【41】40
Chen Xia and Eliza widened their eyes.
"That's strange. I've never heard of such a monster before."
"You're right. There are no wyvern-type monsters."
Eliza chimed in at Warden's words.
"It is a monster. A monster that was exterminated by the great heroes during the Age of Catastrophe. I don't know why it has appeared in this era."
Whoosh!
Paphnir breathed out a blast.
Leo, who easily dodged the attack, said,
"And it doesn't look normal, does it?"
"Indeed... It seems similar to the side effects when contracting with a monster."
Eliza stroked her chin.
"Then we need a strategy. I know the most about dual summons among us."
Eliza puffed out her chest and said,
"Are you going to follow my orders?"
"I didn't intend to say it that way, but in essence, it's similar."
"Ha, that's a joke."
Warden laughed coldly and urged his griffin to charge at Liu alone.
Whoosh! Bang!
A fierce explosion attack using spirits erupted.
Eliza clicked her tongue at the sight.
"Sure enough, that guy doesn't listen. At least the two of you should follow my instructions."
Chen Xia scratched her cheek.
"I agree that Miss Eliza knows the most about summons among us. But since Young Master Leo seems to know a lot about this monster, I think we should follow his instructions."
"Hmph, even if this guy knows about monsters, I can give better instructions..."
"There's no point in arguing. In this state, coordination won't work properly."
Leo grabbed the reins of his griffin.
"Just adapt to the situation and coordinate."
"Hold on! Are you going to charge recklessly? As I thought, I can't trust you with the command! I, the direct descendant of the Hergen family..."
Whoosh!
Before Eliza could finish her sentence, Leo charged at Paphnir.
Chen Xia followed with an apologetic smile and charged as well.
Eliza, left alone, trembled with anger.
"I am the direct descendant of the Hergen family! Don't ignore my words!"
With a glare, Eliza urged her griffin to charge.
Whoosh! Bang!
A powerful explosion enveloped Paphnir.
As the smoke cleared, Paphnir appeared unharmed.
"Haha... Hahahaha! As expected! My summon is amazing!"
Liu, who had turned pale, burst into a manic laugh.
"This! With this, I can aim for first place in summoning... No! I can aim to represent the grade! Yes! I'm the best! I've always been the best! There's no way I'm not the best!"
Liu clenched his fists and burst into a deranged laugh. Warden clicked his tongue.
"Definitely gone off the deep end."
"Looks like he's struggling, doesn't he?"
Warden snorted at Leo's words, who had flown over.
Rumble!
Behind Warden, a massive clump of earth began to form.
Leo's eyes widened.
'Golem magic formula?'
A giant artificial figure created by magic.
By combining the formula with earth spirits, he created a massive spirit golem.
'This guy is a monster too.'
While Leo was marveling,
Liu's face turned pale at the sight of the massive earth golem.
Whoosh!
With a deafening sound, the earth golem swung its arm.
"Get out of the way! Get out of the way!"
Liu, pale with fear, issued an urgent command at the terrifying mass attack.
However, Paphnir ignored Liu's command.
Roar!
Instead, it let out a fierce roar.
Just before the earth golem's arm struck Paphnir, it scattered and fell to the ground.
Warden's eyes twitched.
"Roar?"
A technique that emits a powerful aura, momentarily disrupting the flow of mana.
Instantly, the griffins trembled with fear.
'That Paphnir is a hatchling. Roar is a technique that can only be used by adults!'
Leo frowned.
'Even if Liu's ability as a summoner brought out its latent abilities, his skills are terrible. What's going on?'
Chirp! Chirp!
At that moment, Fiore, who was in Leo's inner pocket, chirped irritably.
Grr!
Suddenly, Paphnir's fierce eyes turned toward Leo.
Kiaaaah!
It opened its mouth wide and charged at Leo.
Leo calmed the trembling griffin and flew into the sky.
Warden caused a spirit explosion.
Bang! Bang!
Despite being hit directly by the explosion, Paphnir did not change its target.
It chased Leo as if he were an enemy.
'Does it sense the phoenix's aura?'
Phoenixes and monsters have opposing attributes.
Paphnir showed strong hostility due to this power.
