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Chapter 197: Spirit World (1)

For a moment, such doubts crossed her mind, but Karin shook her head.

Dragons are mighty beings.

Each one is akin to a natural disaster, and even as a hero, she could not guarantee victory against them.

They were not like bears to be hunted for their hearts or anything of that sort.

‘...It can\'t be. No way.’

She tried to believe that as she changed the subject.

“Then let’s get ready. We should be done by tomorrow. Please wait for us, Arkamis. You will assist me.”

“Understood.”

“Thank you. Truly, thank you.”

Ketal smiled brightly.

His face was filled with anticipation.

* * *

And at that time.

While Ketal was eagerly looking forward to moving to the Spirit World, the followers of Federica arrived at the coastal city where Ketal had previously been.

“This is the place where the Barbarian arrived.”

Having failed to gather information at the holy site of Kalosia, they had somehow managed to trace Ketal’s movements to this location.

Though they had succeeded, it was evident that they had gone through a lot of hardship, as they looked quite shabby.

Their clothes were covered in dust, and their faces were smeared with grime.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

At the words of the Inquisitor, Liltara, the holy knights nodded.

They entered the coastal city, revealed their identities, and met with the lord of the city.

The city lord, sweating profusely, received Liltara.

‘Oh no, why are followers of Federica here!’

Their church was far from here.

He couldn’t understand why they had come.

His body trembled more than it did when he had faced Ketal’s group.

It was inevitable.

The Federica Church was despised by everyone.

Unlike the Church of Kalosia, which was shunned for past deeds, Federica was actively hated in the present.

Many lands had been destroyed under their tyranny.

They inflicted real damage, so it was only natural to fear them.

“Nice to meet you, Lord.”

“Yes, yes….”

Liltara, who was seated, greeted politely.

Her appearance was extremely dirty.

Her clothes were covered in dust, her face had dark spots, and her hair was rough as if she hadn\'t washed it.

She looked too shabby to be a noble Inquisitor.

The lord spoke cautiously.

“Haven\'t you been visited by bath attendants?”

Since he had to deal with a follower of God, he had already sent attendants ahead.

At the lord\'s words, Liltara\'s face twisted.

“Did you say attendants?”

“…Ah. No! I misspoke! I apologize!”

The lord’s face turned pale for a moment.

He repeatedly apologized as if sending bath attendants to Liltara was a problem.

Indeed, it was an issue.

He had effectively denied the values of Federica.

Liltara looked at the lord disapprovingly.

“…Please be careful.”

“Yes, yes….”

“The land here is very prosperous. The faces of the people are lively and clean.”

The Inquisitor of the Sun God, Aquaz, admired the appearance of the city with warm eyes.

But Liltara\'s face was very cold.

She looked at the lord.

His body was three times larger than hers.

The emotion of loathing was evident in his eyes.

“The appearance of this city is very displeasing. To possess such prosperity without knowing the great values. I would like to return it to the proper state immediately.”

At those words, the lord’s heart stopped for a moment.

“But… that is not the purpose of my visit, so I will not interfere.”

“Thank you….”

The lord barely let out a breath.

It was very hard on his heart.

Liltara spoke.

“The purpose of my visit is simple. I heard that a Barbarian visited this place.”

“Oh. How did you know?”

“You do not need to know that.”

Liltara spoke coldly.

There was no reason to be kind to the lord of a small land, unlike a king or saint.

The lord quickly answered.

“The Barbarian party headed to the city of mermaids.”

“City of mermaids?”

“There is a city of mermaids near here. They went there.”

“Is that so… Then, could you provide us with a boat?”

“Of course. Please feel free to ask.”

“Thank you for your consideration.”

“Haha.”

‘Consideration, my foot.’

She would cause trouble if he didn’t provide it.

The lord cursed inwardly but did not make the foolish mistake of saying it out loud.

Having achieved her goal, Liltara asked one last question.

“What kind of atrocities did the Barbarian commit here?”

They were pursuing the Barbarian according to the will of God.

It meant that the great god had designated the Barbarian as their enemy.

In other words, the Barbarian was evil.

Until now, they hadn’t been able to gather any cooperation, so they didn’t know what kind of evil the Barbarian had committed, but now they could find out.

The lord stammered as he answered.

Upon hearing his answer, Liltara\'s expression hardened.

“…You say he helped you? He didn’t destroy the land or commit any atrocities?”

“No. He was very gentlemanly… He even headed to the mermaid city to help us.”

The sea was blocked due to the presence of a demonic creature.

Although they had stored provisions, they would be in danger if more time passed.

The Barbarian went to the sea to help them.

Liltara had a bewildered look.

“What, what?”

“Seeing as the mermaids reappeared afterwards, I think he resolved the issue well. He’s someone we are grateful towards.”

“…You’re saying that he helped you?”

“Yes. That’s correct….”

The lord’s face suggested he didn’t see any problem.

Liltara looked puzzled.

* * *

The next day.

Everything was ready.

At the top of the World Tree, there was a strange spatial distortion.

Ketal stood in front of it.

“Are you ready?”

“Absolutely.”

Ketal replied with a face full of anticipation.

Karin explained.

“With the amount of mystic energy you have, you should be able to stay there for about thirty minutes.”

“Thirty minutes, huh. Got it. How do I make a contract with a spirit?”

