"So I heard?"
Doil grinned broadly.
"That is true. That is why I am here to assist you with the ritual from the side. It is not something to boast about, but a warlock of my level can connect you with a Demon King belonging to the highest tier in the Demon Realm."
"I see. But have you decided which Demon King to call forth?"
"Hmm! For now, I have in mind the Demon King Kerubim, with whom I am contracted. He is a powerful Demon King said to rank within the top ten throughout the entire Demon Realm as the right hand of the Great Demon King Naidelhark. If you contract with him, you will likely be able to use dark mana to your heart's content."
He spoke proudly, but when Daemon seemed distracted by something, Doil made a puzzled expression.
"What is it? Do you not like Kerubim very much? If so, I suppose you must have a Demon King in mind?"
Recalling the history of Truvenia he had heard from Schreckheimer, Daemon's expression turned serious.
"I wish to contract with the former Great Demon King, Naidelhark. If I am going to form a contract anyway, it is better to choose someone stronger, even if only by a little."
At Daemon's words, Doil's mouth fell wide open.
"H-Heavens... To think there is someone who would contract with the Great Demon King Naidelhark..."
"Why? Is it impossible?"
Doil shook his head back and forth and gave a bitter smile.
"It is not that it is impossible, but I did not know you had such audacity as to dare attempt a contract with Naidelhark. No ordinary person would ever entertain the thought of contracting with him."
"If possible, please summon Naidelhark. I am not the least bit afraid of him."
However, after pondering for a moment, Doil shook his head as if to say it was difficult.
"Your courage is admirable, but I am afraid I likely cannot summon him. Because he is not in the Demon Realm right now."
"A-A Demon King is not in the Demon Realm?"
"As you know, during the Dark War, I fought as a member of the Demon King's army. After the war was decided in humanity's victory, Naidelhark led his remaining forces and fled into the Pelusia Mountains. He intended to excavate the ancient monster tombs there to replenish his power, but he mysteriously vanished there. Since then, countless warlocks and necromancers have tried to summon him, but all have failed. Naidelhark did not answer anyone's summons. Judging by that, it seems certain that Naidelhark is not in the Demon Realm."
"If he is not in the Demon Realm, then where?"
It was a question one might call persistent, but Doil answered without the slightest irritation.
"This is merely a guess, but... I suspect Naidelhark has been sealed by someone. By some kind of magical seal or device. Otherwise, there is no reason he would not respond to the countless summons performed thus far."
At those words, Daemon was startled.
"Are you saying there is someone in this world who could seal a Great Demon King?"
"It is not something one can say is impossible. At the time, Naidelhark had suffered grave injuries from successive attacks by knights. Furthermore, beings from the Demon Realm cannot use their full strength in the human world. Therefore, if a dragon were determined, even a Great Demon King could be sufficiently subdued, one must assume. Of course, it would have to be a dragon surpassing the Ancient class."
"I see."
Daemon nodded as if he understood.
"In my opinion, contracting with Kerubim would not be a bad choice either. He is a Demon King with such tremendous power that there is scarcely an entity in the Demon Realm who would dare ignore him. Had my master not connected me to him, I would never have dared to contemplate a contract with him."
Pressed by the repeated recommendation, Daemon eventually had no choice but to nod.
"If I cannot contract with Naidelhark, it cannot be helped. Then I shall contract with the Demon King called Kerubim."
"That is a wise decision. Then let us begin the ritual."
Fearing that Daemon might change his mind, Doil hurriedly began the ritual. First, he drew a large magic circle in the center of the tent. Concentrating intently lest he make a mistake anywhere, he carved the magic circle one line at a time.
"It has been fifty years since I last drew a summoning circle."
Though he had reviewed it thoroughly, because it was a magic circle he was drawing after so long, Doil's hand was terribly slow. Daemon stood still and stared intently at the magic circle Doil was drawing.
"It is relatively small for a summoning circle."
"This is not a circle to summon something, but merely to connect with a Demon King in the Demon Realm. However, the mana required for it is by no means insignificant."
As they exchanged small talk here and there, Doil was finally able to complete the magic circle. After opening a spellbook and checking once more for any errors, Doil picked up a bowl made from a human skull.
"Baa."
With a death cry, the ram spilled its blood profusely and expired. Doil collected the fresh blood in the skull and placed it in the center of the magic circle. After adding prepared reagents and stirring vigorously, the blood inside the skull soon turned a dark crimson. After dipping a finger in to check the consistency, Doil cut off the head of a crow and placed it inside the skull.
"The first preparation is complete. Now, gather as much mana as you can."
"Yes, Master."
Doil soon began to chant. An incantation in the ancient Runic language flowed ceaselessly from his lips. As it was an incantation he had never heard before, Daemon furrowed his brow deeply.
"How truly strange. I have studied the Runic language, but this is the first time I have heard such an incantation?"
"I told you to gather mana; what are you doing?"
At Doil's sharp rebuke, Daemon came to his senses and began drawing in the ambient mana.
