1 Spirits from the Otherworld
In a world made of mountains of red stone, huge volcanoes, plains of obsidian, and acid swamplands…
It was a hostile world, and it felt as though life couldn't possibly exist in there. But even in this hostile environment, life found its way and kept running its course…
Well, not for everyone…
The handle of the huge axe broke amidst the hands of the red giant while his enemy lay on the ground, turned into minced meat after the barrage of heavy blows. At this time, its green-colored steaming innards and purple blood were splattered everywhere, slowly absorbed by the ravenous ground.
The winner slowly got up, throwing away his now unusable weapon. The giant was three meters tall and had hairy goat-like legs with powerful muscles that made the ground shake at each step. His chest, which was more human-like, was covered with red-colored skin and rippling muscles.
In the rear, a tail that ended with a live snake was hissing evilly.
However, the most terrifying thing of all was his face—hollowed and stuck to the skull, with almost no skin. He had five rows of sharp teeth, and fire was burning in his empty eye sockets, with ten small horns crowning his skull.
This dreadful beast was a monster feared in each part of the world; it was a beast that was the embodiment of evil, chaos, and suffering in all cultures—he was one of the so-called demons!
❄️❄️❄️
"She doesn't believe in me! She thinks that I'm nothing but a useless brat!"
The short and thin teenage boy walked back and forth in his room full worn out and dusty books.
Besides him, the only other form of life in the room was a small emerald-green fish sluggishly swimming in the oval-shaped fish tank.
"I can summon an otherworldly creature! I know I can do it! I feel it in my gut! I'm not asking for too much... even something like a Kappa or an Imp is perfectly fine! I'm well aware of the abilities of those creatures… after all, I've read the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum! But all she does is make fun of me in front of others!" The boy picked up a thick book with a five-pointed star on its cover and angrily threw it into a corner of the room.
The small fish inside the tank stayed silent.
"David, do you know something? I'm tired of all this, I'll show her what I'm capable of!" The boy said while gazing at the small fish.
"Isaac, it's ready!" A voice suddenly transmitted from downwards. As soon as he heard the voice, the anger of the boy quickly faded.
After getting out of the room, Isaac found himself in the familiar squared landing. The floor was made of old wood, and the narrow stairs went both up and down.
Isaac quickly headed downstairs while ignoring the paintings hung on the walls. After reaching the ground floor, he entered the dining room. Here, a huge man wearing a greasy apron was currently placing the meals on the table.
The man had red cheeks, big black curved moustaches, a button nose, and a gentle expression in his small gray eyes.
On the opposite side of the rectangular table was sitting another person. This person was entirely covered by the newspaper they were reading, and only their slender fingers full of huge rings—of bad taste according to Isaac—were visible.
"You're 23 seconds late." the voice that came from behind the newspaper was hoarse, ruined after years of smoking.
The sheets of the newspaper were folded and made fall onto the red carpet that covered the whole floor of the room. Afterward, they were slowly but steadily picked up by an invisible force and thrown into the fireplace.
Isaac bent down his head and said with a mortified expression on his face, "I'm sorry, Madam."
The woman was very thin and had some saggy skin on her neck. She wore her gray hair with white stripes in a bun, and a lot of purple-colored make-up was applied around her eyes. She wore a matching thigh-fitting and elegant purple dress with black motifs all over. Her lime green eyes were hidden behind thin rectangular glasses, and attached to her small earlobes were two huge earrings made of what seemed gold, but Isaac knew that it was nothing but colored steel.
The whole house seemed to just as elegant as her, but that was only at first glance.
The huge carpet seemed rather ancient but was full of holes and ruined in several points. The table seemed to be made of mahogany or another fine wood, but it took only a touch to determine that it was nothing but plywood. The paintings and the curtains were the same.
The woman, known as Jasmine the Gray, was Isaac's adoptive mother as well as his teacher. She was a witch, and according to Isaac, a good-for-nothing too.
Isaac looked at his plate where he found the usual salad. He was forced to a vegetarian diet and had thus no choice but to eat his meal slowly while silently planning what to do that very same evening.
The mustached man, the old Bartholomew, was Isaac's only friend. However, even his jovial personality could do nothing against Jasmine's strictness.
