The Star Of Annihilation

The Star of Annihilation

Chapter 23 – Ifrit (1)

Written by : eleven

Proofread and Edited by : ch17175

* * *

“Did it work?”

“….I’m not sure.”

Raymond asked in a shaky voice as Tubel replied warily.

Raymond had never been in a fight so intense in his entire time as an Archmage.

There were plenty of thrilling battles in the academy when he was younger or Royal duels against other countries’ Archmages and Swordmasters, but never had he ever felt such a murderous and dangerous entity like the being in front of them.

The dust was thrown up and they stared intently at the Dragon that was behind the clouds of debris.

“No way…”

It was the first attack they had landed successfully against this monster and Raymond didn’t think it killed it, but he was hoping it had done something to it.

<You fucking worms.>

Shhhhhh

The dust and debris cleared up and Argenta’s figure could be seen.

Lucius narrowed his eyes.

He definitely felt contact when his swords of aura met against Argenta’s hide.

‘You must be kidding me.’

Focusing the aura into his eyes, Lucius saw what had happened.

Argenta’s wing had been pierced to pieces and a large chunk of his seemingly infinite mana reserves had been consumed, but his skin regenerated as a speed nigh-impossible to injure.

“What a bunch of bullshit.”

Dante cursed as he saw the exact same sight as Lucius.

“How are you doing in terms of stamina right now?”

“Enough to last, you?”

“It’s cutting it close.”

Lucius asked Dante.

They were the vanguard right now and their options were limited.

* * *

As this was all happening, Roy was looking at the situation with a bleak optimism.

‘They won’t last much longer.’

By the time the war for humanity had come along, many of the past conceptions of magic and swords mastery had been shattered and honed into techniques that were focused around killing efficiently and emphasizing destructive power.

He didn’t know what he could do, but it greatly frustrated Roy about just how weak he was.

He also wasn’t sure why, but Argenta seemed to be targeting him.

Roy didn’t know what to do.

If he considered all things possible, even if Varpulis was able to descend into Nate’s body again; something that was impossible to have since God’s never directly descended into their apostles other than the times when they awakened their power. But nothing seemed to be clicking for him.

Elizabeth was not nearly as powerful as she was in the past, Nate was not able to freely draw upon his power as an apostle, and Roy was still incredibly weak in general.

There was the Fairy Tears in his subspace pocket, but to take that without being diluted as an elixir was basically suicide.

‘What can I possibly do?’

“Damn it…”

Roy cursed under his breath.

“Excuse you!”

Mathilde immediately smacked her son across the head.

Roy turned up and looked at his mother.

“I’m sorry mom…”

He berated himself for cursing in front of his mom.

She was the one he ultimately wanted to protect. But, how could he possibly contribute to the battle as he was? He didn’t even know what the Fair Tears truly did.

Fairies were a species long gone from this world. A Transcendental lineage of spirits.

They were something that had little to no record on, and were part of the spirit realm.

‘But… that man did increase his stars immediately… or at least that was what was said. Plus, he was able to contract a spirit.’

Little was known about the spirit realm to humans. This was due to the elvens being incredibly secretive about their powers and magic.

‘Fuck it.’

Roy looked at the other side of the battle.

Their Archmages’ cores were near empty on mana, and Tubel would not be able to fend off Argenta with his limited support from Lucius and Dante.

Even if drinking the Fairy Tears raw would do absolutely nothing, it was better than standing idle.

It wouldn’t make Roy all of a sudden some 5-star Wizard, but there was at least a spirit he could likely summon if his assumptions were correct.

“Hey mom.”

Roy turned to his mother with wavering eyes.

Seeing her son like this, Mathilde turned to look at him with a confused and frightened expression since she was still in shock at the monster in front of them.

“Roy?”

“Mom, I’m going to do something very risky right now. I just need to let you know that whatever happens, I really do love you.”

“…? What? Roy!?”

Mathilde realized that something was wrong with her son, and tried to reach her hand out, but Roy had already cast enhancement spells and moved forward a few meters.

“I love you.”

Roy’s emotions were fluttering and his eyes teary as he was fully prepared to risk his life with what was going to happen.

Whoosh.


Roy’s hands reached into the spatial pocket he opened up and pulled out a small vial with a clearish liquid.

Mathilde’s eyes shook.

“NO! ROY!!!!”

Roy blinked his eyes as he popped the cork on the vial.

Gulp!


Drinking the tasteless liquid in one go, Roy’s eyes started to dilate.

Ba-dump. Ba-dump.


At that moment, everyone’s eyes turned to a single location.

<….What are y->

Argenta’s eyes shook as he looked straight at the boy whose mana was strikingly similar to his own.

