Chapter 397 Finally, A Vacation!
The water is stopped from flooding the city, but the huge amount of Mana overwhelming the area is a dead giveaway that something is happening. Scratch that, even the 70-foot-tall jellyfish is quite visible from afar. Everyone must be aware of the chaos, but I am not sure if they are going to interfere. But if there is any, I am sure they will be from the Empire.
"Hey, you! Thank you for erecting the wall, but I suggest you leave the place!" the idiotic lavender-haired Priestess shouts. "You won't survive whatever happens here."
The sheer stupidity of the girl makes me genuinely wonder how she can survive this world. Valeria and I are standing in the air. Not even all High-Ranked Mages can cast a flying Spell. How can she think I am weak for being able to do it? Fortunately, the sensible Knight—still idiotic, though—Andrea smacks some sense to the Priestess.
"He is not weak, you stupid! He is clearly a High-Ranked Mage—he is flying!"
With that said, though, Andrea also seems to have the same opinion as Sofia.
"We will properly compensate you for your effort, but we won't need your help." She bows politely. "As the representative of the Zechen Empire, we will take care of this. Our army is on their way to help us, so you don't have to worry."
A scoff involuntarily escapes me. The sheer entitlement in the words she said is astounding. She makes it sound like they are doing Guatencia a favor. They are here to snatch the Spirit. I can't just watch. I have to stop my opponent from getting stronger at every opportunity.
Ignoring their words, Valeria and I land on the water flooding the ground before them. They look at us incredulously. They want to say something, but the appendage of the literal water jellyfish sweeps us at that moment. I slap the appendage, sending it back to its owner. I shouldn't have held back, though, as it quite stings.
"W- What are you doing here!?" Andrea exclaims.
"I will ask the same question," I counter as I turn to face them.
"Wait… you are that guy we saw earlier! Were you following us!"
"Ah, that beautiful woman is here too!" Sofia exclaims.
"A bit late to notice that, don't you think?" I quirk an eyebrow. "Anyway, you may as well return and say to the Empire that you failed to get the Spirit."
Sofia's eyes widen. My guess is spot on, expectedly.
"We got here first! You can't take it away from us!"
The appendage of the jellyfish sweeps at us again, prompting me to catch it. I quirk an eyebrow at Andrea, causing her to grimace.
"Did she forget her brain in the womb?"
"I guess so…"
"Hey, what is that!?"
Swoosh!
Sofia's indignant exclamation is drowned out by the incoming water cannon. Valeria merely points her finger at it, causing it to burst harmlessly before it reaches us. It would have been harmless too even if it had hit us, though. The performance is still enough to awe the two. It is honestly quite disappointing that the representatives of the newly founded Empire only amount to this.
"You are going to make an enemy out of the Empire. Are you sure about it?" Andrea warns solemnly.
I tilt my head slightly. I contemplate revealing myself before deciding to just go for it. Pulling my hand down from my head to my torso in a tearing motion, I erase my disguise. My grey hair is now black and shiny. My feminine face turns more masculine. My body doesn't change as I didn't bother to disguise it.
"D- Demon!" Andrea shouts in disbelief.
I snort derisively at the remark. Even a kid can tell I am a Demon by looking at my horns. Neither of the two seems to recognize my face, but I have gotten my point across. However, I have to admit it may be quite unnecessary. I could have just revealed I am a wanderer who doesn't care about making the Empire my enemy.
"Oh my god, Andrea, he's that hot Demon I have been looking for! It's the Layland Kleinhaus who kicked God back to Heaven!"
"What are you talking about, Sofia!?"
I have to agree with Andrea this time. I don't know how hard Sofia's past is, but I am sure she has lost it. If she was even a little bit flirty, I would have thought she was a Succubus from the way her eyes glinted as she looked at me. Regardless, she is going to forget whatever happens in this place. In the worst-case scenario, for her, she will die alongside her Knight.
"You know what? You can have it! In return, let me come with you!" Sofia exclaims, making me blink.
"Have you lost your mind, Sofia?" Andrea shouts in frustration.
