Chapter 16
A swarm of butterflies, in numbers she had never seen before, surged toward the man like a black cloud.
From within her chest, a surge of hostility, clearly not her own, rose, aimed solely at him.
Why?
It was a sensation she had felt once before.
— [Asila, shall we kill him?]
Yes. It was the same as when the butterflies had asked if she wanted to kill the Grand Duke.
But back then, it had merely felt like her existing resentment was being amplified.
Now, however, it felt as though emotions that didn’t even exist were being pulled from the depths of her being.
She felt as if she were under a spell.
Time seemed to slow.
[He’s dangerous. He doesn’t like Asila.]
[How could anyone not like Asila?]
[We like Asila.]
[We must protect her.]
[Attack him. Strike first to win.]
The faint crimson glow flowing from the spirits’ wings deepened and shimmered, ready to lash out at any moment.
She didn’t know why the spirits were suddenly behaving this way, but she knew one thing for certain.
She couldn’t let them attack him.
She opened her mouth hastily.
“…Stop.”
The man’s eyes widened slightly, as if caught off guard.
[Asila, no!]
[We must attack!]
[It’s dangerous!]
The energy was draining from her body with increasing speed.
The butterflies’ light intensified in turn.
She tried to resist, to block the power being drawn from her. but the spirits, heedless of her command, refused to stop.
They were beyond her control.
She bit down on her lip.
What had Ledin said to her again?
— Those who contract with Nyx are a little different from other elemental contractors…
Yes. He had warned her that Nyx was different from other spirits.
Now, she understood that firsthand.
The butterflies had no hesitation in turning their power on others, even fellow spirits. Even though she was the one who had made the contract, they no longer listened to her.
In fact, it felt as if she were the one being dragged along helplessly.
Whether it was because the contract was still fresh, or whether Nyx’s spirits had always been this hard to control, she couldn’t say.
But that man had said he feared what might happen if the spirits lost control.
Whether he had come out of concern or with intent to kill, she still didn’t know.
Regardless, she couldn’t let Nyx harm him.
[Attack him.]
[Eliminate him.]
[Reverse summoning isn’t enough. Erase him completely.]
Even now, the spirits’ voices echoed inside her mind, louder with each passing moment as their numbers grew.
“Please, just stop.”
The clamor of their emotions and voices tangled inside her head. She pressed a hand over her mouth, nauseated.
She felt as though she might collapse at any second.
[Asila, we said it’s dangerous.]
[Let us handle it.]
[We’ll erase him for you.]
It felt like speaking to a wall.
They didn’t understand her. They didn’t listen.
She clenched her fists. Her nails dug into her palms, but she couldn’t feel the pain.
Bang!
She bit down harder on her lip.
The butterflies struck the man with another blast of power.
A grayish veil had formed before him without her noticing.
She could feel the energy being pulled from her like a siphon.
Through the haze, she met his gaze.
His crimson eyes stared at her alone.
She reached out toward the butterflies.
These were the spirits she had contracted with for the sake of gaining power.
She had made that choice to uncover truths she could no longer ignore.
If she could feel their emotions flooding into her, then surely they could feel hers too?
[…Asila?]
They must have sensed something.
The butterflies, which had been growing stronger with no regard for her words, hesitated for the first time.
A faint smile tugged at her lips.
She released the dam in her heart, and all the suppressed negative emotions came rushing in.
She saw the butterflies flinch.
Spirits were incapable of hiding their feelings. They had no reason to lie, they were pure manifestations of nature.
She recalled how these butterflies had whispered that they liked her. That they loved her.
She had contracted with them because she needed something, something to empower her.
That was true.
But if they brought about consequences she never wanted, then what was the point?
They would become nothing more than yet another prison in her life.
[Asila.]
[We’re not like that.]
The butterflies fluttered gently, as if to console her. But she wasn’t moved.
Her body was far too drained, hollowed out completely, for her to be swayed by the voices of spirits who had stripped her of every ounce of strength.
Her thoughts and their emotions clashed and tangled, leaving her disoriented.
The brilliant light pouring from their wings, so intense it stung the eyes, began to dull slightly.
“Stop.”
The voice that left her lips wasn’t quite her own. It rang louder, more resonant.
And with it, the last of her strength vanished.
A piercing headache slammed into her. Every sound in the world crashed together into a cacophony.