But before he could say anything further, it had happened.

* * *

“Who are you?”

Roy asked with a confused face as he tried to recall what had just happened.

He had just drank the Fairy Tears in one go without diluting it.

Looking at the beings in front of him, Roy’s eyes blinked repeatedly.

He couldn’t feel anything.

He was in a seemingly completely new location.

A floating space, lush purple grass felt like it was pressing against his feet, but he couldn’t feel anything with his five senses. He couldn’t even feel his mana.

– That question is ours to ask.
“What do you mean?”

– Child of the humans, how are you… no… what are you?
“… My name is Roy.”

Roy looked at the 4 beings standing in front of him.

He recalled the murals he had seen in the Ruins of the Fairies. But most of all, he recalled when he had fought in the war alongside the elves and other species.

There were 7 High Elves, and 3 Heroes from the Elven Race.

In front of him, were some faces he did not recognize but one he did know of.

Hydron, the Spirit King of Water.

There were 4 Elemental Spirit Kings that Roy had heard of that Elves worshipped.

Magnum of the Earth, Hydron of the Water, Zephyr of the Winds, and Fafnir of the Fire.

Roy could guess the other 3 entities in front of him.

– Your name was not asked. We asked what you were.
Magnum spoke, glaring at Roy with a stern expression on his rocky face.

“I still don’t understand.”

– It could be possible he does not know, seeing how young he is.
– That’s not possible Zephyr, look at his soul.
– What?


The Spirit Queen of the Wind, Zephyr, whose figure was so beautiful and captivating despite being ethereal, looked at Roy in shock as she listened to Magnum.

“Soul?”

Roy asked skeptically.

‘Could they be referring to my revival?’

– Revival?
“…!”

Roy shook in shock.

“…How?”

– This is the Spirit Realm mortal. Thoughts are the basis of communication of our kind. Do not even think you can hide anything from us.


This time, it was Fafnir who spoke.

His figure was a large snake of fire that looked something close to a Dragons, but slightly different.

– Magnum, let me ask him more directly.
– …


Magnum nodded reluctantly as he looked at Fafnir with a worried expression.

– What is your relationship to those disgusting creatures, the Dragons?


Roy trembled slightly but quickly replied.

“First, you said this space could have communication be conveyed by thought, correct?”

– That is correct.


Magnum looked at Roy skeptically.

“Is it possible to convey memories into thoughts then?”

– yes.
“How would I do it? I think it’s easier to show you rather than explain. I can’t feel any mana, but I’m assuming you might be able to understand faster if you can see my thoughts.”

– Close your eyes and recall the memories you wish to convey and think of our figures.


The description of the method was vague, but Roy closed his eyes and started to recall the bloody wars and memories he never enjoyed thinking about.

The wars, the hatred, the destruction, the helplessness, the revival, his new life, his family, everything that made up his life, he recalled and tried to convey as he thought of the image of the four beings in front of him.

– ….
– No. It can’t be….
– How…
– Boy.


The reactions of the four Spirit Kings were all different, but remained to have the similar aspect of shock between them.

There was one, who spoke though in a stern voice to Roy. It was Fafnir.

“Yes?”

– I can… understand what you did and why I feel the presence of a Dragon within you. It’s due to your suicidal attempt at trying to recreate their system of a core, and you are either reckless, stupid or both to even somehow replicate it with your mortal body, but there is one thing I don’t quite understand.
“…?”

– Your revival… What is your relationship with ——
“What?”

Roy couldn’t understand the last part that Fafnir had said.
– I see. —– is not something you should know of yet.
“What the hell?”

Roy was starting to feel a bit of frustration and confusion.

Varpulis, the God of Thunder, also tried to say something similar to him, but his speech was cut off by something Roy couldn’t understand. Fafnir’s speech at the end came out in a bunch of undecipherable gibberish.

– They are not something we can speak of to you. We thought it might be something you knew of since you have a relationship with them, but it seems their wish is to not be known of by you.
“Hey. Stop fucking around with me and speak English.”

– Brat.
– Magnum, watch it. His confusion is warranted, and no matter what, we cannot afford to anger —–.
– But…
– It’s alright.


Magnum felt irritated at Roy’s rude manner of speech, but Hydron silenced him quickly.

– It is not that we do not wish to tell you. It’s that we can’t. ‘They’ are beings that neither you nor we can understand. But… it seems you were able to reach us through your will and your consumption of the Fairies’ tears.
“…”

Roy didn’t understand just who ‘they’ were, but he immediately remembered what was going on. Argenta was still running rampant in his village of Kerto and the situation was incredibly dire.

