The Power of Bonds
The shockwave came out of nowhere. Even Bagan was thrown off balance by the unexpected blast.
“Whoa!”
He couldn’t regain his footing and went flying. Then—
Soft!
“Huh?”
He had expected to land hard on his back, but the sensation that greeted him was so overwhelmingly cushioned it nearly put him to sleep. In that instant, Bagan twisted around and wrapped his arms around the soft mass, clinging to it like a man face-planting into bed for a nap.
“B-Bagan, sir. Are you all right?”
It was Arien in her slime form. He had poked and prodded her while she was human, but he had never touched her as a slime before. He never imagined the sensation would be this comforting.
“Oh, it’s you, Arien. Nice save.”
He snapped back to his senses. The dreamy haze threatened to linger, but he planted a hand on the ground and pushed himself upright, eyes locking onto Leviathan.
“I’m fine. The real problem is that I lost the opening. I never thought I’d get hit by that shockwave too.”
Leviathan had been sent flying even farther, but he hadn’t taken much damage. He simply looked a little dazed, just like Bagan. Given the force of the impact, it was no wonder he was disoriented.
“Ready for round two! Sally?”
Watching the creature plant his hands and knee to stand, Bagan called out to her. He needed her to pour power into him—the sin-destroying strength that came from the Spirit King. That power resonated deep within his body, demanding he unleash every ounce of strength he possessed.
“Sa-Sally?”
She was nowhere to be seen. She hadn’t materialized and fallen somewhere, nor was she clinging to his back to warn him of dangers or detect attacks he couldn’t sense. She had simply vanished.
Don’t tell me there’s not even enough spirit power left to keep her summoned?
Bagan quickly checked the various energies circulating inside him. The spirit power was gone.
It’s empty.
His regeneration rate had been higher than the spirit power required to maintain the summon, so he hadn’t noticed the gradual depletion. But the amount consumed in this dungeon had been far greater than expected. He had absorbed the spirit power of Frost, the former Cold Spirit King, yet he had still burned through all of it. There was nothing left to say.
Fortunately, Bagan wasn’t worried about Sally being reverse-summoned. If anything, she was probably the one worrying about him.
Harmonia is the best resting place for any spirit.
It might be more comfortable for Sally to stay by his side, but every spirit found their most perfect state in Harmonia. That wasn’t the issue, though.
Without Sally, I can’t annihilate Leviathan.
Exactly. To erase a demon completely, you needed either divine power or an ability like Sally’s that could touch upon concepts themselves. Her power let her freely manipulate the very idea of sin.
In short, the current situation was—
We’re screwed.
He couldn’t think of any immediate way to finish Leviathan off. Even if he somehow drove the creature back, he had no means of destroying him for good. If he broke the Dungeon Stone to clear the dungeon, Leviathan would simply be reborn in Pandemonium as the Demon of Wrath. In the future, countless lives would be lost because of him. The mere thought of it was enough to drive him insane.
At that moment, Arien, who had been in slime form, shifted back into her human appearance and spoke.
“Why do you look like that? Is there a problem? There is one fortunate point—Arien has detected that the enemy’s heat has decreased compared to earlier.”
She had sensed the heat once again and reported it. Hearing her words, Bagan could also tell that Leviathan’s condition had weakened. Yet without a way to actually capture him, he felt no surge of motivation.
“Sally’s gone, so I can’t annihilate him.”
He reported the situation with the desperate hope that even a straw might offer support. What could Arien possibly do? He hadn’t expected anything from her in the first place. The same went for Selena, who was listening from a distance. In this situation they couldn’t destroy the demon, but they had no choice but to focus on clearing the dungeon first.
“Has she been reverse-summoned? If your spirit power has been depleted, there is a method.”
Arien spoke with a perfectly calm expression. Yet those words sparked hope in Bagan. He had held no expectations, but the moment she said there was a way, his attention sharpened instantly.
“What is it?”
His eyes widened with genuine curiosity as he pressed her for the answer.
“The contractor of the former Water Spirit King, Alfredo Dalo, was both a spirit mage and a brilliant alchemist. As a Spirit King’s contractor, records state that he researched artifacts and items connected to spirits. In the book he authored, Soul Alchemist, it is written that the relationship between spirit and contractor is built upon an exceptionally strong bond.”
Bagan had never even known such a book existed. With Leviathan about to regain his senses, he listened intently, needing the answer as quickly as possible.
“That’s right. We call it a contract, but in truth, the contractor and spirit are closer to being friends.”
It wasn’t wrong. No spirit mage would ever believe their connection was limited to a mere contract. It had been the same for him and Sally. Their bond was something deeper than friendship; the contract was simply the surface formality that proved it.
“Correct. Furthermore, when a spirit mage wields power, the strength of that bond is what manifests. Focusing on this principle, the author conceived methods that are not limited to spirit power alone.”
“Not limited to spirit power?”
