The demon is by my side

alpha one

Phyllis tilted her head, pondering if there was anything she had missed. Suddenly, she slapped her palm and exclaimed, "Ah, right! You can't be called Kakaso anymore. That name is too conspicuous. Um, let's go with Alpha. From now on, you're Alpha!"

"Alpha?" Kakaso pointed to himself, finding the name a bit too casual.

"Alpha, that's settled." Phyllis said as she looked at the cave, the lair of the Dark Dragon. There were quite a few treasures there, and summoning the dragon took quite a toll on her resources, but overall, it wasn't a bad deal. She gained a handy laborer, even if he was a bit useless. However, she couldn't let him be completely useless.

The dragon's skin and bones were valuable, and even though the blood was not fresh, it could be used in alchemy. The internal organs were useful, and there were numerous jewels scattered around. With this loot, she wouldn't have to worry about travel expenses in the future. The black dragon crystal formed from the dragon's breath was a valuable item for amplifying dark and spatial magic. Even if she didn't use it, she could sell it in the black market. The problem was, there was too much to move. How could she transport all of it?

Phyllis suddenly saw her newly acquired laborer.

"Alpha, move these over here, yes, and put those over there. Hmm, take all of these..." As Phyllis spoke, she drew a teleportation circle on the ground. People who understood the craft could tell; it was a teleportation circle. Drawing it with such ease, however, was quite uncommon. Typically, precise calculations were needed beforehand, sometimes requiring on-site measurements. Phyllis, as an interdimensional summoner, had reached an astonishing level of proficiency in spatial magic calculations.

Phyllis used magic powder to draw. This material was affordable and had excellent absorption for liquids, making it favored by many mages who used it to draw patterns in advance. Since it absorbed liquids well, some mages used it to draw with their own blood.

As Phyllis continued drawing, she summoned, "Alpha, a bit more blood, please."

Alpha approached, extending his arm. Surprisingly, the previous wound had completely healed.

Phyllis marveled, "Incredible healing power. It seems you do have the potential to be a meat shield..." Saying so, she made another cut, and the silver blood dripped onto the magic powder. The circle instantly took shape, emitting a faint silver glow.

"Oh, not bad. An eighth-level teleportation circle. Too bad it's one-time use... Hmm, to prevent tracking, I also need to create a self-destruct mode." The self-destruct mode would automatically detonate the circle after activation, erasing any magical residues. Phyllis didn't want her actions to be discovered by outsiders. She used Dark Dragon blood to draw a fire-based explosion circle on the outer edge of the teleportation circle. Between the inner and outer circles, she drew connecting runes containing activation conditions and destruction intensity. The two circles were nested, with a mistake possibly resulting in the caster's complete destruction. However, Phyllis was so skilled at this that she made it seem effortless.

At that moment, a translucent blue sphere appeared in the cave, with white eyes and a mouth.

"Oh, little Phyllis, done already? Hm? Is this Kakaso? Doesn't seem quite like the rumors. The magic is lifted?"

"Serwis, I'm sixteen already. Can you drop the 'little' before my name? Also, this guy is no longer called Kakaso; he's Alpha, my new familiar. Due to various reasons, he's trapped in a death contract but is willing to be my long-term laborer. Come, get to know each other. This is Serwis, my mother's familiar, but he's with me now."

"Haha, Phyllis, how did you manage to get him? Even if he's not that great, he's a humanoid demon, a high-intelligence high-level demon."

Phyllis sneered, "Since he has high intelligence, then it wasn't me who 'got' him." She then looked at Alpha, who had paused in his labor, seeming curious about Serwis. So, Phyllis explained to Alpha, "This guy is a spirit; he has no physical form."

Alpha listened and extended his hand to touch Serwis, but it passed through.

Serwis immediately protested, "Don't touch me with your dirty hands! I have no interest in xing!"

However, Alpha became even more excited, gesturing wildly.

Ignoring the two, Phyllis asked, "Serwis, weren't you supposed to monitor the surroundings? Why are you back? Did that dark mage, Lesado, send someone?"

Serwis floated away from Alpha and approached Phyllis, replying, "Lesado? His familiars are weakened to this extent. How could he be nearby? He's at least half a continent away. Unless he has a ninth-level teleportation scroll like a cloud, there's no way he could arrive this quickly. It's the Spatial Magic Team from the Freland Academy. The leader seems to be an eighth-level mage named Katis. They've all been buffed with Wind Soaring Art and should arrive here in about ten minutes." Mages below the third level were apprentices, those between the fourth and sixth levels were official mages, and rising through the levels became increasingly difficult. Each level increased power exponentially, so reaching the seventh level made one a Grand Mage, the eighth level a Mage Guide, and the ninth level a Grand Mage Guide. Only a few in the entire continent reached the tenth level. Among them, seven were honorary, not exceeding the ninth level. It was said that only three were true tenth-level mages, but they hadn't shown their powers for a long time.

As an eighth-level Mage Guide, Katis's strength was not to be underestimated. Phyllis, a fifth-level mage, wouldn't be able to handle him. Freland Academy truly lived up to its reputation as the top magic academy on the continent; they could quickly find the source of the trouble like the malicious magic circle, indicating not only strong magical reserves but also advanced theoretical research. However, even if he was an eighth-level Mage Guide, it didn't matter to Phyllis; she was confident she could escape.

"Alpha, move faster," Phyllis urged while using Levitation to assist with the transportation. Serwis, without a physical form, could only watch. After observing for a while, he began complaining:

"Is this really a lord-level demon? I only see a tiny human. Phyllis, he's slower at moving things than your Levitation."

"But he has my seal on him, and his blood is silver. Have you ever seen a demon with silver blood?"

"Silver blood?" Serwis shook his head. As far as he knew, no demons had silver blood. "Maybe Abyss demons are different from the species on the mainland? Perhaps, this guy isn't a demon at all? Maybe, he's a spirit. Phyllis, are you sure you didn't make a mistake in drawing the magic circle?"

Phyllis glared at him, "Please never doubt my ability to draw magic circles!"

"Haha, let's move faster. They'll be here soon..."