Chapter 20
Boom! Boom boom!!
The underground training hall beneath the Northern Spirit Tower trembled with deafening explosions that sounded like falling bombs. Asila took a step back, feeling cold sweat trickle down her spine.
[Asila, you have to attack!]
[Why are you only blocking?]
[It’s dangerous. If you don’t fight back right now, you might die.]
[We can’t trust other contractors’ spirits.]
[Asila, you have to kill him.]
[Let’s attack, Asila.]
[We have to eliminate him.]
[Asila, Asila, Asila.]
The spirits’ voices swirled chaotically in her head, and the translucent barrier surrounding her flickered precariously.
I’m going to put you through hell, so no crying, got it, sis?
So this was what he meant by putting her through hell.
— Let’s go.
— …Where?
— To the training hall, where else. Didn’t you say you wanted to get control of those things as soon as possible? Then off we go.
Despite Ledin glaring daggers at him, as soon as the Tower Master gave permission, Kallios dragged a bewildered Asila down into the basement.
She had been staring blankly at the massive training hall when the bombardment began.
In an instant, an inky black sphere had burst from Kallios’s hand. The very spot where she’d just been standing was now a gaping hole.
Hovering midair with a trail of shadows, Kallios’s crimson eyes sparkled.
“As long as you don’t attack, you’ll be fine. Got it?”
She would soon understand why this training was all about enduring unilateral attacks, not sparring.
Before her thoughts could even process it, her body felt it.
It wasn’t fear that froze her—not even the instinctive dread at Kallios’s overwhelming force.
No, it was something else.
Something feral, a rush of savage emotions surged into her chest, like a beast crashing into her. Her fingertips tingled with the pressure.
[Ugh, I really hate this.]
It was exactly the same feeling she’d had the first time she saw Kallios and his spirits lashing out around the Spirit Tower.
An alien rage, not hers, tried to seize control of her.
A tremendous headache slammed into her skull. Just like before.
She couldn’t maintain rational thought.
But at the same time, she understood.
These waves of foreign emotions had to be overcome.
Only then could she truly control the spirits. Only then could this power become her own.
[Asila, Asila.]
[Attack.]
[He’s not to be trusted.]
[You can’t leave him be.]
[You’ll get hurt, Asila.]
[We have to protect you.]
The butterflies shouted her name again and again dozens, hundreds of times.
As their numbers grew, she could feel her mana being siphoned off.
The barrier flickered, close to shattering.
To become a proper spirit contractor, you have to develop control.
She grit her teeth.
This was training.
Last time, she had given away her mana without knowing anything, but this time, she couldn’t allow that.
“Don’t attack.”
[Asila, no!]
The butterflies hesitated, just for a moment.
[Absolutely not, Asila.]
[He’s dangerous. We know because we’re of the same kind.]
[We love you, but they don’t.]
Boom!!
Another black sphere exploded right beside her, and her barrier shattered like broken glass.
[Asila, we’re sorry. But we can’t—]
“Don’t—!”
Despite her plea, the butterflies shot toward Kallios at tremendous speed.
Don’t. Stop.
Asila, you can’t. You have to attack.
No matter how many times she tried to stop them, they didn’t listen. The butterflies finally reached him and launched their assault.
And at that moment, she saw it, Kallios pressing something in his hand.
The walls of the training hall began to glow with a low hum.
No, it wasn’t the walls themselves, it was the thousands of runes and mana formulas etched into them, now emitting a bluish light.
Kallios, who had been floating midair, gently descended to the ground. The shadow that had been beside him had disappeared.
[What… is this…?]
The butterflies’ wings slowed. Judging by their tone, it wasn’t voluntary, they had been forcibly halted.
The crimson butterflies, mid-flight, all disintegrated into specks of light and vanished into the air.
It wasn’t a reverse summoning.
Her mana was intact, She didn’t feel any harm to the spirits either.
And of course, she hadn’t been attacked.
But the butterflies hadn’t disappeared by choice either.
“That’s enough. That’ll do.”
Kallios walked toward her as she stood there dazed.
“What… was that?”
“Oh, that?”
He blinked his crimson eyes, then smirked knowingly.
“They’re formulas designed to temporarily shut the gate to the spirit realm. Years ago, the four Tower Masters each infused their own towers with them just before their deaths.”
“…To close the spirit gate?”
Kallios shrugged.
“It forcibly severs the connection between spirits and contractors. Since it’s artificial, it only lasts about ten minutes.”
Originally created to subdue berserk spirit contractors, he added, then began walking toward her.
He stopped only when he was standing right in front of her, muttered something under his breath, and nodded.
“You’re a lot better than when you started.”
She blinked. His red eyes curved faintly.
“Seems like they’re listening to you a little now, huh?”
Though his sentence had no subject, it didn’t take her long to understand.
She nodded slowly.
The events from just moments ago replayed in her head.
Now that she could think calmly, she realized. yes, she had nearly been overwhelmed by the flood of emotions from the spirits, and yes, she had fought desperately to suppress them.
