by Virlyce
“Th—”
“Hey,” Vur said, interrupting Daniel. He patted Alora’s shoulder. “You have to be more intimidating. Like this.” He glared at Daniel with glowing eyes, a golden rune pulsing on his forehead, nearly causing the knight’s heart to stop. Then Vur nodded and met Alora’s gaze. “See? Dragons have to be intimidating when they ask questions. That’s what Grimmy said. You’re still a baby, so I’ll teach you.”
Alora ground her teeth together as she gave Vur a withering glare. Then she snorted and turned her attention back onto Daniel. She bared her fangs and asked in a low growl, “What’s in this barrel? If you don’t tell me, I’ll, uh, squish you, I guess.”
“Wrong!” Vur said. “You don’t threaten people with words. Your posture and attitude should already imply the threat. Try again.”
Alora blinked at Vur. “You’re really undermining my scary image here,” she said. “How am I supposed to intimidate him if you embarrass me like this?”
“O mighty dragon, I think you’re plenty intimidating,” Daniel said, his voice wavering. “You are correct about the summoning reagent. Dragon scales, phoenix feathers, roc claws, wyvern wings, hundreds of precious herbs and minerals have been dissolved inside. I—”
Vur poked the knight’s stomach with his claw, causing the knight to fall silent immediately. “Did you see that?” Vur asked Alora. “I didn’t even say anything and he knew I was threatening him. That’s why he stopped talking.”
“Alright, whatever, Mr. Adult,” Alora said, rolling her eyes. “Now we know why we sensed a dragon here. He’s using my dad’s shed scales like some kind of pervert.”
“P-pervert?” Apollonia asked from Daniel’s shoulder.
“Isn’t he?” Alora asked. “He, like, rummaged through our stuff and picked up our shed scales. What, did you take our boogers too?”
“Vur! Alora! Why’d you two go ahead like that!?”
The two dragons turned their heads towards the side. Tafel, Alice, and Mr. Skelly were running towards them, panting for breath. Vur blinked. “I’m the leader. Leaders are first.”
Tafel’s expression darkened. “You couldn’t take me with you?”
“You left the room first,” Vur said and shrugged. “It’s not my fault you weren’t there to take with me when I went ahead.”
Tafel sighed. “Okay, dragon logic always wins, I get it,” she said and shook her head. She frowned at the half-completed spell circle painted on the ground. “What’s going on here? It looks like some really intricate space-magic spell’s design. Are they opening up a portal?”
“A summoning ritual, I think,” Alora said. She placed the knight onto the ground by Tafel. “He said something about a reagent made of Dad’s old scales and phoenix feathers.”
Tafel’s eyes lit up, then they dimmed again. “Eh? Weren’t you that really rude knight from earlier today?” she asked, wrinkling her brow. “Whatever. You’re going to complete this ritual, and I’m going to watch.”
Daniel turned his head and met Apollonia’s gaze. Both of them were at a loss.
***
A woman dressed in black armor was sitting by the side of a campfire. A haunch of meat was spit roasting over it. Across from her, a wary traveler was rotating the meat over the flames. He bit his lower lip, eyeing the black sword by the woman’s side. “So…, ma’am…, what brings you this far south?”
The woman hesitated before answering, “South?”
***
“A devil, I see,” Tafel said, nodding her head. She was standing beside Daniel, overlooking the summoning portal in the backyard. The two were standing on a pile of rubble that used to be the house but was knocked down by Alora’s clumsiness. “Is it really going to work? Summoning a being from another dimension sounds like something from a fantasy story.”
“We don’t know if it’s actually going to work,” Daniel said, rubbing his helmeted head. “But it’s worth a shot. The spell ritual and formula wouldn’t have been recorded and passed down if it hadn’t worked. More importantly, are you a devil?”
Tafel blinked and pointed at herself. “Me?”
“Yes,” Daniel said, gesturing towards his temple. “You know, the horns. When I first saw you, I thought they were ornaments, but now that I look more closely, I see they’re attached to your head.”
“Oh, these,” Tafel said, touching the base of one of her horns. “I’m not a devil. I’m a demon. We’re something like a mix between humans and fairies.”
