Chapter 156 : Chapter 156
Chapter 156. When a Spirit Loses Its Mind
“……The power of a giant god.”
Inette muttered through clenched teeth.
She had known about the 3rd Princess’s ability.
But this was the first time she had seen it with her own eyes.
‘It was this strong?’
Strength enough to blow away a great spirit in a single strike.
Until now, Inette had believed her own ability to be extremely powerful.
After all, without her artifact gloves, it was difficult even to control it.
‘Leon’s ‘Dragon’s Blessing’ was certainly impressive as well, but she had always thought of it as merely amplifying magic, not raw power like her own ‘Essence of Flame.’
An ability to freely control fire without even using magic.
That was one of the reasons Inette was considered a powerful candidate for the throne, a strength no one could refute.
And yet, what was this situation?
‘I couldn’t even scratch it…….’
The water dragon that had effortlessly extinguished Inette’s flames was now staggering with a gaping hole in its side, struck by Shartea.
Tap.
After using her ability, Shartea landed lightly, picked up the sword she had set on the ground, and straightened.
“……Why aren’t you attacking it again?”
Someone questioned her.
It was Inette, who had stood back up while clutching her side.
Trembling, she asked again.
“With your power, you can do it. Then why aren’t you finishing it off?”
Shartea looked at Inette with cold eyes.
“Relying too much on your ability isn’t a good thing.”
“What?”
“I’ve thought this for a long time. You tend to overuse your ability.”
Shartea pointed at Inette’s gloves.
There was no member of the imperial family who did not know why Inette wore black gloves.
“As you are now, it’s difficult for you to control your ability without those.”
Shartea herself had gone through such a period.
Unable to control her overwhelming power, she had injured those around her.
Even brushing someone with her fingertips could send attendants flying.
Even the 2nd Prince had suffered multiple broken bones because of her.
To live a normal life, Shartea had thoroughly trained herself.
“You know that using an ability comes with a price. Don’t try to solve everything with it.”
With that, Shartea drew her sword.
There was another reason she did not keep using her ability for long.
Her monstrous strength that exceeded human limits, Shartea’s ability, ‘Power of the Giant God,’ placed an increasing burden on her body the more it was used.
A human body simply could not withstand such immense power indefinitely.
That was why she pursued the sword even more.
She wanted to grow strong through pure human strength, not through an ability. The current Shartea was the result of that effort.
Seeing Shartea’s restraint, Inette found herself thinking deeply for the first time.
‘Don’t rely too much on my ability?’
Inette bit her lip at Shartea’s words.
She wanted to argue that it wasn’t true, but the words caught in her throat.
It was true that she had trusted her ability more than magic or the sword.
Even if she could not yet understand why Shartea insisted on the sword despite possessing such an overwhelming ability, one thing was certain.
‘I need to become stronger.’
At least strong enough to crush that 3rd Princess’s arrogance.
Inette’s resolve burned fiercely.
How dare you, a mere human!
The great spirit, its side blown open by Shartea, twisted its body and roared. Rough waves erupted across the lake.
RUMBLE!
I will not let this stand!
As soon as the great spirit finished speaking, the water of the lake surged up, filling the water dragon’s body and restoring it in an instant.
Shock filled everyone’s eyes at the sight.
“What, it recovers that easily?”
“So it can recover endlessly using the lake’s water?”
“Lord God…….”
***
It revived again.
Radel, who had been silently observing the great spirit, thought.
Even with memories of a past life, he had never fought a great spirit. This was on an entirely different level from battling spirits summoned by academy students.
Unlike ordinary spirits that returned to the spirit realm when their contractor’s mana ran dry or they took a strong hit, this ancient spirit remained in the human world by its own will.
‘A great spirit that can exist in reality without a contractor.’
It was truly not an easy opponent.
Judging by appearances, it did not seem like a foe the sword would work against…….
Then what about magic?
Radel asked Armandy.
“Can’t we just freeze it? Its essence is water, isn’t it?”
“With magic? If that were possible, I would have done it already.”
Armandy replied in a rare, uncertain tone.
It was unlike him, who was always confident when it came to magic.
“This isn’t just any spirit. It’s a great spirit. Born alongside the spirit realm, a true aggregation of pure mana. You could even say it is nature itself.”
“And what’s the problem with that?”
“……Mages are beings who defy the laws of nature. But a great spirit of that magnitude is essentially nature given will.”
It meant that even an exceptional mage could not exert their full power before such overwhelming nature.
“What happens if you pour mana onto mana? It’s like throwing fire onto fire to put it out. Without a contractor, using magic on a great spirit like that would just waste mana.”
“I see.”
Radel nodded as if he understood.
Then he said,
“Then let’s try freezing it.”
Armandy looked dumbfounded.
“Didn’t you hear what I just said? It won’t work.”
“How do you know without trying?”
“I’m telling you it’s a waste of mana!”
“I get it. Just try it.”
Whether Armandy was about to burst or not, Radel did not even blink.
