Chapter 178 – 178. Subordination Contracts (1)
Spirits are supernatural beings whose souls dwell in places where mana that exists in nature is condensed, and who become aware of their own existence as their egos sprout.
As beings born from nature, spirits are born with the attributes of nature, and the same goes for Elvin born in the shadows.
The current Elvin is a spirit, not a human, and is far from being born in nature because he is a spirit artificially created through Eunhyeon and Illyana’s technology.
When Erwin was alive, Eunhyeon and Illyana created an artifact that could contain his imaging technique before killing Erwin.
Meanwhile, Eunhyeon ordered Erwin to transfer all of his thoughts into the shadow contained in the artifact.
Originally, magic that deals with people’s souls or thoughts was an area that was absolutely impossible except for necromancy, but Elvin’s case was a little different.
The method of using the imaging technique he uses is a method of fixing the form and manipulating the shadow by putting his thoughts and magic containing ‘aggression’ in his shadow.
Conversely, as time goes by, the shadow that has grown little by little by eating the thoughts of Alvin’s aggression begins to become more and more ferocious, devouring the reason of the owner, Alvin, and eventually encroaching on the body and losing control. There is a fatal risk.
Randall follows Elvin’s case, grants thoughts of ‘defensiveness’ rather than ‘aggressiveness’ to use the shadows, or has the corpse of the beast eaten by the shadow so that the corpse of the beast, not himself, takes the risk While doing so, he improved the imaging technique in his own way.
Eun-hyeon also listened to the information about the imaging technique that he heard from Alvin, and sought possibilities in his own way, and came up with a way for him to end his life as a human and come back to life.
Even if it means being revived as an artificial spirit rather than a human being, it was enough for Erwin to be able to see her younger sister’s healthy face once again.
In the end, he adapted himself to being eaten by the shadow, and in the artifact where Elvin’s shadow was completely sealed, a fierce fight took place between Elvin and the shadow to take the initiative, and in the end, Elvin won.
Erwin’s tenacity to go out of the artifact one day and face Erin once again was the result of his victory.
“That’s why I’ve become a spirit that can control the shadows without any risk.”
Now that she had abandoned her body, Elvin, who had completely assimilated magic and shadows, no longer had to take the risk of the shadows eating away at his head and body.
It was because Alvin himself had become a shadow spirit.
“It’s an artificially created spirit… Does Alice know about this?”
“I don’t know. But the reaction is pretty predictable. Maybe he doesn’t like it very much?”
An old colleague from the past, an elemental magician who regards the spirits born from her natural mana as sacred, she may not be pleased with what Eunhyeon and Illyana have done to artificially create spirits.
It is like the act of making a child through a completely different process through some kind of technology, not the process of conceiving a child through a relationship between a man and a woman.
Just as ethical issues were raised during the cloning of human beings or livestock or negative opinions about genetic manipulation in ancient earth civilizations.
Beings called spirits are beings born from self-consciousness sprouting from the aggregate of pure and clean mana, and they lend their strength to spirit sorcerers and are lifelong companions.
Just as the priests deify the goddess Vesta, the source of their divine power, there was a possibility that the fact that the dead human beings were artificially turned into spirits would be inconvenient for the elemental magicians, who regard spirits as sacred beings.
“Well, you know the situation when you shut it up.”
“No, I don’t think I’ll be angry unconditionally… Even if Hyun-i is your older brother, wouldn’t Alice see this as insulting the spirits?”
Gerard glanced at Alvin, who was standing still, with a subtle gaze.
Leo also made a complicated expression.
“You did well. To make a dead human into a spirit… It seems to be getting worse and worse.”
“That’s not how I came up with it. It’s the way Hyun-i came up with. In the first place, I hadn’t even imagined it this way. Creating spirits with magic, common sense would have anyone tried something like this. Besides that… I explained that it was a spirit, but we can see it.”
Spirits are basically invisible to human eyes.
Only a very small number of humans with nature-friendly characteristics have the qualifications to become spiritists, and ordinary people do not properly recognize the existence of spirits.
Even if you try to study an invisible or audible existence, it is impossible to do so, so spirits are special beings.
However, Elvin materialized her own body composed of her mana and her shadow, and she existed here, proudly showing off her own existence.
“Yeah…”
While listening to the conversation between the three heroes, Cain raised her hand and asked her to speak.
“Then I… Alvin Hersha… Was the seal called, no, the spirit created by the witch-sama and her husband?”
