Chapter 611

611.

Elshi was a Great Spirit unlike any other Great Spirit.

A Great Spirit is a special existence.

From the moment of their birth, countless spirits gather around to bless the new Great Spirit’s emergence.

From the very moment they are born, they possess the sovereign power to reign over all spirits and are born with immense power—a purely supreme entity.

Naturally accustomed to being uplifted, they cannot help but become proud and authoritative figures.

But Elshi was different.

Elshi was born in an era darker than any other.

Born amidst battlefields where people were dying, there was no one to bless her birth when she first opened her eyes.

Those who became aware of Elshi’s existence pleaded with her to tear their enemies apart.

In accordance with their wish, Elshi fought against Tartarus.

But she witnessed nothing but countless deaths.

Eventually, she dwelled within the d*ath-bringing sword, Shaten, which consumed the darkness, venturing through the battlefield alongside Agon, the Guardian of the Heavens.

Afterward, she concealed her identity at Agon’s orphanage, living with the children.

She could have become twisted.

But Elshi did not.

Rather, she desired to save the world.

There wasn’t some grand reason like other Great Spirits.

Just a small yet incredibly vast wish—to see the stars in the night sky.

‘And I became disappointed with the world.’

The Elshi of the present, unaware as a reward for clearing the Hero Record, is actually a future version of Elshi.

This Elshi, who witnessed not the malice of Tartarus but the malevolence of the earthly inhabitants, became disillusioned with the world.

She despised the world.

But she never gave up on the world she was born into, the beautiful world she had yet to see.

She sought the reason why this world must continue to exist by choosing Kyle over Lissinas.

And eventually, she sacrificed herself for the sake of this world.

Whenever Leo saw Elshi, he thought:

“Back then, if Elshi hadn’t vanished, what would have happened?”

“If she had survived until the end and seen the stars in the night sky?”

‘Perhaps… it would have been the same as now.’

Even now, every night, Elshi gazes at the stars in the night sky and smiles brightly.

She rejoices in the little things and genuinely enjoys them.

This aspect set her apart from other Great Spirits.

An ignorant and overly kind spirit, unknowing of anger, one who simply smiles wryly even when insulted—the Shadow Spirit Elshi.

Such an Elshi was now angry.

Perceiving her unusual intensity, Leo showed a perplexed expression.

“Are you angry?”

-I can’t forgive it.

Elshi said this with no emotion in her voice.

-To look at Leo with such disdain.

Currently, Ista was gazing at Leo as one might an extremely unpleasant object.

Her stare was grating to Elshi.

To Elshi, Leo was more than just a Vow Keeper; he was her benefactor.

The person who showed her a night sky she had never seen before and gifted her a peace that she had never known—a benefactor to whom dedicating her very existence would never be enough.

At the time when she met Ignit and Rael, Ignit and Rael had insulted and mocked Elshi.

But Elshi didn’t care.

It was only natural from their perspective.

She was merely a lingering specter from the past, so being ignored was not strange either.

But insulting Leo was another matter entirely.

Ista’s cold and emotionless words prompted Leo to respond.

“Calm down first.”

Just as Leo was trying to calm Elshi down:

“Hmph.”

Ista’s mocking laugh echoed.

“Ignit’s subordinate spirit? Tch! It seems that even that devious man can’t properly manage a single lower spirit.”

Seated on the throne with her chin rested on her hand, Ista completely ignored Elshi and looked at Leo.

“Rude one. You have surely come here to form a vow with this body, have you not?”

“Yes.”

“Hmph! How audacious and impertinent! You don’t seem to have anything impressive to show despite having a contract with the Spirit of the Abyss and the Spirit of Radiance.”

-You’re the one who is nothing!

“Hmph. An old woman gone senile, perhaps?”

Appearing by Leo’s side, Rael interjected urgently:

-Ista! I know what you are thinking, but at least treat Lord Leo, a candidate for our vow, with proper respect!

“Hah! Lord Leo? You disappoint me! Spirit of Radiance! While I never favored you, I valued and recognized your dignified spirit! How can a Great Spirit who has lived thousands of years address a mere human as ‘Lord’?”

Ista flared her eyes.

“The Vow Keeper of a Great Spirit is one who uplifts and serves the Great Spirit! Hence, a subordinate! And now this subordinate is being addressed with deference! The Spirit of the Abyss is likely the same! You disgrace the Great Spirits!”

-You… sorry excuse for a being. You have no idea what’s going on, do you?

Kiran muttered, looking utterly baffled.

Even now, Ista was glaring at Leo with disdain, as if she could not tolerate the existence of Leo, who came with contracts from not only the Great Spirit but also three of the legendary familiars.

‘Ordinarily, I would’ve dealt with such nonsense myself.’

Leo glanced at Elshi.

It reminded him of the frosty Shadow Spirit they met for the first time, and he sighed.

‘Looks like Elshi will act before I have to.’

“I will teach you how a Great Spirit should treat their Vow Keeper.”

Click!

Ista smirked and snapped her fingers.

Then a figure emerged from behind the throne: Celia.

Elshi’s eyes narrowed sharply upon seeing Celia.

-Leo.

“Yes, no consciousness.”

The beautiful Celia in a luxurious red dress, wielding not her usual Flame Storm but an elegant crimson longsword, appeared to be unconscious.

“That sword and dress… could they belong to a top-tier spirit of fire?”

Celia’s red eyes gleamed.

“Spirit Armored. Forced possession, perhaps?”

