Chapter 645
Chapter Title: A Common Enemy
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"Ugh!"
Leaning on the trident in her hand like a staff, Undine pushed herself up.
*What... what was that just now!*
To attack Leo, Undine had used the water from Lake Lumeria.
This island, situated in the middle of a vast lake, was an incredibly advantageous battlefield for her.
*I didn't think I could end it in a single blow.*
Undine bit her lip hard.
It wasn't that she underestimated Leo.
As a spirit of the deep sea, she had carved out her domain in the ocean's depths, but that didn't mean she was uninterested in the world's affairs.
No, on the contrary, Undine was keenly interested in the secular world.
Her goal was to become the strongest spirit.
And to leave her name in history as such a spirit, something was essential.
*A contractor.*
No matter how powerful a great spirit was, they couldn't leave their mark on history alone.
It was heroes who were recorded in the Hero Record, not the spirits they contracted with.
One only had to look at Laruel to understand a hero's influence.
Laruel, the Spirit of Radiance, hadn't appeared in history for thousands of years.
She had no contractor and had remained a bystander in the countless wars against Tartaros.
But for the sole reason that her contractor was Rhodia, the Dragon of Genesis, Laruel had been considered in a league of her own for 3,000 years.
Decades ago, it was that lowly Spirit of Purification.
Now, she herself was praised as the strongest spirit, but the moment Laruel was mentioned, she was pushed to the side.
Undine couldn't stand it.
That was why she had waited for ages for a contractor worthy of her.
And the one she found was Leo Flove.
He wasn't the type of spirit master that great spirits typically preferred.
After all, great spirits disliked philanderers.
But Leo was such an attractive contractor that such a background was easily overlooked.
That's why she had offered a pact on the condition that he break his contracts with his other beasts and spirits.
She had expected that such a man wouldn't be a pushover, but...
*What in the world was that!*
On a battlefield where she, a water spirit, held an overwhelming advantage, her attack had been blocked in a single blow.
Even if it was spirit magic using Istar, another great spirit, it was still astonishing.
*Even with a spirit master...!*
A summoner was a being who could draw out a beast's abilities beyond its limits.
But for a great spirit, a summoned beast's limits were already overwhelmingly high.
That made it just as difficult to draw out their full potential.
This was also why most great spirits acted so arrogantly.
Even if they gained greater power than usual through a contractor, in a place with such a clear geographical advantage, things usually evened out.
Just as Undine was about to draw upon her spirit power once more.
*Flash—*
"...?"
A flash of light flickered before her eyes.
In that instant.
*Whoosh—!*
"...!"
Leo, who had closed the distance in a flash, was swinging his foot toward Undine's face.
*Boom—!*
Undine's head exploded, scattering in all directions.
Droplets of water scattered everywhere.
As she was a spirit, it wasn't a fatal wound, but she couldn't escape the impact.
*Shhhhh—!*
The scattered droplets of water instantly sharpened like awls.
Hundreds of water awls descended on Leo from all sides.
*Fwooooosh—!*
Blue flames erupted from Leo's entire body.
*Sizzzzzzle—!*
The water awls that reached Leo were swept up by the armor of fire and evaporated on the spot.
"Ugh!"
Undine quickly distanced herself from Leo and slammed her trident into the ground.
*Bubble bubble bubble... Shwaaaaa—!*
Starting from where she'd struck her trident, the surrounding area began to turn into a sea of water.
"I'll sink this entire island!"
It was an attempt to make the battlefield even more advantageous for herself.
"Even the Spirit of Purification can't evaporate all of Lake Lumeria!"
The corners of Undine's mouth curled up.
She was right.
Lake Lumeria was so vast and held so much water that one could mistake it for an ocean.
Since Undine was drawing upon the water of Lake Lumeria itself, it was nearly impossible to evaporate it all, even with Istar's power.
"You'll regret making an enemy of me, Leo Flove!"
In response to Undine's words, Leo spoke nonchalantly.
"I don't really have any intention of being your enemy, you know."
"Don't be ridiculous! You attacked me first!"
"That's because you started a fight with her first."
Leo tapped the empty air with his finger.
The palm-sized Laruel's head bobbed from side to side as Leo's finger poked it.
"Besides, I never planned on having just one contractor."
Leo shrugged.
"If you'd heard that, you would've attacked me first anyway, right?"
"..."
Undine fell silent at Leo's words.
Indeed, if he had refused her offer, she had planned to attack him for his insolence.
"So, about that. Do you have any intention of making a pact with me?"
"You philanderer!"
"Someone might get the wrong idea hearing that."
-Saying something like that when you already have contractors is the definition of a philanderer.
-For once, I agree with the old hag.
Laruel kicked the side of Istar, who had appeared next to her.
-Cheep cheep.
-Honestly, who would like that?
-Among us, Elsie is probably the only one who can fully understand our master.
The summoned beasts also took Undine's side.
Leo clicked his tongue at his summons' words.
Then, looking at the hostile Undine, he said.
"In any case, I need you."
To a spirit master, a powerful spirit is a powerful weapon.
Of course, contracting with a powerful spirit doesn't automatically make one stronger.
Moreover, for an ordinary spirit master, even if they already have a great spirit, contracting with another one doesn't necessarily make them stronger.
Usually, they can barely handle the power of a single great spirit.