“What, are you going to do that?”
“If it goes out of control, isn’t there any possibility that it will endanger Pernin?”
“Unless provoked, there will be none.”
“If a catastrophic incident occurs due to stimulation, do you have any means to control it?”
“…”
Erin frowned at Cain’s concerned demeanor as she treated her own brother, Elvin, like an uncontrollable monster.
However, she said that his concerns and questions were directly related to Pernin’s safety, and that they were concerns stemming from the fact that Elvin in her lifetime was a warlock, so Erin didn’t say much either.
It was a question she always had in mind for the safety of the country.
It is also true that Alvin’s position is too bad to say anything about that.
“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that part. That part seems to have been made by Hyun-yi while killing Elvin in her lifetime.”
“… Is it a contract?”
“As a condition of making her a spirit, Alvin signed a contract with Hyuni. She is similar to the spirit contract between an elementalist and a spirit.”
“Hey, Miss Illyana. Her words…”
After hearing Illyana’s explanation, Erin hardened her expression.
“Huh. Erwin couldn’t disobey Hyuni’s orders. If you really go against it here, this time, Hyeon-yi will directly annihilate Alvin.”
Alvin’s life and death rights were already decided from the time she entrusted her life to her Eun-hyeon.
“…”
“Are you anxious?”
“Yes?”
“Aga’s expression now. If Hyun-i really wants to destroy your brother, she looks like she doesn’t know what to do.”
“Ah…”
Erin shrugged her shoulders as if she had been stabbed in the face.
“The reason Hyun-yi went this far to prepare to save Elvin, created her as a spirit, and brought her back to life by putting her constraints on her. You know baby, right?”
“… Yes.”
Erin nodded her head with difficulty.
– We can meet again. Don’t worry.
While Eunhyeon told her that she had killed Alvin herself, he comforted Erin with a confident voice that one day he would meet Elvin again.
From then on, Eun-hyeon arranges this moment for her and her brother to reunite, and Erin realizes again that she has been leading her until now.
“Thank you. Thank you. Really…”
“I have to say thank you to Hyun-i. Because I was just helping. It was Hyeon who decided the treatment of that guy. Are you going to say thank you properly when you get home later?”
“Yes!”
“Whoops. It’s unique.”
Illyana got up from her seat and stroked Erin’s hair.
“Thank you. Thank you for bringing me back to life so that I can see her sister’s face once again.”
“You should also say thank you to Hyun. And keep in mind that if you do damage to us this time, then it really is extinction. Shouldn’t we forget the contract with Hyuni?”
“… Of course.”
Erwin nodded her head and accepted Illyana’s similar advice.
She realizes the compulsory nature of subordination called ‘contract’ engraved in her soul.
While Elvin was gone, the existence of Eunhyeon and Illyana, who protected her younger sister and helped her grow up until now, were like benefactors to Alvin.
“Okay then, the conversation has been sorted out.”
Illyana opened her mouth as she looked at Rio de.
“Let’s hear the story, the son of the imperial mage was alive? Even self-taught to master some of the black magic?”
Lyod frowned and replied.
“And it’s not just that. He is the person who instigated Ashton, who was imprisoned in the temple’s dungeon, from behind and induced the nobles of Pernias to commit corruption. Black magic is also annoying, but the tricks that Pernias has done are very vicious and annoying. Now, even using drugs to poison the students of Aether…”
“But Gerard killed him.”
“Ah, that. It seems to be alive.”
“… What is this again?”
“I cut my throat precisely. But it was too easy. Like… It’s like I’m wearing camouflage, and I feel really uncomfortable. Furthermore… The body of the man I killed was not human.”
“Hmm. What do you think about it?”
Illyana stared at Riod and asked for his opinion.
“At this stage, there is no clue whatsoever. First of all, it is urgent to catch all the gangsters and organizations that are distributing drugs to Pernin through him. The damage should not spread any further.”
“What? I guess.”
Illyana nodded and raised the black orb she had retrieved from Erin.
“Go inside her slowly. Because this is an artifact that still has room for improvement. Go back and conserve your strength.”
“All right.”
“Brother… Let’s go?”
Erin’s voice, full of regret, stopped Alvin’s body from entering her orb.
“We can meet again.”
“I-really?”
“Okay.”
“I really have a lot of things I want to talk about with you. Therefore… I’ll wait.”
