Chapter II. Familiars Summoned 🐲
Kalego Naberius, a prestigious teacher of Babylus, is preparing for the familiar summoning event at school.
"So today, we perform the ritual for new students to summon their familiars." He said in front of his mirror, "You'd better be prepared, Isabelle, Ryūko, and Iruma."
With those last words, his mirror somehow breaks as a cat meowed from his window.
~Dream (Isabelle)~
Isabelle is inside the ballroom of her mansion home, watching as many humans and demons eating the food served at the buffet, talking with each other, and listening to music to their hearts' content.
"You outdid yourself, Isabelle." A human socialite said as he approached the cambion.
"Thank you, sir." Isabelle said before her mother, Kattrin, arrived.
"Okay, Isa, I've just been discussing some new reforms to the tax code and #$%* *%& ! *^."
Isabelle blinked and looked at her mother. Huh?
"Uh, Mom, I think I must be sleepy or something. What was that last part?"
Kattrin rolled her eyes but started again.
"I said %*#( ! &&* )(8$. Okay?"
Seeing the confusion on her daughter's face, Kattrin gave an irritated sigh.
"Look, it's all on that scroll in front of you, just give it a quick look over, we need to get started here."
Sensing her mother's irritation growing, Isa hurried to comply. She quickly broke the binding on the scroll and unrolled it, only to stall.
'&$#% **^! ~)*&^^% ^#*& (( (9366#*^%'
The whole thing was just gibberish, just symbols and numbers randomly written all over the thing. She looked up at her mom helplessly, hoping to see mirth on her face and a chuckle at the joke she just pulled. Instead, she just looked extremely annoyed that Isabelle still had no idea what was going on. She raised her hands to her temples and gave them a rub, gritting her eyes closed in frustration.
"Sweetie, this is very simple stuff here. If you can't follow along then I think it's best you just let me handle this whole thing. Obviously, you aren't up to the task of being my assistant. I'll just flag down a staff member and get them to help me. I think you should go."
That's when everything around her started to distort.
Mocking laughter filled the air as Isabelle turned to find that the ballroom is nothing but a black void as many figures appear in front of him.
"Why should we be friends with someone like you?"
"You're nothing but a freak!"
"No one wants to be with the likes of you!"
"FREAK!"
~Reality (Isabelle)~
Isabelle woke up with start. She felt cold beads of sweat dripping down her face.
"Man, what a crazy nightmare." She said after panting.
~Dream (Iruma and Ryūko)~
"You're such good kids, Ryūko and Iruma. You always do what we say." said the twins' mother petting their heads.
Iruma is happy to be praised, Ryūko in her former personality, just smiled and made a cat purr. Then, their father started to ask them favors from carrying things in boxes to cleaning the bathroom. With everything done, their parents praised them again.
Then, their father started to ask them favors from carrying things in boxes to cleaning the bathroom. With everything done, their parents praised them again.
"Who's our good children?" their father praised, patting their heads.
"On that note... Would you mind terribly if we sell you two off to a demon?"
Sullivan appears menacingly behind their parents Iruma would say "Sure" once more, but Ryūko silently gave a blank expression while standing next to and supporting him.
However, this time, they both screamed out: "That is not okay!"
~Reality (Iruma and Ryūko)~
In the end, it was all a dream. Ryūko and Iruma were having the same dream, which showed how much they suffered in the human world because of their idiotic parents.
"Good morning, sunshine! How's my precious little grandchildren and their housemate today? Your grandpa/landlord has arrived!"
And there's the sudden wake-up call from Sullivan in front of both kids' rooms. Ryūko sweat-dropped from the loud call being a little hyped up. She, Iruma, Isabelle, and Sullivan headed to the dining room to start up the day with breakfast.
"Did you three sleep well?" Sullivan asked.
"Yes." Iruma replied.
"Objection, we both had a nightmare that took our heads back to being with our so-called parents." Ryūko objected with a sassy attitude in her voice.
"What? Ryūko? You had the same dream?" Iruma asked. Ryūko rolled her red and blue eyes as she nods.
'So they had a dream, too?' Isabelle thought to herself as she glanced at her human housemates.
"No need to hold back. Eat as much as you'd like." Sullivan said. "You're all still growing kids."
