Chapter 2461

2461 - Black Magic

[…They can't harm you directly anyway.]

Huh?

Caesar pointed toward the center of the Array.

Does that man know they can't?

In the center of the Array, a change began to occur in the ongoing routine—the Jinn—no, the Devils—stopped entering the victim's body, draining it, then accelerating its healing.

At this moment, the five Devils stopped moving and merely stared at the victim from all directions, scanning him with their eyes from top to bottom, while the victim's body visibly healed and regenerated more precisely than before… yet the victim, that human, didn't seem to have rested even a little. Instead, the expressions of terror on his face were increasing.

[They're not harming him.] Mortix sighed, [Those wearing white are the ones harming him.]

"….?" Caesar took another quick glance toward the hooded figures standing at the edges of the Array.

You'll have to explain this, buddy.

[That's why I brought you.] Mortix replied, [The Jinn generally don't interact with humans—across all their factions, ages, and experiences. Rather, they are summoned by us intelligent creatures to communicate.]

Then he continued, [Some of the Mortals experience their presence, such as curtains moving, or being unable to breathe normally at night in their presence, or seeing them in the desert as fiery flames from afar… These are side effects of their presence, not communication or intent to harm.]

Then he continued, [But if you want one of them to actually appear to you, communicate with you, and for you to benefit from them, then you must perform one of those.] Mortix pointed toward the massive array, [This is the science of cursed arrays, or as it is called among the Mortals, black magic.]

“…..?” Caesar opened his eyes at the latter part, for he had heard of this concept repeatedly while in the mortal world with his father, but he had ignored it as a form of charlatanism and superstition.

[Only through this method can you summon a jinn randomly, and open a path for it to cross and communicate with you more precisely, but of course there are several variables in this matter, for it is not that simple.] Then Mortix continued, [First, many jinn will refuse the summoning; they want to live as they live, invisible, hiding for some reason, wandering aimlessly… As for those who agree to be summoned and appear, they will be a devil, a rebellious and evil jinn, so no one ever uses black magic for good, for that is impossible.]

[…The second variable is the strength of the Array or the black magic cast; the larger the Array used with harsher conditions, the stronger, older, and greater the summoned devil.] And after a brief pause, he added, [And after the summoned and the summoner meet, The real obligations begin.]

This time, Caesar swallowed his saliva.

Communication is actually very simple; after the devil appears, the summoner will ask him for what he wants, and depending on the severity of the task, the devil will tell the one who summoned him his demands. The demands are usually something that makes you accumulate terrifying evil deeds that make you an eternal enemy of karma, like that lake filled with the blood and heads of children over there, eating human flesh, and other atrocities, and when the two agree, a contract will be signed between them that pollutes the Primordial Soul forever.

This is what Darvion used to do!!

Caesar shouted in his mind.

[Aha, the boy Darvion who called himself the Cursed? Yes, he used to come to the deserts of the Inner Half to the Fortress of Death and learn how to perform these rituals, and indeed he performed some of them here. It's not surprising that he continued doing them after he left.] Then he continued, [In fact, if you investigate the affairs of everyone who uses curses and talismans, or works in the slave trade and underground affairs, you will often find that they have roots here.]

…What a wretched place this is.

Caesar gritted his teeth,

What exactly do the Devils gain from those demands?

[No one knows. It is worth noting that those rituals do not increase the devils' power or lifespan; even if they did, they would not use them for anything; they will simply carry out their tasks as requested.] Mortix replied strangely, [The relationship between humans and them is in truth request and execution without much talk, but there are speculations… Some say that those beings want to see ruin befall humanity, and there are those who say they want to benefit from something of the concept of deeds that governs humans, and they also interfere with the concept of the Code of Creation!]

Then he continued, [In any case, they are strange and extremely ancient creatures; their origins cannot be known, nor can their words be trusted. The best thing for humans is to ignore their existence… but many foolish humans, for the sake of momentary interests, carry out the devils' orders, creating a series of atrocities across all the universes.]

…The universes?!

Caesar pressed on his head forcefully.

[Alright, we won't go into too much detail.] Mortix returned to his topic, [After carrying out the devil's requests to the letter, the devil provides the summoner with the service they requested, which is mostly a request for knowledge… a request for a method to become stronger, a request for a method to make you a better curse painter, a request for a method to obtain offspring when you cannot conceive, a request for a method to control your world or to become a high-ranking politician and wealthy.]

Then he continued, [And sometimes the requests are a form of direct intervention. Of course, those ancient creatures won't come out to fight on your behalf, but the requests are like asking the devil to make the king's daughter fall in love with you, or to use his methods to cause someone to fall severely ill, or to ask him to sabotage your enemies' plan or to inform you of the plan so you can avoid it yourself.]

Then Mortix continued, [For beings that have lived since the dawn of history, those requests are extremely simple, whether knowledge or personal assistance, as long as you pay what you owe.]

….

Caesar looked down and muttered,

Dealing with them is obtaining a shortcut, then.

[Well described.] Mortix nodded.

Then Caesar turned and went back to take a look at what was happening in the Array,

…I understand. Were the white apostates the ones who summoned those Devils? What exactly was their request for this to happ—

Caesar opened his eyes wide when he saw what was happening at that moment.