Chapter 28 - The Rift

Blumbledore led the group to the basement, which was what he referred to as his training grounds. In reality, it was just a wide-open dungeon. Inside the cells were a variety of wild animals, which Azazel figured were tortured by Blumbledore. He probably used the animals as test subjects for his spells.

For whatever reason, there was a wrestling arena in the center of the basement. Azazel was getting a bit excited, thinking of ways Blumbledore probably had mages battle vicious beasts.

Azazel scoots close to Emma. He leaned down and whispered into her ear. "Is this how you trained?"

Emma nodded excitedly. "Yes. I battled beasts here. I almost died a few times. It was exciting."

Azazel imagined Emma in an epic battle against a dragon. In his mind, it was a struggle: The Adorable Mage against the Dragon of Hell.

She was so excited to almost die. My kitten becomes more alluring with each new reveal.

Azazel hummed to himself as Blumbledore stepped toward the center of the ring. The old man was still listening to the MP3 player. Azazel could only imagine what the shuffle function had playing in his ear.

"Come, demon," Blumbledore commanded in a deep, blaring voice.

Azazel looked between Emma and George. The two nodded at him. Slowly, Azazel moved next to Blumbledore. The two stood there in the center of the ring. The wizard put up his hand, signing for the demon to give him a moment. The old man pulled out a cloth and coughed hard into it a few times. He then slid the crusty handkerchief back into his pocket.

It seems very loved. I wonder if he ever washes his hankie.

"Alright, I will begin by showing you my best spell," the wizard stated. "It is a spell you should make your goal, as it will give you riches and power."

Blumbledore waved both hands in the air as he began to chant. Azazel couldn't even understand the words. It sounded like jibberish. A dark aura appeared in front of him as a large, dark purple-black black hole manifested from dark energy.

Emma was outside of the wrestling ring, cheering and waving her arms in the air. She had seen her master cast the spell before, and she thought it was the coolest thing ever.

Blumbledore lowered his hands and closed his eyes. "Azazel, are you able to sense what this portal is? Where it leads?"

Azazel was confused. How the hell am I supposed to know what this is?

"The rift?"

Dumbledore nodded. "Precisely. This leads to the rift."

The wizard stepped forward and placed his arm through the portal. A dark energy engulfed his arm. He closed his eyes. He chanted a few words related to provocative reading material. When he pulled out his arm, he was holding a magazine.

Blumbledore held up the magazine, showing it off. Emma laughed as he did, while Azazel narrowed his eyes on it, internally cringing.

"So, this is what you use the spell for?" Azazel asked the old fart.

"Yes," Blumbledore said with a soft laugh. "The rift has blessed me with the most wonderful study materials. It has revealed a lot to me. It has brought me more knowledge, power, and riches."

"..."

Azazel had heard it all now. A powerful wizard who used the rift to obtain pornographic materials. He could possibly travel between worlds, but no, he asked some invisible intelligence for dirty pictures.

"How is this supposed to benefit anyone? Do you even know what these are?" Azazel asked, completely dumbfounded by the spells.

Blumbledore let out a hearty laugh. He opened the magazine and found a picture of a half-naked woman washing a truck. He held it up so they could all see the picture.

Emma was unphased, as she had probably seen it all before, but George stood there, his face completely red, as he looked at the image.

I wish I could read minds right about now. This wizard has taken away George's innocence.

"My boy," Blumbledors began as he closed the magazine, tucking it in his pocket. "If only you knew how much pleasure I get from these. They also sell for a high price at the markets. How do you think I could afford such a wonderful mansion and all of my wives?"

"..."

So, Blumbledore, the wise wizard, is Terra's porn distributer?

Azazel intensively facepalmed himself. He left his palm over his face. This was the ultimate spell. He could see why men of Terra would pay a high price for these, but it was still unbelievable that he now lived in a world like Terra.

"Fine," Azazel stated. "But have you ever looked inside the rift? Won't that be more interesting?"

Blumbledore shook his head. He had never thought of looking inside the rift. He had just placed his hand inside one day. When he pulled it out, he held a magazine. He thought that was the actual use of the rift.

"I suppose I could try now," Blumbledore mused. "Alright, stay close in case something goes wrong."

