A Familiar to a Devil was considered a necessity because of how helpful they could prove to them.
Though most Devils usually used them to do their menial tasks or for communication purposes, the true importance of a Familiar lay in the affinities it brought to its Master and the bond in itself that enabled the Familair to grow stronger along with its Master. Which was why it was very important to choose a Familair wisely.
However, not every Devil needed a strong bodyguard at their beck and call or a magical creature with an arsenal of mystical abilities. The Lower-Class was especially okay with just getting something that could help them with their tasks, however, it might also be because the more special creatures would not take any interest in them at all.
Nonetheless, even if someone bonded with a Normal-Class Familiar, for example, a hound, they could gain an affinity with their race, where all hounds would show goodwill to them unless they mean harm. And if they have a special ability, it is even better.
Even if a Familiar had nothing special about it, it could still serve as your additional eyes and ears.
Since Familiars were so important, it was only given that the girl by his side was being very picky and analytical about the creatures they came across in the Forest.
Sona even denied bonding with a High-Tier Normal-Class Dragon which they had come across. And though Raizel reminded her that Devils could possess more than one Familiar, she only wanted one for herself.
It was the same for him as well.
Yes, one could have more than one Familiar, but it would only work well if they were of the same species and got along well with each other enough to not mind sharing the Magical Power they fed on from their Master. If not, then their growth would be hindered and it would become just too much of a hassle.
Therefore, it was recommended that a Devil only takes a second Familair after the death of the first.
"I don't think I would find one tonight." Sona sighed, feeling a little bad to have him accompany her for more than two hours when he could have spent that time searching for a Familiar for himself instead of helping her find one.
"It's fine." He smiled. "Not like it is the last night of the Full Moon."
His words brought a smile to her face and her grip subconsciously tightened around his arm.
"It's a beautiful place." She happily looked around, taking in the scenery that was lush green and filled with sparkling lights. "I read that it was a Garden that Father Morningstar created for Mother Lilith. But another book says that both took part in its creation."
"The latter's true." He informed her. "They created it in their memory of one of their favourite gardens in Heavens."
"Tell me about it." She interestedly requested, and he smiled at her.
"I will send the book to you or you can find it in the Library of my Castle."
"Okay." She happily nodded her head, and then suddenly tilted her head, stopping in her steps.
"Yes?"
"Did you hear it?"
"No." He quizzically raised his brow and looked around, honestly not sure what she was talking about.
"The hoot of an owl." She told him but frowned when he shook his head.
"I did not hear anything."
"Oh... I must be..."
*Hoot~*
Her words were cut short when she heard the voice again, and she was sure now that what she was hearing was real.
The creature was not just hooting, but whistling as well, and she felt that it was calling out to her.
"Lead the way." Raizel smiled as he guessed what was happening, and Sona immediately started walking to their left, pulling him behind her by his hand.
It was not long before they arrived next to a small pond, where the water was sparkling and reflected the lights in the sky. Truly a beautiful place.
However, it was not the beauty of the place that caught their attention, but the beauty of a Magical creature that mesmerised them.
There, on top of a branch of an old tree with a big crown, was perched a white owl with antlers on its head and a partly spectral body. Mostly, the spectral part was in form of a miasma oozing out of its physical body that gave the impression of it being a spectre. And its eyes were like stars that shimmered in the sky.
"You are in luck." Raizel immediately regained his bearings and smiled. "That's a Snow-Spirit Owl. A Rare-Class Magical Creature. They are quite strong creatures, but their true power lies in their Spirit Magic, where they can even enter the dreams of people and communicate with them or even harm them. They are also known for their illusions, though they are not as effective on Devils like us, but they have great potential."
Sona was already hooked to Snow-Spirit Owl before she even knew what it was, and now, a bright smile adorned her adorable face.
Raizel did not speak again and allowed her to make the decision, and he was not surprised that she stepped forward and walked under the tree, keeping her eyes locked with the Owl, who was curiously looking at her.
He was pretty sure that they were telepathically conversing with each other, and he was a little relieved when he saw Sona activate the binding spell and the Mystical Owl accept her as its Master.
These Spirit Owls were extremely rare magical creatures, and it was truly unwise to give up on the chance of bonding with one.
"I will call you Cloud from now on." She said, and the bird vocalised its approval in form of a cute chirp.
"Congratulations!" He walked over to them and closely looked at the beautiful wings of the bird and the spectral energy that oozed out of its body.
