Kumodesu

Finally, the day has come…

I was asleep when a voice woke me up.

"I can feel it… it's about to break."

Mr. Loyral's voice echoed over and over, forcing me out of slumber and into combat readiness.

Once the seal breaks, I must immediately pull Lady Seryl's soul in—if I fail, then everything we've worked for will go to waste.

I rushed straight to the plaza, where I saw a resplendent crystal sphere suspended mid-air. But it was already covered in countless cracks, which were continuing to spread outward.

I held my breath, waiting for the moment.

Crack!

With a loud sound, the crystal sphere shattered completely. From within, countless beings surged out. With [Heaven Eye], I could clearly see them and didn't even need to guess—they were the spirits Mr. Loyral had spoken of.

Hmm...

A bit different from what I imagined spirits would look like, but this wasn't the time to comment. I didn't focus on the crowd but rather on a shapeless ball of light floating in the center.

The moment it was freed, the spirits went berserk and rushed toward the light. But having been sealed for too long, their speed was nowhere near their prime. Before any of them could get close, I unleashed my skill, sending out a chain from [Soul Chain] and snatching the ball of light.

The spirits instantly turned to me, letting out shrill hisses of rage. I ignored them and began pulling the light toward myself, with the spirits frantically chasing after it.

"Hmph, hmph..."

They may be fast, but not faster than me!

Just as I was about to complete the pull, one spirit suddenly fired a spell at me. The process was nearly done, so I gritted my teeth and endured it.

More spells came flying in, and though they didn't cause major damage at first, the accumulation left my body scratched and sore.

Besides that, some spirits used skills that directly targeted my soul. Fortunately, my [Soul Attack Resistance] was already at a high level, so I only felt a bit of itchiness.

Despite their efforts, none of their attacks could affect the chain, and I successfully drew the ball of light into my [Virtual World].

That means… I've fulfilled my promise to Mr. Loyral.

Now then, should I fight these things or not?

They've been attacking me this whole time. If I don't return the favor, it wouldn't feel like me.

But I've heard that normal physical attacks don't work well against spirits… So I'll have to find another way.

Hmm…

I looked toward the spirits, still raging wildly after having their "prey" stolen. Though they had no visible faces, I could clearly feel their seething fury. They kept shrieking relentlessly.

Each time they hissed, my soul would feel an unpleasant itch. I realized those were soul-based attacks as well, and if I didn't have high resistance, I would've collapsed already.

These spirits might be weakened, but they're still incredibly dangerous.

Then… how about playing with them a bit?

I fired a strand of [Spider Silk] toward the nearest spirit, but it passed right through its body and hit the ground.

As expected, it didn't work…

Oh, right—I think I have the [Soul Magic] skill. But I don't know how to use magic yet, and the skill level is too low anyway. Even if I could use it, I doubt it'd work on them.

With no clear target left, the spirits all turned to me. They swarmed around, firing spells and letting out ear-piercing shrieks.

Suddenly, one of them lunged straight at me. I couldn't react in time and let it phase directly into my body.

"Don't worry, I'll handle it from here,"

I was a little worried, but upon hearing the voice of my own will, I relaxed and kept dodging. For now, I still didn't know how to harm them.

Maybe something will come of this internal struggle, so I decided to wait and see.

In the meantime, I tried various attacks, but everything passed through them with no effect.

I was occasionally struck by spells. Even with [Adamantine Body], I still felt pain—because when it comes to magic, I have zero defense.

[Adamantine Body] doesn't help against magic, so the pain was still very real. On the bright side, their attacks didn't cause any status effects, and the damage wasn't too severe. I endured it, hoping to soon acquire a [Magic Resistance] skill.

"Good news, me!"

While I was struggling, my will spoke up cheerfully.

"That spirit went straight for your soul, but there was a wall blocking it. I then pulled it into the [Virtual World]. In there, I can attack and suppress its abilities, but it consumes a lot of energy to keep the world active—so we can't do this too many times."

Just like Mr. Loyral said… but I hadn't accounted for the energy cost being that high. There are over a dozen spirits here—I definitely can't pull them all in.

"Did the spirit drop anything after dying?" I asked.

"It turned into energy and replenished the [Virtual World], but overall, we still lost more than we gained."

Hmm…

I just got this skill recently, so there's a lot I still don't understand. I'm not willing to risk it recklessly either.

Should I retreat?

…No.

They're weakened now. If I don't eliminate them while I can, what will I do once they recover? Plus, this is an ideal place to live—I really don't want to give it up.

"Try using [Gluttony], it worked when I used it earlier,"

Are you serious?! Why are you only saying this now?!

"You didn't remember either."

Well… true.

Alright, focus.

I waited for one spirit to approach, then immediately activated [Gluttony], wrapping it inside.

The spirit resisted violently, but I could feel its energy steadily being drained and transferred to me. At the same time, I sensed [Ravenous Devour] absorbing a strange type of energy that filled me with disgust and hatred.

Is there something else inside these spirits?

The absorption process wasn't smooth at all. The spirit struggled fiercely, and some bizarre energy within it kept expanding, resisting [Gluttony]. On top of that, I was constantly being harassed from the outside.

The other spirits launched a barrage of elemental magic—fire, water, earth—causing my whole body to ache. Feeling overwhelmed, I kept using flash to maintain distance while still trying to finish the absorption.

Finally, with one loud shriek, the spirit was fully devoured.

Suddenly, a massive fireball came flying toward me.

I instinctively wanted to block it—hoping to gain [Magic Resistance]—but when I saw how huge it was, I instantly ran. That thing was twice my size!

When it hit the ground, it exploded with considerable force. No joke.

What the hell?

Are these things getting stronger?

I didn't have time to think. A dozen more spirits had arrived, their magic raining down without pause. I no longer dared to block any of it—each attack now packed much more power than before.

Looking closely, I noticed something strange.

Each spirit now had dark patterns on their previously single-colored bodies—like armor made of black markings.

What is that!?

It looked similar to what was absorbed into [Ravenous Devour] from the spirit earlier.

I don't know what it is, but I'm certain this power doesn't originate from spirits. From what I read in books and what Mr. Loyral told me, this is something else entirely.

Mr. Loyral once mentioned he'd met other spirits out there, and they weren't like these. That means… something else must've altered these ones?

It gave them strength—but also twisted their personalities into cruelty and savagery.

In short, I know far too little about them. And the situation is far more troublesome than I'd imagined.

The continuous bombardment of spells forced me to keep dodging with no chance to strike back.

Whenever one spirit got close, I tried using [Gluttony] to trap it, but their resistance was overwhelming—I couldn't hold them for long.

Earlier I was talking big about helping Mr. Loyral wipe them out, but now all I'm doing is running around like crazy…

What a disgrace!