Summoning the Spirit King
"Huh."
Even seeing it with both eyes, he could not believe it.
What was the Locked Hand of God? An evil god that had seized divinity through countless hands of the divine. It was one of Pride's greatest masterpieces, and its terrifying demonic power possessed a nature akin to an absolute authority—one that rendered every attack null and void.
And yet.
It's burning?
...Something beyond all common sense. Fire had caught on a material that should never burn. This was no ordinary flame. That child was fire itself.
At first he had taken it for hellfire—the kind certain lords of hell, or the powerful beings of the Abyss, were known to wield. But it was far removed from even that. No—hellfire could not begin to explain that flame. It was something more fundamental still. Something closer to the very source...
"The First Fire?"
...Don't be absurd.
Pride denied it. The First Fire did not exist. Stories about it existed, but they were nothing more than stories—tales that the first fire ever kindled still lingered somewhere in this world. A fire that, by mere contact, annihilated all evil and even made Ruin itself turn aside. How could such a thing possibly be real!
But if. If by one chance in a million—one chance in ten million—that fire truly was the first fire ever kindled—
This isn't just a type advantage. It's a perfect counter.
It was the worst possible situation. Gods and demons were natural enemies. But even a rat, cornered, could bite a cat. That fire, however, was something he as a demon could not dare approach—and must not. It was like an untouchable divinity itself.
"Stop! Please stop alreadyyyyy!"
The Locked Hand of God screamed without cease. Its terrifying demonic power was rapidly combusting and vanishing.
The astonishing spectacle did not end there.
Whoosh! Whoooosh!
Swoooooosh!
Behind the boy, a massive circular warp took shape. The warp itself was burning, and what emerged through that warp of fire was a being Pride knew all too well.
"H-How...!?"
Seeing it, the Demon of Pride—King Friedrich—let out a voice of utter shock for the first time. And for good reason: something that should never have been summonable had been summoned. And in a state more complete than even his memories of it.
"...Hmm???"
Even the one who had been summoned tilted his head, as if unable to make sense of the situation.
"...He's doing well, right?"
Inside the Dragon Vein, Hana paced near the entrance, casting worried glances.
"Do not worry, my Queen."
"The two Overlords will handle it well."
Blade Dragon God Hana. Countless members of the Blood Clan gathered at her side. Their numbers exceeded ten thousand at a rough estimate, and their appearance had changed from before as well. They were now close to human form—close enough that one could simply call them human. Their Chief God, and the will of their Queen, had completely transformed the spawning grounds into Blood Clan form. Though they were still born from eggs and their body structures differed slightly, their outward appearance was that of fine humans.
"Yes. Lucaria may be one thing, but Isera is a sharp child..."
"Has the Chief God not granted them the First Fire? Demons would not dare touch even a fingertip of Lord Isera."
Exactly so.
Isera. Lord of the Scorching Hell of the Demon Realm, and the supreme commander who had launched the second invasion after Ahram, King of the Dead. A mutant Dragon God who could also wield the fire of extinction, Isera had been killed by Blade Dragon God Hana, and his heart had been consumed by the spawning grounds to be reborn as an Overlord. Thus the child born bore the same name, yet was an entirely different being.
Moreover, Chief God Randolph had given an enormous gift to commemorate Isera's birth. A fire so great that the hellfire the original Isera had used was laughable by comparison. The First Fire itself.
He still can't fully control the First Fire yet...
But once he began to wield that fire properly, demons would not dare approach him. Hana nodded.
"...How are the tasks the Chief God left progressing?"
"Establishing a foothold on Earth is proceeding smoothly. We are also working closely with a man named Oliver."
The Blood Clan, now in human form, had begun establishing a presence on Earth as well. This too was Randolph's will. The most important among those tasks was helping Oliver devour England. Of course, similar work was underway in Korea as well.
The System does not recognize us as beings of Pangenia.
Ordinarily, that would be impossible. Previously, when Saintess Seia had crossed to Earth through an invasion warp and treated Oliver's heart condition, the System had designated Seia as an "enemy" and tried to destroy her. But the Blood Clan was different. Perhaps because they had been born from Earth's Dragon Vein from the start, even when they went to Earth, the System did not designate the Blood Clan as enemies.
What is born on Earth belongs to Earth. Is it a loophole in the System, or was it intentional from the beginning?
Blade Queen Hana had tasted truth when she hatched from the heavenly egg. And so she had come to understand the System as well—along with the fact that the System was not perfect. Or rather... that it had been designed to appear imperfect.
Perhaps even ordinary Earthlings might be able to awaken.
Currently, Earth's people were divided into two classes: Awakeners who traveled between Pangenia—Dimension Warriors—and ordinary Earthlings. Naturally, ordinary Earthlings vastly outnumbered them. The number of Dimension Warriors did not even reach 0.1% of Earth's population.
With the current number of Awakeners, stopping the continuing invasions is impossible.