But the butterflies hadn’t attacked blindly from the beginning.
They only flew forward after the barrier was shattered.
“I mean, you did give a command.”
Kallios, seeming to deliberate something, then extended his hand to her.
She stared blankly at his calloused palm until he prompted, “Hand,” and she finally reached out.
As he grasped her hand, he closed his eyes.
A strange sensation swept rapidly through her body.
She flinched and tried to pull back, but his grip was firm.
He opened his eyes shortly after.
“From now on, don’t try to persuade them, just focus on blocking your mana from leaking out. No matter what you say, they’re worse than fish heads. They forget everything…”
[Fish heads?!]
Boom!
With a crack like the earth splitting, the floor where Kallios had stood split slightly.
She felt a bit of her mana leak out.
“See? Just like this, if you attack them.”
He chuckled as he stepped back.
The glowing runes and formulas on the wall had faded.
One by one, butterflies reappeared beside her, fluttering their wings menacingly.
A shadow also emerged on Kallios’s shoulder.
[Comparing us to such vulgar creatures…]
[He may be a fellow contractor, but he deserves to die. He has no respect for us. How did he ever become a contractor?]
“Did you feel my mana flowing through your body?”
Holding a butterfly dangling by its wings, Kallios stared at her.
Was that the strange sensation she’d felt earlier?
“I retraced the path. Now that your sensitivity is heightened, try to block the mana that flows to the spirits. Just imagine you’re blocking a road.”
She nodded.
Indeed, her perception of mana had become clearer than before.
For a moment, she felt hopeful, it might not be so hard to block it after all.
***
She trudged up the tower steps, her arms dangling limply at her sides. She had no strength left.
[Asila, are you alright?]
“…Yeah.”
Even replying to the Nyx spirit that landed gently on her shoulder took effort. Her body was utterly drained.
It was a wonder she could walk at all.
She wanted to slap her past self for thinking blocking mana would be easy.
Sensing it vaguely had been one thing, but controlling it and cutting off the flow was another entirely.
It felt like trying to manually operate every cell in her body.
The more the spirits took shape, the more starkly she felt her mana drain.
It was like trying to block a massive wave with a twig.
How foolish.
If it were easy, there’d be no reason for Nyx contractors to train in self-control from childhood.
And no reason for her to be training so hard now.
It had taken everything she had to focus and resist before Kallios finally said, “That’s enough for today.”
He vanished in an instant after telling her they’d meet at the same time every day.
She wiped her sweat away.
Despite his sleazy grin, crude street-slang, and constant smirking, Kallios wasn’t a bad teacher.
His methods were a bit rough, but they worked.
Earlier that morning, when they’d headed to the Tower Master’s chamber and down to the training hall, there had been no one around. But now, the corridors were bustling.
A man rushed by holding a vial of some liquid. Groups of women laughed together, and children ran around with cheerful faces.
Everyone here was a spirit contractor.
Asila felt the reality hit her as she watched all the colorful spirits fluttering naturally around the people.
Some gave her a quick glance, likely noticing the unfamiliar face, but that was all.
The lack of interest felt surprisingly comforting.
“Asila, are you finished?”
She lifted her head at the familiar voice.
Ledin, dressed differently than earlier as if preparing to go out, leaned against the railing.
[Asila!]
The nymphs that had been by his side flew over and brushed her cheek gently. When the butterflies on her shoulder began to glow, they retreated in haste.
“Yes.”
“I’ll walk you to your room.”
Walking beside her, Ledin explained that the room where she’d awakened this morning would be her living quarters from now on.
She had been meaning to ask the Tower Master that very question, she was grateful Ledin had come to tell her.
Her body ached like she’d just finished an intense workout. She couldn’t wait to collapse into bed.
“Luci Abella.”
At the sound of the unfamiliar name, she lifted her head.
“She’s the woman you’ll be sharing your room with. A fire spirit contractor.”
Ah.
She recalled the cluttered half of the room.
She had forgotten she’d be sharing it.
“Are all the rooms for two people?”
Ledin nodded.
“Only in the Northern Tower. Too many of our people get consumed by their research, so we require them to share rooms to encourage interaction.”
It’s important to have some camaraderie in a group, he added.
They arrived at the room, and he handed her several thick books.
She blinked as she took them.
“…What’s this?”
“Some basic materials on spirits. I was planning to explain them to you myself, but I’ve received an urgent assignment and must leave the Tower for three days. Please take your time and go through them.”
As she gave a small nod, Ledin smiled softly, his blue eyes curving, and with a parting “Then,” he jumped over the railing.
“…!!”
It happened so fast.
Before she could even look down in shock, something shot upward past her at incredible speed.
“Kyaaah!”
The glass ceiling of the tower opened silently, and Jin soared through it.
A flash of silver hair whipped through the sky above.
Finally able to breathe again, she opened the door to her room.
“…What the?”
A sharp-eyed, striking woman with dark red hair sat slouched in a chair, her expression fierce as she turned to glare at Asila.
