Divine Beast's Crystal
"Teren, didn't you say the divine beast is a descendant of that Absolute being?"
"Descendant of a descendant... yeah, like way, way down the line."
"Even a cow that only got a drop of that blood turned out like that. Wonder what the Absolute itself feels like?"
She couldn't picture it at all. Even from a guy whose essence was so diluted, that aura radiated off him. What must the pure essence itself be like?
Maybe... like trying to paint on the canvas of a human mind with brushes and colored pencils of imagination and creativity, but still failing to capture it.
That's what Teren thought.
Archaeologists never even found solid proof that it truly existed.
"Hmm..."
"Aren't you curious?"
"Probably feels like the world would end just from it showing up."
"Can't even imagine."
Right then, a massive boom erupted from the center of the Instant Area.
Dust flew past them faster than the sound itself, swirling like a swarm of flies.
When they turned around...
A gigantic blue foot was descending from the sky.
They realized the ground had caved in. Just standing there would've sent them sliding straight toward that foot in the center.
This wasn't some normal slope.
A colossal crater had formed smack in the middle of the Instant Area. The incline steepened toward the center, plunging to depths impossible to gauge.
Before Teren and Kim Eunhasu could even verify if this was real, the foot vanished.
Three seconds.
That's all the time they had to register it. Then, as if it had never been there, it was gone.
"Did... did I just... see that...?"
"Uh..."
They stood there dumbfounded, jaws slack.
The only proof that foot had existed was the wasteland now scarring the Instant Area's center.
"Oh my god..."
Terror gripped the air—the fear that this unidentified foot might strike again at any moment.
"Sh-should we... just get disqualified and leave the Area?"
"Y-yeah... maybe?"
Aigoo, holy crap.
The Instant Area's totally trashed.
And all from summoning the Absolute's foot for just three seconds.
Wonder if our Zeke's okay, though. He got flung into that sinkhole from the shock.
By now, he's probably splattered at the bottom... limbs all twisted, no longer human-shaped, guts exploded like a ketchup-soaked tornado of fries.
How the hell do I even clean that up?
"Groooan... ughhh..."
Nope! Phew, he's fine!
Thank god—I had no clue how to handle it if you kicked the bucket. I was sweating bullets.
Damn, Zeke, you're one tough bastard. Held up that foot for three seconds, plummeted into a sinkhole, and all you got was some busted bones? Hold still.
I'll heal you with black flames.
"Get that shit away! I'm a hunter—hunters don't need pity from their prey!"
What the fuck. Why'd you suddenly hit peak edgelord mode?
I'll handle the healing, so just lie there.
"Dammit, can't you hear me? Back off!"
Hey, old man. You've gotta survive first, right?
"I can still move! Arms, legs—hell, I can stand like this!"
Zeke propped himself up on his knees with his hands, staggering to his feet.
Honestly, he seemed like a stubborn kid throwing a tantrum earlier. But pulling it off? Kinda badass.
Still, one wrong move here and your ribs'll puncture your heart. Dead.
I don't really wanna kill you unless you touch my contractor.
To subdue you safely... guess I gotta make you give up fighting yourself.
"Come at me! I can still battle you a few more ti—hiiiik! H-huff...!"
I activated Fear Factor.
My body emits an aura that forcibly drags out the primal fear of death every living thing harbors.
I keep it off normally.
But cases like this? Gotta turn it on.
If anyone asks why I don't walk around with it on...
The whole Academy would drown in despair and terror. My contractor couldn't even live her daily life.
"Waaahhh! M-mommy... d-daddy... save me...!"
"I wanna go home..."
"G-gehuhhh..."
Shit. I can hear the disqualified kids outside bawling all the way here.
Come on, Zeke. Get scared quick and lose the will to fight.
"Huuuhhh... n-not yet..."
Even now, with every cell screaming for mercy, Zeke stood firm on trembling legs like wind-whipped grass, eyes still burning with defiance as he glared at me.
What the hell forged this guy into such a unbreakable force?
"Woof woof!"
"Charlie?"
