Descent of the Spirit King
Spirit. A sense of relief washed over me somehow. And only then did I finally say the words Baek Ha-yeon had been waiting for.
"Well, my contract's done, and all the misunderstandings are cleared up. Now don't you need to check it?"
With that, I pulled a brilliantly glowing emerald stone from my pocket and set it on the table. Thud—the crisp sound of the stone hitting the wooden surface made Baek Ha-yeon's eyes widen.
"I-it's really..."
Baek Ha-yeon carefully cupped the spirit stone on the table with both hands. Whoosh—just moments ago, it had been trapped in the dark curse of a beast, exuding an ominous aura. But now, it radiated pure, crystal-clear emerald mana without a speck of impurity. Through her fingertips, she felt the connection to the spirit realm—sealed shut for months—finally reopening.
"Ahh..."
A sigh escaped her red lips. Transparent tears welled in her eyes.
"You have no idea how precious they are to me, like family. For months, I called and screamed, but no answer... it was pure hell."
She wiped her tears and looked up at me, her eyes brimming with infinite gratitude.
"Thank you, truly. Director Kwon. I'll repay this debt someday."
That expression on Baek Ha-yeon, tears glistening as she thanked me sincerely... Honestly, I thought she looked pretty cute. I never had a thing for older women, but a disarmed beauty ranker smiling like that packed a punch.
I cleared my throat, forcing myself to stay composed. "Ahem! Glad you're so happy. But it might just be a superficial fix. Why not test it here with a summon?"
"Here...?"
"Yeah. Our junkyard yard's plenty big. A few spirits won't be an issue."
At my words, Seo Ara, Seo Ayoung, and Taesoo hyung all stared at Baek Ha-yeon with wide-eyed curiosity.
"I wanna see spirits too, unnie!"
Baek Ha-yeon nodded and stood. "Hehe, sure? I miss the kids too."
We all headed to the yard, where Baek Ha-yeon took center stage, raising the spirit stone to chest height and closing her eyes. Vrrrrm—!
The air around us began to hum pleasantly. Her lips parted, and a clear, pure voice flowed out.
"My dear friends. It's been too long. Answer my call. Salman, Undia, Silphin, Noah."
Fwaaah—it felt less like a spell and more like calling next-door neighbors. No sooner had the words left her mouth than four vibrant beams of light burst from the spirit stone, illuminating the air. Red, blue, green, and earthy yellow blobs coalesced in the sky, forming cute, mystical fairies the size of palms that floated around her.
I couldn't help but gasp. "Whoa... you handle all four elements?"
Spirit summoners usually bond with just one or two affinities. Mastering all four was for prodigies only.
No wonder she's S-rank material.
Vice Guildmaster Seo Ara, standing beside me, puffed up proudly. "Hehe! Our guildmaster's amazing, right? Korea's one and only prospective S-rank spirit summoner."
Salman the salamander, Undia the undine, Silphin the sylph, Noah the gnome. She'd probably given them cute nicknames for ease.
As I watched them nuzzle her cheeks and play, clear voices suddenly rang in my ears.
"Kyaaahaha! It's Ha-yeon! Ha-yeon's scent!! She finally called us back!!"
"Kuhahaha!! Knew she'd pull it off! How long's it been?!"
"Ugh, you fire lizard. Quiet down... my head's ringing. Ha-yeon's overwhelmed too."
"Gnoom... everyone... too rowdy... Gnome...."
Mischievous wind, hot-headed fire, calm water, slow earth—flying around, chattering like kindergarten kids in a noisy uproar.
I stared at Baek Ha-yeon in wonder. "Whoa... so cute and amazing. First time seeing spirits, and they talk?"
My question dropped, and suddenly Baek Ha-yeon, Seo Ara, Ayoung, and Taesoo hyung all gawked at me like I'd grown a second head.
"...Pardon?"
"Director Kwon. What did you just say...?"
Baek Ha-yeon blinked in disbelief. I answered honestly. "They're chatting away right now. Super excited to see you after so long."
That's when it happened. The cute sky-blue wind spirit, Silphin—who'd been spinning and giggling—zipped right to my nose. She pointed a tiny finger and shrieked.
"Whoa! Guys!! Look at this!! He can hear us!! He's looking at me!!"
The red lizard-man on Baek Ha-yeon's shoulder, Salman, snorted.
"Hmph. Talking nonsense again. How could a human understand spirit tongue? Lies."
The blue long-haired droplet girl, Undia, nodded in agreement.
"Silphin... even you love pranks, that's a stretch. Normal humans can't understand us."
"Gnoooom......"
I pointed at Silphin amid their debate, baffled. "Guildmaster, you really can't hear them?"
"Wh-what are they saying?! Spirits don't talk!"
Baek Ha-yeon stammered in panic. I scratched my chin and translated live.
