"Imnse power always cos at a price."
— Naofumi Iwatani, The Rising of the Shield Hero
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Midnight. The students of the academy were sound asleep, and the spirits of the forest were stirring.
Roy, Claire, and Rinslet set off for their duel.
They stopped before a large circle of stones that emitted a pale blueish-white light.
"This is the gate to the Elental Spirit World," Claire explained. "It's the reason the academy was built here."
Rinslet stepped forward and chanted an incantation in the Spirit Language.
The stones glowed brighter.
"Let's go in," Rinslet said with a smile.
"Okay," Roy nodded.
They stepped into the circle of stones.
A flash of white light, and they were transported to the Elental Spirit World.
The Elental Spirit World was a realm inhabited by spirits, completely different from the human world.
There were no human disturbances here.
And even if they were injured, the injuries wouldn't be severe. That's why the students often held their duels here.
However, it wasn't entirely safe.
They would still feel pain when injured, and although their physical bodies wouldn't be hard, their spirits would suffer the sa damage.
If they were lucky, they would just faint.
But in severe cases, it could cause mory loss or even permanent spiritual damage.
"Flas, illuminate the darkness!" Claire chanted, conjuring a small fireball that lit up their surroundings.
"Let's go. The real stage is further inside," she said, leading the way.
Roy and Rinslet followed.
They arrived at a large, dilapidated theater, a relic from the ancient tis when the Elental Spirit World and the human world were still one, known as the Age of Myths.
"Roy, you'll face Ellis Fahrengart. Rinslet and I will each take on one of the others," Claire instructed. "Once we defeat our opponents, we'll join forces against Ellis."
Claire was a skilled tactician, a valuable strategist for their team.
"No problem," Roy agreed with a smile.
It seed Claire had taken his words to heart and wasn't relying on his strength.
"Hmph! I can defeat my opponent in an instant. I just hope a certain stray cat doesn't lose," Rinslet scoffed.
Claire glared at her but didn't retort. Perhaps she was focused on the upcoming duel.
"—It seems you've all arrived."
A commanding voice echoed from the top of the theater.
They looked up and saw a girl clad in shining silver armor, her blue hair fluttering in the wind. She looked like a valiant knight, a sight that made Roy nod in approval.
This was Ellis Fahrengart, the captain of the Sylphid Knights.
Behind her stood two other Knights in similar armor.
One had short black hair and was nad Rakka.
The other had braided hair and was called Reishia.
These were the two who had insulted Claire and Rinslet earlier.
"Ellis Fahrengart, when did you arrive?" Claire asked.
"Don't tell you were waiting there, trying to make a grand entrance," Rinslet sneered.
"W-What? N-No! I just arrived," Ellis denied, flustered.
Her reaction, however, confird Rinslet's suspicions.
Claire and Rinslet glared at her.
"Let's begin! We'll settle this before dawn!" Ellis declared, drawing her sword and fixing them with a sharp gaze.
Suddenly, flas lit up, illuminating the ruined theater.
A large eagle with outstretched wings appeared in the night sky.
"Let introduce you to my contracted spirit, the wind spirit, Simorgh," Ellis said proudly.
Simorgh circled in the air, then let out a deafening roar and swooped down towards them.
A powerful gust of wind swept through the area, tearing up the stone pavent and sending debris flying.
"Roy, be careful!" Claire and Rinslet, despite their increased strength, were wary of the attack.
Roy, however, simply raised a hand lazily, his other hand still in his pocket.
BOOM!
Simorgh crashed into his palm.
And then, the wind spirit vanished.
"What?!" Ellis gasped in disbelief.
Her Simorgh had disappeared after colliding with his hand.
What had happened?
Claire and Rinslet were equally stunned.
He had blocked such a powerful attack with a single hand. It was incredible!
"You two go deal with those two. I'll handle Ellis," Roy said casually.
"Okay, let's go!" Claire summoned her Elental Waffe, the Fla Whip, and lashed out at Reishia.
Reishia's Elental Waffe was a translucent ice sword.
It seed she was an Ice Elental Contractor, like Rinslet.
But Reishia's spirit was no match for Rinslet's Fenrir, and she didn't seem to have full control over it yet.
Claire would defeat her easily.
anwhile, Rakka, the black-haired Knight, attacked Rinslet.
"Take this! Crushing Hamr!" she shouted, swinging a massive hamr towards Rinslet.
Rinslet gracefully leaped back, dodging the attack.
She summoned her Elental Waffe, the Ice Bow, and aid it at Rakka.
"Trying to ambush ? You're just making yourself an easy target!"
"O fangs of ice, pierce my enemy! Ice Shot!"
Rinslet loosed an arrow, which flew towards Rakka.
Rakka, however, hid behind her massive hamr, using it as a shield.
But the impact was still powerful.
Rakka stumbled and fell, dropping her hamr.
Rinslet fired another arrow, striking the defenseless Rakka and incapacitating her.
"Damn it! You hurt Rakka!" Ellis roared, enraged.
"O winds of disaster, transform into a spear that pierces the heart of my enemy! Manifest in my hand!"
She chanted the incantation in the Spirit Language.
A powerful gust of wind swept through the area, and a magnificent spear materialized in her hand.
Ellis twirled the spear and glared at Roy.