“What’s a fairy?”
“It’s like a female genie.”
“…You mean the tiny people who grant wishes? They have wings on their backs, and they’re generally very rude or clingy or both?”
Tafel nodded. “Yeah, those.”
“And your race is a mix between those little people and humans…? How does that…, isn’t the size difference…, err, you know?”
Tafel groaned and held her forehead with her hand. “Not like that, okay? Just…, no. I’m not a devil, and that’s that.”
Daniel turned his head away before clearing his throat. “Right, of course.”
The two stared at the ritualists in silence. Behind the ritualists, Vur and Alora were competing in balancing trees vertically on their snouts without using their paws. Alice and Mr. Skelly were sitting in a corner with Alice leaning on Mr. Skelly’s plated chest, her eyes closed and a line of drool leaking from her mouth.
“Anyways…,” Tafel said, breaking the silence. “Why are you trying to summon a devil? It has something to do with this empress that you people call a demon lord, right?”
“Yes. The demon lord is an unbelievably strong existence,” Daniel said. “Only a devil can hope to defeat her.” He glanced at Vur and Alora. Alora’s tree fell off her snout towards the ritualists, but Vur smacked it away with his tail before it could crush them. “Or two dragons, but dragons don’t interfere with humans. Usually.”
Tafel sighed as Vur puffed his chest out, looking down on Alora. “You want to ask about them, don’t you?” Tafel asked. “Well, don’t. I don’t feel like answering.”
Daniel nodded. “Alright.” He paused. “They won’t interfere with the summoning process, right?”
“Not on purpose,” Tafel said with a dark expression on her face. Alora’s tail nearly squished one of the ritualists out of anger. Tafel rose to her feet and cupped her hands around her mouth. “Hey! You two! Stop fighting so close to the ritual site!”
“Ah,” Alora said as she shuffled her tail away. “My bad.” She looked around before pointing at a relatively empty clearing. “Let’s go compete over there instead.”
“But I already won,” Vur said.
“I can beat you in something else! I don’t believe you can do anything I can do but better.”
Vur clicked his tongue as he followed after Alora. “Children should respect their elders. I’m doing you a favor by teaching you Grimmy’s code of honor. You shouldn’t resist so much.”
“Blah, blah, blah,” Alora said, rolling her eyes. “This time we’re competing in digging holes. Whoever digs the deepest hole wins. We stop when I say so, okay?”
Vur nodded. “And if I win, you have to memorize one more of Grimmy’s teachings.”
Alora snorted. “What are you, a missionary? Whatever. We’re starting in five…, four…, one! Go!”
“Dragons suddenly don’t seem that scary anymore,” Daniel said, the expression on his face blank. His visor was raised to get a better view. “But then I remember that they can kill me by looking at me funny.”
“Yeah,” Tafel said, nodding her head. “They’re like really big puppies sometimes.”
“Sir Daniel,” one of the ritualists said from down below. “The summoning circle is ready. How should we proceed?”
Daniel frowned and turned his head, facing Apollonia’s image, which was sitting on his shoulder. “My liege, the choice is yours.”
Apollonia smiled, and her voice resounded through the backyard. “Summon the
strongest devil that you can. It’s fine even if you can’t control it. The demon lord will be here soon.”
“Yes, my liege!” the six ritualists said at the same time.
Tafel frowned. “Is that really okay?”
“Our orders are absolute,” Daniel said.
“Really?” Apollonia asked, her eyes glimmering. “I ordered you to prevent strangers from entering the fortress, yet here we are.”
Daniel coughed and cleared his throat. “It couldn’t be helped.”
“Sshh! It’s starting,” Tafel said, putting a finger to her lips. Her eyes shone as the ritualists retrieved piles upon piles of meat which were hidden inside of a nearby wheelbarrow. They chanted while stacking the meat until the pile was larger than themselves. Then they made separate smaller piles around it. As a pentagram with five piles of meat acting as the points appeared, the ritualists’ chanting increased in speed, becoming louder as well. Tafel mumbled along, trying to memorize the phrases they were using, but the chant was too fast, causing her to clench her fists when she failed.
