The Frost King's Arrival
I also hurriedly recalled the incantations. I had no idea what this "Dark Temple" he spoke of was, nor whom he thought I was, but the most pressing issue was that I didn't know what he was about to summon.
Amid the incantations he recalled, a brilliant light burst forth, and a massive golden ram revealed itself.
"Aris. The sacred golden ram that never suffers injury."
The wool of that golden ram, which frolicked in the gods' celestial garden, not only deflected spears and swords but also repelled most spells outright. Combined with its enormous bulk and agile movements, it would likely serve as his living shield.
Following behind it came a massive creature with a deep green body. Standing on two legs, it was easily twice his size. Its sharp claws and overall form resembled a bear's, yet it bore a beak upon its head, and its round eyes glowed yellow in the darkness.
"And an Owl Bear on top of that."
It was the Owl Bear, known as the wisest predator. As a summon itself, it wasn't particularly high-ranking, but he had likely chosen it considering the summoning time and the forest environment—or perhaps to test my abilities as a summoner. Regardless, the Owl Bear charged straight at me, claws leading the way.
Despite its heavy frame, not even the sound of its footsteps or the whisper of wind parting around it could be heard. My eyes were the only sense that could track its movements. Before I knew it, the Owl Bear was right in front of me, drawing back its menacing arm for a powerful strike.
Of course, the equipped barrier meant I had nothing to worry about, but my own summoning had already finished before that.
A white fist shot out from the blue incantation I had drawn and struck the Owl Bear squarely on the head, sending it tumbling backward across the ground.
"...Choosing defense first wasn't a bad move, but it dulled your offense somewhat. By giving me time to summon, even the summon you worked so hard to call has lost both its speed and power."
What emerged from my summoning circle was a white giant. Slightly larger than the Owl Bear, its body was pale, clad in armor that looked as though it had been woven from skulls. Its name was Loamir, and its blue eyes shone with insatiable hunger as it surveyed its surroundings.
Born from the corpses of the great frost giants that walked Niflheim's icy wastes, these beings resembled giants in form but were essentially scavengers—endlessly gnawing on the bones of their own cradle in their boundless hunger before wandering Niflheim's lands in search of other prey.
"Niflheim's scavenger, is it? A fitting summon for you indeed."
Well, compared to sacred beasts and divine beasts, it certainly wasn't the most appealing summon, but I hadn't had much choice. The moment I saw the Owl Bear, this was the first thing that came to mind.
His hand moved again, etching new incantations into the earth. Yes—this time, I knew exactly what was coming.
"I've seen quite enough of that already."
And because of that, I could think of the perfect summon to counter it. My own summoning circles were etched into the ground as well, and as earth elementals began rising from the upheaving soil, black shadows also stirred beneath my gesture.
"Dark Elementals!"
I could see the shock flooding his eyes. What I had summoned were Dark Elementals—high-ranking spirits of darkness itself, just like the earth elementals he had called forth.
"Don't tell me you've tainted your soul that far? Are you people truly trying to return to the era of the Dark Priests?"
I still couldn't tell exactly whom he was mistaking me for, but his shocked and accusatory cry struck uncomfortably close to home. It directly touched upon one of the complexes I had carried within me for a very long time.
"...I didn't particularly taint it or anything."
Why was it that the only divine or sacred beasts I had contracted were Erill and Morotai? Why could I so easily summon beings like Kokus Jakus that could never be called forth by mere imitation? And why were most of my summons entities belonging to the demon realm, Niflheim, or darkness?
It had nothing to do with my talent or skill. This was a matter of the summoner's very essence.
Why was it that we, who could summon any being we desired at any time, had to set up a specific return magic circle to send them back—and why could we not send ourselves elsewhere? It was because our method of summoning was fundamentally different from a mage's spatial transfer spells.
Strictly speaking, we did not manipulate space itself. We drew forth summons—more precisely, "beings connected to myself or whose souls and auras were similar."
That was why any summoner could call forth and contract with lower beings whose existence a summoner's soul could overwhelm, or with far higher beings that cared nothing for such matters.
However, those beings who responded sensitively to a summoner's call and soul—those who were not so different—generally did not answer the summons of a summoner whose nature was alien to them. Not only was the connection or call itself faint, but the summon itself instinctively and consciously felt repulsion.
No matter how skilled a summoner might be, if the connection never reached them or if they stubbornly refused, they could not be summoned. And this was because it was a matter of the soul's inherent nature.
Yet someone had eventually found a way to transcend that nature. Though it was possible only in one direction and could never be undone. And it was precisely because of that method that we came to be called Dark Priests.
Just as their name suggested, the Dark Priests tainted themselves with darkness, shadow, and the flames that were Urshus's attribute. Thanks to that, although their connections to other summons were severed, they gained the ability to call upon the power of Urshus and his followers.
"Seize them."
