Chapter 177
Chapter 177
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 177
Chapter Title: Primal (3)
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The core of the trap Atma had laid was to pick them off one by one.
Invite only Michael separately and take him out, then bring in Anton additionally or raid the church to deal with him too.
Targeting them one at a time like that, he was confident he could eliminate the Gem Warrior and the Archbishop without suffering major losses. In fact, he had come perilously close to capturing Michael.
In other words, the moment Galen and Lilia—whom he hadn't even known were in the city—intervened, the entire premise of defeating them individually had already crumbled.
It was only natural that his rage would focus on the culprits who had ruined his plan.
Since he could always slip away with his body intact at any time, he figured killing at least one of them would help vent his anger a bit.
Even after the Nightmares vanished into thin air in an utterly unimaginable way in an instant, that mindset hadn't changed.
If there was no path to survival anyway, dragging at least one enemy down with him would make it feel less unfair, wouldn't it?
But... what the hell was this?
Crackle! Bzzt-crackle!
The thunder bird writhed, emitting an ominous sound. Every time the spirit shook, sparks discharged alongside it.
This wasn't the movement Atma had intended. He couldn't properly control the spirit.
If it were a betrayal by his family, he could at least understand that. After all, being blinded by power and harming blood kin was something that happened all too often, even in prestigious houses.
But spirits couldn't betray. They were beings wholly subservient to their master. No matter how hot, cold, or sharp they became, spirits never harmed their owner.
Spirits were essentially a form of magic to begin with. A spirit not listening was no different from magic not working as intended.
Yet that impossible scenario was happening right before his eyes.
"What... is this...?"
Atma muttered blankly. Galen asked with a mocking sneer.
"Why the death glare? Is your spirit acting up?"
"You bastard...! How dare you spout such nonsense...!"
"It's not nonsense if it's working this well."
If Atma hadn't joined hands with the demons and had actually clashed with Siren before, he wouldn't be this flustered.
But he had never been exposed to the abilities of his "allies," and while he knew Siren could control demon spawn, he had no idea it extended to spirits.
Of course, that didn't mean Atma's spirit had become Galen's. Just like when he first met Siren, the water spirit hadn't become hers either.
But it was clear the command chain was in chaos, leaving the spirit confused about whose orders to follow.
"Your spirit's loyalty seems pretty lacking, huh?"
"Shut up."
"Or maybe it thinks I'm a more appealing master than you."
"I said shut up!"
Atma's already cracked mentality began crumbling further with every word from Galen.
The even more pitiful part was that Atma wasn't facing Galen alone.
With no rush on her end, Lilia approached Atma leisurely, as if out for a stroll.
At least Michael and Anton were just whispering among themselves instead of charging in right away—that was a small mercy. Put another way, it meant Galen and Lilia alone were more than enough.
"Tch!"
Grinding his teeth, Atma desperately prodded his spirit.
The spirit barely obeyed. The thunder bird spewed forth light.
Bzzt-zap-crackle!
A bolt of lightning struck Lilia.
The power packed into it was enough to instantly reduce even a formidable foe to a charred lump of coal.
But the situation was different from before.
Lilia had dodged a fatal blow despite being ambushed by the lightning spirit, which she hadn't even considered.
No matter how lightning-fast the bolt was—literally—it lost much of its power if you were prepared for it.
Thud!
A wave of holy power blocked the magical flash without delay.
The spirit's lightning fizzled out against the Miracle of Selection, leaving only faint crackling embers that gave Lilia a slight tingle.
"It's gotten a lot weaker."
Lilia stated her honest impression.
"At this point, it's hard to even call it Gem-level."
"You insolent brat, what are you babbling about?!"
"But it's true, isn't it? The power's been cut nearly in half. Isn't this more like Gold rank now?"
"Urgh...!"
Lilia's merciless fact-bombing struck Atma's mentality again. Sadly, since they were facts, all he could do was yell without any logical retort.
He had lost about half control over the spirit, but since it was fundamentally his, he could force commands through.
However, that also meant half of it was still disobeying, so it only half-followed orders at best.
The result was power reduced by half.
Atma's style had always leaned toward utility over raw damage in this revised world, so purely in terms of power, he had plummeted from Gem to something closer to Gold.
Tactics to compensate with attribute shifts suited to the situation were useless now too. If even basic attack commands weren't working right, instant attribute changes were out of the question.
Unlike before when he could just send the spirit to fight freely, now he had to protect his own body too, adding even more constraints.
In the end, the answer had been set from the start. Atma just hadn't realized it—or refused to admit it.
Roar!
The flames poured out but failed to engulf Lilia, veering off to the side instead.
Shhh!
The bone-chilling cold failed to concentrate, merely frosting the innocent surroundings.
Slash-slash-slash!
The blades of wind clashed with holy power, losing their edge and scattering uselessly.
"Told you it won't work."
"Damn it, damn it all!"