When the young Isaac stepped inside this old house in the outskirts of London for the first time, he thought that the two of them were married, and for many days, he wondered how someone as gentle and kind as Bartholomew could possibly fall in love with an old hag like Jasmine.
One day, when he asked Bartholomew about this matter while helping him wash the dishes, the old man laughed at the fact that someone might be willing to marry a woman like Jasmine. Still, he did not tell Isaac what was his role inside the house beside cooking and acting as a waiter.
After silently eating his meal, Isaac cautiously stood up and thanked Bartholomew for the meal. Then, he quietly took his leave and closed the door of the room behind him.
After getting out of the room, he dashed toward the stairs and headed upwards, returning to his room and locking the door.
Today was Saturday, and there were no afternoon classes. However, there was going to be a meeting with the Ministry tomorrow. Therefore, he couldn't afford to wait any further.
He wrote on a piece of paper the following words: 'I'm studying the Lesser Key of Solomon, don't disturb please', and hung it around the handle of the door outside.
After firmly locking the door and making sure that no one could enter, he put the necessary material for the summoning ritual in his bag and left the place.
The rear of the house, which happened to be the side the window of Isaac's room was facing, was full of ivies strong enough to withstand the weight of the thin boy. After climbing down, he leapt over the white wooden fence surrounding the backyard of the house, reaching a gravelly lane with a high-hedge on one side and the backyard of a neighboring house on the other. He needed an isolated and remote place where no one would look for him… and he knew exactly this place.
❄️❄️❄️
Demon of different shapes and sizes, from small Imps to powerful Chain Demons, were lying on the ground next to his goat-like feet, defeated and butchered. None of them was a match for the mighty Zero Umbra.
The embodiment of evil roared after his victory, making even the volcanoes tremble.
But right at this time, he felt as though a hook was yanking at his navel…
'No! It can't be! No one knows my real name! No one!' the demon roared inwardly.
He gazed with disgust at the surrounding scenery turning into a mixture of different colors and changing into a tunnel that connected different worlds.
Soon after, he felt a stabbing pain and his form constantly change, getting smaller and smaller.
When everything settled, he found himself inside a small basement with unfamiliar walls made of gray stone, as well as weak blue candles illuminating the mysterious place.
The form he was so proud of had disappeared, and now he had a disgusting appearance: he wore a black suit with a matching black tie. His eyes also became completely black after a red light flashed through them. Moreover, he wore a white shirt with a folded collar, a leather belt, and had now slicked hair instead of those magnificent horns.
He tried to move, but a mysterious power stopped him from doing so. He looked all around and immediately saw the perpetrator. The figure was shrouded in a yellow cloak and pulled its hood back with theatrical movements.
The figure said, "Welcome to this worl—"
"You're just a kid!" the demon burst out in laughter thinking that some sadistic wizard was playing tricks on him.
However, the young human didn't seem to appreciate…
"Did you just call your master a kid?!" The figure roared, and an electric shock ran through the backbone of the demon and reached his head, directly attacking his mind.
His current weak human body could only give in in front of the power of the spell. The beast was forced to cough up black smoke while trying to gasp for breath.
"I'm the one who summoned you, and by the power of the Ancient Ones, you belong to me," Isaac said in a solemn voice.
The infernal creature stayed silent and tried to analyze the situation while carefully watching the surrounding area with its blazing eyes.
These weak alien creatures know as humans were capable of traveling and visiting worlds different than theirs and obtain the names of other species during their travels.
As the centuries passed by, and thanks to the research of various types of magic as well, they managed to find a way to enslave and take away creature from other worlds.
But there were a few rules they needed follow for that to happen. One of the rules was to know the real name of the creature they were summoning. The real name of a creature was a secret name engraved in its mind, and the demon was sure to have killed all that had come close to discovering his real name.
And yet, here he was... entrapped inside a Double Circle of Solomon, unable to get out and contracted to a human too weak to have intentionally summoned him.
The only thing he could do right now was to bid his time and wait for the right opportunity to kill this boy and delete all traces of his real name from this filthy world.
"I understand… master…" Zero said in a low voice.
