Chapter 407
Chapter Title: The Essence of Thunder
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That evening.
Having finished his classes for the day, Leo returned to his dorm room.
Around the circular table in the middle of the room, five familiars sat in a circle, each holding two cards as they played a game.
-Hmph. It seems this round belongs to me.
Kiruan wore a smug expression as he bet the large pile of candy and chocolate next to him like chips.
“Don’t be ridiculous, you stupid fairy.”
Piora scoffed and called Kiruan’s bet.
As the two engaged in a fiery exchange, the other familiars had already folded and were watching the situation unfold.
Soon, five cards were laid on the table, and it was time to reveal their hands.
“Full house.”
-Hahaha! Four of a kind! You fat chick!
With a boisterous laugh, Kiruan reached for the heap of candy and chocolate on the table.
Just as Piora, who had lost a week’s worth of snacks in an instant, was about to cry.
“Hey, fairy prince.”
The Great Spirit of Light, Laruel, glared at Kiruan with murderous eyes.
-What is it?
“Are you cheating with magic?”
*CRACK—!*
-Gyaaaaaah?!
Laruel stomped on Kiruan’s hand before reaching for the cards.
“I’ll bet everything I have that you changed the cards with illusion magic. What will you bet?”
As Laruel touched Kiruan’s cards, the numbers changed.
Seeing this, Piora’s eyes turned vicious.
“Chop off his wrist! Chop it off!”
As Piora shouted excitedly, Elsie let out a deep sigh.
“Miss Piora, you shouldn’t use such harsh words.”
“Chopping it off is too much, but twisting it… haah… just the thought is thrilling… Keok-!”
Elsie shot a glare at Arti, who was spouting nonsense instead of helping, and drove her small fist into her side.
Struck in the side, Arti tumbled to the floor, crying out, "Ahhn!", writhing in a mix of pain and pleasure.
Watching the scene, Leo wore a complicated expression.
‘If other summoners saw this, they’d surely weep, wouldn't they?’
And they would undoubtedly curse the harsh reality.
In truth, even Leo himself couldn’t get used to this side of his familiars.
5,000 years ago, the Flame Emperor, Katariu, who was Lisinas’s contractor, and the other Great Spirits, including Luminus, had been incredibly dignified beings.
Silroad, Luna’s contractor and the fairy prince at the time, was young but not boisterous like Kiruan.
The Great Spirit of Light didn’t have such a warped and harsh personality, either.
‘Could it be my fault?’
He wondered if his influence was a major factor in his familiars turning out this way, but he quickly shook his head.
‘Albus was an incredibly noble Pegasus. He wasn't a pervert like Arti.’
At least among Leo’s current contractors, there was one normal one: Elsie.
Elsie was practically the one responsible for keeping Leo’s familiars from running wild.
The conclusion was clear.
‘It’s the familiars these days that are strange, not me.’
Leo drew a firm line as he approached the familiars who were punishing Kiruan.
As Kiruan, who had suffered a miserable fate for his foolish cheating, twitched on the floor, Leo reached out.
He grabbed both wings as if catching a dragonfly and lifted him up.
“Who’s the one who organized this illegal gambling den?”
“The stupid fairy.”
Piora pointed at the unconscious Kiruan without a moment’s hesitation.
Leo clicked his tongue and casually tossed Kiruan onto the desk.
“I hate to say this, but you guys are my familiars, you know?”
The familiars stared blankly at Leo.
“How about maintaining a little dignity?”
“A phoenix as elegant and polite as me is very rare.”
Piora puffed out her chest and said with a prim face.
Looking at her, Arti commented.
“You didn’t look very elegant when you were fat enough to roll around.”
At those words, Piora started pulling wildly at Arti’s hair.
“Ahhn!”
Arti moaned in pleasure at Piora’s attack.
Watching them, Leo let out a deep sigh.
Since it was now public knowledge that Leo was the contractor of the three great familiars, the Summoning Department had been constantly requesting to study them.
But Leo couldn't grant their request.
‘How pitiful would they be if I showed them this and shattered their illusions?’
It was Leo’s contractors who were abnormal, not all three great familiars.
Leo had no desire to shatter the dreams of these budding sprouts.
As the familiars continued their disgraceful display, Leo spoke.
“Anyway, get ready to go out.”
“Go out?”
Elsie tilted her head.
“Yeah. I have something I need to test. We’re going to the Isle of Familiars.”
“But it’s almost curfew. We’re not supposed to go to the Isle of Familiars at this hour.”
The Isle of Familiars was within Lumerne’s territory, but strictly speaking, it was outside the school.
Even if Leo was the student council president, leaving the school grounds during curfew was a violation of the rules.
In the first place, even the student council president entering the Isle of Familiars without permission was a problem in itself.
To Elsie’s point, Leo said.
“It’s fine. We’ll just go in secret.”
“Shouldn’t the student council president be setting an example for other students?”
Laruel narrowed her eyes.
“I should be setting an example.”
“But you’re planning to break the school rules?”
Piora also narrowed her eyes along with Laruel and asked.
“It’s not a crime if you don’t get caught.”
At Leo’s nonchalant reply, Laruel sighed with a look of resignation.
Piora, of course, blinked, her expression showing she couldn’t accept it.
“Do you really think that makes sense?”
“Of course it doesn’t.”
“Then why aren’t you protesting further? My mother told me. The Great Spirit of Light is a being that protects the justice and order of this world.”
