Chapter 5: Decimation

The explosion blasted forward at the speed of sound, breaking everything in its path. It was as though a speeding rocket had sped up and launched itsef out of my palm

"This is summoning magic?"

It was rather strange. Magic should be something lost for thousands of years, yet I had instinctively felt it as a part of me

As the dust settled, I got out from my closet, which is now a tattered mess of wood and clothing fabric

Aamon and Belial didn't react to my exit. Or rather, they must have gone somewhere else. I walked up to the window and opened the curtains

There is fire. And screaming

________

Chaos reign the street

Animals have started going into a riot. Cats and dogs of all breed, strays and domestic, stirred in an active state of aggression

Meanwhile, an army of Rat swept through West of Brooklyn, where people are being mysteriously slaughtered

Invinsible claws ripped through dozens in one slash. A beast imperceptible to human eye lurked in the darkness before pouncing and sliced through ten bodies like a sharp blade

Not a physical monster, but a concept. Undefeatable. Unseen. Unconcerned, as it revel in slaughter as its master will

The Summoner would not understand their thirst for blood. In time, they will, and they will join them in Hell's conquest. And he would sit on his throne of brimstone to lead them all

"Freeze. Put your hands where I can see them!"

Aamon's attention shifted to its front. Police officers have arrived to save the people from them, doing their duty as law-enforcers

They first began by aiming at black people

"Stop resisting or I will shoot you!" One commanded

Aamon grabbed the human and threw him forward

"He's resisting! Shoot him!" And they sprayed bullet to the unfortunate shadow-skinned human who fell down by troves

[Vengeance] is a fool's game where there is no winner. The cycle of hatred will continue between people who oppose each other

He could feel himself grew stronger as the hatred sparked off desires for retaliation to the police. Despite their screams and pleas, his claws rend them into chunks of meat in no time

Belial commanded his legion of pets to take hold of the guns. Dogs and cats used their paws to pull the trigger, sending out bullets that hit fleeing civilians and turn them to bloody chunks

Chaos is their lifeblood, and it is flourishing in this city of sins.

Something in its body shift. A bloodthirst grin appear in the darkness as the demon appear, no longer formless. The shadow manifeststion of Aamon let out a roar that shook the city

There are no longer anything that could stop it. Not even the most destructive nukes, the most powerful Magecraft, or even that damn Wizard Marsha—-

"I think you've gone too far, fuckers" A voice that both demons instinctively recognized as their summoner's rang out. It was cold and void of emotion, and yet still coming off as really mad

From the sky above, he descended

"I've let you two gone off the hook for long enough. Now let us partake in your fucking asswhipping"

______

I looked at the burning city brimming with chaos. Belial's and Aamon's figure could be seen within the fire

They were no longer intangible, but have gained enough power through their concepts to manifest into this plane

A passage written in the Ars Goetia:

"Demons gain their power from faith and sins. Those who worship their name gives them power, and those who invoked the chaos which they ruled over, embolden their ascension"

"Ascension, through which the demon may roam the mortal plane, turn them into physical beings with immense power. They are phenomenons that can consciously alter the reality of the world"

Through the burning haze, Aamon rushed toward me. His silhouette is of a werewolf whose body reached 10 meters with claws as long as its arm

Before he can reach his target, a resounding impact rang through the air as something slammed into him. The werewolf was sent tumbling back before getting up with a near audible growl

"Recognizing your fellow demon? You should. I summoned this bad boy by myself" I grinned "Of course, no sins required"

I held out a sword

It was silver in color, contrasting with the blood red lines running down the blade's shaft and connecting with my arm

"Forcas. The one and only Knight demon of the Ars Goetia" I began "A master of countless weapons. This demon loves handling armaments so much he had gained the form of an ever-shifting killing tool. Each one as deadly as the other"

The sword moved, turning into a scythe blocking off Aamon's claw that ripped through the fabric of reality

"He lives as a breathing weapon that connect to the user's soul, sucking off their life force, but at the same time granting them invincibility in any form of combat. As long as a summoner held this demon close, no harm shall come to them"

I jumped and plunged the blade toward the ground. It cracked the earth, spilling forth a quake that buried the gun-wielding pets before they could pelt me with bullets

"Aamon. You lived off hatred as an apetite. What happens when that thing no longer exist?"

"Belial. Your range of control is limited by the summoner's will. What are you without my permission to act?"

The two demons were sent back with a swing of Forcas. Wind rippled that slices off entire buildings

"Exactly. You can create as much chaos by yourself, but without me to regulate it, your impulses would only lead the world to extinction" I clicked my tongue "You don't want it to end, merely for it to worship your existence"

The weapon pulsed with power. Its demonic presence resonate with the other two who hesitate to attack

"And I can help you with that" I spread my arm, silver blood scythe gleaming in the fire "You can go back to me. I will not try to return you to Hell this time, but only under the condition that you completely obey me"

Belial seems interested. Aamon growled in defiance. It is a choice between freedom and ascension. But I know what they will pick in the end.

