Chapter 26
“NOW, AS FOR the other duel…”
Mira gazed off into the distance at Eizenfald and the spirit chimera. Even from a hundred meters away, the unfolding battle was an intimidating sight. Despite their moment of peace, Mira and the Valkyrie Sisters were still in the middle of battle.
“Whoooa… I don’t wanna go over there.” Christina offered her perhaps-too-blunt impression of the situation. Naturally, Alfina scolded her. Yet they all secretly agreed with Christina’s comment. That was a duel between disaster and dynast. Even the Valkyrie Sisters would have trouble making any progress in the hell that was that battlefield.
As for the battle itself, Eizenfald was at a great advantage. If they kept fighting as they were, there was seemingly no chance that he would lose. But that was the issue: he may have had no chance of losing, but one couldn’t say with confidence that he would win either. More precisely, he could not win at this moment.
Perhaps thanks to the Spirit King’s blessing, Mira could sense the abnormal spiritual power contained within the chimera.
Each time Eizenfald attacked, some of the power faded. It was likely being consumed to heal wounds and restore lopped-off body parts. But Mira knew that Eizenfald was merely chipping away at an iceberg.
Perhaps by using his dragon breath… No, that would be too dangerous.
The spirit chimera had ridiculous defenses, as if someone had slapped a few too many zeros at the end of a boss’s HP. At this rate, Mira roughly calculated that it would take a day at minimum to defeat it.
She again considered ordering Eizenfald to use dragon breath, but she quickly kicked that train of thought off the track. It was simply too strong. It would take one, maybe two hits from an emperor’s dragon breath to blow the spirit chimera away, sure, but it had one flaw—ignorable in-game, but now that this was real life, it was something that would become a major problem.
“I think I’ll pass on being buried alive…”
Indeed, some attacks were too powerful. If it unleashed a dragon breath to blow away the spirit chimera, it would almost certainly destroy the base. That could result in the death of not just Cyril, but all of the Isuzu Alliance members who had come to the base following them.
Hrmm… Perhaps just a little dragon breath?
If Eizenfald held back with his dragon breath, it should still be much more efficient than hand-to-hand combat. Mira could do that with her magic, so why shouldn’t he be able to with his breath? Such was her logic. Mira used her mental connection with Eizenfald to see if the dragon thought it was possible.
“Hold back? Well, I won’t say I can’t.” His response was truly reassuring.
“Oho, good. In that case… Attack with the weakest dragon breath possible!”
“Understood, Mother!”
First, she would see what the weakest one did and go from there. Mira ordered Eizenfald to use his dragon breath—but within an instant, she turned pale and speechless.
Eizenfald held back as much as possible as he unleashed his dragon breath. A beam of light shot out, and before she knew it, the upper half of the spirit chimera had been blown away. There was a rumbling that sounded as though the world had met its end.
Everything in front of Eizenfald, including the walls, had been annihilated. For a couple minutes after, the whole place shook violently, and powerful winds swept through the room.
Mira grimaced as the wind tossed her into the air. Alfina and her sisters were likewise thrown upward, unable to stand up to the aftershock of Eizenfald’s dragon breath. But as experienced warrior maidens, they landed with grace, and Alfina herself even managed to catch Mira on the way down. Christina, meanwhile, twirled and spun in midair like a gymnast before striking a perfect landing. Unfortunately, nobody saw her “Ultra C” performance.
This…is actually dangerous. Mira grinned nervously as she gazed at the destroyed battlefield.
Even at a glance, Mira could see that much of the power within the chimera had been drained away by that attack. However, there was no way she could use that attack again; even a minimum-strength dragon breath had nearly dealt fatal damage to the base. If Eizenfald did that once more, the whole thing was sure to collapse.
The cause of this miscalculation was that Eizenfald’s basic dragon breath was far stronger than it had been in her time. He was a growing boy, indeed.
“What do we do now, Master?” Alfina asked.