It takes a little courage to try the cuisine in the Netherworld, but it's really good. Iruma took his first bite and told Ryūko that it's good to take in, making her cast her doubts on the walls. After all, Ryūko trusted Iruma wholeheartedly, plus beggars can't be choosers. To think that they can take the time to enjoy a meal... this might be their first time. Opera then served the trio some tea.
"Here is some Hell Gray tea." Opera said.
"Oh, thank you very much." Said Iruma as he picks his cup up.
"Thank you, Opera." Said Ryūko with a small smile making eye contact. Iruma takes a sip of his tea as Ryūko does the same.
"Ready for your first day of class?" Sullivan rhetorically asked.
Taken by surprise, Iruma immediately spat out his tea whereas Ryūko nearly choked on hers, but manages to keep it to herself, being a cold girl with cutthroat behavior, but still knows her manners.
Indeed. Ryūko and Iruma are now officially attending the demon school known as Babylus as Sullivan's grandchildren, along with Isabelle.
'But... do we have to? What if the demons find out we're human, they're gonna turn us into a snack!' a scared Iruma thought. Ryūko knows what's up and decides to open up for him.
"Pardon me, Grandfather?" Ryūko addressed, "May I discuss something with you? It's about school."
"Sure, but first..." Sullivan replied, turning to Opera.
The butler snaps his fingers, revealing a pile of gifts.
"Lookie here! I splurged a bit to celebrate you starting a new school!" Said Sullivan.
"What? This is all for me and Iruma?" Ryūko asked.
"But you already gave us so much yesterday." Iruma added.
"Oh, that was just to celebrate me getting my first grandchildren! This is to celebrate you two starting school with Isabelle!" their grandfather clarified.
"Talk about helicopter parenting." Isabelle, Iruma, and Ryūko pointed out, the former calmly and the latter two with shock.
Sullivan then shows them two handkerchiefs with blue and black with red detailed embroidery on them.
"Ta-da! Opera and I even added some extra embroidery!" exclaimed Sullivan. "Well, what do you think?"
"They're beautiful. Thanks." Complimented the twins.
"I'm not used to doing embroidery, so it was quite intricate, but it was so much fun!" Sullivan said while showing his left hand with bandages. Isabelle, Ryūko, and Iruma didn't notice his hands earlier, it must have been a lot of work.
As Ryūko was very touched by this, she heats up covering her teary eyes with her hands.
"Miss Ryūko. Is everything alright?" Opera asked stroking her back.
"I-I... never felt like this before... I j-just... d-don't know what to say!" Ryūko cried.
Not experiencing treatments like this in the human world, Ryūko can be a little emotional when something touches her heart strongly.
"It's alright, ma'am. Everything is going to be fine." Opera hushed to Ryūko using a handkerchief to wipe her tears away with Isabelle comforting her with a warm hug.
She eventually calmed down as Sullivan brings out two alarm clocks that look a little like birds from the gift pile.
"And these! Here are your hellraiser clocks so you can get up in the morning to be on time." Sullivan said while the clocks make disturbing sounds, which unnerved Iruma but not doing anything to Ryūko since she doesn't mind scary noises.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" Sullivan asked, remembering the question from earlier.
"Well... we... About school."
"What about school?"
"W-Well... we just that..."
"Just what?"
"..."
"Go on."
"We just.. can't wait for it."
While Iruma is a complete pushover, Ryūko didn't dare to tell their grandfather that the two didn't want to go to school after such nice things he has done for Ryūko and Iruma. Outside the mansion, Sullivan and Opera were seeing them on their way.
"Okay, we're off." Ryūko said after thanking Opera for comforting her earlier.
She, Isabelle, and Iruma were walking on the way to school as Sullivan waved at them.
"Have a good day, you three!" said Sullivan.
"Please be careful." Said Opera. And then... Sullivan takes out a camera.
"Now, we tail them." Said Sullivan to Opera, "I have to get their first walk to school on video."
However, his intentions were thwarted by Opera, who is taking him away by the furry collar back to the mansion.
"I'm afraid you'll be working from home today." Said the cat demon.
"Let me go! Opera, wait!" Sullivan protested as he struggled to free himself from Opera's grasp.
Without motivation, Isabelle, Ryūko, and Iruma walk to Babylus and arrive shortly near the school entrance. Iruma gets startled by the flock of demons on the way to school singing the school song. Not long after a few words, Ryūko and Isabelle decided to sing out, which surprised Iruma.
