Chapter 48

Chapter 48

Yoon Se-in exchanged a look with Seo Hyun-woo and immediately issued a command to her spirit.

Seo Hyun-woo likely wanted information about the Chaos Spirit as well.

And since damage to a spirit didn't harm the summoner, there was nothing holding them back.

'Shall I target the summoning cancellation and attack on that basis?'

'That should be enough. I can't exactly demolish the hotel. And make sure those two don't get caught in it. Can you handle that?'

'I shall obey your command, Summoner.'

The Five-Color Spirit drew mana from Yoon Se-in and pressed the attack in rapid succession.

With every beat of its five-colored wings, attributes of various hues burst forth one after another.

Flame, ice, wind, earth, lightning.

True to the title of Spirit King of Five Colors, it could wield all five attributes.

'Awakened who can command more than one spirit aren't that common. In Yoon Se-in's case, she only has one spirit, but that spirit can handle every attribute.'

Seo Hyun-woo swiftly moved out of the attack radius and watched the two spirits clash.

Yoon Se-in had become a Setinos Hunter with that single spirit alone.

Moreover, the Five-Color Spirit had a strong synchronization rate with its summoner, Yoon Se-in, which meant its mana transfer efficiency and loyalty were both remarkably high.

"You should stay behind me, President."

Baek Seo-yeon stood in front of Seo Hyun-woo with silver-white currents condensed in both hands.

Having copied the ability and summoned a spirit, Seo Hyun-woo was currently completely defenseless.

In this situation, she was the only one who could protect him.

"I appreciate the concern. Right about now, couldn't you beat me?"

"Are you joking even at a time like this? I would never stoop to something that cowardly."

Baek Seo-yeon kept a solemn expression as she watched the battle unfold.

For now, the Five-Color Spirit appeared to have the upper hand, but there was no telling what might happen next.

Above all, the Chaos Spirit possessed an attribute no one had ever seen before, and its behavior defied the very concept of what a spirit should be—making it considerably dangerous.

'......The Chaos Spirit's loyalty is far too low, and it doesn't treat the president as its summoner. In the worst case, it might try to attack him.'

Baek Seo-yeon had already classified the Chaos Spirit as an enemy.

She merely speculated that since Seo Hyun-woo had summoned it, he might have some degree of control.

But with a Setinos Hunter right beside them, any problems that arose could be dealt with on that end.

"Ugh, what a pain! You really want to fight me that badly?"

"You'd better try your hardest. This might be your last summoning."

"You're going to use a superior spirit like me once and throw me away? There's no way my summoner would do something that stupid."

The Chaos Spirit dodged every attack and answered with brazen confidence.

Hearing that, Seo Hyun-woo let out a hollow laugh and sent a private message to the Chaos Spirit.

The Chaos Spirit flinched and turned its head.

"Are you insane? Do you even know how good I am?"

"Good or not, that's none of my concern. No matter how high the specs, if it can't be used, it's garbage."

"That's ridicu—GAAAH!"

The Chaos Spirit was swept away by a barrage of rocks and collapsed on the spot.

Simultaneously, a fierce gale rose and slammed the Chaos Spirit into the floor.

Even these were attributes produced with restrained mana—a full-powered attack would have shaken the entire training room.

"Don't tell me you can't do anything at all? That'd be a bit disappointing. If this is all you've got, why bother calling yourself a Chaos Spirit or claiming to be superior?"

Yoon Se-in taunted the Chaos Spirit, her composure unwavering.

Up until it collapsed, the Chaos Spirit had done nothing but dodge weakened attribute attacks.

It hadn't even attempted a proper counterattack, spouting nonsense and looking down on Seo Hyun-woo all the while.

When would she ever again see a spirit this disloyal and this pathetic?

"......Oh, now you're really pissing me off. Should I just kill all of you? Is that what you want?"

HISSSS—, SHHH—.......

The Chaos Spirit generated a jet-black aura and slowly rose to its feet.

Yoon Se-in instinctively sensed the threat and let out a wry laugh.

Perhaps now, at last, she could have a real fight with the Chaos Spirit.

"Vice President, can you handle this? If you're uneasy, I can cancel the summoning right now."

"Do you think I'm weak, or are you genuinely worried about me?"

"I don't think you're weak. I just don't want a reliable, hardworking colleague to get hurt."

"Hah......"

Baek Seo-yeon sighed yet didn't retreat a single step.

No matter how strong the spirit Seo Hyun-woo had summoned might be, its limits were clear.

The Chaos Spirit had a low synchronization rate with Seo Hyun-woo, which meant it most likely couldn't exert its full power.

Depending on the situation, cutting off the mana supply or canceling the summoning would neutralize it in no time.

'Summoner, shall we continue as is?'

'The moment something feels off, end it immediately. Subdue it if you have to. The Student Council President will cancel the summoning on his own.'

Yoon Se-in didn't consider the Chaos Spirit to be overwhelmingly powerful.

It merely received mana from Seo Hyun-woo; its synchronization rate and loyalty were comparatively low.

If a spirit—essentially an extension of its summoner—couldn't breathe in tandem with the summoner, it was naturally going to be weak.

"I'll kill you first. I don't like you."

The Chaos Spirit created a black void and vanished without a trace.

Simultaneously, a black void opened right next to Yoon Se-in, and the Chaos Spirit emerged.

How it had done this was unclear, but its intent was to kill Yoon Se-in in one stroke and destroy the Five-Color Spirit along with her.