“Armandy, you’re good at magic.”
“Ha…….”
Armandy realized that nothing he said would get through to Radel. To the Ability Management Bureau, he was little more than a slave sold off to the 8th Prince.
In this situation, he had no choice anyway…….
“Understood.”
With a sigh, Armandy swung his staff and began chanting. Perhaps now, when the great spirit’s power had been weakened by the 3rd Princess’s ability, was their chance.
“Water, freeze!”
As Armandy cast the spell, the lake’s water began to freeze.
CRACK!
Hope rose in the eyes of those watching the water freeze.
“Oh! The mage is casting magic on the lake!”
“That water dragon will freeze too!”
The ice spread rapidly, climbing up the water dragon’s body that had just recovered.
Sweat began to bead on Armandy’s forehead.
Armandy’s mana and the great spirit’s mana clashed sharply at the center of the lake.
Such a pathetic trick!
As the great spirit opened its mouth and released its power, the ice shattered instantly.
CRASH!
And Armandy was sent flying backward.
“Urgh!”
So it really doesn’t work.
Watching everything, Radel nodded.
He knew well that it was difficult for a mage to fight a great spirit.
But what if it were spirit against spirit?
Radel pulled out a staff from his coat.
And prepared to summon the only spirit he was contracted with.
If the other side was a great spirit, then it was time to show one of his own.
***
The library spirit was enjoying its vacation as usual.
“Hmph, no annoying students, and that fellow isn’t around either. Quite comfortable.”
He recalled his clumsy contractor.
Contracting a great spirit in a rush just to avoid failing, summoning him repeatedly for the first-year final evaluation.
No matter how he thought about it, the boy was absurd.
“……Well, that scenery wasn’t bad.”
The last place his contractor had summoned him was beneath the lake, where the library spirit had seen the submerged village for the first time.
In fact, it hadn’t been that long since he had first seen land or the sky.
In any case, it was all because that boy had summoned him.
“Hmph, maybe it’s not so bad.”
The library spirit muttered, then fluttered his pages about for no reason.
“Tch! What am I saying!”
His contractor lacked mana and had a shameless personality.
Worse, he was an impudent brat who summoned him at all hours!
“Spirit Summoning!”
As expected, he was summoned so abruptly again.
Hearing the spell, the library spirit snorted.
BANG!
“Hmph! What is it this time?”
Radel greeted the library spirit cheerfully.
“You’ve arrived. Sorry to trouble you immediately, but there’s something I’d like to show you.”
“Something to show me?”
The library spirit felt a flicker of anticipation, wondering what new scenery it might be.
But what appeared before him was a crazed great spirit in the form of a water dragon.
“What, that thing?”
“Do you recognize it?”
“That’s the one who lost a bet with a human brat and got bound by a contract.”
There was no way great spirits would fail to recognize one another.
What was astonishing was that the great spirit had not returned to the spirit realm and remained in the human world.
“Tsk tsk. Not even bound by a contract…….”
As the library spirit clicked his tongue again, Radel quickly asked,
“Is it an opponent worth fighting?”
“You want me to fight that thing?!”
The library spirit flapped his pages in outrage.
“That thing is insane! A great spirit that’s lost its reason and is clinging to the human world!”
“You’re saying the great spirit has lost its sanity?”
“That’s right. If it goes any further, it’ll lose its ego as a spirit and either fall into a monster or turn into a natural disaster. Look, it’s even formed a core.”
Cases of great spirits losing their ego were exceedingly rare. Cases where they forgot their duty and acted on desire were even rarer.
Yet this spirit was doing both.
The library spirit pointed near the water dragon’s head.
“That’s something monsters have. Spirits don’t.”
Looking closely, there truly was a core, like that of a golem, embedded in the water dragon’s head.
Inside the core, darkened water writhed.
“If that isn’t purified, it won’t return to its senses.”
Clicking his tongue again, the library spirit continued,
“Even if you wanted to purify it, how would you even get there? Unless you can fly.”
Magic to freely fly without magical tools was high-tier magic.
As far as the library spirit knew, it was not something a mere first-year academy student could use.
‘You have to fly?’
But Radel thought differently.
He had never learned flight magic, but he knew another way to take to the sky.
Radel pulled something out of his space-expansion pouch.
It was jerky he had prepared earlier.
“What are you doing now?”
The library spirit asked incredulously.
Ignoring him, Radel swung his staff and cast a fire-element spell.
“Ignite!”
WHOOSH!
Flames shot out from the tip of the staff.
Soon, the smell of grilling jerky spread everywhere.
“What’s that smell?”
“That smells incredible, brother.”
The Lizardmen and Apprentice Holy Knights fighting the slimes looked around in confusion.
It was a scent that did not belong in such a desperate situation.
At that moment, something appeared in the sky.
It dove toward the ground like an arrow.
KREEEEE!
“It’s here.”
Radel grinned.
Drawn by the smell of jerky, what arrived was the griffin he met every night.