#247 Chains of Covenant (1)
Even while a commotion arose on Earth and was being dealt with, time in Auterica continued to flow.
Even after the Immortal King withdrew from the south, air raids continued at a steady, moderate pace, and Heinrich was still busy spreading his fame across the continent.
After matters in the Republic entered their final stage, the situation flowed smoothly without any particularly major incidents.
It was also time for the avatars who had fallen somewhat behind to grow.‘There are five avatars who can be considered immediate fighting power right now.’The undisputed traditional strongest, the Immortal King Hans.
The rising rookie who had recently surged rapidly, the Vampire King Heinz II.
The Knight of Light, the pride of humanity itself, Saint Heinrich.
The bizarre life-form who was now only human in appearance, Barbarian King Harley.
The high elf who had risen like lightning thanks to the World Tree’s full support, Harris.
If others knew that the standard for such fighting power was none other than transcendence, they would surely be dumbfounded, but to him, whose standards had already risen as high as they could go, it was only natural.‘Though in truth, it won’t be easy to stand on the same level as those five through normal methods.’Those avatars were cases where numerous circumstances had become intricately entangled, and luck had followed, allowing them to grow stronger quickly.
Perhaps with any ordinary method, even investing a great deal of time would not make it easy to stand equal to them.‘Still, the Elixir of Growth is more effective than I expected, so it’s not as if there’s no possibility at all.’The Elixir of Growth purchased through the Karma Shop boasted murderous prices of 200,000 points for a mere seven days, but after using it himself, it was clearly a product worth that much.
Once he used it and experienced its effects, it had an addictive quality that made him curse the price yet inevitably purchase it again.
Thus, excluding Hubert and Hugo, who handled odd jobs in their respective worlds, the three avatars spurred on their training day after day, riding the effects of the doping potion.
Woooong
—“Ah, damn it! Another failure!”
And among them was one person.
Hesperon, who had tasted the bitter cup of failure again today, roughly raked through his hair.
The light flickered within the summoning circle prepared for the ritual, and the vibrations gradually subsided.
At the same time, the rare mediums used as offerings all turned to ash and vanished before he could do anything about it.‘...Haa, what a waste. I’ve blown through so much that I’m starting to feel self-conscious.’Howard the dwarf, who, based on his innate racial traits, only needed to polish his technique, and Horus the hatchling, who had been born with a talent that was practically a cheat in itself.
Compared to them, he was merely an extremely ordinary human, so gaps in growth were inevitable.
That was why the path he chose was to command a powerful summoned beast separate from his own body, but...‘I never thought this penalty would hold me back this much.’His gaze, after he let out a deep sigh, turned toward his right arm.
His right arm, wrapped in bandages engraved with all sorts of runes, looked as if a sealed Black Flame Dragon might burst out of it, but in truth, it was merely a lump of curses that constantly sought an opportunity to devour his body.‘There’s nothing I can do about it for now.’Even from the perspective of Hans, a master of black magic and a specialist in curses, the curse dwelling in that right arm was an extremely rare case.
Suppression through the divine power of a saint, the peculiarity of being an awakened person from another world, the potential possessed by an avatar that was a clone, the measures taken by the Imperial Hospital, the world’s foremost medical institution, and so on.
Originally, he should have died long ago from a curse that had far exceeded the lethal dose, but thanks to those various methods, it had ended at the level of fusing with the vitality of his right arm.‘And in the process, it seems to have absorbed yeom (念) and gained a slight spirituality as well.’Hesperon stared intently at the curse writhing inside the seal wrapped around his arm.
Because he had used quite a lot of mana to perform the summoning ritual, it had been stimulated again and was rampaging as if in protest.‘The mental contamination that occurs whenever this thing goes berserk is considerable, too. Of course, it’s nowhere near enough to affect me.’Because it had so many peculiarities in various ways, even Hans could not make a clear diagnosis merely by examining it indirectly like this.
If he could personally conduct research, including dissection, that would be another matter, but it was not as if he could do that right now.