Bagan voiced his confusion because he couldn’t grasp the exact meaning. Time was short—he wanted the solution immediately—but he listened patiently to Arien’s explanation.
“It does not simply mean refraining from using spirit power. It is about understanding the medium to utilize spirit power with maximum efficiency. If we compare it to the power you possess, Bagan, it would be like producing far stronger magic with far less mana.”
“But I don’t have any spirit power left right now. Summoning her at all is impossible.”
The method Arien described might be a solution in theory, but it didn’t fit their current crisis. The spirit power Bagan currently possessed was effectively zero. It would recover naturally over time, of course, but if he summoned her immediately she would be unable to use much strength before being reverse-summoned again.
“Dalo’s research also contains information regarding the recovery of spirit power. It seems he considered himself insignificant compared to the Water Spirit King, so he strove to become someone worthy of standing beside such a being.”
The answer lay there. Bagan lowered his posture, tilting his ear closer to catch every word that flowed so smoothly from her small lips.
Tsssss!
But at that critical moment, the creature regained consciousness and unleashed a wave of heat. Scorching energy washed over Bagan’s face, signaling that the fight was about to begin anew.
“How dare a worm like you send this body flying! I cannot forgive such an insult!”
Leviathan had believed his overwhelming physical stats would be enough to end the fight, and now he saw that confidence as arrogance. He wasn’t even one of Lucifer’s direct subordinates, yet he spoke of arrogance? Ridiculous. His true worth wasn’t merely growing stronger through rage—his real power lay in the heat he emitted during those moments. The ability to control fire. He could gather that energy and fire it like a weapon.
Pewung—boom!
The creature gathered heat and hurled it at Bagan. The attack flew as an invisible ray of pure thermal energy.
Whoosh!
“You okay?”
Bagan dodged the incoming blast and scooped Arien up into a princess carry.
“Yes. If this position is acceptable, Arien will continue speaking while relying on you for the time being.”
Seeing her speak so comfortably in his arms, Bagan nodded before he even realized what he was doing.
“Recovering spirit power naturally requires the proper mindset. That mindset is the sense of bond. Only by fully acknowledging and feeling the connection between you can spirit power be restored to its optimal state. That was Dalo’s conclusion.”
Whiiung—boom!
Another attack flew past. Bagan evaded it once more.
“Haa… So? Sally’s already gone back to Harmonia. How am I supposed to feel connected to her right now?”
“Arien cannot provide the exact answer. However, the method Dalo practiced was to raise his elemental affinity. Since he had contracted with the Water Spirit King, he always wore a necklace crafted from a water crystal. When gazing at lakes of unknown depth, he would think of his contracted spirit and lose himself in contemplation. Records also state that he would wait for a heavy downpour and then walk the streets for half a day.”
Arien’s answer was so absurd it left him speechless. Wasn’t she basically saying that the great spirit mage Dalo had been half-mad?
So it’s impossible without that level of effort, huh?
Bagan respected Dalo’s dedication even as the old saying came to mind: if you can’t avoid it, enjoy it; if you can’t enjoy it, go crazy. While continuing to dodge Leviathan’s relentless attacks by the slimmest of margins, his gaze fell on Arien’s lips. Her small, cherry-like mouth was twitching, clearly holding back more words.
“What? You still have something to say, don’t you?”
Bagan noticed immediately and asked. Her information had been helpful, but it wasn’t enough to resolve their current crisis. It was time to set her down and finish Leviathan himself. If necessary, he would use his Disgust trait to strip away all the creature’s abilities.
But Arien spoke before he could act.
“Sister is the Spirit of Condemnation. Surely there must be some related power within you as well, Bagan. Arien believes the information from the books left by Alfredo Dalo. For example, if condemnation itself fills spirit power, then…”
“Yes! That’s it!”
Bagan’s eyes lit up as he seized the hint from Arien’s words.
Spirits become the masters of the concepts they govern. In other words, Sally’s concept is condemnation. To recover spirit power, I need to condemn.
He desperately wanted Sally to return to his side.
What’s the method?
Then his eyes landed on Leviathan, who was still trembling with uncontrollable rage in the distance.
“Hey, Leviathan.”
“What?! You want to die that badly?!”
“I will not forgive you. I will surely condemn your sins.”
Bagan spoke with complete sincerity. These were the words the Spirit King of Condemnation, Sally, would declare in her judgment hall. To pronounce judgment was something truly meaningful. Until now, only Sally had carried out condemnation. But Bagan was her contractor. He needed to hold that same resolve.
“What nonsense are you spouting?! Are you mocking me?!”
Leviathan understood perfectly, and a bright smile bloomed across Bagan’s face.
“Thanks, Arien. That helped a lot.”
Something welled up from deep inside him. The familiar power that had been missing just moments ago—spirit power. This was the power of their bond. This was the link connecting Bagan and Sally. Knowing each other. That was the bond.
And then a familiar voice reached him.
(Bagan! I’m back.)
“Yeah.”
Bagan greeted her with a warm smile.