At my command, the Dark Elementals lunged at the earth elementals. The earth elementals' bodies were engulfed in darkness, and when that darkness finally scattered, the earth elementals had turned into ordinary piles of rubble that collapsed to the ground. The opposing energies of the spirits had clashed, stripping both of their forms.
"Well then, what will you show me next?"
I had meant to sound cheerful, but my voice came out heavy and subdued instead.
I couldn't help it. Looking at his eyes and expression kept reminding me of the moment I first learned the true nature of my own soul.
I had never tainted my soul, nor had I needed to. When I first looked deep into my own consciousness and called forth high-ranking summons through my connections to my soul, the beings that answered were neither sacred beasts nor divine beasts—nor even high-ranking spirits.
My soul had been close to darkness from the very beginning.
That was why the only divine or sacred beasts among my summons were Erill and Morotai, and why Jequirac had expressed doubt upon hearing my introduction after answering my call so readily.
"......"
With a grim expression, he recalled new incantations once more. And when I focused on those incantations for a moment, the equipped barrier suddenly activated.
"......!"
Startled by the barrier's sudden activation, I turned my head to see the Owl Bear's claws halted against the barrier right behind me. From the Owl Bear's expression, I could clearly read his master's dismay through their connection.
He had apparently been waiting for an opportunity in the darkness after being knocked down, but he hadn't expected an equipped barrier to be in place.
At my will, Loamir swung his fist toward the Owl Bear once more, but the Owl Bear quickly retreated, dodged the blow, and swiftly returned to its master's side.
"Don't tell me you summoned the Owl Bear expecting this all along?"
An Owl Bear's feathers and fur were so soft that it made no sound even when moving quickly. That was why most prey couldn't defend against an Owl Bear's ambush. In reality, the Owl Bear had silently circled around behind my line of sight from where it had fallen and launched its surprise attack—yet neither I nor Loamir had noticed it at all during that time.
"......"
He remained silent, which I took as confirmation, and I had no choice but to acknowledge both his strategy and my own mistake. Even though I had landed a hit, the real problem was that I had overlooked the fact that it wasn't a fatal blow because I had been distracted by his other summons. But while I was reflecting on that mistake, a pure white unicorn with golden horns slowly emerged from his summoning circle, and at the same time, its horn began to glow.
"Kuh?"
A faint pain in my chest transmitted through the soul synchronization, and when I turned my head, I saw Loamir's chest pierced by a golden flash of light. I quickly severed the soul synchronization, and Loamir screamed in agony before scattering into fragments of ice.
Loamir was a kind of undead born from the corpses of frost giants. It had been annihilated before the unicorn's horn, which radiated holy light.
"...Well, this is the first time I've seen a unicorn."
It was my first time seeing a unicorn. I had already heard that he commanded one, but seeing it in person like this was still surprising.
"Remarkable. I never expected to see a male summoner contracted with a unicorn."
"...If you surrender quietly now and reveal your group's plans, I will show you leniency."
I pondered his words for a moment. There was no need to continue this fight pointlessly. It seemed he was mistaking me for someone else, after all. Perhaps the wisest course was to simply reveal my identity now that he had stopped attacking. However—
'But even if I say I'm Anak right now, would he actually believe me?'
That was the problem. He already believed I had tainted my soul with darkness like the ancient Dark Priests. In this situation, would he truly accept my words at face value even if I told the truth?
I shook my head. People had refused to believe me even in far simpler situations than this. Even with Rowell and my companions standing right beside me, some had never stopped looking at me with suspicion. There was no way they would believe me now.
I extended my hand and recalled incantations in the air. I had to subdue him decisively first. Only when it became clear that I had no reason to lie would he believe my words as they were.
Despite my actions, he did not summon any new creatures. He had likely either been certain of victory or the unicorn was the highest-ranking summon he could call forth.
And if that was the case, things had become much simpler. All I had to do was bring out something far superior to a unicorn.
Following my gesture, an enormous blue incantation overlapped the ones floating in the air. Cracks tore through space in multiple places, and from those fissures poured forth a pure white chill.
"......!"
Only then did he frantically begin etching new incantations into the earth, and the unicorn unleashed flashes of light toward me and my summoning circles—but that light neither erased the incantations nor broke through my barrier.
Earth elementals rose from the ground once more and charged at me. Sharp rocks and heavy fists pounded against the barrier, but even if one layer broke, plenty of others remained, and they would hold until the summoning was complete.
The pure white chill flowing from the cracks gradually blanketed the entire area, and the trees and foliage rapidly froze solid before it. It was the void's chill that covered the outermost reaches of Niflheim.
At the Owl Bear's pained whimper, he opened a return dimensional gate and quickly sent it back. Unlike Aris or the unicorn, the Owl Bear would never withstand this cold.
And finally, the summoning ended as the cracks became a passageway, and a knight clad in blue armor covered entirely in ice slowly emerged, accompanied by two pure white snow leopards.
"Welcome, Lord Irshagas."
It was the appearance of Irshagas, the first warden of Niflheim—the Frost King.