Book 1 Chapter 407
407.
That evening.
Leo returned to his dorm room after finishing his academic schedule.
In the center of the dorm room, five summoned beasts were gathered around a circular table, each holding two cards, playing a game.
-Hmph. It seems I’ve won this round.
Kirian made a smug expression and bet the piles of candy and chocolates next to him like chips.
“Don’t make me laugh, you idiot fairy.”
Piora snorted and called Kirian’s bet.
As sparks flew between the two, the other summoned beasts had long since folded their hands and were watching the situation.
Soon, five cards were laid on the table, and the hands were revealed.
“It’s a full house.”
-Hahahahaha! Four of a kind! You chubby chick!
Kirian let out a boisterous laugh and tried to grab the candy and chocolates piled high on the table.
It was then that Piora, who had lost a week’s worth of snacks in an instant, made a tearful face.
“Hey, fairy prince.”
Larael, the Great Spirit of Light, glared at Kirian with murderous eyes.
-Why are you calling me?
“Are you playing tricks with magic?”
Crash-!
-Kyaaaack?!
Larael stomped on Kirian’s hand, then reached for the cards.
“I’ll bet everything I have that you changed the cards with illusion magic. What will you bet?”
As Larael touched Kirian’s cards, the numbers changed.
Seeing that, Piora’s eyes turned menacing.
“Cut off his wrist! Cut off his wrist!”
Elsie let out a deep sigh, watching Piora shout wildly in excitement.
“Ms. Piora, you shouldn’t use such harsh words.”
“Cutting is too much, but twisting… haah… just thinking about it is thrilling… *cough*-!”
Elsie, who couldn’t stop her but instead glared at Arti spouting nonsense beside her, jabbed a small fist into Arti’s side.
Arti, who was hit in the side and rolled on the floor, let out a 'Ahng!' and writhed in pain, but seemed to enjoy it.
Seeing that, Leo made a complicated expression.
‘Summoners would surely weep if they saw this, wouldn't they?’
And they would surely curse the harsh reality.
In fact, even Leo himself couldn’t get used to such behavior from his summoned beasts.
5000 years ago, the Flame Emperor Katariu and Luminus, who were Rishinas’ contractors, along with other great spirits, were very dignified beings.
Silrod, Luna’s contractor and then the Fairy Prince, was young at the time but not as boisterous as Kirian.
The Great Spirit of Light also didn’t have such a twisted and menacing personality.
‘Could it be my fault?’
He wondered if his influence played a large part in how his summoned beasts turned out, but soon shook his head.
‘Albus was a very noble Pegasus. He wasn’t a pervert like Arti.’
At least there was one normal being among Leo's current contractors, and that was Elsie.
Elsie practically played the role of preventing Leo's summoned beasts from running rampant.
To conclude.
‘It’s the summoned beasts that are strange these days, not me.’
Leo firmly drew a line and approached the summoned beasts who were punishing Kirian.
As Kirian, who had suffered a terrible fate for his pranks, flinched on the floor, Leo reached out his hand.
And he picked him up by both wings, like catching a dragonfly, and said.
“Who led this illegal gambling den?”
“The idiot fairy.”
Piora pointed at the unconscious Kirian without hesitation.
Leo clicked his tongue at that, roughly swept Kirian onto the table, and said.
“It’s hard to say this, but you are my summoned beasts, by name, aren't you?”
The summoned beasts stared blankly at Leo.
“How about maintaining a little dignity?”
“A phoenix as elegant and polite as I am is very rare.”
Piora puffed out her chest and said with a prim face.
Seeing Piora, Arti said.
“When you were fat and rolling around, you didn’t look elegant at all.”
At that, Piora fiercely pulled Arti’s hair.
“Ahng!”
Arti let out a nasal sound and seemed to enjoy Piora’s attack.
Seeing that, Leo let out a deep sigh.
Since it was already publicly known that Leo was the contractor of the Three Great Beasts, requests from the Summoning Department for Leo to research the Three Great Beasts were steadily coming in.
However, Leo couldn't grant that request.
‘How pitiful would it be if their illusions were shattered just by showing them these?’
It was Leo’s contractors who were abnormal, not the Three Great Beasts as a whole being strange.
Leo didn’t want to shatter the illusions of budding young students.
As the summoned beasts were making a spectacle of themselves, Leo spoke.
“Anyway, get ready to go out.”
“Ready to go out?”
Elsie tilted her head.
“Yes. There’s something I need to test. We’re going to the Island of Summoned Beasts.”
“But it’s curfew time now. It’s not the time to go to the Island of Summoned Beasts.”
The Island of Summoned Beasts is within Lumen’s territory, but strictly speaking, it’s outside the school.
No matter how much Leo was the student council president, leaving the school grounds during curfew was a violation of school rules.
In the first place, even as the student council president, entering the Island of Summoned Beasts without permission was itself a problem.
At Elsie’s words, Leo said.
“It’s okay. We’ll just go secretly.”
“Shouldn’t the student council president set an example for other students?”
Larael narrowed his eyes.
“I should set an example.”
“But you’re going to break the school rules?”
Piora also narrowed her eyes with Larael and asked.
“If you don’t get caught, it’s not a sin.”
At Leo’s nonchalant words, Larael sighed, wearing an expression of helplessness.
Of course, Piora blinked, looking unaccepting.
“Do you think that makes sense?”
“Of course not.”
“Then why aren’t you protesting anymore? My mother said that the Great Spirit of Light is a being who protects justice and order in this world.”
