Terminally-Ill Genius Dark Knight

Chapter 167: The Fire Spirit’s Pendant [2]

You use [The Fire Spririt’s Pendant].

[Your mana is at the advanced level! You can contract with an intermediate fire spirit, Salamander.]

“I refuse.”

[If you summon a higher spirit, your life force will be drained]

[Do you still want to summon a higher spirit?]

“Yeah.”

Things like lifespan don’t matter right now. The most important thing now is getting through this situation.

As I mentioned before, there are two reasons why I haven’t used [The Fire Spirit’s Pendant] until now. The first reason was that I’d have to reveal to Eleanor that I’m Shane and disclose my position. I thought that would cause a lot of annoying issues later, so honestly, I didn’t think it was a wise judgment.

I believed it was better to delay it as long as possible. But, you might ask, wouldn’t it be better to use it quickly if I could become stronger? The second reason answers that.

The stronger my mana, the better hardware I have, the higher spirit I can summon.

My mana right now is still below 15. So the most I could summon is an intermediate spirit like Salamander. Though they are strong, I didn’t want to waste such a precious artifact on contracting with a spirit like that. I needed a bigger, more certain opportunity.

[Summoning a higher spirit…]

“I refuse. Bring me the Spirit King.”

That moment is now. Even if I have to trade my lifespan, I must obtain it. The Fire Spirit King has enough power to defeat a dragon.

[The Dragon Heart is reacting!]

[The Dragon Heart is pulsing rapidly!]

[The fire spirit you can contract with is being adjusted.]

.

.

.

[You can now contract with the Fire Spirit King, ‘Ifrit’]

[Caution! Player must offer a large amount of their lifespan to make the contract possible.]

[Caution! Player may die.]

[Do you still wish to proceed with the contract?]

“Yeah.”

The moment I spoke. Everything around me, which had been white, suddenly turned red, and then, like a furnace, intense heat surged up. Is this what a blacksmith’s forge feels like?

At that moment, I looked up at the giant who’s looking at me. Then, it shrank and soon transformed into a beautiful woman. Before I realize, she’s already right in front of me and was gazing at me intently. Even though her entire body was fire, I didn’t feel any heat at all.

Ifrit’s small lips opened.

[You dare to try and contract with me, the Spirit King? You might have to give me everything you have. Still, want to make the contract?]

“No, I know it’s the other way around. You’re the one who wants me.”

The words flowed naturally from my mouth. I thought back to Ifrit’s traits from Inner Lunatic. I’m the one with enough mana to summon the Ice Dragon. I have talent, and thanks to Astrid’s training, my resistance to fire is cannot be compared as it was before. And I’m still young. I’ve got plenty of room to grow.

Ifrit naturally likes contractors like this. According to some legends, she enjoys punishing demons, and she enjoy facing them with Solomon too.

My goal. To wipe out the 72 demons, matches her objective perfectly.

[How much are you willing to give me?]

“Ten days.”

[That’s not enough.]

“I’ll give you all leaving just ten days.”

Her pupils narrowed slightly. I smiled faintly as I looked at it.

“Make the contract with me.”

[Hmmm… well, alright. It’s been a while since I’ve come across someone interesting. My little boy, what’s your name?]

“Nox von Reinhaver.”

I can’t help but smile.

Yes, this is mine.

Nox von Reinhaver. This name was mine from the beginning. I only just realized it recently, but the fact that it’s truly mine gives me more strength to survive in this world.

Because I can live as myself. Because I am fully me.

“Let’s begin.”

After I spoke calmly, I looked at her. Then, after fully opening my lower dantian, I forcefully twisted the way for mana and my rough breathing. Carefully, but surely.

Pzzzt…!

With the noise of crackling currents, a small smile formed on my lips. Even though I forcibly broke through the path, the circulation of magic soon stabilized, and I realized I could keep going. There’s still too much to do to stop here.

‘I can do it.’

I repeated the words to myself. Though it was sudden, but this was all part of the plan. I was using the skill correction of Dragon’s Breath to summon a higher spirit, the strongest one. Ifrit, the Spirit King. It might seem a bit early for this, but..

‘there’s no reason to be surprised.’

A battle where I have to risk everything? Wasn’t it something that happened all the time?

From now is the start of part 2.

A deep sense of exhaustion hit me.

— Player’s lifespan has been greatly reduced! — Warning! The player’s remaining lifespan is around 10 days!

——————————————————

Meanwhile, Rick was clicking his tongue, thinking about Aleph, who suddenly cut off all contact. He had been so full of himself, bragging about infiltrating Eldain and climbing to the top. In the end, he must have messed up and either got killed or captured by them.

“Pathetic guy.”

It was frustrating. I’d warned him so many times not to act recklessly. What did he think of my advice? It’s hilarious how he got so cocky just because he stood out a little among the humans.

In this regard, the eldest of the Reinhaver family is at least a bit better. His skills aren’t that great yet, but his loyalty is outstanding. The same goes for his mother’s family, the Aurels. It’s clear they’ll be helpful in the future.

Anyway, Rick stood in front of the next seal. He took on a demonic human form and wore a euphoric expression, unable to contain his excitement. The reason was simple. The demon he was about to revive was a full-pledged Duke.

Namely, a demon with the appearance of a human and unicorn, Amdusias. He is known for using sonic attacks and was immense due to that artistic skill even among the 72 demons. Rick was excited he could meet such a powerful being.

‘More than anything, this time, the seal was stable. He must have almost fully recovered his power.’

