BTCATL 86

Chapter 86

I gasped at the sudden attack.

Leaping backward, I landed and stared intently through the cloud of dust stirred up by the strike just moments ago.

Glancing at what felt like a wall behind me, I saw a thin barrier enclosing the space.

When did that go up?

I hadn’t even noticed anyone approaching. There hadn’t been the slightest hint of a presence.

And we were inside the Spirit Tower, of all places.

Who could it be?

[……Ashila.]

The butterflies circling me with their wings puffed up in alarm whispered cautiously.

[It’s one of our kind.]

My mind froze as I realized what that meant.

Staring into the dust that hadn’t fully settled yet, I narrowed my eyes. I could faintly make out a wavering black glow within it.

A kin of Nyx. In other words, the one who attacked me was another dark spirit summoner.

It couldn’t be Callios—he wouldn’t be here. And even if he were, he wouldn’t attack me so mercilessly.

That left only one possibility.

A flash of black light burst from within the dusty haze.

No time to think.

Clenching my teeth, I barely twisted my body to dodge the strike. Instead of my head, the stone wall behind me took the brunt of it, leaving a deep dent and scattering debris.

A few strands of hair singed by the light floated weakly to the floor.

Danger.

A primal alarm blared in my mind.

—Swish, swish.

The quiet space echoed with the sound of something slithering across the floor.

“You’ve got good reflexes, kid. Impressive dodge.”

As the dust settled in one corner of the space, a middle-aged man emerged.

And when his figure came clearly into view, I couldn’t help but inhale sharply.

It wasn’t just the small black snakes hissing beside him.

[Ugh, I really don’t like this.]

I could tell those snakes were his Nyx.

What made me hesitate was that the silver-haired middle-aged man looked eerily similar to Ledin.

Except for the deep black eyes that seemed to hold the abyss, he resembled an older version of Ledin almost perfectly.

This man was the master of this tower. The third and final dark spirit summoner, along with Callios and me.

“You became a summoner fairly recently, I hear.”

For some reason, that’s when it began.

The serpentine spirits beside the man hissed and lunged at me, and my butterflies shot forward in response.

The difference in skill between the spirits was clear.

The moment they clashed, I realized it.

As the tower master who had long held this position, his spirits were on an entirely different level when it came to combat.

I had no idea why he was attacking me—a fellow summoner who had made a pact with the same elemental spirits—with such hostility.

But there was no denying the intent in his spirits as they tried to tear me apart, and I had no choice but to respond.

The uncanny resemblance to Ledin made me feel a twinge of guilt, like I was attacking him, but I kept my mind calm and focused.

This man wasn’t Ledin. He may have been his father, but he was also the one heartless enough to sell him off to the elves.

My thoughts cooled, sinking deep as if doused in ice water.

It was no surprise he was stronger than me.

Several of my butterflies were reverse-summoned after being struck by the snakes, causing me physical pain. I felt a faint trickle of blood on my lips.

Still, there was a way. The power gap wasn’t so great that I had to yield.

In the past, the overwhelming force from the tower master would’ve made me feel helpless, but I didn’t back down.

Riding the surging wave of mana rushing into me, I infused it into my spirits.

The crimson-black light emitted by the butterflies grew stronger.

Revitalized, the butterflies pushed back and began to erase the attacking snakes.

“……Hmm.”

Even though he must have taken considerable damage from the reverse-summoning of his spirits, the tower master of the east wore a childlike expression of amusement.

While supplying more mana to my spirits, I slowly raised my hand.

For the first time, I saw the tower master’s focused gaze falter.

Thanks to the barrier surrounding us, passersby were completely unaware of the violent battle unfolding between our spirits, nor of the standoff between us.

From my palm, golden heat shimmered. I’d only ever tried it in passing while away from Ledin—but never as a weapon.

Yet in my mind, the mana formula came to life with the familiarity of something I’d practiced for decades.

Unlike the humans with their meager mana, the rune magic of elves—blessed by nature and the primordial dragons—was powerful.

A golden geometric pattern rose in the air, and the mana heating my entire body blasted toward the smirking tower master.

Sensing their contractor was in danger, the snakes hesitated, jaws still wide open as they had tried to bite into my butterflies.

But they moved fast—faster than I could imagine—and shielded the tower master from the spell.

Even spirit beasts couldn’t easily dismiss rune magic, born directly from the blessings of nature. A few snakes hit by the spell vanished in reverse-summoning.

For the first time, a flicker of surprise crossed the tower master’s face.

Taking advantage of that moment, the butterflies lunged again at the remaining snakes—but caught nothing.

The snakes had vanished on the spot.

—Clap, clap, clap.

I winced at the sudden sound of clapping.

“You’ve only been a summoner for almost two years, but you’re stronger than expected. And rune magic too—are you part elf?”

The man who had, until seconds ago, exuded killing intent now raised his empty hands slightly, showing no signs of aggression. His spirits had all been withdrawn.

Though he now radiated only amusement, the murderous intent I had felt earlier was undeniable.

Even his Nyx had exuded a will to kill.

—BOOM!

A thunderous impact on the barrier snapped my focus.

—BOOM!!! BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!

I flinched at the continued explosions and turned toward the noise—only to see a massive vine.

Relentlessly pounding the barrier, the vine finally broke through, and familiar spirits flew in and nuzzled my cheeks.

Shimmering with soft green dust, the spirits ignored the man across from me entirely and burrowed into my arms.

The butterflies chased them away, and only then did the nymphs turn and shout toward the outside of the barrier.

[Ashila!]

[Ledin! Ashila’s safe!!]

[You don’t have to worry!!]

As if they had been waiting for that message, the vines still holding open the barrier quietly vanished.

And then I saw Ledin.

I moved my lips soundlessly at the sight of him.

Golden mana rose once again, forming a seal over the barrier surrounding the man and me.

In moments, the barrier shattered like glass.

A few passersby, startled by our sudden appearance, turned to look—but I didn’t care.

A clean, fresh scent washed over me, and I was pulled into a warm, firm embrace.

Ledin glanced behind me at the numerous butterflies still fluttering and the wreckage left within the broken barrier. He seemed to understand what had happened.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

A low growl like that of a beast slipped from Ledin’s lips.

His blue eyes gleamed with an icy chill as he glared at the man.

The man looked back and forth between us and shrugged.

“I heard you brought a dark summoner, so I wanted to see how strong she was. Even after what happened when you were young, you still took a half-elf as your partner. Ruthless, aren’t you?”

“You’ve never once been my father. Leave Ashila and me alone and go drown yourself in booze like usual.”

Words sharper than any he had ever used on Callios left Ledin’s mouth, and the man chuckled as if he didn’t mind.

They were clearly blood-related, but nothing about their exchange resembled a conversation between father and son.

“If you ever want to transfer to the East Tower, you’re welcome anytime.”

“……That’s never going to happen.”

Still chuckling about how both of us were alike, the man eventually disappeared down the corridor.

Ledin kept his guard up until the man vanished, then turned back to me with a soft sigh.

His gentle eyes scanned my entire body, stopping at my cheek.

Following his gaze, I touched the spot and felt sticky blood.

I must have been grazed by a snake earlier.

Only after the butterflies wiped my cheek clean as if nothing had happened did Ledin melt and clasp my hand tightly.

“I’m sorry, Ashila. That man didn’t show up to the meeting, so I had a bad feeling and came right after it ended… I didn’t expect this.”