“There are many spirits in the Spirit World. You need to wander around and find one. Then… you’ll probably figure it out naturally.”

Karin’s tone was quite peculiar.

However, the excited Ketal didn’t notice at all.

Karin lightly waved her hand.

The wind gathered and twisted, expanding the distortion.

Whirrrrr!

And the space opened.

Beyond the distortion, a dimension entirely different from the intermediary world was visible.

“The connection won’t last long, so you’ll need to move quickly. You’ll return naturally when it’s time.”

“Thank you.”

Ketal smiled and stepped into the passage.

He set foot in the Spirit World.

Immediately, a very strange sensation enveloped Ketal.

It felt as if the very world itself was separate.

The wind wasn’t wind, and the air wasn’t air.

Even the moisture in the atmosphere felt alien as it touched his cheeks.

It felt like he was on another planet.

Which, in a sense, was true.

He was in the Spirit World, not the intermediary world.

“Haha, hahaha.”

Laughter burst out naturally.

His eyes glimmered with joy.

He was in the Spirit World.

* * *

‘To think I’d ever come to a place like this.’

To directly enter the dimension of spirits.

It wasn’t even on his bucket list because he never imagined it could be possible.

That made the emotion even greater.

It felt like he might cry.

Ketal eagerly looked around.

The Spirit World was essentially structured like a vast plain.

The difference from the ground was that its colors were extremely diverse.

The space itself was so tinged with rainbow colors that it felt dizzying.

It felt like being in the middle of a fantasy, making Ketal very happy.

Ketal, who had been dazedly looking around the Spirit World for a moment, quickly came to his senses.

‘No.’

He came here to make a contract with a spirit.

With only thirty minutes, he didn’t have time for leisurely sightseeing.

He had to move immediately.

Feeling a bit disappointed, Ketal quickly started moving.

As he expanded his senses and wandered around, he soon found clustered natural energies.

They were probably spirits.

As Ketal approached, he saw spirits frolicking around.

“Oooh….”

Blue and green spirits were playing in the Spirit World.

It was like a painting.

Ketal cautiously approached.

‘Karin said I would know if I met them.’

Apparently, he needed to approach and converse to build familiarity.

As Ketal approached a certain distance, the spirits noticed his presence.

Ketal smiled and greeted them.

“Hello.”

[…!]

The spirits were startled.

They quickly ran away.

Their speed was incomparable to when they had been playing.

In an instant, Ketal was left alone.

“…Um?”

‘What\'s going on?’

They\'re running away?

Ketal thought as he watched their retreating figures for a moment.

‘…Instead of having a conversation, should I chase and catch them?’

Was it a kind of hide-and-seek concept?

Did he need to prove his strength?

That was also a possibility.

Ketal moved.

He spotted a new group of spirits.

One spirit caught Ketal\'s eye.

It was composed of blue water, like a water spirit.

Its appearance, resembling a slime, was incredibly cute.

Ketal targeted the slime spirit and dashed towards it.

In an instant, his body accelerated.

“I got you!”

Ketal caught the slime spirit.

Startled spirits screamed and fled in panic, but Ketal didn\'t pay attention and shouted out.

“Nice to meet you!”

[…!]

“I am Ketal! What is your name? I hope you\'ll make a contract with me!”

[!!!!!!!]

The slime spirit was terrified.

It was as if it couldn\'t breathe.

It shook violently and tried to escape from Ketal.

[Sc-c-creeeech!]

And finally, as if unable to bear it any longer, its body burst and dispersed back into nature.

It had returned to being a part of nature and fled.

“…Hmm.”

Ketal put his hand down with a troubled face.

* * *

While Ketal was in the Spirit World, Karin and Arkamis had a conversation.

“…How do you think it will turn out?”

“It might not be easy.”

Karin looked doubtful that Ketal would fail to make a spirit contract.

“Of course, he managed to assert his presence, but… that\'s all.”

It was merely asserting his presence.

Ketal\'s stature as a being hadn\'t changed.

Spirits are beings of nature.

They are more sensitive to such stature than anyone else.

It wasn\'t that ordinary spirits would flee upon sensing Ketal\'s presence, but they would certainly feel like they encountered a monster when they got close to him.

The problem was that Ketal\'s stature was too high and formidable to contract with ordinary spirits.

Arkamis groaned.

“Ugh. As expected?”

“Unless he encounters a spirit that can withstand Ketal\'s stature... it\'ll be tough in such a vast Spirit World.”

“Ugh… Did I get my hopes up for nothing?”

Arkamis began to worry about how to comfort Ketal when he returned.

And around that time, Ketal began to realize that perhaps his very existence was the problem.

‘What is this?’

Was he unable to make a contract with a spirit?

He felt incredibly despondent.

It was when Ketal lowered his head and stopped moving.

A formidable flame approached Ketal.

“Hm?”

It had a power unlike that of ordinary spirits.

Its presence alone was enough to change the surrounding environment.

[Who dares invade the Spirit World!]

It shouted loudly.

Its command shook the Spirit World.

Horns burning with flames were visible.

Ketal made a delighted expression.

“Oh! Aren\'t you Piego! I didn\'t expect to see you again here!”

[…!]

The highest-level fire spirit approached with a roar.

Piego turned around in fright.