CHAPTER 216: GIFTS FROM LUCIFER~

Back to the Ship

[Congratulations, Host, for receiving knowledge about Demon Summoning Rituals SS+ Rank. (Special System Permission Granted.)]

[Congratulations, Host, you have received the SSS-Ranked (Emperor Ranked) Artifact~ Book of Eventual Evil.]

The familiar, crystalline voice of the System echoed inside Razeal’s mind, breaking the heavy silence that surrounded him.

His eyes fluttered open slowly. A faint, mechanical hum faded as the translucent screens dissolved before his vision. He was finally back out of the System space. Back to the ship.

A quiet exhale escaped his lips as he let his eyes adjust to the bright lighting of his surroundings. The faint vibration of the ship little irritating to him compared to how warm hell environment was for him. But what can he do. anyways the notifications still hovered faintly in front of his eyes, glowing faint blue reminders of what he had just achieved.

He blinked once, then twice. "...Well," he muttered to himself, a small, crooked smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "At least it wasn’t all for nothing."

This.. this was what he’d gained from his little adventure through hell.

He hadn’t gone there expecting much. In fact, it hadn’t even been his plan to gain something. He’d only wanted to see what the strongest villain in his System space the highest, most terrifying being in all the infinite layers of existence.. would even look like. Curiosity, that was all. Nothing more.

But now that he had come back with rewards like these... he couldn’t complain. "Profit is profit," he whispered with a grin. "Doesn’t matter how weird it looks."

He straightened up, rolling his shoulders to shake off the faint heaviness that clung to him after leaving the space. The memories of what had happened there still lingered vividly in his head.. Lucifer’s calm, pride-laden voice, the overwhelming presence that made even hell itself kneel, the weird subtle smirk when he had granted Razeal permission.

Permission from the King of Hell himself.

The thought still made Razeal feel strange suspicion. But then again he didn’t thought much about it.

As for what he got?

Well

The first reward.. ’knowledge of the Demon Summoning Rituals’.A privilege not just granted, but personally permitted by Lucifer himself. The very idea still felt unreal and weird. Lucifer had given him permission and the knowledge to perform the summoning rituals.

It wasn’t simple, of course. Since

Hell existed within the System’s inner dimensions, so without the System’s direct permission, no entity could reach come out. But apparently, Villey had agreed to allow this... unusual transaction saying it comes under the criteria of contract.

And what did that mean for Razeal?

It meant he could now summon demons.

Well... in theory.

In practice, it wasn’t nearly that simple. The process involved precise circles, incantations, offerings all sorts of intricate, dangerous components. The knowledge now resided in his mind, vivid and complete, like a burning seal carved into memory. There were countless ways to summon demons, each one governed by its own strict set of rules and consequences.

The most effective.. method being the summoning circles.

And honestly, Razeal didn’t think that was such a good idea. The price for calling upon demons wasn’t measured in gold or trinkets. It demanded sacrifice sometimes of things far more valuable than life itself. The higher the rank of the demon you sought, the greater the cost you had to pay. Not to say most are just random summoning.

It was complicated.

The knowledge he’d received only covered how to perform the rituals not what kind of entity might appear, nor how the outcome might unfold. Still, it was powerful. In moments of desperation, it could become a weapon or a lifeline.

As for how the System allowed such a forbidden thing?

Apparently, the summoning rituals were bound under the immutable laws of Hell (System space). Any demon that responded to the call would do so under a contract binding that could not be broken. The price for their service would already be paid during the ritual, and the demon would be obligated to complete their task. If they failed or refused without cause, Hell itself would punish them and Razeal, the summoner, would be compensated by the hell.

Of course, demons had the right to reject a contract if the exchange was too unbalanced if the summoner demanded too much while offering too little. The System hadn’t explained the finer details, claiming it depended on too many variables. Razeal hadn’t pressed for more.

He’d figure it out when the time came. For now, there was no need to dig deeper into a power he wasn’t yet ready to touch.

Still, there was something else that had left him stunned the second gift he had received from Lucifer himself.

The Book of Eventual Evil.

A genuine SSS-ranked artifact (Emperor Grade).

Even thinking about it made him little happy though. Razeal doesn’t really get what’s up with Lucifer. At first, the guy was weirdly nice to him even gave him that summoning thing. Razeal figured maybe Lucifer just wanted to stir up some chaos in this world through him. As for the demons he let Razeal use? He didn’t think much of it. Lucifer didn’t seem to care about them anyway. Maybe it was just a game to him, or maybe he just wanted to see if Razeal could lead them toward a outside World.. Just as experiment maybe? He doesn’t really know.

Razeal, of course, had been suspicious before. It wasn’t like he could just trust something that came directly from Lucifer. A fucking King of demons wasn’t exactly famous for handing out harmless gifts... As he had thought so

There was always a catch. There always had to be a catch.

Razeal wasn’t paranoid, but he was careful. If there was even a small chance something could backfire, he wanted to know about it. And maybe just rather not do it.

As he couldn’t afford problems being created by his own hand.. especially not ones involving demons crossing over into his world, or worse, Lucifer himself somehow finding a way out of the System’s sealed dimension. The very thought of that happening sent headache to his big brain head.

A being like that loose in his world? Without permission? Without any form of contract? That would be catastrophic... To him personally.

"Yeah, no," Razeal had muttered to himself earlier when the thought crossed his mind. "That would be dangerous."

But his worries didn’t last long.

After the ritual knowledge had been transferred to him, he had immediately asked the System to scan it. Every detail, every fragment, every drop of information that came from Lucifer Razeal had demanded the System to check if it was safe.

The response had come shortly after, calm and assured.

