Guardian of My Heart

Chapter 18: Ruination

Kalego's POV:

As I dismissed the rest of the children in the familiar summoning chamber, I hastily made my way to the principal's office. I would have dragged that grandson of his with me, fully intent on canceling this new pact he had inadvertently sealed me in. But Asmodeus was right, the boy was clearly shaken beyond reason, and I knew he needed to take some time to compose himself. Despite my declaration that no special treatment would be given out to students no matter what, my knowledge of Iruma's true situation was not doing me any favors in remaining impartial towards him. He was no doubt just as frightened as I had been moments ago when that voice made itself known to both of us. Has he been hearing that voice all this time? The others need to know about this, Shichiro too. It wasn't long before I found myself bursting into Principal Sullivan's office. The demon in question was already in deep conversation with Opera when I entered, but the two immediately focused their attention on me upon my arrival. "Oh Kalego! So good to see you! I take it that the familiar summoning rituals all went well?" I closed the door behind me and cast an incantation to ensure we would not be disturbed. I was confident that the Chairdemon had wards of his own surrounding his office, but one could never be too careful. "For the most part things went exactly as expected. However, your grandson continues to display the traits of an outlier. His summoning went wrong at nearly every turn, and there's more unsettling news I must share with you."

Seeing the Chairdemon and Opera now intently listening to me, all pretenses of lightheartedness gone, I engaged them with a brief but detailed recollection of the events leading up to me becoming Iruma's familiar. Devi, I'm not going to live that down for as long as I live. Opera's ears twitched with joy when they heard I had been made to take the form of a housecat, at least until I further described how grotesque and decayed I had become. "I've never seen anything like it, let alone experienced it. I could still feel all of my magic, but there was a taint to it somehow. Like a shadow enveloping my mana reserves. And I believe I may know what caused it." Sullivan picked up a stack of papers, rifling through them until he found what he was searching for, which happened to be the medical records of his grandson, specifically Iruma's mental evaluations from both Demon Border Control and Shichiro. As he displayed the information for us to view, the Chairdemon spoke. "As we all know, familiars are influenced by their patrons, both in physical strength and appearance, as well as their mana pool. And though we had hoped that Iruma's demonic blood would be dominant during the ceremony, it would seem his human side was enough to influence the scales of the summoning. Unlike demons who summon magical beasts, humans are able to summon demons." I pinched the bridge of my nose as the realization dawned on me.

"And because my seal was on the summoning parchment, Iruma was forced to summon me in lieu of a normal familiar." Opera handed me a cup of tea as they replied for Sullivan. "That certainly seems like the most plausible explanation for all this. Regardless, what's done is done, and it cannot be undone without invoking fatal consequences, something I will not risk for my child. Or for you, Kalego." I was taken aback by that statement, but the look in my upperclassmen's eyes was absolute. Before I could respond, however, Opera continued. "Now, would you care to explain to us what more unsettling news it is you have discovered?" Right, that. Clearing my throat, I took another sip of tea before launching further into my recollection. "As you might imagine, I was absolutely seething at my new circumstances. No demon worth a damn would ever be content to be trapped as a familiar! But, when I started to threaten Iruma to cancel the contract, a dark presence befell the both of us. A venomous voice crept beside our forms in shadows unseen by all others, and I felt compelled to stay, to obey its command. The other students speculated that I was receiving the punishment familiars get for disobeying their masters. However, I know Iruma felt just as fearful as I had, so I remain unconvinced of this theory."

The boy's guardians shared a knowing look before turning back to me, Sullivan addressing my concerns. "We are aware of the presence of which you speak, Kalego. Iruma has been suffering from irregular evil cycles for some time now, long before he came into our care. Often, he has described himself suffering from nightmares where he is forced to face down a ghoulish demon who shares his appearance." My mouth hung from its jaw, but Opera was quick to shut it and continue for their master. "We believe that due to my son's hybrid nature combined with his past trauma, his human and demon halves have mentally separated into two entities. Iruma has been in control most of the time, but we notice that whenever his demeanor changes to that of a demon suffering an evil cycle, his eyes turn black as the night. This unknown voice is still a part of Iruma, but it poses a great danger to both him and those around him. I've made sure to inform Shichiro of this discovery, and he is currently working on a way for us to possibly mend the rift inside Iruma's mind. Until then, we have no choice but to keep him on a healthy dose of evil cycle suppressant pills and to keep a close eye on him at all times." I crossed my arms as I took all of this new information in. "That would be wise. I don't think anyone wants a repeat of his duel from earlier today. We're lucky that it didn't become a massacre."

Sullivan spoke up, seeming to return to his annoyingly cheerful self once more. "Well look on the bright side! At least Kalego here will always be able to protect Iruma in the event of an emergency!" I scoffed. "Tch! As long as that brat remembers to summon me." What am I saying?! I don't want to be summoned like some petty servant for some kid! "Lord Sullivan, although I agree that Kalego being Iruma's familiar is no doubt an unforeseen benefit to this situation, I must advise caution with this. Given how disturbing Kalego's familiar form is, I suspect it will only cause more panic amongst the student body. Perhaps we should search for an alternative solution in the meanwhile." Never thought I'd actually agree with one of Opera's ideas so much before. Sullivan seemed to ponder this for a moment before an idea came to him. "Well, I still think that Kalego being Iruma's familiar will ultimately be for the best. However, if we are to keep a close eye on my grandson at all times, I have the perfect idea! I'll simply assign Kalego to be Iruma's homeroom teacher!" Whatever tea I had been drinking was suddenly spit out as I stared dumbfounded at the Chairdemon. "What?! Have you gone senile you old man?!"

"Now, calm down. This plan is better than you give it credit for Kalego!" I huffed in annoyance, my knuckles growing white as I clenched my hands around my uniform. "Then explain." The grin on Sullivan's face made my blood boil. "I know my grandson will stand out no matter what, especially given recent events." Perhaps you should have thought about that before showing him off to the entire school you buffoon! "Therefore, I shall create a special class known as the Abnormal Class! There are plenty of demons who don't quite fit what the rest of society considers to be the norm. Gathering all these demons into one class would no doubt be the best camouflage for Iruma to remain hidden. After all, when everyone in class stands out, no one will." Despite my misgivings towards the Chairdemon, even I had to admit his plan was decent. I just knew that I wouldn't enjoy teaching a bunch of misfits as my primary class. "Fine, I see no reason to argue this matter any further. Just make sure to keep that boy out of any further major incidents." As I left the Chairdemon's office, my thoughts drifted back to Iruma. That boy had a long road ahead of him, a very long road. Hang on kid, I'll be there with you, every step of the way. We'll get you through this. Together.