BTCATL 20

Chapter 20

—Boom! Boom boom!!

Explosions like bombs shook the underground training ground beneath the Northern Spirit Tower.

Feeling cold sweat trickle down, I instinctively took a step back.

[Asilla, you need to attack!]
[Why are you just blocking?]
[It’s dangerous. If you don’t attack now, you might die.]
[We can’t trust the other contractors.]
[Asilla, you have to kill him.]
[Let’s attack, Asilla.]
[Get rid of him.]
[Asilla, Asilla, Asilla.]

The voices of the spirits swirled chaotically through my head, and the translucent barrier surrounding me trembled precariously.

—I’m going to push you hard, so don’t cry, sis. Got it?

So this was what he meant by pushing me hard.

—Come on, let’s go.
—…Where?
—To the training ground, of course. Didn’t you say you wanted to control them as soon as possible? Let’s go now.

Even though Redin was glaring at him with blazing eyes, once the Tower Master gave permission, Callios immediately dragged me down to the underground, even as I stood there dazed.

I was staring blankly at the massive training ground when the current bombardment began.

A jet-black orb, one I’d seen before, burst from Callios’s hand in an instant.

A massive hole opened up right where I’d been standing just moments ago.

The man floated in the air surrounded by black shadows, his red eyes glowing.

“You just need to make sure you don’t attack. Got it?”

I understood the reason behind the sudden barrage in the next moment.
Why it wasn’t even a spar, but a one-sided assault.

I didn’t have time to think. My body understood before my brain did.

I couldn’t move.

Was it fear, a primal instinct reacting to Callios’s assault?

No—completely different.

It was the wild, beast-like emotions, charged with murderous intent, that tore into my chest, making my fingertips tingle.

[Ugh, I really hate this.]

It was the same as when I first saw Callios and his spirit rampaging around the Spirit Tower.

That sensation of savage emotions that weren’t my own trying to seize control of me.

A massive headache struck. Just like before. I couldn’t keep my rationality.

But I realized something at the same time.

If I wanted to truly control the spirits—make this power my own—I had to overcome this wave of foreign emotions crashing over me.

[Asilla, Asilla.]
[Attack him.]
[He’s not to be trusted.]
[We can’t leave him alone.]
[You’ll get hurt.]
[We have to protect you.]

The butterflies shouted my name dozens—hundreds—of times, ringing in my head.

As their numbers grew, I could feel my mana being drained.

The barrier grew faint, on the verge of shattering.

—To become a true spirit master, you need to build control.

I gritted my teeth.

This was training.

Last time, I’d unknowingly just given them my mana. But I couldn’t afford to do that anymore.

“Don’t attack.”

[Asilla, no!]

The butterflies hesitated slightly—but only slightly.

[You can’t, Asilla.]
[It’s dangerous. We know because we’re the same kind.]
[We love you, but they don’t.]

—Boom!!

Another black orb struck just ahead of me, and the barrier that had been holding on shattered like glass.

[Asilla, sorry. We really can’t hold back.]

“Don’t…!”

The butterflies shouted just one word before charging at Callios with terrifying speed.

No. Don’t do it.

Asilla, we told you—we have to attack.

Despite all my words, the butterflies rushed forward and launched an attack at Callios.

And at that moment, I saw what he’d been pressing with his hand.

The walls of the training ground began to hum and glow.

No—not the walls themselves. The countless rune symbols and mana formulas embedded in the walls lit up with a bluish light.

Callios, who had been floating, slowly descended to the ground.

The shadow that had been with him was now gone.

[What… is this…?]

The butterflies’ wingbeats slowed. No, it seemed like they were being forcibly stopped.

The crimson butterflies that had been flying at full speed all turned into small bursts of light and vanished.

It wasn’t a reverse summoning.

My mana remained intact.

I didn’t feel the spirits being hurt either. And I certainly hadn’t been attacked.

But it didn’t feel like the butterflies had vanished of their own will either.

“That’s enough. This should do.”

I stared blankly at Callios as he walked toward me.

“What was that…?”

“Oh, that?”

He blinked his red eyes, then smirked as if understanding my confusion.

“They’re formulas that temporarily close the gate to the Spirit Realm. Apparently, years ago, just before their deaths, the Four Tower Masters embedded them into each of their towers using their own power.”

“You can… close the gate to the Spirit Realm?”

Callios shrugged.

“It forcibly severs the connection between spirit and master. But it’s artificial—it only lasts about ten minutes.”

They were originally made to suppress spirit masters in a frenzy.

He added that and began walking toward me again.

He stopped only when his face was right in front of mine. After muttering to himself, he nodded.

“You’re a lot better than the first time.”

I blinked.

His red eyes curved into a sly smile.

“Seems like you listened a little, huh?”

Though the subject of the question was missing, it wasn’t hard to understand.

I nodded quietly.

The events of just moments ago replayed in my mind.