At most a few hundred thousand. Even the Awakeners who appeared during Isera's invasion this time barely numbered two hundred thousand. Stopping the endless invasions of the Demon Realm with that number? Impossible. There had to be some arrangement prepared with that in mind.
As the Chief God said—find a way to awaken ordinary Earthlings.
Randolph had seen through even that far. An imperfect System. Arrangements that had yet to appear. If they used those well, they might find another method of awakening. If that became possible, a seismic shift would occur on Earth.
That aside...
Hana turned her head left and right, then looked once more toward the entrance of the Dragon Vein. There was another reason she worried about Isera.
He needs to properly wield the power of Spirit King Agnes...
The Spirit Tower. At the top of that tower resided the Spirit Kings who held sway over the Spirit Realm. Agnes, the Fire Spirit King, was one of them.
"You look rather at ease, Agnes."
"Iquerel. Looking to pick a fight again today?"
Iquerel, the Water Spirit King, had come to visit Agnes, who was recuperating. Agnes was currently soaking in a boiling hot spring of fire.
"All the water's evaporated anyway—how is that a hot spring?"
"So you were looking to pick a fight after all."
"No, I'm making a perfectly reasonable observation, Agnes."
"This is what they call 'setting a mood,' Iquerel."
"...Take this. It'll suppress the fire."
Iquerel handed over a single cloth towel. Agnes's eyes went wide at the sight.
"The Water God's Towel? Isn't that one of your treasures?"
"Who said I was giving it to you? I'm lending it."
"Why?"
"You've seemed despondent ever since your contractor died. Seeing you do things you never normally would."
"Ah, this is..."
Agnes started to speak, then closed his mouth. This hot spring was a place where pollutants that had flowed down from the Heavenly Realm had been collected. They had piled up for far too long, so Agnes had simply submerged himself to clear them out while he was at it. But misconceptions were free. Besides, actually enjoying a proper hot spring bath with the Water God's Towel didn't sound half bad.
"...Thanks."
"And a hot spring bath is something one enjoys after disarming. My beautiful water spirits set everything aside and immerse themselves in the spring in their natural state."
"Is that so?"
"You savage fire spirits wouldn't understand. But enjoy it. You must have had fun going down to the Middle Realm after so long—I fully understand that sense of loss as well."
The hot spring would heal that sense of loss. That was what Iquerel was saying. A sense of loss, huh. He didn't particularly have one, but Agnes shrugged. Iquerel. He had never once won an argument with her.
Snap!
The armaments wrapping Agnes's entire body were released. Then, as he wrapped the Water God's Towel around his waist, the surging flames quieted. At the same time, his muscular physique and naked body were fully revealed. He hadn't controlled all the fire, but at this level he wouldn't evaporate all the hot spring water. As expected, the evaporated water began to slowly fill back up.
"Mmm."
"How is it, Agnes? Soaking in a hot spring?"
"Not bad, it seems."
"Right. A comfort fire spirits could never dream of in their entire lives."
"Fire spirits have lava hot springs... Hmm?"
"Hmm?"
That was when it happened.
Whoosh!
Suddenly a warp of fire appeared and began sucking Agnes in. In an instant, Agnes vanished into the warp.
The empty hot spring. Iquerel blinked and said,
"...Forced summoning?"
Forcibly summoning a Spirit King! It was unprecedented since the Spirit Tower had been built. Hadn't Agnes even refused the summons of the mutant Isera before? It was hard to believe, but it was a phenomenon that had unfolded right before her eyes.
Who on earth?
A naked man with a head blazing with fire. With only a towel wrapped around his waist, Agnes looked around.
"...Hmm???"
For a moment, his thoughts stopped. What was going on? Why had he been forcibly summoned? It was something he had never experienced once since becoming the Fire Spirit King. No—he had never even heard of a Spirit King being forcibly summoned. To forcibly summon one, one needed elemental affinity surpassing a Spirit King, and possessing affinity greater than the masters of the primordial elements was impossible to begin with. Even a god of fire would be no different.
And yet.
"...Why is he naked?"
"That uncle is weird."
The murmuring voices of two children reached him. Turning his head at that, Agnes could finally tell who had forcibly summoned him.
"You are... I see. You've inherited Isera's contract."
He also understood why he had been summoned. Of course, he still didn't fully understand it. But it seemed certain that the contract of Isera, Lord of Hell, had been inherited by that red-haired boy. And the power of the contract had been strengthened considerably further.
This is absurd.
Spirits were weakened when summoned to the Middle Realm. Even Isera, Lord of Hell, could only use a mere twenty percent of his power. But this child was different. At minimum fifty percent. Perhaps even more power than that could be used.
"What would you have me do?"
This was the first summoner of this kind. So Agnes asked. Then Isera, covering Lucaria's eyes with his hand, said with an utterly serious face,
"First, I'd like you to put some clothes on. It's not good for Lucaria's emotional well-being."