...
...
"Ooh, impressive," Roy comnted with a playful clap.
"Hmph! You recognize the beauty of my Ray Hawk, then?" Ellis asked, proudly displaying her spear.
"Indeed. Not just the spear, but the wielder is also quite beautiful," Roy teased.
"W-What? M-?" Ellis blushed, flustered by his complint.
"Stop it! How dare you tease ! You're just a smooth talker!" she exclaid, her face red as she lunged at Roy with her spear.
Clang!
Roy caught the spearhead between two fingers.
Ellis stared at him in disbelief.
She tried to pull her spear back, but it wouldn't budge.
"Let go of my spear, or I'll turn you into tiramisu!" she threatened.
"Oh? You can make desserts? You'll make a good wife soday," Roy chuckled, releasing her spear.
"I-I'm still practicing! For my ideal husband... and don't try to trick with those 'good wife' comnts..." Ellis retorted, her face still flushed as she attacked again.
However, just as she was about to reach him, she tripped and fell.
Roy swiftly caught her in a princess carry.
'Lancers really are unlucky,' he thought, shaking his head.
He had seen clearly that Ellis had tripped over a loose stone.
Ellis, expecting a painful fall, had closed her eyes tightly.
But she didn't feel any pain.
Instead, she felt a comforting warmth, like being held in her mother's arms. She slowly opened her eyes.
Roy's handso face was inches away from hers.
"H-How...?" she stamred, her face turning crimson as she realized she was in the arms of her enemy.
"Hey, how long are you two going to hug?" Claire and Rinslet, having finished their battles, called out with annoyed expressions.
Ellis, rembering her situation, blushed even harder.
She struggled to get down, and Roy gently released her.
Ellis took a few steps back and saw that Rakka and Reishia were unconscious.
"Even alone, I won't lose to you!" she declared with renewed determination.
"Hmph! You still want to fight in this situation?" Claire scoffed.
They had three mbers, while Ellis was alone.
How could she possibly win?
"I won't give up!" Ellis declared, raising her spear.
"I don't think we need to fight anymore," Roy said with a smile.
"What? Are you looking down on ?" Ellis glared at him.
"No, that's not what I ant. Look over there..." Roy pointed towards the distance.
Thump... Thump...
A hundred-ter tall cyclopean giant was lumbering towards them.
With each step, the ground trembled.
The giant wielded a massive club – or rather, a tree trunk it had ripped from the ground.
Its terrifying aura was palpable from afar.
It was a high-ranking Earth Elental Spirit.
But judging by its violent aura and crimson eyes, it wasn't an ordinary one.
"It's an Earth Elental Spirit, and a powerful one at that. I didn't expect to encounter one here," Ellis comnted, surprised.
"Unfortunately, none of us can form a contract with it," Claire sighed.
If it had been before, she would have rushed to try and contract the spirit, despite the danger.
But she already had Scarlet, a highest-ranking spirit.
Rinslet was in the sa situation.
Although Elental Spirit Contractors could form contracts with multiple spirits, their divine power was limited.
They couldn't use many Elental Waffes at once.
"Wait, Roy is very strong. Maybe he can contract it," Rinslet suddenly suggested, looking at Roy.
Claire and Ellis also turned to him, considering the possibility.
Just then, the white spirit seal on Roy's arm glowed.
Est erged.
She clung to Roy's arm and glared at the three girls. "Roy only needs . A re high-ranking Earth Elental Spirit isn't worthy of becoming his contracted spirit," she declared flatly.
Est's words were blunt and arrogant, at least in the eyes of the three girls.
Roy chuckled and patted Est's head.
Est wasn't exaggerating. He certainly wasn't interested in a re high-ranking Earth Elental Spirit.
Especially since he already had Est and Ren.
"I think you should be more concerned about your own safety. That Earth Elental seems to be heading towards us," Roy warned them.
"What? Earth spirits are usually gentle and peaceful," Claire mumbled.
But she soon realized her mistake.
Suddenly...
ROAR!!!
The cyclopean giant let out a deafening roar, causing the girls to flinch.
"What's going on?" Rinslet asked, confused.
"It's a Berserker! That Earth Elental has been influenced by a Berserker!" Est explained.
The girls finally understood.
"Let's get out of here! I'll hold it off. You carry those two and escape," Ellis declared bravely, wielding her Ray Hawk.
"Don't be foolish. You're no match for it," Claire scoffed.
Despite facing such a powerful spirit, Claire and Rinslet weren't panicking. They had Roy.
They rembered how easily he had defeated the rock giant earlier.
"It seems I have to step in," Roy sighed dramatically.
He stepped forward, facing the cyclopean giant alone.
Claire, Rinslet, and Ellis watched him expectantly.
They were eager to witness his swordsmanship again.
Ahem...
By "swordsmanship," they didn't an literally dancing with a sword.
The "Blade Dance" was simply a term for battles between Elental Spirit Contractors.
And Ellis's adopted sister, Velsaria, even used a cha.
How was that a "Blade Dance"?
There wasn't even a blade involved!
'No offense to you, Rakka, with your hamr,' Roy thought.
...
"Est!" Roy called out, holding out his hand.
"Yes, Master!" Est replied, placing her hands in his.
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