If that’s the case, maybe I can finally take down Nox, who’s always interfering with me, and even Noah von Trinity. Maybe I can deal with that brazen chick Luna, too… If it happens, the manifestation of the demon realm will be even closer.

‘The first ArchDuke Baal…I need to gather his fragments soon’

Baal, the ruler of hell and the first-ranked demon among the 72 demons. To revive him, I need to retrieve the nine souls scattered during the Eastern War. For that to happen, the other dukes need to wake up quickly.

Crack!

While thinking these thoughts. With a sound like something splitting apart, a being in human form but with black horns on its forehead broke the seal stone and slowly walked out.

[Haa… so you’re the one who woke me?]

“Yes, Duke. It’s an honor to meet you, Lord Amdusias.”

[Yeah… You’re quite useful, huh. So, where is ArchDuke Baal? And Lord Agares too?]

“I’m sorry. We haven’t gathered all the fragments yet, so it will take a long time to revive ArchDuke Baal. As for Lord Agares, we haven’t located him yet. He tends to disappear suddenly…”

[Indeed. Anyway, I suppose our purpose hasn’t changed.]

“Exactly.”

Rick spoke with renewed enthusiasm. “The revival of Lord Baal and establishing the demon realm on Earth, turning the human world into hell. That’s the purpose of demons and demonic humans.”

Hearing this, Amdusias burst into loud laughter. It was far more interesting than being sealed away in boredom.

Pleasure. That’s what filled him with strong excitement. Truly, a demon’s way of thinking.

——————————————————

Ifrit, the Spirit King. In Inner Lunatic, people said this about that existence.

‘Is Ifrit… really possible to summon?’

The Spirit Kings were beings you could rarely find even on the bulletin board. In the first place, the items needed to contract with them were extremely precious. If Eleanor hadn’t handed this to Shane, I wouldn’t have even dared to try.

On top of that, I was lucky that Ifrit’s fire element was a counter to the Ice Dragon’s ice attribute. Even though I still don’t have enough mana to properly communicate with Ifrit, I can use part of that power right now.

The Ice Dragon, hit by my sword, let out a roar, staring at its torn wing. Then, bloodshot eyes rolled in its long, vertical pupils.

[How can a kid like you have such a power?]

“I don’t get how can a mere lizard have such a power.”

I responded politely. This guy’s got quite the filthy mouth.

[How dare you! I won’t let you die peacefully…!]

“I know. I never expected you would.”

If there’s a hell, I can’t say anything if I ended up there. Even if this is a harsh world, I’ve killed someone. I’m standing here by stepping over others. Maybe there are people who died due to my butterfly effect.

But so what?

I’m just another person struggling to survive. Protagonist? Extra?

Now that I’ve realized this place is my reality, does such a thing even matter?

‘Absolutely not’.

So from now on, I’ll do things my way. I’m not going to try too hard to stick to the original while preventing something, and I won’t try to escape the situation either. I’ll just protect everything that enters my circle. The circle that just keep getting bigger, and for me to be able to fully embrace it.

“I need to get stronger. And you’ll be the stepping stone for that.”

[This bastard…!]

The Ice Dragon opened its mouth wide as if thinking it was foolish as I chose to fight in the wide-open field. From its gaping maw, white mana began gathering. Its his behavior pattern right before unleashing dragon’s breath. But I was prepared too.

Through [Mana Substitution], I quickly transferred mana to my blade. It then transformed into flames once again, and my movements became as swift as light. One step. Though it’s only a single movement, if I keep repeating it…

I can reach an even higher realm.

[You rat!]

Boom! With a thud, the Ice Dragon stomped the ground, causing huge ice chunks to rise up. But I smoothly sliced through them with my sword and pressed forward.

Then, When I finally reached this damn beast, right in front of the Ice dragon eyes. the Ice Dragon burst into laughter while looking at me.

[Have you gone mad? Do you really think you can survive a dragon’s breath?]

“I wonder how much more my lifespan will increase this time.”

Without realizing it, I muttered those words as I compressed my mana to the limit. I wrapped my sword with layers of flame’s attribute mana and aimed directly at the enemy. The sword returned to my chest, perfectly poised to strike. Stormbringer consumed both my blood and mana to its fullest.

[Warning! Player’s lifespan is less than 10 days!]

[If your lifespan falls below 10 days, severe penalties will apply!]

I get it. Now back off. I’m busy here.

[What…! How could such a power…]

“How can a human have it?”

I smirked.

“Why don’t you ask the god when you die? It’s because you’re weak.”

With that, I swung my sword. Once again, the light flared—the third form. Moonlight Sword.

Moon Split.

Even without that, this technique already surpasses Dark’s family sword in sheer destructive power, but now with fire, the impact was devastating. Its destructive power is at a level that even one of the 72 demons would have a hard time handling. [Moon Split] cut through the raging blizzard and the darkened night sky.

Shhh—!

The flames dug into the Ice Dragon’s torn skin, roaring with intensity.

That was The Ice Dragon’s final words, coming from intense pain. Then, I could hear a clear voice.

[You have successfully slain your first dragon!]

[You have earned the title ‘Dragon Slayer’!]

[You’ve achieved an impossible feat]

[Mana stat permanently increased by +0.5!]

[Due to the effect of the ‘Ring of Black Flame’, your lifespan has increased by 170 days]

[You’ve obtained dragon material items!]

“Haa…”

I let out a deep sigh and realized…

Main Episode Chapter 3. It’s not over yet, but I’ve passed the hardest part. From here on, I won’t delay it anymore. I’ll bring this episode to its conclusion, just like I did back in Chaders.