“Haa—.”
Letting out a light sigh, he soon cleaned up the place.
Then he left the magic practice room that had been prepared separately for him and naturally walked down the corridor of the imperial palace’s magic tower, falling into thought alone.‘Every summoned beast that matches me avoids the curse and refuses the contract. Do I have no choice but to lower the grade a bit?’Although they were all lumped together as summoned beasts, there were actually more types than one might expect.
From demonic beasts that were not much different from the monsters spread throughout the world, to beings close to mental bodies similar to spirits, to life-forms residing in other dimensions.
And among them, the ones considered the finest were the phantom species represented by unicorns, pegasi, lesser dragons, and the like.
Naturally, Hesperon had focused on contracting with them, but... the result, as already seen, was a string of failures.
Even despite receiving help from an imperial summoning mage.‘It’s a bit of a shame to give up like this. Should I look a little further to see if there’s another way?’As he walked down the corridor, he soon entered the library of the imperial palace’s magic tower.
The fact that he, as a guest, could use the library freely like this was all thanks to Princess Riley.
Of course, it was still true that he could not enter areas with high security levels, but he did not need that much for the time being anyway.‘Come to think of it, there’s another health checkup soon, isn’t there?’As he looked around the bookshelves, he recalled the past.
The Elixir of Growth had a wider variety of effects than he had expected.
It did not simply help with acquiring knowledge and training; it encompassed “growth” in a broader sense.
And that was clearly revealed in the examinations he had continued to receive periodically even after his discharge.
“Remarkable. Your body, whose balance had been distorted, is stabilizing at an abnormal speed. Your weakened physical abilities also seem to have mostly recovered now. To think even your halted growth has begun again...”
Even the hospital director, who always maintained his composure, had lost his calm while examining his body.
To be more precise... one might say he had the expression of a scientist who wanted to dissect him at any moment.
As expected of someone who had risen to such a position, he was not normal either.
Their commonality was that they were all magic books related to contracts and summoning.
In truth, there was a fairly reasonable reason why he was so fixated on summoned beasts.‘Now that I have Horus, who’s a dragon, there’s no particular merit in digging into orthodox magic anyway.’If that was the case, it would be a far better choice to focus on the strengths only he possessed.
Especially since the potential of the ability he possessed, 「Chains of Covenant」, which had taken one of his eyes as the price for evolution, was more useful than expected.
It was a skill that not only strengthened the contract target depending on the strength of their bond, but even allowed him to synchronize with inanimate objects and handle them as if they were his own body.
Wouldn’t it be a waste to let such an ability sit unused without making proper use of it?‘Undead or demons might actually like it more... No, let’s stop. I’ll just end up being treated like a black mage for no reason.’As Riley’s closest aide, he had entered the imperial palace and was receiving full support, so doing something like that would be a nuisance.
Even if he did, it was obvious that he would only become an inferior version of Hans.
And while he was deep in thought like that in the magic tower’s library—
-Heron! Do you have a moment? There’s something I’d like to give you!Through the connection of 「Chains of Covenant」, Riley’s lively intent was conveyed to him.
The initiative over the connection belonged to Hesperon, the owner of the ability, but simple communication could be sent from the other side first at any time.
Riley, who had found it awkward at first, now contacted him at all hours instead.
Knowing that she had recently been under considerable stress due to matters with the opposing Duke Hermanhart family, he had been obediently responding to her.
After all, humans were beings who could find strength simply from having someone to complain to and someone who would listen to them.‘From the rumors I’ve heard, she seems to be doing well, though.’He crossed the imperial palace and finally entered the princess’s palace.
Perhaps something had already been discussed, because the knights guarding the inside stepped aside so as not to interfere with their conversation.
Maybe because this happened fairly often, they now seemed to accept it naturally.
“Ah, Heron! You’re here?”
When he entered the room where Riley was waiting after knocking, she greeted him like a puppy with a bright smile.
“Hehehe, look at this! It’s a new seal personally blessed by the Saintess herself!”
With those words, Riley proudly held out the gift.