“Yeah. But I’m old enough, and I’ve learned how to compromise with reality.”
Larael patted Piora’s head and got ready to go out.
Piora, who had been contemplating Larael’s words, nodded.
“So, in the end, it’s not a sin if you don’t get caught, right?”
“Absolutely not.”
Elsie, unable to bear it any longer, could only let out a deep sigh.
***
Waiting for Leo when he arrived at the Island of Summoned Beasts was none other than Mel.
“Welcome, Lord Leo. All preparations are complete.”
At Mel’s words, Kirian tilted his head.
-What preparations are complete?
“There’s something I need to experiment with.”
The place Leo arrived at was a huge open space in the center of the Island of Summoned Beasts.
The deepest part, rarely visited by students or faculty.
It was when Leo’s summoned beasts made interested expressions at the mention of an "experiment."
“Arti.”
At Leo’s call, Arti’s eyes widened.
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“Are you experimenting with me, Master? Is it perhaps painful?”
Leo said, looking at Arti who asked with hopeful eyes.
“Well, I can’t guarantee it.”
At Leo’s words, Arti made a disappointed expression.
Seeing that, Leo shook his head and said.
“Manifest in your true form.”
“Yes.”
Arti returned to her Pegasus form.
Leo mounted Arti’s body.
Seeing that, Mel cast a spell.
She set up a barrier that would prevent outsiders from knowing even if powerful force was used.
When Leo pulled the reins, Arti shot up into the sky at an incredible speed.
Crackle-!
Lightning raged around Arti’s body.
-What are you trying to test?
“I’m going to test one of the rewards I got for clearing the Hero’s World this time.”
-Clear reward?
The moment Arti made a puzzled expression.
Crack-!
-…?
Arti, who was flying through the sky using Leo’s spiritual power, suddenly trembled at the energy she felt from Leo’s spiritual power.
-This is…?
It was the power of a Pegasus.
A power more potent and purer than any other Pegasus.
Pure white lightning wrapped around Arti’s entire body.
Crackle, crackle, crackle-
-Aggggghhh?!
Arti’s body trembled violently in the lightning storm that enveloped her, as if she had been electrocuted.
Along with that, Arti’s power began to amplify.
At that moment, Leo withdrew his spiritual power.
Hiss-!
Smoke rose from Arti’s body.
“Hey, are you okay?”
Leo asked cautiously.
The power Leo had just used was the Essence of Lightning, obtained as a clear reward this time.
It was the essence containing the power of Albus, the last pure white king of the Pegasi and Leo’s former contractor.
That essence itself resided within Leo’s spiritual power.
Leo had initially tried to draw out the power of the Pegasus using this Essence of Lightning, but the Essence of Lightning did not respond to Leo’s will.
And through various experiments, he discovered that it responded to Arti’s contract formation.
‘More precisely, it seemed to react to the Pegasus I had contracted with.’
No matter how much Leo possessed the Essence of Lightning, Leo was not a Pegasus.
The Essence of Lightning was a power that had been passed down through generations of Pegasi.
As such, it was fundamentally impossible for a human like Leo to use it.
‘So I hypothesized that it might be possible to reproduce the power of the Pure White King in a contracted Pegasus using this Essence of Lightning, and it seems I was right.’
The problem was that even a Pegasus couldn’t easily accept the power of the Pure White King.
It was a power granted only to chosen noble beings among Pegasi.
Arti was certainly a powerful Pegasus with deep wisdom from living for a long time, but it seemed too much for her to directly accept the Essence of Lightning.
“Are you okay?”
-Wh-what is this?
“It’s the Essence of Lightning.”
-Essence of Lightning… It’s the king’s power that disappeared long ago.
Arti’s voice trembled.
5000 years ago.
Arti was genuinely moved as a Pegasus by the revival of the king’s power, which had only been passed down as a legend when its lineage was broken.
“A Pegasus contracted with me can use the power of the Pure White King… but it seems the backlash is also considerable.”
-Indeed. It was definitely a different dimension of pain than I’ve experienced so far.
“It seems it would be too much if you use this power any further, so it’s best to stop here…”
-It’s the best!
“…”
-Using the power of the Great Pure White King, plus this thrilling pain. Ahh. It’s the best.
Leo looked up at the sky at Arti’s genuinely joyful reaction.
‘I was a fool to worry.’
Crackle, crackle, crackle!
-Kyaahng~
As Leo used the Essence of Lightning, Arti let out happy screams.
A moment later.
Leo, who had pushed Arti to her limit, descended to the ground.
“I’m happy.”
Arti, lying on the floor, murmured softly.
Seeing that, Mel approached.
“Did you find out Ms. Arti’s limits?”
“Yes. It will be very helpful in future battles.”
Mel smiled broadly at Leo’s answer.
“I think it’s a tremendous relief that Ms. Arti became Lord Leo’s contractor.”
“Why?”
“Because there wouldn’t have been any other Pegasus besides Ms. Arti who could withstand the Essence of Lightning like this.”
Indeed, it was a power that couldn’t be used by anyone who wasn’t a pervert who found joy in pain.
Arti, lying on the ground, twitching and trembling, grinning widely.
Elsie covered Piora’s eyes and said.
“Don’t look at that.”
“Why?”
“It’s harmful.”
Watching their conversation, Leo let out a deep sigh.
“He would cry if he saw this.”
“Who?”
“My old contractor.”
Leo remembered Albus.
He would surely have wept, claiming that the pure power had been defiled.