Lethe's Divine Beast Studies
Lethe's Divine Beast Studies class was, in a word, a revelation.
Of course, Professor Farahan's Divine Defense classes at Kizen were excellent too, but his specialty was divine mechanics, so when it came to Divine Beast Studies he could only offer the standard textbook instruction. According to Lethe, Divine Beast Studies was an entirely specialized field — no matter how accomplished a Priest might be, they only ever knew the basics.
"Did you know this?"
Lethe said, resting her hand on Akalion's body.
"This Divine Beast. He can fly."
"Whaat?!"
Simon shot up from his seat and whipped his head around to stare at Akalion.
"Really? Then why have you never flown once while you've been with me?"
-Uung.......
"Don't be so hard on the poor thing. It's not that he refused — he simply didn't know how."
Lethe stroked Akalion's head with slow, deliberate pats. He seemed pleased, letting out a contented 'uurung' sound.
"And that's not all. Flying requires the help of Divine Beast magic."
"Divine Beast magic! You mean the thing where you draw magic circles on the Divine Beast itself?"
"Yes. Using divinity and the power of the magic circle, you draw out two hundred percent of the beast's natural ability. Call that the rough working definition."
On the spot, Lethe drew magic circles on all four of Akalion's legs. Then she inscribed a larger circle on his back and linked it to each of the four below.
When the work was finished, she looked over at Simon.
"Take it off."
Simon flinched, and Lethe scrunched her face in open irritation, as though explaining any further were beneath her.
"I have to draw a magic circle on your body too, so turn around and take your shirt off, you dunce!"
"O-okay."
Simon obediently did as he was told, stripping off his shirt and sitting down. She gave a little 'hmph' and sauntered over, then smacked him squarely on the back with her open palm.
Simon jolted so hard he shuddered.
"W-wait a second! Is smacking me part of the standard Divine Beast circle procedure?"
"No. Your body just looked so nice I wanted to hit it."
......How can you say something like that so proudly?!
Before long, Lethe crouched behind Simon's back and, fingertip pressed to skin, began tracing the magic circle in smooth, sweeping strokes.
Ugh.
Simon's face went red, and he squeezed his eyes shut.
It tickled.
Lethe's slender white fingers danced lightly, drifting down across every inch of his back.
It felt as though every fine hair on his body was standing on end.
A strange, restless feeling welled up in him, and his nose prickled.
"Ah, hold still!"
Smack!
Lethe smacked his back again. Simon, burning with indignation, shut his mouth and straightened his spine — and a faint, smug smile crept across Lethe's lips.
"......You're doing this on purpose to mess with me, aren't you?"
"Don't talk. I need to concentrate."
Twenty minutes later, a complete divinity magic circle sat on Simon's back.
"This one's just for testing. It won't last forever, so don't worry. If you want to keep it, you'll have to maintain it yourself."
Lethe rose to her feet and folded her arms.
"Now channel divinity into the circles to activate them. Both you and Akalion."
Simon nodded and switched on the power of the circle on his back and the ones on Akalion simultaneously.
"!"
The sensation spread across his entire body, tingling and expanding outward.
He was connected to Akalion, completely and perfectly.
It resembled linking up with his undead through the plane of thought, but Divine Beast Studies felt far more intuitive — a connection he could feel in his bones.
"Thirty minutes."
Lethe checked the time.
"Go play with Akalion. Something light."
"Play?"
"Yes. Think of it as a warm-up to raise your resonance."
Simon did as instructed and took a lap around the house with Akalion.
It had been a while since the bear's last walk, and his joy came flooding through to Simon in waves.
When they returned from their stroll, Lethe was rummaging through her bag.
"Is there any food Akalion particularly likes?"
"He mostly eats my divinity. Other than that — nuts, fruit, mushrooms, corn, things like that?"
Lethe pulled out a highly sweet fruit, had Simon coat it in divinity, and then dangled it in front of Akalion's nose. At the sweet fragrance, greed lit up the bear's eyes and drool spilled from the corners of his mouth.
"Hup!"
Lethe levitated the fruit into the air with white magic.
"Akalion! Go get it!"
And she threw it. Akalion let out a roaring 'uurung!' and charged at blistering speed.
"Faster! Faster!"
Lethe's drill technique was something else. She controlled the fruit with maddening skill, letting it come just within reach of his jaws before snatching it away — teasing him with it like a schoolyard bully.
After a few brushes against his mouth gave him a taste, Akalion charged all the harder, wild with excitement.
"Faster! Run faster! More! More! More! MORE!"
And then —
At the astonishing sight that unfolded next, Simon's jaw dropped wide open.
No way. That's impossible!
The fruit was climbing higher and higher into the sky, and Akalion — sprinting with his eyes locked on nothing but that fruit — was beginning to rise off the ground.
And with that huge, heavy, lumbering body of his, he was running on empty air.
Every time Akalion's paws came down, the four magic circles threw off bursts of white sparks.
Incredible!
Simon clenched both fists, his face flushed with excitement.
Before long, Akalion snatched the fruit clean out of the air and gobbled it down. Lethe spread her arms wide.
"Great work, Akalion! Look at what you just did~"
-Uung?
Akalion lowered his head and looked down.
And then —
He registered that he was floating more than ten meters above the ground.
-Uuuraaaung!
Startled out of his wits, Akalion flailed wildly in midair — and began to fall.
The moment Simon saw it, he kicked off the ground and bolted.
Release!
He cut the linked divinity magic circles and blasted the divinity out of Akalion's body in one breath. Akalion shrank back into his little teddy-bear form and dropped, and Simon slid across the grass like a base runner, catching him in a soft landing.
