"Is there no other way you can provide a spirit beast?" Orion asked, his gaze fixed on Patriarch Rylan.
Patriarch Rylan's expression paled, and he imdiately bowed. "If you are seriously in need of a spirit beast, then I see no reason not to sacrifice a few of them," he replied.
Observing her father's current deanour, Isadora wanted to speak up but held herself back, understanding that she could not voice her opinion in such a scene.
"No, we won't be needing that. We'll make do with it and see the outco," Orion responded, gesturing for Patriarch Rylan to straighten his back. He made this decision primarily for Isadora's sake, as it would be unwise to force her father into such an action after all the effort she had put into keeping Paradise stable. Besides, he decided to use this opportunity to test the extent of the Divine Apostle Crest and see if there would be any varying changes compared to what had happened with Crystalia.
Patriarch Rylan straightened his back and nodded. "Thank you, Supre Leader," he responded.
Isadora exhaled in relief, briefly glancing at Orion with gratitude.
Orion acknowledged Patriarch Rylan's words before turning to Selene and giving her a signal.
Selene nodded in understanding. She knew she wasn't supposed to be here today, and the only reason Orion had allowed her was her request and Crystalia's condition. Her presence might disrupt the process they planned to try with Iris. She ascended into the air and vanished into the distance. Selene stopped her ascent at a height she judged wouldn't interfere with the process while allowing her to observe everything that transpired perfectly.
Orion gestured for Iris to co forward, then refocused his gaze on Leif. "Let's begin."
Leif nodded, understanding the cue. He walked forward, distancing himself from the crowd, and halted at a safe distance.
Iris followed behind, dressed in dark, polished, form-fitting leather-like armour that hugged her body like a second skin, with detailed engravings and enchantnts.
Leif stretched out his hand, channelled his natural energy, and activated one of the summoning glyphs. He wasn't going to summon his powerful spirit beast, so he didn't need to chant. Instead, he was summoning his weakest. Instantly, a summoning glyph erged from his body and suspended itself in the air before him.
It pulsed, radiating an otherworldly glow, then rippled like waves. Suddenly, an animal with a hump over its front shoulders and a set of short sharply pointed hollow horns that curved outward. A short beard hung under its jaw, and its lower body was a long serpentine tail that slithered slightly as the malevolent spirit beast stepped out of the glyph.
Leif imdiately deactivated his summoning glyph, causing it to lose its lustre, shrink, and return to his body. He breathed out in relief.
The malevolent spirit beast surveyed its surroundings with a deep frown, realizing that the environnt was far different from any it had witnessed in past summons. Its gaze soon landed on the unfamiliar woman before it, who was giving off strange energy, and then shifted to the others far behind her in the distance, who possessed a varying mix of strange energies far more potent than the woman standing before him.
For so strange reason, it felt its instincts scream danger, causing its frown to deepen. Only a handful of things could harm its existence in the physical world, so the sensation irked it.
It ignored the Four-eared elves and imdiately refocused its gaze on Leif.
"Why have you summoned , child? You don't seem to be in any danger. And who are those individuals? The energy they're radiating is even stranger and weirder than all you wrist wielders put together," the malevolent spirit beast asked, its voice possessing a faint echo and a growl capable of causing the soul of an ordinary warrior to tremble and rendering them motionless.
"I summoned you to inform you that I'll terminate our contract. Although I hate to do this since you were my first contracted spirit beast, it's precisely for that reason that I'm doing this with no regrets," Leif replied, exhaling as though he was about to lose a long-ti friend yet still resolute in his decision.
The malevolent spirit beast before him was called Circletail, a 560-year-old Lesser Malevolent spirit beast.
"What do you an you want to terminate the contract?" Circletail asked, its voice anxious.
It was well known that because the gods' chosens were attuned to Vylkr energy, which could harm even the essence of a spirit beast. Only a few spirit beasts were willing to form a contract with them, which were malevolent and neutral spirit beasts. No other spirit beast would be foolish enough to create a contract with an individual whose soul was tainted with such violent energy unless they were willing to risk it.
Though malevolent and neutral spirit beasts could now form contracts like other spirit beasts, it ant only a few contractors were willing to do so. Finding another one would be more troubleso if his current contract was broken.
Just as Leif was about to respond, a one-winged mark appeared on Iris's forehead. Instantly, it expanded into a vast, multilayered array of runes of varying sizes. These runes shimred with a soft, milky glow and crimson hues, focusing intently on Circletail.
Circletail was taken aback by the sudden ergence of the runes, sensing their imnse power. He fell into a daze, struggling to comprehend the frightening scene. Slowly, his body began disintegrating, breaking into essence and flowing into the runes.
This ti, no one moved to interrupt the process. They all watched silently as the spirit beast dissipated into fragnts, which rged seamlessly into the runes until nothing remained. It was as if Circletail had never existed.
Leif extended his hand, adjusting his leaf-crafted sleeves, and watched as the summoning glyph related to Circletail vanished, severing their connection entirely. A chilling sensation crept over him, erging from his heart. He looked up, swallowing hard, and focused on Iris, who seed lost in a daze, oblivious to the terrifying scene that had just unfolded.
Reviews
All reviews (0)