Blumbledore scratched his beard and took a deep breath. Slowly, he stuck his head into the rift.

"What do you see?" Azazel asked.

"I see... darkness. Perhaps I should go further inside."

Blumbledore stuck his body, up to his shoulders, into the deep, black hole. Without warning, his body began to tremble. The trembling was slow at first, but it quickened until his entire body was vibrating.

"DEAR GOD!" Blumbledore yelled out, but he was not heard because he was yelling into the rift.

Slowly, his body began to suck up, until only his feet were sticking out of the hole.

Azazel quickly moved forward, grabbing his legs, but the force pulling on him was too much. Blumbledore was being sucked into the rift, with Azazel behind him.

"George, help us, now!" Azazel commanded with a deep growl.

George snapped out of his lust-filled daze. He looked toward the pair, then grabbed Azazel by the waist. With a tug, he managed to pull hard enough to get the wizard out of the portal.

Emma ran up to her master and kneeled down next to him. "What did you see?"

"I saw a man," Blumbledore muttered as he lay supine. "It was a little silhouette of a man. He was a scaramouche! I think he was doing the fandango!"

He is totally listening to that song.

"He also had eight swords! Fantastical armor!"

"He seems interesting," Emma stated. "Especially the part about him having eight swords. Do you think you can meet him again?"

Blumbledore thought for a moment. "If he lives in the rift, I do not see why not, but we should be cautious."

Azazel looked between Blumbledore and the rift. He was overly curious about the silhouettes the wizard had observed.

"I'm going to look," Azazel firmly stated as he approached the portal to the rift.

Bumbledore raised his brow as he looked at the demon. He didn't think it was the best of ideas, but he respected his curiosity.

"George, hold on to me," Azazel commanded.

"Azzy, be careful," Emma pleaded.

George stepped behind Azazel. He firmly grasped onto his waist as the demon slowly poked his head through the dark portal.

Azazel glanced around, noticing it was kind of haunting on the other side of the portal. He could barely see anything. Not to mention, the darkness and aura inside were giving his head a light, electric feel, as if he were having mild brain zaps.

His eyes darted around. "Hello?"

It took several minutes, but he began to see the eight-sworded silhouette Blumbledore had spoken of. The figure slowly approached. It seemed to be a knight of some sort, clad in impressive armor.

Azazel narrowed his eyes on the menacing warrior. His breath hitched as he took a look at the right weapon on the man's back. Oddly enough, one of the weapons looked to be a mini-gun.

"Who are you?" The man's voice rumbled from within the faint purple light of the rift.

Azazel tilts his head. "Azazel. A demon. A king. Whichever you prefer."

The figure laughed sinisterly as he approached Azazel, whose upper body was poking through the portal Blumbledore created.

"And you are?" Azazel asked in a confident tone.

The figure stood just a few a few feet before him. The mystery armor-clad man folded his arms against his chest. "The Warrior of the Rift Who do you think I am?"

I feel like I've heard about a rift warrior before. But where?

Azazel closed his eyes and thought for a moment. "Greg?"

The warrior's laughter echoed through the emptiness of the rift. "Greg? Fine."

The warrior nodded once, then unsheathed one of his blades, pointing it toward Azazel.

"...Why?" Azazel asked.

"You have invaded my realm," Greg said. "Four warriors banished me to this realm. I will have no one enter my home."

Azazel could feel the pull of the energy from the rift. It seemed Blumbledore's portal was about to close. He would have to investigate further at a later date. If he ever wanted to investigate after getting threatened by that Greg guy,.

He felt George tug on him just in time.

Azazel found himself sitting in the center of the ring as the portal closed up. He scratched his right horn and looked up at Emma.

"Well?" Blumbledore asked as he changed the song on the MP3 player.

"The guy in there is a certified weirdo," Azazel mused as he stood up, brushing off his clothes. "He seems to take himself far too seriously."

Blumbledore shrugged. He wasn't too interested in learning more about the rift man. After all, he had just summoned the portal to show Azazel his most powerful magic spell.

"Alright, boy," Blumbledore began as he held his hand in the air, moving his fingers as if he were salting a fine steak. "Time to teach you magic."

With those words, Blumbledore summoned one of the captive wolves to the ring, ready to finally teach Azazel the magic he desired.