The Black Wyvern's Bond
The sacred trumpet of the heavens resounded from every direction, and behind me a white gate resembling a castle door materialized.
With the beat of drums the gate swung open, and the first gatekeeper, Morotai, stepped forth.
“Welcome, Lord Morotai.”
His armor still gleamed with that pointless brilliance. I disliked both his massive frame and the sanctimonious shine of that armor.
—……
He made no effort to hide his displeasure at my presence. After all, even after that petty stunt of mine, the contract had not been broken; his resentment was only natural. It was a pity his helmet hid his expression.
“You certainly gave me quite the welcome the other day.”
—…A pity. I had hoped never to lay eyes on you again.
I wanted to retort, but the Black Wyvern came charging toward us.
“By the terms of our pact, I command you: capture that Black Wyvern unharmed.”
—It cannot be helped.
Morotai launched himself forward with obvious reluctance. He had not drawn his sword, and the order to take the creature alive without injuring it left him unable to fight properly. His mood could not have been pleasant. Moreover, I had phrased it explicitly as a command this time, which surely grated on him even more.
The Black Wyvern paid the sudden appearance of Morotai no mind. It lunged savagely, slamming into him. The moment Morotai seized its head with one hand, the wyvern lashed out with its tail, stabbing at his body.
The tail carried lethal venom, yet it failed to pierce Morotai’s armor. Still, the impact made him stagger.
“My, was that order too much for you?”
—Silence!
Morotai hurled the Black Wyvern away with all his strength, creating some distance between them. His hand kept drifting unconsciously toward his sword.
It must have been maddening for him. Normally a single swing of his blade would have ended the fight, but that was forbidden now. For a holy knight who prized dignity and decorum, this kind of brawl was utterly foreign.
“Remember, you must not harm it.”
—I know!
Realizing its tail could not penetrate the armor, the Black Wyvern changed tactics. Instead of stabbing, it swung its tail like a club, putting the full weight of its larger body behind the blow.
Yet Morotai was still one favored by the gods. He caught the incoming tail bare-handed and, gripping it, closed the distance in a single leap. The startled wyvern flailed its wings and head, but it was already too late.
Morotai seized the creature’s neck with his free arm while still holding the tail, then yanked and shoved at once, toppling the Black Wyvern to the ground.
That was not the end of it.
The wyvern’s roar echoed across the mountains as its thrashing kicked up clouds of dust. Though Morotai had brought it down, subduing something larger than himself was no easy task.
I could see him straining with every ounce of strength to pin it. There was something desperate and earnest about the effort that I found oddly satisfying.
“This is enough. You can stop now, Erill. Opportunities like this don’t come often.”
Erill urged me to hurry, clearly bored, but I wanted to watch a little longer. The contract with Morotai was special; I could issue only one command per day. Furthermore, its scope was limited to combat, so chances to exact this kind of petty revenge were rare.
During the great war there had been many dangerous situations, and even Morotai had struggled against Demon Commanders and high-ranking demon officers. But with the Demon King’s army gone, how many foes remained that could truly challenge him?
If I were to side with one nation and drag him into a war, perhaps—but even that was forbidden by the clause that kept him out of human power struggles.
Time passed. At last the Black Wyvern’s strength gave out and its struggles ceased. It still snorted white plumes of breath through its nostrils, but it no longer had the will to resist.
—…It is captured.
The barely suppressed anger in his voice was music to my ears.
“Good. Keep holding it, then. Make sure I am not injured.”
I walked slowly toward Morotai and the wyvern—deliberately slowly.
“Hold it firmly. The capture is not yet complete.”
I added the warning so he would not twist my orders again as he had before, then approached the Black Wyvern’s head. Morotai kept its skull pressed to the earth, so there was no danger, but the stench of rotten meat from its nostrils and maw made me gag.
Holding my breath, I placed my hand on the wyvern’s head. Even a Black Wyvern was still just a beast, no different from an ordinary wyvern. There was no need for a special contract or negotiation; I simply had to imprint the seal of the pact and bind its soul to me.
“Erill, I’m going to sever the link for a moment.”