“That last attack stripped the beast of much power. At this rate, it shouldn’t take even half a day. If everyone here works together, we may be able to finish it off faster. However…”
That dragon’s breath had blown away a surprising amount of spiritual power; based on how much remained and their current forces, Mira surmised that the battle would be over in a few hours. But then she happened to catch sight of something unusual.
What is going on here…
Formless spirits wandered about in midair. When she focused, she realized that they leaked out each time the spirit chimera was struck. They had simply grown much greater in number due to the sudden enormous hit to the beast, allowing Mira to notice their thick presence.
The spiritual power had simply separated from the chimera, rather than dying. Mira looked up at the wandering spirits with pity in her eyes. How she wished she could save them.
It was then that she seemed to feel something connecting within her. A voice appeared in her mind: “Will you rescue my kin?”
Mira recognized that grand and dignified yet kind voice. She immediately replied that she would love to. The symbols of the Spirit King’s blessing appeared on her arm and began to glow brightly, and the method for saving the spirits naturally appeared in her mind. It was an odd feeling, as if she’d suddenly remembered a long-lost memory.
The Spirit King had a direct connection to her mind. Moved a bit by this fantasy trope, Mira stepped forward and murmured, “I see…”
“Master? What’s happened to you…?”
“Rather cool, don’t you think? It seems the Spirit King is lending me his strength. It comes with a rather strict condition, though. Unfortunately, I’ll need to ask you sisters to push yourselves even harder.”
The blessing’s symbols extended from the top of her head to her toes. It was truly an unusual sight, reminiscent of some kind of ritual. However, the power pulsing from her was so divine that it surprised even the Valkyrie Sisters, who shuddered before their master’s new power.
The knowledge the Spirit King had bestowed on Mira would allow her to save not only the spirits wandering about, but also the ones within the chimera.
According to the Spirit King’s wisdom, the spirit chimera was an amalgam of spirits who’d lost their sense of self. It would be impossible to bring them back to their original forms—but their souls could still be saved.
The method was a summoning contract. However, it was no ordinary contract; it was one formed through the king’s blessing. The very pinnacle and caretaker of spirits, the Spirit King. His power would be especially effective on spirits who’d lost their sense of self, bringing them peace even amid their current state of chaos.
This power was activated through the Spirit King’s blessing. By using it, though it would take time, she could save the souls of the spirit chimera and the lost spirits. The jumbled beings would then be reborn into a new spirit vessel.
Newborn spirits were extremely weak. But if Mira made a contract using the Spirit King’s blessing, this connection would allow him to shelter the resulting baby spirit. Once the spirits’ souls were freed from their chimeric vessel, the vessel could be transformed into something less harmful. That was the Spirit King’s plan, which he entrusted to Mira.
The problem was the process to get there. First, Mira had to gather up all of the lost spirits. That in itself was not difficult; they followed the Spirit King’s light and gathered around Mira even now.
So what was the problem? That would be the spirit chimera, of course. In order to form a contract, Mira would have to stand right next to it and hold out her hand. Only Eizenfald could get so close to it and remain safe; as someone with the body of a little girl, Mira couldn’t exactly pull off such a stunt.
But this was the only course of action that would save the spirits. She had to find a way.
***
“And there you have it, Valkyrie Sisters. I leave the support to you.” After Mira described the situation and her strategy, she began striding toward the spirit chimera.
“Understood. We will do everything in our power to back you up.” The Valkyrie Sisters spread out on either side of her.
“Are you ready, my son?” she asked. She’d explained things to Eizenfald as well.
“Yes, Mother. Any time!”
Mira gazed at her son still fighting valiantly in the distance, gradually quickening her steps. “Now, we begin!” she called out, and broke out into a sprint.
Meanwhile, Eizenfald and the Valkyries leapt into action. With swords in hand, Alfina and her sisters swept ahead of Mira. They shot toward Eizenfald, who had stopped attacking and was now simply trying to detain the giant chimera in his arms.
“The time has finally come.”
The closer Mira approached, the stronger the winds blew. The world seemed to visibly change around her.
[Resonant Evocation: Sylphid]
Mira donned the power of a wind spirit to nullify the fangs of the raging gales. She tore through roaring flames with sage magic, used partial summoning to fend off lightning strikes, and pressed on without pause.
