I was staring at the clock anxiously. Only 5 more minutes and we would be free. But just as I thought we were finished; she reviled her sadistic smile. Ms. Mariella was one of the old Demons. A Succubus, possibly one of the oldest left. And by the pit was she scary!
“Alright everyone! Now that you know the basics, you will be able to continue on your own. Your homework is described in detail, so you should not have too many problems with it.” She had gotten up form the Teachers desk and was distributing our assignment.
After everyone in the room had their own copy she turned around and looked us in the eyes. “Have fun, see you all tomorrow.”
The way she said it may have looked sweet on the outside, but we all knew that she probably just pushed another impossibility onto us. Groans were stifled by a few of us, others acting quickly, punching their friends and neighbors into ribs and Arms, reminding them to cut it out. It would only mean an increase in workload, should Ms. Mariella think we were openly rebelling.
Her smile turned vicious for a second, bevor the bell signified the end of todays lessons.
Instead of piling more work on top of our shoulders, she instead let us go. No one wanted to overstay their welcome, so we paced our things in a haste and scrambled out the door, bevor she would reconsider.
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I was on my way home, ruffling the red scales protruding from the top of my head. I had just read through the work for today. Every other teacher gave us a reasonable amount of stuff to complete. Heaven, I had finished some just now, penciling in answers as they came to me.
But among the pile was one subject that proved harder than the rest. The task Ms. Mariella set this time was more impossible than I thought.
The paper was almost black with ink. Tiny writings were covering the entire length of it, with small diagrams to every Paragraph, shattering whatever understanding I thought I had gleaned from today’s lessons.
My best two friends walking besides me weren’t doing any better. One of them was a Beelzebub, the other a Baphomet. Both of them come from ancient families, capable of tracing their ancestors back to the beginning of time, which sadly won’t help us any. Their lineages fallen from favor a long, long time ago, meaning that their families weren’t better off than mine. From there, no help would come.
I let out an annoyed sigh, there was no hope left for us. The questions just too much.
“This is impossible! How could she think we would be able to finish this?”
“She is one of the old Demons, that much is clear.”
I could only nod along. It was a sad fact, but we would fail our classes.
“Hey, if we fail our classes anyway, why not have some fun?” I asked them out of nowhere, surprising even myself a bit. Thinking about this a bit I had an idea: “Say, what do you guys think of old myths?”
“Why would that be important now?”
“Well, I have to something else first. My Grandfather was a soldier in the Third revolutionary War. He had been hording all sorts of things that he looted from that time. He died last year and yesterday I had the opportunity to search through his things.”
“I always thought the old fart was a nutcase, but that would explain a lot.”
“Yeah, he had a bit of a hoarding problem, insisting that all of his “Precious” would be worth millions of soul coins, should we find the right official to blackmail. He failed every time he sent his letters. One time, after annoying them with daily mail for a year, the government sent officials to calmly explain to him, that his collection really was worthless to them.”
“For real?”
The other gave a snort. “Funny. But, how does that help us?”
“I am getting to that part. He said, that the most important treasure he had kept. Most of it was broken junk, that he protected fiercely. And well, we still have most of it in the Attic. Yesterday I was bored enough to go through his things. There I found this old book about summoning Humans.”
They both stopped and turned to me in bewilderment. “So, you are saying, we should try to summon a mythical creature? Something, someone invented to frighten little children with?”
It was comical to see the same look of absolute incredulity in both of their very different faces. Bathaphor finally asked: “That is your plan?”
Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
“Well, if you want to instead do something boring, like actually doing our homework instead, then we can do that… Or we could do something exiting instead. Who knows… we might actually summon something from beyond the Void.”
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Everything has been set up. The demons had gathered in a small chamber. On the floor the offerings of a glass of “wine”, “yoga pants” and something that looked like a “cell phone” had been laid out. The book had detailed drawings of each Paraphernalia that were needed for the ritual, making them easy to replicate.
Around each item, one unique circle was drawn. They in turn were connected using the arcane symbols the book described. Sometimes drawn in chalk, other times dripped in controlled amounts from white candles. Getting all these items had taken a long time, long enough that the sun started to raise, signaling the end to another day in Hell.
As soon as the last line of chalk was drawn and everything had been checked twice, the summoning began under the first blinding rays of the sun. A distant basilic crowed to signal the holy time of the day had begun.
They didn’t know the language they were speaking, the words they hastily copied from the old, rotting book barely meaning anything to them. More than once they stuttered through the chant. The Pronunciation botched beyond recognition.
Arcane forces began to whisper through the air. Slowly at first, then with a roar! The shadows seemed to become elongated, grasping for the grey shining circle. The items seemed to melt, leaving behind only shadowy images. The flames of nearby candles shooting out and arcing above the summoning.
The sludge spurting out of the items pooled together in the middle, forming and twisting every which way. Fear was now evident on the young devils faces. But despite that, they carried on. The book was very clear on what would happen to them, should they stop the incantations at any time other than the pauses indicated by the ancient ritual.
They did not want the gruesome descriptions to apply to them.
Finally, a crackling rift in space opened up. The sparks of (un)holy seemed to mix in a way that just shouldn’t be, slowly revealing a silhouette coming nearer.
Out of the Portal stumbled an old man in strange clothes. His beard was white and bound by a small heavily engraved metal ring. He brought a folder with him, overflowing with documents, the contends of which could only be truly terrifying.
He seemed to take a while, standing in the middle of the Arcane field, analyzing his new environment. All the while the young devils were frightened beyond belief. They thought it a funny thing to try a summoning. Not once had they thought the ritual would succeed.
After noticing the shadowy objects with which he had been summoned the Human began changing his pants, using some awe-inspiring magic to clean up the mess. The laws of physics began to cry as he broke them to his whims. As he did so he began introducing himself in a conversational murmur.
“That was, by far, the worst summoning I have ever had the displeasure of happening to me. Thankfully you were thoughtful enough to provide Pants I could change in after. It happens a few times, once you get as old as me, you know? Especially with a summoning as rough as this one here.”
Finally changed he picked up his belongings of the ground. The shadowy ex-pants clinging to his legs as if their non-existence relied on it.
With careless disregard he exited the summoning circle, claiming the table at the far side of the basement for himself. As he set up his things, he picked up where he left.
“So, I think it is time to introduce myself. My name is Aaron, 70 Years old and employed by the Multidimensional Students Circle. I am a glorified Tutor for People with bad grades. You summoned me; I am paid by the hour and you will never speak of this. Let’s get started.”
It was our time to wet our pans, as we crept nearer and handed over our Algebra homework.
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Alternative ending:
Spoiler: Spoiler
And out of the flaming portal strode a human in business attire. A hand held up to his ear, he seemed to speak the same language that was needed to summon him to their plain.
His eyes glanced over the young, calculating and dismissing them as a thread.
At last his call seemed to come to a conclusion. When he began to speak again, he used a language they could understand, the language of the decrowned ancestors. Latin.
“I am Human James O´Niel. It is my pleasure to finally step foot into your dimension. It has been humanity´s great goal to meet you, since a few millennia ago, when we found out our religions of old had a kernel of truth to them. Now, I have a few questions to ask of you.”
His smile turned viciously sadistic; the way only known from Arch-Devils of older, more brutal times. What abominations had they brought onto their people?
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