In the meantime, she has a strong desire to pour out all the stories she has been through, the things she has endured, and the path she has walked, but Erin feels that now is the time to release all the resentment accumulated in her heart. She knew it wasn’t a moment, so she held it in.
“Okay. So don’t make that face. Because the ugly face gets wrinkled and looks even uglier.”
“I hate you to the very end!”
◆ ◆ ◆
“Tsk…”
Randall, who regained her consciousness and raised her body, frowned at her and clicked her tongue.
The reason she instinctively touched her neck and dared to confirm it was because the blow of Gerard she had experienced just before her death was still strongly lingering in her head.
“I never thought they would have followed Pernin… You made a mistake.”
When the homunculus, a mimicry made in the form of a human, died, Randel’s consciousness connected to her mimicry was disconnected, and it returned to her main body.
Randall, who looked around her and confirmed that she had returned safely to her hideout, the mansion, slowly raised herself.
“I got into trouble. Of course, even the hunting dogs, which are excellent fighting forces, have been lost, the improved imaging technique has been completely destroyed, and in addition, the drugs and bills made at best have been lost…”
By putting the children of the nobles of Pernin in his hands, the purpose of trapping the nobles and ultimately instigating chaos in the country was completely defeated.
In addition, the damage caused by the failure of the plan is not insignificant.
“I need to find a new number… Otherwise, my father…”
[Come on, come on, his resurrection…]
The constant urging voice tickles Randel’s soul.
As her lifelong wish, she dedicated herself to ‘summoning demons’ and carried out the plan, but was finally stopped by the heroes and the empire was destroyed.
The Imperial Wizard, Rampel Maber, who was destroyed along with the Emperor of the Empire, put a curse on the soul of his son, Randel, with black magic.
The only order and curse his father gave, to follow his will and achieve the emperor and Rampel’s ultimate goal, the ‘plan of summoning demons’, was forcing Randall’s life regardless of his will.
Right now, Randell was just like a slave to the devil, captured by the ghosts of the Empire.
Randell himself does not know or realize the identity of the curse his father put on him.
He was under the illusion that all of his actions and thoughts were his own wishes and will, not actions forced by a curse.
“Shit… Once the magic is restored…”
Just as he was about to go into his room and take a break, Randel felt an unknown discomfort and stopped walking.
“… ?”
I noticed a man with silver hair standing in the middle of the hallway of the mansion, with an incomprehensible expression on his face.
Even though Randell had put a barrier on his hideout and had taken measures so that if someone broke in, he would immediately sound an alarm, this alarm had never sounded until now.
‘Since when?’
Despite standing in front of my eyes, it’s even creepy that I can’t feel the presence of people.
As if it were an inconspicuous decoration, the red eyes staring at Randel, hiding their presence to the limit and frightening even beasts, were shining even brighter in the dark mansion.
“It’s finally here.”
“…”
“I’ve been waiting at this mansion for almost a week. Until you show up.”
When the silver-haired man told him that he had been waiting for his consciousness to return without killing his unconscious empty shell, Randall took a breath without realizing it.
“It’s a good way to create a mimic and connect your consciousness to the fake body and control it. Especially for a coward like you who thoroughly cherishes his own life and hides behind the scenes. I’m not like that either.”
“Your bastard… Who are you?”
“You don’t know me?”
“What?”
On the contrary, the silver-haired man with a puzzled expression on why he didn’t know his face.
“Didn’t your hound, Baron, tell you? He’s not bragging, but the color of my hair or eyes isn’t that common.”
“New year… Mind! Silver snake… !?”
“Okay. That’s right. He’s the one who thwarted all your plans so far. In Pernias, it is also called by the amusing nickname ‘Serpent of Mercury’.”
Eunhyun, who confirmed Randel’s astonished face, smiled.
Even though Eun-hyeon could have killed the unconscious Randel at any time, the reason why he did not kill is simple.
Because I don’t know what would happen if I killed him in his unconscious state.
If the main body is killed while the consciousness is connected to another mimic, will the consciousness be cut off?
Or is it possible to abandon the original body while the imitation becomes the main body?
I don’t know the answer.
It was because Eunhyeon did not know the existence and knowledge of all black magic.
That’s why I was waiting for him to cut off the consciousness connected to the imitation and return to the main body.
“They say this is Johnber. I did succeed in the end. I can kill you like this.”
While looking at Eun-hyeon, who had invaded his own space so easily, with a shocked expression on his face, Eun-hyeon quietly opened his mouth.
“Now let’s finish it. The specter of the Empire.”