"R-Ryūko! I-Isa! Why are you singing that song?!" Iruma asked, terrified.
"What? We like how it sounds." Isabelle and Ryūko said simultaneously before they continued to sing.
They were then walking by the same four demons from yesterday at the entrance, supposedly from the student council.
"Maybe they're from the student council. Whatever I do, I cannot stand out." Said Iruma to himself. Ryūko has obvious objections that it will never come true.
"Iruma, this may be a school, but since we made the school paper yesterday, there will always be something and someway that we'll be noticed." Ryūko stated with her sharp heterochromatic eyes having her coldness in them.
"And speaking of being noticed, here comes Asmodeus and Félin." Isabelle said as she looked over at their 'servants' heading in their direction.
"Hello and good morning, Ryūko, Isabelle, and Iruma!" Greeted Asmodeus and Félin, "We've been waiting for you for six hours and six minutes."
"Good... morning, Asmodeus and Félin." Iruma greeted as Ryūko and Isabelle greeted the demons with a bow. "Wait, six hours?!"
"Yes, indeed, my lieges. Within the pitch black of the witching hour." Said the two demons dropping to their knees like yesterday.
"Well, Asmodeus and Félin, we appreciate you both waiting for us." Ryūko said.
"But since you both require rest from hectic days as well as we do, it is not required for you to wait for us in that extended period." Isabelle added.
"Is that so?" Asmodeus asked as Isabelle nodded, "And please, just call me 'Azz'. Let's skip the formalities."
"Do we need to call you anything else, Félin?" Ryūko asked.
"No need if you do not desire to, Lady Ryūko, Lady Isabelle, and Sir Iruma." Félin said, "Although, it is fine if you want to call me anything else, most preferably my first name "Lavande."
Iruma and Isabelle decided to call Asmodeus "Azz", but Ryūko doesn't use nicknames, although addressing the feline knight by Lavande. Asmodeus and Félin asked Isabelle what they would call her as and she said to them to call her 'Isa'.
Asmodeus then asked Iruma to hand his bag for him to carry and Lavande asked if Ryūko and Isabelle need the same, but the three tell them that they don't need to carry their bags for them.
"It's the honor students, Ryūko, Isabelle, and Iruma."
"Did you see the paper?"
"I guess they really did make the heads of the class their servants."
Well, so much for "not trying to stand out". The group of five students now walked through the hallway before Iruma turns to Asmodeus.
"So... can you tell me where we're going again?" Iruma asked.
"Well, first of all, master, you, Ryūko, Félin, Isa, and I are in the same group." Asmodeus replied.
"Really? We are?"
"Yes! They will divide the 163 new students into several groups, and we shall prepare before classes commence." Lavande stated, joining the conversation.
"It cannot just occur all at the same time."
"I see." Whispered Ryūko.
"Today, we have the familiar summoning ritual. Let us go to the Familiar's Hall." Asmodeus said.
"My mom told me that familiar summoning is a tradition here at Babylus." Said Isabelle, "After entering the school, each freshman student summons a magical beast and makes it their subordinate."
"And that's a familiar?" Ryūko asked.
"The student's rank will be determined by the magical beast they can summon." Added the feline demon, "Climbing those ranks lead to academic success at Babylus."
"Oh, I get it. That's so cool." Iruma said before he thought to himself. 'Though I wonder if familiars eat humans...'
Asmodeus opened the doors to the Familiar's Hall for them to enter. Several students have already entered.
"Wow. This is sorta nerve-wrecking." Iruma commented.
"These results will also determine what class the school places you in." Asmodeus said.
"That's good to know."
As the group was having their conversation, Eiko's, Darris', and Acheron's faces lit up seeing Isabelle, Iruma, and Ryūko. They clearly remember them when the three saved both of them yesterday and mustered up all the courage they have to talk to them.
"Iruma-/Ryūko-/Isabelle-"
Unfortunately, the super scary teacher, Kalego Naberius, opens one of the doors stepping into the hall.
"Silence." He said before positioning themselves towards the students.
"I am Kalego Naberius and I will be your advisor." Introduced Kalego, "I am the sole permanent leader of this ritual. And why? Because I maintain dignity at all times. I will decide whether you are disposable trash or remotely useful trash. But trash, either way."
He then walked over to Ryūko, Iruma, and Isabelle with scary daggers on his glare.
