Chapter 118: Ritual 2

"You dare to disrespect me, mortal? Me, a Noble Lord of the Underworld?" Zehir threatened in his imposing deep voice accompanied by a hiss, standing tall at the edge of the Summoning Circle, looking down at the smaller Pureblood a few feet away.

"Oh, no. I wouldn't dare, Lord Zehir. You are indeed a Devil Lord," nodded Lord Nott, still with that nasty smirk. "A true master of lies and deception. You almost managed to deceive me."

"Deceiving you, mortal? Why would a superior immortal being like me feel the need to deceive you? Your life for the life of your Master is the fair price for this deal. A Devil Lord doesn't bargain. Take it or die for your insolence," Zehir replied with his cold hissing voice.

"Still deceiving me, oh great Devil Lord? Am I not quite disrespectful right now? Why are you not punishing me?" Lord Nott asked with his nasty smirk, as if he had some kind of trump card in the back of his hand.

This was the typical behavior of many pure-bloods: groveling and silver-tongued snakes in front of someone more powerful, but taking every chance to stab the back and gain an advantage, as soon as there is a sight of weakness or an opening.

And obviously, Lord Nott had realized something that gave him supposedly the upper hand in this situation, although Zehir or rather Harry had no idea what. He was actually just buying some time until Lord Nott lets his guard down in front of him.

After all, Harry was here to kill the Pure-blood Lord and complete his contract with Theodore. That way, he would gain quite a bit of reputation in the Underworld, and also access to the Library of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Nott.

He had used his familiar, Noir, to place a book in said Library with a slight Compulsion Charm on it targeting the Lord. But all there was in that book was some superficial knowledge about magic, but most importantly a complex and deliberately gruesome-looking ritual with the intention to summon him.

That was all part of the book; there is nothing about a secret weakness or trick against Devils inside the book. Right now, Harry was just confused. He had no idea what the fat idiotic Pure-blood Lord was playing at. What is his angle?

His plan was so simple: use the arrogance of the wizards against them. Give him a complex, bloody, and most importantly, dark-looking ritual that would only work once to summon him. Wait for an opportunity where he lets his guard down and assassinate the stupid Noble, make it look bloody. And go home, job done, and wait for an opportunity to visit Theodore again and collect the reward.

The ritual was especially designed to be looking so gruesome, so it would look like a dark ritual gone wrong, and Lord Nott dying because of him playing with magic he doesn't understand. Any investigator should believe that something has gone wrong with the ritual and his death was the result of a backlash. And even if they somehow could read the memories of the deceased Lord Nott, he was playing his role. All they would see was him summoning a Devil and paying the price for it and his insolence.

But now Harry was wary of him and his hidden trump card. Whatever the fat Lord was planning couldn't be good for him.

"Don't test my patience, mortal! Are you agreeing to the deal or bear the consequences? Last chance while I am benevolent," Zehir threatened not letting his Devil Lord role drop. He was quite sure that he was just trying to bluff him, fearing his death. At least that was what Harry hoped for.

"You can't actually hurt me, Lord Zehir. Can you? Or you would have already done it. I have deliberately provoked you, and you did nothing but still trying to deceive me," Lord Nott stated confidently as if he just made a big discovery, while Harry just stared at him in confusion.

But Lord Nott didn't notice the expression Harry had on his face for a moment before he regained his bearings he continued with his big monologue fully into himself, "It's just like the books of my family about your kind have described. You are bound to my will; the Summoning Circle brought you here to follow my command. You can't attack me."

Ohhhhhh. That is what was going on here.

"I have seen through your ploy, Devil. Although I have no idea where this new tome with a working Binding Ritual appeared from, it may be a ploy of you to steal my soul. But you made a big mistake; you are bound to my will now. After all, there is no way you wouldn't have killed me already. There is no way you fear my magical prowess. I can literally feel your power; a wave of your hand would be enough to end my existence. No, most likely, are you waiting for me to cast a spell at you. I read that an attack breaks the Binding on the Summoned Creature," Lord Nott summarized in realization, lowering his wand but not letting go of it.

Harry knew now what was going on here. Lord Nott was an idiot. An arrogant wizard feeling all-knowing. Somehow the man's ancestors had gained a bit of knowledge about Summoning and Familiars but must have mixed up the books during transcription or something. Because right now, Lord Nott was talking about the Familiar Binding Ritual, a piece of magic binding a weaker Familiar to the will of the caster. Not about a Summoning, a similar but still different piece of ritualistic Magic.

But he was still smart enough to not let his guard down and let go of his wand. Harry needed the kill to be neatless; he didn't want a wizarding duel; that would make any possible investigator feel that something was wrong here. After all, even Harry had a magical signature to track if necessary.

One or two swift spells wouldn't be trackable, thanks to the residual magic of the ritual disrupting the signature. But Harry wasn't sure he could finish a direct fight in two spells. Yes, he was a bit stronger thanks to the advantage Demonic Power had over Magic Power but Lord Nott still was a High-Class Wizard, while Harry had only the strength of a Mid-Class Devil.

His racial traits and Demonic Power made him stronger but not as much as Lord Nott believes. After all, Harry is using illusion magic in combination with intentionally flaring his Demonic Power to deceive him.

"So, Devil, I believe it's time to show you who your Master is. You are bound to me and need to follow my commands," gloated Lord Nott with glee, while Harry continued to play his role and glared at the fat Pure-Blood Lord, who wasn't bothered by it at all. "I command you to kneel, Devil. Listen to the order of your Master!"

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