It seemed a little strange to Nick that Lasazar would be so eager to teach him what had to be a forbidden art, but the true reason behind that became clear shortly after.

"That's it?" He asked in surprise, staring down at the handful of runes he'd been made to paint with the blood of the goblin he'd killed.

Magic didn't have to be complicated, and some of his most powerful spells were actually quite simple in concept. Still, he didn't expect this to be enough to break through the veil between dimensions and summon a demonic creature.

Considering the countless precautions he took whenever he had to do more than dip into the ether, he felt a bit cheated, but the look on his teacher's face stopped him.

"Demon summoning isn't a particularly complex art, but to call anything other than the weakest creatures, you'd need to know their Name and have far more mana than you can produce. It's exactly because it's so simple that it's so dangerous. Any mediocre mage who can follow instructions can perform such a ritual, especially with how often demonic grimoires end up being sold as if they're just regular spellbooks. The only reason we're not constantly under attack is that demonic creatures lack long-term planning, and they usually attack and kill whoever was foolish enough to summon them, preventing more of their kind from being called."

Nick pursed his lips. He didn't like it, especially because he could remember the struggles of his past life, where calling anything, even simple elementals, was almost impossible. But with the abundance of mana in this world and the sheer number of magic users, it was probably inevitable that someone would be foolish enough to summon a demon without the ability to bind or exorcize it.

"Alright, and I don't need to do the chant like you did the other day?" He asked. He couldn't deny some curiosity about Abyssal Invocations, since [Blasphemy] seemed to consider them as much a threat as a direct possession attempt.

There is clearly some innate magic to the language itself, but I doubt that's all.

As the old saying went, the more he learned, the more he realized he still had to learn. But in this case, the knowledge he hadn't yet studied was very dangerous. Potentially world-ending in his hands, considering his affinity for most dark arts.

Lasazar snorted, shaking his head. "No, that kind of thing is still too advanced. Remember, you are here to learn how to fight demons, not just study them. Many Masters would probably censure me for teaching you even this much, but if you are serious about this, it's necessary."

He really seems convinced this is some great sacrifice he's asking of me. I mean, it's not like I want to summon demons. Those damn things are disgusting abominations, and even just remembering what it was like to face the pale shadow of a real one gives me the shivers. But I really need to learn this if I want a chance against what's to come. And the exp doesn't hurt.

It hadn't escaped Nick's notice that his teacher was probably much better equipped to confront the Ultimer Clan Head and remove any demonic influence the old madman might be under, but unfortunately, the politics of the situation prevented him from even asking.

He had searched for potential alternative solutions and even examined treaties of the kingdom's noble houses to learn more about his future enemies. As far as anyone else was concerned, the Ultimers were a respected family of artificers with ties to the northern ducal house, making them virtually untouchable outside the Royal Court.

And even if I managed to convince someone I am being truthful, I would have to reveal Rhea's hand in this, which would put her at unacceptable risk.

No, he'd be much better off developing enough strength to handle it himself, and if he eventually realized that wasn't possible, being more powerful would give him greater leverage, especially if his reputation continued to grow in significance.

"Alright," Nick said, setting aside his ever-changing plans for the future and focusing on the present. If he was really about to summon a demon, no matter how weak it might be in the grand scheme of things, he needed to be completely focused on it.

Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath, tasting the bitter tang of goblin blood in his nostrils, and then exhaled, letting his mana flow into the circle he had drawn with the runes.

They weren't anything he'd seen before, more like hieroglyphics than ideograms, but they clearly worked, because he immediately felt a pull as the ritual started coming together.

Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

The goblin's lifeblood was enough to start everything, but clearly, it wasn't sufficient on its own, because more mana kept being drained from him during the ritual, until he heard Lasazar shout, "Enough!"

Wrenching control from the circle of his mana flow took only a moment, and after one last tug, the magic seemed to realize it wouldn't get anything more from him, then started spreading outward into the layers of reality, beaconing something to answer its call.

Being able to sense the whole thing, Nick was surprised to find that the World didn't seem to be reacting, but after a moment of thought, he realized it was probably because all the ritual's components so far belonged to this reality.

Something answered the call, and everything changed. There was a tremor in the fabric, as if something large was surfacing from a lake, and Nick felt its gaze on him. He was only prevented from screaming in shock at the countless eyes and mouths the creature possessed because [Blasphemy] triggered, warning him that it had prevented mental corruption. Then, the bait proved too small to hold that creature's attention for long, and the looming disaster passed.

