It was only a Wizard Apprentice's Ascension Ritual. Surely it wasn't worth fighting over like this?
Ruger felt his meager knowledge being challenged yet again. He hadn't encountered many demons; in fact, he felt he had never truly encountered one. The so-called demons he had spoken with were so unusual that he didn't think they counted as real demons. One example was a succubus scholar who talked to herself in a lecture room-a beautiful succubus who had spent much of her life pursuing knowledge rather than increasing her strength. She claimed to be the best-known scholar across several cities, yet her words suggested that she had never even seen a great Wizard, only read a book that briefly mentioned them.
The ritual seemed to have begun the moment Stray Hair One swallowed that mass. The long, narrow black table began to rumble, and Kurt consumed his own mass of light in his own way. The only discordant element was the figure that still refused to stabilize.
The figure grew tall, then short, fat, then thin. At times it had sharp horns; at others, folded wings.
It was like a shapeless mass of chaos struggling in its chair.
Ruger looked toward Kurt, who sat upright on the other side. When Stray Hair One first appeared, Kurt had looked curious, casting Ruger a bright-eyed glance that betrayed his eagerness to investigate. Now, however, he had no attention left to spare for Stray Hair One.
Suddenly, Kurt sighed, turned to give Ruger a wry smile, then reached out and tapped the pitch-black tabletop twice with a bent finger, producing two muffled knocks.
Without anyone pushing them, the two closed black iron doors in the distance let out a long, agonized screech.
The doors remained shut, and the screeching continued.
On the demon's plate,