The Spirit Fusion and the Dwarf
The Heavenly Slaughter Star had no thoughts. It simply slept as if dead. When Enoch opened his eyes, they were clear and bright. “You’re awake?” Rionne, lying beside him, smiled brightly. Even right after waking up, she looked only slightly tousled, not the least bit disheveled. The sight drew a quiet breath of admiration from him.
“Yeah.” Enoch nodded, then padded off to wash up. While he was gone, Rionne skillfully set the table. By the time he returned, it was time to eat. The food on the table vanished in the blink of an eye. Enoch stepped out into the yard, patting his now-full belly.
“Alright.” Rionne stood straight, ready for their lesson. But today, unusually, Enoch spoke first.
“Rionne.”
“Hm?”
“Can you do spirit fusion?”
Rionne blinked. Her gaze instinctively drifted to the fox perched on Enoch’s head. Had Undine told him? “Sure, of course. Why?”
“I want to see it.”
“Really?” There was no reason to refuse. Rionne readily extended her hand. “Undine.”
[This isn’t even a technique meant for show, you know.]
Undine grumbled but still floated down to settle on Rionne’s hand. Then—
Flash—!
With a burst of blue light, Undine’s form scattered. Blue particles seeped into Rionne’s body. She opened her eyes, which she had lightly closed, and let out a breath.
“Hoo…”
At the same time, Rionne’s golden hair began to turn blue from the tips, a watery, rippling shade. Along with that mysterious appearance, spheres of water rose around her and began to orbit.
“There. This is spirit fusion.”
When Rionne smiled, Enoch clapped his hands enthusiastically. The faint blue glow shining in her eyes made her look incredibly mystical.
“The appearance is one thing, but I should show you the abilities too, right?” Rionne smiled and opened her palm. A sword flew in from somewhere and settled into her grip. Her waist twisted slightly.
“Watch closely, Enoch. This is a realm you’ll have to pass through someday.”
At the same time, Rionne’s arm moved. The line her sword drew was a simple, straight cut. The blade, swung toward the sky, connected point to point.
“Mhm.” Rionne nodded in satisfaction. Then—
Whoosh—!
All the clouds floating in the sky vanished at once.
“……?”
Enoch, who hadn’t understood a single part of the process, tilted his head. What had she done? He hadn’t felt anything, yet the clouds were gone. And then—
Shaaaaaaa─────────
Without warning, a torrential downpour poured from the clear sky. Every cloud she had sliced open had fallen as rain. Thanks to Rionne’s power, not a single drop touched Enoch’s hair, but he was too chilled to even notice that.
“Ah…”
The rain had fallen over an area comparable to most of the forest. Right now Rionne hadn’t done anything, but if even a sliver of her will had been infused into that rain? The entire area would have been within her attack range. If she wanted, an entire city could be washed away. The phrase “not a single survivor” would be used not as a figure of speech, but in its literal sense.
Enoch’s body trembled. At the same time, a warm sensation enveloped him.
“As expected of our Enoch. Honestly, I didn’t think you’d be able to sense anything from that.”
[Look at him, acting all talented.]
Undine, who had released the fusion and popped out at some point, cackled. Enoch’s body flinched for a moment when their eyes met, but soon his fierce emotional resistance swept the fear away.
“Buzz off, you’re noisy.”
[W-what…!]
Still held in Rionne’s arms, Enoch reached up and grabbed the fox on his head.
[Kyuu?]
The fox, who had been dozing, rolled her sleepy eyes and met Enoch’s gaze.
“Fuse.”
[?]
The fox tilted her head. “It doesn’t work?” Enoch glared at Undine. She had said it was possible since they were contracted spirits, or whatever.
[Well, does that make sense right away? No matter what, you two need some kind of connection first.]
At the condescending tone, Enoch looked a little dejected and placed the fox back on his head. The fox draped herself limply over his hair.
[Give her a name first. I’ve been waiting for you to name her, but you don’t seem to have any intention of doing it at all.]
A name. Enoch’s eyes turned to Rionne. When their gazes met, the corners of her eyes curved into a gentle smile. Enoch had decided.
“Eri.”
From ‘E’noch and ‘Ri’onne. It was a simple naming choice, and even Undine immediately caught on and burst into a hollow laugh.
[…This crazy elf-loving Heavenly Slaughter Star.]
Only Rionne was so delighted she beamed from ear to ear. “Oh my, then is she like a child between me and Enoch? Since it’s Eri, does that make her our daughter?”
“……!!”
