Bell Cranel

11:45 AM

Slaying the last dog-like demon that roamed the streets, I let out a tired sigh, staring off at the many disintegrating bodies ahead of me. My conscience told me it was an energy or substance called Magnetite.

This stuff was all around us in the environment, though, it came most potent in humans. It can also be expended by intense emotions, i.e. anger, hatred, stress, etc. So theoretically, one could summon a demon on their own without the use of a COMP, it would just be incredibly taxing, not only that but also the demon wouldn't listen to any of the commands you give it, often disobeying you unless it too is the line of danger.

Instead of that very risky process, the COMPs simply exchange Magnetite for the more commonly used Macca, allowing for easy use with the demons that use it.

Finishing my examination, I noticed right out of the corner of my eye, muscles forming along my body. Odd, due to the amount of time it took to get that far. Usually, build this much mass would take days or maybe weeks of hard work before they would bear progress, but in a matter of hours? Maybe even minutes, I was able to get this far.

Shifting my view to Napaea, she seemed to have also thought the same, admiring me like a high-class hunk of meat. "Taking in the sights there, little nymph?" I teased, watching as a light blush flared on her cheeks.

"Eh?" She confusingly shrieked. "Maybe if you were a bit taller, you're still too short in my opinion. But it is developing quite nicely."

"Really one to put someone down, aren't you?"

"Sh- shut up!" She replied. "Not like I'm the one to even ask in the first place. Honestly, you were just setting yourself up for failure when you asked me."

Humming in agreement, I started walking down the street aimlessly. "I just wanted to ease the stress, especially with this Bel stuff, it's pretty tiring just simply thinking about it."

"Yep." She agreed. "Pretty sure it's the only thing people in the demon world can even talk about at this point. A great fight for the ages, winner takes all. Even some of the gods have started taking sides."

"Oh great. Another worry to add to the list… Hey, since you know so much about what's happening on the other side, who do you think I should summon next? Like a recommendation."

Saying this, her face twisted into one of shock. Eyes bulging along with it. "Are you saying that you'll replace me? What!?"

"No, no. It isn't like that." I denied like a politician. "It's just, with what appears to be a war on the horizon, it just seems right to have people alongside me. The more the merrier."

Silence followed, as laughter echoed behind me. Turning back, I saw the fairy floating on her back and holding her stomach. "You should have seen your face! HAHAHA!"

Most undignified! "Huh?"

"Ha~. Of course, I get it. I was born in one of the weaker demon species, I get where you're coming from and I don't blame you for it. There are a few that come to mind, and their trials won't cost too much Macca so that's a plus. But," Oh boy. "they are pretty hard to convince, much harder than me that's for sure."

It may be troubling, but then again, the pros do outweigh the cons. "Alright, give me their names, don't think I'll lose too much by trying anyway."

"Overconfident much? That we will see. Here they are Nuwa, an earth mother goddess, she's a bit doting at times, though that may be due to her nature as a creation goddess, she specializes in many forms of magic, focusing further on bypassing resistances. Overall, a great contender for that spot, sadly, she is a tough nut to crack, and her trial will leave you either drowned in mud or as one of her creations."

Crap. That's super good but really risky. So much so, that tragedy could swiftly befall me if I don't play my cards right.

"Keep her in mind for a later date, something tells me I'll end up as one of the former. How about the others? Are they any less hard than this?" I inquired, nervousness evident in my voice.

Picking up on that, Napaea nodded along, with her next pick. "Lilim, daughter of Lilith and masterful temptress, she offers lightning magic and various support spells, but, her expertise lies in charm and seduction. As for her trial… let's just say it involves distasteful activities. And though her challenge may be cheap, the deeds done to recruit her will leave even youthful men of your age drained of all their energy. A great option if it weren't for… that."

Oooh. "So I'll have to wrestle her to gain her as my ally?" I jokingly asked, waiting to get a rise out of her.

