Chapter 119

“You are…”

The Spirit King of Steel looked quite surprised to see me. I had never seen him before. Did he know Werner’s face? Even though Werner was quite famous, was he someone the Spirit King would personally be interested in? No matter how exceptional Werner was, Spirit Kings generally don’t care about human lives, right?

“Do you know me?”

“You… don’t you remember who you are? Or… do you not have any self-awareness at all?”

I frowned at his nonsensical words. I know who I am, but who does he think he is, acting like he knows me better than I do?

“I am me. Do I need any other explanation?”

“It seems you have no memory.”

“Who do you think I am?”

“…You are the son of the being we must serve.”

“What?”

I couldn’t believe it. Every medium described Werner as an orphan. The only other explanation was that he was captured by bad people and had a tough childhood before escaping. But the son of a being the Spirit Kings must serve? That was a joke. If Werner’s parents were such great beings, they wouldn’t have let their son grow up as an orphan.

“That’s ridiculous…”

“Do you think you can wield all attribute magic by yourself?”

In a world where being born with one attribute is considered a blessing, and magicians arrange marriages to breed children with two attributes, it was indeed strange that Werner had talent in all attributes. But such things could happen by chance.

“It seems you still don’t believe me.”

“Of course not. You show up out of nowhere and suddenly claim our parents are some great beings. Who wouldn’t be surprised?”

But there was no time for such trivial talk. If I didn’t hurry and join the battle, Lorcha would be in danger. Gawain’s abilities were still terrifying, and Karahes was too formidable for a magician to handle.

That meant I had to be prepared to lose a limb or two to deal with them.

“Are you leaving already?”

“Yes, there’s an urgent matter.”

The Spirit King of Steel was also in critical condition, but my friend came first. I had to fight with the anxiety that something might happen to Lorcha. The Spirit King of Steel was in a serious state, but saving lives came first.

“Then how about borrowing my power?”

The Spirit King of Steel calmly asked me without anger or irritation. That arrogant Spirit King offering me power… But such sweet offers always come with thorns.

“And what’s the price?”

“Your descendants will naturally be bound by a contract with me.”

So he was playing with my descendants… Honestly, I didn’t like it. Everyone has their own freedom, and I didn’t want to ruin their lives with my decisions. If I accepted this contract and my descendants got involved, hundreds of years later, someone might suffer because of my choice.

“I refuse.”

“But the situation is urgent.”

That was true. Ordinary magic couldn’t handle Karahes. The most effective means was Steel Attribute Magic, but without Great Magic, the only thing I could rely on was the Spirit King’s magic.

Suddenly, I remembered that Lorcha had accepted a contract with the Spirit King for my sake. She probably thought the same as I did. She didn’t want to involve her descendants, but she accepted the contract to save me. Considering that no one in history had contracted with the Spirit King of Water… she made a big decision for me.

“Tsk… I’ll accept it.”

Then I had to do something for her too. Even if my descendants hated me, I couldn’t just sit back while Lorcha fought. If I thought about my descendants, not accepting such a contract would be the right answer.

But sacrificing small things for a greater value… was no different from sacrificing the few for the many. I would save what was in front of me first.

“Alright… I will gather my last strength and form a contract with you. You know how to contract with a Spirit King, right?”

“Don’t take me for a fool. That’s basic.”

I just had to follow what Lorcha showed me. I reached out toward the Spirit King of Steel.

“I, Werner Altan, wish to form a contract by passing down my bloodline. This contract shall continue for generations.”

“Armadura, the Spirit King of Steel, will lend you power according to the laws created by the Primordial Mother.”

“The humble sorcerer Werner Altan approves this contract.”

Then Armadura’s body melted like molten steel and seeped into mine. It was a strange sensation. A bizarre feeling of energy being absorbed throughout my body. It was refreshing yet slightly nauseating, and I didn’t know what expression to make. The spells I could use after contracting with the Spirit King of Steel flowed into my mind.

And then, Armadura’s voice came from somewhere.

[With this, our contract is complete. Since we’ve just formed the contract, you won’t be able to use all the magic I know… but it will be enough for you to fight.]

“Hey… let’s put out the immediate fire first… but later, you’ll have to explain everything about my parents from start to finish.”

The reason I didn’t want to hear it now was simple. I didn’t want any unsettling factors shaking my mind before the fight. Werner grew up as an orphan, and the story behind his parents couldn’t be positive.

[Understood. Within the limits I am allowed… there will be restrictions.]

I charged through the hole I had made toward Karahes. He was trying to ambush Lorcha, but he took too long and ended up facing me instead.

“Oh, you’re back? Did you come to give a pep talk? Do you think that would change anything? That’s a big mistake…”

“Spirit King of Steel━━━.”

Everyone was startled by the resonance and looked at me. Karahes, Lorcha, even that bastard Gawain.

“My arm shall now become the divine spear that even kills gods.”

Then, my arm was covered in rough steel scales. I instinctively knew. This was qualitatively different from the steel I had created with magic before.

“Werner, you didn’t have to make such an unfair contract…!”

“Tsk… It seems you’ve contracted with the Spirit King of Steel, whom I barely subdued. I told you it would have been better to just kill and take you.”

“Lord Gawain. Even so, Steel Magic heavily relies on martial arts. A mere sorcerer’s martial arts…”

This bastard dared to belittle my martial arts. All the martial arts I had learned were a tribute to the knowledge humanity had accumulated, a tower of hardships built by countless warriors with blood, sweat, and tears. To insult that… Karahes was an enemy of humanity, like Hitler.

“Then let me show you what a mere sorcerer’s martial arts can do.”

I charged at him.

He tried to absorb my magic. But he couldn’t absorb the steel wrapped around my arm. No matter how much of a magic-absorbing constitution he had, he couldn’t absorb the magic of the Spirit King, the source of that attribute.

Hoyeongryu Naksaljang. A spinning strike shattered his jaw. First, I had to seal that pig-like mouth that tried to devour everything.

“Grrr…!”

“Now you can’t eat properly, huh? But don’t worry too much.”

The Broken Family’s unique martial art, Berlin’s Red Rain.

Niko-ryu Kongou no Kata Tessa.

Boxing Pivot Blow.

Kyokushin Brazilian Kick.

Muay Thai Khao Daeng.

Pro Wrestling Kesagiri Chop.

As I followed the martial arts I had seen or learned, Karahes turned into a bloody mess. Karahes had some skill in martial arts, but relying too much on his magic-absorbing constitution left his defense lacking.

“Sa… save me! I’m a mess now! My legs are broken, my shoulders are completely shattered! My neck hurts like hell too!”

Getting beaten to a pulp even cured his polite speech act. Truly, beating is a cure-all.

“Let’s see, you had a piece of your calf torn off earlier, right?”

The Code of Hammurabi says, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a calf for an eye.

Blood spurted like a fountain. Eye gouging is fine, but the blood splattering is a downside.

“Gyaaaaaah!!!!”

“How should I finish this?”

I grabbed his chin and paid homage to all the martial arts of humanity. And with that sentiment, I snapped his neck.

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Coming soon: Emoji samples.