The world is separated into two distinct parts; The Mundane world and the Underworld.

The Underworld is a world of magic and sorcery, made up of various families and organizations that dabble in the occult as well as seek out ways to further the study of magic. These establishments also have anchor holds upon the normal world in the form of extremely wealthy industries, companies, and franchises.

There are various types of sorcerers. Most of them, however, are crazy psychopaths that toe the line between normal and insanity, while the rest are just bat-shit crazy.

These companies are the true rulers of the world. They control the globe behind the scenes and dictate what goes on in the Mundane through their vast resources and insane amounts of connections.

And as always;

These organizations are always at war with each other, as there is always the need to show off the supremacy of their crafts.

The sorcerers draw their powers from different sources, and some deem their practices to be more righteous and holy than others.

A long time ago, the organizations that head the various factions that possess this line of thought decided to form a gigantic union of superpowers called the Vatican.

There was another union that harbor deep hatred towards the Vatican, deemimg them pretentious bastards and sadistic colonizers. They called themselves the Dark Society, the antithesis of the pretentious pricks. Even though they were no better themselves...

As they were in direct opposition to the people of the Vatican, there is a lot of bad blood and bloodshed between them, fostering great hatred.

The last power was a sort of neutral party...

With ideals that didn't align with any party, It neither sided with the Vatican nor the Dark Society.

It was called the Circle of Magi, and its only interest was in the development of magical studies in hopes of improving their understanding of the arcane. They would avoid all forms of conflict unless necessary.

The Circle of Magi is headed by the Bane family. This is a family that has centuries worth of history, and no one knows just how deep their power and resources run.

They own numerous companies and industries in the world, many of which remain separated from the underground, making their wealth and riches know no bounds.

In the Bane family, although other forms of sorcery is practiced, their main power is drawn from their bloodline ability to form contracts with all forms of demons that do not belong to this world. Every member of this family possesses the ability to form a sort of symbiotic relationship with a demon that can grant them intense power.

They are chosen by the demons on the day of their birth. The strength of the demon they are contracted to usually tells a lot about their latent potential when it comes to the manipulation of the arcane energy, mana.

A type of demon who was known to be strong would only make a contract with a child who had the latent potential to grow powerful in the future.

That was how it had always been since the genesis of the Bane family. This served as a test of some sort for the family to filter the children with terrible potential from the ones they would invest their resources in.

***

"Are you sure you want to leave, Richard?"

In a circular-shaped room without any doors or windows, there was a desk filled with all sorts of messily arranged documents and files. Sitting at the head of the table was an old man dressed in a strange-looking ceremonial robe, and a young man dressed in casual clothes.

"Yes grandpa, I'm sure."

The boy replied to the old man as he began rising from the chair he sat on. The young man had above-average features and stood a little taller than most his age. He had raven black hair, and eyes that showed no emotions on a face that portrayed even fewer expressions.

"Sigh... You know that you don't have to do this right? You are one of the strongest in the younger generation of the family, even with your... problems. You don't have to leave!"

From the tone of his voice, it was clear that the old man didn't want the young man to leave, and was trying to convince him to stay.

"If I stay, I'll just keep causing trouble for you, grandpa. I'd rather leave than make you go through unnecessary stress." Although the young man showed no expression, the hard look in his eyes softened when he gazed at the old man.

"That group of bastard geezers. What do they gain by always making trouble for you? You haven't done anything against them! It's not your fault their descendants are weak, even with demon contracts!" The old man started to turn red as he cursed at a group of people.

"It's all right grandpa. I'll be fine. I want to leave just for the peace of mind. If I go, they will stop putting pressure on you and grandma." Richard said.

"I'm just worried about you. I know you are a smart boy and you can take care of yourself. It's just that... "

The old man was already in tears before he could even finish his sentence, which nearly made Richard hesitate on his decision to leave before he steeled his heart. He had already made a decision, and he absolutely would not go back on it.

Richard Bane was the unconventional orphan prodigy of the Bane family. His parents were scions of the family who had died in a fight against the devils, malicious beings that resided in the abyss, but could sometimes cross the barrier between worlds and try to war wreak havoc in the mortal realm.

The main work of sorcerers, is to find these stray devils and hunt them down before they could be noticed in the normal world.

The realms of reality were divided into three main worlds, with many other sub-worlds. These worlds were the Human realm where the normal humans and sorcerers dwelt, the abyss where the demons and devils made home, and the Celestial realm, which was the home of gods and angels.

These worlds were separated by a thin barrier that was easily accessible to beings of magic but was heavily guarded by creatures known as realm guardians.

However, other entrances linked the various realms to each other. These entrances were constantly on the move, and could only be found by luck.

Back to Richard, after his parents had died, he was taken in by his grandparents and was raised by them until it was time for him to enter college.

All Bane family members were not allowed to leave the family until they were ready to enter college to further their education. Richard was a natural-born genius that was good at almost everything.

From magic studies to circular knowledge, to swordsmanship, he was capable of it all. He had an affinity for mana manipulation that dwarfed all the members of the family's younger generation and was even greater than that of some adults.

His gifts, however, were also a source of hardship for him. His grandfather was an elder in the family and because Richard was better than his counterparts in almost everything, he was seen as a nuisance by the other elders who were jealous that their children or grandchildren were not as good as he was.

Hence, they would always use their only flaw of his to attack him at every given opportunity. His lack of a demon contract.

Although Richard was nearly perfect, he was the only member of the Bane family that had not made a contract with a demon at birth.

When this had been noticed by the higher-ups in the family, they even conducted a blood test on him to be sure he was an actual member of the Bane family. When it turned out he was not a bastard child, the higher-ups didn't know the reason behind it, so they just chose to blame it on circumstance.

The other elders would always use this point to give trouble Richard's grandpa, in tot to him. To them, a Bane without a demon contract was no Bane at all. Richard however, ignored all their taunts and just focused on his studies, eventually becoming so strong, he could easily defeat any member of the younger generation.

Finally, it was time for him to go to college, which he thought would lessen the pressure on his grandpa, which it did, but that was only temporary, as when he came back, the pressure returned many times harder. If he had known, he wouldn't have come back at all so he could save himself and his family from the stress.

"Don't worry grandpa. I'll come to visit sometimes. I am not disappearing am I?" Richard said as he watched his grandpa clean his tears.

"Yeah, I know. You are a strong kid. Even this can't faze you. Here... take this. It's a business card from one of my friends. It will ensure you a safe working environment. Give it to whoever you see there. They'll take you in. Please take it."

The old man took out a business card from his pocket and handed it to the reluctant Richard.

"Alright." Eventually, he decided to relent just to ease his old man's mind.

"Well then, goodbye grandpa. Tell grandma not to worry so much. I'll be fine." Richard said as he turned his back to the old man and walked away from the desk, which was the only piece of furniture in the room.

Upon getting to the wall which didn't even have any doors or windows, he placed his hand on it as he uttered an arcane word.

"Trabeaus!"

A flow of Mana encompassed the wall, as space seemed to shift, creating an entrance which Richard walked out from.

"Sigh... What a sad lad." The old man let out a pained sigh as he watched his grown-up grandson leave, feeling worried for his future.

"Clausei!" The wall that Richard had removed returned to its original position, as the old man got back to working on the documents on his desk...