Divine Spirits (2)
There were two primary ways to distinguish spirits: by their attribute and their rank. Attributes referred to the elemental nature of the power they wielded—fire spirits, water spirits, and so on—while ranks were determined by the spirit's inherent class.
Lower spirits, mid-tier spirits, upper spirits. These were the ones most contractors bonded with. But occasionally, there were those who formed pacts with even more powerful entities beyond them—spirits that granted their contractors far greater and more versatile might than even upper spirits. They were known as Archspirits.
Contractors who bonded with Archspirits could wield power far surpassing that of ordinary spirit users. It was truly on another level altogether; Archspirits enabled feats in a completely different dimension from regular spirits. Thanks to this, those bonded with Archspirits could grow into tremendous powerhouses.
Shania, the Divine Star, who had contracted with the light Archspirit Uriel. Serena Eldark, bonded to the fire Archspirit Ifrit. Ciela Teraport, who commanded the snow Archspirit Nyx. They were prime examples.
For Ciela especially, whose magic potency was directly tied to her spirits' power, contracting an Archspirit fulfilled the bare minimum requirement to become the Demon Star's disciple.
Archspirits alone granted such immense power, but what if there existed entities of an even higher class? Wouldn't they allow one to wield might akin to that of a god? And indeed, that's precisely why they were named Divine Spirits.
The absolute pinnacle among all spirits. They weren't literally divine beings, but the staggering power they bestowed upon contractors—evoking gods themselves—justified prefixing their title with "divine." Of course, one didn't gain such power immediately upon contracting, but those bonded to a Divine Spirit held the potential to wield it freely with enough growth. What greater merit could there be? Properly honed, it could surpass even Archspirits.
This is why nations raced to scout those who had contracted Divine Spirits. It was clear they'd become world-class powerhouses upon maturing. The problem was, such contractors were exceedingly rare. Across the long histories of humanity and other races, countless spirits had answered calls to contract, yet even scouring every historical record yielded fewer than a hundred Divine Spirit contractors in total.
"The Horned One…?"
Information on Divine Spirits was thus scarce. Yeonhui summoning one was shocking enough, but the identity of hers was utterly baffling. A giant with a pair of deer-like antlers sprouting from its head, its body covered in pristine white fur. Its face and form were so obscured by the fur that it could easily be mistaken for a yeti. At a glance, it even seemed a bit cute, but no one who beheld it felt that way.
"…Father, I sense tremendous power from that being."
"…Indeed."
"Can the training grounds withstand it?"
"Who knows? Even I can't say for sure."
Elcarus Levatein, the battle-hardened duke, let out a hollow chuckle. The sheer aura emanating from it was that overwhelming.
The Horned One. True to its name, a matching pair of antlers had sprouted from Yeonhui's head—deer-like and glowing with a sacred light.
"What is that thing…?"
Ciela, ever the Demon Star's disciple, was more curious about which Divine Spirit had appeared than the fact of its summoning.
"A Divine Spirit? This isn't right…!"
Serena, meanwhile, fretted first that Seong Hyun-jin might get hurt facing it.
"This goes beyond a mere spar!"
She suggested calling it off, but Seong Hyun-jin showed only fascination, no tension whatsoever. He waved reassuringly at Serena.
"…Hah."
With that, she had nothing left to say and decided to watch for now.
"Yeonhui sunbae."
"…Yes?"
"At this level, you could've taken on Dean Shania instead of me, right?"
"I wouldn't stand a chance against the dean."
Yeonhui gave a wry smile.
"I lack your courage, junior. Besides, even I find this power uncomfortable…"
"…"
"But since you like strong people… I'll show you I'm not that weak."
As the Divine Spirit The Horned One's body gleamed golden, the antlers on Yeonhui's head resonated, radiating brilliance.
"Here I go."
The spirit raised its massive arm high. Yeonhui mirrored it perfectly—then slammed it down.
Nature's Wrath
Vast spirit power crashed down as blinding radiance. Seong Hyun-jin smirked faintly and gripped his sword.
"I really want to parry this properly with my blade…"
No matter how divine, it was still fundamentally a spirit—and thus vulnerable to Seong Hyun-jin's power, which nullified spirit essence outright. But pushing too hard would surely anger the watching Serena…
Jet-black spirit energy coiled around his sword. He sheathed it once more. Dark power seeped from the gap between scabbard and hilt.
