Chapter 496: Spirit
Niza’s expression darkened the moment the enormous Spirit Wolf charged toward him. The wind itself had become the spirit’s weapon.
BOOM!!
The spirit vanished from its position, leaving behind only a violent cyclone.
"So fast!"
Niza instinctively crossed his twin swords before himself.
CLANG!!
The giant wolf crashed into him. The impact sent him sliding backward across the ground.
His boots carved long trenches into the earth before he finally regained his footing. Before he could even breathe.
SWISH!!
The Spirit Wolf disappeared once again. It reappeared at his left side. Its massive claws, coated in compressed wind, tore through the air.
Niza barely managed to block.
CLANG!!
The sheer force of the attack threw him several meters away.
"Tch!"
He clicked his tongue. ’I can’t overpower it.’
The spirit wasn’t stronger than him. But inside the domain of wind, it possessed complete control over the surrounding atmosphere.
His own wind magic was almost useless. "I’ll avoid direct clashes."
Niza immediately changed his strategy. Instead of attacking head-on, he began retreating while searching for openings.
The wolf chased relentlessly.
BOOM!
Its claws slammed into the ground. The earth exploded. Niza narrowly rolled to the side.
Another slash followed.
SWISH!!
Several blades of wind crossed through the forest. Three giant trees were sliced apart instantly.
"Damn monster!"
He leaped backward again. The Spirit Wolf opened its mouth. A sphere of compressed emerald wind rapidly formed.
Niza’s eyes widened.
"What now?!"
The sphere shot toward him like a cannonball.
BOOOOM!!
He crossed both swords before himself. The explosion swallowed his entire figure.
A violent storm spread throughout the battlefield.
When the smoke cleared.
Niza stumbled out. His cloak had been completely shredded. Several deep cuts covered his arms and chest.
Blood slowly dripped onto the ground.
"Haa..."
His breathing had become noticeably heavier. "So this is the power of a contracted spirit..."
He wiped the blood from the corner of his lips.
The wolf continued staring at him with its emerald eyes. Not a hint of emotion could be seen within them.
It was merely carrying out its summoner’s command. Not giving Niza another chance to recover. The Spirit Wolf charged again.
Meanwhile... A few dozen meters away...
Eliana remained standing with her bow lowered. Brilliant green mana continuously flowed from her body. Countless streams of energy traveled through the magical connection linking her to the Spirit Wolf.
Sweat rolled down her forehead. Her breathing became heavier.
Spirits use special energy called spirit energy. It’s not totally different from mana. Rather it was more pure and higher form of mana.
Which kind of mana Eliana had posses in small amount. Currently she was giving her whole spirit energy and even her normal mana to the spirit. The wind wolf spirit she summoned was higher rank one after all. She couldn’t keep it in this world for much longer.
"Haa..."
Her legs trembled slightly. The spirit itself did not possess endless energy. It was a being made entirely of natural force.
To remain in the human world, it required its contractor’s mana.
And Eliana was still far weak to handle this spirit. She simply didn’t possess enough mana to maintain such a powerful spirit for long.
Her face gradually turned pale. More and more mana left her body every second. The emerald light surrounding her slowly began to dim.
"No..."
She whispered while clenching her teeth.
"Just a little longer..."
Far ahead, the Spirit Wolf suddenly slowed. Its movements weren’t as explosive as before. The emerald wind surrounding its body weakened.
Niza immediately noticed the change.
"...So that’s it."
A grin slowly appeared on his face.
"The summoner has reached her limit."
The Spirit Wolf lunged once more. Niza dodged instead of blocking.
"You’ve become slower."
The wolf swung its claws again.
Niza slipped underneath the attack and slashed upward.
SLASH!
His blade left a shallow wound across the spirit’s chest. Instead of blood countless green particles scattered into the air.
The Spirit Wolf growled. Its body flickered for a brief moment.
Niza laughed.
"So that’s your weakness."
He no longer tried defeating the spirit. He simply continued evading.
Every passing second consumed more of Eliana’s mana.
Far away Eliana’s breathing became increasingly ragged.
Her vision blurred. The connection between her and the Spirit Wolf became unstable. The enormous beast also began flickering repeatedly.
The emerald wind surrounding its body dispersed little by little.
"I’m... sorry..."
Eliana muttered weakly.
"I can’t... hold on anymore..."
The magical contract finally reached its limit. The Spirit Wolf looked toward Eliana one last time.
Its intelligent emerald eyes remained calm. It understood.
Its summoner had exhausted herself. The wolf let out one final majestic howl.
"AAWWOOOOOOOOOO!!"
Its body dissolved into countless emerald particles.
The wind surrounding the battlefield calmed. The glowing particles rose gently into the sky. Then they disappeared into a newly formed spirit portal.
The portal quietly closed behind them. The Spirit Wolf had returned safely to the Spirit World.
The green light surrounding Eliana vanished completely.
"Haa..."
She dropped onto one knee. Her breathing was uneven. Her body felt incredibly heavy. Almost all of her mana had been drained from maintaining the spirit throughout the battle.
Niza remained standing several meters away. Blood stained his clothes.
Several injuries covered his body. Even though he had survived. The Spirit Wolf had pushed him further than he had expected.
"...What troublesome abilities these academy students possess."
He tightened his grip on his twin swords. Despite his wounds, his eyes still burned with killing intent.
Just then something sharp needle like things hit against his back. Some even hit on his wounds that made him feel slight pain.
"Arghh! What was that?"
He put his hand behind and something needle like was tear slightly inside his flesh. He pulled it out and check what it was, there in his hand was thin sharp needle of blood red color.
He narrowed his eyes. He could tell there were several needles that were thrust on his back. He turned around and saw the black hair boy still standing.
"What’s this? What are you planning-?"
Suddenly he felt like something was crawling inside his body, through his blood.
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