You Already Accepted Me
But at that very moment, another series of sentences appeared right beside the ones I had envisioned. I couldn’t tell whether the numbers were exactly equal or if one side held the advantage, but at a glance they looked nearly identical.
If I had stayed calm, there would have been no reason to falter. I had been the first to call up the incantations, and my original purpose had only ever been to buy time. Had I kept my composure, my summoning would have been faster and I could have matched the opponent evenly. Yet the unfamiliar pressure of a summoner-versus-summoner duel—especially against someone of equal skill—and the way the fight had devolved into a chaotic brawl unlike my encounter with Elena left me more rattled than I should have been.
The enemy had surely been aiming for exactly that reaction. Even though overwhelming an opponent with a flood of summoning circles was a tactic I myself had used many times, I had never been on the receiving end of it. The shock threw me off balance.
It took me several seconds to regain my composure, and in those few seconds my hesitation slowed the summoning speed, costing me the initiative.
“Damn it!”
The summonings manifested almost simultaneously. The countless creatures I had called forth collided with the tree branches and vines that surged from the opposite side, tangling together in a writhing mass.
Because I had summoned them in haste and there was a limit to how many I could control at once, the vast majority were easy-to-manage undead, elementals, and golems. Yet every one of them was a high-ranking entity that had survived the great war. I had honestly believed this composition would be enough.
But the scene unfolding before me showed us as equals—at best. If anything, my side was being pushed back. Countless vines blooming with white flowers ensnared the undead and purified them where they stood. The golems were wrapped in thick roots and trunks, unable to move freely. My spirits and demonic beasts were surrounded by tiny dwarves crawling out from between the foliage, patches of moss, and bizarre creatures that looked disturbingly like giant toad bugs. They were all struggling.
On top of that, the fact that the summoner himself was a high-ranking demon put me at a disadvantage in more ways than one.
I thought arrogance was the one word that would never suit me.
Apparently I had been carrying some without realizing it. I immediately redirected every dark elemental and metal golem to charge straight at Alsh Unak. There was no time to dwell on useless thoughts. Plant-type summons usually carried little control burden, but the sheer number changed the equation. The summoner himself would grow sluggish in both defense and offense.
Besides, Granbipra had nearly reached Urshus’s flames. The barrier still held, and the artifacts remained. Just a few minutes. If I could buy just those few minutes…
“Urk!”
A bolt of magical power slipped through a gap and shattered one layer of the barrier. Even without the metal golems and dark elementals, the shared vision from so many summons should have blocked his line of sight. The precision of that strike was uncanny. No matter how powerful a high-ranking demon he was, the ability felt unnatural.
Moreover, none of those summoned creatures appeared to belong to the demon realm, despite the strange magical power they carried in their plant forms. Even more astonishing, I didn’t recognize a single species. My knowledge of plant-type summons was not exhaustive, but I was familiar with every famous variety.
For a high-ranking demon to wield such advanced summoning arts and possess rare plant-type creatures… Combined with the title “First Flame of Urshus,” I desperately wanted to know who he truly was.
Sharing vision with the surrounding summons, I retreated. Moving my own body while maintaining active summons was something I had not done since the great war. Normally it strained both mind and body, and there had never been a need, so I remained still. But now was not the time for restraint.
Sure enough, another lance of magic power pierced the gap and drilled into the exact spot where I had been standing moments before.
A mere few minutes. Despite telling myself that, time crawled with agonizing slowness. The battle between the summoned creatures had stabilized somewhat despite being slightly pushed back, yet I was forced to sprint between the clashing forces, desperately dodging the enemy’s targeted strikes.
Not only did the opponent defend and counter the assaults from my dark elementals and other summons with practiced ease, he continued to fire precise bolts of magic directly at my location.
Damn it all to hell.
How utterly powerless. At its core, this was the true nature of my ability. No matter how many creatures I could command, a few misjudgments reduced me to this sorry state. It was precisely why I had prepared with obsessive caution ever since the last great war…
Do you desire power?
A chill ran down my spine. It was not spoken aloud. It was not a memory. The words felt as though they had stretched unbroken from the distant past into the present, boring straight into my mind.
“So you want to use me as a vessel—no, as a conduit? Urshus!”
The sight of my comrades collapsing one by one, my own foolish and ugly desires, Rowell’s face utterly devoid of life. Those illusions swept through my head as if they were genuine memories.
“Don’t make me laugh! Who would ever let that happen!”
Such a thing must never be allowed to happen.
“……!”
I was frantically trying to wipe those images from my mind when suddenly every gear in my head locked into place. The realization cost me a fraction of a second, and I lost another layer of the barrier.
“…So that’s it. Urshus. I kept feeling something was off.”
The totems and magic circles I had seen in that house. A demon who used summoning arts—specifically plant-type summons. That absurd title and an appearance far too stereotypical for a high-ranking demon.