Even without Galen chiming in with extra spells, it was more than enough.
It was now obvious that Atma, thrashing about desperately, didn't have much time left. Sooner or later, Lilia would smash his skull like a clay pot.
"Lord Galen."
Anton approached Galen, who had been watching comfortably.
"I heard the gist from Michael. Seems you know a spell that disrupts spirits."
"That's right."
"And you're using it on Atma right now?"
"As you can see."
"Could you completely suppress him?"
"Hmm, probably not."
Galen pondered briefly before answering.
"Maybe against a Gold, but he's a Gem spiritist, name or not. This level of interference is the best I can do."
"I see. A shame... but this should be enough. It's worth a shot now."
"Planning to take him alive?"
"Shameless as it is... if you keep helping."
"You won't drag it out too long, right?"
"Of course. Too risky."
"Then sure. No big deal."
"Thanks, truly. I'll head over quick then."
As Galen readily agreed, Anton expressed his gratitude repeatedly before hurrying off.
Atma, already battered by Lilia and cornered, sank in an instant once Anton joined.
"Urk!"
With a short, heavy cry, Atma passed out. Anton slung him over his shoulder. Since Michael was already carrying Jason, the former and current family heads—father and son—had both been captured alive.
"All's well that ends well."
Anton's expression was bright.
Normally, the limit for capturing prisoners was around Silver rank; Gold and above were exceedingly difficult.
You could bind the body, but not their aura, mana, or holy power. At Gold level, they could blow away the entire prison even wrapped in chains.
But with an archbishop stepping in, even Golds could be temporarily neutralized. Just trample any twitching with the Miracle of Selection.
Regrettably, it wasn't perfect against peers like Gems.
This case was a very special exception. With Galen's help crippling the spirit, Atma had weakened to Gold level, making him fair game.
Jason, as the current head, might know more about magitech from a practical standpoint, but Atma likely held just as much intimate knowledge on demons. Catching two big fish was cause for joy.
"What now?"
"Just the magitech stored here is enough to disprove any denials of involvement with it. We'll extract that info first to secure justification—"
"No need for that."
Galen, who had been listening to Michael and Anton, interjected casually. Anton looked puzzled.
"No need? For justification?"
"No, for the extraction. We've already found it."
"What?"
"We targeted the warehouse first upon infiltrating. Got lucky and found it right away."
"There were dozens of crates, though? Sure, only one per crate, but still."
Anton and Michael gaped as Galen and Lilia traded words.
Things had gone smoothly before, but never this smoothly. Their biggest headache had unraveled absurdly easily overnight.
"You've handled everything from start to finish. I'm ashamed. Aside from getting beaten senseless and rescued, I haven't done a thing..."
"We infiltrated easily thanks to Lord Michael. All eyes from the leadership were fixed on you."
To be honest, without Michael, the Spiritus family's surveillance on the grand duke or warehouse probably wouldn't have been notably stronger... but he had drawn their attention, so it wasn't a lie.
As Galen offered kind words to the self-deprecating Michael, Anton regained his composure and asked,
"Secured properly? I mean, any chance someone slips it away?"
"It's buried underground in a warehouse ordinary folk can't even access. Nightmares are all dead, and an earth spiritist might manage, but..."
"All Golds and above are here. Silvers are detained."
"How'd you neutralize them?"
"Nothing special. Just separated the armed from civilians, gathered and watched them. Anything Silver or higher is under direct watch by Bishop Nepheli."
"No worries about looting then. But that was bold. If the Spiritus family had been innocent, the backlash would've been brutal."
"The Golds not coming out to greet me upon arrival was suspicious enough. And we didn't just wander in—we went knowing Michael had visited, and it was like that."
In the end, since the Spiritus family truly was guilty, there were no issues.
"Anyway... just cleanup left. You two can rest a bit."
"Won't you need me for Atma's interrogation? Now, when he's most exhausted, is best. Better than wasting time."
"You okay?"
"Not untouched, but he's in far worse shape. I'd rather wrap it quick and rest."
"Alright then. But we need prep here too, so rest till then. Change clothes at least."
"Oh, right."
Galen himself was fine, but Lilia, who'd been through electric steaming, was in rough shape. Body could heal, clothes couldn't.
"We'll swing by the lodging briefly."
"Take your time."
"Yes. Lilia?"
"Yes!"
Lilia stepped up the moment Galen called. He lightly draped an arm around her shoulder.
[Life : Spirit : Bestow]
[Spirit Creation]
His life mana, partially recovered while spectating, formed a wind spirit.
"See you soon."
The two soon vanished beyond the night sky.
He'd seen it before, but it was still amazing. Once they were hidden in the darkness, Anton looked away from the sky.
"Now, to our tasks."
"Yeah. Least we can do after being saved."
Michael let out a wry, self-mocking chuckle and a sigh.
The midnight battle had reached a temporary close, but their work wasn't over yet.