Chapter 192
What appeared before them was a towering knight, nearly three meters tall.
The Wind Spirit was clad in pale silver-gray armor and wielded a massive axe and shield suited to its size.
It looked incredibly heavy and intimidating on the outside.
But both Leo and Lily knew—
That despite its appearance, this spirit could move with astonishing speed.
Fwoosh—
Just as that thought crossed their minds, the spirit lunged at Lily with blinding speed.
Clang—!
The swung axe was intercepted by Leo’s sword.
Whoooom—!
The gust unleashed scattered dirt and dust across the area.
As he blocked the attack, Leo felt like his body might be blown away by the powerful wind pressure.
Crunch—!
Leo’s foot dug into the ground.
Using [Aura] to resist the wind by force, Leo smirked and put more strength into his sword.
Fwoooosh—!
Flames of [Aura] erupted from Leo’s sword.
Fwooooom—!
The raging wind caused the fire’s intensity to soar instantly.
As Leo manipulated his [Aura], the flames engulfed the massive Wind Spirit.
Rumble—!
The fire swelled in size in an instant like it was being inflated.
Seeing that, Leo swung his sword.
The Wind Spirit was hurled backward like it had been yanked by a rope and crashed into the ground.
“Impressive, Leo.”
Lily praised him as she summoned a spirit.
Fwoosh—
The spirit she summoned was one of fire.
Though Lily was known for specializing in Wind Spirits, that didn’t mean she was only adept at using wind.
During the Age of Calamity, multi-element spirit arts users were exceedingly rare.
But in this era, where the power of past heroes was inherited through the [Hero Record], they had become more common.
Even Walden, regarded as the strongest first-year spirit arts user, could freely command the four elemental spirits.
Rumble—
The ground rose and reshaped itself, trapping the Wind Spirit inside.
A dome of earth formed, with a small hole left in the center.
Lily inserted the summoned Fire Spirit into that hole.
Hummm—
Lily raised her [Spirit Power].
‘[Trait Imbuement].’
Spirit arts that grant traits a spirit does not originally possess.
Of course, she couldn’t give a Water Spirit a fire trait or anything too contradictory, but even within the same element, individual spirits had a variety of derivative abilities.
[Trait Imbuement] was spirit arts that temporarily granted those powers.
‘The trait she just gave… is explosion.’
The moment that thought crossed Leo’s mind—
The earth dome sealed completely.
And then—
Boom—!
With a massive explosion, clumps of earth scattered in all directions.
Thud-thud-thud—
As chunks of earth rained down, the powerful Wind Spirit had vanished without a trace.
‘She didn’t even use high-level spirits.’
Leo was impressed.
The Fire and Earth Spirits Lily used were, at most, intermediate level.
Even if there was a synergy between the spirits, to bring down a high-level Wind Spirit this easily was astounding.
“That was amazing.”
“Fire needs air to burn.”
Lily replied like it was nothing.
“Since your fire was already burning, I just had to seal off the space and make it explode.”
With nowhere for its body to form, the Wind Spirit had instantly been reverse-summoned.
‘Split-second judgment, combat intuition, and the ability to command spirits… Now I see why Elena treasures her.’
As Leo admired her skills—
Lily crossed her arms.
“Still, how shameless. Attacking us from the shadows like that!”
Lily scanned their surroundings with a visibly angry expression.
“Plus, the enemy still hasn’t withdrawn their killing intent.”
Speaking firmly, Lily maintained her [Spirit Power].
She was ready to summon a hero at a moment’s notice.
‘Elci.’
[You called, Leo.]
‘This entire area is under the control of a Great Spirit.’
[I see.]
‘Do you know how powerful a Great Spirit is within their own domain?’
[Hmm. I’ve never made a domain of my own.]
All Great Spirits shared a common authority.
That was [Domination].
The ability to subordinate lower spirits and command them.
Elci also had the authority of [Domination].
But she had never taken spirits under her wing.
She was still a young spirit, and having been born during the Age of Calamity, she hadn’t had the chance to build a force or claim a domain.
‘So you don’t know the extent. Then why are they hostile to us?’
Rumble—!
At that moment, the ground began to shake.
This time, Earth Spirits began to appear.
“Wha—? To summon such powerful spirits continuously…”
Lily was shocked.
“I think we should retreat.”
Lily nodded at his suggestion.
“We have no choice.”
Making a quick decision, Leo and Lily withdrew from the Zerodia Ruins.
A short while later—
After they moved far away from the fortress, there were no signs of the spirits pursuing them.
“We were assigned to escort a VIP, but we’ve already run into interference. This is a bit troubling.”
Hearing Lily’s comment, Leo fell into thought.
‘Is the VIP the Great Spirit?’
That wouldn’t be strange.
Considering Lumene’s influence, inviting a Great Spirit to the school was plausible.
‘But why attack us?’
He couldn’t understand the reason.
The killing intent had been real.
‘But for a Great Spirit, the attack was too weak.’
It felt more like they were being tested—like the spirit was gauging Leo and Lily’s capabilities.
‘I can’t figure out the intent.’
As Leo narrowed his eyes toward the distant walls of Zerodia and reached for his sword—
Whoosh— Clang!
A sharp metallic sound rang out.
Leo narrowed his eyes at the man who had suddenly appeared and swung a curved blade.
“Well now.”