But the butterflies, who had filled the sky like a storm, began to fade like a miracle.
The brilliant light they emitted dimmed, then dissipated entirely.
The man, who had endured their strike once, remained behind the gray veil, seemingly unharmed.
He looked at her with an unreadable expression.
And somehow, that gaze felt far heavier now.
…Is it over?
Her vision spun.
Pain bloomed across her body.
“Asila!!!”
She didn’t realize she had collapsed until it was already too late.
Her consciousness blurred.
As the world spun, she saw Ledin running toward her..
…and the man, watching from afar, his lips curled into a faint, amused smile.
That was the last thing she remembered.
***
Bang! Bang, bang!
As all the spirits were reverse summoned, the Northern Tower Master coughed up dark red blood.
“Enough, cough! Are you really going to keep this up, Kallios?!”
The voice, almost a scream, echoed through the air. Kallios just shrugged in response.
You should’ve listened when I came to talk nicely.
He found it convenient, for once, that Nyx’s spirits could attack other spirits.
“I summon the nymphs!”
Just as he was about to go after the Tower Master again, a familiar voice rang out, and a massive green barrier rose around him.
Kallios scowled.
Lazerdin.
The man who always got in the way.
Despite having a contract with such mild-mannered nymphs, Lazerdin was powerful enough to match him.
Flap.
“…Butterfly?”
But the irritation burning in him cooled almost instantly.
Because here, at last, was the presence he had followed.
The butterfly with crimson-black wings didn’t resemble his own spirit in form, but this power, this aura was unmistakably Nyx.
He had expected the energy to be wild and unstable in the aftermath of a rampage, but instead, it was faint, scarcely more than a trace.
“…So you’ve finally appeared.”
With a smirk, Kallios scanned the area.
Where was the contractor?
Given the rampage, they surely couldn’t be in good shape.
Then he spotted her, standing among the ever-growing number of butterflies.
Her face was pale, her presence fragile enough to vanish at any moment, yet her limbs were uninjured. Entirely intact.
[They look freshly born.]
[Looks like it wasn’t a rampage, but a contract.]
His spirit whispered near his ear.
“…Was there a region in the North recently destroyed?”
He had expected destruction, but now, hearing that it had been a contract, he was caught off guard.
He remembered how, when he had contracted with Nyx at fifteen, he’d wiped an entire region off the map.
That first berserk outburst was what always followed when someone bonded with Nyx.
Though the spirits were still weak, they were unmistakably Nyx, spirits of darkness.
Her pale face and wide-eyed stare stirred something in him.
What had she done, to avoid a rampage and make a clean contract?
Just then, her faintly colored lips moved.
He watched them closely.
Sto…p?
Ah. So she couldn’t control them.
Kallios watched the butterflies threatening him, wings shimmering with light.
There were countless of them, but still, they were newborns.
No threat to him.
Bang!
A wave of crimson-black light struck him.
[Shall we attack?]
“No.”
He muttered under his breath, never taking his eyes off the black-haired woman.
The butterflies surrounded him, feigning menace.
Golden eyes fixed on him.
He rested his chin in his hand.
She’s trying to stop them, but it’s useless.
Once Nyx went out of control, especially so soon after contracting, reining them in was impossible.
Whistle.
Kallios let out a whistle as he watched the spirits multiply.
Summoning this many right after forming the contract was unusual.
Even if they were drawing her power against her will, it still meant her mana reserves were immense.
Just as he was beginning to grow bored, the butterflies began to slow.
“…Huh.”
The air quivered as if trembling.
[Stop.]
A voice, distinctly different, rang out clearly in Kallios’s ears.
The woman swayed, barely staying upright.
Kallios blinked.
The butterflies dimmed.
Then vanished.
The dense cloud that had filled the sky disappeared as if it had never been.
“…Hah.”
Kallios let out a faint laugh, watching the woman collapse.
He had thought she was a mutant.
But it turned out, she was an unpredictable little monster.
Until moments ago, he had felt nothing but indifference. Now, the slight woman intrigued him.
Who would’ve guessed she could use command speech?
It hadn’t seemed intentional, but still.
A smirk tugged at his lips.
It looked like he’d be staying at the Northern Tower for a while.
He thought of Johann, still stuck back at the Western Tower, who would probably scream in disbelief when he heard this.
Unbothered, Kallios casually curved his enchanting red eyes.
