“Multiple contracts…!?”
In the direction of Rourke’s stunned gaze, three distorted contract spirits emerged from the space behind Dejan. Shifting like shadows, their forms resembled that of werewolves.
The spirits let out a growl and leaped over Dejan, charging at Rourke from three directions.
—So fast!
Despite being slightly delayed in reacting, Rourke prepared to counter the swift spirits. Just then, a stream of water shot out in a straight line, cutting between Rourke and the werewolf spirits. Sensing danger, the spirits halted their attack and leaped back.
“Your opponent is me.”
“…………”
Mizuchi’s slender, blue body appeared, blocking the spirits, as Kyle, riding on its back, glared down at Dejan.
Dejan quietly raised his head, his gaze fixed on Kyle. The werewolf spirits surrounding him growled menacingly at the new threat, and in response, the water dragon roared fiercely.
“Water Gun.”
Kyle pointed his finger like a gun, and spiritual energy gathered at his fingertip. The water, infused with this energy, shot out like a bullet toward Dejan and his companions.
The water bullet struck the ground, causing a spectacular explosion at the point of impact. However, Dejan and the werewolf spirits swiftly scattered in all directions, evading the attack completely.
“Guh!?”
But as one of the werewolf spirits dodged, the water dragon lashed out with its long tail, striking the spirit and sending it flying backward.
“Nice one, Mizuchi.”
Praising his contracted spirit, Kyle once again aimed his finger like a gun and fired a rapid barrage of water bullets at Dejan, who continued to evade with agile movements.
“Annoying…”
Amid the sounds of explosions and the spray of water and debris, Dejan frowned slightly and subtly moved his index finger, giving a silent command to his contracted spirit.
“Gah!”
A werewolf spirit that had been scaling the wall glared at Kyle with its golden eyes, then leaped toward him, baring its sharp fangs.
“Too close, mutt.”
“Gwoh!?”
Kyle, who had been aiming his right hand at Dejan, calmly turned his left hand toward the approaching spirit and fired a water bullet. The werewolf spirit, which had been about to bite down, took the shot directly in its mouth and fell with a groan.
“Gah!”
But from behind the intercepted werewolf spirit, another one appeared, taking advantage of the brief interval in Kyle’s spiritual technique and swinging its right foreleg toward his face.
Realizing he wouldn’t have time to fire another shot, Kyle tried to leap back from Mizuchi’s back to avoid the attack. But before he could, a strong gust of wind blew, sending the werewolf spirit flying in the opposite direction.
“Sensei!”
“You saved me!”
Looking down, Kyle saw Rourke with his palm outstretched. It seemed he had judged the situation dangerous and stepped in to cover for Kyle.
But at that moment, debris exploded from behind, and through the cloud of dust, Haunted appeared with a loud laugh.
“Hahaha! I let my guard down! I really let my guard down! You’re something else, Rourke!!”
“…………”
Rourke frowned openly at Haunted, who appeared not only unharmed but even more energetic than before. On top of that, he was speaking to him in an oddly friendly manner. What the hell was going on?
“Haunted, you’re annoying.”
“Hahaha, my apologies! I just got a little too excited!”
“I don’t care about your feelings… What now? I can take care of things from here if you want, or do you want to handle him?”
“Yes, I’ll deal with him. Bora seems to be busy, so can you handle the troublesome Sensei and the fire dragon girl?”
“…Sigh.”
At Dejan’s question, Haunted nodded and tried to push the other opponents onto him. Dejan sighed at his self-centered colleague but nodded in agreement.
“Don’t go too wild…”
“I’ll handle it properly… Come, Vlad.”
With a smile at Dejan’s words, Haunted called out to his contracted spirit.
Vlad instantly appeared by Haunted’s side, grasped his hand, and transformed into a sword, just as he had during the academy’s attack.
“Well then, shall we begin?”
Seeing Haunted take his stance, Kyle, Rourke, and Leia all focused their nerves, on high alert.
“Blood Enchant.”
Haunted’s body became enveloped in a crimson aura, and the spiritual energy radiating from him grew dense and heavy.
“Both of you, get ready.”
At Kyle’s warning, Rourke and Leia, who had been momentarily overwhelmed by Haunted’s pressure, snapped back to attention and steeled themselves.
But they would soon realize that their efforts were in vain.
“Rourke!”
“What!?”
At Kyle’s shout, Rourke noticed Haunted, who had somehow closed the distance in an instant, appearing right in front of him.
“Tch!”
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It was too late to dodge the red arc of the sword coming at him. In a split second, Rourke used his own sword as a shield, trying to block Haunted’s strike.
“You got me good earlier, so this is payback.”
“!?”
