A year had passed since that book appeared before me.
That made me twelve years old now, and… boy, oh boy, how much I did… nothing.
Normally, I'd beat myself up for wasting an entire year without even fixing a single totaled car. But no! Instead, I spent the entire year reading and memorizing the grimoire—or is it a book? More like a journal. Yes, a journal it is.
By this point, I'd come to realize that I was the successor to a guy who lived around 1000 B.C.—meaning 3,000 years before me.
The summoning circles? Easy. The runic alphabets? Also easy. That Solomon guy kept going on about how complex these runes were and how factions like the Norse took immense pride in their scripts.
I found them ridiculously simple. Maybe that's just the programmer in me talking—I was, after all, the person who coded an A.I. Not just one, but several, for my cars and homes.
I mastered the summoning circles in the first week. Over the next few weeks, I got the entire Hebraic, Norse, Egyptian, Greek, and Japanese—well, calligraphy—under my belt. All that was left was to test them out. That's where things got tricky: meditation, accessing magic, and drawing magical inscriptions.
For that, I chose the attic. The basement was full of firewood—welcome to an era where that's still a thing.
After cleaning and moving some junk, like an old TV from around the 1990s (which I planned to dismantle and reuse), I prepared the space. Thanks to magic, I could use alchemy to reshape the scrap into components from 2030 and make them work.
Solomon had also learned alchemy and enchantments from the "Big G," and all of that knowledge was in his journal—which was now mine. I'd even found ways to improve their formulas using techniques I developed through programming. Higher-level enchanting was basically magical programming anyway.
But that was a project for later. First, I needed to summon my familiar.
Drawing the circle with chalk on the wooden floor was child's play. It felt a bit ironic, dabbling in the occult after years of teasing my sister for doing the same. Luckily, she had graduated and moved out—otherwise, I'd never hear the end of it.
Eventually, I finished the summoning circle, embedding it with runes in Hebraic script to create a complex magical system.
Solomon and the Big G had devised a way to turn demons' own essence against them. Since devils preyed on humans, Big G decided humans should be able to prey on devils too—binding them as servants.
Using Lucifer's Pillars and the principles of Ars Goetia, I could summon a devil. The catch? It only worked on pureblood devils. Half-bloods, born of humans and devils, didn't register as pillar devils in Ars Goetia's system.
With the circle complete, I began channeling my magic. The summoning required a significant amount of mana—at least for me. A full year of dedicated training had brought me to this point.
The circle bore the symbol of the Bael Pillar, the Great King's house. If I was going to summon a familiar, I wanted the best.
I chanted:
"By the covenant drawn between God and the Human King!
For punishment against humankind! The 72 Pillars of Lucifer shall be punished by the power of Ars Goetia!
Come forth, Pillar of the Great King Bael! By the Will of Ars Goetia, you shall be bound to the King of Man!"
The circle began glowing white and gold, the light intensifying until I had to shield my eyes.
Meanwhile, in the Underworld
A brown-haired woman with a voluptuous figure sat sipping her morning tea. Suddenly, a white circle formed beneath her feet.
"Hmm? What is this?" she murmured, glancing down. The glowing circle was inscribed with white letters and a symbol of ten rings.
"...Where have I seen this before?" she wondered, frowning. She could sense it was a devil-summoning circle, but… then recognition hit her like a thunderbolt.
Her face turned pale.
Before she could act, the summoning was complete. Her devil energy rebelled, twisting in ways she couldn't stop.
"Solomon's magic! H-How!?" she gasped, horror-stricken.
A moment later, she was teleported from her home.
Back with Marcus
When the light finally faded, I squinted to see who I'd summoned.
My eyes widened slightly.
Before me stood a woman with shoulder-length brown hair and… an absolutely physics-defying figure. Her proportions seemed impossible, and honestly, how was she not in constant back pain?
But beyond her appearance, something about her seemed oddly familiar.
The summoning was a success—I could feel the bond. Ars Goetia had been successfully invoked.
"You must be the devil from the Bael House?" I asked, crossing my arms as I studied her. My mind was already racing with plans.
I chose Bael because it was the highest house after Lucifer's. They were powerful and highly knowledgeable in magic.
"I am by birth," she replied coolly, "but I am now a Gremory."
I could sense Ars Goetia's magic binding her, suppressing any rebellious thoughts she might have. Solomon and Big G had been thorough in designing safeguards—layers of runic "programming" ensured devils couldn't lie outright, though half-truths were still possible.
"I see. Well, it doesn't matter since you're now my Bael Pillar," I said with a shrug.
Her frown deepened slightly. She clearly wanted to be angry, but Ars Goetia's binding was absolute.
"Do you know what you've done with this summoning?" she asked coolly.
"I used Ars Goetia to summon a devil from Lucifer's 72 Pillars. If you were summoned, it means you met the criteria," I explained calmly.
"Criteria?" she asked, her tone disbelieving.
"Killing an innocent, ruining an innocent life… actions like that. One of them qualifies someone as a target for this circle."
She grimaced, her expression turning reflective. "Those are… simple requirements. Most devils, especially in the old days, committed such acts."
"Old days?" I raised an eyebrow. "That's why you're here—to teach me everything I want to know."
Her eyes widened in surprise. "I-I see… May I ask how you achieved this? Where did you find the means to summon and bind a devil?"
"Hmm, maybe I'll tell you someday. For now, what's your name?" I asked, curiosity piqued. I was certain I'd seen her before.
"Venelana Gremory," she replied.
Recognition clicked instantly. Ah. So I'm in some alternate world where the protagonist gains power through perversion, and women have… physics-defying anatomy.
I shook off the thought. None of that mattered. Ars Goetia, as I'd modified it, ensured my identity remained my top priority. Unlike the original Solomon, I wouldn't broadcast my success to just anyone.
"I see… Well, let's start with an overview of history—from the supernatural perspective," I said, crossing my arms again.
"As you wish," she replied with a bow.
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