Chapter 55
In response to my summons, Inferno blocked one of the two red Quokkas that had just broken away from the group.
The other one was quickly surrounded and blocked off by Hebron’s knights.
The soldiers of Hebron engaged the Quokkas. Ordinary Quokkas who were not under the command of the red ones were no match for Hebron’s regular army.
The red Quokka trampled by the cavalry charge survived.
But it was in shreds, staggering and dazed. Syang led me to the creature.
Clang!
I drove my sword into the red Quokka’s belly.
Now, only two red Quokkas remained.
“Inferno, that’s enough. Fall back.”
—Hmph!
Inferno was perfect for facing multiple enemies, but lacked precision in single combat. Iredem would’ve been a better match for a red Quokka.
However, I couldn’t summon Iredem or any other spirits right now. Too many eyes were watching, and my aura was nearly depleted.
“I’ll handle this, my lord! Hyah, hyah!”
Ambrod kicked the side of his warhorse and charged forward. The warhorse he had brought from the Zylson territory was sturdier than any of Hebron’s horses.
As Ambrod galloped in, the red Quokka who had been aiming for me suddenly veered off course.
Claang!
Ambrod’s sword clashed with the red Quokka’s claws.
This time, the creature was ready, its claws weren’t severed by the aura-infused sword.
Instead, Ambrod’s upper body was shaken.
‘As expected. His lower body still lacks strength.’
It was inevitable with only one leg. Though he had practically fused himself to the saddle, the power in his waist was lacking.
“Ambrod, is one Quokka really enough to fluster you? That’s not the swordsmanship I taught you.”
Ambrod grit his teeth and held his ground.
Meanwhile, four other knights were taking on a red Quokka together.
‘Ambrod is skilled, no doubt. But his limits are becoming clear.’
With me momentarily stepping away from command, the soldiers’ morale had dulled noticeably. In a fight where they should’ve dominated, they were barely holding even. Injuries were piling up all over the battlefield.
Solon led a charge with the cavalry to support, but he lacked the experience to command 600 soldiers effectively.
“What are you doing? Slave soldiers, pierce deep into the enemy’s formation! First, Second, and Third Divisions, strike from the left! Fourth and Fifth, engage head-on! Sixth Division, cut off their retreat!”
At my roar, Hebron’s soldiers moved with perfect coordination.
As our formation shifted, the tide of battle swung decisively in our favor. The enemy too was struggling without a proper leader.
Crack!
“Guh!”
Ambrod stifled a groan.
The red Quokka had bitten into his left shoulder.
Crack!
Ambrod sacrificed his shoulder and slashed the Quokka’s neck. Bleeding heavily, he picked up the fallen creature’s head from the ground.
He handed the red Quokka’s head to me and said.
“My apologies for such a disgraceful performance.”
“It wasn’t all that bad.”
While Ambrod held his own, the four knights managed to slay the other red Quokka. Only about three hundred Quokkas remained.
Sensing their impending defeat, the creatures began to retreat.
“Bloodie, scatter the blood. El, spread the fog.”
A crimson fog was released. As the wind spirit pushed the fog forward, the Quokkas caught its scent. Their eyes rolled back like addicts high on drugs, and they rushed toward me.
“Hold them back! Protect the Lord! Soldiers of Hebron, to the heavens!”
Ambrod gave the rallying cry, and the soldiers responded with a resounding shout.
“To the heavens, with a smile!”
That day, all 1,200 Quokkas were killed.
Roughly 300 of the corpses had rotted and disintegrated. These were the ones that had been reanimated as zombies, and they decayed rapidly after death.
The remaining corpses were collected, their hides and claws stripped.
Among Quokkas, claws were more valuable than hides. Claws were used as throwing weapons, and hides as material for footwear.
I sat upon the battlefield, where the Quokka corpses lay in heaps, and began cultivating my aura. I absorbed the magical energy from all 1,200 of them, and as a result, my aura swelled to twice its previous size. It was enough to reach a long-awaited breakthrough.
“You’ve done well. I’ll go meet Gaius. The rest of you, clean this place up and return to Hebron afterward.”
“Yes, my lord!”
* * *
Instead of heading to the reception room where Gaius was waiting, I made my way to my private training ground. There, I drew a magic circle and summoned Inferno, stepping into the circle with him.
Flaaash!
We moved to the spirit realm where we first met.
There, we achieved a deeper synchronization than before.
"Am I still not strong enough?"
—…You are overflowing.
Inferno sounded incredulous. My aura had increased to a level incomparable to when he last fought.
"Then you need to become a spirit worthy of that. Don’t you think?"
Inferno’s flames flared intensely.
He didn’t bother hiding his desire.
No, perhaps spirits were the very embodiment of pure desire.
—Spirits do not grow.
That was the commonly accepted belief. But there was a flaw in that logic.
“It’s not that spirits don’t grow. It’s that the spirit summoners don’t.”
Spirit summoners could only wield as much spirit energy as their innate talent allowed. From birth, the rank of spirits they could contract with was set. However, by cultivating their spirit energy through aura cultivation methods, they could command high-tier spirits.
But even if one’s spirit energy increased infinitely through aura cultivation, without the talent to match, high-tier spirits could not be summoned.