"Leo Flaubert! Be prepared!"
'The summoner's thoughts are also influencing it.'
Leo glanced back.
It was closing the distance at an incredible speed.
'If it targets me alone, I might be able to end this quickly.'
Leo glanced at the irritated Fiore in his arms and tightened his grip on the griffin's reins.
Flap!
Kiaaaah!
The griffin roared and flapped its wings powerfully, accelerating.
Kiaaaah!
Paphnir roared and pursued Leo.
"Hold on! Young Master Leo! If you go too far alone..."
"What kind of summon's blessing did you receive? And why are you going alone? We need to fight together!"
Chen Xia and Eliza were flustered.
Leo and Liu disappeared from sight at an incredible speed.
***
-Oh! What's going on? Liu! He suddenly violated the rules...
-Hey! Idiot! Is now the time to commentate?
Yura, who ran to the flustered commentator Roon, kicked his butt and snatched the microphone.
-Summoning assistants! Prepare flying summons immediately! It's an emergency! The match is suspended!
She shouted.
Amid the murmuring students, the professors gathered around Yura.
"What's going on, Yura?"
Sedgen narrowed his brows and asked, and Yura said urgently,
"I don't know what happened, but Sen Liu is definitely contracted with a monster!"
"What?"
The professors' expressions changed instantly.
"Isn't that strange? Sen Liu is not the type to cause such an incident!"
Yura took out a crystal ball from her pocket.
The audience's magic screen was off, but the magic crystal ball in Yura's hand continued to broadcast the image.
The 3rd class teacher said seriously,
"Indeed, he did show signs of inferiority as the semester progressed... But that's the same for other students. It wasn't that serious."
Lumern freshmen often feel inferior at the beginning of the semester.
They were always the best when they were young, but in Lumern, they inevitably face students who are better than them.
Some students acknowledge this and work hard, while others deny it and grind their teeth.
There are various types of students, and Sen Liu belonged to the latter.
However, he was not the type to cause such an incident as Yura suggested.
"Anger management issues, loss of rationality, etc. The actions of Liu are typical of someone who has contracted with a monster."
The professors' expressions hardened.
"But a monster that can influence a summoner to this extent would be a high-level monster, wouldn't it?"
At Halind's question, Sera, who was staring at the screen, said cautiously,
"Could the mutated wyvern that Liu is riding be a monster?"
"..."
"..."
The professors were taken aback.
"Surely...?"
"Then could it be an unknown new species of monster?"
Seeing the shaken professors, Yura said,
"First, we need to stop Liu..."
At that moment, Liu began to chase Leo in the screen.
"Hold on! Hey! Leo! It's dangerous to go alone! Quickly, switch the screen!"
Seeing Leo disappear at an incredible speed, Yura panicked.
A magic professor, flustered, took the crystal ball from Yura and manipulated it.
"It seems they've gone beyond the range of the magic!"
"Aaaaah! Really!"
Yura summoned a Black Wyvern with her mana.
"Assistants! Let's go! Find Leo and Liu immediately!"
"Yes!"
***
Leo flew at an incredible speed, sharpening his senses.
'Out of the range of the magic screen.'
It wasn't a coincidence that he was out of the range of the magic screen.
It was a deliberate move by Leo.
"Fiore."
Chirp?
"It's time to shine."
Leo, who took out his summoner, smiled and simultaneously raised his aura and mana.
Whoosh!
Fiore's feathers began to burn.
Whoosh!
The feathers on Fiore, who was sitting on Leo's palm, stood up one by one.
Fiore, bewildered by the changes in her body, spread her wings and looked around.
Soon, Fiore's body began to swell.
Whoosh!
Fiore's feathers burned more fiercely and grew to the size of Leo's torso.
"Now you look more like a phoenix."
At Leo's words, Fiore raised her head and sat elegantly on Leo's arm.
Fiore had shed her small, red chick-like appearance and transformed into a beautiful firebird.
Although not yet an adult phoenix, she emitted a powerful aura that was incomparable to her previous state.
Kiaah?
Paphnir, who had been showing hostility, also looked bewildered.
"Fly!"
At Leo's command, Fiore flapped her wings and soared into the sky