992 years later. An abandoned warehouse somewhere outside the city.
On the dirty floor lay two teenagers, about twelve years old, dressed in expensive clothes that clearly hinted at their privileged origins. Alas, the kidnappers couldn’t care less about their noble lineage, nor about the lives of their captives.
Several dozen men and women in black robes prepared for a ritual, occasionally whispering to one another. Soon, complex seals were engraved on the concrete floor, generously soaked with the blood of the gathered.
Arranging the unconscious bodies of the teenagers in the shape of a star directly atop the glowing seals, the kidnappers began their ritual, intending to summon two demons at once.
“This time, we have an excellent catch!” one of the women laughed melodiously. She looked like a supermodel, though the crazed gleam in her eyes ruined the allure. Many might have desired her otherwise, but no one present dared to treat her with anything but utmost seriousness.
“D’Volkov!” she extended her hand toward one of the boys, clenching her fist with anticipation. “Sweet little Wolfie, come to mommy! I’ve been searching for a beastly demon for so long!”
“Lidia, enough already!” barked one of the men, who was currently inspecting the seals. “You’ll get your wolf cub, like everyone else! Stop distracting me!”
“Mark, shut up,” she hissed in response. “And hurry up before their families catch wind of this!”
The man cursed but continued his work, and soon, the group commenced the summoning ritual. The seals glowed crimson, and dark smoke began to emanate from the bodies of the heirs of demonic clans. Within moments, the smoke coalesced into two imposing humanoid figures. One demon, towering like a mountain in human form, and the other resembling a werewolf, became solid, leaving visible dents in the concrete floor.
The wolf demon remained motionless even after the summoning, blankly scanning his surroundings. The volcano demon, however, flared up as soon as he became aware, unleashing a wave of heat that engulfed everyone present.
“**NANORIIIIIS!**” he roared, sparking panic among the assembled. A summoned demon wasn’t supposed to retain consciousness!
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**Some warehouse somewhere outside the city**
**Volcano**
“NANORIIIIIS!” I roared, still not fully realizing I had returned to life, though not in the way I’d expected.
Around me stood several dozen people, already preparing defensive spells in response to the wave of heat I had unleashed. Beside me stood an old acquaintance—Wolf, a demon of the middle tier. Though at the moment, he looked even dumber than usual, tongue hanging out and drool dripping.
Looking down at my feet, I saw a boy lying on the summoning seal. Judging by the fact that he was clearly getting worse, something I could distinctly feel, my temporary body was directly linked to this vessel.
It was astonishing that these humans had managed to summon me at all, especially in such a barbaric way, and even more so alongside Wolf. So many questions, and so few answers!
“You,” I pointed at a chubby human with a cute face. “Speak. What do you want? I’m not in the best shape right now, but for the right price, I can still do plenty!”
“Y-y-you…” the human stammered, pointing back at me. “You can talk?!”
Now that was unexpected! How long had I been asleep that humans were now surprised by a talking demon? Or had we all regressed after the battle with the gods, becoming like Wolf, who at his best could only utter dramatic lines and his signature “Awooo”?
“Talking,” I sighed tiredly, aware that I wouldn’t last long in this form; the boy was too weak. “Unlike this one,” I nodded toward Wolf. “Now. What year is it?”
“Two… two thousand,” one of the humans stuttered. “Forty-two!”
“Wait a minute, mortal!” I growled, sensing something off. No way! “You’re telling me I’ve been asleep for nearly a thousand years?!”
After asking a few more leading questions, I confirmed it was true. I’d been gone so long that intelligent demons had become so rare that their very existence was in doubt. At least, what people now called “demons” used to be mere subtypes of ghosts and curses… unless these humans dared to lie to me!
“Mark, shut up!” one of the humans snapped, recovering from the initial shock. “So what if he’s intelligent? He’s *Volcano*! What can he do to us?! Start the capture, idiots!”
At her command, the gathered humans abruptly regained their composure, hastily channeling mana. The fear was gone, which was almost insulting. How rude!
Gathering my strength—causing the boy to turn even paler—I cast a weak volcanic ash spell. The mages screamed, attempting to counter the attack, and they even succeeded! I was far weaker in this form than I realized…
“Damn it,” I growled, realizing that the summoning seal had been damaged by my attack, and I was quickly losing what little power I had left. Who even summons demons like this?
And yet, I was lucky; Wolf’s seal had been completely blown away, and he vanished without a trace. Not that there was much use for his “Awoo” anyway!
Time was running out, and I still had things to do! For some reason, no one in all these years had thought to exchange their body for my power, so as always, I had to do everything myself.
Pulling some stone shards toward me, I shaped a small tablet about the size of a palm, inscribed with instructions on how to summon me. Discreetly slipping it into the boy’s pocket, who was already starting to stir and further weaken our connection, I directed the rest of my strength toward eliminating the humans in robes.
Despite their desperate resistance, the capabilities of my temporary body were enough to crush some of them. The rest lived a little longer but were severely injured by a burst of flames. Knowing how fragile humans are, they probably wouldn’t last until reinforcements arrived—if any were coming at all.
And with that, my temporary summoning ended. The boy woke up, fully severing the connection. I could only hope he would figure out the tablet and one day call on me again. Unfortunately, I’ve never been particularly good at deceiving humans. Usually, they came to me when they needed something destroyed!