– We have a great… resentment against those lizards who are responsible for your world’s previous demise.
– Indeed.


Magnum spoke crudely and Hydron nodded in agreement.

“….!”

More and more was being revealed, and Roy was shocked at how the Spirit Kings could possibly have a resentment towards the Dragons.

“Is it because of what happened in the past?”

– You could say that, but there’s more.
– We don’t have much time to talk left, Magnum.
– Hm.


Fafnir spoke to Magnum who was replying to Roy.

– We wish to help you, but your soul can only hold a single contract with one of us at best.
– Indeed, if I’m assuming all of us, if we could, would all try to establish a contract with you.


Fafnir spoke and Zephyr confirmed Fafnir.

It seemed like Roy’s soul had something to do with his age or at least mental age of his two lives, but it didn’t seem like Roy would be able to establish a contract with them.

– We know that alone, one of us could not be able to resolve your situation. It is pitiable but….
– Fafnir….!


Fafnir seemed to be trying to suggest something, and Zephyr exclaimed out in shock.

– You can’t be thinking of….?
– What do the rest of you think?
– ….
– ….. It is risky.
“What?”

Roy was confused. What were these beings discussing? He knew the power of the Spirit Kings first-hand.

Only once, Roy had seen Hydron summoned to the Mortal world and had fought against a Dragon in the war. Hydron’s power was weakened greatly due to the transfer of Realms, but was powerful enough to nearly defeat a Dragon by himself. It wasn’t quite enough, but the Elven Hero who had contracted with Hydron in the past, had the help of two Swordmasters, and had defeated one of the Dragons almost effortlessly thanks to Hydron’s incredible power despite it being weakened at the time.

It was a power that Roy couldn’t possibly fathom. Yet, these beings were saying they couldn’t help his situation?

– Do not get us wrong. Our powers would be more than enough to slaughter those brutes if they came to the Spirit Realm, and even with our powers weakened, we could still kill lots of their kind in the Realm of Mortals. But we are more concerned about the one behind them.
Behind them? There was an existence that the Spirit Kings were concerned about that were behind the Dragons?

– Yes. Their Lord.
“…..!”

Roy heard about him.

The Dragon Lord.

Roy had never been able to see the Dragon Lord in person, and neither did any of humanity.

The other Dragons that humanity had managed to slay spoke of their Lord, but he never stepped up in the end since there were the Great Three before him. The Great Three were the ancient and most powerful of the Dragons before their Lord, and only one of the Great Three’s appearances was enough to drive Humanity to extinction.

Roy bit his lip in frustration.

– I think it’s a risk we must take.
– Fafnir! You can’t possibly be serious?!


Zephyr protested in worry. But before she could speak further….


– Fafnir is right.
– I agree.

Magnum and Hydron agreed with Fafnir, making Zephyr hold herself back.

– Are.. are you sure? The last time he was released….

– That child of the mortals can do it. His soul is large enough of a container. Not only that, but there is extra room for it to be possible thanks to —–.

– But still… It’s too unpredictable what ‘he’ will do. It took all of us combined to try and hold him back from damaging the Spirit Realm when he was enraged at the last invasion of those lizards.

– We should ask the child.

– Of course!
“…Who is ‘he’?”

– ….Ifrit, The Demon Spirit King…. Our youngest brother.

“….?”

A Fifth Spirit King? A Demon Spirit? That was impossible! The Elves had direct connections with all spirits and there were never any mentionings of a Fifth Spirit King!

Roy was unsure of what they were implying.

How was a Demon also a Spirit? Demons were a completely different race in the mortal world and couldn’t possibly compare to the Spirits. Not only that, Demons were a race that were incredibly stubborn and in the end, were mortal, there was no way a mortal and a spirit, which was a being that was ethereal, could copopulate.

– It’s not like that. He was… the first mixed spirit.

– Indeed. But… if it’s him, his power is the strongest out of all of us.
“There are Four Elements that make up the different Spirits right? How could one be mixed between another? That’s impossible isn’t it?”

– Even the Great Mother of the Spirit Realm was shocked when she gave birth to him, for even she didn’t know of how his existence came to be.

– Yes, he represents part of the Fire Spirits and…. The very first Spirit of….

– Death.

Roy’s body shook like he had realized something as the 4 Spirit Kings spoke of the Fifth and unknown element.

The mural he had seen in the Ruins of the Fairies.

The mother and the four children.

And…. the fifth child in black hiding in the corner.

Ifrit.

The Spirit King of Fire and Death.

The Fifth and strongest of the Five Spirit Kings.

That was who the other Spirit Kings suggested as the Spirit that Roy should contract with.

Chapter 23 – Fin