If spirit summoners could grow, then the premise that ‘spirits do not grow’ also had to be reconsidered. Of course, this method of growth was known only to House Breio.
Even that was an incomplete technique, but in my past life, I perfected it. At least, in theory.
"Inferno, I will make a new contract with you. This will be a contract written with my blood."
The magic circle I drew within the spirit realm wielded an even greater power. But in this place, I could not use physical objects to draw it, only blood could form the magic circle.
‘Inefficient, but considering the bond I share with Inferno, this is the best way.’
I could’ve simply made a contract with a new high-tier fire spirit. Inferno would’ve naturally yielded to the high-tier spirit.
Yet I deliberately chose the harder path.
Because I had heard of Inferno’s journey to challenge the Fire Spirit King.
[Tl/N: The Og spirit Mc named this fire spirit after. So not our Inferno.]
I drew a circle with blood and wrote a sacred script within it.
But more than language, it was my will, and the magical energy within my blood, that mattered.
As the magic circle was completed, a sharp pain surged through me. Even before the circle activated, I felt the familiar pain I experienced when I first contracted with Inferno.
"…You’ll have to endure this too. Whether human or spirit, pain is how we mature."
If my theory was correct, I wouldn’t be the only one suffering this time. Inferno would feel pain equal to or even more than me.
—That’s not true. Pain doesn’t always lead to growth.
"It’s a saying passed down in House Breio. So grit your teeth!"
—I don’t have any teeth… Aaaaagh!
The magic circle activated. Inferno burst into a towering pillar of flame, and I experienced a soul-wrenching fracture from the depths of my being. It felt like every cell in my body was being crushed and torn apart.
It felt like two whole seasons passed. Frozen in time, I counted each pain receptor in my body over and over again. The only mercy was that this endless pain would eventually end.
‘…So this is what House Breio’s spirit-gifted children had to endure? And they put a thirteen-year-old girl like Ruby through this? Heartless fucking bastards.’
The magic circle was designed to grow both the spirit and the summoner using my overflowing aura. I had refined the traditional House Breio magic circle, increasing its efficiency, but with that came greater pain.
—Those were some harsh days.
Inferno spoke to me again, and I inhaled the cool air deeply through my nose and mouth. My lungs felt refreshed.
"You’ll have to go through this again someday. Be prepared."
—T-That means…
I responded with a nod. Inferno spread his wings wide.
As he evolved into a high-tier spirit, Inferno’s form had changed. He had become a firebird, also known as a phoenix. Though his appearance was completely transformed, oddly enough, his face still retained a trace of his old self. Like a grumpy old man… in bird form.
As a high-tier spirit, form didn’t matter. They could change their appearance at will. But I quite liked how he looked now.
‘The fire attribute in my aura has become much more pronounced.’
Though the quantity of aura hadn’t changed, I now stored much higher-quality aura in my body, fitting for someone who could command a high-tier spirit. Based on my estimates, I could support Inferno at full power for about five minutes. That was more than enough time to burn down a baron’s estate.
Thinking I had finally become a high-ranking spirit summoner, I recalled someone—Ruby de Breio, my former little sister and the youngest of House Breio, who contracted a high-tier water spirit at the age of thirteen.
‘She used to tear up at the smallest things… I wonder how she’s doing.’
* * *
Tap tap.
Bimae tapped on the window with its beak. When I opened the window halfway, it flew in and perched on my arm. I retrieved a note from the ribbon tied to its leg.
—Daughter of Viscount Slein, found dead. The viscount remains silent.
"So that’s how he cut the tail."
Viscount Slein had offered his daughter to Pakus, the chief mage of House Breio, hoping to form a bloodline bond with the great archmage. But that plan had collapsed.
Despite his daughter’s death, there was no notable reaction from House Slein. No official funeral was held, nor was her death announced to neighboring territories. They simply disposed of the body quietly.
"Slein must’ve received appropriate compensation. Truly, what a nobleman he is."
Viscount Slein had lost respect due to his ties with the Delgain Barony. Had it not been for the chaos caused by the appearance of marked monsters, the King of Xenon likely would’ve stripped Slein of his title.
The conflict between Viscount Slein and Viscount Zylson ended peacefully. With the Xenon royal family watching closely, Slein didn’t have the guts to provoke civil war over a flimsy excuse.
I went to see Prime Minister Amy to share this information.
The moment she saw me, she gave her report.
"The maternity support center plans are ready. We’ve found buildings in Nurha, Biskin, and Delgain, but Hebron didn’t have a suitable one, so we’ll build a new facility. It should be finished in about three months."
"Well done."
"We’re discussing the childcare support center with the local women. It’ll be run in the same building as the maternity center. There will be two managers, but only one supervisor to oversee both, and we’ll assign staff flexibly as needed."
"Excellent."
"I’ve also spread a rumor that the Dina Aura Cultivation Method not only improves children’s health but might even help them become knights someday."
That wasn’t a lie. Even I didn’t fully understand the long-term effects of the Dina Method. Technically, it gathered magical energy, not aura. It converted only a small amount of magical energy into aura, absorbing it in trace amounts. But that meant it didn’t interfere with the intake of other elemental energies later.
Rather, by using the Dina Method, one could more easily detect early aptitude for magic (mana) or spirit arts (spirit energy).
A single full-fledged knight could support an entire household.