"Phew."
Simon let out a sigh of relief and smiled.
"You okay?"
-Uurung!
Frightened half to death, Akalion burrowed deep into Simon's arms. Simon picked him up and gently stroked his fur with his palm.
"Even I didn't expect a successful flight on the very first try."
Lethe came over, sweeping the hair back from her face.
"Of course, you'll need far more practice going forward."
Twinkle, twinkle, twinkle!
Simon's eyes began sparkling as he looked at her. Lethe made an 'ugh' face.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Thank you, thank you so much! And I take back everything. Efnel's Number One admit really is on another level!"
She spun sharply away.
"Hearing that from a Kizen necromancer isn't exactly a treat, you know."
"Hahaha!"
"W-what's so funny?!"
And yet why were the corners of her mouth turning upward?
Anyway, Akalion's training ended there. Simon tucked Akalion into his divinity subspace, then furrowed his brow and pressed a hand to his forehead.
A slight dizziness is coming on.
Divinity consumed a great deal of mental stamina. They had only flown for a moment, but it seemed the drain had been larger than he'd expected.
Watching him, Lethe spoke up.
"Using Akalion as transport right away will be difficult. You'll need to apply it within combat for now."
"If training improves our efficiency, could we fly freely someday?"
"Hmm. Honestly? More than that, you'll need a Divine Beast-specific artifact to support Akalion's flight."
Next, Simon brought out the kitten Divine Beasts — Baekyang and Kkamang. The instant they appeared, they were yowling "meow! meow!" at full volume, hopping and bouncing everywhere in total chaos.
"Mmhm."
Even the great Lethe was powerless against a kitten's aegyo. She waved her fingers to draw their attention, and the moment they caught sight of that long white thing moving, Kkamang sprinted over and started gnawing on it with teeth that didn't hurt in the slightest.
"When these little ones awaken as Divine Beasts, there's a strong chance they'll become Objectification Divine Beasts, like Mimi."
"Mimi — you mean the turtle Divine Beast?"
"Yes. You and I both lucked out, you know. Objectification Divine Beasts are genuinely rare."
She rose from her seat.
"What have you been doing for the kittens' awakening so far?"
"......Not much, really. Feeding them divinity to trigger their transformations, like before? Mostly just waiting for them to grow a little more."
Even as he said this, the kittens meowed and clamored so insistently for divinity that, left with no choice, he fed each of them a dose.
Both cats floated up weightlessly, seeming to shift within a halo of light — then returned to their original forms and dropped back down.
"That's strange."
"What is?"
"You seem to be doing quite well. The kittens' growth and health are both fine, and judging by their transformed appearances, everything looks ideal. It's honestly baffling why the transformation won't complete."
Lethe corrected his training methods for the cats and advised him to try changing their diet and other variables, but she couldn't pin down a clear cause for the awakening failure.
That said, Simon was more than satisfied with this much.
"Well then, time to head back."
Lethe said, stretching her arms up long.
"The children will be back soon. We should prepare today's lessons too."
"Right. Let's go."
The days that followed were hectic and exhausting.
Early each morning, Divine Beast training with Lethe; after that, playing teacher to the children. Once the children were sent off and evening came, he managed to eat and rest a little — and then, in the dead of night while everyone slept, he crossed the barrier and began the search of the snow mountains.
The brutal cold showed no sign of breaking, and he lost his way and wandered the mountains again and again — but little by little, Simon and Lethe were getting a feel for it.
He was growing closer to the children, too.
"Teacher Shawn! Teacher Shawn!"
Simon was tidying up the toys when three little girls grabbed at his sleeves.
He turned with a gentle smile.
"Yes? What can I help you with?"
One of the girls shouted with an innocent, radiant grin.
"Me! I want to marry you, Teacher Shawn!"
Puhup! Koff! Koff!
From the kitchen far across the room came the sound of Lethe choking on the snacks she'd been making.
"Can't you just live in our village with us forever?"
"Even if Anda can't marry you, I still want to have Teacher Shawn's baby!"
Simon was wildly popular with the children as well. He lightly ruffled the three girls' heads and smiled kindly.
"That seems a little early to decide. If all of your feelings are still the same fifteen years from now — will you tell me again then?"
"That's too far away!"
"Anda's only five!"
"How many nights do you have to sleep for fifteen years?"
Simon barely managed to talk them around and set them to sorting the toys instead.
As he walked off to fetch a picture book, he caught sight of Lethe — just setting a plate of snacks down on the table — wearing a smile absolutely dripping with mockery.
"My, my. Congratulations on your fifteen-year engagement~ Teacher Shawn."
"......Don't start."
And so the peaceful days drifted quietly by.
At that very moment.
Kula.
"......My Lord! We have no food left — none!"
"Our winter supplies have run dry!"
"The monsters have seized the city outskirts! The residents who lost their homes are demanding compensation from you, my Lord!"
"We don't have enough medicine to treat the wounded!"
The deep freeze was growing worse by the day, and with it the city's situation had become utterly dire. The Lord of Kula sat with his brow pressed to his hand, weighed down by a heavy gloom.
"People are boiling tree bark to eat. We can hold out two more days at the very most!"
"Make a decision, my Lord! We cannot sit here and die like this!"
"......."
The Lord, gaunt from days of extreme stress and starvation, lifted his head.
His eyes were fixed on the snow mountains beyond the window.
"You're right."
Click.
His hand closed around the hilt of the sword leaning against the wall.
"We cannot sit here and die like this."