I waited for a second... nothing.
The pentagram was clearly activated by the fact that it lit into violet flames, but despite that... the thing I wanted to call clearly didn’t take an interest in me.
I couldn’t blame it... Evelina performed this ritual when she was already near perfect mastery of dark magic, which is why the demon had taken an interest in her.
But me? I just got accepted as an S-Rank, and with barely anything to show for it.
Even deciphering an incredibly powerful book wasn’t enough for it to heed my call.
I needed to have a more tempting offer.
My soul?
That wouldn’t do. I needed it, I’d do anything for power, but my soul is mine and mine alone. A powerful demon isn’t worth taking it.
’I think I just got the right thing...’
"Heed my call, Beelzebub!" I cursed out, my eyes starting to glow violet, my body was starting to give out the more time I wasted.
"And I will tell you the true name of your rival!"
I wasn’t sure if what I did was smart... angering another powerful demon in exchange for another powerful demon.
But at this point... it was too late to stop the ritual.
"Hahaha..." A cold, empty laugh filled my room.
Runes crawled up my walls, up to my doors and windows. It was clear that the demon I had summoned didn’t want anyone to hear or disturb the conversation.
FWISH!
The fire immediately dissipated, and with it, appeared something else.
Beelzebub, the fifth demon prince of hell, the lord of the flies in the flesh.
"How hilarious... a child claiming he knows my rival’s name?"
Beelzebub looked... strange. He was wearing normal noble attire, something you could see any other noble wearing, but the difference was? His skin was as dark as the void, and instead of eyes... instead there were horns.
Horns that curled around his head.
He was uncanny valley personified.
"I’m listening... child."
His last words carried power.
Enough power that I immediately fell onto my knees, my eyes bleeding and my throat constricting.
I didn’t take into account if my body could even handle the demon’s real presence... I had only calculated the strain when I would cast the spell.
Not... this.
"Aghhh!"
I was now on my hands and knees, and I couldn’t even lift my head to look him in the eyes.
And Beelzebub? Looked utterly disappointed, but that didn’t mean he would just disappear... I still had the information that he wanted.
The name.
"Don’t you dare die without my permission, child."
He hissed, snapping his fingers.
I swore I felt something within me disappear when he did... but the only thing that mattered at that point was that I was now okay... my body now feeling normal... but still bleeding.
He merely removed the sensation of pain, but not the pain itself. If I weren’t quick enough, I would still die.
"Your ring!" My voice came out smoother than expected, and I could talk normally.
"Your ring in exchange for the name!"
Beelzebub’s lips curled. "You know of the ring?"
I didn’t reply, only looking at him with cold contempt; a demon like him wouldn’t be appeased if I did; only sheer arrogance and stubbornness would get me his respect.
"Fine... now tell me, what is the name of Gehenna?"
Beelzebub’s figure contorted when he uttered the name, his lips curling in pain when he did.
"...Khal’Zuun..."
***
GASP!
I woke up, and to my surprise, I was in bed. Tucked away like I was only sleeping.
All signs of the ritual were completely gone, from the ink to Beelzebub to the pain in my body. It was as if it never even happened.
Even I wasn’t sure... did I just dream up everything? Was my mind warning me what would happen if I performed the ritual?
At least... that’s what I thought before I looked at my hand.
And there it was...
Beelzebub’s ring.
An SSS-Rank item that Evelina could have obtained in the future, a ring that allowed her dark element attunement to evolve and turn into chaos itself.
A hidden element that only the demon princes were allowed to use... and now I had it, the power to destroy a kingdom just as long as I will it.
Now in my possession, not even a week after visiting this world.
[Nyx abandons you]
[Patron: Beelzebub]