Chapter 244 - 243 : Failed
Arthur stared at Athena in silence.
"We are going to form a bond."
Her words echoed through the enormous training facility.
For several seconds, Arthur said nothing.
His crimson eyes widened slightly as he looked at the veiled woman standing before him.
He had heard of humans forming contracts with spirits before.
Low-ranking elemental spirits.
Fire spirits.
Wind spirits.
Earth spirits.
Water spirits.
Such contracts were not uncommon among powerful awakened individuals. Someone without a natural elemental affinity could form a contract with a low-level spirit and borrow a portion of its elemental power.
A human with no fire affinity could wield flames.
Someone unable to control wind could summon cutting gusts and storms.
Even a person with weak mana could gain an advantage that others might spend years training to acquire.
But Athena was not a low-ranking spirit.
She was a half-spirit descended from a high-ranking spirit.
She possessed overwhelming mana, spiritual power, and space manipulation abilities that Arthur could barely comprehend.
High-ranking spirits capable of taking human form were entirely different existences.
They were not merely powerful.
They were living disasters.
Powerhouses capable of changing the course of an entire battle on their own.
And beings like that rarely formed bonds with humans.
Especially not with someone like Arthur.
Athena seemed to be enjoying the bewildered expression on his face.
Even behind her veil, Arthur could sense her smug amusement.
Arthur narrowed his eyes.
"Are you serious?"
"I am," Athena replied.
Arthur stared at her for another moment.
Then his expression suddenly became suspicious.
"Do you like me or something?" he asked. "Sorry, but I am not into grandmas, so can—"
Slap!
Athena’s hand moved faster than Arthur could react.
His face snapped to the side.
A sharp sting spread across his cheek.
Arthur winced before slowly turning back toward her.
Athena’s golden eyes burned through the veil.
"Get your head out of the gutter, you bastard."
Arthur rubbed his cheek.
Athena continued, her voice filled with irritation.
"And dream on. A beauty like me would never fall for someone like you."
Arthur’s eyes narrowed.
"Then why are you going to form a bond with me, you bitch?" he snapped. "Do spirits not form bonds only with people they like?"
His expression darkened.
"Or are you planning to drain all of my lifespan? Is that what you are after?"
"Shut up, you pervert!" Athena yelled.
Her hair swayed as her mana briefly stirred around her.
"The bond I am planning to form is the lowest level possible. It will only last for a few hours, okay?"
She took a breath.
"During that brief period, we will complete the lifespan transfer and get it over with."
For several seconds, both of them stood there, breathing heavily because of all that yelling and shouting.
Then Arthur took a deep breath.
"You should have told me that from the start," he said. "I guess you are not a very good teacher after all."
Athena’s gaze sharpened.
Arthur continued without fear.
"Please change your profession after this."
Athena’s fists clenched.
"Let us get started before I do something I will not regret."
Arthur nodded.
"Yeah. Let us get this over with. I want to leave this place immediately too."
───────────────
Arthur and Athena walked toward the center of the training facility.
The wide central platform was completely empty.
Countless lights glowed across the ceiling, while reinforced walls covered in glowing runes surrounded them. Layers of defensive barriers had been established around the platform from every direction.
Arthur could sense the immense defensive power contained within the room.
Even if an SSS-rank awakened person unleashed their full strength here, the facility would likely remain intact for a few minutes.
Athena stopped at the center of the platform.
"I knew you would come," she said. "So I already made the preparations."
She flicked her fingers.
A large magic circle appeared beneath their feet.
It was wide enough for two people to sit comfortably inside. Complex silver and pale-blue inscriptions glowed along its outer edge, while ancient symbols slowly moved across the inner rings.
Arthur stared at the formation.
’Looks like the process of forming a bond with a high-ranking spirit is completely different.’
Even though Athena claimed this would only be a low-level bond, the magic circle alone looked more complicated than most advanced spells Arthur had ever seen.
Athena motioned for him to sit.
Arthur and Athena stepped into the circle.
They sat facing one another.
Athena placed one hand against the glowing inscription.
"It is not difficult," she said. "Just pour your mana into the circle first."
Arthur nodded.
He pressed his palm against the formation.
Then he released his mana.
Crimson energy flowed from his hand.
The magic circle immediately began glowing brighter.
The runes along its edge awakened one after another, absorbing Arthur’s mana and sending soft waves of light across the floor.
Athena placed her own palm on the opposite side of the circle.
Golden and pale-blue mana flowed from her hand.
The formation reacted immediately.
Arthur’s crimson mana and Athena’s spiritual energy moved through the symbols, circling around one another without touching.
The air grew warmer.
Then, without warning, Athena reached forward and grabbed a strand of Arthur’s hair.
Arthur felt a sharp sting.
"What was that for?"
Athena calmly placed the strand of hair at the center of the circle.
The hair dissolved into glowing particles and merged with the formation.
"Usually, the contractor’s blood would be used," Athena explained. "But you are weaker than me and only human."
Arthur’s eyebrow twitched.
Athena continued as though she had not just insulted him.
"If we use your blood to establish a direct bond with someone like me, your body may not endure the strain."
Her expression became serious.
"You could die."
Arthur’s expression changed.
"Even though this is a low-level bond?"
"Even then," Athena said. "I have to be extremely careful."
She looked toward the circle.
"Your hair is enough for a temporary, low-level connection. I will use my blood instead because I will be the dominant party in this bond."
Arthur narrowed his eyes.