*That's only for ordinary spirit masters, though.*
Leo was a Great Hero and could be called the second most powerful summoner in the history of summoning.
The more great spirits Leo had, the stronger he became.
The reason Piora, Kiruan, Arti, Laruel, and Istar, despite being inwardly displeased with Leo having multiple contracts, stayed quiet was because they knew he had the ability to handle them all perfectly.
Therefore, for Leo, making pacts with great spirits was essential to prepare for the battles ahead.
"I refuse!"
"It would be better to make this contract on good terms."
Leo smiled faintly.
At his words, Undine scoffed.
"And if you don't use good terms, what then? What can you possibly do!?"
"I can do a lot of things."
The corners of Leo's mouth lifted.
*Ruuuuuumble—!*
Suddenly, a large vortex began to form in front of Leo.
Seeing this, Undine's body flinched.
The massive amount of water that Undine had been drawing in suddenly began to be sucked into the ground.
*It's like a giant hole has opened up...*
*Shklkkkk—!*
*Fwip—! Fwip—!*
Chains of darkness suddenly shot up through the water, binding Undine's arms and neck.
"The Spirit of the Abyss!"
Undine's eyes widened as she stared at the gloomy-eyed spirit that had subdued her in a surprise attack.
It was Ignit, the Spirit of the Abyss who had taken residence in Lumerne.
Laruel also wore a surprised expression.
-When did you make a pact with Ignit?
"I didn't make a pact. I just summoned him, and he answered my call."
-...Looks like you've picked up another freeloader while I wasn't looking, Leo Flove.
-Who are you calling a freeloader! If you're also going to make a pact with Leo Flove, then I'm your senior who got here first! Treat me with respect!
-That disgusting habit of showing off your grotesque muscles is still the same, I see.
-And you haven't changed either, still looking all frail and pathetic!
Watching the Great Spirit of Darkness and the Great Spirit of Fire bicker sharply, Kiruan crossed his arms with a pathetic look on his face.
-I just don't get it. Why do all the great spirits get along so poorly? We summoned beasts have such great teamwork. Right? Fat chick? Pervert?
-Peep!
*Thwack—!*
Piora unhesitatingly pecked Kiruan's temple with her beak for calling her a fat chick.
-This chick!
-P-Piora! That sharp beak attack... on me!
"..."
Leo clutched his throbbing head.
*Suddenly, I find myself respecting that bastard Lisinas.*
Lisinas's contractors were just as bad, if not worse, than Leo's current ones.
As a summoner, he could feel the vast gap between himself and Lisinas.
*Did he beat them when no one was looking if they got too noisy? With his violent tendencies, I wouldn't put it past him.*
With a thought that would have made Lisinas lunge at him, Leo approached Undine.
"Ugh!"
Bound by Ignit's power, Undine bit her lip hard.
The ability of Ignit, the Spirit of the Abyss, was to seal power.
Furthermore, it wasn't just Ignit; Laruel and Istar were also suppressing Undine's power.
No matter how powerful a great spirit was, if three others of the same rank were determined to subdue her, she was bound to be caught.
Escaping this restraint right now would be difficult.
"So? Still no intention of making a pact with me?"
"Don't be ridiculous! Do you think I'm the same as those cheap summons?"
At Undine's cry, the bickering summons froze.
The gazes of the six summons—the dream and goal of all summoners—turned to Undine.
-Did you just call us cheap?
Laruel flew right up to Undine's nose and asked.
"Stay away! You're so low-class! I feel like I'm becoming trashy just by being near you!"
At those words, Laruel looked back at Leo's other contracted summons.
The great spirits and the three great beasts were all individuals with strong personalities and even stronger self-love.
It was only natural that they would be noisy when gathered together.
Harmony was practically impossible.
But even in such a situation, there were times when they could unite.
That was when a common external enemy appeared.
And Undine had brilliantly succeeded in becoming their common enemy.
-It seems we're all thinking the same thing.
Istar returned to his original size.
In his hand was a club made of flames.
The sight of him flexing his muscles while gripping the club was menacing.
-Beating someone isn't my preference, but... something like this might be nice once in a while.
A pure white club made of lightning appeared in Arti's hand.
-Hold her tight, Great Spirit of Darkness.
Kiruan grinned like a little devil.
-When Sir Leo said the way to persuade a great spirit was through violence, I insisted it wasn't true. Shall we test if she can be persuaded?
Laruel smiled sweetly.
-Peep. Peep.
Piora flapped her wings menacingly.
"Wh-what are you trying to do? Stay away! Don't come near me!"
Sensing the ominous atmosphere, Undine shouted with a panicked face.
Watching this, Leo was wondering what he should do.
*Flash—!*
"Hm?"
He felt an immense surge of magic from a distance.
*The fourth and fifth-years.*
Having finished their preparations, they were aiming a grand spell at Leo.
*Senior Runba is still fighting Elsie.*
*Vwooom—!*
A magic circle formed beneath Leo's feet.
*Flash— Kra-koooom—!*
A pillar of fire erupted.
The flames subsided, and Leo, who had been caught in the spell, looked up.
"They've certainly prepared well."
The nature of the magic was clearly different from before.
He could feel that their strategy against him had changed significantly after just one battle.
The corners of Leo's mouth lifted.
"Let's see... just how different it is from before, shall we?"