The incantation continued for nearly half the night. Daemon had already gathered mana to his maximum capacity. Having made all necessary preparations, Daemon glanced at Doil from time to time. Seeing the beads of sweat trickling down his forehead, it seemed Doil was also exerting himself considerably.
"It must go well..."
Daemon held his breath and waited for Doil's incantation to end. As if his patience had been rewarded, Doil finally finished the chant and his eyes snapped wide open.
"Now! Quickly cut your forearm and let the blood flow into the skull."
"Yes."
Daemon picked up a knife he had prepared beforehand and unhesitatingly plunged it into his forearm. With a gruesome sound of tearing flesh, crimson blood spouted from his forearm like a fountain.
Splurt.
The blood fell profusely into the skull. Then a wondrous thing happened. As soon as the sheep's blood filling the skull mixed with Daemon's blood, it began to bubble and boil. Without even a moment to marvel, Doil began chanting once more. It was an incantation in the Runic language, so Daemon could not properly understand it. He merely guessed it must be a spell to summon the Demon King. Daemon watched Doil's actions in bated silence.
"Now! Pour your mana into the skull."
"Yes, Master."
Daemon controlled the gathered mana and focused it into the skull. The nearby mana swirled violently and surged into the skull. Of course, this swirl was something only a mage sensitive to the flow of mana could feel.
Sss.
Surprisingly, the skull containing the blood gradually turned purple. Even the blood inside, every last drop of it. Doil, who was watching, also hurriedly drew in mana and focused it into the skull. The more he did so, the deeper the purple glow emanating from the skull became. After some time, the skull finally turned completely black. Doil muttered in an exhausted tone.
"I-It is done. Now drink the fresh blood within the skull."
"Huh? You mean this?"
"Do you not wish to become a warlock?"
"N-No, it is not that."
At Doil's threat, Daemon quickly picked up the skull. As he gulped down the blood inside, an indescribably foul taste flooded his senses. But Daemon endured and completely emptied the skull.
"Kuh. Damn it... What kind of taste is this?"
Doil approached Daemon, who was muttering complaints, and patted his shoulder.
"It is done. The ritual is complete. Welcome to the ranks of the warlocks."
Daemon's eyes went wide.
"What? The ritual was this simple?"
"Indeed. Try gathering mana."
Daemon began controlling the ambient mana, half in doubt. In that instant, his brows shot up drastically.
"Wh-What is this..."
Seeing the tremendous mana move according to his will, Daemon could not help but be shocked. This was an unfamiliar type of mana he had never felt before. Moreover, the amount exceeded twice what he could normally gather. Daemon involuntarily let out a cry of admiration.
"Th-This is incredible."
"That is what is called dark mana. Like ordinary mana, it also possesses attributes such as water, fire, wind, electricity, and so on. From now on, you must become accustomed to using this dark mana. Just as before, you must master it through bone-grinding training."
"Hehehe. Yes, Master."
Daemon was beside himself with joy. The feeling of having obtained dark mana now was no different from that of a Murim expert who had obtained a miracle elixir and undergone a complete rebirth.
From that day onward, Daemon began training to become accustomed to dark mana. He chose only the deep of night when everyone was asleep. While there was the intention of avoiding others' eyes, it was also a decision made because dark mana was said to be abundant in the deep night. Because this was different from training Magic Missile, Daemon could easily avoid the eyes of the sentries. That is, as long as he was not detected by a mage sensitive to the flow of mana.
"It has been quite a while since I last trained in mana, hasn't it?"
Daemon muttered softly while sitting cross-legged. When he first began training in mana, he had to devote himself under a state of blindness and deafness imposed by Doil, but now there was no such need. Now that he could control ordinary mana, adjusting dark mana was not so difficult for Daemon. He merely needed to naturally accustom himself to the control method... Thanks to being able to use dark mana, the absolute amount of mana Daemon could gather had increased dramatically.
"At this rate, it seems I will soon be able to independently cast Haste."
Daemon had been deeply devoted to Magic Missile, yet he had never neglected his theoretical studies. Thanks to that, he felt he could likely cast Haste if he put his mind to it.
"Since I can already activate the Power-Up Gauntlet, if I master Haste and Magic Missile perfectly, I will not be inferior to anyone."
Daemon muttered in a low voice and once again circulated the ambient mana. A vast flow of mana mixed with dark mana began to revolve around Daemon's body as its axis. In truth, there was no need to sit cross-legged to control mana. However, Daemon still retained the habit of qi circulation meditation from the past, causing him to instinctively sit cross-legged.
Sssss.
A flow of mana that no ordinary person could ever feel. It wrapped around Daemon's body and circulated once, then twice. At that moment, Daemon sensed something.
"An uninvited guest?"
Daemon muttered quietly and stood up. Judging by someone approaching in the dead of night, he thought it might be a sentry. Since he had no desire to show his training to a sentry, Daemon temporarily stopped controlling his mana.