Thinking back calmly, I realized: it was true I had been nearly overwhelmed by the spirits’ emotions and tried desperately to suppress them.

But the butterflies never actually attacked first—they just said they would.

They only acted after the barrier shattered.

“Well, that’s because of the command word.”

Callios, seeming to be lost in thought, suddenly held out his hand to me.

I stared dumbly at his calloused hand until he said “hand,” and I finally reached out.

He took my hand and closed his eyes.

A strange energy quickly swept through my body.

Startled, I tried to pull away, but he held on tight.

He opened his eyes soon after.

“From now on, don’t try to persuade them with words—focus on blocking the mana from leaking out. No matter what you say, they forget everything like fish-headed morons…”

[Fish heads?!]

—Bang!

The ground where Callios had just stood cracked with a deafening sound.

I felt a slight drain of mana.

“See? Like that, when they attack.”

He dodged and stepped back with a grin.

The glowing runes and formulas on the wall had already dimmed.

One by one, butterflies appeared around me, flapping their wings threateningly.

A shadow appeared again on Callios’s shoulder.

[He compared us to such crude creatures…]
[He’s not just a fellow contractor—he’s someone who should die. No respect at all. How did he even get a contract?]

“Did you feel my mana flowing through your body?”

Callios gently dangled one of the butterflies flapping near me, his eyes fixed on me.

He must’ve meant that strange sensation from earlier.

“I retraced the path once. You’ll feel the mana flow much more clearly now. Try to block it—think of it like cutting off the path.”

I nodded.

It definitely felt easier to sense the mana than before.

Somehow, I had a faint hope that blocking it might not be as difficult as I’d feared.

I trudged up the stairs of the tower. My arms hung limp and lifeless.

There wasn’t an ounce of strength left in me.

[Asilla, are you okay?]

“…Yeah.”

I had to force the words out in response to Nyx’s gentle question as he landed on my shoulder in a soft glow.

I was amazed I could even walk.

I wanted to slap my past self for thinking mana suppression would be easy.

Sensing mana vaguely had been simple—but controlling it, blocking the flow, was on a completely different level.

It felt like I was trying to individually control every single cell in my body.

As the spirits took form, the rapidly draining mana became even more obvious.

It felt like trying to hold back a massive wave with a twig.

Stupid. If this were easy, there’d be no reason for Nyx’s contractors to train in control from a young age. No reason for me to struggle to learn it now.

Only after using every ounce of concentration and strength, barely able to stand, did Callios finally say we were done for the day.

He vanished in an instant, telling me we’d train at this time every day.

I wiped the sweat dripping down.

Despite all his grins and vulgar street speech, Callios turned out to be a surprisingly decent teacher.

A bit rough around the edges, though.

When I went to the Tower Master’s room or the training ground in the early morning, I didn’t see anyone, so it hadn’t felt real.

But now, plenty of people were moving around.

A man running with a bottle of liquid, groups of women giggling, children laughing and running.

All spirit masters.

Seeing the various glowing spirits flying naturally around them made everything suddenly feel very real.

I caught a few glances—they seemed to notice the unfamiliar face—but that was all.

Their lack of interest was oddly comforting.

“Asilla, are you finished?”

I looked up at the familiar voice.

Redin stood leaning against the stair railing, dressed differently, as if heading out.

[Asilla!]

The nymphs fluttering beside him flew over and rubbed my cheek, but quickly retreated when the butterflies around me began to glow.

“Ah, yes.”

“I’ll escort you to your room.”

As we walked together, Redin explained that the room I’d woken up in that morning would be my living quarters from now on.

I had meant to go ask the Tower Master anyway, so I was grateful Redin came to tell me.

After all that exertion, I wanted to lie down as soon as possible.

“Lucie Abella.”

I looked up at the unfamiliar name.

“She’s the girl you’ll be sharing the room with. A fire spirit master.”

Ah.

I remembered the clutter scattered around the room.

I had momentarily forgotten I’d be sharing a space.

“Are all rooms shared?”

Redin nodded.

“Only in the North Tower. Too many people here get obsessed with research, so we make them share rooms on purpose.”

“Some level of socializing is necessary in a community,” he added, stopping in front of the room.

He handed me a stack of thick books.

I blinked.

“…What’s this?”

“Some basic spirit books I selected quickly. I’d originally planned to explain them to you in person, but an urgent request came in, and I’ll be out of the tower for three days. Go through them slowly in the meantime.”

I nodded slightly, and Redin, with a soft smile in his blue eyes, said “Well then,” and jumped off the railing.

“…!!”

It happened so fast. Before I could even gasp and look down, something shot up at high speed.

“Eeeeeeeek!”

The tower’s glass ceiling opened silently, and Jin flew out.

I caught a glimpse of his silver hair fluttering above before I could finally breathe again and open the door.

“…What the?”

A stunning beauty with fierce red hair turned her head from where she sat slouched in a chair, her sharp gaze cutting into me.