"For example..." He began, "If three pieces of trash use the spotlight Sullivan gives them to chant a vulgar spell and then had the audacity to cause a huge uproar right afterward on the same day... That's be immediate grounds for expulsion. Also, if said pieces of trash had the nerve to try to hit a teacher during the entrance ceremony, that, too, is immediate grounds for dismissal."
Iruma trembled in fear, while Ryūko and Isabelle stood their ground with a look of intimidating eyes.
"I will instantly and personally expel any failures, so let this be a warning." Said Kalego in final before putting up an oversized mobile tablet and shows the students a lesson guide. A cute lesson guide, where the demon heart is the mentor explaining the familiar summoning ritual.
"The Familiar-Summoning Course! It's super easy, watch! One: draw a circle of blood on some parchment. Two: head into the magic circle with said parchment. Three: hold the parchment right above the candle in the circle's center. Four: the smoke will start to take form and your familiar will appear! Okay! Now, we're all going to-"
Kalego smacked the pad down to the floor.
"That's enough explanation!" Kalego said.
'Seems like that lesson guide was too cute for his image..' Thought Lavande, Isabelle, and Ryūko.
"It is imperative that you only use the parchment with my seal on it." Instructed Kalego, "I can immediately tell if it's a fake."
"U-Um, excuse me, is it going to be dangerous?" Asked a green dragon demon.
"What a foolish question! You will be summoning a subordinate and making it serve you!" Said Ryūko with a cold and serious voice.
"Correct, Ryūko. Not bad for an honor student." Said Kalego, "That's exactly what familiars are. And should a familiar ever disobey its master..."
Kalego then burned a hole into the pad with his powers.
"There will be punishment. That's just how deep this blood pact between you is." Continued the teacher before walking past Ryūko, Iruma, and Isabelle, "Make sure you lot are suitably prepared."
'Mom's wasn't kidding. Kalego still that same jerk when he and Mom studied here.' Isabelle thought as she made a side glare at the teacher.
"Line up in an orderly fashion!" Kalego began.
Isabelle, Ryūko, and Lavande went to take their places in line to save their trouble.
"That man isn't even trying to hide his animosity." Said Asmodeus.
"Not at all." Expressed Iruma with agreement from just how unnerving Kalego can be.
"I'll gladly charge him if you give the order!" Exclaimed the fire demon.
But Iruma told him that he would never order Asmodeus to do such a thing. The taller male looks disappointed from hearing that.
"Iruma, Asmodeus. If you two want to save your troubles for later, then line up now!" Yelled Ryūko strictly to her brother and his subordinate, this kind of startled both of them.
Looks like Kalego and Ryūko share something in common, being serious and horrifically strict.
One after another demon, the students manage to summon a variety of familiars in shapes, sizes, and species.
"Wow! That's amazing." Said Iruma, "Don't you think, sis? ... Sis?"
Ryūko was staring intensely at Asmodeus about to start his ritual. She was as curious as a cat to know what will he summon, considering the fact she knows that he's quite powerful. All there was a moment of silent curiosity and excitement, the only thing Asmodeus needs now is his dignity to maintain. So, once the smoke forms, a pair of reptile eyes of red, a legless body of white scales, and a pair of black horns and wings. That was a Gorgon Snake.
"See, my lieges!" Asmodeus called out to Isabelle, Iruma, and Ryūko while everyone looked on in amazement.
"That was totally incredible!" Iruma complimented, "You're both so cool!"
"As expected of Sir Asmodeus Alice, summoning one powerful beast should become his subordinate!" Lavande exclaimed with a bow.
"Impressive. A Gorgon Snake!" Ryūko said with awe.
"A one-of-a-kind familiar for a one-of-a-kind demon." Isabelle joined in.
"You humble us with your kindness." Thanked Asmodeus as he and his familiar bowed to the four.
'A Gorgon Snake... I guess I'm not surprised, considering Asmodeus's lineage.' Kalego thought.
"But this will look like a puppy compared to the familiars you're about to summon." Asmodeus lit up.
"Don't count on it..." Ryūko sighed.
