There was no time to waste. He needed to do the most damage he could, as fast as he could, and constantly, if he wished to bring down this beast.
Astaroth immediately cast Ignite on the bear, causing its fur to light on fire, as it started taking damage continuously. Of course, Astaroth knew this damage alone would never be enough on its own.
That was why he had already thought of something else.
Luna's meld was coming undone already, and he didn't want to meld with White just yet. He thought it was best to have all his summons out to help fight the smaller corrupted monsters.
So he tried figuring out a way while he fought earlier to keep them summoned. And an idea occurred to him.
Astaroth recalled the process of summoning them, as he did so with Luna. He would inject mana into their souls, and that would conjure up a temporary body for them, allowing them to manifest.
But what if he put something stronger into their soul to start with? Would he be able to make them last longer?
He knew one point of Aether, was the equivalent of a thousand points of mana. And Aether was qualitatively better than mana, too.
Using Aether to summon his spirit companions would be incredibly more costly than mana. But what would happen?
He decided now was as good a time as any to find out.
Astaroth focused on the energy inside him and around him, quickly finding Aether particles in the air. Coaxing them towards himself, he sucked them in and pushed them into White Death's soul, which had just returned, as well as Luna's.
The souls shone brightly inside him for a second, before ejecting from his body. When their bodies formed, they looked a lot more vivid, and he could see their form were more tangible as well.
But from his mana sense, he could also see that the bodies were degrading at a fast pace. The Aether had broken down into mana inside their bodies, and was already leaking out.
He calculated they expended around five points of mana per second. But he thought of a way to counterbalance that already.
He tethered his mana core to their bodies, immediately feeling the mana drain from him to refill their forms. As he did that, he received a notification again.
*Spell learned!*
·?θm *Your knowledge of the greater energy, Aether, has allowed you to temporarily bend the laws of nature. You have given bodies to souls of the departed, at a high cost to yourself. Spell; Spirit Summoning has gained a mastery level. Spell gained; Soul Manifestation. Congratulations, player Astaroth!*
Astaroth could already feel the toll on his mana, that maintaining these two souls was costing him. But he didn't care.
With the biggest stupid grin he could muster, he looked at his companions.
"Go! Fight the small fry while Genie and I deal with this big fugly one!"
White Death howled to the sky, feeling his body coursing with energy, while Luna raked the ground with her hooves. Both of them could feel the difference in their states, and knew this was a form much more sustainable.
Astaroth let them go, while he locked his gaze on the red bear again.
The Giant Blood Bear was getting back to its senses, and its health had gone back to full again, with only the burning effect chipping at it while Astaroth had focused on something else.
But now that he got what he wanted, Astaroth could focus entirely on this beast. Genie was also done channelling whatever skill she was preparing, as the surrounding mana was saturated and swelling no more.
Through the status messages, Astaroth could see what skills his companions used, as well as the ones Genie used.
*Genie used; Blessings Of The Forest.*
Astaroth had no way of knowing what it would do until he saw it for himself, though. But he surmised that with that long of a charging time, it wouldn't be a useless skill.
As his thoughts erred that way, Genie's form started glowing slightly. So Astaroth focused on her.
The ground around her suddenly started shaking slightly, as vines and stone lifted off of it, wrapping up around Genie, and forming some kind of armour on her. Her body got covered entirely, and she suddenly looked like a stone and wood tank.
It was almost comical, if not for the fact that Astaroth could feel the density of mana in the armour she was now covered in. Her body had also grown in size slightly, making her as big as the red bear they were facing.
Astaroth wondered how long this skill lasted, but now wasn't the time for asking questions, nor was it the time for looking at her status screen. He had already wasted enough time watching her use it.
Locking his gaze back on his target, Astaroth grinned.
He ignited the bear a second time, just to have the extra damage per second, as he changed Ad Astra's form again. This time, he went for a long but thin sword, somewhat resembling an estoc.
Astaroth had in mind something different from just blasting the damned beast with damage, this time. But he snickered as he put his plan in motion.
Thinking of the next demon he was going to torture into melding with him, he mentally face-palmed. After fighting the demons to get the legacy, he learned all their names and ranks.
And he finally understood why Solomon had been so curious about his character name.
'Ironic that I will finally use the power of the one demon who openly attacked me while still under Solomon's control. And it just had to be him…'
He focused hard on the image of said demon, summoning him before him. The tall, slender, naked man, with a crown on his head, and feathered wings like an angel appeared.
His deep blue eyes locked on Astaroth's.
"You finally summon me, boy. Did you bring me out to let me feed on your soul?"
Astaroth sneered.
"Shut up."
Saying this, he shoved his left hand into the demon's chest, reaching into the soul, and sapping the essence out of it.
"I called you out to make you my bitch, Astaroth, Duke of hell."
The demon's face was neutral, but Astaroth could still feel the rage boiling under it, from his contact with the soul. And then they merged.
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