"You don't need to look so surprised. This is just a dark dragon whose energy was reduced to one percent due to planar distance laws. See?" Phyllis casually kicked the dragon's massive jaw open and yanked out its tongue, revealing a black-and-white crest etched onto the flesh. The symbol—a black inverted triangle containing a white skull, encircled by the number six—was unmistakable.
"This crest belongs to the dark mage Lysado. That guy's bounty is thirty million gold coins. He's a notorious planar summoner, proficient in dark and fire magic, making him a tri-elemental mage. Both his dark and fire magic are at the seventh-tier grand mage level, which is why he's still at large. I stumbled upon this dragon while passing through Warwick Village, where the locals hired me for a demon extermination job. Turns out, Lysado was lurking here, murdering and looting. I only planned to earn some travel money but ended up with the materials I needed for this planar summoning—what luck! Dark dragon hide is a rare treasure for summoners."
Cagasso, or rather the imposter demon, stared at the petite girl before him, still reeling from the absurdity of the situation. Even weakened to one percent, a dark dragon was no ordinary foe. Yet this human girl claimed to have defeated it unscathed. Was she truly human?
"But why? Why am I stuck in this accursed contract?" Phyllis's eyes blazed with frustration as she grabbed Cagasso by the neck and shook him violently. "Spit it out! Give me back the price you devoured!"
Cagasso swallowed hard, defiantly keeping the "offering" down. A never-ending contract was exactly what he wanted.
"Damn you! You're swallowing it even further? Fine, I'll pull it out myself!" Phyllis shoved her hand toward his throat, only for Cagasso to push her away in panic.
Phyllis stumbled to the ground, momentarily dazed by his strength. Despite his unimpressive appearance, he had the physical power of a third-tier swordsman.
"What's your deal? Don't you want to go back? You're a high-ranking demon, and you're willing to stay here as my long-term laborer… for a pork knuckle?" Phyllis's words grew more sinister as she narrowed her eyes.
"Even so, you're pretty useless for a high demon! Third-tier swordsman? That's nothing! Warwick Village's patrol recruits start at fourth tier. A third-tier swordsman wouldn't even make it as a gate guard. You can't even withstand a first-tier fireball spell from me!" She grew more exasperated with each word. "What can you even do? I'm a fifth-tier elemental mage, and you're physical-based. My magic doesn't boost you in any way. The only thing I can provide is a fifty percent boost to six-element magical defense—and even then, you'd barely function as a meat shield! Plus, your comprehension of language is awful, and your magical fluctuations are near zero. Even as a servant, your foundational knowledge is so lacking that a random academy apprentice would be more useful!"
Cagasso crouched obediently in the remnants of the summoning circle, his gaze fixed on Phyllis like a chastised puppy.
"Stop looking at me like that! I'm sending you back!" Phyllis declared, her voice resolute. "I don't want this useless burden. That crest on your hand? It's a constant reminder I'll be hunted across the continent!"
Cagasso, unfazed, began erasing the remaining summoning inscriptions from the ground. He knew the circle was drawn with precious materials; partial damage could be repaired, but extensive destruction would render the ritual irreparable—and the girl likely couldn't afford another attempt.
Phyllis's face darkened as she realized his intent. "Do you know what this was drawn with? Fresh dark dragon blood! Where am I supposed to find more of that? You're deliberately stranding yourself here, aren't you?"
Seeing no escape, Phyllis sighed. "Fine! If you're so determined to stay, we'll draft a second contract. This one's a servitude contract. Since you don't want to leave, I'll ensure you can't. You'll work for me indefinitely, follow my orders outside of tasks, and—best of all—it comes with no price. Not a single coin!"
"Pork knuckles…" Cagasso muttered pitifully.
Phyllis blinked, suddenly feeling like a heartless tyrant. Here was a demon who had crossed planes for the first time, now stuck with her, asking for nothing but food. Her conscience wavered.
"Fine! The price will be… pork knuckles!" she relented, immediately wondering if she'd regret this decision forever.
Cagasso's face lit up with pure joy.
Phyllis rolled her eyes. This demon is way too easy to satisfy. Still, a contract required strong magical binding to prevent future betrayal. After careful consideration, she tore another strip from the dark dragon's hide and collected a few drops of Cagasso's silvery blood.
