Chapter 41: Demon Medallions (1)

While Donald was assessing his new strength, his summoned creatures had already cleared the battlefield swiftly. All useful items from the two mages were collected, and Donald specifically ordered his subordinates to wrap the corpse of the Fire-Burning Demon in a cloak before storing it in the space seal.
“The skeletal remains of a Silver Demon, even though its power has faded, are still valuable alchemical materials. I’m sure many mages in the guild will be interested in them.”
Examining the few unexpected treasures carefully, Donald found the terrain depicted on the parchment map to be utterly unfamiliar. He didn’t recognize the ancient runes, so he couldn’t decipher its meaning at first.
“However, since it was carried by a sorcerer, it must be a very important item—its value is at least comparable to those demon medallions. It might even be a treasure map. If I can find someone to translate it, we can set out on a treasure hunt!”
Donald was somewhat eager about this ancient map. After carefully storing it, he picked up a bronze demon medallion—this was the summoning medium for one of the two Dog Demons.
At that moment, the summoning time limit for the two subdued Dog Demons was approaching, and their forms were becoming increasingly blurred. Having already acquired the power of the Silver Demon and still having most of it unabsorbed, Donald wasn’t too concerned about killing these two Dog Demons to absorb their power. Besides, if he killed them now, the two bronze medallions he had would be destroyed, just like the Silver Demon medallion before.
Unlike the demon statues created by mages, although demon medallions could be reused, they were essentially single-use items. As long as the summoned demon wasn’t killed in the main world, the medallion wouldn’t be damaged, and all injuries would heal rapidly while the demon was back in the abyss. But once the demon died, the medallion would self-destruct, requiring a new one to be created and a new summoning ritual to form a contract with a new demon.
Donald was very interested in such summoning equipment, so he didn’t want to destroy them for now. But he also had no intention of sparing the two Dog Demons, as they had witnessed his summoning abilities and his secret of absorbing demon power.
By channeling his mental energy through the medallion, Donald quickly understood how to use it. However, the previous contract had been formed through the sorcerer’s mental fluctuations. Even with the medallion in hand, he couldn’t control the demons—at most, he could prevent them from attacking him on their own.

“Some necromancers specialize in demonic powers, so they excel at summoning and controlling demons, though the dark arts they can master themselves are rather weak. The necromancer I’m facing must belong to that category; otherwise, if it were those who continuously cast strange and tricky dark arts, even with the power to suppress demons, I wouldn’t be able to defeat them so easily.”
Summoning demons usually requires preparing rituals or sacrifices in advance, but some spellcasters have simplified this process by using the principles of summoning magic to create special artifacts that connect to a particular demon. This way, the target can be summoned directly using the artifact when needed. There are many types of such artifacts, varying widely in design, but their principles are generally similar. Among them, the demon statues created by mages and the demon amulets made by necromancers are the most effective.
The former can restrain most demons’ powers, forcing them to obey the summoner. Its advantage lies in its ability to control higher-level, powerful demons, with strict contractual rules that allow repeated use. However, the materials required are expensive, and only mages of the silver rank or above can create them.
The latter requires slightly less cost but must be crafted by someone with evil bloodline, such as a necromancer, to be effective. The contracts in these amulets are not strict, imposing few restrictions on the summoned demons. Apart from not being able to harm the summoner, the main world becomes their hunting ground. Once summoned, these frenzied demons often act recklessly based on their desires, leading to serious consequences.
Once created, such summoning items can be activated and used by any spellcaster or person with mental aptitude, even an apprentice.
However, those using demon statue-like artifacts should be cautious, as weaker summoners may fall victim to the demons’ tricks, leading to their own destruction and the release of the restrained demons.
The Book of Truth also contains such summoning artifacts. Among the lesser ones are the Book of Death and the Wild Amulet, which can summon four skeleton warriors of black iron rank, four skeleton archers, and one bear beast of bronze rank to fight. Among the more powerful ones are the Hellfire Stone and demon statues, which can summon formidable monsters like Hellfire and Destroyer Guardians of silver rank.
Compared to the numerous summoning options in the Book of Truth, the advantage of these artifacts is that once Donald exchanges for them, anyone can use them.

However, any summoned creatures provided by the Book of Truth are manifestations of the book itself, with unique rules. Different from true abyssal demons, since they are energy-based creatures, Donald cannot absorb the demons he summons using the Book of Truth, unless they are creatures created through permanent summoning. But doing so requires a great deal of soul power, which is not worth it for Donald. Soul power is different from elemental energy; it is a precious, non-renewable resource that cannot be replaced. After understanding the basic structure and purpose of the Demon Seal, Donald, looking at the two hound demons about to disappear, had a bold idea. “If I use this seal to summon demons and then hunt them down to gain power, wouldn’t that be a good way to boost my strength and acquire soul power in a short time?” Acting on his thought, Donald summoned a projection of the artifact and handed a seal to the Book of Truth for analysis. Although protected by the contract, the summoner cannot attack the summoned demons on their own, as violating the contract would result in punishment from the will of the abyss. Yet Donald could still find various ways to kill the summoned demons, such as setting traps in advance for them to fall into or involving others in the fight while he did not attack directly. But such methods did not allow him to directly hunt them down, making it difficult to absorb their power. It was the Book of Truth that fully demonstrated its role as a high-tier artifact, quickly devising a solution for its host. Using the rules it possessed, it could bypass the surveillance of the abyssal plane’s will, which lacks independent consciousness, and manipulate the contract directly, so that even killing the summoned demons would not result in any punishment.