∼ Summonings ∼

Chapter - 044

‹ Nyx ›

In the clearing of the woodlands, the echoes of pained groans rung between the trees. It was Nyx. His mind had been a landscape of agony ever since his contract ritual, the cause being something called; "mana lesions". At least, that was what Aria called them. However, all that Nyx cared to know about them though, was the fact they felt like absolute anguish.

During the ritual, Nyx's overexertion had put his mind directly in the mercy of the infernal storms. If not for him already being a creature of demonic energy, he would not have gotten away with something as simple as mana lesions. Though, that was not to say they were a light problem to be easily dealt with.

This was a type of damage that even Aria had much trouble healing, for wounds inflicted by mana were often a lot harder to mend than normal physical ones. Mana festering in wounds like an infection. That was why Aria had been coddling Nyx's head in a glowing green embrace ever since the end of the ritual, in the hopes that he wouldn't suffer lasting damage that could wary anywhere from mana crippling to permanent brain damage. Which was disconcerting, considering nobody wanted a demon that was even more mentally unstable than normal (for a demon). That was for sure.

But despite the pain Nyx endured now, he couldn't help but think it was all worth it, recalling the memory of noticing the expression on Aria's face after having told her what demon he had formed a contract with.

"A lesser demon?! Oh my - Nyx, how did you...?" She exclaimed. Aria was clearly shocked, even more so than when she reacted to Nyx obtaining an Epic-rarity trait.

Nyx of course reveled in her awe, but he was quite confused as to exactly why she was so surprised. Considering this creature was mere of the Rare-rarity. A tier lower than that of Epic-rarity. But as usual, Aria was quick to explain.

"Nyx, you have summoned not only a rare demon. But it is a lesser demon! Warlocks are usually only ever able to achieve a contract with a late-stage minor demon for their first contracts. An impling for example, like you once were. An impling is very common and is considered a stable familiar for most warlocks, as was my father's first summon. They usually evolve their familiar from there. It is incredibly rare for someone to summon a lesser demon straight out of the gate." Aria's enthusiasm was clear, almost enough to blot out her concern.

As much as Nyx wanted to continue delighting in that memory, a lance of pain piercing his head sent him spiraling back into the aftermath of his recklessness.

"I am sorry Nyx, but you need to keep it down," Aria said, shushing the pained demon as gently as she could.

Farther away, Eric was in full swing packing the buck, his gaze vigilant of their surroundings as Nyx's pained sounds were definitely less than subtle. While there was a much smaller chance coming upon a deadly monster this close to Boreas, that was no call for being negligent, as their encounter with the barkjaw had proved.

As if a sign from fate itself, the rustle of a tree, scattering loose leaves onto the forest floor, caught Eric's attention as his head snapped in the direction. For the briefest of moments, both Aria and Eric froze, senses on full alert. Eric was the first to move, however, finishing strapping Aria's rucksack to the buck who neighed nervously. It too recognized the danger. "We're leaving, now," Eric ordered curtly. "Can you hold onto him?"

Flustered, Aria looked between the forest beyond and Nyx's limp form. "I-uh, yes. B-but we should not move him-"

"No choice, hold on tight," Before Aria could protest further, he had hauled both her and Nyx onto the buck with one swift movement, his newfound strength easily handling the two lightweights. Another rustle beyond the clearing frayed at their nerves. There was definitely something out there. Stalking them. Eric cursed as it must've been drawn by Nyx's wailing.

Kicking the horse into a gallop, Eric did his best to steer them through the dense underbrush of the woodlands. It was only a couple more times they heard the rustle of leaves right behind them, as if whatever was stalking them were jumping through the crowns of the trees. Peering at them from high above. But as time went on, they seemed to finally lose their stalker.

A short but rough ride later, they slowed to a steady gait under the light rain of a now moody sky, Nyx having long since passed out from the pain. His head hadn't exactly agreed with the rough treatment of their desperate ride. But at least they weren't broadcasting their presence anymore, drawing no more monsters nor any opportunistic beasts of the forest to the hunt with his unceasing moans of pain.

"Did we lose it?" Aria asked, casting hesitant glances in every direction.

"Think so, but we should hunker down. We'll only risk running into another monster if we ride like this again."

To their luck, they found a small uninhabited cave shortly after, a hollow cut into the side of a tall hill. This would give Aria some time to see to the demon.

The groans of Nyx were readily prevalent in the tight space soon after as he had regained consciousness, much to the displeasure of the imp as the painless bliss of oblivion was robbed from him. At least, the cave managed to dampen most of the noise so as not to attract more trouble.

Eric stood by the cave mouth, keeping watch and scanning the forest line. The buck was secured just to the side of the cave mouth, grazing away at the wet woodland grass absentmindedly. As if they hadn't just been pursued by some unknown predator.

The surroundings were peaceful though, rather serene with the drizzle of rain that had just begun to pick up. But a certain tension held strong in the air still. Eric knew something was wrong. It was then the buck stopped grazing, once again neighing uneasily.

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The very next moment, a large figure shot like a cannonball from the crown of a tree, so fast that Eric had trouble reacting to the blur that crashed into the horse, sending the large stallion to thump heavily against the side of the cave mouth like little more than a ragdoll. The buck laid limp, having instantly lost consciousness if not having been killed straight out.

Having used the horse to bounce off on, their stalker landed in the small clearing right before the cave mouth, revealing itself to be a huge furry creature that had a body almost similar to that of a squirrel. However, it was anything but the recognizable furry little critters, as this monster sported the streamlined visage of a predator despite its fluffy coat of fur with a size that could rival a small horse.

