{Chapter: 59: Demon Summoning Successful!}
"…You should know better than anyone," James said, voice quiet, "demons aren't miracle healers. No matter what's written in old tomes or whispered by cults in the dark. They're manipulators. Liars. Takers. Once you let them in, they don't leave. If you abandon this now, I swear—no one will ever know. You and Senna can still live… even if it means watching her time run out."
A silence fell between them. Richard's lips twitched, but not into a smile. Into a grim, unshakable resolve.
"And what then?" he asked softly. "Should I sit by her bed and wait for death to take her? Watch her suffer one heartbeat at a time, just to die knowing I didn't do everything in my power to stop it?"
He shook his head, voice firm now, steeled by a father's desperation. "No. I won't."
He gestured to the intricate symbols glowing on the floor beneath them, the golden ink now pulsing like a living heart.
"The summoning has already begun, James. It's beyond your power to halt it. If you walk away now, I will use the command rights granted during the first hour of contact. I'll compel the demon to heal Senna and banish it… far beyond our lands. To another country, another kingdom."
He raised his chin, almost daring James to object. "What would you say to that?"
The words slammed into James like a blow. He opened his mouth to protest — and froze. His mind raced. If Richard could truly control the demon for a short time… if he could channel it into another nation…
Would that be so bad?
A flicker of temptation stirred.
Wouldn't it be better for one foreign land to suffer than to lose a child? His face twisted with hesitation, and he hated himself for it.
On the edge of the chamber, Safi — who had been watching silently — finally stepped forward. The priest's face was a mask of disbelief and frustration.
He raised his staff slightly and barked, "Your Highness, please! Are you really thinking of allowing a demon to roam free — even if not here? This isn't about politics or alliances. It's about unleashing madness upon the world. You can't think like a ruler right now — think like a human!"
James flinched, and for a moment, Safi's words pierced the fog.
Safi pressed on. "History has recorded the truth again and again — demons are not obedient pets to be summoned and dismissed at our convenience. They're chaos incarnate. For every one that seems helpful, a hundred more bring ruin."
James felt a cold sweat bead on the back of his neck. He thought of Dex — the previous demon. The massacre, the terror, the feeling of being utterly helpless as his men were torn apart like paper.
His doubt vanished.
His voice was firm again. "Uncle Richard… it's too dangerous. Even if your intentions are noble, this could doom us all. The risk is too high."
Richard sighed as if he'd expected this.
"Then it's a pity."
The moment the words left his mouth, the summoning circle erupted with light. Pale white mist billowed out from the runes, cascading like waves of fog. The temperature in the chamber dropped sharply. Every breath became visible.
From within the mist emerged a towering figure — nearly three meters tall — its form both monstrous and majestic.
It had the head of a goat with curling black horns, the torso of a man wrapped in sinewy muscle, and a thick tail that slithered across the floor like a serpent. Its black fur shimmered with unnatural sheen, and its golden eyes gleamed like two tiny suns.
A low voice rumbled from its chest — not in any known tongue, yet all who heard understood it clearly.
"A familiar world… I, Carla, return once more."
James stumbled back instinctively, heart hammering against his ribs. Though the demon's presence was overwhelming, it wasn't like Dex. There was no suffocating aura of death. No overwhelming pressure that made resistance feel impossible.
Still, the power was undeniable.
Looking at the demon standing before him again feeling his power again, James found himself momentarily confused—not by fear, but by a strange sense of disappointment. There was certainly power emanating from the creature's form, but it lacked the overwhelming, suffocating presence he had come to associate with true terror. It wasn't like Dex—not even close.
Is it just me… or is this one weaker?
James narrowed his eyes. The demon's body was impressive in its own way—towering at over three meters tall, with a goat's head crowned by curling black horns, a muscled humanoid torso covered in coarse, matted fur, and a serpentine tail that slithered across the stone floor behind him like it had a mind of its own. But despite its grotesque appearance, it didn't inspire that primal fear Dex invoked simply by standing still.
No—Dex had been something else entirely.
Even the most battle-hardened warriors had lost control of their bladders at the mere sight of Dex. That thing's aura was like a death sentence delivered by the universe itself. He had the kind of presence that could break the will of armies. His scarlet-gold eyes glowed with ancient pain. His heavy wings cast shadows like eclipses. And his scaled skin shimmered with an infernal radiance that made even fire seem cold.
This one, however… James tilted his head. It doesn't even feel like the same species.
