Chapter 2: Youngster Demon
About a month after the purple demon’s departure, the pair cracked the code. They finally solved the problem of how to target a specific demon. The old man was ready to summon his demon pal a second time.
“Shall we do it right away!?”
“We still have one decision to make,” the demon remarked. “Do I return to the place you call the demon realm first or do you summon me straight from and to this room?”
“I thought that demons couldn’t be summoned while they were already contracted. Is that not the case?”
“Am I contracted to you?”
The old man lowered his gaze to the floor while he thought. “No! You granted me my wish, so technically you’re not contracted, right?”
“Correct.”
“But then, please pardon my statement, but how have you been able to remain in this realm all this time with me? Not that I mind, of course!”
“You have yet to pay me for granting your wish.”
“Ah! So even if you return to the demon realm…” The old man trailed off as he noticed the troubled look on the demon’s face.
“I’ll sum it up, youngster. If you summon me from here, it won’t be a true test of our work. Even if we’re successful, that won’t prove we’re able to summon specific demons directly from the demon realm. If I return to the demon realm, the payment remains incomplete until you summon me a second time.”
“I see, that makes sense. So all I need to do is succeed in your summoning and our transaction is complete soon after!”
The demon remain silent, and the two stared at each other for a while until the man eventually spoke again.
“So that means it’s possible—“
“Let’s choose a second wish,” the demon offered.
“Another wish? But you already granted me my only desire, here at the end of my life.”
“For this past year I’ve seen you thrive, youngster. One such as yourself cannot be truly without any desires.”
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“Is that so? Let me think, then.”
“Do so.”
For several minutes, the old man looked like he might strain a muscle as he forced himself to come up with an idea. Eventually, he threw up his hands. “I can’t think of anything meaningful without extending my life, and I don’t want to wish to just extend my life! I don’t care about anyone else anymore. I’m at a loss!”
“So you don’t want to extend your life.”
“Correct!”
“You don’t want to extent your… human life.”
“What other life is there…?”
The demon frowned. “Perhaps I’ve been too cautious…”
No longer worried that the old man would pull a fast one and refuse to re-summon the demon from the demon realm, or something sneaky like that, the pair agreed on a plan to grant a new wish: to become a demon.
“So I can still die if I really want to?”
“Yes,” the demon confirmed. “You’ll also be quite weak to start, but considering your current state, it will be an… improvement.”
“What about if I get forcefully summoned? Oh! What about the other demons?”
“To your first question, I have a plan. To your second, I will give you my name once you become a demon. You won’t have any problems with other demons after that.”
“Oh, okay.”
“Do you accept my offer to grant your wish and make you into a demon after you complete payment for having your previous wish granted by me?”
“I accept!”
“Good. Count to ten and then summon me.” The demon disappeared in a puff of black smoke.
The old man dutifully counted to ten out loud as though anyone was actually supervising him. With the ritual already set up, he merely needed to recite the incantation and pump the necessary energies into the mirror. He began at once.
The old man held a script in his left hand while his right hand pushed against the mirror. After reciting the key words, his hand actually passed through the mirror, stopping when his wrist reached the surface. Momentarily pausing in surprise, he completed the incantation.
The mirror glowed green, much brighter than when summoning using a circle of blood. He brought his left arm up to shield his eyes, all while holding his script. A few seconds later, the blinding light diminished. Just as the old man was preparing to pull his right hand out from the mirror, more out of habit than out of fear at this point, the mirror actually forced his hand out of its own accord. His wrist was slightly sprained as a result, but he disregarded the pain. Before him stood the same demon, only this time on the opposite side of the mirror, blue glow emanating from the image.
“Good work.”
“It worked!”
“Yes. Funny. You seem more excited about succeeding with the summoning and paying me than you do with having your second wish granted.”
“Well, I suppose…”
“That is fine. It’s now my turn to pay up. Prepare yourself.”
The old man wasn’t really sure how to prepare oneself for becoming a demon. He decided to sit down on the floor lest he topple over and hurt himself.
The demon waited patiently for the man to carefully lower himself and assume a comfortable posture. “Here I go.” With a large swing of his arm, the demon snapped his fingers.
The old man sensed a change in his body and looked at his outstretched arms, but no changes were visible yet. The demon addressed him briefly.
“My name is Arzoch. Tell other demons you worked for me, if you must. Farewell.” Arzoch vanished from the mirror. No, it was the mirror itself that vanished, along with the book.
“Arzoch… That name…” The old man was pretty sure he’d read that name among the oldest demons in mythology, but at this point it wasn’t that surprising. “GUH!” Then the pain hit. He collapsed on his side, violently convulsing.