"No! What I mean is, you will have to have sex with the whore, and exhausting sex at that. Hell, some gods have only one of them to fill out their concubines, the only way I see you surviving is by abusing drain magic, and that can only get you so far." She exclaimed, going on to note a few frankly absurd instances.

"I see what you mean, and I've made a plan. Later, tonight, I'll summon one, get the whole introductions thing out of the way, before, bamm! That's where you come in."

It took the nymph a second to figure out what I meant, exploding in a blush that could only be describe as "nuclear". Wind blew out of her mouth so fast, you could call her a kettle. Talking to her was like talking to an eldritch god, incomprehensible. But quickly enough, I was able to convince her into doing it, saying that if I get her on my side, things would no doubt progress faster, and she wouldn't have to take everything by herself.

We were then distracted, as a loud ping notified me of something on my COMP.-Guess discussing new recruits was going to have to wait another time.- The notification came from an email sent by Atsuro, the teen from way earlier in the day, and he's asking for help in Shibuya.

"We have to go, some guy I met previously is in trouble, they seem to have been jumped in an alley, I need to go." Sending the sole demon back into the COMP, I rushed over to their location.. somewhere.

…

12:30

By the time I got there, no enemy was left to be slain. But, the party was just barely strong enough to hold out, leaving them with more than a few large wounds, something both the COMPs and a bit of healing magic fixed relatively quickly. But, as it turns out, they were instead leading them towards a path going to Suidobashi. Odd, but not the weirdest thing I've experienced.

"Sorry for wasting your time, Bell." Atsuro apologized. "We were swarmed, and you were the only contact I knew who held a COMP, I just assumed you already possessed a demon by now."

"You aren't wrong in that regard." I reassured him. "Demon battles can get dangerous if you aren't careful or have been knocked down without any allies to help you. Just be more prepared, never really know when these things pop from out the woodworks."

"Right. We should be coming up on where they were leading us. The theme park… weird choice for a demon to play in, but you can never really predict these things." He commented, grasping at to what could be the cause.

Yuzu, trying to cheer up the crowd, spoke. "Ohhh. Hey Kazuya, what is your favorite-"

In that instant, the blue-haired boy urgently interrupted her. "Wait! Isn't this the place the email said we would die!?"

""Oh crap!"' Both me and Atsuro exclaimed.

*BRRRRRRRRR*

Suddenly a demon crashed onto earth from the heavens like a comet, cratering the ground. Its presence was as cold as ice, figure stood far taller than any man was capable of, claws as sharp as swords. It had fur as white as the full moon, and skin darker than the night sky. And most prominently, antlers the size of a person standing atop its head.

"…I remember you humans. You were the humans that used fire on me." The beast accused. "Did you follow me here?!"

"Let's go! We have to run!" Yuzu shouted, grabbing both of her friends' hands and turning the other way, only to find more demons lining up to stop them.

"You will pay. YoU wiLL pAy! THiS TiME, I WilL KILL YoU aLL!"

*swish* *swish*

Shards of ice quickly rose from the ground, trapping us within this space. With no other option, we pulled out our COMPs and summoned our demons with a heavy sense of urgency.

"You guys stay here and deal with them, I'll take on the big guy." I ordered, hopping on Napaea's large back (much to her protest).

"Hey, wait! You can't just leave like that! We can help you!" Kazuya shouted, bringing out a demon made of fire.

"I can buy you enough time to at least escape with your lives. Besides, I'm fairly strong myself." I spoke with confidence, tapping on my rides shoulder and pointing towards the bear/moose hybrid.

"There. We're fighting that thing. Provide support, and dodge when you can. I'll deal the heavy lifting." I commanded the fairy, who reluctantly followed along, zipping towards the monster.

Touching down on the ground, we both made a run for it as needles made of ice closely trailed behind us. And the further I closed the gap, the closer it got to touching me. Having dodged most of them, a cocky smirk reached my lips, as I taunted him. "You don't look so tough after all. Just another cannon fodder on my route to becoming KING."

