Chapter 162: Contract Ritual

“Wait, what?” Noah blinked. “Demons?”

“Yes, demons.” Cecilia nodded, her eyes looking forward as they walked to Noah’s dorm. “Camelot was not always like this.”

“There was a time when all we had to worry about were the monsters roaming the night. A time when our monster hunters were heroes. But Cecil changed all that.”

She exhaled. “When he received the book, he was skeptical at first. After all, none of the monsters that make it through the monolith and into this world could be domesticated.”

“Wait a minute,” Noah interrupted, knowing he was probably ruining the story, but what she just said wasn’t something he could just shake off. “No monster has ever been domesticated? Not even one?!”

“No.” Cecilia answered. “Not even one.”

“But what about phoenixes?” Noah asked. “Don’t they like humans? And see the goodness in our heart or something?”

Cecilia frowned. “Who told you that?”

“It’s… lore on phoenixes from my world.” Noah answered.

“Well, we’ve not been able to replicate that here.” Cecilia said. “Here, phoenixes are more likely to cook you from the inside out than become pets. And Pegasus are more likely to crush your ribs than give you a ride.”

“I see.” Noah nodded. “So, if monsters can’t be domesticated, what did Prince Cecil do?”

Cecilia paused before continuing with the story. “Cecil did his research. He delved into the old texts, finding sparse mentions of demons.”

“However, the stories were the same. Demons were the only monsters with the closest resemblance to humans. They were tricksters, and are capable of anything. But most of all, demons were dangerous.”

“This was enough for Cecil. He locked the book away, shunning the use of demons. And that made the nobles backing him upset. They viewed it as their ticket to power chickening out, so they put on the pressure.”

“They came up with stories, set their best researchers on the task, and began their task of convincing Cecil that the demons could be contained.”

“They proposed a contractual ritual.” Cecilia glanced at Noah. “It meant that he could bind demons to the contract, and have them under his control. But a contract is a two way street. The demons needed to get something out of it in order to be bound by the contract.”

She paused.

“What did he do?” Noah finally asked.

“Nothing.” Cecilia answered. “Cecil did nothing. But that didn’t mean the pressure wasn’t getting to him. And by this time, the king and the crown prince were beginning to notice the rumblings of discontent.”

“And that was when it happened. The king began to float the idea of abdicating the throne for the crown prince.”

“When the news got to Cecil, they said he flew into a rage.” Cecilia shook her head. “Even though he’d been reluctant to take drastic measures, he still believed that he was the best choice to be king. And this incident was the last straw.”

Cecilia stopped, staring at the moon.

“He rallied his supporters, and made preparations for the contractual ritual. It was a huge undertaking, but by carrying it out outside the capital, with the city between the ritual location and the Royal Academy of magic, they were able to keep it hidden.”

“And on that fateful day, the demons stepped back into our world. Not the one or two stragglers seen before. No, in droves. An army, just like Cecil wanted.”

She turned to look at Noah. “And the contract was made. Cecil got what he wanted. An army that would follow his explicit orders. They’d do whatever he wanted, and never stray from his orders.”

“The contract was ironclad. If he told them to jump, they immediately knew how high. If he told them to die, they’d gladly do so without question. But the universe follows the law of equivalent exchange.”

Noah remembered Miss Leslie’s words. “For all things done, there has to be an equal price paid.”

“Exactly.” Cecilia nodded. “And the price for total obedience was pretty steep.”

“The demons wanted Cecil to take in their essence, and become half demon. Cecil didn’t have a problem with that. After all, every mage is a merger between a human and an abyssal beast. Taking in the essence of the demon atop his merged beast shouldn’t be too hard.”

“But that was not where the contract stopped.” She said. “The demons didn’t think that was enough. Cecil becoming Demon Lord was trivial in the grand scheme of things.”

“Instead, they wanted him to also summon their Demon King into this world. Cecil refused. That was when the nobles pushed more. They convinced him that when the Demon King was summoned, it could be contained with another contract. And so, he gave in.”

“Everything was going smoothly, until he absorbed the demon essence.” Cecilia said. “It ran through his soul, pushing his power to unfathomable height, but in the process, made it unstable.”

“But that was not the only thing that became unstable. Cecil’s sanity was also affected. He became more demon than human, and it broke his mind.”

“He led the horde as he promised, fighting through the streets of the capital, and making it into the palace.”

“He killed his father, the king, and sat himself on the throne.”

“But he forgot something important. His brother, Cillian.”

“Cillian hadn’t been in the capital during the invasion.” Cecilia looked away. “Hearing the news, he immediately rallied the nobles in their cities, creating an army of his own.”

“He invaded the capital, and the resulting battle was bloody. Some say no rain fell that day, but the streets were flooded in red. Blood swept the streets as lives were claimed.”

“Cillian fought valiantly, and with a collection of mages who sacrificed their lives on that day, pushed Cecil out of the city and claimed the throne as the rightful king.”

“And while Cecil was defeated, he wasn’t dead. And so, he journeyed to the ends of the kingdom and began growing his army, summoning more demons.”

“And for those nobles who’d helped him? Some were captured by King Cillian’s forces, interrogated, and executed. And for the ones that left with Cecil, they were forced to take in demon essence, and became Demon Lords.”

“That, in essence, was how the war between humans and demons began.” Cecilia sighed. “Then, there is the big question.”

“I wasn’t involved in this mess. I was a little kid when it all happened. So, why was I confined to the Royal Academy?”

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