“Now, appear, Great Devil! Accept our offering and descend upon this world!” The lead ritualist raised his hand into the air and slashed his palm with a knife. Instead of flowing down his arm, the blood in his palm surged towards the sky, creating a red orb at the center of the pentagram. It spread out into a thin line that slowly opened like an eye. Then, all the meat on the ground was sucked up into the bloody portal, disappearing from view. “Great Devil! Bring ruin to our world! Come out! With my blood and offerings, I call upon thee, Great Devil! Come out!”
A short, high-pitched yelp echoed out of the bloody rift.
“Great Devil!” the lead ritualist shouted, his voice even louder. Blood continued to stream out of his palm, flowing towards the edge of the portal, maintaining its shape. “Accept my offerings, heed my wish! Show my enemies your wrath!”
There was a short moment of silence. Then a feminine voice rang out, “Ilya!!! Something weird is happening! Help!”
“How many times do I have to tell you not to…, is that a portal?” another voice asked.
“I don’t know! I was burying some swords as legacies, and then a ton of meat dropped from the sky onto my head! Gah! Those dumb immortals are bullying me, aren’t they? …Hey, do you think the meat’s poisoned?”
“Don’t eat it! Stop! Ugh, let me destroy that portal first.”
The lead ritualist’s mouth fell open as the portal winked out of existence, his blood falling to the ground like a cut rope. A wry smile appeared on his lips as he turned to face Daniel. “It would seem like the strongest devil has rejected our call.”
“That was to be expected,” Apollonia said. “Don’t mind it. This time, focus on a devil that is weaker but controllable.”
“Yes, my liege,” the lead ritualist said. His gaze swept over his fellow ritualists. “Prepare the secondary materials.”
“Stop!” Alora shouted. The ritualists froze. Alora blinked and looked at the trembling people. “Oh, not you. I was talking to Vur. You little things can carry on.” She peered over to the side at Vur’s hole. It was at least two times wider and two times deeper than hers. “…You cheated. New competition.”
Vur snorted as he climbed out, wiping away some lava that had pooled underneath his paws. “I don’t have to cheat; I’m a dragon. I’ll always win anyways. That’s one of Grimmy’s codes: Dragons always win. Remember that.”
Alora’s head tilted to the side. “What happens if two dragons compete?”
“One of them wins, so a dragon always wins. Duh.” Vur pointed his chin towards the sky and looked down on Alora with his eyes, causing her to grind her teeth. Vur’s brow wrinkled as he pointed at the ritual site. “Is that a booger?”
“Why would there”—Alora turned her head to follow Vur’s claw—“be a…, that’s a booger. It looks like Dad’s. Did they really take his boogers with his scales!? What didn’t they take?”
7
“Devil, come out!” the lead ritualist shouted, his palm releasing blood at a steady rate. Instead of mounds of meat, a small pile of dragon boogers and other miscellaneous items lay in a pentagram formation at the center of the spell circle. A portal was widening over it, but noticeably slower than before. “Accept my offerings, Devil! I summon thee; bring ruin upon my enemy!”
“Compared to the first ritual, this one’s a little … lame,” Tafel said and turned towards Daniel, looking away from the summoning circle, “don’t you think?”
Apollonia responded before Daniel could, “It’s a weaker devil; the summoning ritual for it is going to be lackluster compared to summoning a greater devil.”
“Couldn’t you have started with the weaker devil in the first place?” Tafel asked, raising an eyebrow. “Then you wouldn’t have used so much, err, meat. I guess. I’m sure it must’ve cost something other than meat too.”
“Summoning a greater devil is the best-case scenario,” Apollonia said. “A lesser devil will work too, but that means we’ll have to aid the devil in defeating the demon lord. If only that devil accepted our offer, then we could’ve saved the lives of thousands of our men.”
“Thousands…?” Tafel asked, raising an eyebrow. “How strong is the demon lord?”
“Conventional wisdom doesn’t apply to her,” Apollonia said with a sigh. “All she cares about is killing and pursuing strength. She’s a dark knight; with every person she kills, her strength increases by leaps and bounds. But that doesn’t mean she can’t get tired. With the devil at the lead, we’ll use a human wave tactic to drown her.”