Now it was Lavande's turn, everyone backed away from the magic circle so she can have the same sense of dignity as Asmodeus. But this time, instead of using her cat canines to draw her finger's blood, she unsheathed her sword and pricked her finger on the tip of her blade until she sees a line of her blood crossing on the metal to the guard. Performing her ritual, the smoke takes the glowing violet eyes of Lavande as it flies face-to-face with its master. In a spiral flight, dark purple feather-like scales and some green or blue lay across a serpent's body, alongside a pair of large wings of a feathered dragon with the same colors and a pair of wavy black horns on the side of its head. All taken down to a special amphitheater, a Laminae Serpentine.
Iruma and Ryūko were more than impressed, Lavande doesn't ask for opinions and bows to her familiar in signing the contract.
"My Laminae Serpentine may be powerful, but might not be as such compared to your familiars." Lavande said to Iruma, Ryūko, and Isabelle.
'A Laminae Serpentine. I'm not surprised considering Félin's powers inherited by her mother.' Thought Kalego again, 'She and Asmodeus are this powerful, and they lost to Isabelle, Ryūko, and Iruma? That's hard to believe. However..'
"We're not sure about that..." Iruma said.
'Well, we shall find out soon enough.' Thought the teacher deciding before calling one of them out. "Isabelle, you're next!"
"Wish me luck, guys." She said as she approached the fire. She slashed her left palm using the tip of one of the fingers of her magic gauntlet. With the ritual underway, the smoke takes the ghostly shade of white as glowing yellow eyes appear within the smoke. After letting out a roar and allowing the smoke to dissipate, what stood in front of everyone is a white-furred saber-toothed lion with golden claws, golden spikes on its back, and a golden collar around its neck.
Isabelle approached her familiar and gave it a gentle pat on the head. At first, it tensed up from Isabelle's touch but gave in and allowed Isabelle to continue patting it.
Everyone was both amazed and terrified at the sight of the lion.
"Sweet mother of Derkila, please tell me that's not what I think it is!" A student said with a mixed look of awe and fear on his face.
"That's exactly what you think it is. That right there is the Lubradine, the very same beast that slew millions of demons thousands of years ago. And Lady Isa over there has just summoned it as her familiar. The most powerful and the most misunderstood being in existence has now been made the servant of a being that is far, far, FAR weaker than it is. If she wasn't insanely powerful before, she has now become unstoppable." Félin replied.
'Lubradine... I guess I expected nothing less from Kattrin's daughter.' Kalego thought before turning to Iruma. "You're next, Iruma."
"R-Right!" Replied Iruma.
Ryūko gave a pat on the back with a smile which pours out the words: "You can do it. I believe in you."
'Everyone's staring at me... The problem is I don't have any magical powers 'cause I'm human.' Iruma said mentally before drawing a circle of his blood on the parchment and bringing it over the candle, 'He said that if I fail the test, I'll be expelled? Wait a minute! If they were to actually expel not just me, but sis, too, we'll get to walk away from this place scot-free! If this lesson proves to be impossible for us to handle, we're saved! We'll get to go back to the human world!'
Ryūko sighed and facepalmed.
'Iruma, if you plan to get us expelled, that will never happen.' Ryūko dropped, knowing his plan, 'There's no way you'll be getting us back to the human world. If we are expelled, I'd prefer to stay away from our parents.'
Behind the student, Kalego tapped on her shoulder and passes her a parchment with a different seal.
"Here. For some reason, your 'grandfather' wanted me to give you this parchment." Kalego said as Ryūko favored her advisor, "It is the same as mine, but with a different seal. Who it belongs to, I have no clue."
Ryūko seems as confused as Kalego but might need to accept it.
"I am just as confused as you are about having a different seal, but if the chair-demon wants me to have this parchment with another's seal, I will have to accept my fate." Ryūko said as she gently takes the parchment, "Thank you for informing me, Sir Kalego."
She seemed to gain the advisor's respect, considering that she makes the best of her manners. Kalego doesn't seem irritated at all, he's secretly surprised that being a cold person, the female honor student knows how to acknowledge her teachers and peers. However, he is irked by Iruma's behavior.
'What nerve, smirking like that! He looks just like him, nothing like his sister!' Kalego angrily thought, 'Yes, that reckless, obnoxious demon with no regard for others... He embodies the three things I absolutely despise...'
It doesn't take long for him to start saying his thoughts out loud, as if he was talking to someone reading his mind.
