A New Contract in the Abyss
The Thelema School had no hole outside!
I headed to the Thelema School, completed the training application, and returned to the village beyond the city gates.
After finishing the evening meal at the inn—the last one I would ever eat here—I received one of those heartfelt, unsolicited pieces of wisdom from the inn owner uncle.
That uncle, if he was going to drop some wisdom, why not make it clear and to the point?
Why tell stories about the ones who couldn’t endure the Abyss and retired?
Maybe it was just the way of life for adventurers who’d drifted this far into the village beyond the city gates. There really wasn’t much else for them to do.
It didn’t matter if you didn’t succeed as an adventurer or a mage.
That was probably what he meant, but the delivery felt a bit off.
Anyway, thinking that this room I’d been living in for a few months was about to end made the cramped space feel unusually poignant tonight.
“Ah… I’d better wipe that up too.”
I’d cleaned it roughly before, but the summoning circle still left traces.
“It’s only been a month, right?”
I called out to Seir. It had only been a month since I became a demonologist.
In that short time, so much had changed.
From a street rat who couldn’t even cast a single spell, I was now standing before a proper mage and an up-and-coming explorer.
It was a world of difference.
[Yes, it really has been a month.]
“Were you watching?”
In the past I might have chatted in my mind, but today I wanted to speak aloud.
[Of course. I’ve been watching you the whole time. The contract holder’s growth rate is truly astonishing. Could it be what they call “becoming new every day”?]
Now she even wanted to learn Korean proverbs.
Scary. Terrifying.
[I’m kidding, contract holder.]
“Sorry.”
[Hmph. More importantly, I have a piece of good news to deliver to the contract holder.]
“Good news? Maybe….”
I didn’t expect to ever go back to Earth.
I knew how far away that was, because I could feel it in my bones—newly entering the world of magic and beginning to understand its mysteries.
So what Seir was about to say had to be…
“Does this mean the scope of my authority is expanding?”
That had to be it.
Of all the various authorities Seir possessed, the only one I used was the single spatial magic.
Even that, I only aimed at things in direct contact with me.
Compared to Seir, who could freely move any living creature or object anywhere in the world, it was pitifully limited.
Being a demonologist meant being able to accurately manifest a demon’s authority and explore a vast array of authorities. That was the core of my power.
Once I grew my magical potential, I would be able to reach deeper into Seir’s authorities.
[Unfortunately, that’s not it. The path has definitely widened, but it still hasn’t reached the growth conditions for La Traviata.]
“…Please call it Blink.”
[Anyway, let’s set the growth of La Traviata aside for now.]
Even in the end, Seir refused to abandon the name she had personally given me.
[In addition, the contract holder’s rank has unmistakably increased by one level.]
Repeated battles and endless training, Seir said, had brought about the rise in rank.
[The path to a contract holder growing stronger has three main routes: self-growth, strengthening the authority received from me, or…]
“Contracting with a new demon.”
[Correct.]
My heart pounded.
Contracting with another demon?
I’d never even thought about it.
I was satisfied with Seir.
Even though she teased me sometimes, I had never forgotten my gratitude.
Since arriving in this world, the only person who could be called my benefactor without a shred of doubt was Seir alone.
Ah, but since Seir was a demon, the proper term was “en-mage.”
A demon that grants grace.
The wording felt odd, but that was how I had always seen it.
“…I am more than satisfied with Seir-nim.”
If I wasn’t satisfied, what kind of person would I be?
She gave me infinite mana.
She created magic directly for me.
She gave me all of it without any compensation.
She simply gave it all for free.
[Hehe, I know that. I occasionally have impious thoughts, but it’s because the contract holder truly worships me.]
“Then….”
[So, I don’t want to give the contract holder even less, do I?]
This was also Seir’s blessing.
“Then, I understand.”
§
The second demon summoning, initiated by Seir’s suggestion.
Even though it was my second time, my hand that drew the summoning circle moved with surprising skill.
Even while drawing it, I couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling.
Honestly, it wasn’t because I was special. Maybe Seir was just that generous, giving me something for free.
Next time, it might not be a demon from Earth like Seir, but a demon from this world.
It would be better to focus on deepening Seir’s authority rather than contracting with another demon.
But Seir’s opinion was firm.
[Demons all have their own symbolic seals. If you draw that seal on the summoning circle, the demon you summoned will definitely appear.]
It was a kind of naming system.
That was why demonologists didn’t just scatter summoning circles everywhere and drop information everywhere.
Once you successfully summoned one, they would suck you dry based on that information.
‘There’s no guarantee you’ll get summoned just by naming them….’
On the flip side, there was no risk of some weird demon popping out unexpectedly.
“So, what kind of seal should I draw?”
As I’ve said many times, the world is about connections.
And that held true in the demon society as well.
This summoning depended entirely on Seir’s demonic lineage.
[Draw ELERAI along the inner border of the original circle, starting from the 10 o’clock direction, then 12, 2, 4, 6, and 8 o’clock. In the center, draw a slightly offset bow to the left.]
I drew the summoning circle exactly as Seir instructed.
“Like this?”
[Excellent. Now, place the offering on the altar. Hm… perfect.]
“Th-that’s the offering? It’s really okay with this?”
[Of course. This should work perfectly. Trust me!]
Did Seir know?
She was raising her voice and acting confident, which was probably making the uneasy feeling worse.
But what could I do?
I had no choice but to trust Seir.