A lightning bolt struck his mind! Shock! Tremor! Ecstasy! Enoch, who had already finished planning all the way to their grandchild’s name, opened his mouth…
“Hehe, just kidding.”
The impact of falling from such a great height was indescribable. Enoch froze with his mouth hanging open. A warm hand gently ruffled his hair.
“Still, I’m happy. Thank you, okay?”
“……”
“Enoch?”
“…Yeah.”
Watching the dejected Enoch, Undine’s lips trembled.
[…Isn’t that kid going to get stabbed one day?]
*
After Undine, who had been teasing Rionne about being a spinster, received her just desserts, Rionne sat Enoch on her lap, mounted her sword, and flew into the sky.
“Today we’re going somewhere different from usual.”
“…Yeah.”
Enoch, still reeling from the emotional damage, nodded weakly. He deliberately let his mind wander to other thoughts, and one suddenly occurred to him. Eri, spirits, dungeons, golems. Following the flow of consciousness, the final destination of his thoughts was, ‘What the hell do spirits and golems have to do with each other?’
Now that he thought about it, it was strange. Why would a spirit suddenly pop out of a dungeon that had only produced golems? There had to be some connection. When he asked Rionne, she answered kindly.
“There isn’t really any connection. Dungeons are just like that.”
Don’t expect logic from dungeons! That was Rionne’s answer.
“Dungeons are usually formed when mana flows clump together and twist beyond recognition, so there are many parts that can’t be understood with common sense.”
The dungeon Enoch had entered this time was actually on the milder side. Golems could suddenly be replaced by goblins, or the dungeon could spawn elves or humans. Or it could simply open into an endless abyss.
“Ah…”
As Enoch nodded, Eri stretched out a long yawn on top of his head.
“Hehe, still, I can see why Eri is a fox.”
“Huh?”
“This—should I keep it a secret? You’ll understand when you meet them later.”
Meet? Who? When Enoch tilted his head, Rionne hugged him a little tighter.
“At this rate we’ll be too late, so I’ll go a bit faster, okay?”
At the same time—
Rumble─────!
The sword tore through the wall of air and streaked across the sky. Eri nearly falling off was a minor detail.
*
By the time the color of the sky began to tint red, Rionne pulled a ore from her pocket.
“Enoch, do you know what this is?”
“What is it?”
“Mithril. It’s a precious metal. Since it came from a naturally occurring dungeon, its quality is probably much better than others.”
Mithril belonged to the rare metal category commonly called rare metals. Its mana conductivity was far superior to ordinary metals, so it was widely used as a reagent for magic or as material for weapons. Because it was so rare, supply was scarce and the price was astronomical.
“Well, it’s not insanely precious or anything. Still, it should make for a pretty decent weapon.”
In this world where martial prowess was valued above all else, mithril was a metal that even superhumans could obtain if they truly wanted to—not impossible to get, but not exactly common either. Valuable, but not to the point of being “incredible.” That kind of ambiguous position. That was why Rionne was rather satisfied. If she had made his weapon from something ridiculously rare, Enoch might end up facing opponents outside whose only advantage was absurd strength when he eventually stepped into the wider world.
“A weapon? I don’t use weapons.”
“There are more kinds of weapons than you think, Enoch. Besides swords and spears, there are things like claws.”
For Enoch, who used fist techniques, gauntlet-style claws would be quite useful.
“Here we are. This is the place.”
The altitude dropped rapidly. Enoch looked around and let out a gasp of wonder.
“Whoa…”
Intense heat brushed his cheeks. A sea of fire. The landscape that could only be described that way dyed the surroundings red. Rivers of lava flowed around towering mountains, and the rising steam blurred everything before his eyes. Sweat beaded on his skin even as they descended, yet people lived here? While Enoch looked around in fascination, Rionne held him close and landed on the ground.
“Enoch, there’s one thing I should tell you.”
“Yeah?”
“Um… how should I put it. The person we’re about to meet is my frien—acquain… something like that? Anyway, that’s what they are.”
Rionne rarely spoke in such a roundabout way. Enoch blinked.
“We’re not exactly close, but I have a favor to ask them… and… I know you won’t, but just in case, don’t say anything bad when you see them, okay?”
It was obvious. Enoch had some sense; he wouldn’t say anything rude to Rionne’s friend…
“What the hell? What are you doing here?”
Enoch’s gaze turned toward the voice. And on pure spinal reflex, he blurted out:
“Shorty dwarf?”
Rionne looked horrified. Enoch, reading the room, quickly corrected himself.
“Ah, rock thief? Bastard?”
“…This little shit?”
The friend’s identity was a dwarf.