"And I am supposed to trust you?"
Athena sighed.
"Do not worry. It is only a precaution. Both of us will still have complete freedom."
She paused.
"There is one more thing you should know."
Arthur listened.
"During the bonding process, both of us will be in our weakest condition," Athena said. "We will be extremely vulnerable until the bond stabilizes."
Her golden eyes shifted toward the surrounding barriers.
"But I have already established powerful barriers around this place. No one can enter. You do not need to worry about security."
Arthur nodded slowly.
"I just hope you know what you are doing."
Athena’s eyes narrowed.
"Of course I do."
Arthur looked at her carefully.
"Have you ever done this before?"
For a moment, Athena went silent.
Then she turned her face away.
"Of course I have. Who do you think I am?"
She gave a hollow laugh.
Arthur stared at her.
’This is definitely her first time.’
He sighed inwardly.
’Whatever. Astarte is still inside the academy. If Athena tries to double-cross me, She will definitely come for me.’
The glowing inscriptions around them began shining even brighter.
Athena turned back toward the center of the circle.
"Now I only need to drop a little of my blood onto the circle," she said. "Then it will be done."
A small silver dagger materialized in her hand.
She lightly cut across her palm.
A thin wound opened.
A single drop of blood fell from her hand.
The moment it touched the magic circle, the formation absorbed it.
The inscriptions flared with brilliant light.
Athena smiled.
"Just a few seconds now, and it will be done."
But Athena had made one critical mistake.
She had underestimated Arthur’s vampiric nature.
Arthur’s bloodline was not ordinary.
It was not a simple vampire bloodline that could be controlled through willpower alone.
The moment Athena’s blood touched the circle, a strange hunger awakened inside Arthur.
His eyes slowly shifted toward her injured palm.
Blood continued to drip from the small wound.
One drop.
Then another.
The scent reached him.
Something primal stirred inside his body.
Something hungry.
Something violent.
’Blood...’
Arthur’s breathing became heavier.
His pupils trembled.
His reason began to fade.
A notification appeared before his eyes.
[Skill: Hunger, SS-Rank, is in effect.]
Arthur’s body stiffened.
The hunger became unbearable.
It was no longer a desire.
It was an instinct.
A command written into his blood.
Devour.
Athena noticed Arthur’s strange expression.
"Arthur, are you okay?"
Arthur did not answer.
His crimson eyes remained locked on her injured palm.
Blood dripped from it into the glowing circle.
The magic formation absorbed every drop.
But Arthur could see only one thing.
Blood.
Athena’s eyes widened.
"Arthur?"
In the next second, Arthur lunged at her.
Athena had already been weakened by the bonding ritual.
Her mana was flowing into the circle, leaving her little time to react.
Arthur grabbed her wrist.
Then he pulled her hand toward him and pressed his lips against the wound in her palm.
Athena froze.
Her face immediately turned red beneath the veil.
"Kyaa!"
She tried to pull away.
"What are you doing?!"
Arthur did not respond.
He drank her blood as though his life depended on it.
The taste was unlike anything he had ever experienced.
It was pure.
Powerful.
Filled with spiritual energy so dense that every drop sent waves of heat through his body.
Athena panicked.
With her free hand, she slashed the silver dagger toward Arthur.
The blade cut into his shoulder.
Arthur’s blood spilled.
Crimson droplets fell onto the magic circle.
The formation absorbed them instantly.
Athena’s eyes widened.
"Fuck."
She stared at the mixture of her blood and Arthur’s blood being absorbed by the ritual.
"How did I forget that a vampire would go crazy after smelling blood of this grade?"
Arthur continued drinking from her palm.
Athena’s body trembled as an expression of anger, disgust, and discomfort crossed her face.
"Ahh... you perverted bastard..."
Then she raised her free hand and slapped Arthur across the face.
"Snap out of it!"
Arthur’s head moved to the side.
But his grip remained firm.
His crimson eyes glowed brighter.
The magic circle beneath them began expanding.
The outer rings spread farther across the floor.
The glowing symbols spun faster and faster.
Mana surged through the facility.
The barriers shook violently.
Athena’s face turned pale.
"The circle is going berserk."
The ritual formation continued growing.
The silver-blue light gradually shifted into crimson and gold.
Arthur’s blood and Athena’s blood flowed through the magic circle like two conflicting rivers.
Something else was happening.
Something neither of them had planned.
Athena stared at the unstable formation in horror.
"Mother did not tell me anything about this."
The inscriptions flashed.
The training facility shook violently.
Then—
Boom!
The magic circle exploded.
A wave of crimson, gold, pale-blue, and silver energy erupted outward.
Arthur and Athena were thrown in opposite directions.
Arthur’s body slammed into one reinforced wall.
Athena crashed against another.
The barriers surrounding the training facility trembled violently as the explosion shook the entire chamber.
Dust rose into the air.
The lights flickered.
The once-perfectly controlled training facility was left covered in cracks and glowing remnants of unstable mana.
Arthur fell to the floor.
Athena collapsed against the opposite wall.
Neither of them moved.
Both were unconscious.
This outcome only meant that the bonding ritual had failed.
Or something else has taken place no one could tell.
Nothing had gone according to plan.
And somewhere within the fading light of the destroyed magic circle, an unfamiliar symbol slowly appeared.
For a brief moment, it glowed.
Then it disappeared.
A surprise neither Arthur nor Athena could have expected was waiting for them.