The Greatest Sinner

Evan headed toward the girl. He wouldn't use Mammon's Gaze now because it might draw unnecessary attention to him. Of course, most people would think Evan just knew a very rare spell. But, in such a crowd of people, there would probably be someone overly curious.

When Evan approached the girl, she turned around and calmly said, "Follow me, Evan Lynch.

Evan nodded, and they headed down the circular staircase together.

<She didn't even tell me her name, but she knows mine. I'll find out for myself, though.> Evan thought to himself and cast Mammon's Gaze.

[Victoria Deslys

Race - Mage

Stage - Two-Pointed Star, with one flame on the platform.

Warp - Purple]

"You know, it's not very polite to stare so intently at others," Victoria said with a frown. She sensed that Evan was using some spell. Of course, she assumed it was the Eye of Truth and Evan glanced at her Pillar of Soul. She did not turn around and could not see that Evan's left eye turned gold during the cast of the spell.

"I can say the same about you. It's not nice not to say your name, don't you think?" Evan said with a smirk. He didn't like this girl's arrogance.

Tremble.

The next moment the girl released her aura. It was mighty, many monsters would have been frightened by it. Victoria hoped it would tame Evan, but she was wrong.

Evan also smiled and released his aura, and it was even scarier and more terrifying than Victoria's aura. Evan found this situation amusing. He liked watching the confused faces of overconfident people.

Victoria didn't react in any way and just stopped emitting her aura. She hadn't expected Evan to possess such power, even though he hadn't yet broken through any Barrier at his stage.

<It looks like the elders are paying this guy so much attention for a reason. Even one of the strongest members of the Demonic Tree has taken credit for his actions. That's pretty interesting>. Victoria thought.

Victoria had to take Evan to one room to join the Demonic Tree and get his mantle officially.

They didn't go into the city part of the Devil's Horn. Evan would go there himself once the ceremony was over.

Victoria led Evan to a large gate forged of red iron. They looked majestic and intimidating.

"You take it from here," Victoria said coldly and headed into town.

Evan smiled and, with some effort, slowly opened the gates. They weighed over ten tons, but Evan was strong enough to move them off the meta and open them like a normal door.

The room wasn't huge. Demonic Tree didn't hold pompous and flashy admission ceremonies. Instead, they held one test. It was impossible not to pass, so even if a mage did poorly on this test, he still became a member of the Demonic Tree.

There was only one person in the room. He was one of the strongest members of the Demonic Tree and one of the chief members of the Devil's Horn. He was the one who was to conduct the entrance ceremony and the test today.

Evan immediately used Mammon's Gaze.

[Hugo Sveen

Race - Mage

Stage - Three-Pointed Star, with two flames

Warp - White]

<A man this strong has a white Warp. It seems that when it comes to true strength, Warp color, while important, is not the main factor.> Evan thought and headed toward Hugo.

Hugo, like all the members of the Demonic Tree, wore a red robe with the image of an ebony tree on it. Hugo had thick black hair slicked back, amber eyes, and pale skin. He had a black earring in his right ear and a simple, metal chain around his neck. Hugo was reading some book, and at first, he didn't even pay Evan his attention.

When Evan came closer, Hugo put the book aside and looked at Evan, and said, "Hello, Evan Lynch. I have to admit that no one had procrastinated as long as you to join us when you were ready to do so. You could have joined us when you were still at the One-Pointed Star stage, but you've only come now."

Evan shrugged and said, "I've just been a little busy. Sometimes a lot of things happen in one moment, and you don't have time to do anything else."

"I see." Hugo replied briefly and said, "I'm surprised that Rave asked me to make you a full member right away, bypassing the rookie period. I didn't agree at first, but when he told me what you did, I changed my mind."

Hugo sighed and continued, "As you may have realized by now, I'm not going to hold any pompous opening ceremony. Light organizations conduct such ceremonies, and frankly, it seems pathetic and inappropriate. You will now have to pass a test, after which I will write down your name and identify you as a full member of the Demonic Tree."

"A test? What happens if you fail it?" Evan asked.

Hugo shook his head, "It's not a test you can fail. Regardless of the results, you won't get any rewards or penalties. The point of this test is to see how strong your spirit and, to some extent, your potential is so that the other leaders and I can see how strong you are. You'll get your grade. As I said earlier, it wouldn't affect anything. But, it will help us understand how safe a particular assignment will be for you."

"What do you mean?" Evan asked.

"It's simple. Suppose you got the lowest grade on the test. That means it would be hazardous to send you to the most difficult assignments. In that case, we'd have to keep you out of some missions for your safety. I'm not going to talk nonsense like we're family, we should appreciate each other, and so on. It's simple, every member counts, and we can't throw such talents away. Every member of Demonic Tree is our strength. If someone dies because they're overconfident, it's not just their problem.. It's organization's problem too."