He glanced at Richard, who was watching the demon with the mixed expression of a man caught between hope and damnation. Was this really worth summoning?
Meanwhile, the demon named Carla had no clue he was being compared unfavorably. The goat-headed creature lifted his monstrous head and took in a long, slow breath, his chest expanding like a black bellows.
"Aaaaahhh..." he moaned in an almost sensual tone. "The stench of weakness... the hopelessness in the air... this world hasn't changed. It's still my favorite kind of playground."
The air around him quivered with a low, guttural energy—dark magic curling like smoke across the cracked floor of the summoning circle. But as he basked in the atmosphere of the mortal realm, a flicker of disgust twisted his lips.
"Wait…" he muttered, sniffing the air again. His lip curled, and his voice dropped into a snarl. "What is that putrid scent? Something... revolting. Familiar."
His glowing eyes scanned the room and landed on the elderly priest, Safi.
The demon's expression twisted in distaste. "Ah. You."
Carla's pupils narrowed into horizontal slits. "Sacred objects? From them?" He sneered, baring jagged teeth stained a dull yellow. "The Church of this world again? You cockroaches just never die. Always crawling out of your holy crevices with your trinkets and empty threats."
He spat, a viscous glob of black ichor sizzling as it hit the marble floor.
"You gonna lift that toy and preach to me again? Deliver your self-righteous sermon like all the others?"
Safi didn't flinch. His eyes were sharp, filled with the quiet fury of a man who had witnessed countless tragedies attributed to demons just like this one.
He stepped forward, pulling a palm-sized badge from inside his robe—a silver sigil etched with divine runes, pulsating with holy light.
"Demon," Safi said, his voice steady, "you are not welcome in this world. Leave, or we, the Shepherds of the Gods, will cast you down with divine retribution!"
The sigil glowed brighter as he held it high. Holy pressure blanketed the room, and even James felt the suffocating weight descend on his shoulders.
Carla grimaced. His limbs twitched with irritation, and his clawed hands clenched into fists. "You bugs always use these little tricks to weaken us," he growled. "Hundreds of years, and your kind still hasn't changed. Weak alone, brave in packs."
After taking out that thing, he felt that the repressive force of the world around him had increased greatly. His strength, which had already been suppressed by 70% to 80%, was suppressed even further.
In his eyes, these shameless little bugs, whether hundreds of years ago or now, always use some boring little tricks to lower his power so that they can form a group to beat him up.
There is not a single opponent that he can really take seriously!
At this moment, although his strength had been lowered to a certain level, he was not panicked at all.
He had prepared for this.
A slow, malicious grin spread across his face. 'You fools think this is enough to stop me? I was fed during the summoning—given offerings beyond your comprehension. Hundreds of sacrifices—strong, fresh souls. All waiting for me.'
He turned toward the center of the summoning circle, eyes glinting with greed. 'As long as I devour them, I'll be restored. And then I'll wipe this stink from my tongue with your broken bones.'
Carla reached behind him with one long arm, ready to absorb the soul condensates that had been gathered in preparation for his arrival.
His claws sliced through empty air.
He paused.
A second attempt—nothing.
A confused blink.
What?
He turned slightly, glancing over his shoulder. There was nothing there. No glowing orbs. No swirling soul masses. Not even the faint scent of residual energy.
His eyes widened.
'…Where are my sacrifices?'
The silence in the room was deafening. Even Safi blinked, unsure what the demon was doing.
Carla twisted around in frustration, sniffing the air, scanning the corners. Gone? Impossible! They were right there! I felt them when I arrived!
A few seconds later, high above the city's clouds, something stirred.
---
On a patch of shadowed sky above the Colosseum ruins, a dark, massive figure lounged among the cloud banks as if they were a velvet throne.
Dex.
The real nightmare.
He held a glowing orb the size of a boulder between his claws, brimming with shrieking soul fragments—a swirling maelstrom of agony and despair.
"Hmm..." he rumbled thoughtfully, bringing the sphere to his mouth.
With a casual crunch, he bit into it like a ripe fruit, the souls screaming before dissolving into his throat.
He chewed slowly, savoring the taste.
Sacrifice meant for someone else? Too bad.
His golden eyes shimmered with amusement as he glanced downward. A priest, a rogue sorcerer, a desperate father, a prince and future king of the kingdom and a bunch of extras, this kind of brave lineup is really rare, and he is looking forward to the subsequent development.
He licked his lips.
This is going to be fun.