Sofia turns to Andrea with a solemn look. The jellyfish decides our time is up at this moment. It sends a torrent of waves at us which Valeria stops effortlessly by merely outstretching her hand. I shoot Valeria a look and she immediately nods at me. She is going to hold the jellyfish back while I am watching the interaction between the idiotic duo.
"We have never been part of the Zechen Empire, Andrea. We were merely orphans raised by a brothel in some poor masterless territory out there until I found out I could talk to Spirits. Duke Archibald took us in and raised us because of my ability. We owed him but we had repaid him by serving him until he died. We don't owe anything to the Zechen Empire."
Andrea looks constipated, so Sofia elaborates. "The Empire is going to use and cast us away when we have fulfilled our roles. You have seen how they work. Don't try to argue about it."
"But that doesn't mean that we should join the Demons!" Andrea retorts.
"You don't have to come if you don't want to." Sofia shrugs nonchalantly. "Besides, Demons are more trustworthy than humans, you know? They don't betray their contracts, ridiculous as they might be, unlike humans. At least, I know how far they are going to use me."
"Ridiculous…"
I don't blame Andrea in the least bit for losing her mind. I would have been bewildered too if I were her. Ignoring that, Sofia shoots me the same look she did earlier. I wonder if my pheromone did something wrong to her mind. I doubt that is the case. This girl has been unhinged even before she sees me.
"So, when are you going to hand out the contract?" she inquires enthusiastically.
At the question, I turn to Valeria. She quirks her eyebrow as if asking me why I am asking her. I honestly don't know what I should do about the idiotic Spirit Master, so I just ignore her and focus on the problem that we have been ignoring. My action reminds the duo of the Spirit they were asked to subdue, prompting them to focus on it.
Badump!
My heart pounds heavily. I feel lava coursing through my shining red veins, but I don't feel pain. The jellyfish is calling me. I doubted it at first which was why I watched Sofia and Andrea argue to make sure of the feeling. I am now sure that it is indeed calling me. To be exact, it is challenging me.
Allowing the Natural Energy that Ignio's heart produces to flow through my system, my vision quickly turns red. I feel warm. The power rush I feel is nothing compared to my True Form but enough to make me feel invincible. The jellyfish shoots out a beam of water at me, prompting me to shoot out a beam of fire through my palm.
Hiss!
The clash between the two contradicting elements causes steam to cover the surroundings. I feel the jellyfish's influence on the water particles, so I filter the air I breathe in. Not betraying my expectations, the temperature suddenly drops, causing the steam to solidify. If I had breathed the air in, my lungs would have suffered from ice shards.
Surprisingly, the Spirit Master and Knight duo is not having a coughing fit. Maybe, I am giving too little credit to them.
Whoosh!
A strong gale sweeps the area, clearing the air from any small ice shards. I glance at the back, finding Sofia stretching her hand. There is a green spirit flying beside her. She grins at me smugly as if she has just shown something amazing. Ignoring her, I return my attention to the jellyfish.
"You have failed, Ignio!" it suddenly roars, catching me off guard. "You couldn't save him!"
"Ignio is dead, mushy brain. You are talking to the one who inherited his heart," I apathetically say as I step forward.
"You broke your promise! You gave me empty words!"
Now that I think about it, in the flashback Ignio showed me, he was mad about Spartus getting the help of a Water Spirit. This Spirit might be the Spirit that he was talking about at that time. They seem to have an ongoing rivalry between them, so I kind of understand why I feel challenged. With that said, I am quite curious about the promise.
"I lent you my power to help him and fell into a millennium slumber only to wake up and find out that you failed. I am angry!"
I think I got the gist of what happened between Ignio and this Spirit. Spartus was hunted by the humans because of his ability to make friends with Spirits. Spartus made it clear that he didn't want any of his Spirits involved. Ignio didn't listen to him and witnessed his death. This Water Spirit must have wanted to do the same but Ignio somehow tricked it.
I wouldn't be happy too if I were her. However, I think Ignio cared enough about her to keep her here and prevent her from corrupting.
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