"Just like Mr. Random, that dumbass Chair-Demon!" He said to himself. "I can't forget to count all the things I went through because of that cur. On a whim, he docked my pay. He forced that stupid lesson guide on me. He even crashed havoc at the entrance ceremony! But I am the one in charge of the familiar-summoning ritual! If he or his sister screws up even a little bit, I'll take delight in expelling your precious little grandchildren!"
Summoning
The ritual in which demons and cambions summon magical beasts and make them their familiars. It is also the ritual in which humans summon demons and make them their familiars.
Once Iruma's parchment has burnt towards the seal, the outlines of the seal glow, and a bright purple light flooded the magic circle. The parchment has Kalego's seal on it, and Iruma is a human. Which means...
"There it is..." Iruma said, "So this... is... my... familiar?"
He stared blankly at the... person he summoned in the magic circle. To be exact, their upper body. The lower body was somewhere surrounded by other students and halfway immersed in a purple summoning circle. And this person is... Kalego Naberius. They were unaware of what happened at first until Kalego looked down and his realization struck both of them.
"WHAT!?"
This means, much to his rage and horror, the demon Kalego was summoned by the human Iruma to be his familiar. Every eyewitness in the hall was shot by a caliber bullet of shocking surprise when Kalego is summoned.
'Wait... how is this even... I got it!' Ryūko thought with an idea. If her blood parents were human and her adoptive grandfather was a demon to who her and Iruma's souls were sold off, then it means that her parents summoned Sullivan to the human world. Leading her to know that her theory is correct, humans can summon demons whereas demons only summon beasts.
"You bumbling idiot! What the hell is this?! What the hell did you do?!" Asked Kalego angrily at Iruma.
"I have no idea, sir! I'm really sorry!" A scared Iruma replied.
"Enough! Stop the summoning right now!" Ordered the angry teacher.
Iruma went to his lower body and tried to bring it down by pulling, apparently that doesn't work as Kalego feels a tearing sensation.
"You fool! You're supposed to push when this happens!" Yelled Kalego.
Iruma apologized and pushes his advisor's lower body up. Maybe that's not right either as Kalego told him to come to his upper body to push his head down, but was too late.
Kalego popped out of the magic circle with purple clouds of smoke exploded over the circle and surrounded him. Iruma coughed and calls out to his teacher. Everyone was astonished, even Ryūko and Isabelle, can't help but gape at this scene. When the smoke cloud settles, in front of Iruma floats a small, white chick about the size of a grapefruit, with bat-like wings, black horn-like tufts on its head, and Kalego's signature front hair curl.
Of course, it turns out that Kalego is the fluffy chick in front of his student. He looks at his tiny arms, then proceeds to touch his stomach and an awkward silence filled the atmosphere until he eventually fainted from the shock.
"OH NO!" Iruma exclaimed in shock.
'Inconceivable! This... This can't be!' Thought the unconscious bird.
"Say something, Professor! Are you okay?" Iruma asked, "Wait, are you even our professor?"
"Iruma, sir." Started Asmodeus.
"Azz! Something terrible just happened!"
"I am moved beyond words!" He cried in admiration as Iruma asked what, "Miraculous! You managed to make Kalego your familiar..."
"What?!"
"A demon summoned another demon?"
"No way!"
"That's the first time!"
"Amazing!"
"Kalego's attitude towards you was so hostile! I knew you were secretly enraged!" Exclaimed Asmodeus, getting up from kneeling again, "This'll show him good!"
"You got it all wrong! I swear! This was an accident! I mean..."
Kalego recovered from his state of shock and fixated on Iruma. Oh no, this can't be good.
"Inconceivable. Me? Me?! A common familiar?!" Yelled Kalego enraged now distorts into a demonic form, "You cannot be serious. Nullify this contract immediately! You might be the alternative-"
Suddenly, a red lightning bolt strikes on Kalego, rendering him unable to move. This must be the punishment for disobeying the master.
"PROFESSOR!"
"Yet again, I am slain!" Cried Asmodeus again.
"But why, though?!" Complained Iruma.
"It is time for Lady Ryūko to commence her ritual." Lavande said, "I am looking forward to witnessing her familiar."
Ryūko took the ritual seriously and was not anxious, unlike Iruma. The procedure resembled Iruma's ritual, but the circle glowed a brilliant crimson instead of purple. Who's upper body emerged? It's...
(cue drumroll)
"O-Opera!?"