“You were Urshus’s contractor.”
Physical and magical transformation through a contract with a higher being, accompanied by mental domination. Yes, it all made sense now. The one called Alsh Unak was a summoner bound to Urshus.
Whether he had sought the contract himself or had been dragged into it like me, I couldn’t say. But once I looked at it that way, everything fit.
Those skilled with plant-type summons were usually druids. Given the totems and magic circles, it was clear a summoner from the druid tradition had encountered Urshus during his training and formed the contract on the spot.
Yes. If he was not an ordinary high-ranking demon but Urshus’s contractor, the situation changed entirely. The reason he could command countless summons yet still strike accurately toward my position was because he shared every sense with them through the god’s will.
“Of course. There was no way only the first summoner and I would have reached Urshus.”
It was obvious once I thought about it. Even if summoners were rare, over such long ages there could not have been only two.
…There is no need to look so disappointed. This body is not the contractor.
It was different from before. Instead of traveling through Alsh Unak’s body, Urshus’s voice rang directly inside my consciousness. Just like during the Soul Link Ritual.
“……!”
I didn’t know why, but the connection meant my soul had linked with Urshus. I tried desperately to sever it, yet the bond refused to break. It felt as if it had been forcibly welded together.
“It can’t be…!”
Only then did I truly examine my surroundings. The battle between the summoned creatures raged on, but Alsh Unak’s plants had burrowed into various parts of most of my summons. The damage had not been severe enough to hinder combat, so neither they nor I had paid it much attention. Now I realized those connections were being used to strengthen the link to Urshus.
It seems you have finally noticed.
Alsh Unak’s body had stopped moving entirely. His entire form was wreathed in dark crimson flames. He no longer defended or counterattacked. Even when dark elementals or other summons struck him, the flames simply blocked the blows without allowing any damage.
I had been played from the start. There had never been any way for summons of this level to harm him. The reason he had kept defending and countering so diligently was to give me an excuse to call forth a large number of creatures and to hide the fact that he was gradually linking his consciousness through them.
“Lord Granbipra!”
Of course, with Granbipra present the situation was not yet at its worst, but there was no room for complacency. I had managed to cut the connection during the Soul Link Ritual, but the circumstances now were entirely different.
Even if Granbipra destroyed the vessel, as long as the contractor existed the link would not break easily.
“W-wait, you said this isn’t the contractor. What exactly did you mean by that?”
It is exactly as I said. Though this one is a fairly skilled summoner, he did not possess a flame worthy of reaching me.
The question had been meant to buy time, but it held no meaning. Inside the already connected consciousness, Urshus’s answers were engraved directly into my mind the instant the thought formed. There was no delay. As the exchange continued, the connection grew stronger, and the weight of Urshus’s presence swelled inside me.
“Then how…?”
It was similar to the present. I forcibly linked the connection by passing through several layers of consciousness via the demonic beings that had reached him. Yet even that eventually reached its limit.
Through the linked consciousness, Alsh Unak’s condition flowed into me. The forced contract, excessive reinforcement, and transformation had pushed his body to its absolute limit. The connection itself was precarious. Had he been forced to endure even a few more days, he likely would not have been able to display this level of power.
Do not blame yourself. Had you not come, I would have simply used another replacement vessel and waited.
A replacement vessel. He was speaking of Lord Kainaknus.
Now, Anak. Summoner of Deception. Nightmare of Orsia Hill. Accept me once again. Cast aside that trivial title of Second-Best Strategist. Step out of the shadow of the hero and the others, and stand as my proxy. I shall grant you everything you desire.
Inside the ever-strengthening connection, even speaking became difficult. Urshus’s words, engraved directly into my mind, eroded my consciousness. My attempts to steady myself through questions and answers flickered like a candle in the wind.
I already gave you my answer. It has not changed.
Yes. I had already said it. That I would never permit it. That I would never wish for such illusions.
My sun is not you. Nor is it their shadow. They are the ones who truly guide me…!
Then why did you feel relieved at that time? Why did you laugh?
It was not a question. It was mockery. A reenactment of a memory I did not want to recall.
You laughed. When that foolish demon dragged you into the empty space. In that place where no one’s eyes could reach, why did you laugh? Why did you mock him?
I did not want to remember. It was different from the other nightmares. It was not proof of my inadequacy, nor was it a simple mistake. I had enjoyed it. And part of me had been waiting for it. Even while fully aware of what it meant, I had immediately compromised with those cunningly arranged conditions as if I could not help myself.
You called me. You spoke to me.
I wanted to erase that voice. I wanted to turn away from the rising memories. Yet every emotion, every word, every expression from that time replayed before my eyes with painful clarity.
“Urshus. Descend upon me at once.”
I had said it with a smile.
You had already accepted me back then.