Chapter 089
Chapter Title: The Chimera Tamer
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“I don't know why you came all this way, but you're out of luck. You're going to die here. Heh heh-”
The sneering beast summoner raised his hand.
At the same time, Leo unleashed the spell he had been chanting internally.
“Lightning Storm!”
The most powerful lightning-based spell Leo could currently cast struck the surface of the lake.
Flash-! Crackle-!
A golden current of electricity raged.
“A crude attack.”
Rip-!
A tentacle extended from the beast summoner's sleeve, wrapping around his body protectively.
Szzzzzzzzzt-!
The storm of electricity engulfed the beast summoner.
Rip-!
Emerging from the tentacle that had shielded him, the beast summoner curled his lips into a smirk.
“Allow me to return the favor.”
Kzzzzzzap-!
A Lightning Storm erupted from the tip of the tentacle.
Seeing this, Leo hastily threw himself aside.
‘Not only does it have high magic resistance, but it can also absorb, store, and release spells? Was there ever such a beast?’
As his expression hardened, the beast summoner reached out toward Leo.
Riiiiip-!
The tentacle stretched out, lunging at Leo.
Leo leaned back.
The tentacle, having sliced through the air, slammed into the massive tree behind Leo.
Craaaaack-! Rip! Crunch-!
“I'll crush you just like this.”
The beast summoner, having uprooted the tree with the tentacle's strength, smiled coldly.
Fwoosh-!
The moment the giant tree was upon him, Aura flared from Leo's body.
Craaaaash-!
Leo, having reduced the tree to ashes, prepared to counterattack.
But a tentacle that burst from the ground was faster, wrapping around Leo's ankle.
‘He had a beast hidden underground? I didn't sense its presence... And this feeling...!’
The tentacle wrapped around his ankle lifted Leo into the air and slammed him into the ground.
Bam-!
Leo, protecting himself with Aura Armor, released all the Aura in his body.
Craaaaack-!
The explosive storm of Aura ripped the tentacle beast to shreds.
Barely escaping, Leo created some distance.
Squelch-!
The flesh of the tentacle beast regenerated, restoring it to its original state.
‘Its regenerative ability is incredible.’
“I'll kill you right here.”
At the beast summoner's words, Leo summoned his spiritual power.
“Sorry, but just taking hits isn't my style.”
Fwoooosh-!
Piora, engulfed in flames, returned to her true form.
Flap-!
As she spread her wings, her body grew.
Leo's spiritual power had drawn out her latent abilities.
Kwooooooosh-!
As Piora charged, the beast summoner's tentacle beast wrapped around his body like armor.
Thwack-!
The moment Piora's body slammed into the beast summoner, a massive flame erupted, sending him flying at incredible speed into the lakeside.
Splash-!
Water shot high into the air.
As Piora flew near the lake, the water boiled and steam rose.
Piora, returning to Leo with an elegant flutter of her wings, opened her beak.
“Peep.”
[Hmph, back to your true form and you're peeping again. You really are a chick after all... Gak?!]
Piora pecked Kiruan on the head for teasing her.
“As expected of the Phoenix's contractor! You're on a different level from the other first-year brats!”
Whoooosh-!
The beast summoner, who had sunk into the water, rose to the surface.
A terrifying dark magic poured from his body.
‘This isn't good.’
Leo winced at the pain in his right side.
The shock from the earlier attack hadn't faded.
On top of that, seeing the beast the tamer controlled, Leo recalled something.
“Earth Snake?”
“You're sharp. That's right. This is a chimera beast of my own creation.”
A chimera beast.
An artificial beast created by combining the strengths of monsters and magical beasts to birth a more powerful creature.
‘The way it hid its presence underground felt exactly like an Earth Snake, so I had a hunch... This bastard. He made a chimera out of a phantom beast!’
As the beast summoner coldly smiled at the glaring Leo and extended his hand...
“What are you doing to my dear junior? beast summoner?”
An elegant voice echoed from the empty air.
Rumble! Boom-
Thunder roared from a clear sky.
Flash-!
Craaaaaack-boom-!
A powerful bolt of lightning struck down toward the beast summoner.
Reacting to the attack, the beast once again wrapped itself around the beast summoner's body.
But as if mocking its efforts, the lightning mercilessly tore the tentacle beast apart.
“To think my beast armor could be torn like this.”
The beast summoner looked up at the sky.
“Truly worthy of being the strongest in Lumerne's Summoning Department.”
[What's with that winged colt?]
“A Pegasus.”
Leo replied to Kiruan's mutter.