"Silver blood?" Phyllis muttered, intrigued. High demon blood was excellent for crafting contracts, and silver was a rarity even among them. She carefully inscribed the new terms, sealing the servitude contract with an additional clause about the pork knuckle payment.
The contract formed flawlessly, adding a purple ring to the crest on Cagasso's hand—a mark of servitude, binding him completely to her will. This type of unequal contract was typically reserved for low-intelligence demons, making Cagasso's agreement all the more peculiar.
Phyllis chose not to dwell on it. "Who cares why he agreed? I've struck gold here," she thought, shifting her focus to their next steps.
"You look human enough, so that saves us the trouble of disguises. Just don't bleed in public. I'll say you're my assistant—a fifth-tier mage having an assistant is normal. We'll need to cover that crest, though." She retrieved a pair of apprentice gloves.
"These isolate elemental magic—standard alchemy lab gear. They'll block magic below the seventh tier. Just don't take them off or tear them." She enhanced the gloves with additional dark dragon blood, making them impervious to ninth-tier magic, and handed them over.
Cagasso obediently donned them without hesitation.
Only then did Phyllis realize he was still stark naked. Her cheeks flushed. "Um… put these on." She tossed him an old apprentice robe from her bag. "I don't know what's with you abyssal demons and not wearing clothes, but walking around naked isn't acceptable here. This will do for now until we reach town. I'll figure out the rest later…"
Her face reddened further as she muttered about needing underclothes, resolving to borrow some from the village elder.
"Oh, and you need a less conspicuous name. Cagasso is too flashy. From now on, you're Alpha. Yes, Alpha!"
Cagasso pointed to himself, confused. "Alpha?"
"Alpha. That's final."
Satisfied, Phyllis turned to the cavern filled with treasures: dark dragon bones, gems, black dragon crystals, and more. Her gaze landed on her new assistant.
"Alpha, move everything over there. Yes, all of it!"
As Alpha silently began transporting the loot, Phyllis drew a transport circle on the ground, her expertise in spatial magic evident as she worked quickly and precisely. The circle required additional blood, which Alpha provided without protest.
"Not bad," Phyllis mused as the array glowed silver. "An eighth-tier array. Shame it's single-use… Better add a self-destruct mechanism."
She layered a fireburst spell over the transport circle, carefully connecting the inner and outer arrays with conditional triggers to obliterate any magical residue once activated. The complexity of her design demonstrated her mastery of planar magic.
Just as she finished, a glowing blue orb with a white face materialized nearby.
"Well, Phyllis, all done? Huh? Is that Cagasso? He doesn't look like the rumors. Have you undone the spell?"
"Servis, I'm sixteen now. Drop the 'little' from my name!" Phyllis huffed. "Also, he's not Cagasso anymore—he's Alpha, my new servant. He's stuck in a perpetual contract and even agreed to be my long-term laborer. This is my mother's familiar, Servis," she added, introducing the spirit to Alpha.
Servis chuckled. "How did you trick him into this? High demons are supposed to be intelligent."
Phyllis smirked. "If he's so smart, then it wasn't trickery."
Alpha, meanwhile, stared curiously at Servis. Phyllis explained, "He's a spirit. No physical form."
When Alpha's hand passed through Servis, the spirit protested, "Stop touching me, you filthy brute! I'm not interested in males!"
Alpha, undeterred, continued poking at him, much to Servis's annoyance.
Ignoring them, Phyllis turned serious. "Servis, weren't you keeping watch? Did Lysado show up?"
Servis drifted away from Alpha and replied, "Lysado? No way. His familiar was this weak, so he must be half a continent away. Unless he has a legendary ninth-tier transport scroll, he's not coming anytime soon. However, the Flandre Academy spatial magic team is on their way, led by eighth-tier mage Kartis. They'll be here in ten minutes."
Phyllis frowned. Kartis was no joke. She needed to act fast.
"Alpha, move faster!" she barked, using levitation magic to assist.
Servis observed skeptically. "Are you sure this guy's a demon lord? He's slower than your levitation spell."
"At least he bleeds silver. That counts for something," Phyllis retorted.
Servis shook his head. "Silver blood? Never seen that before. Maybe he's not even a demon. Are you sure you drew the summoning array correctly?"
Phyllis glared. "Don't you ever question my summoning skills!"
Servis laughed nervously. "Fine, fine. But hurry—they're almost here…"