I stared at the massive spirit that had appeared behind Yustasio.
A flickering black shape.
A humanoid silhouette.
I knew exactly what it was.
“Perkag….”
What Yustasio had just summoned was the Great Shadow Spirit, Perkag. It was one of the three Great Spirits that had contracted with Visanya in the original story, possessing the power to infuse shadows with physical force and manipulate them at will.
I had vaguely expected this.
The man before me was someone who had definitely died in the main story. Yet his skill list included Unique Contract Spirit Arts (S), a skill that could only be obtained by contracting with a Great Spirit.
The exact reason and process behind Visanya contracting with those three Great Spirits had never been clearly explained in the original novel either.
It wasn’t uncommon for a Great Spirit that had lost its contractor to seek a new compatible host nearby. He must have been chosen as Yustasio’s successor after the man fell to the Five Heroes.
[MacGuffin No.498 / Perkag recovered.]
[Achievement Points + 750]
“If it had been Naxlister, this would’ve been free EXP, but things just got annoying.”
I recalled the name of the last Great Spirit Visanya had contracted with in the original story. The spirit Yustasio had contracted with was most likely one of the two besides Obsidirola, and Naxlister would have been far easier to deal with in terms of compatibility.
It was a fifty-fifty chance and we had drawn the short straw, but I had already prepared countermeasures specifically for Perkag. The spirit had one fatal weakness, so it wasn’t a major problem.
I quickly sketched out a rough strategy in my head.
Yustasio’s title trait, Thousand Pivots (S+), granted bonuses to accuracy and power regardless of skill type.
The more high-grade skills from different categories he learned, the closer he came to being an all-rounder. However—unlike other title traits—it offered zero growth acceleration or proficiency bonuses. To truly maximize its efficiency, he needed a wide array of growth-type traits or decades of dedicated training.
For someone like me who could simply draw skills at will, that drawback didn’t apply, which was why—along with Rakshasa (S+)—it had been one of the title traits I had seriously considered acquiring until the very end.
The reason I had ultimately leaned toward Sword Demon (S+) instead of solidifying my position as an all-rounder jack-of-all-trades was simply because of the lack of explosive combat power.
Just looking at how Estriel, who was two levels lower, was unilaterally pushing back the Thousand Pivots owner proved that point.
Of course, it wasn’t a bad trait. Its true value only shone when multiple means were used in combination.
Exactly like what Yustasio was attempting right now.
BOOM!
I smashed the skull of one already-weakened demonized Praszkeak executive. That took care of every executive. If reinforcements arrived it would be a different story, but the only guild members left in the room now were ordinary grunts.
I glanced toward Chesa. Brilliant multicolored elements swirled around her body. Having learned the direct-line secret elemental magic of the Lakruz family (S), her long-range firepower had reached an entirely different dimension from before.
Our eyes met for a brief moment.
I needed to support Estriel. No words were necessary—our intentions aligned perfectly.
Yustasio shouted.
“…Perkag!”
The shadows of the dead executives rippled, then suddenly surged toward the wide-open maw of Perkag as if being sucked in.
Shlurp.
The absorbed shadows were digested and refined inside the Great Spirit’s body, then reshaped into armor that wrapped tightly around Yustasio’s form.
At the same time, he stopped using his heart method and began operating a mana cultivation technique. He intended to fight by combining spirit arts and magic spells.
<Shock Hammer>
BOOM! A heavy impact sent Estriel’s body flying. With his comparatively low [Mana] and [Strength] relative to his level, he couldn’t properly deflect Yustasio’s spell.
Instead, he instantly drew his curved blade and wrapped it in vibrating qi to disperse the spell’s force, then took a perfect landing stance.
Right after, something pitch-black shot out from Perkag’s mouth behind Yustasio. It was the materialized shadows of the executives the spirit had just devoured.
“Perkag!”
Yustasio pointed at the airborne Estriel and shouted. The shadow shot forward like a bullet.
Slash!
The attack was bizarre in shape, yet Estriel remained calm. He sliced the now-solid shadow apart, then used the remnants as stepping stones to drop lightly back to the ground.
Mid-motion, Estriel’s left hand blurred as it brushed past his own waist.
Crack!
A dull impact sounded near Yustasio’s head. His eyes widened. From the corner of his vision he saw a heavy iron weight bounce away. The force had been enough to crush a skull in one blow, but the shadow armor created by Perkag had softened the impact enough to save him.
Estriel landed.
Yustasio gave a cold smile.
“…Impressive. Truly impressive. Far better than those self-proclaimed members of the Continent’s Twelve Heroes. And that experience—you clearly aren’t some young talent drunk on your own gifts. I’ve heard rumors about the blessing of eternal youth. Are you perhaps the Holy Nation of Caliroy’s hidden trump card?”
“You have no intention of answering, I see. Well, no matter. I already have a rough idea.”
Yustasio recalled the unexpected guests he had encountered while retrieving Visanya.
Rumors about the Glicia civil war and its key figures had also reached his ears.
A man who paid close attention to neighboring countries’ affairs would never fail to recognize two individuals with such striking personalities.
Yustasio shouted again.
“…Perkag!”
Estriel sharpened all his senses to the limit. Strangely, this time he did not feel the threat from Perkag’s main body, but from killing intent coming from every direction.
Yet he had no leisure to focus solely on that strange unease.
<Shock Hammer> <Lightning Spear>
Yustasio began dual-casting two spells at once through multi-chanting.
But Estriel was not without countermeasures.
Tap tap tap tap! Thud!
Using overwhelming mobility, he sprinted across the floor, kicked off walls and ceiling, and began weaving in every direction.