“Yes. But I’m old enough now, and I’ve learned to compromise with reality.”
Laruel patted Piora’s head and began to prepare for their outing.
After pondering Laruel’s words, Piora nodded.
“So, it's not a crime if you don't get caught?”
“Absolutely not.”
Unable to watch any longer, Elsie could only let out a deep sigh.
***
Waiting for Leo when he arrived at the Isle of Familiars was none other than Mel.
“Welcome, Lord Leo. All preparations have been completed.”
At Mel’s words, Kiruan tilted his head.
-What preparations are complete?
“There’s something I need to experiment with.”
The place Leo had arrived at was a vast, open space in the center of the Isle of Familiars.
It was the deepest part of the island, a place rarely visited by students or even faculty.
At the word “experiment,” Leo’s familiars showed expressions of interest.
“Arti.”
At Leo’s call, Arti’s eyes widened.
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“Are you going to experiment on me, Master? Is it, by any chance, going to be painful?”
As Arti asked with eyes full of anticipation, Leo replied.
“Well, I can’t guarantee it.”
Arti’s face fell in disappointment at Leo’s words.
Shaking his head at the sight, Leo said.
“Just manifest in your true form.”
“Yes.”
Arti returned to her Pegasus form.
Leo then mounted her.
Seeing this, Mel began to cast a spell.
She erected a barrier that would prevent any powerful energy from being detected from the outside.
When Leo pulled the reins, Arti shot into the sky at an incredible speed.
*Crackle—!*
Lightning crackled around Arti’s body.
-What are you trying to test?
“I’m going to test one of the rewards I got for clearing the World of Heroes this time.”
-A clear reward?
The moment Arti wore a puzzled expression.
*Crackle-!*
-…?
Arti, who had been soaring through the sky using Leo’s spiritual power, suddenly shuddered at the energy she felt from it.
-This is…?
It was the power of a Pegasus.
A power stronger and purer than any other Pegasus.
Pure white lightning enveloped Arti’s entire body.
*Cr-cr-crackle—*
-Agggghhhhh?!
As if she were being electrocuted, Arti’s body trembled violently in the storm of lightning that engulfed her.
Simultaneously, her power began to amplify.
At that moment, Leo withdrew his spiritual power.
*Sizzzzzzle—!*
Smoke rose from Arti’s body.
“Hey, are you okay?”
Leo asked cautiously.
The power he had just used was the Essence of Thunder, which he had obtained as a clear reward.
It was an essence containing the power of Albus, the last Pure White King of the Pegasi and Leo’s former contractor.
That essence itself had become embedded in Leo’s spiritual power.
At first, Leo had tried to draw out the Pegasus power using the Essence of Thunder, but it hadn’t responded to his will.
Through various experiments, he discovered that it reacted to Arti’s contract seal.
‘To be precise, it seemed to react to the Pegasus I’m contracted with.’
No matter how much he possessed the Essence of Thunder, Leo was not a Pegasus.
The Essence of Thunder was a power that had been passed down through generations of Pegasi.
As such, it was impossible for a human like Leo to use it from the start.
‘In that case, I predicted it might be possible to use this Essence of Thunder to recreate the power of the Pure White King in a contracted Pegasus, and it seems I was right.’
The problem was that even for a Pegasus, not just anyone could accept the power of the Pure White King.
It was a power permitted only to a chosen, noble being among the Pegasi.
Arti was certainly a powerful Pegasus with long years of experience, but it seemed it was too much for her to accept the Essence of Thunder as it was.
“Are you okay?”
-Wh-what is this?
“The Essence of Thunder.”
-The Essence of Thunder… The power of the king who disappeared long ago.
Arti’s voice trembled.
5,000 years ago.
At the fact that the power of the king, known only through legends after his line had ended, had been revived, Arti was purely moved as a Pegasus.
“A Pegasus contracted with me can use the power of the Pure White King… but it seems the backlash is also considerable.”
-I see. It was definitely a pain on a different level from what I've ever experienced before.
“It looks like using any more power will be too much of a strain, so it would be best to stop here…”
-It’s the best!
“…”
-To wield the power of the great Pure White King and, on top of that, feel such exhilarating pain. Ahh. This is the best.
At Arti’s genuinely ecstatic reaction, Leo looked up at the sky.
‘I was a fool to worry.’
*Crackle!*
-Kyahng~
As Leo used the Essence of Thunder, Arti let out a happy scream.
A short while later.
Having pushed Arti to her limit, Leo descended to the ground.
“I’m so happy.”
Arti, lying sprawled on the ground, muttered softly.
Watching her, Mel approached.
“Were you able to determine Miss Arti’s limits?”
“Yes. This will be a great help in future battles.”
Mel smiled brightly at Leo’s answer.
“I think it’s a stroke of great fortune that Miss Arti became your contractor, Lord Leo.”
“Why?”
“Because no other Pegasus besides Miss Arti could have endured the Essence of Thunder like this.”
It was indeed a power that could only be used by a pervert who feels pleasure from pain.
Arti lay on the ground, twitching and grinning foolishly.
Elsie covered Piora’s eyes and said.
“You shouldn’t look at things like that.”
“Why not?”
“It’s bad for you.”
Watching their exchange, Leo let out a deep sigh.
“He would cry if he saw this.”
“Who?”
“My old contractor.”
Leo thought of Albus.
He would have surely wept, crying that his pure power had been tainted.