[Analysis Complete: No foreign control or corruption detected. The ritual knowledge is safe. No entity or dimensional breach can occur without host permission. Full guarantee confirmed.]

That had been enough to ease his doubts.

When the System guaranteed something, Razeal believed it.

Even if he refused to call system "almighty" or "all-powerful," Razeal knew what it was capable of. The fact that it could contain and control countless beings some powerful beyond imagination, long dead for don’t know what absurd power.. that was proof enough.

The System’s existence alone was beyond comprehension.

If it claimed something was safe, then it was safe.

So Razeal hadn’t thought much about it as if system giving him the all-clear, then that’s it.

He’d just trust it.

And so, he did.

He accepted Lucifer’s gift.. the knowledge, the permission without overthinking it.

"Maybe he’s just a kind soul," Razeal murmured sarcastically to himself, though he immediately followed that thought with a soft snort. Yeah, right. Lucifer and "kind" didn’t belong in the same sentence.

Still, he couldn’t be bothered to dig into the reason behind it. Maybe Lucifer was being generous out of amusement, or maybe it had something to do with Razeal’s own nature. Whatever it was, it didn’t matter.

The System had given its guarantee, and that was all the assurance he needed.

Razeal wasn’t someone who wasted energy worrying about intentions he couldn’t control.

He was still thinking about all this when something suddenly stirred in his right hand.

A faint movement. Subtle. Barely noticeable at first.

Which for a long moment, he’d been ignoring as his mind was still caught in manu thoughts but then the feeling became clearer now, and even more deliberate.

Thump... thump... thump...

It was steady. Rhythmic. Alive.

Razeal blinked, his gaze lowering to his hand. He’d nearly forgotten about it entirely.

As his eyes adjusted, he saw it clearly the thing resting in his palm.

A heart.

A dark red, thumping heart.

Its surface glistened faintly, still slick with blood. Every pulse sent a tiny vibration through his fingers, the sensation oddly real, almost human.

"Oh..." Razeal muttered softly, blinking once, twice. "It’s the heart of that demoness."

He tilted his head slightly, as if trying to confirm it for himself.

"Did it come back with my consciousness too?" he whispered.

He remembered now. The image flashed in his mind his hand tearing through Delina’s chest. But had he not done it before leaving the System space? but somehow... it had come with him. Seems like system work he guessed.

Razeal stared at it for a few seconds, his expression unreadable. Then, slowly, he looked up and around.

No one saw him like this right?

The absurdity of it crossed his mind.. what it must look like if someone caught him right now, sitting casually at a table, holding a beating heart.

Yeah, that would raise some questions.

Luckily, no one seemed to have noticed it.

In front of him sat Maria, arms crossed, her posture relaxed but her eyes sharp. She glanced his way briefly probably annoyed he had been motionless for so long but when she saw him awake, she only rolled her eyes and looked away again, muttering something under her breath.

She couldn’t see what he was holding beneath the table.

Good for him.

Razeal thought to him.

Then, turning his head slightly, he glanced over his shoulder toward the far side of the deck and blinked in mild surprise.

Yograj was training his daughter again, the air around them alive with sharp movement and discipline.

But what truly caught Razeal’s attention was Levy.

That dude was training on his own.. actually training.

He was holding his sword, mimicking the posture Razeal had taught him earlier, repeating the same motions with surprising focus.

Razeal raised a brow. "Well, that’s unexpected," he thought.

For a second, a faint smile flickered across his face. "Guess he’s not as hopeless as I thought."

Everything seemed fine.

No one had noticed the heart in his hand.

Even if they did, Razeal probably wouldn’t care much but still, he preferred to avoid unnecessary drama. He could already imagine the awkward explanations that might follow, and honestly, he don’t think he would’ve explained anything either

He didn’t owe anyone an explanation. But at the same time, why create more problems when things were finally quiet?

"Not worth it," he murmured under his breath, shaking his head slightly.

---

His gaze drifted back to the heart in his hand.

It continued to beat faintly thump... thump... each pulse echoing softly through his palm.

"What am I even supposed to do with this?" he thought, frowning slightly.

He hadn’t planned to bring it back. It hadn’t even been intentional. And yet, there it was still alive, somehow, as if defying logic.

The surface of the heart shimmered under the dim light, the veins glowing faintly, filled with a strange demonic essence.

It looked alive. Almost sentient.

He stared at it for a moment longer, then exhaled.

"Well, whatever," he said quietly. "Let’s just put you somewhere safe for now."

Without thinking much more about it, he reached out with his free hand and activated his shadow storage. The shadow beneath the table rippled as a dark void formed silently.

Before placing the heart inside, though, Razeal noticed something else ..the blood still clinging to his hand and arm.

Thick. Dark. Demonic blood.

He sighed softly. "Can’t just leave that either."

He raised his hand slightly, activating his Blood Manipulation skill. A faint crimson aura shimmered around his fingers as the blood lifted from his skin in thin, swirling streams.

Like liquid threads, it coiled together, returning into the heart.. sealed neatly within.

With that done, Razeal dropped the organ into the shadow space. It vanished instantly, swallowed by the darkness.

The beating still continuing inside shadow space.

He leaned back in his chair again, his hand now clean, his face calm as if nothing had happened at all.

For a moment, he simply sat there in silence, staring at his open palm.

Why didn’t he throw it away?

He didn’t know.

Maybe it just seemed wasteful. Maybe some instinct deep inside told him it might come in handy someday.

Whatever the reason, it was done.

Razeal flexed his fingers once more, the faint red light fading from his skin, and muttered softly to himself .

"Maybe it’ll be useful later." He wondered.

And then finally...

Razeal asked. "System, give me that... book of eventual evil I got."

----