The Riddle Of Magic

Chapter 2: Invocation

Having the Radio Demon for a teacher was somehow right in line with what Charlie had expected.

It was nerve-wracking, to be certain. He was a renowned killer, having torn his way through demons of all sizes - he'd quite literally carved his way into the rank of Overlord. Many references to the overwhelming ferocity of his rampages called images of foes torn apart, the reddened streets of Hell stained further crimson, but that was only a part of the picture of his capabilities. The Radio Demon had a variety of weapons at his disposal - and was able to destroy his opponents with cunning as well as brutality.

Indeed, his keen mind was almost certainly as devastating as his teeth and claws. Alastor was a careful tactician with a near endless arsenal of spells, and he could easily talk his way around the Pride Ring three times over. To the Princess of Hell, that was even more dangerous than his ability to rip out someone's heart with his bare hands.

He could just as easily convince his prey to rip it out themselves.

Charlie couldn't help but wonder if Alastor had ever killed with just his voice. She trusted him, she really did (after all, if she didn't then she certainly wouldn't come to his room alone), but it seemed sometimes like the sinner was trying to fluster her into a heart attack.

In many ways, learning magic from the Radio Demon was like returning to the very start of their relationship, with all the challenges of understanding his mannerisms.

The vastness of his knowledge was intimidating, but he was jovial and patient; almost sweet, in his own peculiar fashion. He seemed to be enjoying her unyielding supply of questions, and eagerly took the opportunity to flaunt his knowledge of the arcane where he could.

The deer demon was a naturally gifted instructor, despite not having formally taught before. He didn't just drip-feed information to her by rote lecture, he peppered their discussions with jokes and the occasional allegory. Her questions were elementary, certainly, but he never made her feel foolish for asking him anything. Many times he would answer her questions with those of his own, to force her to work through the process of her own curiosity.

Her textbook, as it was, was a catalog of runes and sigil structures, bound in a deep purple cover that made her dizzy if she stared at it for too long. Alastor's grimoire had been bound to him since he'd been alive, its very existence nestled in a curious state of flux he referred to as the Liminal State. It was a shadow unto itself, and technically did not exist in the real world. Yet, it was there before them all the same. A contradiction.

He had summoned it during their first session. It was also the first time the Radio Demon had worked through something so complicated with her watching, as he carefully bound rune after rune to existence, stitching sigils together in a complex framework, each feeding into the next. He'd set the attached Revocation sigil to trigger after her lessons had concluded. It was incredibly costly to summon, after all, and summoning it for every lecture would be a terrible waste of energy.

It had taken him the better part of an hour to evoke, and studying his efforts, Charlie had felt the first pang of anxiety over whether or not she could actually succeed in learning his magic. It had been a clear challenge for the Radio Demon both mentally and physically, a sort of lesson unto itself.

Initially, he'd tried to walk her through his technique, chatting with her sitting beside him on the couch as he worked, but it had taken all his focus to keep the process going.

The princess had studied the deer demon carefully throughout his crafting, noting the increasing stress riding his features; her red eyes quietly tracing the tension in his brow and jaw, in the muscles of his shoulders and hands.