Chapter 20
“Elaim.”
The name I hesitantly called out immediately had an effect.
A cold raindrop seemed to fall over my forehead, and then a fierce wind swept through the room.
I closed my eyes, squinting against the wind, and then opened them again.
As expected, humans. You acted like you would never make a contract, and yet in such a short time, you’ve changed your mind?
“Uh… Elaim?”
Don’t call someone’s real name so carelessly when you’re not even my contractor.
“You’ve become quite a petite being since I last saw you.”
How petite? So much so that he had completely lost his human form and transformed into a fish the size of a palm.
This is not the Spirit Realm, but the Human Realm, and without a contractor, I have no choice but to be like this!
Elaim’s tail flicked angrily at my sympathetic gaze. But to me, it just seemed like a pitiful little fish thrashing around.
“I haven’t changed my mind. It’s just that I want to make an offer to the great Water Spirit King, Elaim.”
No matter how much I had decided to save the dangerous companion, Dante, I never considered exchanging my life for it.
An offer?
“You said your specialty was healing. And you want to save Trovel, who’s bound to the Spirit Realm.”
…And?
Even though Elaim was in the form of a fish, his tone deepened, and an intense chill spread throughout the room, the coldness so sharp it almost felt like my teeth were clattering.
I steeled my legs, trying not to collapse under the oppressive presence of the angered Spirit King.
“If you save my cat, I’ll find a way to save Trovel too.”
You think you can save Trovel without contracting with me? Do you really think that’s possible?
“My mana has a special power that attracts spirits, so I think it might be possible. That’s why you offered me a contract, right?”
After a brief silence, Elaim let out an irritated sigh and turned away.
I never thought I’d meet a human who would try to make a deal with a Spirit King… You! Do you know what you’ve brought into this house?
Elaim’s eyes widened when he noticed Dante, whose body was already fading.
It seemed that deceiving a Spirit King like Elaim was impossible.
“Well, I kind of just picked him up.”
You really think you can save him?
“Honestly, I don’t want to, but I’ve accumulated a lot of debt, so I thought I might as well pay it off.”
Damn it. I wondered why ‘he’ left such words behind. Was it because he knew something like this would happen?
‘He’?
However, Elaim didn’t seem interested in explaining further as he circled Dante’s fading form.
The blue light emanating from Dante’s body swirled around in the air like clusters of stars.
I can’t undo the curse that binds him.
“Curse? Dante’s cursed?”
Dante? You actually gave him a name?
“I mean, it just happened, haha.”
…It would be much cleaner if I just didn’t get involved with you.
Elaim, now half-heartedly giving up on our contract, let out a deep sigh and flicked his tail in frustration.
While I can’t lift the curse, I can at least patch up the unstable body he’s clinging to with dying mana.
I was surprised that Dante was cursed, but the fact that he was sustaining his body with dying mana was even more shocking.
I felt uneasy as I learned his fatal secret one after another.
‘Is the final boss of this world supposed to be this fragile?’
Well, whatever. Now that I knew Dante’s weakness, I might be able to use it in critical situations.
One last question. Do you really want to save him?
“For now, yes.”
Elaim sighed deeply again at my answer.
I can’t understand why humans always make the worst choices. Come closer. Since there’s no contractor, I’ll use your mana as a medium to repair his body.
“Does that mean we have a deal?”
Don’t regret it later.
I decided not to mention that I was already halfway regretting this decision.
Elaim landed on my shoulder with incredible speed and gave his command.
You’ll feel drained, but just hold on.
“Alright… Ugh.”
Right from the start, this was going to be a rough experience.
Before I could even finish my answer, I felt an overwhelming rush of mana leave my heart.
My legs began to tremble, and a thick dizziness overtook me, making my entire body feel like it was being struck repeatedly.
The exhaustion was so intense it was incomparable to when I had used Dante’s power to control mana.
‘Is this what it feels like to be forcibly bled?’
As the mana gushed out, Elaim’s blue body was covered in dazzling light.
His voice echoed as he sang an unintelligible chant.
The light wrapped around Dante, whose body had almost disappeared.
The light grew so intense that the whole room was filled, and I could barely keep my eyes open.
‘This might actually kill me.’
Before I could save Dante, I might die from mana overload. My knees, already bent, touched the soft carpet, and just then—
The intense light around Dante finally subsided. Dante, now in his cat form, lay sleeping soundly, looking like he’d never been in danger.
This mana… Could it be…?
Elaim, seemingly shocked, alternated between looking at me and Dante as his body began to dissolve into water.
Human. Don’t forget the promise we made.
I’ll be waiting for you in the Spirit Realm.
With those final words, Elaim completely vanished. Meanwhile, I, too exhausted to respond, collapsed onto the carpet.
‘I’m so sleepy.’
I just wanted to sleep without thinking about anything, my mind completely overwhelmed with the desire to rest.
I didn’t resist the creeping exhaustion and closed my eyes.
Why wouldn’t the next chapters unlock? 🥹