Self-Summon [Demon Summoning/Evolution LitRPG]

Okay, Divining Ear, give me something easy. That probably wasn’t the best direction to give the Skill, far too subjective on what “easy” would mean, but Angelica was curious about what sort of results it would produce. And she was groggy, not wanting to think too hard about what sort of Summoning she’d receive. Angelica had woken up from her nap—basically just sleep at that point—in the middle of the night. Not awake enough to work on her webcomic, not tired enough to go back to bed, but with enough MP restored to do some Demon jobs, hopefully mindless ones.

“Demon, come feast upon her heart and bestow us with your grand powers!”

[Divining Ear Lv.2]

[Lucidity increased]

[Gnostic Attunement increased

Err, what? Don’t be so high and mighty after that, Divining Ear. Giving yourself a level as if you did something great! But Angelica also couldn’t deny her intrigue. There’s no way someone was actually performing a human sacrifice, right? It just had to be a Summoner fooling around, right? Should she roll that die? If there was a deep and dark sinister side to the world that she didn’t yet know about, besides the weirdness she already knew about summoning, then frankly, she wanted absolutely no part of it.

But at the same time, if there was a chance it was real, and she didn’t stop it, how would she feel then? What if she were the girl tied up, offered as a snack for some otherworldly being? If that were her, she’d beg for help from anyone or anything, even a lowly little Imp. Damn it, I have to at least check then. Curse you, Divining Ear, for making me hear something like this! I swear I’ll have my revenge. Ear plugs for a week! I don’t care if that doesn’t actually work. It’s symbolic. Scuffing fine, I accept the Summon!

Gelic vanished from her apartment and appeared in a place that felt out of her world. It was some sort of cramped chamber, dimly lit by candlelight, making it hard to see. The stench of foul incense riddled the air, making her want to wretch. She was surrounded by cultists in robes, with hoods drawn down over their faces. In the center in front of her, a young girl was tied to a chair, surprised and shaken by the Demon’s sudden appearance, facing down the entity that was supposed to devour her.

[Bind Resistance failed]

[You are Bound. Contract Type: Appeasement. Time limit: Dawn]

Friiiiiiiiiiiiiiiits! That wasn’t good. The Demon had to assume that meant her purpose was to please her new master, and if she didn’t want to do whatever she was bade, then she’d have to fight off the exponentially increasing anguish of the Order until dawn before the Contract was nullified. So there was an out, but that out was several hours from now, so she doubted her Order Resistance was strong enough.

Well it would have to be strong enough. Because by the sounds of the initial summoning, and the atmosphere absolutely confirming the sincerity, it sounded like the Summoner absolutely had full intent of making her munch on this poor teen’s heart. And Angelica absolutely wasn’t about to just throw herself headlong at cannibalism. Well, she wasn’t actually a human anymore, so it wouldn’t technically be cannibalism, but still, it was the feeling more than the semantics!

[Would you like to break the Bound? Chance: 99% | Cost: 2 MP]

Eh? Seriously?! I mean, yeah, obviously!

[Bind Broken]

[Bind Break Lv.2]

[Obstinance notably increased]

[Obstinance has improved from Meek to Patsy]

What the wha? Why was it so fritsing easy? Not that she was going to complain, but it felt off. The whole situation felt off. And now that the immediate panic had passed, she had a moment to calm herself and get a better grasp of everything, seeing the situation for what it really was.

The room was not some sort of evil lair, dedicated for unholy ritualistic sacrifices. It was just a basement, a standard, ordinary basement with even a good cluster of boxes in one corner that likely hadn’t been touched in years. There were actually candles as the Imp had initially surmised, but they weren’t the kind she’d expect, possibly red and dripping with wax. No, they were jarred candles that one would buy at a confectionery, coming in a variety of smells, the mix of which was causing a rather unique and potent odor, what she’d originally confused for incense.

And as for the cultists; frauds, phonies, pretenders clad in fake dress, palely imitating the sacred rite. Surely some would deem them as such, but in actuality, it was just a bunch of teenage girls messing around, draped in blankets, hoodies, and whatever else they must have had lying around to make them look far more ominous than they were, clearly as part of some sort of slumber party.

The whole ordeal honestly filled Angelica with a bit of pride. The youth weren’t as lost as she’d feared, still dabbling in the arcane arts of whimsy. Of course, back in her day, the gaggle of gals got together and pretended they were casting hexes and brewing potions. As far as she knew, that sort of magic didn’t exist, sadly. But what did exist, and what these younglings had unwittingly done, as she had, was accidentally summon a Demon.

She could tell there was no genuine intent behind their actions. Because the one single real thing about the whole situation was their very real expressions. Some were giggling, clearly having fun, caught up in the nonsense they were doing. A couple more were a bit disappointed that their fake Summoning had borne no fruit. And then there were two whose eyes saw the truth.