Ten or so seconds after she’d started moving, the battle changed drastically. Eizenfald had pinned the spirit chimera to the ground with a dull thud.
Alfina and her sisters sprang into action. They spread out in a line and closed in on the chimera at once, stabbing their swords into its four limbs, tail, head, and wings. Their duty was to support Eizenfald, doing everything they could to keep the foe down. The sisters could forcefully seal the spirit chimera’s disastrous powers with their swords, though doing so put an incredible burden on them.
“Eeeep! Alfina, this is rough!” Christina complained as she desperately held firm.
“I…I can keep going! Compared to Alfina’s training, this is…nothiiing!” Elezina grimaced in agony, apparently comparing the battle to some ongoing trauma.
However, no matter how they tried to withstand it, their protection would run out over time in this vortex of pain.
“I don’t think we can hold on for long…” By Alfina’s estimation, they wouldn’t last even a few minutes. She struggled to keep her hold on the foe. However, she did not look worried—she had faith that Mira could finish the job in the time they had.
Rising to her expectations, Mira ran over and stopped under the wing of Eizenfald, who was still holding the spirit chimera down with all his might.
“Mother, it’s really fighting me!” Eizenfald reported, taking the majority of the chimera’s force. Though he was stronger than the enemy, restraining a foe in this manner was more difficult than simply overpowering them.
Even as an Imperial Dragon and the Valkyrie sisters used all their strength and skill to keep it pinned down, the spirit chimera struggled violently.
“Just a little longer, son!” Mira replied, putting her hand on the back of the chimera’s head and activating Contract Forging.
The Spirit King’s blessing told her how to do all of this. Although this was her first time, she followed the steps like an expert and poured the Spirit King’s power into the spirit chimera.
The space under Eizenfald’s wing was an isolated, calm zone divorced from the chaos all around it. Thanks to this, Mira was able to finish her work without issue.
The results were almost immediate. The roaring thunder faded, the storm calmed, and the swirling flames dissipated into nothing. The spirit chimera and the lost spirits gathered around Mira all began to shine like the stars above the Spirit Palace, growing in intensity until they gradually became one light.
Eventually, the orb of light containing all of the spirits had shrunk down to the size of a fist. It covered Mira’s outstretched hand, and from it spread a magic circle that spread around not just her, but her and the fighting beasts. It was even larger than Eizenfald’s summoning circle, prompting visible shock and astonishment from even Mira herself.
Suddenly, the great magic circle transformed into fire, water, wind, earth, and all of the other eight foundational spirit elements. Along with the orb of light, they were all sucked into Mira’s palm.
“Hrmm. A success…” Mira felt the sensation of a contract being formed and the enormous power passing through her. For a moment, she had a vision of the Spirit King cradling a baby.
“You have my deepest thanks for rescuing my kin. One day, your efforts will be rewarded.”
“Don’t mention it. I only did it because I wanted to,” Mira answered. The Spirit King in her mind smiled with sad, benevolent eyes.
***
The boss chamber fell silent.
“Splendidly done, Master.” The Valkyries stood in a line before Mira and kneeled.
“You go, Mother!” Eizenfald sidled up next to Mira and shuffled restlessly, like a loyal dog awaiting orders.
“I couldn’t have done it without your help, everyone. Well done. One couldn’t ask for more reliable allies.”
“Oh, Master!” Alfina was moved to tears. Her sisters weren’t quite as emotional, but they, too, were proud and joyful.
“Motheeer!” Apparently taking that praise as his signal, Eizenfald transformed his shape into that of a young man and hugged Mira indulgently.
“Oho, and you’re even wearing clothes this time. Well done.”
Eizenfald was no doubt the MVP of the day. He’d been waiting for her for a long time; Mira decided to accept her son’s affection and stroked his hair. She’d expected this to happen, but she was relieved that Eizenfald actually wore a robe in his human form this time.
Meanwhile, Alfina gazed at the happy family with just the slightest hint of envy.
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