"How dare you!"

The Five-Color Spirit spoke for the first time, scattering red flames in every direction.

The Chaos Spirit flinched and hastily erased the black void.

"Summoner, I must destroy that creature immediately. I cannot forgive this."

"That might be a bit difficult. I think it'll dodge well enough."

Yoon Se-in had nearly been ambushed just moments ago, yet she showed not a hint of alarm.

She trusted her Five-Color Spirit implicitly and judged it fully capable of defending her.

More importantly, the Chaos Spirit had begun using techniques, which piqued her interest considerably.

"You...... I will kill you."

The Chaos Spirit murmured quietly and slowly clenched its right hand.

The training room floor turned entirely black, forming a swirling vortex.

Yoon Se-in's gaze turned cold as killing intent surfaced.

"There we go. That's more like it."

Before Yoon Se-in could even issue a command, the Five-Color Spirit moved first.

A fierce blaze surged forward as violent gales radiated in every direction.

The wind's force merged with the flames, creating an even more colossal inferno.

"......Do you need me to step in?"

"Not yet. I plan to finish this quickly."

The moment Yoon Se-in's words ended, the Five-Color Spirit beat its wings powerfully.

The massive inferno bore down on the Chaos Spirit.

The Chaos Spirit stood still for an instant before absorbing every last black vortex from the floor.

"That won't be enough."

FWOOSH—!

HISSS—, SNAP—!

The Chaos Spirit casually waved its hand at the massive inferno.

A black aura flowed from its hand, blocking the flames.

Not stopping there, it split the fire clean apart and began advancing toward the Five-Color Spirit.

'Evade! I will attempt to block it!'

The Five-Color Spirit instinctively recognized the black aura's power and raised a thick wall of earth.

But the black aura surged even more violently, tearing through the wall as well.

Yoon Se-in briefly envisioned the training room collapsing and sank into deliberation over what to do.

"I think you should stop here."

"You......!"

The Chaos Spirit ceased its attack and whipped its head toward Seo Hyun-woo.

But the black aura had already vanished, and the Chaos Spirit dissolved into nothing moments later.

Seo Hyun-woo let out a deep sigh and bowed to Yoon Se-in.

"I'm sorry. This may be unpleasant, but I felt I had to step in. I didn't want to cause harm to the Spirit King of Five Colors or anyone else."

"I'm the one who should be apologizing. My pointless curiosity almost caused an accident. I'm truly sorry to both of you."

Yoon Se-in apologized sincerely and reproached herself.

She had let her guard down somewhat because the spirit seemed so weak at first, but it had possessed destructive power beyond expectations.

If Seo Hyun-woo hadn't intervened, the damage wouldn't have ended with just the training room being destroyed.

"Does it not obey your commands at all?"

"It's not just that it doesn't follow orders. Its synchronization rate with me is low, its mana efficiency is terrible, and its personality is arrogant—it tries to do everything its own way. It seems to have some decent techniques, but if it won't listen, none of it matters."

Baek Seo-yeon agreed with those words while feeling a renewed admiration for Seo Hyun-woo.

He had not only transformed a copied ability but had also produced a spirit of an entirely new attribute.

The issue of it ignoring the summoner's commands was there, but the techniques it had used looked both rare and powerful.

"From what I can see, there are too many strange things about it. First, I've never heard of the chaos attribute. Second, for a first summon, its loyalty is abnormally low and it dismisses the summoner's commands. The most baffling part is that it showed interest in the Vice President."

Yoon Se-in gazed at Baek Seo-yeon, deep in thought.

Normally, when spirits were first summoned, they couldn't adapt to the environment immediately and tended to heavily depend on their summoner.

Yet the Chaos Spirit had barely spared Seo Hyun-woo a glance before immediately showing fondness for Baek Seo-yeon.

"I think that part might be connected to me. Spirits form their sense of self based on the summoner's psyche, don't they?"

"If we follow that logic, then you either trust the Vice President greatly or are fixated on her. You're not thinking anything unsavory, I hope?"

"If that were the case, I would have had to step down as Student Council President. Or I'd be locked up after being reported."

Hearing that, Baek Seo-yeon nearly let out a disbelieving laugh but managed to hold it in.

Seo Hyun-woo had never once acted in a way that would offend her.

If anything, she had only received help from him, and hadn't she felt the gap in talent and ability down to her bones?

'......He wasn't lying. He really does trust me.'

Baek Seo-yeon wasn't dwelling much on the Chaos Spirit's behavior.

She had merely grasped a fraction of what that behavior meant.

But the strangeness of it remained, and her thoughts naturally drifted elsewhere.

'Then does the president prioritize me over himself...... ? No, surely not.'

Even if a spirit was the summoner's extension, it wasn't an exact copy.

Since only a portion of the psyche was separated, the spirit's personality and speech could easily diverge.

But once a question had taken root, it didn't fade easily, and it seemed to keep circling in her mind.

"Then we'll be going now. Thanks to you, we had a new experience."

"Oh, right. I think I took up too much of your time. If you'd like, stay at the hotel until tomorrow afternoon. I'll let the manager know in advance."

"Thank you for the consideration."

Seo Hyun-woo and Baek Seo-yeon left the training room, leaving Yoon Se-in behind.

Yoon Se-in stood still for a while before bursting into laughter.

'......That exceeded my expectations. The Student Council President really does have that much potential. If he'd properly controlled the Chaos Spirit, I couldn't have guaranteed my victory.'