It was truly a beautiful creature, and he smiled at it when he looked into its starry eyes.
The bird was highly intelligent, which was why it was not even alarmed when he drew his hand forward and gently caressed its antlers.
Sona was quite happy that Raizel approved of her decision and liked her Familiar. She quickly checked the time, and there was still an hour left before the window was going to close.
"Cloud, can you help us find some very interesting and special creatures that you know about in this Forest?" She asked, and Raizel smiled at how considerate she was being.
The bird immediately agreed and then took off to the sky with absolute silence where even their heightened hearing could not pick up on its flap of wings.
"I don't suppose you are interested in a Hydra. Are you?" She asked with a smile when Cloud informed her about the creature closest to them, and unsurprisedly, he shook his head.
"Not interested." He smiled. "I want something special, very special."
"I see." She nodded and conveyed his words to her Familiar without needing to voice them, and he smiled at how effortlessly the two of them had established a mental link.
Spirit Owls were truly special. And she could use its Powers to telepathically communicate with others even if she had not developed her own magic enough to do it by herself.
And another surprise came their way when the bird increased its speed, almost appearing as a blur, and Raizel immediately sprouted his wings before he carried Sona in his arms and chased after it.
The bird was very fast, but it was not so fast that he could not keep up with it. However, someone like Sona would have been a little hard-pressed in this chase.
Only a couple of minutes later, they arrived at a location not quite unlike the one where they had found Cloud at, but instead of a pond, there was a lake here, and it was truly a breathtaking place.
"What's here?" He asked, and Sona shook her head.
"Cloud said that there is a snake here and that it is very special."
"A snake?" He mused and then smiled as flew down to the bank of the lake, curiously taking a look around.
"Be careful." Sona frowned as she apprehensively looked around.
Her familiar had warned her that the creature was very dangerous, and both their curiosities were piqued when they watched Cloud not even willing to come down and sit on a tree in this place. It just kept circling the clearing from the sky.
Raizel quizzically searched for the signs of Life, trying to get a feel of the Blood of the Creature that lived here, and he soon located it.
"Sona, go up in the sky." He immediately said, and the girl did not ask for the reason and readily complied.
The creature was already aware of their presence, and right now, it was looking at Raizel's back from atop the tree, hidden from the eyes.
He slowly turned around, his Crimson Eyes meeting another pair of Crimson eyes, and he clearly saw the creature now.
A snake that was around two metres long, very slim, with pearl-white scales that bore no blemishes at all, and its tail was shaped like a spearhead at the end, which looked deadly sharp and was undoubtedly laced with Poison. Its head bore a set of cute little spikes on them, which were in form of a crown, something that intrigued Raizel.
He could sense Magical Fluctuations from the creature, the glaze in its eyes, and he smiled a little.
"Illusions won't work on me." He told it and watched the creature narrow its eyes. "I don't know what you are, but are you special?" He smirked as he asked the question, and as if to show him how special it was, it sprang forward, and right under his eyes, it started growing bigger and bigger.
A few seconds later, nearly a hundred-metre-long Serpent coiled around him, looking at him from dozens of metres above, and Raizel dangerously narrowed his eyes.
"Do you want to die?" He lightly asked, as the space around him trembled because of his Demonic Power, and then to make things more clear to the Serpent, he utilised the Power of Destruction he had temporarily gained from Rias' Blood.
The Serpent made no move at him, and it understood that Raizel was displeased by the way he was looking down at him from such a height.
"Come down, or I will kill you." He warned, and the creature sensed that he was not bluffing and would really fight him over something like this.
Had it been anyone else, it might have taken offence, but it clearly heard the bells of crisis, and then started shrinking in size, taking in a more cute form like the earlier one as it shrunk down to only a metre long.
"Good girl." Raizel smiled at it as he stopped utilising his Demonic Power, and then curiously looked into its eyes. "You are still quite young, aren't you?" He asked, having already sensed it from its Blood. "Come with me." He ordered, raising his hand forward, initiating a binding spell. "Hopefully, you are what I think you are. And even if you are not it, I am still very interested in you."
Sona was still in shock at what she had witnessed, and she was a little alarmed when the little snake sprang at Raizel again, but before she could cry out, she watched it slither into his sleeve, shrinking again in size, and hiding inside his clothes.
The light that brightened around Raizel's right hand told her that the spell was complete and the binding was successful, and she took a sigh of relief.