Chapter 202

Chapter 202

Chapter 202 – Did Not Appear

Aster gaped at the spectacle that Damian, Chenbi, and Mysern had created.

‘What…?’

The bodies of the Infernals crumbled into dust in an instant.

There was no sign of recovery.

All of that seemed completely futile compared to the desperate struggle they had waged just to contain them, and what surprised Aster the most were Damian and Chenbi.

From what Aster knew, Damian had not mastered any secret ice magic technique.

He knew the basics and principles, sure, but nothing comparable to the creation of a mental image.

And yet…

What had Damian just done?

Without the guidance of long years perfecting a mental image… the spell he had conjured on the spot was devastating.

As if mocking the veteran mages who had perfected theirs over centuries.

But the real wonder was Chenbi.

‘He has forged his own path.’

It was clear.

Just like Dalia, who had represented the Dinai family in her past life, Chenbi had carved out his own path.

Of course, it would be a slow process.

After all, he only had average talent.

But in exchange for the slowness, he would see more—things that geniuses overlooked—hear more, and finally realize that he mastered a realm completely his own.

And when that mastery was fully formed…

The world would know another mage.

A mage named Chenbi.

That was when he understood it.

Aster frowned and let out a hollow laugh.

“…These damn bastards.”

The curse escaped silently from his lips.

He had perceived the change in the atmosphere.

The atmosphere changed immediately after.

Shhhh—

An ominous rustling coming from everywhere.

Like millions of ants scurrying around us, the sound echoed throughout the space.

The clamor of the spirits continued.

[Is it still not over?]

[How?]

Why won’t it end?

The infernal fragments, split like grains of sand, began to gather in the air.

Gaias’s eyes twitched at the impossible sight.

They had pooled the power of all the spirits into that precise strike.

Thanks to Chenbi exceeding all expectations, they thought the Infernals would not be able to resist any longer…

That was when he understood it.

Whoosh!

The flames erupted again.

[Danger!]

The spirits scattered in panic, while Damian, Chenbi, and Mysern gritted their teeth and stepped forward.

Or tried to.

“That’s enough.”

“…?”

Aster held them back and strode forward.

[Savior, run.]

[We are in danger.]

Amidst the clamor of the spirits, Aster walked firmly toward the center of the cavern and took his stance.

Five points of convergence for the fragments.

The flames… faint.

Once this was understood, Aster closed his eyes and concentrated. The circles spun in unison, the cores resonating.

As his spatial perception mapped the environment perfectly, Aster flicked a finger.

Soon—

Grind, grind! Boom!

The convergence points of the Infernals were traced above Aster’s head.

As the five merged into one, Aster silently felt the burning flames above him.

Because they were merged?

It was hot.

…But.

‘It’s not that hot.’

The blaze erupted afterward.

KABOOM!

A pillar of fire surged with Aster at its center.

Transcendence.

Aster’s transcendental flames incinerated the fused infernal remains.

Incessantly, relentlessly. Until total annihilation.

And when the Infernals disappeared without leaving a single trace…

Aster slowly raised his eyelids.

‘…Not bad.’

No, perfect.

This was not a feat of his alone, but rather achieved together with Damian, Chenbi, and Professor Mysern.

Alone, it would have been impossible.

He felt it again… no one here needed protection. Not a single soul.

After repeatedly confirming the total annihilation of the Infernals.

Damian and Mr. Mysern immediately began their breathing exercises.

They had exerted themselves too much trying to contain the Infernals, but Chenbi was doing quite well and explained the whole story to me.

I rested while listening intently, though my eyes followed Baharmut’s spirits.

They gathered in groups of three or five, moving rapidly through the space—a strangely captivating sight.

We are friends.

We are together.

Muttering nonsense, they gathered and scattered repeatedly, and each time…

[Thank you.]

A faint, flickering spirit stumbled through the air.

At first, I had no idea what they were doing.

They looked like fish lunging at their prey, but it always ended with a fragile spirit emerging.

Bullying?

…Of course not.

“Ah, that’s… they are sharing their essence with spirits that have lost theirs. Losing one’s essence doesn’t mean disappearing instantly…”

“CPR?”

“Yes, more or less.”

They couldn’t revive anyone before the fight ended, but now that it was over, the spirits with surplus essence were helping.

According to Chenbi, no spirit was annihilated by the Infernals, but many lost their essence.

That was when Gaias approached Chenbi.

[Friend, I want to help. Okay?]

“Ah, yes. Sure.”