The moment Haunted’s sword struck, Rourke was sent flying down the temple corridor with a force that felt like his arm might have been torn off.
“Rourke-senpai!”
As Leia shouted, Kyle and Mizuchi moved to attack Haunted, but one of the werewolf spirits swung its foreleg, slamming Mizuchi into the wall.
“Your opponent is me, right?”
“Tch.”
Dejan stepped in front of Kyle, blocking his path as he tried to help. Behind Dejan, the werewolf spirits growled menacingly.
“Well, I’ll be going now. I’ll leave this to you.”
“…………”
Dejan didn’t respond, but Haunted took it as agreement and dashed off down the corridor, chasing after Rourke.
“Leia! Go back up Rourke, now!”
“Yes, sir! Salamander!”
Following Kyle’s orders, Leia leaped onto Salamander’s back and flew off after Haunted and Rourke.
“…………”
Dejan watched Salamander leave for a moment, but soon lost interest and turned his gaze back to Kyle.
“You’re not going to stop them?”
“…………”
Just as Salamander was about to pass through the corridor, one of the werewolf spirits moved to intercept, but Dejan never gave the order, simply allowing Salamander to pass.
“…I just didn’t see the need.”
And, if he was being honest, it was also a bit of payback for Haunted’s usual reckless behavior. Though, even if Leia went as backup, it wouldn’t change much.
Kyle gave a puzzled look at Dejan’s response. Behind him, Mizuchi, who had been knocked aside earlier, returned to his master’s side, glaring at the werewolf spirits surrounding Dejan.
“If you underestimate my students, you’ll regret it.”
“I’m well aware of your abilities. You should worry more about yourself than others.”
Dejan smirked at Kyle’s words and activated a spiritual technique.
The shadows at Dejan’s feet writhed and stretched, splitting into multiple spear-like points aimed at Kyle.
“You… that spiritual technique after all…”
“You must have had some idea from the start, right?”
Cutting off Kyle’s stunned words, Dejan sent the shadow spears and his contracted spirits charging forward.
“Looks like I can’t afford to hold back now…”
To counter the advancing black swarm, Kyle called out to Mizuchi and spread his hands.
“Damn it! You’re messing with me!!”
Rourke, who had been blown all the way outside the temple, managed to regain his footing and spotted Haunted closing in on him.
“You’re one creepy bastard!”
“Hahaha!”
Haunted had contracted additional minor spirits to supplement his power. With his body fully enhanced by spiritual energy, he swung his sword in a slash, matching Rourke’s own strike.
As their swords clashed, the spiritual energy released by their spirits caused the ground beneath them to crack and the air around them to vibrate.
“Huh?”
Haunted suddenly found his feet bound by the ground, temporarily halting his movement.
“You never learn, do you!?”
Taking advantage of Haunted’s immobilized state, Rourke swung his sword in a wide horizontal slash. But Haunted, unfazed, blocked the incoming blade with his own sword and grabbed Rourke by the collar with his other hand, hurling him backward.
“Tch!”
As he was thrown, Rourke clicked his tongue and wrapped wind around his sword, sending a slash toward Haunted. But before it could hit, Haunted destroyed the ground binding him, leaped into the air to dodge, and countered with a crescent-shaped slash of his own.
“!”
Rourke landed and placed his hand on the ground, causing the earth to rise and form a wall to block the incoming slash. But before he could even feel relief, he sensed a malevolent spiritual energy from the other side of the wall, which then shattered into pieces. A red slash shot straight through, cutting into Rourke’s left shoulder.
“Guh!?”
“What’s wrong!? That can’t be all you’ve got, can it!?”
Haunted taunted Rourke, who was grimacing in pain, as he charged through the debris, swinging his sword.
“Shut up! What do you even know about me!?”
I’ve been fighting at full strength from the start. You’re overestimating me… or rather, what does some bandit from outside the academy even know about me?
“If you don’t give it your all, you’ll die!”
“Shut up!”
Half-angry, Rourke swung his sword wildly, forcing Haunted to dodge and create distance. As he did, Haunted’s sword began to gather an immense amount of spiritual energy.
The blade’s color deepened into a crimson red—.
“Blood Sword—“
“Gaaaah!”
Realizing the danger of the incoming attack, Rourke tried to interrupt the technique, but Salamander, gliding in from behind, struck Haunted with its claws, sending him flying.
“Whoa!?”
Haunted quickly canceled his technique and shifted to defense, avoiding major damage, but his arm was left with several red lines from the attack.
“Thanks, Leia.”
“No, I’m glad I could help.”
Rourke thanked his junior as she appeared beside him, exhaling slightly. That was way too close.
“Senpai, your shoulder!”
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