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In a dark room, the young adult was finishing lighting the last red candles placed at the intersections of the pentagram lines and the circle, mumbling Latin words under his breath that he had learned by heart and, sprinkling the circle with a special powder, he shouted the last words, dropping a drop of blood in the very center of it and immediately moved away to a safe distance. For a moment nothing happened and Mk began to worry that he had messed something up when the lines he had drawn began to burn with red fire, from which emerged a very tall figure with crimson hair, bull horns, legs and a tail, although with a human face. The only thing that didn't match the human face were the bright orange irises and horizontal pupils.
“Who dares to call me?!” screamed a figure standing in the crimson flames still within the protective circle.
The young boy swallowed nervously at this, but after a moment he pulled himself together and shook his head decisively. Once he said 'a', he must say 'b'.
“Looks like it was me.” replied the terrified boy, trying to remember all the rules for making deals with demons.
No mentioning your name to create a contract, choose your words carefully so that the demon doesn't twist them, think through all possible legal loopholes and arrange payment for services before releasing the demon from the circle. The most important thing was that Mk did not lose his cool and was able to properly put into words his demand, which he was increasingly regretting and ashamed of.
"What do you want?" the demon asked, still surrounded by flames, and Mk bit his lip nervously.
He had practiced what he was going to say many times in the mirror, but he still felt unsure whether the figure in front of him would find some catch in his words. For a moment he wanted to back out, but remembering why he had decided to take such steps, he motivated himself to answer.
“I want you to pretend to be my boyfriend at my uncle's wedding, perfect in every way and completely human.” the human finally replied, and the flames around the demon disappeared.
"What?" the figure asked incredulously, looking at the summoner in shock. “You summoned me from one of the deeper circles of hell to score a date?”
"It's not like that! I mean, maybe it looks a bit like that, but I have my reasons.” replied the boy, who was blushing up to his ears. “In my defense, I didn't find many calling circles.”
“And rightly so! They are hidden because of people like you! Really, hundreds of years of evolution, development of technology, and you summon a demon to get a fake date?” the person in the center of the circle asked appraisingly.
“Hey! Don't judge me without knowing all the facts!” Mk was outraged.
“And what can save your image right now?” the demon asked, rubbing his temples just below his horns, feeling a headache coming on.
“Eeeee…” the boy stammered. “I'm terrified of human contacts?”
“Are you telling me that I was summoned for the first time in almost five hundred years because you are afraid of dating?” the demon asked resignedly.
"Yes?" replied Mk uncertainly.
"I cann’t believe. I can't believe such an idiot managed to summon me." the demon moaned.
"I'm not an idiot!" the owner of the apartment was outraged. “What do you think I should do?”
“Ask a friend?” the demon suggested.
“I only have one friend who is a very open AroAce.” replied the tired Mk.
“Then you could have hired an actor or a prostitute.” the demon growled irritably as his hair began to burst into flames.
“I thought about it, but I can't afford it.” the boy admitted, embarrassed.
“So you're not only stupid but also broke, sounds like a real connection.” said the summoned person.
“Can you back off? I called you and told you the reason, can we move on to the question, do you agree?” the man asked irritably.
“And what are you willing to offer for my services?” the demon asked matter-of-factly.
“I honestly thought you would suggest something.” Mk admitted, and his guest looked at him again like he was an idiot. “Except my soul, of course.”
“Right now, all I want to do is rip your head off and hang it above the fireplace.” the demon shook his head.
“It's cool, I'm not getting into your fetishes, but I'd rather not be involved in any bloody rituals.” replied the host.
"It is not! That's not what I meant!" the demon growled in embarrassment, much to the human's amusement.
"No? Sorry, I must have misunderstood something then.” replied Mk with a smile.
“Annoying mortal.” the demon growled.
“A cute demon.” the boy countered with a smile as he saw the growing embarrassment on the inhuman's face, wondering how close to death he was teetering on right now.
"Enough. For my reliable services, I demand that you return to me the blueprint of the ritual circle with which you summoned me here.” the demon presented his terms, and Mk frowned.
"What do you need him for?" he asked, wondering what misfortune the demon could bring this way.
“It's none of your business, but this will give me control over who calls me and when. Then I will avoid such calls.” the figure snorted, waving his hand to point to Mk's apartment.
“Okay... So if I give this to you, will you comply with my request?” the boy made sure.
“By my blood, power and inheritance.” the demon replied, and a piece of paper materialized in front of him and handed it to the man. “Read and sign.”
Mk, as a person with huge problems with concentration, managed to read the first three sentences before he got distracted. Not wanting to show it, he simply skipped to the end of the contract, where he looked for any fine print with any catches, but found none.
“Should I sign this in blood?” asked Mk, pointing to the place designated for his signature.
“Yes, of course, preferably all the ones you have. No, you idiot! All you need is black ink. Blood is unhygienic. I don't know where you people get such stupid ideas." growled the demon, already regretting this deal.
“From the movies.” replied the man, shrugging his shoulders and signing the contract in the indicated place under the burning gaze of the guy to whom he gave the piece of paper, who signed his own autograph on it.
The moment both signatures were placed on the contract, the paper burned with red light and the circle imprisoning the demon dissolved, allowing him to move freely, and Mk began to wonder what a big mistake he had just made. The demon stretched and, allowing the flame he had created to consume himself, soon stood before Mk in a fully human form.
“Wow.” the boy whispered as he saw the demon's form, although in the back of his mind he wondered why he felt slightly disappointed by the change.
The demon was no longer three meters high, but it was still tall, taller than the human by a head. His fiery red hair turned dark chocolate brown, and his eyes went from bright orange to hazel. His horns and tail are gone, as are his elongated fingernails. The slender and tall figure in red robes looked extremely attractive and the man suddenly stopped thinking about the possible consequences of his own decision, enjoying the opportunity to admire the demon with impunity.
“Didn't your mother teach you that it's rude to stare?” the demon asked, making Mk realize that maybe he wasn't completely unpunished after all.
“I don't have a mother.” the boy replied thoughtlessly.
“Oh…” the demon began.
“I have four fathers.” explained Mk.
"I see." the demon concluded, and then there was silence again.
“So how can I address you so I can introduce you somehow?” asked Mk.
“Red. Red Son will be fine.” the demon announced.
“Mk, your boyfriend for the foreseeable future.” the man introduced himself with a smile, not noticing the slight blush that appeared on the beautiful demon's face.