Chapter 166
Chapter 166
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 166
Chapter Title: The World's Strongest Spirit User (1)
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“I do have spirits. But I’m not sure if I should even call myself a spirit user.”
Galen shrugged lightly. Daimus gave a wry smile.
“Yeah, come to think of it, better not to. The other spirit users might get upset.”
“Just call me a mage. But you didn’t bring that up just because you weren’t sure what to call me.”
“Of course not. Just checking, but… if you can handle spirits, would that give you an edge against other spirit users?”
“Hard to say. I’ve only ever run into one other spirit user…”
Silver rank days, in Nijerte.
The events since then had been so wildly dynamic that a mere power struggle over one city felt like small potatoes now. He could barely recall her name. Redna… was it?
Back when they’d fought, he hadn’t stolen Spirit Creation yet. And even the version he’d swiped and mastered back then had gone through two evolutions, changing so much that its status window entry was unrecognizable.
From the moment he’d first acquired spirits, they’d mainly served to assist Water Flow Manipulation. Applying his own case to other spirit users was probably a stretch.
“Still, it’s gotta be better than being a total outsider. Got a spirit user you need to crush?”
“If it were that easy to ‘crush,’ it’d be perfect.”
Daimus let out a faint sigh and cut to the chase.
“Do you know the Spirius family?”
“If you mean the one in the southeast.”
While Lilia’s knowledge had leveled up to proper archbishop standards thanks to the Vatican library, Galen had taken time to refresh his own intel too.
The waters he swam in had changed for good. He’d need to brush up if he was going to tangle more with other gems or prestigious houses.
The Spirius family was one of the few that piqued Galen’s interest.
They were a top prestigious house in the southeast—and they had a gem on their roster. A mage, not a warrior. And not just any—
“Hard to find a spirit user family doing as well as them.”
“Exactly. A pretty unique case. Though it’s nothing compared to you, strutting around defying all common sense.”
Mages were already a minority next to warriors. The ratio held even among the massive forces worthy of the ‘prestigious house’ label—nine in ten were warrior clans.
And spirit users were a tiny subset even among mages. Come to think of it, crossing paths with Redna early on had been one hell of a coincidence.
So yeah, the Spirius family was pretty much the world’s only prestigious house boasting spirit users.
Top it off with a gem in the current generation, and their prestige was through the roof.
“But bringing them up after your Vatican trip… there’s gotta be a reason.”
“Remember the magic weapon tracking case?”
“Of course.”
It had been well over a year since they’d torn up the northeast chasing that black market supplier front—Ventis or whatever his name was. Time flew.
“That case got handed off to Archbishop Anton. Tracing Ventis dragged us all the way to the southeast. I haven’t washed my hands of it entirely, mind you.”
“Playing on a world stage, huh. Makes sense—magic weapon nuts were crawling around the southwest, dead opposite the northeast. Southeast’s no surprise.”
“No point boring you with the chase details. The key is, Ventis’s trail from the northeast led straight to Selkeph.”
“Selkeph?”
“A city northwest of the southeast diocese. Spirius family seat.”
Galen was starting to see where this was headed. His eyes narrowed just a touch.
Lilia, who’d been listening quietly as always, piped up.
“Wasn’t there something like this before? That black market we hit… what was it called again?”
“Maduros.”
“Thanks, brother! Anyway, the black market was in Maduros, but the Steelwall family running it had zilch to do with magic weapons, right?”
“Fair point. No guarantee Selkeph trouble ties to the Spirius family.”
Daimus replied with careful resolve.
“But the situations differ. Ventis was just masquerading as a supplier to ship his shady goods freely—not some black market affiliate. Those markets pop up all over anyway; can’t pin city rulers to Ventis off that alone.”
“Ah, so Selkeph’s hooked in some other way?”
“You might not recall, but Ventis rocked a triple identity. Base layer: magic weapon distribution ring. Layer two: supplier Ventis mask. Top layer: merchant Ben. Turns out, merchant Ben was tied to a trading company in Selkeph.”
“Not personal side hustle, but company-wide sketchiness. Ruling family should’ve sniffed something out…”
“Right.”
If they were too inept to notice, they didn’t deserve ‘prestigious house’ status.
Notice and stay quiet? Accomplices.
“Checked the company?”
“Surface level, clean. Too dicey to storm. Your ordination bought time for a slow burn, but… things heated up.”
