**223. Summoning the Spirit King**
—
“Huh.”
Even seeing it with his own eyes, he could not believe it.
What was the Sealed Hand of the Gods?
A malignant god that seized divinity by devouring countless divine hands.
One of Pride’s greatest masterpieces—its fearsome mana possessed a nature like a power that nullified all attacks.
Yet now—
*It’s burning?*
…Something beyond common sense.
A material that *could never be burned* was on fire.
And not by any ordinary flame.
The boy himself was **existence as fire.**
At first, Pride assumed it to be *hellfire.*
The flames used by certain hell lords or other powerful beings of the Abyss.
But it wasn’t that.
Not even close.
Hellfire was insulting in comparison.
This flame was far more fundamental.
Closer to **the root.**
“—The First Flame?”
…Stop it.
Pride denied the thought instantly.
The First Flame does not exist.
There are stories, yes—but only stories.
Myths that the very first fire ever transferred still exists somewhere in the world.
A flame that annihilates all evil upon contact and even makes destruction itself flee.
There was no way such a thing could truly exist.
But if—
If by one-in-ten-million chance that flame really was the First Flame—
*This is not simply bad affinity. It is **ultimate anti-affinity.***
The worst possible situation.
Gods and demons were natural enemies.
But even natural enemies—like a cornered rat—can bite the cat.
However, *that* flame was something a demon like him could not and must not approach.
It was divine beyond divinity—**utterly untouchable.**
> —Stop! P-please, stopppppp!!
The Sealed Hand of the Gods screamed.
Its overwhelming mana was being burned away rapidly.
And the spectacle did not end there.
Fwooom! Fwoooosh!
SUUUUWHOOOOOM—
Behind the boy, a towering circular warp manifested.
The warp itself was burning—
And from the flaming warp emerged something Pride knew all too well.
“H-how…!?”
For the first time, the demon Pride—King Friedrich—let out a strangled cry.
Because something that *should never be summonable* had been summoned.
And worse—its form was more complete than he remembered.
> —…Hmm???
Even the one summoned seemed bewildered, head tilted as if unable to understand the situation.
—
—
“…They’re doing well, right?”
Inside the dragon vein.
Hana lingered near the entrance, worry in her eyes.
“Fear not, my Queen.”
“The two Overlords will fulfill their task.”
Blade Dragon God Hana.
Gathered around her were countless members of the Bloodspawn Clan—more than ten thousand.
Their forms had changed drastically.
They now appeared close to human.
One could easily mistake them for humans.
Because their divine lord and queen had reshaped the brood’s form entirely.
Though hatched from eggs and with slightly different physiology, their human appearance was flawless.
“Yes… Even if Lucaria is unreliable, Issera is sharp enough…”
“And did not Lord God bless Issera with the First Flame? No demon will so much as scratch Lord Issera.”
It was true.
Issera.
Former lord of the Infernal Scorching Hells and successor of the Dead King Ahram—the general who led the second invasion.
A mutated Dragon God who could wield the flames of Hell, slain by Blade Dragon God Hana; his heart was fed to the brood and reborn as an Overlord.
Thus the child was born bearing the same name, yet was an entirely different being.
And Lord God Randolph had commemorated the rebirth with an immeasurable gift—
A flame that made the old hellfire look laughable.
The **First Flame.**
*He cannot yet fully control it, but…*
Once he begins to wield it properly, no demon will ever dare even approach.
Hana nodded.
“…How are the tasks Lord God entrusted to you progressing?”
“Establishing a foothold on Earth proceeds smoothly. We are cooperating closely with someone named Oliver.”
The human-shaped Blood Devil Clan were spreading into Earth.
This too was Randolph’s will.
Most important among their tasks was assisting Oliver in devouring England.
Of course, similar plans were underway in Korea.
*The System does not recognize us as beings of Pangaenia.*
Normally, this would be impossible.
When Saintess Seia came to Earth through an invasion warp to cure Oliver’s heart disease, the System classified her as an enemy and attempted to destroy her.
But the Blood Devil Clan was different.
Because they were born directly from Earth’s dragon veins, the System did not mark them as enemies even when they traveled to Earth.
*What is born from Earth belongs to Earth. Is it a flaw of the System… or intentional from the beginning?*
When she hatched from the celestial egg, Blade Queen Hana tasted truth.
Thus she understood many things about the System.
And that the System was **not perfect.**
Or perhaps… *made to appear imperfect.*
*Perhaps even ordinary humans on Earth may awaken someday.*
Currently Earth’s population is divided in two:
—The Awakened who travel between worlds, Dimension Warriors
—Normal humans
Of course, normal humans are overwhelmingly the majority.