"Silphin's freaking out that I understand them. Salman and Undia on your shoulder are scolding, like 'Humans can't know spirit language, quit lying.' Noah on the ground's just grumbling 'gnom gnom' like it's annoying."
In that instant, the four adorable spirits' faces froze in shock.
"See?! Told ya!! He gets it all!! Kyahaha, how?! Wow, so cool! Hey, human! Hear me?! What'd I say!? Dumbass mutt!!"
I scowled at the bouncing Silphin. "Don't call me dumbass mutt right off the bat."
"Kyahahahaha! He heard! For real!! Epic!! Sorry, sorry! Just testing! No malice!!"
Ugh, my ears. As Silphin rolled laughing, Salman and Undia gaped, stunned.
"Th-this is impossible...! A human understanding our spirit realm tongue?!"
Baek Ha-yeon gasped and backed away. "It's... true?! Director Kwon?! You can really hear their language?!"
Her reaction seemed weirder. I tilted my head. "Wait, you knew my translation was spot-on, so you understand them too, right? Why're you surprised at me?"
But she shook her head vigorously, face pale. "No! I only sense basic emotions through the resonance stone. Full sentences or complex talk? Impossible."
What? So I'm the only one hearing them crystal clear in this room?
That's when Silphin, orbiting me wildly, shot skyward.
"Amazing!! Gotta tell everyone at home! Human talked to me!!"
"Hey! Where you going, you flighty girl?! First summon in months and you're bailing after five minutes?!"
Salman yelled, but Silphin was max hype.
"Be right back! Ha-yeon's sweet, she'll get it! Gone!"
Silphin patted Baek Ha-yeon's hair, ignored her reply, and poof—scattered like sky-blue feathers, forcibly reverse-summoned to her realm.
"......"
The junkyard office fell into stunned silence. Baek Ha-yeon rubbed her face first. "No human in hunter history has ever conversed with spirits in language."
"Really? News to me."
"Great spirit summoners dreamed of chatting face-to-face with their beloved spirits. But impossible. Resonance stones only share emotions at best."
Like pets, huh? Silphin's rowdy personality suggested talk didn't mean all romance and rainbows.
Then Salman, glaring from her shoulder, asked gravely.
"What are you, human?"
"Me? Just a repairman. What?"
"Now I notice... you don't smell human. You're not, are you?"
I flinched inwardly. "What're you on about? Beats me. It rings in my ears, so I answer."
I gruffed back, but one suspicion hit hard.
Because I'm not human... but a dragon? For real?
Fantasy novels often depicted dragons as intimate with spirits—reds with fire, blues with water, affinity-matched.
Then the serene blue water spirit, Undia, smiled gracefully.
"Fascinating. Thanks to Ha-yeon, what a show. Chatting with a human directly... feels like thousands of years."
Her elegant tone lit my eyes. "You've talked to humans before? Besides me?"
Undia rippled droplets, nodding.
"Of course. Not this exact world, but long ago, humans conversed freely with us."
"Another world?"
"Hehe, yes."
As I pondered the multidimensional community, a massive mana quake shook the junkyard. Vrrrrooom—!!
Whoooosh—!!!
"Gasp?!"
"Wh-what?!"
The building shook like an earthquake; windows cracked. Startled, Seo Ara and Ayoung jumped up, scanning around. The epicenter? Baek Ha-yeon on the sofa.
"Unnie!! What's wrong?!"
Seo Ara shouted frantically, but Baek Ha-yeon—face ashen—trembled, unable to control her mana surge.
"I-I don't know!! Ara, something's yanking my power through the spirit stone!! Urk!! A massive presence!!"
"What?!"
Rumble rumble—!!! True to her S-rank status, her vast mana being forcibly drained whipped up a storm—ceiling concrete crumbling, yard junk flying.
"Guildmaster!! Cut the resonance!!"
I yelled, reaching out, but she shook her head. "S-sorry, Director Kwon!! Can't control it!! That will's too huge—I can't— What the— Kyaaaaah!!!"
Flaaaash—!!!
With her scream, a blinding green flash exploded from the emerald stone—impossible to look at. Hummmm—!!!!
Like standing in a typhoon's eye. A tornado ripped through the office, smashing furniture skyward. The air itself felt alive, an overwhelming organic pressure crushing us.
Taesoo hyung and Ayoung choked on the air pressure, collapsing. Amid dust and green storm, space tore— a translucent, goddess-like figure descended, human-shaped yet utterly transcendent. Tiny chatterbox Silphin clung to her back.
"This the one you meant...?"
The elegant, clear voice bypassed my ears, slamming straight into my brain.
"Yes! That's him! Spirit King!! He understood me!!"
Only I could hear Silphin chirp, pointing. Using Baek Ha-yeon's mana, the absolute ruler of wind had forced manifestation into our world.
Squinting through the gale, I gawked up at the descended goddess in disbelief.
"...Y-you're the Spirit King...?"