It only served to further push him into a rage, a blizzard quickly picking up, pulling my clothes behind me. The temperature also dropped, swiftly falling far into freezing, it didn't help that I wore my summer uniform today, nor did the fact that my only support was weak to this element.

I needed to be warm. Fire, to be exact. I needed a flame to burn this yeti into a puddle. Something that I could use to burn my enemies away.

'Fortunately, I might just have the thing you're looking for.'

'All you have to do is say the magic words, and it shall be yours to keep.'

'A great tool that helped me on my journey to becoming this strong, and something that will assist you as well.'

' "Firebolt." '

The quiet mutter seems to have been enough, as sparks lit from my palm, and shot towards its target with great speed. Though sadly, it wasn't quite enough to kill it just yet, no not at all. Closing the distance once more, I took to the wind, dashing under the cover of snow.

In its stunned state, I climbed up its back using the momentum I picked up to scale it with relative ease. Once I was on its horns, it was all over. Gusts of wind blew away the cold storm, as Napaea recovered from her ailments. Throwing sharp wind blades, she was back in the game, lacerating the overgrown reindeer's legs to the point where it had to kneel. And feeling my weight on its horns, it tried to claw it me, with no success due to the way its arms were structured.

With the constant barrage of damage and my presence weighing it down. The true snow storm began. As if the clouds in the sky fell onto the earth, a huge fog blinded my vision, knocking me off my game and the antlers.

*STOMP* *STOMP*

Jump!

A row of icicles impaled through the soles of my feet, the cold spreading throughout my body. Crap, too large of an oversight. Shooting random blasts of firebolt, I desperately tried whatever I could to find the monster. And it didn't take long, as before I knew it.

Dash backward!

*shing*

I was impaled through the stomach with its sharp claws. Coughing up blood, I continued my onslaught, firing more and more shots into what I assumed was the face based on its shifting expression.

Blast after blast, I ignored the growing pain, hoping adrenaline would keep me going. Using all my strength, I pulled myself out of the situation, my abdomen heavily bleeding, but still alive (for now).

'You will make it, boy. Believe in yourself that you will make it. Determination to survive will keep you alive, and your friends can heal the wounds later. All you have to do is finish what you started. Kill him'

Right, I just have to smash his face in.

Duck!

Following my instincts this time, I dodged just perfectly, to avoid another set of injuries before rolling underneath the beast's legs, climbing up its fur once more, then stopping at the nape.

There. Blasting another set of firebolts, I fired enough to burn away the fur and soft outer layering. In response to this, the beast mightily roared, thrashing about. But that did little to stop my plans, keeping a tighter hold on what remained of the coating and what I wanted to expose. The spinal column.

If I simply pulled just enough, I can cause even more excruciating pain and severe death. So, I planted both my feet into its back, and clasping with both hands, I pulled on the bone column, tugging and really putting my back into it.

When that wasn't enough, I continued firing, spamming firebolts to dislodge the rest of the hard structure out. The continued wails didn't help either, nor did I care one bit about what occurred, finishing my job, when the entire body shorted out, the lack of movement evident of that.

The mist dissipated along with it. And there I stood, another great victory, and hands very bloodied.

[A/N: I think the lack of planning I put into my fics is starting to show here. Full monke mode. Honestly, writing this was like reading it, I have no idea what happens. But I'm honestly surprised once more, this chapter only took a day to make. Wonderful. Anyway, I lied, door fic looks to be gaining ahead of rat king, so expect a chapter there.

As always, if you have any problem, found a grammatical error, you think something feels off, then please tell me. Learning to get better at writing is always my goal, so don't feel embarrassed to tell me.

Lastly discord: You can always find me on the SGO discord in #ball's pit, hop on by if you'd like to talk, I need more friends.

discord .gg/wd3tUYWVCd]