Dimension Warriors do not even make up 0.1% of Earth’s population.
*It is absurd to expect the current number of Awakened to indefinitely repel invasions.*
At most a few hundred thousand.
During Issera’s invasion, only two hundred thousand barely responded.
Defending Earth against endless demonic invasions with that number?
Impossible.
Surely the System prepared something for that.
*As Lord God instructed—find a method to awaken ordinary humans.*
Randolph had seen that far ahead.
An imperfect System.
Unactivated safeguards.
If harnessed properly, another method of awakening might be discovered.
And if that became possible—Earth would undergo a seismic shift.
*Still…*
Hana turned toward the entrance of the dragon vein once more.
There was another reason she worried for Issera.
*I just hope he wields the power of the Spirit King Agnis properly…*
—
—
The **Tower of Spirits.**
At the top of that tower resided the Spirit Kings who ruled the Spirit Realm.
Agnis, Spirit King of Fire, was one of them.
“You seem relaxed, Agnis.”
“Equerel. Are you here to pick a fight again?”
Spirit King of Water, Equerel, visited the recovering Agnis.
Agnis was soaking in a boiling fire spring.
“Water has already evaporated. How is it a hot spring?”
“So you *did* come to pick a fight.”
“No, I am speaking common sense, Agnis.”
“This is called *setting the mood,* Equerel.”
“……Take it. It will suppress your flames.”
Equerel tossed a fabric towel.
Agnis’ eyes widened.
“The Towel of the Water God? Isn’t that one of your treasures?”
“Did I say you can have it? I am lending it.”
“Why?”
“You seem heartbroken. Doing something you normally wouldn’t do… I can tell.”
“Ah, this is…”
Agnis almost explained, then shut his mouth.
The spring was simply a pool that accumulated celestial pollution.
It had been building up too long, so he had decided to soak and incinerate it all at once.
But letting her assume wrong was harmless.
And honestly—using the Towel of the Water God to enjoy a *real* bath didn’t sound bad.
“…Thank you.”
“And a true hot bath requires full disarmament. My elegant water spirits strip off everything and enter in their natural form.”
“Is that so?”
“Savage fire spirits would never understand. But try it. It will help with your grief from the mortal world.”
Grief…
He didn’t feel anything like that, but Agnis shrugged.
He had never once won an argument with Equerel anyway.
SPLAT.
Agnis stripped off the armor surrounding his whole body.
Then wrapped the Towel of the Water God around his waist—his raging flames calmed.
His muscular body and bare skin were revealed.
He didn’t control all his fire, but this was enough not to evaporate the spring.
Just as expected, the dried water began to refill slowly.
“Hm.”
“Well? How is it, Agnis—soaking in the bath?”
“Not bad.”
“Yes. Something fire spirits could never even dream of.”
“Fire spirits enjoy magma baths, not—hm?”
“Hm?”
Then—
FWOOOOOOOM—
A flaming warp ripped open and swallowed Agnis whole.
He vanished in an instant.
The hot spring was empty.
Equerel blinked.
“…Forced summoning?”
Someone forcibly summoned a Spirit King.
That had *never* happened since the Tower of Spirits was raised.
Agnis had even refused the summons of the mutated Issera.
It seemed impossible.
But it had just happened before her eyes.
*Who could possibly…?*
—
—
A man with a naked muscular body and hair blazing like fire.
Wearing nothing but a single towel around his waist, Agnis looked around.
> —…Hmm???
His thoughts stalled.
What was going on?
How had he, of all spirits, been forcibly summoned?
Since becoming Spirit King of Fire, this had never happened.
He had never even *heard* of a forcibly summoned Spirit King.
To summon a Spirit King by force, one needed an elemental affinity surpassing that of the owners of the root elements themselves—**impossible.**
Even a fire deity could not achieve that.
Yet—
“…Why is he naked?”
“That uncle is weird.”
Two children whispered.
Agnis turned toward the voices—and finally understood who summoned him.
> —So… you inherited Issera’s contract.
He also understood *why* he had been summoned.
Though he still could not fully grasp it.
The contract of the Hell Lord Issera had been inherited by the red-haired boy.
And the power of the contract had been strengthened dramatically.
*Unbelievable.*
When a spirit is summoned to the mortal realm, their power weakens.
Lord of the Hells Issera could only use about 20% of his power.
But this boy—
At least 50%.
Perhaps more.
> —What is it you require of me?
This was the first time Agnis had encountered such a summoner.
So he asked.
Isera covered Lucaria’s eyes with his hand and replied with an expression dead serious:
“First of all, I want you to put on some clothes. It’s not good for Lucaria’s emotional development.”
—
