Failures Can! (part 3: Small sacrifices are inevitable!)

After finishing his lecture, Baal turned to Goro.

"Alright, pale boy! Show us what you've got! You didn't forget our bet! If you can't impress me, you will be with us every day."

"What?! Wait, what?!" Goro exclaimed in surprise.

"You heard me! Now show us what you've got!" Baal ordered sternly.

"Ugh..." Goro groaned. He knew Baal's ego was way too big to back down now.

With nothing else to do, Goro stood up and took a deep breath. The rest of the class was looking at him.

"Guess I have to play with your rules! What should I summon?"

"That's not even remotely related to the topic. We're talking about summoning magic here. No matter what you choose, you still have to use the correct method to summon. So tell me, what is the difference between a demonic spirit and a demon? Which one would be easier to master?"

Goro thought for a moment. He had never really studied summoning before, so there wasn't much he could contribute. His mind went blank as he stared at the ceiling, trying to come up with an answer. At this rate, he would lose the bet... But then he realized something.

"Wait. Isn't it the same thing?"

"Huh?"

Goro raised his hand and looked toward Baal.

"A demonic spirit is a kind of demon, right? So if I'm going to summon a spirit, wouldn't it be better to use demonic magic?"

"Wait! You... can use demonic magic already?"

Goro smirked while nodding in response to Baal's question.

Baal pondered for a bit. If Goro was right, that meant he had the advantage. However, knowing Baal, he would likely try to cheat somehow.

"Hmm, I see. That could work. Okay, finish what you started. But if you fail…"

Goro took a deep breath and placed his hand on the ground. The surrounding air glowed, and soon there was a black barrier surrounding him.

"Demonic magic."

"So you don't hate studying after all!" Baal muttered.

Upon hearing that, Goro lost focus and made a mistake.

"Oh no, I messed up..."

The surrounding barrier vanished, and the demon Goro had summoned appeared out of thin air. It was a small, black cat-like demon. Its eyes were covered with a blindfold, and it was wearing a crude metal collar around its neck.

"What's wrong? Did you mess up again?" Baal asked mockingly.

"Y-Yes, sir! I'm sorry!" Goro replied quickly, his voice trembling.

"Well, that's fine. Until you impress me, you're going to stick with the others."

"No! I won't give up! Let me do it once more! Please!" Goro pleaded desperately.

"Are you sure? Using demonic magic is already impressive on its own!" Baal asked.

"For the sake of the peaceful days, minor sacrifices are justified!"

"That's some dedication you've got there. If you only had a good cause to fight for! Alright brainiac boy, show us what you've got."

Baal was sure enough of his victory thus he gave Goro another chance. The second chance was a precious gift, but Goro knew he couldn't afford to fail again.

"Demonic magic!"

At his command, the surrounding air glowed brightly, and a new creature manifested inside of it.

Smoke covered the whole classroom as Baal grinned.

"Well, it seems I am the winner of our bet!"

"What did I summon this time?" Goro asked.

"Hmm..." Baal said, scratching his head. "It's hard to tell from here. I can't sense a spiritual or demonic presence."

Alice and the other student were looking at the scene silently. Everyone was waiting for the smoke to clear away to reveal the summoned creature.

Slowly, the answer revealed itself.

"Is that… a human?" Goro asked, confused.

The sudden appearance dumbfounded everyone in the room.

"Ara! This is not looking good!" Alice commented.

"This is bad news..." Akira added.

"How can this be? There's no way someone could summon humans!" Kamitani said, his eyes wide open.

"Hm? Is it impossible?" Kozue asked.

"Of course, it's impossible. Humans are a different race than demons and angels, so there's no way you could summon one using summoning magic," Baal answered. "More importantly, we have a problem that needs to be fixed now!"

He walked toward the girl sitting in the middle of the magical circle. She was a young woman with pale skin and red hair. Her face wavering slightly, she looked up at Baal with cold, lifeless eyes.

"Who are you?" Baal asked.

"My name... is... Cindra. Where am I? Are we still in the academy?"

"Yeah, we're in the academy. This is class 2-F. Why do you ask?"

"I was going to the library... And then... I... remember nothing. What happened to me? My head hurts."

"I see. If you say so, I'll take you to the infirmary. We also need to discuss something." Baal grabbed her arm and led her outside.

As he was leaving the class, he looked at Alice and asked her to take care of the rest.

"You've done well, Goro. But next time, please don't summon humans. Anyway, I guess this ends our bet in my favour."

"But—!" Goro tried to object, but Baal cut him off before he could get a word out.

"Next time? No, I don't plan on repeating myself. Now that I know you have the potential to succeed, we'll keep going until you become a full-fledged summoner."

"What?!" Goro blurted out in shock. "How long will that take?! Does that mean I have to endure this torture for months?!"

Baal chuckled. His laughter was like an evil cackle, and it sent shivers down Goro's spine.

"You're right about that. Do you think you'll be able to bear it for that long? You said that you don't mind minor sacrifices..."

"But—"

"Enough talking. I shall take my leave now. Remember, there's always a price to pay if you want to go beyond your limits."

Baal waved his hand, and the magical circle vanished. Goro was left there standing, his mouth agape.

"You're all dismissed for today. Kamitani, can you come with me?" Alice asked him.

"Huh? Um, yes. Y-Yes, ma'am!"

"Originally, Baal would've done this by himself. But seeing the situation, I am compelled to bring you to the training facility..."

Thus everyone left the classroom.

                                                                 ****

The next day, the student gathered once again. Goro came late exactly as Baal expected.

"2 minutes late isn't a big problem, but if you keep this up, I'll make sure you regret it."

Goro gulped. He didn't exactly know what Baal meant by that, but he was a bit terrified.

"Alright, let's begin."

"About yesterday's case," Akira said. "What happened after that?"

"Let's say I fixed the problem!" Baal replied cheerfully.

"You fixed the problem? The situation sounds suspicious. She's still alive, right?" Akira asked.

"Why wouldn't she be? Do I look like a murderer or something?"

"Just asking. Well, you're the demon lord in the end!"

"Hey, stop picking on me!"

"And where's this girl now?"

"Anyway, Cindra had a headache and could not walk properly. So I brought her to the infirmary. After she recovered, we had a small chat..."

"So we will not see her once again?"

Kozue and Goro stared at each other, wondering how the conversation went.

"About that..." Baal grinned. "This may seem familiar, but we have a transfer student..."

"Oh, I know this scene already. It's about to turn into a lovey-dovey story between the transfer student and the protagonist!" Kozue exclaimed. "I have read this multiple times in books! I'm not fond of such stories!"

"Don't worry. It won't end like that. At least, it shouldn't."

"Really?"

"Well, it depends... Anyway! Let me introduce the transfer student from class 2-B to our class. Please come forth and introduce yourself."

A girl stepped forward. The first thing that popped into Goro's head upon seeing her was that she seemed vaguely familiar.

"Hello, I am Cindra! Let us be friends!" Cindra cheerfully announced as she approached.

Her eyes were big and round, and her smile was beautiful. She looked nothing like the Cindra from yesterday.

"So, that's her," Goro whispered to himself.

Cindra bowed deeply before her classmates. "I look forward to working with you to kill our teacher!"