“It's a phantom beast on the same level as you two.”
The beast summoner dipped his hand into the lake.
Bubble- bubble- bubble-
The lake water began to boil violently.
Not only that, but the crystal-clear lake began to emit a potent toxin and a foul stench.
Vwooom-!
“Come forth, Death Slime.”
Gruuuuuumble-!
The polluted lake water churned.
A giant, dark gray slime emerged from the lake.
It was known as the most powerful beast of the slime family.
“Peep! Peep!”
[It stinks!]
Kiruan and Piora recoiled in disgust.
Even though a top-tier Death Slime—a creature that could kill with its mere presence—had been summoned, Ulta remained composed.
“Magical beasts are never lovely creatures, no matter how often I see them. Eiria. Let's get rid of that pitiful monstrosity.”
Rumble! Boom-! Flash-!
As Ulta spoke, lightning struck from the sky.
The bolt fell upon the horn of the Pegasus Ulta was riding.
Kzzzzzzzt-!
The Pegasus's body glowed with a golden light.
‘As expected...’
Leo was impressed.
‘He's a monster.’
That immense power wasn't just because the Pegasus was one of the strongest phantom beasts.
It was the power of Ulta's unfathomable spiritual energy.
Flash-! Craaaaaack!
A storm of lightning raged.
In a single attack, the Death Slime vanished without a trace.
The beast summoner, who had quickly retreated to the water's edge to avoid Ulta's attack, shouted.
“Interesting! Well then, how about this!”
“Oh? I wonder if you'll still find it interesting when you're dead?”
Yura, appearing beside Leo, spoke in a deadly voice.
“How dare you make a chimera from a phantom beast?”
Fwoosh-!
As Yura summoned her spiritual power, a massive summoning circle spread across the ground.
Seeing the giant summoning circle that covered the area, the beast summoner hurriedly summoned his next beast.
“Come forth, Cyclops.”
Grwoooooar!
A giant, one-eyed beast revealed itself.
The terrifying beast, a giant standing four meters tall, was one of the monsters that had established itself as a terror on the front lines of Tartaros.
“Hahaha! I don't know what you're summoning, but my Cyclops won't be easy to handle, Professor Yura! What phantom beast have you summoned?”
Squeak.
A single mouse poked its head out of the summoning circle.
[You drew such a huge summoning circle just to summon one mouse?]
Kiruan spoke with a look of disbelief, but Leo recognized the mouse's identity at once.
“A Voracious Rat.”
It was the most vicious phantom beast Leo knew.
“Oho? As expected of the Summoning Department's top student! You recognized it right away?”
“I'm not in the Summoning Department.”
“You little brat!”
Yura put Leo in a headlock.
Squeak- squeak- squeaksqueaksqueak-!
An immense number of Voracious Rats began to be summoned at a terrifying speed.
“Devour it! Don't leave a single bone behind!”
At Yura's command, the Voracious Rats began to swarm the Cyclops.
Grwoooooaaaaar!
The Cyclops, classified as one of the most vicious beasts, screamed.
The Voracious Rats began to mercilessly devour the Cyclops's flesh.
“Kugh!”
The vast number of Voracious Rats eventually climbed up to the Cyclops's head and lunged at the beast summoner.
The beast summoner hastily pulled a teleport scroll from his robes.
“I don't think so.”
Ulta took the stance of a javelin thrower.
Szzzzzzt-!
The Pegasus's lightning swirled in his hand.
Fwoosh-!
“Kuaaack!”
The spear of lightning pierced the beast summoner.
Even as he screamed, the beast summoner managed to tear the scroll.
“He got away.”
Ulta clicked his tongue, then flew over to where Leo and Yura were.
The Cyclops's summon was also canceled, and with their target gone, the Voracious Rats returned to where they came from at Yura's command.
“Now then.”
Yura glared at Leo.
“You brat! Why did you enter a restricted area?”
They had been notified that while they could go anywhere on the island, the restricted areas were off-limits.
“Because of Piora.”
“Piora?”
Yura glared at the phoenix sitting on Leo's head.
“Peep.”
“How can you be so small yet so dignified! Right! If Piora wanted it, then it can't be helped!”
Seeing Yura forgive him so easily, Ulta spoke in a cold voice, different from before.
“Professor Yura. You're forgiving a student who broke the rules for such a reason?”
Ulta looked at Leo with cold eyes.
“Trying to use your summon as an excuse to get out of trouble. You should be ashamed, Leo Flove.”