Suddenly, a tiny Pomeranian popped up beside Zeke and started yapping at me.
It was... Zeke's summon.
Zeke let out a deep sigh, raised both hands in surrender, patted Charlie, and flopped onto the ground.
"I lose."
What took Zeke down wasn't some brutal attack or soul-crushing fear.
It was the affection of one adorable, fluffy little dog.
"Y'see, I'm an F-rank summoner. So this pup's my summon. Haha..."
Couldn't laugh.
"People said guys like me weren't needed."
"..."
"But I couldn't abandon my summon. So I fought in its place. Tried my best."
"..."
Zeke might've been jealous of Lur, in a way.
"Wanted to kill you to prove something to myself. But nah... got my ass handed to me fair and square. Heh."
"..."
"Someone once beat me like this before. Said, 'Guys like you? Forgotten in a few days.'"
"..."
"You gonna forget me too?"
"...No."
"Honored."
Now I got it. Why a summoner like him gained such raw power. Why he shed so much blood and sweat.
"Return, Charlie."
This tiny, fragile body knew charging me meant certain death. But it barked fiercely anyway—to protect its contractor.
Charlie obeyed and vanished.
"Phew..."
"Good... summon... you got..."
"Thanks."
I scooped up Zeke and hauled him back to the surface, then dropped him off with the disqualified group.
Moved so fast, the others probably thought he teleported.
Fight's over. Time to pull Lur and Liz's Peros out.
"Huh? He's back...?"
"What? Meteor strike or something? The Area's a total wreck."
Alright, let's check the rankings.
Hmm. All the monsters killed by the Absolute's foot shock put us in first? Eh, whatever. A-grade's fine.
Yo, Lur, Liz. Why're you staring holes through me? Figured out I caused this mess?
Dammit. Guess I gotta lie and blame Zeke!
"D-divine... beast...?"
What? I'm no divine—
Divine beast?
I turned. And there, right beside me, stood the massive cow-form divine beast called Apis.
Shit, couldn't sense the pure yang energy blob.
Why's it here? Come to punish me for wrecking the Area?
Heh. Sorry, cow—you'd be steak with one flick of my claw...
"Whoa... so pretty..."
Contractor?
Lur suddenly rushed up and hugged the divine beast's head.
We—me and Liz—were slack-jawed.
Dammit, contractor! Divine beasts are wildcards! What if it attacks you?!
Child filled with light. How did you come to bear such a tragic fate?
The divine beast... started shrinking?
This is just like when my Black Eye got tamed by Lur.
Apis shrank to puppy size in no time.
"When did I come... to your dream..."
Figures. The Constraint.
Mana drain's insane, just like with the Black Eye. Body's gonna burst at this rate.
Only choice: put her to sleep.
I petted Apis while catching Lur's swaying, sleepy body, patted her back, and lulled her under.
For real. Into the dream realm.
"Mmm..."
She conked out quick. Good.
[How does a creature of shadow like you end up beside such a child?]
-Shadow? Harsh. I'll slice you for real.-
I pried open Lur's hand gripping something tight.
There it was: a glowing, cross-shaped stone. The Divine Beast's Crystal.
Looks like my contractor really won it over.
You were never meant to be chosen by her.
-You think I chose to be Lur's summon? I was chillin' fine in the demon realm.-
Are you unhappy as her summon?
-Nah, opposite. Hanging with Lur's a blast.-
Then, all is well.
Apis, the divine beast, began reverting to its original size. Then it slipped away through the ruins of the wrecked Instant Area.
Wonder how the team eval turned out.
"Wh-what... the hell just happened...?"
Oh right. Liz saw the whole thing.
How do I explain this?
Fuck it.
I handed the sleeping Lur to the class president.
Liz cradled her like a baby and stared at me.
Sigh... how do I clean this up?
Screw it. I'm the silent, mysterious type anyway.
I'm out. Humans, handle it yourselves.
I slipped into Lur's shadow.
"Uh... so... huh?"
Liz tried making sense of it all.
But she gave up thinking.