Seong Hyun-jin raised the sheathed blade toward the descending light, hand on the grip.
"Soul Severing Sword, First Form."
Click.
Thumb shoving the guard up, he yanked the hilt with his right hand. The pent-up spirit power erupted explosively.
Soul Slash
BOOOOOM!!!
The sword strike unleashed chaotic energy as sword qi, clashing with the light. Astonishingly, though the radiance shrank upon impact, it didn't vanish entirely.
"!"
Seong Hyun-jin dodged swiftly, murmuring in surprise.
"It didn't fully erase…?"
His spirit power, chaos-attributed, neutralized and obliterated other spirits' essence. That's why everyone, including him, assumed it was pure chaos. Yet Yeonhui's power lingered.
Her Divine Spirit's might was so potent that even his output hadn't sufficed to wipe it clean.
"Don't let your guard down, junior."
Yeonhui spoke as if this were far from over.
"I don't want you getting hurt."
"The one worried about that is…"
Seong Hyun-jin chuckled dryly.
"Prepping another one?"
The Divine Spirit behind Yeonhui had vanished. But the antlers it had manifested on her—now far brighter—shone with holy light atop them.
"So you won't see me as weak anymore."
"I think I've got the picture already…"
Seong Hyun-jin said.
"But I can't go all out either, so let's make this the last exchange."
"…Got it."
Yeonhui nodded and unleashed her true power one final time.
"Take this."
The holy light blazed radiantly. Her antlers grew enormous, golden winds whipping around her.
Judgment of Light
The spirit's light-infused power surged outward in all directions—an impaling flash. Seong Hyun-jin grinned with interest.
"Nice."
With their final clash agreed, he'd respond in kind. He wrapped spirit power around his drawn sword—stronger than before. Gripping it reverse-handed, he coiled his arm back.
"Spirit Exorcism Sword, Second Form."
Just before the spirit power struck, he lunged forward, unleashing his arm.
Ghost Strike Kill
CRRRRACK────!!
The training ground's center cratered deeply. Even the spirit-proof arena bore a massive scar—not from the Divine Spirit, but from a single sword.
Alongside the sword mark's path lay Yeonhui, sprawled in shock.
'This easily…?'
Even against chaos power, hers was Divine Spirit might surpassing Archspirits. Yet he'd erased its vast energy with so little effort. For a chaos spirit, it was too strong—that sword made her think so.
The one who'd dismantled her strike and knocked her down exhaled lightly, then approached with steady steps, offering a hand.
"That was fun, sunbae."
"…You're too strong, junior."
Yeonhui took his hand and rose. Seong Hyun-jin smiled lightly.
"Try incorporating your spirit more in daily practice. You could get way stronger."
"…I don't really want to wield this power."
"Why not?"
"If word gets out I can handle a Divine Spirit, I'll get weird offers from everywhere… My blessing's plenty; I don't use it normally."
Seong Hyun-jin understood her reluctance. Not a side effect, but aversion to scouts. Her blessing alone made her invaluable; add a Divine Spirit, and every nation would covet her—especially with her Holy Nation ties souring relations with the Magic Kingdom.
"Then use it on the down-low. Wasting it would be a shame. You could be much stronger—can't just give that up, right?"
"…I'll try."
He looked at her and said,
"But I definitely felt it."
"Huh?"
"You're strong too, Yeonhui sunbae. I was dead wrong before."
Seong Hyun-jin continued,
"I've got a new respect for you, sunbae."
"…So, junior, does that fulfill the condition?"
"Condition…? Oh."
He recalled what he'd forgotten. This spar stemmed from his "strong people are my type" comment.
"Do you… like me a bit more now?"
"Uh… well, not sure yet…"
As he fumbled, Yeonhui stared intently. He worried she'd be disappointed.
But surprisingly, she just smirked.
"Knew it. One spar won't change your heart overnight."
"…Yeah."
"It's fine."
Yeonhui said.
"I left an impression, so I'm satisfied."
Seong Hyun-jin nodded, clearly agreeing. She smiled contentedly and spun around gracefully. Her hair and skirt fluttered lightly in the breeze before settling.
That sight struck him as oddly fitting for her—not because her skirt lifted to flash her panty-stockinged privates, but because the way her hair danced and fell suited her perfectly.
'No panties showing, huh…'
…It absolutely wasn't just the former reason.