Unlike before, Ulta was now showing the proper dignity of a fifth-year student.
“Tell the truth. Why did you break the rules?”
At his words, Leo sighed and added a lie to the truth.
“Because Piora really wanted to eat the magic stones.”
“You broke the rules for that reason alone?”
“Yes.”
In fact, Piora had eaten all the magic stones over the past two days.
Ulta placed a hand on Leo's shoulder with a dignified expression and said.
“Leo, you truly care for your summon. Your senior is moved. Yes. What do school rules matter when it's for your summon? I'll make a special exception and forgive you this time.”
Leo let out a hollow laugh as he watched Ulta forgive him, even giving a thumbs-up.
[Leo.]
‘What.’
[Are all the summoners at Lumerne idiots?]
The hidden Kiruan asked in a serious voice.
At the question, Leo recalled the students of the Summoning Department and made a pitying expression.
‘And they're the most respected professor and senior, too.’
“Well. Enough with the jokes.”
Yura crossed her arms.
“Leo. What was the beast summoner doing here?”
Seeing Yura's sudden change in mood, Leo spoke seriously.
“He was after the magic stones.”
“Magic stones? He infiltrated Lumerne for just that?”
Magic stones were valuable, but there was nothing more foolish than infiltrating Lumerne just to steal them.
Leo said seriously.
“Perhaps he was trying to contaminate the magic stones?”
“Contaminate the magic stones?”
“Yes. Expecting the phantom beasts to eat them.”
“......!”
At Leo's words, Yura's face hardened.
“Come to think of it, that bastard! He used a phantom beast to create a chimera.”
A phantom beast that eats a magic stone contaminated with dark magic either dies or is corrupted into a magical beast.
“This is more serious than I thought, isn't it?”
If the phantom beasts in the Forest of Mythical Beasts were to eat the contaminated magic stones, something terrible would happen.
This was because the place was also where the summoned beasts of Lumerne's summoners stayed.
A misstep could lead to a great loss of military strength.
“I need to go see the headmaster. Ulta! Keep an eye on the kids until I get back!”
Yura summoned her black wyvern and quickly flew up.
Leo narrowed his eyes as he looked at the spot where the beast summoner had been.
‘So there was a traitor among Lumerne's leadership after all.’
He struck at the perfect time, while Pirina was away.
This could not be a coincidence.
“By the way, Leo. I didn't know you were the Phoenix's contractor. And what's more...”
Ulta stared into the empty air.
It was empty space, but Kiruan was there.
“So that's what it was.”
Ulta smiled, seemingly having noticed the fairy's presence, but he didn't press the matter.
Just then, the Pegasus approached Ulta's side.
Its body was smaller compared to during the battle just now.
‘It's not an adult.’
The Pegasus's earlier form was the result of Ulta drawing out its potential.
The Pegasus with pure white wings hid behind Ulta and looked at Leo.
“Is that your Pegasus, senior?”
“Yes! Eiria! Won't you introduce yourself to Leo?”
Despite Ulta's words, Eiria only stared intently at Leo.
After a moment, Eiria cautiously approached Leo.
“My name is Eiria. It's a pleasure to meet you, contractor of the Phoenix.”
‘A Pegasus.’
Back when he was Kyle, the phantom beast he had contracted with was a Pegasus.
“It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Leo Flove.”
Leo smiled and stroked Eiria's head.
Eiria flinched at his touch.
“Leo. A Pegasus dislikes being touched by strangers, so you shouldn't just... huh?”
Eiria, who had been about to reject Leo's touch, soon seemed to like it and leaned into his petting.
Not only that, but she rubbed against Leo's hand as if asking him to stroke her neck.
“Oh? Leo. Have you ever handled a Pegasus before?”
“No.”
Leo replied with a smile, all the while stroking the spots a Pegasus would like.
‘This brings back memories.’
Leo smiled, recalling his contractor from his past life.
“Eiria is usually very shy, so seeing you two get along so quickly warms my heart! But Leo.”
Ulta's satisfied smile vanished, his expression changing completely.
“I understand you have incredible skill. You're not at a first-year's level. But this incident seems too big for you to get involved in.”
Ulta approached Leo and patted him on the shoulder.
“I know you'll be concerned, but I hope you'll leave this matter to the professors.”
“Yes.”
“Then for now, let's head back to the east side of the island.”
Leo followed Ulta, glancing at the lakeside.
‘If that guy from before is the traitor within Lumerne.’
Leo recalled the beast summoner's skill and narrowed his eyes.
‘There's a high probability he's not a student, but a professor.’