With Chenbi’s approval, Gaias emerged and joined the resuscitation efforts.

His body shrank with each resurrection—a truly mystical scene.

I had never seen so many spirits gathered this way.

Without exaggerating even a little, the space was overflowing with them, as if one were in the Milky Way.

Even I was captivated by the beauty, when Chenbi’s monotonous voice interrupted.

“…That’s how things are. Aster, are you listening?”

“Ah, yes. Totally.”

“What did I just say?”

The spirits sacrificed themselves immensely to save us? Dozens? Hundreds? In the future they saw, did we all die?

“…You were listening.”

It seemed like I was distracted, but I wasn’t.

Chenbi’s words carried real weight, not the kind you can ignore.

And why so heavy? Because of the determination of the spirits.

Freedom-loving spirits choosing dissolution after the barrier broke just to help us? It’s no easy task.

So gratitude was inevitable, but a question troubled me.

‘Then, how would I manage to defeat the Infernals alone in Baharmut?’

The future that the spirits first saw.

In it, I was alone.

I had freed them all by myself, but now I couldn’t comprehend how I had done it.

Did I crush them?

No, that future always ended badly when I tried to use brute force.

Maybe I timed the counter right? …No.

‘Was a special relic needed to defeat the Infernals, and Baharmut didn’t have it?’

How on earth did I deal with them in that first vision?

Not by crushing, not by countering, how else?

Curiosity bred deeper doubts.

As the questions piled up, I needed to refocus.

Anyway, it didn’t matter anymore.

What mattered now?

‘…Loot.’

The highlight of diving into ancient ruins? The byproducts.

Books, treasures, even scrap metal, with a bit of luck they could bring in a fortune.

And the value?

‘…Condition.’

After dealing with the Infernals, the byproducts of Baharmut were pristine.

As if they had been used yesterday.

The whole place was a treasure; realizing that gave me a deep sense of discomfort.

“…Damn it.”

“Aster, what’s wrong?”

“No, nothing.”

Ignoring Chenbi’s perplexity, I recalled the chase.

The destroyed byproducts while leading the Infernals: pristine books, warehouses packed with artifacts… all burned to the ground.

If only they had survived… tch.

It makes my stomach turn.

But what could I do?

‘…They are already ashes.’

Live looking forward.

It’s better to reflect on the remaining riches of Baharmut than to lament.

With that mindset, I headed out to loot Baharmut before Damian and Mr. Mysern woke up.

Uh, salvage.

Or tried to.

If not for the sudden emptiness.

“Chenbi, where is the wyvern?”

“…? Wyvern?”

Of course, Chenbi wouldn’t know.

I explained kindly to his bewildered look.

“The spirit that came to us first. I sent it to you earlier; now I can’t see it.”

Something didn’t add up, and yes, the wyvern had disappeared.

I sent it to Chenbi to have it delivered to him.

Has it run away already?

No.

“Really? It happened before, but yes, it’s no longer here.”

“…? Did you see it?”

“Sure, you sent it. It followed us afterward. Strange, it’s not here.”

Chenbi tilted his head, perplexed.

But briefly.

Then, as if he had just realized, he asked—probably wondering why I called the spirit “wyvern”—.

“Do you have a contract with it? It didn’t look like it.”

“No, there’s no contract.”

How to put it.

Are you planning to?

After reflecting on it, my bond with the wyvern was ambiguous.

They claimed we would sign a contract in the future, but that’s talking about the future; now, we are strangers.

I didn’t mean to ignore it…

‘Tch, no.’

While I pondered my response, Chenbi spoke.

“Want to take a look? Gaias could find it quickly.”

He started to call Gaias.

But I shook my head.

“No, forget it.”

“…Forget it?”

“Yeah, it’s probably fine. No spirit was annihilated by the Infernals, right? That’s enough.”

Honestly, I felt empty.

An annoying mosquito that followed us closely, now it’s gone, curious.

Not attached.

It’s just that it called itself a ‘wyvern’, so it had an extra pull.

Anyway, I put aside the regret… I mean, the anger, and headed for the loot.

Priorities.

“Aster, I can find it.”

“What, no need.”

“Then stop staring at the spirits? You’re scaring my friends.”

“Whatever…”

Great spirit mages don’t block those who arrive nor cling to those who leave.

But the wyvern… I mean, Spirit No. 1 never arrived, so there’s no problem.

Just a thought:

‘Well, it’ll show up when it wants to.’

…And Spirit No. 1 did not appear.