The movements were so irregular that even Yustasio found it difficult to predict the trajectory.
At one point Estriel kicked off the ceiling and charged straight forward.
‘Vileshaker.’
WHOOOSH!
The densely packed shadow armor around Perkag shattered into pieces with a vibrating sound.
Yustasio’s follow-up flame spell <Blaze> flew at Estriel, but his figure had already blurred away once more.
Truly superhuman speed!
“Tch!”
Yustasio clicked his tongue in irritation.
He was currently using a mana cultivation technique instead of his heart method to amplify firepower. Since he was relying solely on the shadow armor without energy armor or body reinforcement, a single direct hit from the resonance shatter art’s ultimate technique would tilt the scales of victory toward Estriel.
Then, at that moment.
Swoosh!
“…?!”
Something pitch-black wrapped tightly around Estriel’s ankle as he moved. Thanks to his superhuman sense of balance he avoided falling, but the momentary restraint created an opening.
<Shock Hammer>
BOOM!
Yustasio’s spell slammed into the restrained Estriel. The impact transmitted through his entire body. With his foot bound, he couldn’t properly disperse the force.
The range Perkag could manipulate included the opponent’s own shadow.
Controlling a shadow that wasn’t his own required some preparation time, but it was ultimately only a matter of seconds.
“Ptui!”
Estriel violently spat out the blood filling his mouth.
He swung his blade to cut away his own shadow, but the intangible shadow simply reformed instantly. Worse, it was now trying to wrap around more than just his ankle.
‘This is dangerous….’
In that instant, Estriel fell into a dilemma.
Of course he had a way to break out of this situation.
But it was quite literally his trump card, and even as a master of the resonance shatter art, it was a technique he could only use once per battle.
If he used it now just to escape danger, he would have no finishing move left.
Right then—
Clink! Crash!
“What?!”
Yustasio’s eyes widened in visible shock. The lights illuminating the underground guild house began shattering one after another.
Bang! Crackle! Thud!
<Electric Ball> <Flame Spear>
The cause was the barrage of spells Aiden and Chesa were firing at the ceiling and walls.
Clink! The final light burst, and at the same moment the restraint binding Estriel’s foot vanished without a trace.
Perkag’s shadows were literally shadows.
Without a light source, they lost their power.
Having regained his freedom, Estriel hardened his expression. Thanks to Aiden and Chesa’s support, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity had arrived.
“Shhh…”
Breathing overload.
Estriel’s skin flushed bright red.
At the same time, the frequency of the qi he operated skyrocketed with terrifying momentum.
Alsigima Resonance Shatter Art.
Ultimate technique—Space Quake.
Fwoooosh!!
The vibrating qi that had been compressed to its limit erupted in every direction at once.
What happened next could only be described as a supernatural phenomenon.
Hssss! First, the two spells Yustasio had been chanting in both hands evaporated helplessly. Even Perkag’s presence, manifested through his mana, flickered and weakened for a brief instant.
Space Quake maximized the unique vibrating property of Reverse Veins and released it outward, evaporating every particle of nearby qi and mana in a wide-area ultimate technique.
It was an artificial means of creating the disaster commonly called “mana vacuum” by alchemists at the Alpanium Library.
Although the emptied space would only remain void for the tiniest fraction of a second before mana rushed back in, every living being within range—except Estriel himself—would be rendered completely unable to use mana during that time.
In simple terms, Yustasio’s [Mana] stat had temporarily dropped to 0, which was equivalent to a level drop of fifteen or more.
Shunk!
“Guh…!”
The scimitar and Inquisitor’s Needle (S) that Estriel hurled like lightning pierced straight into the defenseless Yustasio’s chest.
<Light Ball>
The instant the mana vacuum ended, a glowing orb formed in Yustasio’s palm. The moment the light source appeared, Perkag’s shadows regained their physical power—but the scales of victory had already tilted decisively to one side.
“You damn—!”
Yustasio cursed and yanked the scimitar from his chest.
Squirt!
Blood sprayed everywhere and his body staggered. His superhuman [Vitality] kept him alive, but he was in no condition to continue fighting for long.
Knowing this, he reached into his coat. He intended to take the healing medicine made from Visanya’s blood.
I used <Padio Blink> to leap through space and swung the balance.
“Gah…!”
He barely dodged the strike from the Balance of Good and Evil (S+). However, the healing medicine in his hand spilled completely onto the floor.
“You bastard…!”
Yustasio’s gaze and hand chased after me. Following his will, the Great Spirit Perkag’s shadow tried to wrap around my body.
However—
Crackle!
Thunder God Physique (S) had an extreme advantage against dark attributes. Moreover, our [Mana] stats were roughly equal.
The intense lightning completely vaporized the shadow without a trace.
He drew the sword from his waist and thrust it forward. CLANG! It collided with my balance, and the two of us were pushed backward in unison.
“Over here!”
“Support the boss!”
Soon after, the sound of numerous footsteps echoed from nearby. Quite a few of them carried the presence of guild executive-level combatants.
I gave Estriel a look.
He grinned and said to me,
“The needle’s already in!”
“Perfect!”
I slung the Balance of Good and Evil (S+) across my back and drew the Burn Sword (A).
“We’ll be taking your lovely daughter and raising her well, Your Highness the Crown Prince. We still have quite a few questions, so we’ll see you again soon.”
“…!”
At the deliberately provocative remark, Yustasio’s eyes turned bloodshot with rage.
<Boost Burn>
BOOOOM!
A massive explosion filled my vision. Just like when we first infiltrated, I scooped Chesa up in my arms and quickly retreated from the scene.