“Hmm? Truly impressive. You have made two vows with Great Spirits, yet you see beyond that.”

Ista smirked.

“I heard you studied magical arrays. Your handling of them is quite unique.”

Watching this, Rael’s expression turned utterly dumbfounded.

-Ista! Even for you, this is excessive! To use your subordinate spirit to forcibly possess and strip away their consciousness with Spirit Armored! This is an outrage against a Vow Keeper! Moreover, Celia Zerdinger lacks the qualities of a Spirit Master! Naturally, it would burden her body!

“Hmph. I know Tengkon’s bloodline best. Though Celia Zerdinger may lack the qualities of a Spirit Master, her wave resonates well with the Spirit of Flame!”

Ista’s eyes glimmered.

“I’ve spent decades thinking about it since I lost my precious Vow Keeper! This must not be repeated! My Vow Keeper must live and d*e according to my will!”

-You… no… you.

At that moment, Elshi’s voice became icy cold.

Leo smiled upon hearing the tone of her voice.

‘Completely lost it.’

It was exactly the same as 5000 years ago when she sincerely fought with all her fury.

Leo stepped away slightly from Elshi.

Ista’s current actions were entirely unacceptable to Elshi.

During the Era of Catastrophe, Elshi had long waited for her Vow Keeper.

A Vow Keeper who would save the world with her.

But on the other hand, she also wondered.

Could she find a Vow Keeper in such a hopeless era?

It was different from the present day, where vows could be rejected if the spirit didn’t like them.

Ista, treating her Vow Keeper as an object, was an absolutely unacceptable category for Elshi.

“You lower Spirit of Darkness, stop spouting off—!”

As Ista began speaking with evident irritation, the shadows around the throne surged suddenly.

Kuwagagagagang! Kwang! Kuwagagang!

The shadows crashed the place where Ista had been sitting.

“Leo.”

Leo glanced to his side.

There stood a beautiful woman with ebony hair, gazing at Leo.

Elshi’s true form.

“Please leave that Spirit to me.”

Leo nodded at Elshi’s words.

Tubuk-Tubuk-

Elshi walked toward the place where the throne once stood.

There was a huge crater at that spot.

Elshi descended into the crater with a blank expression.

Seeing this, Kiran muttered:

-I will not defy Elshi again.

Piyak! Piyak!

Fiora nodded as she responded.

-Lord… Will Miss Elshi be alright?

Looking worried, Arti spoke.

Rael also hurriedly said:

-Lord Leo! Fighting here is too disadvantageous for Mistress Elshi!

This was Ista’s territory.

Even if two Great Spirits of equal power fought, fighting in another Great Spirit’s territory was exceedingly dangerous.

Fighting here meant that not only would the Spirit of Purification be her opponent, but also all the spirits of fire existing here would be her enemies.

If it were Rael, the situation might have been slightly better than Elshi’s.

Though Rael wasn’t on the same level as Ista, she also commanded a great number of subordinate spirits.

However, Elshi was thoroughly alone.

Hearing Arti and Rael’s words, Leo looked at Celia approaching him.

“She’ll be fine.”

Silrr-!

Leo drew his sword.

“This guy is a little special.”

-What?

Leo gave a bitter smile.

Elshi, the Shadow Spirit acknowledged by Lissinas as the strongest spirit.

‘It wasn’t just my lack of ability until now. Perhaps even Elshi herself doesn’t know the full extent of her power. The true strength that single-handedly wiped out the army of the Demon King, once considered the strongest corps.’

Elshi felt her consciousness fading.

‘Uh oh? Did I fall down?’

As she panicked, Elshi recalled what happened moments ago.

‘Ah… I fought against the Spirit of Purification.’

It seemed like she lost consciousness after receiving a powerful attack.

‘I have to get up.’

Elshi tried to rise but couldn’t control her body.

As she frowned, someone spoke:

“You’re a special spirit, Elshi.”

A voice she recognized vaguely.

Elshi turned her head toward the sound.

There, a beautiful woman with black hair was smiling down at Elshi.

‘I know this person…’

‘The King of Wisdom…?’

Elshi approached by Lissinas sat down squatting.

“The shadow is another me.”

The shadow dragon before her understood the darkness as well as the Spirit of Darkness.

“And there is no being in this world without a shadow.”

Lissinas smiled gently.

“So use that power to help Kyle.”

‘…This dialogue… somewhere…?’

Elshi’s eyes opened wide.

She had never had such a conversation with Lissinas.

In fact, she had never even met the real Lissinas.

But… it felt like it was lingering in her memory.

Somewhere, she had exchanged this line of dialogue.

‘Ah…’

Elshi’s widened eyes grew even larger.

‘Memories… from another version of me?’

Dobsek!

Someone grabbed a strand of Elshi’s hair.

The top-tier spirit of fire who had spoken to Elshi asked:

-Will we truly execute this? Aren’t we possibly creating an enemy in Leo Flove?

“Hmph. That’s none of my concern.”

-Still… so self-willed, as always. When will you grow up?

“Who are you calling a brat now, Alisia!”

-Nothing at all.

As Alisia, the chief spirit of fire, sighed at her immature master’s actions and raised her hand, a gentle voice called out.

“Your name is Alisia, correct?”

Turning her head to the gentle voice, Alisia made eye contact with Elshi and instantly felt something heavy settle in her.

Elshi smiled warmly and said:

“Alisia.”

-Yes?

“Would you like to enter my shadow?”

Alisia’s crimson eyes, which met Elshi’s dark ones, momentarily turned black.