All the consulting for this summoning had come from her.
“Then, I’m calling it.”
[Begin.]
Huuuuh.
It was the second time, but it still felt tense.
I was glad Seir had guaranteed it.
Without that, I might have been trembling like when I first called Seir.
“I am calling.”
The moment I spoke the first line of the summoning incantation.
My blood flowed across the summoning circle, creating a flow of unprecedented magical power.
Not mine, not Seir’s, but the power of the demon being summoned at this moment.
There was no mistake.
Even though I’d mixed Earth and this world’s languages before and made a complete blunder, this time I didn’t hesitate. I recited the call entirely in Korean from the start.
Familiar light enveloped the space.
An existence that pressed down on the space with a sharper presence than Seir’s, though similar.
After the light faded from my eyes…
The first thing I saw was a brilliant crimson horn sprouting from her head.
A quiver was strapped to her back, and she held a bow in her hand.
Her red eyes, weakened yet piercing, scanned the world.
Her skin was as smooth as porcelain and unnaturally pale, making her instinctively recognize that I was not a human like her.
Green clothes and black pants underneath.
The leather pants left her long, white thighs fully exposed.
When my eyes moved up to avoid her thighs, two high, rugged peaks came into view.
‘There’s nowhere else to look except her face.’
So my eyes naturally met hers.
They were so red they seemed to bleed, yet cold like Seir’s ice-clear gaze, while deep emotional currents surged within.
“You called me… oh? Seir’s contract holder?”
She knew my name?
“Yes.”
“Hmm, so this isn’t Earth?”
The demon said this as if she was checking where in the world she was, turning her head and glancing around.
“Sigh—haa. The air feels good here. The moonlight is thick, and the forest scent is strong.”
The moonlight and forest scent.
Things that had become romantic in the modern world where light pollution blanketed the night sky and forest development had destroyed the trees.
I wondered if I might laugh at the thought of human greed driving environmental destruction all the way to the demons’ homeland.
Yes.
The real demons worth summoning weren’t like Seir or this one in front of me. It was us humans.
If I thought that way, there was no reason to stay tense in front of a demon.
“Oh… that’s impressive, you.”
“Because I’m Seir-nim’s contract holder.”
“I see. If you want to summon a demon, you need at least that much guts. But this is an offering?”
“Ah… um, yes. That’s right.”
I looked at the offering on the altar with unease.
Strung on a skewer and coated in sugar water were fruits.
In other words, it was tanghuru.
“Hmm? Well… that’s not bad. I’ll eat it.”
At that moment.
The tanghuru I offered was already in her hand.
It was so fast I couldn’t even track it with my eyes.
“Mmm. Not bad.”
She said that, but she had already finished eating it all.
“You want a contract?”
“That’s right.”
“Your rank is sufficient. You’re at a level where you can contract with me and Seir simultaneously. You have talent. Or is this world special?”
Both?
…Probably.
That would be nice.
“Anyway, I like it. I can make a contract whenever. You can see places like this.”
“Then the price….”
“Price? Ah, um… ugh.”
Her previously neutral expression gradually filled with emotion, and when she covered her mouth with her hand, a wrinkle even formed between her brows.
“Ah… I don’t know. It’s been a while since I’ve done a contract. Does it really matter? It’s just a hassle. I think it’s enough just to observe and experience this world.”
“Then I am most welcome.”
“Ah, no. I just thought of one thing.”
Couldn’t it be like Seir?
But hoping for too much felt cruel.
Demons really were…
“The manner of speech. No honorifics allowed. I don’t like those.”
Cancelled.
You’re not a demon.
“In that case, I’ll do it anytime.”
“That’s refreshing. Then….”
Unlike Seir, who had elegantly dropped a single blood droplet to form the contract, she seemed to be proving that she hadn’t come here just with her bow and arrows by pulling out an arrow and stabbing it straight into her palm.
Kwak!
Blood poured from the palm pierced by the arrow, covering the summoning circle.
By mixing our blood, our souls would connect.
“My name is Leraje. The one who shoots and pierces with the bow of white leather.”
Leraje.
The name of the second contracted demon.
§
The next day after Roman applied for training, he packed his things at the inn, returned to the Thelema School, unpacked his belongings in the assigned room with Mea’s guidance.
Hekate had gone out on business and left.
Strike while the iron is hot.
Since he was heading straight to the Abyss today, Roman and Mea left the school’s quarters and stepped outside.
The shop district for last-minute supplies before entering the Abyss.
Here, as a senior and guide, Mea should have been telling him what items to buy, but she had no such luxury.
How…
It had only been a day.
Mea hadn’t seen Roman for how long?
Considering that Roman returned in the afternoon and arrived early this morning, it was barely more than twelve hours.
In such a short time, how…
‘It’s increased. The demonic aura.’
When she first saw Roman.
Mea had seriously considered whether her own senses were malfunctioning.
The newly added contract demon of the contract holder.
That she could accept.
Contracting with an additional demon was a normal growth for a demonologist, similar to a mage adding another magic school.
But this was too much.
How could it be a noble rank again…
If a hundred people summoned demons, only one would be a famous demon.
If a hundred people summoned famous demons, only one would be a titled demon.
If a hundred people summoned titled demons, only one would be a high-ranking demon.
So, the probability of a demonologist contracting with a high noble was 0.0001 percent.
But contracting with the same high noble again?
‘What is this?’
Mea’s common sense was shaking.