#248
Chains of Covenant (2)
The Immortal King Hans could not immediately present a way to resolve Hesperon’s problem, but when it came to the theoretical aspects, he understood them more than well enough.
‘Curses aren’t the sort of power that can be rationally measured in the first place.’
A curse was the act of wishing misfortune upon someone, and at the same time, the negative power that manifested as a result.
It was also a branch frequently used in black magic, but strictly speaking, it was closer to shamanism than magic.
‘That’s why unexpected things like this happen from time to time.’
The curse dwelling in Hesperon’s right hand was a kind of mutation.
After various factors intertwined, it had completely fused with his right arm and settled there; in the process, it had taken life, absorbed thought, and finally even gained spirituality—“something.”
In the end, it had surpassed the limits of its existence, acquired a certain level of rank, and now was half akin to a spiritual life-form.
That was also why properly sealing it was difficult.
The problem wasn’t simply the amount of power it possessed. The difficulty arose because the thing trapped inside was actively trying to force its way out by using its host.
‘It hasn’t been long since it was born, so it doesn’t even have a proper ego yet. It’s still far from being called a spirit.’
But precisely because of that, now could be called the perfect opportunity.
An opportunity to put a leash around the neck of this unpleasant neighbor that had occupied someone else’s body without permission.
At that, Hesperon immediately began preparations to put his idea into practice.
“Mm, I think this should be enough for this area. Is there anything else you need, Heron?”
“Ah! This much is fine, Master.”
“If you need anything, tell me anytime. I can provide most things.”
And in that process, he was able to receive help from Isea, who had happened to stop by the imperial palace for a short while.
She was, in both name and reality, one of the foremost archmages of the empire.
Compared to the imperial mages who had specialized solely in summoning and contract magic, her expertise might be slightly lacking, but the ritual he was preparing now wasn’t particularly difficult, so her help alone was more than enough.
Above all, there was no one he could trust as much as his master.
‘This could be considered a trump card in its own way. If I can maintain security, it’s better to do so.’
Even as it was, he had recently been attracting attention from the public in subtle ways due to his closeness with Princess Riley.
If he did anything, rumors of it would probably spread in an instant.
At the stage where he was about to set something in motion, such unnecessary attention was not very appealing.
‘Then, shall we begin?’
And so, after all preparations had been completed.
The ritual finally began.
At the center of the magic circle that filled the spacious area.
As Hesperon, standing alone in its middle, slowly extended his right hand forward—
Frrrlt—
The tightly bound bandages unraveled, revealing his bare skin to the outside.
Along with the aura of the curse that had been suppressed all this time.
Fwoooosh—!
The moment the seal was undone, black mist surged up violently.
As if expressing dissatisfaction at having been confined so stiflingly until now, its reaction was sharper than usual.
“I’ll activate the magic circle.”
And at the same time, Isea, who had been observing from the outskirts, activated the barrier enveloping the surroundings.
Since it was fairly large in scale, it required a considerable amount of energy, but to her, who possessed near-infinite mana, that much was nothing significant.
Wooooong—!
Light and vibrations flowed from the magic circle surrounding the area.
Along with them, the energy that continuously surged toward the center pressed down on the black mist that had been swelling to its fullest, driving it back so that it could not expand.
As if rebelling against it, the curse transformed into black flames and resisted, but it could not escape the influence of the barrier that had been prepared with such care.
‘So far, so good.’
Since his proficiency with 「Chains of Covenant」 was still far too lacking to commune with something invisible, he first needed to make it materialize.
In addition, unlike how it had first risen with such arrogance, the fact that its energy had been greatly suppressed was also no small gain.
‘Now then, be good. Shall we have a little talk?’
Hesperon immediately used 「Chains of Covenant」 and focused on the black flames that had begun from his right hand.
As it connected in earnest to his will as its host, the curse also began to writhe fiercely in response.
‘Good, it’s going smooth—?’
