"Are you... are you sure this will summon a demon?"
Alfonso looked at the players in front of him and was utterly astonished.
After he suggested trying to summon the devil, the northern mountain man he trusted, [ Howling Pothos ], immediately began chanting and gesturing wildly.
Before he could even ask what had happened, he collapsed to the ground, his fate unknown.
The viscount, witnessing this, thought something had happened, but the other northern mountain people gave the following explanation:
He was trying to communicate with the demon, to see if he could summon it in this place far from home.
A few minutes later, [ Howling Pothos ] woke up again and then rattled off a whole set of methods for summoning demons without any hesitation, which sounded quite convincing.
"It's a demon, Your Excellency."
[ Practice More If You're Bad ] patiently corrected:
"It seems [ Howling Pothos ] has sensed the presence of the demon. That terrifying being is also very curious about you, otherwise it wouldn't have answered our prayers."
"You mean I should thank the devil?"
"It's a demon, Your Excellency."
"Yes, demon..."
Alfonso swallowed hard, then turned his gaze back to the "Demon Summoning Guide" that [ Practice More If You're Bad ] had just copied and handed over.
They used burning charcoal to create an intricate summoning circle and wrote the demon's true name on it.
Then, by using one's own blood as a catalyst, one can summon the devil, no, the demon.
The entire process was both eerie and meticulously executed.
But the only problem is...
Alfonso glanced suspiciously at the people in front of him.
Do they really know how to write in the ornate script of the Empire?
If they couldn't, then how did they summon the demon?
Or is it because he is a despicable outsider, so his summoning method is different from that of the northern mountain people?
However, Alfonso had already made up his mind to give it a try, so he put aside these distractions and began to seriously prepare the summoning ritual.
Burning charcoal was not hard to find; braziers were blazing everywhere in the camp.
The question is, how exactly can you arrange the charcoal into that shape without extinguishing it?
After much deliberation Alfonso finally got Saili to get some tools from the logistics support staff, including the cheap little iron tools he usually used to add charcoal.
Holding that clumsy pair of pliers, Alfonso began piecing together a summoning circle on the camp floor like an infant.
The result was similar to that of an infant – his operation was unsuccessful and hardly artistic.
The Soul Returner, witnessing this scene, began to feel anxious.
How much time has passed? How come you can't even piece together a reasonably well-proportioned circle?
Isn't this delaying our progress?
Duma is a favorite of the Son of God; if he starts charging fees during this period, wouldn't we suffer a huge loss?
Knowing that summoning magic was essentially just a monkey show, the group immediately began to act:
[ Howling Pothos ] used Directed Alienation to directly create a wooden circular magic circle outer layer, while [ Retreat Drum Player ] used Directed Alienation to meticulously carve the symbols on the arms and eyes.
As for the [ Elderly and Children Fly First ], he is currently carving the parts that belong to the name of Duma.
Seeing that the Soul Returner were practically taking over his summoning ritual, Alfonso felt a mix of emotions.
On one hand, he felt that his subordinates were indeed incredibly loyal, but on the other hand, he felt that these guys were eager to make him a part of the faith in the devil, just like the blood oath that bandits had to submit before joining the gang.
Alas, it's come to this...
Alfonso stood by, watching as the Soul Returner pieced together the entire magic circle. Then, [ Practice More If You're Bad ] pointed to the brazier:
"Your Excellency, our help in assembling the magic array has already angered the demon; the part that ignites it must be done by you."
"Good."
Alfonso Ignite all the wood in the brazier, causing it to emit a faint flame and a blazing light.
"Your Excellency, what's next...?"
[ Practice More If You're Bad ] said with a smile:
"I would very much like to do it for you, but the blood must come from the summoner. If I were to summon you in my name to grant your wish, the demon would attack both of us at the same time."
"I see."
Alfonso, however, was behaving like a subordinate at this moment:
"Move aside, I'll handle the rest myself."
As he spoke, he crossed the slowly burning magic circle and arrived at the middle part symbolizing the name of Duma.
Looking at the dizzying alphabet, Alfonso gritted his teeth and slit a vein on the outside of his wrist.
He carefully controlled the wound, ensuring that his blood dripped slowly at a uniform frequency.
"Hiss~"
The blood dripped onto the burning charcoal, producing one strange sound after another.
Alfonso quickly realized something was wrong.
As his blood dripped, the charcoal on the outside seemed to burn even more fiercely.
But I clearly didn't do anything to that part.
No way, the rumors are true...
After the blood extinguished the last burning letter, Alfonso immediately jumped back out of the magic circle's range.
Meanwhile, the flames forming the summoning circle burned ever brighter, as if some hidden switch had been turned on, receiving a continuous supply of Psionic Energy.
The towering flames nearly burned through the entire tent, but only for a moment.
The next moment, like a tide that rises to its peak and then falls, the flames were on the verge of being extinguished in a very short time, leaving only a few scattered red sparks.
Alfonso wanted to ask something, but then he saw the red sparks suddenly begin to flicker in an orderly fashion, and then form a vortex of flames radiating red heat in his eyes.
A whirlwind of intense heat swept through the tent, the flames dissipated, and at the same time, Alfonso's intuition began frantically sending warning signals to his brain.
Although he hadn't seen it clearly yet, this Middle Tier cultivator already sensed the Descent danger.
Alfonso slowly opened his eyes and saw that a figure had appeared in the tent at some point.
The figure was entirely crimson, radiating a fiery heat, yet it was restrained by that strange robe.
Tall and strong seemed insufficient to describe the body's owner; the only word Alfonso could think of at that moment was—oppressive.
As the intense heat and flames subsided, Duma stood on land almost a thousand miles from the Holy City.
As a veteran actor, he immediately identified Alfonso, since it was far too easy to distinguish between Soul Returner and a native of this world based on their demeanor.
The demon looked at the young nobleman and slowly opened its mouth—