Familiar Summoning
Familiars; magical beasts summoned by demons to form contracts of servitude with their summoners and the familiar summoned often reflects the power and ability of the demon that performs the summon. At Bablys, the tradition is to have the first years perform the Rite of Summoning after Orientation as a way of testing the first year students. Some summon cute critters, some are rather intimidating beasts, some demons fail to summon anything, but a constant of this process is the potential it reveals. Many demons await this day, our two royal highnesses are no exception.
(The Next Day of School)
"So how was detention?" Irumi asked her twin as they rode inside Sullivan's carriage to Bablys in their disguised forms, taking that instead of walking or flying as it gave the pair time and little distraction to plan and review their aims for the day. Opera was driving the carriage since Sullivan himself had to busy himself with his job as the Chairdemon of Bablys.
"Very helpful actually." The demon prince answered as he reflected on what Alice, Sabro, and himself did as punishment for causing such a mess yesterday. "Kalego had me help the faculty with cleaning up afterschool, Sabro was to give a rather humiliating apology to professor Buer, which he did very sincerely, and Alice was forced to watch while I was cleaning." Irumi took a moment to imagine Alice being held back with magic, demanding to be allowed to assist his lord with the cleaning.
"Sounds like Azzy had it the worst." She said with a small giggle, which her brother joined in before continuing.
"The groundskeeper is a nice guy and this can allow us to get a head start in winning over the rest of the faculty. But maybe it shouldn't be after causing some form of trouble." They both agreed that that would be for the best. Delkira often said that kindness is one of the more difficult concepts for demons to understand, along with doing hard work since theirs is a race defined by selfishness and the pursuit of personal pleasure. One of the many reasons why Delkira was the king was his selfish desire for a happy Netherworld that pulled so many along to see it happen, a greed that he wanted his children to inherit.
"Let's hope our familiars don't cause any trouble then." Irumi said, causing the two to now fidget with excitement at the idea of what beast they may summon. Kalego and Balam often told the two about the Familiar Summoning Ritual and the beasts that may come, showing off their own impressive familiars to the pair, but always warned them to be careful with their eventual familiars. To fear and respect the beasts that will be bound to them because if the master loses control then everyone else may be at risk. Even the Demon King respects the monster he's bound to, citing that it was a beast that could destroy the whole of the Netherworld if it so chose to do. Another testament to Delkira's power and might throughout the Netherworld as well as a hefty expectation on his children. The ride eventually came to a close as they came to the entrance of the school with Sabro and Alice waiting for them.
"Good morning Iruma and Irumi!" The two greeted with a smile as they quickly fell in line with the twins and proceeded toward the Familiar Summoning Hall. "I can't wait to see what I summon! Surely a truly mighty beast with great power and ferocity!" Sabro said, bursting with excitement.
"Try not to be so boorish Sabro." Asmodeus said, maintaining a perfect posture while sticking close to Irumi's side. "While there is little doubt that our familiars will be magnificent creatures, my heart is filled to burst with anticipation with what will appear today. Especially when a certain pair take their turns." He spared a glance at Iruma and Irumi as Sabro joined him in grinning with excitement, getting an embarrassed chuckle out of the twins.
"Good morning everyone!" The members of the Student Council called out as the many students passed them, the royal procession spying the tall stature and crimson hair of Amerie.
"Amerie! Good morning!" Iruma said with a smile as the student president turned toward them.
"Good morning Irumi." She said with a smile aimed at the princess before glaring at her fiance with an angry pout before marching away, causing Iruma to sulk.
"She's upset with you for getting in trouble yesterday. Isn't she?" The princess guessed, making Sabro and Alice realize this may be their fault as well.
"PLEASE FORGIVE US!" They ended up shouting as they prostrated themselves while exposing their wing roots, right in the middle of the courtyard in front of the twins and most of the student body. Needless to say, people started talking and rumors began to bud.
"There's nothing to forgive," Iruma said with a smile, "I'm just as much at fault for reacting so violently. So let's forgive each other and be friends, kay?"
'So kind!' The masses thought while Iruma just wanted the groveling to end. After finally putting an end to that nonsense, the four made their way to the designated summoning hall. A spacious room with a domed ceilings that was divided into many squares with hanging lanterns and lamps on the walls to provide the lighting. In the center was an incomplete circle with a waist high fence that held a magic circle with a candle stand in the center with an already lit candle, waiting for the ritual proper.
"So, do we know who's presiding over this ritual?" Irumi asked before the doors were thrown open, revealing Kalego wearing a high collared black mantle cloak with studded cuffs and heavy boots. His hair was slicked back with a few bangs hanging over the right side of his face and failing to hide his constant scowl and sharp features, looking like a very angry elf.