The fire recedes, and the two of them knelt to me

_____

It is rather tiring

In the span of one month I had started a serial killing, spread a plague, rob the bank, and is now responsible for last night's massacre. This made me question one thing

Am I the bad guy here?

I know I have been indifferent to stuff lately. Not reacting that much to the information that demon exist, or that I can apparently do magic that summons them from beyond the world. I had attributed it to me just being calm in general...but maybe something in me enjoy that?

...Nah. Couldn't be

"So, what was your plan in the first place?" I sat upon one of the chairs in the living room, Forcas still in my hand, while Belial and Aamon sat on the ground "You regained your physical form by causing chaos in the city. What's next?"

Aamon extend one of its claw and point toward the manuscript

"Yes, if I recall, you were quite adamant to them being published. Were you hoping to gain recognition through my reader base to manifest your real forms?"

That pretty much goes in like with the demon's concept. The more people know about them, the stronger their presence on the world become. Their nods confirmed my hypothesis

I turned to Belial, who now takes the form of a hooded old man

"So you guys invaded my life and causes a string of misfortune to hit me in the ballsack. Forced me to experience an existensial crisis about the supernatural, then terrorize New York's population. I should be booting your ass from my home now with all the chaos you caused"

Deep breath. I continued, ignoring the anger coming from my heart

"I will allow the publication of my work as its author. BUT, I'm going to change some things about you. There will be no objection to this, no matter the magnitude of my change"

Forcas hummed in my hand in preparation to cut them down

It proved unnecessary, as the demons gave their agreement

Inwardly breathing a sigh of relief, I turned my back on them to look out the window. The glass reflected my nervous expression

There was nothing I could do to stop them. My only solution would be to restrict these demons by binding them to me

It is fortunate that my thought cannot be read, as otherwise they would be really devastated to know what I'm planning

______

My book "Ars Goetia: 72" was released two weeks later and immediately become top of the bestseller list

The first 13,000 copies sold out in the first 24 hours. The second batch of 50,000 books was purchased at an astonishing rate, where stock ran low only after two days of its release

With Belial's influence I quickly rose through the rank of new authors. I was interviewed by several news agency, magazines, and tabloid. A lot of money was paid in the process

I returned home from another meeting with the publisher this month. They'd been on their knees, begging me to uphold the contract with them

"Make another book? Like hell I will" I scowled "Can't believe my dogshit writing become a bestseller"

I opened the door to my home. There was a ruckus upstair, before a puppy ran down. It barked a greeting at me

"Good evening Aamon" I pet it

Ever since he'd gain enough power through the book's readers to manifest into a physical body, Aamon has been more docile

He'd still have bouts of bloodlust toward anybody who mess with me. Thankfully, they are small outbursts compared to before

"Do you know where Belial is?"

Aamon responded by pointing its nose to my study room. I nodded, before placing the Vengeance demon on the couch

The other demon has been a little bit trickier to manifest his ohysical form considering the power he held. Still, he pulled through and now has a body made of flesh

"Good morning, our Summoner" A cold voice greeted me as I entered the study. Turning to the source revealed a young boy crouching over one of my work

"Woah. I thought your real form is an old man"

"Demons can shapeshift to tempt people with their appearance. We can be young or old, a man or a woman, or both and neither" He looked at me "Our true form resides in Hell"

"So that means you can become a blonde haired, big-tiddied E-girl?" My eyes narrowed

"...We have no idea what that is, Summoner" A droplet of sweat ran down the demon's face. "Demons are suppose to be cool"

I ponder if I should show Belial how anime tends to portray demons, but decided it would be too cruel

"So what are you doing in my office?"

"I was...studying on the world's different governments" The demon replied, its eyes narrowing "The Roman Empire had a civilization collapse? Impossible"

"Yeah, they suffered pretty bad after the death of their Emperor. Loss of central power caused division of territories, which is followed by Germanic invasion..."

"We have a lot to catch up" Belial said "Summoner, would you be willing to educate me in matters regarding the modern world?"

"What will you give me in return?" I leaned back

"You are still learning to use your Magecraft, right?" A devilish smile appear on his face "Maybe we can offer some help"

"I'm listening"

"We, who is one of the Nine Kings, will teach you the most powerful mystic in return for assisting us in our endeavor in this world. Spells such as [Army Control], [Dominate Will], [Hellraiser], and [Incite]...those are few of my signature authority, but in your hand it could turn into a powerful tool"

Visions of Belial commanding entire legions of Hell surfaced in my mind, showing the effectiveness of his spells

What a normal person could do with such power is terrifying. Had it been anyone else, nobody would refuse such power. They could become a king, no, an undefeatable conqueror

"Yeah, no. Not interested"

"...What did you just say?"

"I'm fine with just being your everyday guy. Authority doesn't interest me that much"

Belial choked, seeming as if he does not want to believe it.

"...You can command fear and respect from any of the seven billions individual on this planet, be given their unending loyalty such that they would do anything for you, and you refused?"

"It'd be cool having Queen Elizabeth give me a lapdance, but I'd get bored of it pretty quick"

There's no point to power if you don't have a desire to use them, and I've never been an ambitious person

"Then what would you have to help us?"

"Clean the house" I gave him a broom