Ryūko can't believe it; the demon she summoned was Opera, Sullivan's butler. Now he will be her familiar as of today. The parchment must have had his seal on it.
"Hey, isn't that another demon?"
"Ryūko's kind of special too..."
"Two of the honor students have summoned demons as their familiars... That's insane!"
Ryūko kneeled toward the burgundy cat demon so she can whisper to him.
"Opera. What are you doing here?" Ryūko asked.
"I am only following orders from Sullivan, but it is partly my decision, too, for me to become your familiar, Miss Ryūko." Opera said.
Flashback Start
~Sullivan's mansion, a few hours ago~
Sullivan reclined on his armchair while pouting.
"Aw, why do I have to work from home today? I wanted to record my grandchildren and tenant's first walk to school." Sullivan whined as Opera poured him a fresh cup of tea.
"It can't be helped, sir." He said, "You have plenty of assignments that are needed to be taken care of." Sullivan eyes the cat demon carefully as he sipped his tea.
"Say, Opera... How would you like the idea of being one of my grandchildren's' familiar?" asked Sullivan.
Opera's tail flicked side to side hearing that while raising a brow.
"Why are you asking, Lord Sullivan?" Opera asked.
"Well... They are humans and humans can summon demons but not beasts." Explained Sullivan, "It would be great if their familiar is a demon but, who they're already acquainted with would mean... less stress."
"Is this... an order?" Questioned the butler.
"No, no! It's a suggestion." Laughed the chair-demon, "I'm not forcing you to anything. If you don't like the idea, then that's fine-"
"I'll do it." Said Opera.
"Hmm? What did you say, Opera?" Asked Sullivan, unable to catch it.
"I said I'll do it." Confirmed Opera, "If I can be any help of these two children, then I will gladly consider your suggestion."
Sullivan clapped his hands with delight and said: "Wonderful! Ah, but you can only decide from either Iruma or Ryūko as your new master. Who will it be?"
Opera closed his eyes in thought with his tail waving side to side for a minute before making his mind. Yes, those two are special, but if he'd had to pick one, it would be...
"Ryūko."
"O-ho-ho! Excellent choice!" Said Sullivan, "Well, she is very adorable and definite. But tell me, why did you choose her?"
"How should I put this... I have the feeling that she and I might get along quite well." Said Opera, "And there is something about her that pick on my interest."
Sullivan waved his finger and criticized: "Are you falling for her now? I'm getting jealous."
Opera's black tail flicks in his irritation from hearing that.
"Do not be ridiculous." Said Opera, "She's just quite a mysterious girl. That's all."
"Well, it's decided!" Exclaimed the chair-demon, "You'll become Ryūko's familiar!" He opens a desk drawer and pulls out a parchment with Opera's seal on it. "I'll make sure that hand your parchment to my granddaughter. As for Iruma... He and Kalego are in for a good one."
Flashback End
Opera just casually climbs out of the circle, with a little help from Ryūko, and... Poof! He turns into a burgundy-colored cat, approximately the size of the average male Maine Coon (15-25 pounds & 10-16 inches). His plait becomes somewhat of a mane and he gets black bat-like wings that are a few times larger than Kalego's familiar wings and his black tail remains as it is. He flies towards her and bows his head.
"From today onwards, I will be at your service, Ryūko." Said the cat, "Do not hesitate to call upon me if you require my assistance."
"Of course, Opera." Replied the girl, bowing back, "And I vow to keep this contract as of today and to not abuse my familiar's power."
They shook each other's hand and paw, signing the contract.
"Miss Ryūko/Lady Ryūko!" Called the two demon subordinates, "You have slain us as of Master Iruma/Sir Iruma!"
"Don't be." Said Ryūko, "You have your amazing familiars and I have mine to tend to."
Asmodeus and Félin kneeled before her, admiring her mature though cold persona.
'Wow. Ryūko summoning Opera as her familiar? That's something worth praising for.' Isabelle thought as she smiled at Lubradine, who smiled back at her.
After school, the twins with their familiars and Isabelle head to the mansion, and Sullivan congratulated Ryūko and Isabelle on their blood pact with their respective familiars. He then turned to Kalego and Iruma, Kalego demands to nullify the blood pact between him and Iruma, but the chair-demon laughed in amusement and informs him that the contract lives in him for a year and if nullified forcefully, both Iruma and Kalego would die. Isabelle commented that the year won't be good for Kalego and Iruma, well mostly Kalego.