The man let out a surprised exclamation.
Crash—!
A massive war hammer slammed toward the man’s torso.
Whoosh—!
The man leapt back swiftly, dodging the strike.
Whoosh—!
Leo stared, wide-eyed, at the war hammer that had barely missed his nose.
He had judged from the trajectory and distance that it wouldn’t hit, but the control was astounding.
Lily, not even a student in the Knights Department, was swinging a hammer that heavy with pure strength—it was incredible.
“Lily, you’re not a spirit knight, right?”
“No. I can’t use [Aura].”
“But the way you handle that hammer is anything but normal.”
“Well, I come from a military family. I’ve trained in combat since I was little.”
Seeing that, Leo understood why Elena and Hark called her a “monster girl.”
If she combined that battle hammer with her spirit arts, Lily could even be active on the front lines.
‘An all-rounder.’
Front line, rear guard, support—
She was a spirit arts user capable of filling every party role.
Thud—!
Lily slammed the head of her hammer into the ground and glared at the man who had ambushed them.
“Who are you? Are you the spirit arts user who attacked us?”
“Whoa~ Fierce. Fierce. Kids these days are really something.”
The man shook his head and sheathed his curved blade.
Then he took off his hat and grinned.
“You’re wondering who I am? Maybe this face will jog your memory?”
As Leo stared blankly at the smug man, he asked,
“Who are you?”
The man stumbled and shouted,
“Hey! How do you not recognize me?! I’m a famous face! I’m in the papers all the time!”
“I only read the international news section.”
“You! Second-year class rep! You recognize me, right?!”
Eyes wide, Lily gave an apologetic expression.
“I’m sorry. I only read the world affairs section too.”
“You two! You’re hero candidates! Shouldn’t hero candidates know the faces of successful seniors?! What, just because you’re class reps you think you don’t need to? Is that it?! Is this youthful arrogance? You think you’ll surpass your seniors without even knowing who they are?! That’s just pride! You need to know who you’re aiming to surpass!”
Clutching his chest in frustration, the man shouted,
“My name is Jean Karron!”
“Wait—The Knight of Undine?!”
Lily’s eyes widened in shock.
[Undine].
The name of the current Great Spirit of Water, also called the Spirit of the Deep Sea.
Among the existing Great Spirits, she was considered the strongest. Her domain spanned the vast oceans.
She was over a thousand years old.
And in all that time, she had never formed a contract with anyone.
But she had once bestowed a blessing on a hero—and that hero was Jean Karron.
As a spirit knight chosen by such a noble Great Spirit, the world knew him as the [Knight of Undine].
He was also a graduate of Lumene and had his name recorded in the [Hero Record].
“It’s an honor to meet you, sir! I’m Lily Luce, second year at Lumene. It’s truly an honor to meet a great hero whose name is etched in the Hero Record!”
Since he was technically a senior from her academy, Lily quickly gave a crisp and formal bow.
“Hmm! Good, good!”
Jean folded his arms and nodded, clearly satisfied.
“Now, you—first-year student council president, the unprecedented All-Class—surely you’ve at least heard of my fame?”
“Can I be honest?”
“Of course. Be honest and show me some respect like she did.”
“This is my first time hearing of you.”
Leo scratched his cheek as he spoke, and Jean’s face froze solid.
“I’m not too familiar with the current generation of heroes.”
“B-but Ain must’ve mentioned me at least once, right? I was the only one in our year to make it into the [Hero Record]!”
Jean and Ain had been classmates.
“Not even once.”
Leo had never heard Ain mention any of his former classmates.
Jean’s face contorted for a moment before he nodded slowly.
“I guess so. He was considered the most likely hero in our year. Maybe he’s just jealous that I made it first.”
As Jean gave a smug little laugh, Leo thought of Ain.
‘…More likely, Professor Ain just doesn’t care at all.’
Leo could tell the man in front of him was highly skilled.
But he also seemed like a complete airhead.
‘Maybe Ain thought there was nothing worth learning from him.’
Leo gave Jean a mildly pitying look.
Still full of pride, Jean crossed his arms again.
“Anyway, what were you two doing over there?”
“We were given a mission.”
“First and second years on a mission? Impressive. What kind of mission?”
“I’m afraid we can’t tell you that.”
Lily replied cautiously, not letting her guard down.
Even if he revealed his identity, it didn’t mean he was trustworthy.
From Lily’s perspective, Jean was still a suspicious figure.
‘Man, these kids are cautious.’
Jean muttered to himself and said,
“Judging by the location, it’s related to the Zerodia Ruins, right? Then I recommend giving up.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because a Great Spirit has taken up residence in those ruins.”
Lily’s expression changed at that.
Jean glanced at Leo.
‘Oh? So he already figured that out?’
Jean gave a meaningful smile.
‘Well, he didn’t become student council president in his first year for nothing. He’s also the Phoenix’s contractor.’
Gazing sharply at Leo, Jean spoke.
“The spirit residing there is the [Spirit of the Abyss].”
Lily flinched at those words.
[Spirit of the Abyss].
The current Great Spirit of the Darkness attribute.
Like Undine, it was also a Great Spirit who had never once formed a contract with anyone.
“You both know Undine is… picky, right? That’s why she doesn’t have a contractor. But the Spirit of the Abyss is a little different.”
Jean clicked his tongue.
“That one just hates humans.”