The girl tied to the chair, she could see the Imp clear as day. Gelic was certain of that by the way her gaze was bulging. She was more confused rather than scared, however. Perhaps she was wondering if this was all some sort of elaborate prank by her friends, that one of them had made the Demon appear as a magic trick, thinking the puffball was probably some stuffed animal. Gelic decided to lean into that, staying perfectly still while she continued to examine.

However, the other girl who could see her appeared to be more in the know. She was standing in front of all the others, book in hand, assumedly the one who had actually performed the summoning: Gelic’s master, or would be if the Binding had held. Was the book a magic one like Angelica had been hit with? No. Both Scrying Eye, and just her plain regular eyes, told the Imp it was a literature textbook.

She glanced down at the Summoning Circle, if it could be called as such. It was poor, both in complexity and execution, looking like it had been drawn with some sort of cosmetic. She wasn’t quite sure which type, but regardless, the owners of the home probably weren’t going to be too pleased. Well, when the Demon went away, it should vanish, or so Gelic believed, having never been around to see the aftermath. No wonder she had broken the Bound so easily—a miracle, or more likely fluke of nature, that it had ever triggered in the first place.

Since the book-toting girl was more in the know, very aware that Gelic wasn’t a prank, her reaction was a bit more rational. And by that, her eyes were quivering, stunned beyond belief, terrified by the creature who had magically appeared before. “What the hell is that?!” she screeched—ironic, because by all counts, it was indeed a creature of Hell, so she’d gotten it in one. The baffled teen pointed an erratically wagging finger in the Imp’s direction, quickly turning to her friends to check if they were seeing what she was seeing.

When none seemed to share her surprise, looking at her with their own confusion or appreciating her commitment to the bit, the girl glanced at the Demon once more to ensure her eyes weren’t playing a trick on her. Finally, she locked eyes with her chair-bound friend. Or, were they friends? Would a friend tie a friend to another chair for a laugh. Yes, definitely, best of friends even. It could also be bullying, but the shared look of concern made it feel more like the situation had been in good fun.

“You can [][][], it, right?” the head of the party asked the fake captive, desperate for confirmation.

Huh, Angelica hadn’t fully understood that sentence, though the first was perfectly fine. Of course, she understood what was said based on context. Was she in a different country? They didn’t look like foreigners to her, but that could just be the dim lighting. Or maybe as a Demon, all humans were starting to look the same. And, of course, there was the possibility that she just didn’t really take that much stock in appearance to begin with.

[Tongues Lv.4]

[Lucidity increased]

[Gnostic Attunement increased]

Ah, well that’ll help even more. With only one Tongues level remaining, the Palamyth native should be able to understand roughly eighty percent of all words now, likely the less common ones too. Essentially, she’d reached the point of social conversation, with just a few technical things still beyond her grasp.

The head girl got a little nod in response from the one in the chair, at least, but no affirming words, too bewildered to speak. Apparently not everyone was, though, since a few of the other teens apparently thought the act had gone on for too long, and were telling the host to drop it, move on, and that they should untie their friend. Or so the Demon understood it as, still missing a wee bit of context.

Regardless, Angelica took that as her sign to skedaddle. Or she would have, if not for what could honestly be considered a directive straight from the top, or bottom, depending on how Hell actually worked.

[Achievement Unlocked: Babysitter | Get Summoned by some ignorant children who have no idea the forces they’re messing with. Listen, it happens to all of us from time to time, even me. Just something we have to deal with in our business. Take this as payment for amusing the little brats for a bit and for not killing them]

[Gained 100 Essence]

[Essence Tip Activated. Gained an additional 11 Essence]

[Essence Tip Lv.2]

[Lucidity increased]

[Gnostic Attunement increased]

Huh, apparently Essence Tip worked on things that weren’t direct Contracts. Neat. Maybe the Skill descriptor needed to be updated, or maybe it was a rare enough occurrence that the DGS didn’t care about the discrepancy. Back to the matter at hand, apparently Ferrul wanted her to stick around for a bit and show the teens a good time, or humor them at least. As for why… hmm, Angelica figured she got a decent answer.

Demons felt like the kind of thing that should be a grand secret, kept from the commonry at all costs. But what if that was actually bad for Hell? The more people who know about their existence, the more who will pursue the knowledge and become Summoners. That means more work for Hell, more Essence for Demons, what makes their assumedly fiery world go round. So letting some younguns learn about the supernatural could drum up more business down the road. Yes, that sounded solid. Or… the Demon Lord just thought it was amusing. Equal chance for that.

Well, since she’d been paid, Gelic might as well put on a decent show.