“Evil spirits?”
“Spot on. Not just dumping old magic weapons—demons cranking out fresh ones is apocalyptic. Evil spirits mobilizing means demons going full throttle. Gotta hustle without botching it.”
“Back to work, then.”
Galen murmured evenly, glancing at Lilia. She nodded with gusto.
Days had passed since they’d butchered the sirens and wiped out the evil spawn.
Mana and holy power had recovered ages ago. The rote idol worship had gone from fun novelty to straight chore—they’d been itching to bail. Perfect timing.
“Head in, wipe out Spirius?”
“No, no. Don’t just bulldoze.”
Daimus waved off Galen’s straight-faced pitch.
“Church already made moves. But those were pre-evil spirit demon assumptions. Wild example: demons forging magic weapons in the Spirius smithy?”
“If the whole family’s demon pals, sure. Extreme, though.”
“Still, prep for ifs. Best demon hunt: zero ally losses. Cut risks first. You two just back them up.”
“Easy.”
“If it goes smooth, might not even need your muscle.”
“No prob! Sightseeing trip. Right, brother?”
“Haven’t been there, yeah.”
“And… sorry to ask, but can you mask your identities? They might rabbit if they know.”
“No sorry needed!”
“I’ll tone it down.”
“Thanks. Truly.”
Lilia’s sunny cheer and Galen’s cool reply drew repeated gratitude from Daimus.
No longer underlings—fellow archbishops and gems to boot—but their vibe hadn’t shifted since day one. How could he not treasure them?
“We’ll head out tomorrow morning, then. You?”
“Gonna sweep the pioneer zone while I’m here. Myra’ll help. Can’t foist it all on you.”
“Doesn’t feel like work… anyway, got it. We’ll take our leave.”
“I’ll head out first!”
“Safe travels.”
Galen and Lilia bowed crisply and slipped out of the village hall’s meeting room, their makeshift HQ.
Midsummer sun blazed down. Warm, but not muggy.
Walking side by side with Galen, Lilia checked for eavesdroppers and whispered.
“Think the sirens’ collaborator means the Spirius family?”
“High odds.”
Galen whispered back.
“Church dug for over a year. Slim chance of total whiff. Suspicious as hell, plus southeast spirit users? Too neat. Company’s a front, probably.”
“Clash incoming, then.”
“Question’s whole family or faction… nah, gem’s loyalty’s the crux.”
Atma Spirius.
Retired ex-family head or not, he was still the family’s biggest name and force.
Legendary spirit user in his youth, he’d finally shattered the ceiling years back to hit gem status—the world’s strongest spirit user.
“Good guy? Sides with us, mop up collaborators quick. Bad? He’ll make us sweat.”
“Hope good. A gem backing demons… that’s overkill.”
“Handy, yeah…”
Galen was dubious, words aside.
Even if Atma ignored family drama for magic tinkering… could he really stay hands-off a bombshell like demon alliance? Not some backroom geezer—he was the undisputed top dog.
Of course, if he was involved, that spelled its own headaches. What gem needed demons?
Best case: company plot, family clueless dupes. Closest to happy ending. But sirens blabbing made it iffy.
“…We’ll see on-site. Hope it’s not a clusterfuck.”
“Oh yeah—what’d the church do exactly? Preemptive talks?”
“Huh, good point. Skipped that. Need deets to prep.”
Sensed footsteps behind. They turned in sync.
Daimus emerging from the hall, heading churchward. Myra was posted there.
Paths converged. Daimus closed in.
“You two still here?”
“Nice day—taking a stroll.”
“Perfect weather.”
Daimus beamed. Galen cleared his throat and asked.
“Excellency, about what you mentioned…”
“Hm?”
“The church moves… we’ll know when we get there?”
“Ah, damn—forgot to say?”
Daimus chuckled, shaking his head. Not on purpose.
“Mentioned Anton’s running the magic weapon track?”
“Yes.”
“Evil spirits blew it up, so looping you in extra. Spirius was Anton’s gig originally. Caught their ordination plans.”
“Ah. Spill?”
“Didn’t you see? Him and Lord Michael heading out.”
“Uh…”
They had. Mission vibe. Didn’t pry.
“That’s the one.”
“They’re going personally?”
“Safest bet.”
And now piling on Galen and Lilia?
Collaborators were in for it. Poor bastards.