A moment later, the metaphysical wire was tugged again, but this time, the thing on the other end seemed satisfied, and the ritual started reeling it in.

That was when the feeling of total wrongness he had come to associate with demons of all kinds started spreading through the chamber.

Whatever was coming, weak though it might be compared to the being that had noticed his call at first, was still an abomination, and its mere presence was straining the fabric of reality.

A crack formed in the air as the runes glowed with malevolent light, and a creature slipped through before the World flexed its will and sealed it back up.

If Nick had been new to this kind of thing, he still would have been reeling from the close call with the lurking monster that almost answered his call, but he knew better than to get lost in what happened, so he immediately got to work.

The first thing he noticed as his connection with the deeper layers was cut off and his attention fully returned to the material plane was that the World's power felt more alive now.

It had been intoxicating before, full of potential, but nothing he'd tried to do had even budged it, much less allowed him to harness it.

Now, in the presence of a slithering, slimy creature that might be related to an eel, if it were mixed with centipedes and the feeling of something following you, it became accessible.

Nick wished he could say he was responsible for it, that he had proven himself somehow, but he knew that wasn't the case. This was simply the World reacting to an intrusion and granting its power to whoever possessed the sensory ability to interact with it.

"Now, Nicholas, feel it! The spirit of the planet itself rebels at the presence of this abomination. It longs to exorcise it, to obliterate it so that it might never be tainted again. Let it fill you, and guide you!" Lasazar shouted.

Not needing to be told twice, Nick opened himself up to this new power and felt it flood into him.

In a way, it was similar to what being entrusted with the Thunderbird's power felt like. But where there had been a clear purpose back then, as the Blessed Hunt guided the divine mana to cleanse him of impurities, the World now only seemed capable of directing him to attack.

When, where, and how were all up to him to decide. It didn't matter what he did with its power, only that he used it to remove the demon.

Instinctively, Nick attempted to cast a spell. That was always his approach with mana, and since this still was mana—just with a different hue and intensity than he was used to—it was what he believed would work.

Yet nothing happened. The power was still within him, waiting to be used, but it couldn't be shaped. It's not my mana. I can't twist it like I usually do, and it's likely that [Parsimonia] cannot affect it at all.

Unfortunately for him, the eel demon didn't seem intent on giving him time to figure things out and lunged at him with a maw that opened way too wide.

Nick bodily threw himself to the side, feeling the damn thing's countless legs brush against his back. They didn't cut through the cloth and skin only because of the [Emakimono] he'd painted on the inside of his coat, which quickly made him realize he couldn't afford to test different methods.

He needed a solution that worked, and since regular spells were off the table, and he was definitely not interested in casting [Vitality Drain] on that thing, he had few options left: either expel the World's mana from his body, which he believed he could do with [Blasphemy], give in to it completely and let it control his body, or try something unorthodox.

The first option was probably the safest. He already knew he could kill demonic creatures with his spiritual magic, and once he regained full control of his mana, he would be able to do it. However, that would mean missing out on the chance to learn, which wasn't something Nick was interested in.

The second option was clearly what Lasazar wanted him to choose, and Nick could sense no malicious intent behind the power now filling his [Arcane Circuits], unlike when he'd almost been possessed in the dungeon. Still, he was wary of giving anything that much control over him.

The last and most reckless option was to try casting again, but this time, to use a spell he was confident would be more compatible with it.

The only problem was that it wasn't a spell he was very skilled at. In fact, it might have been his worst one right now, considering how little time he had spent practicing it.

Yet, he knew he would regret not trying, so Nick began casting [Territory] even as he rolled away from the demon's next attack, grunting as he felt its back curl and lash out at him as he moved.

The pain wasn't insignificant, but he could tell he hadn't broken anything despite the noticeable difference in physical strength, and it only sharpened his resolve.

I can do this. I have to do this. There's a reason the grimoire showed me that spell, and even if it shouldn't work this way, I will make it!

For a moment, nothing happened, and [Territory] didn't appear, before Nick had a flash of inspiration and recalled how Semreh's parable ended, then spoke.

"Begone, fiend!"

Apparently, that was all the World was waiting for, because its power finally manifested, following his intent and smashing into the demon with far more strength than Nick alone could muster with such an untrained spell.

In truth, it seemed more like a ritual than a spell, although it didn't require any additional components or sacrifices. It concluded once the basic conditions were satisfied and his will was fulfilled.

Rainbow light burst from all directions, filling the chamber with the planet's fury, and the demon was no more.