After cutting the mental connection with Erill, I focused my mana. A red seal of contract appeared on the Black Wyvern’s head. As our consciousnesses linked, its soul began to resonate with mine.
The first emotion that flooded in was rage—raw fury at the thought of grinding me between its fangs, along with the primal instincts of a living creature. Fear and rejection of the foreign presence touching its soul thrashed against my mind.
It was futile. Had the creature been advanced enough to repel my consciousness with such resistance, I would never have used this method of forced contract in the first place.
My mind and soul gradually devoured those of the Black Wyvern. The instant my spirit reached the deepest core of its being, I completely overwhelmed it.
[Obey!]
That single command was carved into the wyvern’s soul and mind. Unless a summoner far superior to me appeared, it would never be erased.
Once the red seal sank into the flesh and vanished, I lifted my hand. The contract was complete.
“That will do. Release it.”
Morotai let go. The freed Black Wyvern rose, then lowered its head deeply before me in submission. It was mine now.
“Good. Well done.”
Of course, unless it was an otherworldly being or a summon manifested through mana, returning the Black Wyvern after summoning would require either installing an auxiliary dimensional magic circle here in the Mereka Mountains—similar to the one in the Kenner region forest—or having it fly back on its own like Erill. Unfortunately, Medrup, who usually handled such circles, was absent. And unlike Erill, the wyvern’s temperament made a peaceful return journey unlikely.
Because the range of mental synchronization and commands was limited, there was no guarantee it would not attack a village on the way back.
Still, for now, it belonged to me.
—That creature suits you perfectly.
Morotai’s voice was thick with contempt, as always.
—So you finally obtained one of those filthy black beasts the Demon King’s soldiers once rode? How very like you. You and your kind have always been drawn to darkness—filthy and pathetic.
It was pure loathing and hostility. Yet none of it was directed solely at me, nor was it entirely because of me.
“That was hundreds of years ago. Besides, you never experienced those events yourself. You only learned of them. You have ascended to the heavens, yet you still cling to the beliefs and prejudices of your previous life. How long do you intend to remain bound by them?”
Unlike Medrup, I did not know the exact era in which Morotai had lived. History had never been a subject that interested me. Still, as a summoner, I knew precisely how the most renowned summoners of the past had met their ends.
Thanks to that knowledge, I could guess how summoners had been regarded in various regions and eras.
So I understood exactly why he despised me so much. Of course, before any of that, his narrow-mindedness and arrogance were the fundamental problems—there was no excusing those.
—I know your kind never changes. You will always turn your backs on the light of the great gods and fix your eyes on the darkness within and without.
“I have told you many times: I helped Rowell. I fought the Demon King’s army for the sake of the world and the light. I even helped you join that journey. And yet you still believe I am tainted by darkness?”
—Even if you aided the great hero, it changes nothing. It is only a matter of time. The cursed power and wretched nature of your kind will always lead to the same place!
Reacting to my anger, Erill and the Black Wyvern directed their hostility toward Morotai. Erill cloaked part of her body in flames while the wyvern lashed the ground furiously with its tail. But those meaningless threats could not silence him.
—No matter how many thousands of years pass, no matter how many ridiculous new names you invent—Sympathizer, Connector, Summoner—to hide behind, nothing will change! Filthy Dark Priest!
Rage surged to the top of my head. I wanted to hurl spells at him right then and there. Yet the incantations I had prepared up to the activation phrase, and the will to summon a vast army of creatures capable of erasing even Morotai, were ultimately suppressed by reason.
It was not because he was a useful summon. That no longer mattered. Killing him would only provoke the Knight God, and sacrificing other summons for the sake of this man was not worth it.
“…You may return now.”
At my gesture toward the gate, Morotai turned sharply and strode away. I felt an almost overwhelming urge to hurl flames at his retreating back, even if it would have been pointless.
“…And you had better pray your belief is wrong. If it proves true, only the great gods will know what I will do to you.”
Perhaps I should not have said those final words. But even so, they had to be said.
—I shall await that day with a joyful heart.
He replied with utmost solemnity before returning to the heavens. The conviction in his voice only stoked my fury further.