From the beady red eyes to the jagged rows of unaligned teeth that protruded from the sides of its mouth, forming almost a ghastly cage of sorts, it regarded Eric with the calculative gaze of a cunning predator.

Both Eric and the monster gauged each other, the furry beast stalking in slow erratic patterns as it sniffed at the air. It was not immediately charging them, to which Eric wasn't sure that he actually preferred. Because that would mean that this creature was a lot smarter than it ought to be.

Behind Eric, further into the cave, Aria dared not move. Her healing long was forgotten as even Nyx, through the haze of his mind, was staring wide-eyed at their unwanted guest. The dazed demon tried its best to right itself, instead of lying prone, but had a rather rough time of it. The sudden movement of the demon must've done something as the monster charged the very next instant, its speed great as it bounded towards the cavemouth.

Eric, in an impressive display of his new abilities, deftly dodged the first searching swipe of the creature, not passing a moment's opportunity as his fist arched, eliciting a loud thwack as his hand connected with the side of the monster's head. It snapped to the side with droplets of water flying off its wet fur at the sudden and abrupt movement.

Having already drawn a dagger in a smooth movement, Eric barely managed to land a glancing cut on the beast's snout as it backed up rapidly, the creature reeling in pain and shock from the unexpected combo.

It shook its head, slightly dazed at the blow it had taken to the head. "Come on ∼ you oversized furball." He taunted.

Unfortunately for Eric, that did little more than send him flying back, knocking him on his ass as the monster had unexpected whipped around and let its long and fluffy, but surprisingly firm, tail lash against him with an attack he could neither dodge nor counter. He only managed to get both arms up in time to block the attack.

Before Eric could get back on his feet, the beast had gotten hold of his pant leg, dragging him out of the cave mouth and into the small clearing. Luckily, it hadn't bitten into the flesh of his leg. Only a searing gash along his shin had been left. Using the leverage, he managed to score a few deep cuts onto the creature's muzzle with his dagger before it let him go in pain.

Now, it was thoroughly pissed off and Eric realized it wasn't going to play with its prey any longer.

Scrambling to his feet, Eric was nearly knocked back down to the ground as he took a glancing blow to his shoulder, leaving three long gashes from the beast's sharp claws. From inside the cave, Aria and Nyx could only watch. They both knew within their hearts that they were in real trouble. As fast, as strong, and as determined as Eric was - he could not fight a monster such as this with just his fists.

Dredging up whatever energy Nyx could muster, he knew what he had to do.

Realizing what he was about to do, Aria exclaimed worriedly. "No Nyx! If you try to use magic now, it could kill you! Your mind has not properly healed yet!"

But he did not heed her warning. It was pure agony as he tried to call on his mana, his mind in rampant protest. To the demon's great fortune, however, his mind wasn't the only conductor and reservoir of mana he had.

From his core rather than his mind, a spell slowly formed.

It was a struggle with his sight blurry and the pain that lanced with every surge of mana coursing in his body, but he did not relent. For Nyx knew, that when the big and stupid human would fall, Aria and himself were next. He would not allow that to happen. Regardless of how satisfying it sounded letting the human become squirrel chow.

[You have taken 12 damage, a critical hit!]

Hand extended out, fiery-red runes began etching themselves onto the cave floor in front of the demon, the runes similar to the ones that Aria had carved for his summoning ritual but somehow much more primal and cardinal. A ring of power manifested in the cave, captivating both Aria and Nyx who saw the gate to whatever realm beyond slowly completed itself. For a moment or two, nothing happened.

Then, from the dark and blistering gate of energy, came one large and clawed hand, and then another - grabbing both sides of the summoning gate and pulling itself up. Only slightly shorter than Nyx himself, the demon that crawled out of the gate was the spitting image of savagery and untamed ferocity.

Underneath a mop of uneven but smooth black hair was a pair of long wide ears that framed a brutal face with two large tusks protruding from either side of its mouth. Its most distinguishing feature was its disproportionately large hands, which almost looked like mallets made for bludgeoning.

Trailing behind it, was a thin but strong tail. Clearly made for keeping balance and grappling onto things. From its smaller and wiry frame, it more so supported itself on its large hands instead of its little legs.

Noticeably atop the demon's right hand, there was a mark. A mark of sin. This one was different from his own, though he recognized its power as a fellow cardinal sin. The Mark of Wrath.

"Did Aria not say something about how major marks of sin were rare?" The thought briefly struck Nyx although it did not stick in his addled state. Finishing the look of his new familiar was the shabby makeshift uncured animal leathers covering the demon's chest and groin, with patches of fur wherever there wasn't hard skin and muscle.

It was an odd creature by all standards, and past the gibbering nonsense it was mumbling as it looked around at the cave, it was all in all quite a ferocious sight. The demon was also distinctly female, which was a cause of brief confusion for Nyx as he didn't immediately recognize it as the thrasher he had seen during his evolution selection.

The thrasher seemed about as confused as it was agitated. Then again, Nyx couldn't fault it since he had practically brought it back from the dead. Still, it just stood there, looking at Nyx with an unreadable expression and Aria with a baleful one.

Aria had already explained that contracted familiars could not willingly hurt their masters nor by neglect or by an intentional action that could cause something detrimental to their warlocks, though intelligent familiars rarely ever wanted their masters something ill for they were the only remaining tie to the land of the living. Therefore, as their masters prospered, so did they.

Nyx was still in agony, and with him nearly depleting his mana resources and putting just that much more strain on his mind, he could barely hold himself conscious as the creeping darkness encroached on his vision.

The only mental command Nyx could manage before he did succumb to oblivion was; "No hurt the stupid humans, kill the big squirrel monster."

Then darkness claimed him.