“How is she as a person?” a voice asked from the bottom of the rubble that Tafel and Daniel were standing on. Alice was climbing up with Mr. Skelly following behind her. “Is she evil? She’s evil, isn’t she? She doesn’t care about the lives of her citizens and raises the taxes to the point of starving them, right?”
“That’s right,” Apollonia said, nodding her head. “Even people like you who aren’t from these parts have heard about her evil deeds. Doesn’t that just go to show how cruel she really is?”
A smug smile appeared on Alice’s lips as she raised her eyebrows at Tafel. The demon didn’t have to be a mind reader to know what she was thinking. Tafel snorted and said, “Well, we’re hearing propaganda directly from its source. There’s no way someone who’s summoning a devil to kill someone will claim they’re a bad person. It’s all in the name of justice; who wants to be painted in a bad light? But! Have you ever thought about the fact that someone summoning a devil to kill someone is inherently a bad person? Until we hear from the demon lord herself, our bet’s still ongoing.”
“Devil! You’ve come!”
Alice and Tafel stopped their bickering, focusing their attention completely on the summoning circle. A brown blob fell out of the bloody portal, absorbing all the sacrificial materials into its body. A face with ten eyes and three mouths appeared on the blob’s surface, its eyes peering at the lead ritualist. “Many years have passed since someone has called for me. What is it that you seek, mortal?”
“There is someone that I wish for you to kill, devil,” the lead ritualist said. “She’s unfathomably strong, a worthy opponent for one such as yourself.”
The face on the blob contorted as three hideous grins manifested on its mouths. “Where is she?”
The lead ritualist turned towards Daniel. Daniel and Apollonia shrugged. “She should’ve arrived by now,” Apollonia said, furrowing her brow. “Don’t tell me she got sidetracked again.”
The lead ritualist faced the devil once more. “I’m not sure where she is.”
“…Then what do you want me to do, mortal?” The blob jiggled before shrinking and solidifying, condensing into the shape of a gorilla that had eight spindly legs growing out of its back like a spider. The ten eyes shifted around the devil’s body: some entering its legs, others into its arms, and even a few down by its butt, giving the devil perfect vision of its surroundings including the sky and the g
round. Its spidery legs extended, suspending the gorilla-like body in the air. “With these paltry offerings, I can only maintain this form for one moon cycle.”
Tafel turned towards Daniel. “Hey, if you can’t find the demon lord in two weeks, can I kill it?” she asked, pointing at the devil. “I’d get a lot of experience fighting it.”
Apollonia’s eyes widened. “Do you think you can kill it?”
“Um, probably,” Tafel said with a nod. “I’m pretty strong, you know?”
Alice snorted. “Braggart.”
“Hey!” Tafel said, her cheeks flushed. “I whooped your butt before, didn’t I?”
“Just wondering…,” Apollonia said while rubbing her chin, “can we hire you to kill the demon lord?” Upon seeing Tafel’s reaction, she added, “Or even just defeat her if you’re not comfortable with killing.”
“I don’t really like interfering with the politics of other regions,” Tafel said, scratching her head.
“Cough, liar, cough.” Alice cleared her throat a few times as Mr. Skelly patted her back.
Tafel narrowed her eyes at her short party member. “Are you having issues?”
Alice shook her head. “Nope.”
“Mm.” Apollonia nodded. “It seems like I’ll have to rely on the devil still.”
“I’m being ignored,” the devil said, glaring at the group chatting on the rubble. Its spidery legs bent, its face getting closer to the lead ritualist’s. Its three mouths clacked their teeth a few times before asking in a low rumble, “How do you wish for me to proceed in slaying your enemy? I can track her down by her scent. Or I can drink her blood to place a tracking magic on her.”
The lead ritualist turned towards Daniel. “Do we have the demon lord’s blood? No, in the first place, does she even bleed?”
“I have an article of her clothing,” Daniel said, his cheeks taking on a hint of pink. “Could you get her scent off of that?”