"Silence! Line up in an orderly fashion." The demon teacher ordered as the students did as he demanded. "My name is Naberius Kalego and I'll be presiding over this Summoning Ritual. This is where most of you will prove that you're either useless trash or useful trash, but trash all the same until you prove otherwise." Naberius Kalego, one of the harshest teachers in the entirety of the Netherworld but also one of the best. Despite his demeanor, he was a demon that valued the growth of his students above anything else and while Sullivan often bullied the man for funsies, he cited that Kalego was also the number one pick for the position of Chairdemon once Sullivan retires. Because of this, Sullivan recommended Kalego as one of the two teachers that would handle Iruma and Irumi's scholarly education until the time came for them to attend Bablys. "Any students that prove themselves incompetent will be expelled immediately." Kalego continued, causing many of the students to start their terrified protests. "Silence! If you don't want to be expelled then be sure to show why you belong here!" He growled, scaring them back into submission.
'He hasn't changed.' Iruma, Irumi, Alice, and Sabro thought as Kalego brought out a five foot tall board that had thick pink borders around a black screen and cutesy flora and fauna and pink demon wings on the back. A heart shaped character appeared on the screen and began explaining the basics of familiar summoning; draw a blood circle on a parchment with the spell on it, burn it with the candle in the magic circle, let the resulting smoke manifest your familiar.
"That's the basic gist of this ritual." The teacher calmly said, holding the board to the side while pulling out a small square of parchment with a magic seal on it. "You will only be using my seal and each of you will only be getting one. And before anyone asks the dumb question, no this will not be dangerous. You are summoning a subordinate with a magical contract. Should a familiar try to attack the master," his hand sparked with power as he obliterated the teaching guide he was using, "then they will be painfully punished. That's how deep the blood pact is." He finished with a dark growl before heading to one entrance of the ritual circle with the stack of magic seals, having the first student enter and attempt the ritual. It was going off without any trouble, most summoning something small or likewise unimpressive. Then it was Asmodeus's turn.
Holding himself tall and proud, he burned the parchment with the smoke taking the form of a large horned and winged serpent with prominent fangs that looked capable of eating a person whole with ease. It flew around for a bit, fire burning in its mouth and on its tail before loosely coiling behind Asmodeus and bending itself to put its head at arm level. Alice reached out to gently stroke the serpent's head, admiring the gleaming bone white scales and their smooth yet hard feel.
"A pleasure to meet you, my Gorgon Snake." Alice said with a smile, pleased to meet his blood bound familiar. The Gorgon Snake was a high class beast of powerful fire that was often suited to the Asmodeus family due to their shared affinity of flames. The two turned to their allies with all three smiling proudly at them. "Well, what do you think my masters?" He asked as the Gorgon snake proudly displayed itself with its master.
"You did very well Asmodeus." Iruma said, causing both Alice and the snake to bow in response to the praise.
"Such beautiful scales, gleaming like styx pearls, and so soft~!" Irumi sang as she petted the Gorgon Snake, causing the beast to shiver in delight while slowly coiling around the princess protectively while nuzzling her with its snout. "You're so cute~." She as she and her brother continued to admire the beast, causing most of the students to blush at the cuteness while unconsciously showing their own familiars more affection.
'They haven't done the ritual and they might already have a familiar.' Kalego thought dryly, watching as the prince and princess basically won over another demon's familiar with no conscious effort. 'Not really surprising, given who they really are. Still, what familiars will they actually summon?' "Next, Sabro Sabnock." He called out as the sworn shield of the royal twins marched forward. Where Alice did the ritual with regal dignity and confidence, Sabro's own was far more harsh and somewhat demanding.
'Come forth, and be worthy of the sworn shield of the future Demon Kings.' He silently pleaded as the smoke took shape, taking the form of a bipedal being that looked like a mix of a horse, fish, and dragon. Standing taller than Sabro himself, the demon's head reaching only the beast's shoulder, it was a fierce looking creature of foam green fur and emerald scales armoring the top and hooves with fin like wings, tail, and mane with a fiery orange membrane between the spines, and a mouth full of sharp fangs. "A Kelpie huh? That suites me perfectly." Sabro said as he reached up to pet the beast's snout. "We've got a difficult job ahead of us so I'll be counting on you."
"So cool!" The two jumped a little before finding Iruma and Irumi already on the Kelpie back, feeling the hard scales and soft fins of the beast that was cool to the touch. "A magnificent Kelpie! Excellent work Sabro!" Iruma praise as the Kelpie clopped its hooves happily at the praise and attention.
"You two! Wait your turn and stop stealing other students' familiars!" Kalego shouted, surprising the students into hopping back into an orderly line with their familiars in tow. "Now, Iruma." The prince nodded and entered the circle, taking a deep breath to steady himself before setting his parchment to burn. 'Prince Iruma and Princess Irumi. If I could have it my way, the two of you would be doing this ritual in private so we could better protect your identities and all the other students from whatever you may summon.' Kalego subtly readied a defensive spell in the event that whatever came out was as dangerous as he feared while the burning parchment started creating more and more smoke and a burning static filled the air. 'I knew we should've made this a private ritual.' He thought just before the magic circle began glowing with power as bolts of electricity began sparking and the room started to crack and tear from the power from that one spot. The air exploded, throwing almost everyone to the ground while the smoke still took no real shape but the silhouette of a massive dragon's head appeared, glaring down at the prince.
