"Have you lost your mind? That item belongs to a ruler of the second level of the underworld, and you're saying we should summon it… and tame it?" Nacht said as he stared at the white feather in El's hand. An item he had picked up before leaving the first level of the underworld.
El didn't react as much as Nacht.
"The final war is coming, Nacht, and we'll be at the front of it. Let's be honest, we're not strong enough yet." He paused for a moment before continuing.
"Even the recent attack on the capital by Eye of the Midnight Sun nearly pushed the Clover Kingdom to collapse and they weren't even serious then." El's argument made sense, but Nacht didn't respond right away.
No matter how much stronger he became, the trauma left by the supreme devil still lingered in his mind. That overwhelming presence, the one his brother had died to prevent from fully manifesting, was not something anyone could kill.
Because of that, a part of him had always believed it was better to leave those demons sealed rather than risk facing them.
El continued.
"Look at this magic circle. I have modified it, it can summon two devils at once. That means two humans can take part in the ritual." Nacht's gaze shifted slightly as El spoke.
"I also got my hands on an item related to a Mid ranking devil. We summon it together with the ruler of the second layer Adramelech and take down the weaker one first," El said. "Once it's out of the way, it becomes a two on one fight. That's our best shot."
Nacht thought it through, "And what if even that isn't enough?"
El smiled slightly. "Then I will use this black card."
"…Tch."
There was a short pause before Nacht spoke again. "Fine. We do it your way. But who gets the contract once we defeat it?" There was only one artifact tied to the higher devil, so only one of them could walk away with its power.
El didn't avoid the question, "…Whoever contributes more in the fight gets it. No complaints after."
Nacht looked at him for a moment, then nodded. "Fair."
The next moment, Nacht's shadow spread out and swallowed both of them whole.
They appeared in an open grassland, the sun was just starting to rise in the distance and the place looked peaceful but not for long.
Nacht took the magic parchment from El and placed it on the ground, pouring mana inside the array activated instantly.
A dark magic circle spread beneath them, nearly twenty meters wide as its patterns lit up one after another. The moment it was completed, the surroundings began to change.
The grass turned black, the soil cracked, and within seconds everything within fifty meters decayed.
They stood on one half of the circle and soon, Black smoke began to gather on the opposite side. At first it was thin, but it quickly thickened and started twisting, forming two humanoid figures.
The first demon to take form stood nearly eight feet tall, its towering humanoid body seeming to be made of white clay, blue flames burned within its hollow eyes and mouth, while thin smoke leaked from its nostrils with every breath.
Its limbs hung unnaturally long at its sides, giving it a puppet-like appearance.
The moment it fully materialized, its gaze fell upon Nacht and El.
A grin slowly spread across its face revealing its sharp teeth. To him, they weren't threats but prey.
It licked its lips and took a step forward, but before its understanding could even settle, a spear of light pierced straight through its head.
"Pssss…!"
The sound echoed faintly as its body hit the floor, disintegrating into black smoke.
'Why?' El thought, unable to make sense of what the other demon had been thinking.
As the smoke finished merging, the second demon fully revealed itself.
Unlike the first, it wasn't standing but lay on the ground, completely relaxed.
Adramelech lazily supported his head with one hand while picking his nose with the index finger.
"How does a lowly devil end up standing in the same space as me?"
At a glance, he didn't look threatening at all. His body was small and slender, completely lacking the imposing build one would expect from ruler of the underworld.
Large, dark wings rested behind him, barely moving. A pair of curved, goat-like horns extended smoothly from his head, while his half-lidded eyes carried a cold, detached look.
Both El and Nacht's attention, however, was drawn to something else, a small sphere tattoo embedded at the center of his chest.
A dragon ball with two stars.
Adramelech's gaze slowly followed their line of sight.
"If your goal is to kill me and take that," he said, tapping lightly on the sphere tattoo in his chest, "then you've left me no choice but to kill you."
Nacht replied calmly, "What if we're here to tame you instead?" At those words, shadows stirred behind him.
Four small devils manifested over his shoulders, their expressions tense. Some trembled slightly, while others stared at Adramelech with clear unease, as if warning nacht.
Adramelech glanced at them briefly, then he looked back at Nacht.
"Are you threatening me with those demons? Those four can't do anything to me." The devils on Nacht's shoulders flinched at that.
His eyes shifted slightly toward El.
"That's why you brought your pal along… right?"
"We did kill Namaah together and escaped from the underworld, what makes you think we cannot kill or tame you?" El asked.