Kalego passed out right on the spot. He became bedridden from the shock and both Ryūko's and Iruma's ranks were not determined. As a result, their notoriety and Isabelle's article spread even further as became known as the demons who summoned demons and the most powerful and most misunderstood beast as their familiars. Some were debating on whose familiar is cuter, some also commenting on the summoning scene itself.
Isabelle: "Wow. The news about us summoning our familiars spread so fast today."
Asmodeus: "Please, right this way, Iruma, sir."
Iruma: "Right... so then are we... um... going to get our textbooks now?"
Asmodeus: "Yes. For subjects such as demon basics, curses, pharmaceuticals, and the art of torture. I can't wait. What about you?"
Ryūko: "Those subjects are sadistic yet clearly important for demons, right?"
Lavande: Indeed, milady. This will all be useful depending on your future affiliations."
Then something occurred to Asmodeus.
"You lot! What do you think you're doing?! Make way for Master Iruma, Miss Ryūko, and Miss Isabelle!" Commanded Asmodeus to a trio of students.
"This isn't helping!" Yelled Iruma before Asmodeus decides to summon his Gorgon Snake. The serpent breathes fire at the trio, making them run away in fear. Looks like some hellish things always have been occurring lately.
"Azz, it's okay! You don't really need to do that!" Said Iruma.
"Is that so?" Asked Asmodeus, "If that is your wish, then so be it. The path is now open and clear. Let us proceed."
Ryūko sweat-dropped at his sudden mood change, Lavande just clicks her tongue in annoyance, and Isabelle sighed in exasperation.
"Sis, you're not doing anything about that?!" Asked Iruma.
"I don't really mind, Iruma." Said Ryūko. "If it is the way the demon customs work, then we need to respect it."
The group then proceeds to outside a room, where they might be getting their textbooks.
"Oh, this must be it." said Asmodeus.
The five heard a scream from inside and Lavande readied her shield and sword in front of Ryūko and Isabelle, whereas Asmodeus outstretched his arm out protectively in front of Iruma.
"Careful." Lavande said. "I can feel something going on in there."
Suddenly, a green ball came rolling into a pile of cartons nearby. With a sharp hand movement, Asmodeus and Lavande swat or slice two cartons flying in their direction away.
"Strike!" A green-haired demon girl with curled horns emerged from the boxes laughing. Isabelle, Iruma, and Ryūko wanted to say something, but Asmodeus told them not to speak with her. The energetic demon girl doesn't hesitate to address the Suzuki twins and Isabelle.
"I'm Clara! And my right foot is Connor, and my left foot is Murf! My familiar is Falfal!" Introduced Clara, also introducing her green monster-looking slippers for some reason. "I was trying to grab some teaching aids, but I got too excited and crashed! Here, you wanna eat some candy? When you see a big pile of stuff, don't you just wanna go "kaboom"?! I'm gonna do it again! Watch" Clara then stacked up the cartons while singing a random song that went like...
If it's for Daddy, I'll skip to my loo...
If it's for Mommy, I'll pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake...
If it's for Konchie, I'll skip to my loo...
If it's for Keebow, I'll pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, yeah!
Iruma was overwhelmed by the sheer energy that the demon girl held, Ryūko and Isabelle looked like they're not reacting and ate the pieces of candy the girl gave them. Clara, huh? Another strange, yet interesting demon has crossed the path of Isabelle, Ryūko, Iruma, Asmodeus, and Lavande.
~Interval~
Two hours before Kalego was summoned as a familiar
"Today, we perform the ritual for new students to summon their familiars." Kalego said in front of his mirror, "You'd better be prepared, Isabelle, Ryūko, and Iruma."
His mirror broke, the strap on his boot snapped and then a black cat is somehow duplicating sideways.
"A black cat? I have a very bad feeling about this."
Two hours before Opera was summoned as a familiar
As he knew that Ryūko was going to summon him, he neither worried nor felt anything bad happening. It almost had to be the most relaxing morning Opera had for a long time. His expressionless face doesn't show a thing, but look at his cat feats and you'll know that he's looking forward to being Ryūko's familiar.
(A/N: In case anyone wants to know what are Darris' and Acheron's familiars are...)
Amphisbaena (Darris' familiar)
Fenrir (Acheron's familiar)