"UMA!" Irumi shouted, fearing for her brother as she charged into the circle, deaf to the shouts of Kalego, Sabro, and Alice. She jumped into the smoke, finding her dear brother looking up in fear and awe at the massive beast he could only see a small fraction of as the massive head was the only thing they could see. The scales shimmered with every color in a constant shift, eight eyes staring down at the two with a clear intelligence that made them understand that it was studying the pair, and horns that were rough with weathering but still sharp enough to cut through an entire mountain with ease. The beast continued to watch the two before a low hum could be heard and two glowing balls of light floated toward the two. Silently the prince and princess accepted the balls as the light faded to reveal two white eggs the size of their heads. Once that happened, the dragon beast faded with the smoke, revealing the horribly damaged hall and all the students staring at the pair in shock.
"Iruma, Irumi!" Kalego shouted as he rushed to his students, checking them over for any injury before setting his eyes upon the eggs. "What... what happened?" He asked before the doors instantly slammed open, revealing Sullivan and many of the teaching staff. The chairdemon made a beeline for the twins and locked his gaze on the eggs they now carry. "Chairdemon, do you-" Kalego started before Sullivan silenced him by raising his hand.
"You two will have to come with me." The elderly demon said before turning to the teacher. "Kalego, you and Balam will be joining me. This requires a thorough investigation and I expect your best efforts. Momonoki?" He turned to a young woman with long silver blue hair tied in a ponytail wearing the teacher's uniform of a black mantle cloak. "I'll entrust the rest of the Familiar Summoning Rituals to you."
"Understood sir!" Momonoki said with confidence.
"Good." Sullivan said, turning back to his surrogate grandchildren. "Now come." Iruma and Irumi gulped, having rarely seen this side of their grandfather; serious and no nonsense. It often meant something difficult or bad.
(Babel Tower: Royal Family Living Quarters)
"PARTY TIME!" Delkira shouted as Sullivan, Amerie, and several other demons pulled on party poppers that filled the room with mini streamers and confetti. "My children got their familiars!" The twins also forget that both Sullivan and their father were prone to surprises like this as they stood by in their true form, with only two demons standing taller than them. They, Sabro, Alice, and Kalego stood dumbfounded as some of the most powerful and highest authority demons of the Netherworld started partying.
"Your majesty, forgive my boldness, but WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?" Kalego as Delkira grabbed his children and pulled them in for a hug.
"Well, I knew what kind of familiar my dear babies would end up summoning, so I thought I'd let it be a spectacle!" Delkira said with a smile before releasing his children. "And papa's so proud of you two~!"
"That thing wrecked the summoning hall!" Kalego protested, which Delkira waved off.
"My familiar wouldn't do anything too dangerous." He said, shocking everyone out of the loop.
"THAT WAS YOUR FAMILIAR!?" The students and Kalego yelled out in shock.
"Yep." The king said with a smile. "Did you think anything less than a monster that could destroy anything could possibly be worthy of being MY familiar?" He laughed a bit before focusing. "There was one type of magical beast that stands above all others, so powerful that it was considered one with the Netherworld. Known by two names; the Tyrant Dragon or the Aether Dragon. It's a beast that only grows in power with everything they eat before fading away back into the Netherworld Aether once they reign unchallenged for a century or merge with another of their kind. Because of my pursuit of peace and power, my partner absorbed nearly all the other Tyrant Dragons and became an unrivaled beast. But, I asked him to evaluate you for himself and now you have the only other eggs in existence." The king caressed the heads of his children, gazing upon them with love and pride. "I know you'd pass his test, you are my kids after all, but more importantly you have new and very reliable partners. Take good care of them my darling children." The twins felt their hearts bursting with pride at their father's praise and love.
"We will papa!" They said with a smile, holding their eggs protectively before discussing proper ways and methods to care for their eggs.
"So, you knew this would happen?" Kalego asked his king, getting angry at the idea that his students were put in any kind of danger when it could've been easily avoided.
"Yep. By the way, why wasn't the Summoning Ritual held outside?" Delkira returned, confused as to why the smart thing wasn't done and surprising Kalego that the king wasn't a complete airhead. "Sully! Why wasn't the ritual held outside?" The chairdemon paused to think about that.
"It never occurred to us." He answered, realizing that it MAY be for the best if such a tradition was held outside from now on... or at least in a MUCH sturdier room. Kalego immediately sought out the heavy liquors, looking to get smashed and forget the day happened at all. The celebration went on well into the night as the members of Delkira's inner court went to their respective homes with the prince and princess returning to their beds, still clutching their precious dragon eggs. Both had pleasant dreams of what fun they could expect with their hatched partners, but for some reason they also saw a green haired girl rolling around like a ball.
A/N: Wrote this in a day because March has been a rather annoying month for me so far and I felt the need to update this. On another note, CLARA FINALLY APPEARS NEXT CHAPTER!