It was a bundle of bandages with verses from scripture written on the surface.
“Obtaining the holy shroud used as the main material was difficult, and making it with care took quite a long time, too. Still, thanks to Sister Se-a, it was easier than I expected. Connections really are the best, aren’t they?”
He knew very well how that had been made.
He had watched right beside them as I Se-a, a member of the Hero’s Party, asked her comrade, Saintess Riesta, for a favor with some difficulty.
Unlike Saint Heinrich, whose abilities were mostly concentrated on combat, the Saintess was someone who stood out in areas outside of battle.
Since she had invested a considerable amount of time and care into it, this seal was likely no different from a rare treasure that one ordinarily could not obtain.
“Thank you for caring about me this much.”
“What are you saying? Compared to what you’ve done for me, Heron, this is nothing.”
After handing over the gift with a pleased expression, she soon cautiously watched his reaction and opened her mouth.
“More importantly, did you succeed this time?”
“No, it was the same as usual. It seems I’ll have to change my approach somehow.”
“...Don’t worry! You’ll be able to succeed soon, Heron! I’ll prepare the necessary materials as much as I can, so don’t let it bother you.”
Knowing that she was already pushing herself quite hard, he felt pointlessly apologetic.
Materials such as a unicorn’s horn or the heart of a lesser dragon were items that would be quite burdensome for even her to continue providing support for.
They were items that cost at least over 200,000 even in the Karma Shop, so of course they would be.
It really was time he needed some sort of measure.
“Ahem, more importantly, why don’t you try using that first? Maybe it’ll ease your mind and let you come up with an even better idea.”
Riley cleared her throat and glanced at him with expectant eyes.
At her reaction, Hesperon gave a faint smile, nodded, picked up the gift she had gone through such trouble to obtain, and quietly closed his eyes.「Chains of Covenant」 activated, and an unfamiliar sensation extended into the seal filled with divine power as communion began.
He had already used it several times before, but perhaps because the item’s quality was high, it required more concentration than usual.
After a short time passed like that, the tip of the seal slowly began to wriggle.
Opening his eyes, he slowly reached out his right hand.
Srrrk
—Then, though he had not touched them, the bandages that had been wrapped around him loosened on their own and came undone.
And beneath them.
His forearm was revealed, stained as if a snake had crawled across it.
Wriggle
—Once the seal was released, the curse sleeping within began to rise stealthily, but before anything could begin in earnest, the new seal unfurled with a rustle and instantly wrapped around his arm, tightening.
He had merely stretched out his arm, yet the replacement of the seal was completed in an instant.‘It’s definitely better than before. With this much, it should be able to withstand fairly powerful mana usage, right?’Hesperon repeatedly clenched and opened his tightly secured right hand, slowly nodding.
The deeper he used his mana, the greater the possibility that the curse would run rampant, but with this, it seemed there would be no major problem unless he overdid it considerably.
The seal, which had already possessed excellent performance, had been further strengthened by the effects of 「Chains of Covenant」, and now it had reached a level where it would not be strange to call it a true holy relic.‘To think even an item like this can’t completely suppress it. Just how vicious of a curse is this?’As he clicked his tongue while looking at his right arm, a certain thought suddenly flashed through his mind.
Synchronization, which not only strengthened objects but also allowed him to summon them and control them at will.
As he had just used it, this was a very useful ability.
And the train of thought that began from there stretched outward.
Before long, his thoughts reached another method.‘Objects, summoning, strengthening...’Then, perhaps there was no need to insist on living phantom species.
It was still only an idea, so his thoughts had not yet been clearly organized, but...‘I was trapped by fixed ideas.’His train of thought then took one step further.
The limits of this skill, which had evolved another level, had not yet been clearly determined.「Chains of Covenant」 was an ability that allowed him to form bonds through communion not only with living beings, but also with objects.
Then how far did that standard go?
Did it really need to have a fixed form?
If so...
His gaze turned toward his right hand.
What if he could directly handle the curse dwelling in this hand?