The unexpected reaction appeared immediately afterward.
Without realizing it, he flinched and opened his mouth.
“Ah…”
“Huh?”
At the same time, Isea’s exclamation came from behind him as well, but he had no time to pay attention to it.
Originally, curses did not have any fixed form.
In truth, they were merely energy, so that was only natural.
That was why the curse that had first risen from Hesperon had been nothing more than black mist and flames…
The moment he touched the materialized mass of the curse to commune with it, it began to change its appearance according to the host’s mental image.
“……”
It was… an unavoidable force majeure.
A curse dwelling in one arm that was usually sealed by being wrapped in bandages.
Wasn’t that an extremely obvious, cliché element, practically a symbol of a certain subculture?
‘…Mm, honestly, at this point, I can only assume someone deliberately set this up…’
Yes, no matter how he thought about it, it was unavoidable.
That thing taking on that exact form.
With an awkward expression, Hesperon stared at the shape floating before him and desperately rationalized it to himself.
Fwoosh—!
Black flames blazed.
Long, drooping whiskers; a mane that fluttered as if burning; a pair of sharply rising horns.
And keen eyes, sharp teeth, and a long, serpentine body writhing in the air…
A splendid black dragon was there.
“Uh… Ahem…”
From behind him came the subtle sound of Isea clearing her throat.
The back of his head prickled.
For some reason, a strange gaze seemed to poke and stab at him.
‘…It’s only because of stereotypes. This is absolutely not my fault.’
After letting out a short sigh, he soon proudly lifted his head.
In truth, when viewed objectively, it was an extremely cool appearance, and the people of this world would simply think of it as a uniquely shaped type of phantom beast.
In other words, the reason the Black Flame Dragon had become a symbol of adolescent delusions was merely the product of unfair prejudice!
‘Yes, since it’s already come to this, what can I do? Let’s not worry about it.’
Honestly, there was no way he could not worry about it, but he consciously ignored that and operated 「Chains of Covenant」 with all his might.
It merely possessed the shape of a dragon; its reason was not particularly strong.
At best, its thoughts were probably limited to around the level of a dog.
However, as much as it had caused him headaches all this time, it was not an easy existence to deal with either.
As the black dragon of the curse violently rebelled and twisted its body, black sparks scattered in every direction.
‘Now, now—calm down, friend.’
What was needed in this situation was an agreement for comfortable cohabitation.
In truth, it was already clear who held the upper hand right now.
The thorough preparations made in advance to prevent the curse from rampaging, his status as the owner of the body in which it resided, the unknown supernatural power known as skills, and the coercive force of the many growth corrections tied to avatars, and so on.
Above all, no matter how much spirituality it had awakened, its essence was merely that of a being parasitizing Hesperon’s body.
He could have eliminated it by simply cutting off his arm and erasing it, yet he was granting it an opportunity for negotiation. How merciful was that!
Woooong—
And so, for a short time that was not particularly long in reality.
Through communion, many intentions passed between them.
What Hesperon wanted was for it to obey his will and become his strength when needed.
What it wanted was… to grow beyond its current state, build up its rank, and break free from its present condition to be reborn as a more complete entity.
‘Like a spirit or heroic spirit.’
That much, he could help with more than enough.
No, rather, if its rank rose that much, it would be of even greater help to him, so it was something he should actively encourage.
Thus, the negotiations between the two were dramatically concluded—
Fwoosh—
The black-flame dragon twisted its body to its fullest, then dwelled in his right arm once more.
As a bonus, the place where there had once been a black stain like the path of a crawling snake transformed into the shape of a dragon, as if it had always been that way.
《The individual has gained enlightenment through a contract. Acquired the special skill 「Right Arm of Longing」.》
《The individual has met the conditions and grown. The skill 「Curse Resistance」 has evolved into the special skill 「Curse Predator」.》
And so, Hesperon was finally able to obtain the Black Flame Dragon in his right arm.
