me... my upbringing made me the opposite.


    As far as I''ve been told, there wasn''t any high:low and low:high ratio, because low:low, low:mid, and mid:low were strictly humans, and mid:mid, mid:high, and high:high were aliens due to the difference in the quality of their existence. We were divided based on this, but Zenki brought us together, albeit secretly. Anyway, there wasn''t any mistake in this because we half-blooded beings were personally banished from Heaven by the Supreme Being—God, or whatever you want to call the Supreme Being. Well, you could also call it Natural Selection.


    There was also a rank above high-level known as God-level, but they never bred with the opposite blood as far as Beelzebub was aware. Also, there were only a handful of angels and demons with God-level blood, like Beelzebub had God-level impure blood, and the Supreme Being had God-level pure blood along with his wives. Of course, unlike us, they weren''t mixed-blooded, so there wasn''t any room for corruption.


    "I answered your questions. Now, tell me, how will you benefit us?"


    Right. Mr. Eliopoulus convinced Beelzebub to answer my questions because he thought I had a similar goal. While I initially just wanted to avenge my sister, I now also want to expose this unjust system. If you asked me, I''d say that only those with high-level purity deserve to live.


    "That depends. Beelzebub," I called out to him, getting up from the sofa. "Can I borrow some of that miasma?"


    My question was akin to foreboding malevolence, and as such, the two who were in that room with me laughed coldly, understanding my ruthless intention.


    "Hahahaha! Elio, you picked up a good mortal. Sure, mortal. You can take as much as you want. Just don''t get corrupted- ah, wait... you already are." He got up, leading me to a room. "Unfortunately, I''m not in my prime because I''m not in Hell, so I can''t open a portal to it. With that being said, I only have a few in my room. Use it well, okay?"


    I nodded, capturing a bottle-full.


    "Then, I''ll see you until further notice." After getting what I came for, I left with Mr. Eliopoulus.


    "I''ll help you with the initial stage," he reassured me while we walked to the wormhole.


    After entering, we were asked about our desired destination.


    I''m two years late, but...


    "The Medicio Faction," I answered.