Chapter Text
You looked down at the summoning circle, the candles on each point, the salt surrounding it, your necklace in the middle. All you needed to do is light the candles and drip some blood into the center...and hope that this even works. You grabbed the match box and opened it, pulling out a match and striking it against the box until it lit. Going around the circle and lighting each candle.
“Alright...I guess this is the moment of truth...” You grabbed your pocket knife and opened it, slicing along your palm before holding your hand face down, letting your blood drip into the circle. Taking a deep breath, you began the chant you had memorized.
“Audi me daemonium voco vos. Ut a paciscor. Et sedebat meas. Veni et audi me!” You waited for a moment, yet nothing happened, you sighed with a frown. “I knew this would be too good to be true...” You squatted down, about to begin cleaning up, when suddenly the circle began to glow.
“W-what the fuck-” You stared as a tall, skinny figure appeared, his wings spreading wide as he spoke with a booming voice, “What is it you desire human?” You stared up at him in shock. “Answer me, Human.”
“...I want you to lift my curse.” You said, standing up and attempting to hide your fear. "Your, curse?” The demon seemed confused, you nodded. “When I was a baby...someone cursed me, I don’t know why, or who...but......” You trailed off, looking at the floor.
“What kind of curse?” You looked back at the demon, “Whenever I touch anything living with my bare hands it...they begin to...rot and decay...” You looked at your gloved hands as you spoke, the demon was silent, seemingly thinking about what you had said. “I do not know how to lift your curse at the moment...” You sighed, looking down again, your last hope failing, “I see...”
“However,” You looked up at him, a small spark of hope reigniting, “I would be willing to assist you in finding one, for a price.” You gulped, “What kind of price-?” You had a feeling it would be something big, but honestly? At this point, you’d do almost anything to be rid of this curse. “I want you...” You waited for him to continue, when suddenly the room changed around you.
You yelped as you stumbled backwards and landed on...a chair? The demon before you kneeled, he seemed a lot less scary and intimidating now. He grabbed your hands and gave you a pleading look before continuing his sentence. “To be my son!”
“What-?”
He stood up, wrapping his arms around himself. “My darling grandson is going to be here soon! And him having a parental figure would be amazing! Especially a fellow human!” He began to gush about his grandson as you sat in stunned silence, eventually interrupting him. “W-wait- what do you mean??” He turned to look at you, “I want you to be my son, and the father of my grandson,”
“I-I can’t be a parent-! I mean, I just told you about my curse!” You protested, “Also, I can’t just, just step in and replace someone’s dad!” Before you could continue, he spoke again. “I know, I know, Like I said, if you accept I’ll help you find a way to lift your curse. Besides, his parents sold him anyways, so I doubt either of them would care if he took on a new parent.” You stared at him. “They did what-?”
“Anyways! Do we have a deal?” A contract suddenly appeared in front of you, “If you sign this contract, you will agree to become my son, and the father to my grandson. I will take you back to the Netherworld with me, where you will live with me. In return, I will, to the best of my abilities, help you find a way to lift your curse.” You were silent, you had never imagined being a father, partly because of how hard your curse made it to find love. You thought about it for a bit.
“Would I be able to return after?” The demon went silent for a second, much more serious. “No, you would have to stay in the Netherworld for the rest of your life, but I will make sure you’re safe and that your life will be as comfortable as possible.” You looked at the contract, thinking about what he had just told you. You had a chance of lifting your curse, but at the price of having to leave everything behind...
“Alright, I’ll do it.” The demon smiled and handed you a pen, pointing at a line near the button, “Alright, sign here,” You took the pen, hesitating for a second before signing. ‘It’s not like I have much going for me right now anyways, maybe things will be better in this ‘Netherworld’ after my curse is lifted.’ Once you finished signing, the room began to change again.
You couldn’t make sense of what you were seeing, but soon everything settled, and you found yourself in what appeared to be an office. The demon now sitting across from you. A red haired demon with cat ears and a tail standing next to him. “Alright, before we continue, there’s some information you need to know.” You were confused, but nodded, indicating that you were listening. “First off, my name is Sullivan, this,” Sullivan gestured to the red head next to him, “Is Opera,”
Opera bowed, “It’s an honor, sir,” Sullivan then continued, “Second, no one besides those of us in this room and Iruma can find out the two of you are human.” You blinked, “Why not?” He turned really serious. “Because if they find out you two are human, they will eat you.” You froze at that, shock and fear clear on your face. “W-what-?! You didn’t say anything about that before!!” He hummed, “I did say I would keep you safe,” You gasped as you suddenly were doused in a pink liquid. “What is this?!”
“A perfume, it’ll mask your human scent and make you smell like me, indicating to other demons you are part of my clan, which should prevent anyone from hurting you.” You looked at him, “Should?!”
“Finally, you will be enrolled as a teacher at Bablys” He ignored your clear panic, you sighed, “I don’t know how to teach anything- I don’t know enough about any human subjects, let alone demon ones-” Sullivan smiled, “Don’t you worry, I’ve already thought of that! For one, you won’t be the only teacher for this class, you will be an assistant for the teacher who currently teaches it!” He grinned, “The class you will be assigned to is ‘The Basics of Imaginary Beasts’!”
“I see...” You trailed off, lost in thought. ‘Imaginary Beasts? I’m not sure why he thinks that I could teach that well but...I guess if they’re imaginary, and I’ll have help, it won’t be too bad...’ Sullivan then stood up, the room changing again; this time to a bedroom, with Opera still next to him. “This’ll be your room!” Sullivan exclaimed, “It’s late, so I want you to get some rest, we have a few months until the school year starts. In that time, we will figure out what rank you should be, as well as teaching you the basics of the Netherworld to help you blend in better.” You nodded, “Alright,”
Sullivan then seemed to remember something, "Oh right! I believe this belongs to you," He put something in your hands, your necklace. "Oh, um, Thank you..." Sullivan smiled then turned to leave the room, Opera gave you a bow before they turned and followed Sullivan outside the room. Once the two left, you looked around the room, taking everything in. “This is huge...” You muttered, “I guess he’s rich...makes things easier for me...I wonder how he’ll manage to make me a teacher...” You yawned, deciding to listen to Sullivan and go to bed. Walking over to the grand bed in the center of the room and laying down on it, setting your necklace on the bedside table. Eventually, falling asleep, wondering what your new life will be like...