At the cost of a little humiliation.
***
-Individual Name: Hesperon
-Common Traits: 「Mind Hub」, 「Persona」, 「Super Regeneration」, 「Clear Mirror, Still Water」, 「Monstrous Strength」, 「Neuroticism」, 「Insight」, 「Xenoglossy」
-Individual Traits: 「Chains of Covenant」, 「Right Arm of Longing」, 「Curse Predator」, 「Introduction to Magical Studies」, 「Combat Arts」
-Special Notes: The right eye has been lost. Through a covenant, he has become able to control the power of the curse dwelling in his right arm. Due to the effect of 「Chains of Covenant」, the potential of the bound energy has increased further. He is immune to all curses, and upon devouring a curse, all abilities temporarily increase.
While cleaning up after all the rituals had ended.
Though he had just obtained the best result he had initially hoped for, Hesperon had no time to savor it and made excuses to Isea again and again.
“…That’s how it is. You know what I mean, right? So that was just something naturally associated with it, almost like a kind of physiological phenomenon…”
In truth, he had not done anything wrong, so there was no need to explain himself, but because of the strange gaze he sensed from her, he stepped forward first like a guilty conscience betraying itself.
At his tearful effort, she quietly nodded and accepted it.
“I understand, I understand. Of course I understand completely.”
“Phew, yes… I’m glad if that’s the case.”
“It’s not as if it’s particularly strange or anything. Actually, I had guessed it from the beginning.”
“Uh, yes? Guessed what?”
The problem was that the direction of her acceptance had twisted a little elsewhere.
“No, well… Hesperon isn’t exactly a common name, is it?”
“…Ah?”
“And using that name for a fresh start is a bit… Ahem, that was a slip of the tongue. I should respect your tastes.”
“No, Master? It’s a misunderstanding!”
His past runaway choice had returned like a boomerang.
Moreover, if one were to be precise, the bigger problem was that it was not a misunderstanding.
Because when he had named himself back then, it was true that he had thought it sounded cool.
And so, time passed…
“Haa.”
Around the time the noisy day in many ways was drawing to a close.
Hesperon, who had plopped down onto the bed in his lodging, let out a light sigh and glanced at his right hand.
Sacred-character-inscribed bandages were still wrapped around his arm, but the situation was clearly different from before.
The effect of 「Chains of Covenant」 was not merely to form a bond with the target; it also strengthened that target and controlled it according to his will.
‘Mm, it’s definitely good.’
What he had gained this time was not simply the ability to freely handle the power of the curse when he undid the seal.
Both the curse that had been the problem all this time and the sealing tool meant to suppress it had come under his control, making it possible to use the power in stealthy and irregular ways by projecting force drawn out in thin strands through delicate adjustments.
It could be seen as a combined ability of 「Right Arm of Longing」 and the sealing tool, allowing him to keep the energy restrained as much as possible while exerting physical force externally.
‘…Right, I was planning to wear a mask when acting on Earth anyway, so it doesn’t matter.’
If the performance was good, what did it matter whether it was embarrassing or not?
Before overwhelming ability, no one would dare laugh.
‘I have more to practice now.’
He buried himself in the bed as he was and lightly waved his right hand toward the side.
Then the light vanished from the luminescent magic tool at a distance his hand could not reach, and the room sank into darkness.
And cutting through that darkened space—
A faint, thin strand was sucked into his fingertip.
***
The Immortal Castle, located in the northern mountain range of the Ion Continent.
[Kahahahaha—!]
From its deepest place, the inner sanctum where the Immortal King had secluded himself, a thunderous peal of wild laughter burst out.
Because the space inside was cut off, that laughter did not leak outside, but even if it had, the one responsible was in such a good mood that he would not have cared.
[…I’ve finally completed it.]
And understandably so…
[A way to go to another world!]
One of the studies he had invested quite a long time into.
At last, it had just been finished.