"You see, that's exactly why I answered your summon. Nobody cares how you killed those weaklings, but the whole underworld is curious about how you escaped from that hell, something we haven't managed in thousands of years. So tell me, human, is it because of your unique magic… or something else?"
Adramelech seemed unusually talkative for a demon. Instead of attacking, he simply questioned them which worked in their favor.
"It is my magic, Adramelech, and the reason we've summoned you here is to form a contract with you which benefits both of us, but if you want to fight and test our limits, you're free to try, just know that once we start, I doubt we'll be able to stop before killing you…"
El retrieved the black card of Escanor and flipped it. A window appeared before El, something that only happened when he used an S-rank card.
[Use S-rank card: Escanor, Lion Sin of Pride]
[Y/N]
Even without activating it, the card began to emit waves of heat. It wasn't mana, but pure solar energy similar to sun rising above their heads.
Soon, an illusory figure formed behind El. A towering man, broad as a mountain and sculpted with overwhelming muscle, stood with his back facing El.
A lion's tattoo stretched across his back, almost alive, as if it would roar at any moment.
The sheer weight of that presence forced Adramelech's half-lidded posture to straighten as he became fully alert.
"You certainly are an interesting human… the most interesting one I've seen in a long, long time. Hahahaha…"
The heat continued to rise, but El pressed No, and the card returned to normal along with the surrounding.
"I see you're not bluffing. But even with that power, a fight between us would end in mutual destruction and if you are not after the dragon ball, fighting would just be a waste of energy… uwahh…" Adramelech yawned and stretched lazily.
"Instead… I'll form a contract with that friend of yours. But I want the contract to be more favorable on my terms." He pointed at Nacht, and El's expression darkened.
"Why not make a contract with me? Are you afraid?" At those words, Adramelech's eyes widened slightly before he laughed aloud.
"Kid… you don't have even a shred of talent for demon union. If I were to form a contract with you, I'd end up as nothing more than a mascot on your shoulder, while you wouldn't be able to utilize even one percent of my power."
His words stung and Nacht simply smiled, already aware of it.
"Besides, our magic isn't compatible at all. But that other kid, he wields shadow magic, the complete opposite, yet highly compatible with my light Magic."
"You can forget about forming a contract with me unless it's in my favor and you expect me to believe you don't have any ulterior motive for choosing me?" Nacht spoke suddenly.
"I want your reason, why form a contract at all? Don't tell me you're not a slave to your demonic desire like the other demons." Nacht asked suspiciously.
"For you to trust me, you'll need to know a bit about me. I was originally an angel, but when I saw them losing, I switched sides and became a fallen angel."
"I thought the demons would win, that I'd be free to indulge in all sorts of… entertaining things. Instead, we were all sealed. Not very fun."
"All traces of me were erased, so I couldn't even form contracts with humans. The only worthwhile thing that happened in the underworld was that I fully absorbed the dragon ball here and grew stronger." Adramelech tapped the sphere embedded in his chest.
"I've been bored for over a thousand years and now that something interesting is finally happening… I'd like to enjoy it before everything gets destroyed." His last words shocked both El and Nacht.
"Oh? You seem surprised. You didn't know? Hahaha…" They both stared at him confused.
"What nonsense are you spouting? We'll kill the Spade Kingdom devils, nothing will be destroyed!" El snapped, but Adramelech only laughed and continued.
"All of us, the highest and supreme devils of the underworld have successfully absorbed the dragon balls… except Lucifero."
He lowered his voice, yet his words struck like a war drum.
"The seven-star dragon ball will soon merge with Lucifero's body. Once it does, he'll break the seals of the underworld himself. and no one will be able to stop him. Not even you, with those unorthodox abilities of yours."
Adramelech revealed it all without hesitation, as if loyalty meant nothing to him.
"Don't lie! Aren't you trying to use the Tree of Qliphoth with dark magic and world tree magic to lift the seal from the underworld?" El shot back, though even his instincts told him the demon wasn't lying.
"That is just a little game, the other supreme devils are playing. Whether it succeeds or not doesn't matter. Once Lucifero completes the merger… all hell will break loose."
'The Omni Kings told me to finish the game in twenty years… was that a deadline?' El's thought. 'Stopping the Spade Kingdom would only delay the inevitable.'
'And this two-faced demon… he's just securing his escape. If we win, he'll switch sides again just like before. cunning bastard.' Adramelech's motives seemed laid bare before them… or so they thought.
'He is only driven by one desire... Survival.' Both El and Nacht thought.