Chapter 18

"Whoooaaa!"

Will, who had been staring blankly at the series of attacks and defenses, suddenly began to sparkle with excitement in his eyes.

"What's wrong, Will?"

A fragment of the wind asked the suddenly excited Will, who was on his back.

"Both Serene-sama and Nee-nee-sama are amazing, amazing!"

"That's right, Will can be proud of his sisters too."

"Hey, hey, Hihira-san! Me too, me too!"

"What? Can Will use magic too?"

Upon hearing this conversation, cold sweat trickled down Aika and Eris's backs.

They had overlooked the most concerning issue in this sudden emergency.

They should not have shown Will magic.

"Alright? Will. If it's wind magic, I can help you with my magic power."

"I'll try it!"

"No, no! Phantom Beast-sama, Will-sama."

Eris, who had hastily interrupted the conversation, raised a question mark to the fragment of the wind.

"What? Can't he use it?"

"No, it's not that... How do I put it..."

Eris tried to convey Will's ability to reproduce.

However, while Eris was struggling to explain, the excited Will raised his magic sword to the sky.

"Wind spirits, gather!"

Will channeled his magic power and began the spell.

Upon hearing these words, Aika and Eris held their breath for a moment, then let out a sigh of relief.

Magic is said to be divided into three main types.

One is elemental magic.

One is spirit magic.

One is phantom beast magic.

Elemental magic is cast by touching a part of the magical elements in the air.

The most commonly used type of magic is elemental magic.

Spirit magic is considered superior to elemental magic.

It requires more magic power and magical elements than elemental magic, but its power far surpasses that of elemental magic.

However, it cannot be activated without the power of a spirit.

Incidentally, elemental magic is a simplified version of spirit magic, which allows humans to activate it.

Phantom beast magic is the use of the special abilities of a contracted phantom beast.

Each phantom beast has specialized abilities, and powerful ones can even surpass the power of a spirit in their specific area.

The words used to activate magic have meaning.

When Will activated the spell, he called for the spirits to gather.

These words not only touch a part of the magical elements but also work on the spirits themselves, the very source of the elements.

Will, of course, did not know this.

In fact, Will didn't even know about elemental magic.

Therefore, Aika and Eris thought that Will's magic incantation would fail. However—

"Come to think of it, they were there... on the way here."

"「...!」"

Aika and Eris froze at the fragment of the wind's murmur.

The two looked at each other, then cautiously at the tip of Will's raised magic sword.

The magic sword, still in its sheath, emitted a green phosphorescence, and the spell had been successfully activated.

Soon, a torrent of wind elements, far beyond the power of a single individual, began to gather at the tip of the magic sword, causing the cottage to shake from the backlash.

《Called?》

《Oh, it's that kid from earlier.》

《No way!》

Riding the torrent of wind elements, the spirit children who had been floating in the air appeared.

Everyone present, including the talking phantom beasts, was stunned by the visible spirits, as they are rarely seen.

"Hello!"

Will greeted the gathered spirits cheerfully, and they all returned his greeting.

《Hello.》

《Hello!》

《Hey!》

"I'm Willber Turks. Nice to meet you."

Will bowed politely, and the spirits clapped their hands.

Will scratched his head, blushing.

In the awkward silence that enveloped everyone, a warm exchange took place.

"Hey, Will?"

The fragment of the wind, who was outside the realm of human common sense, calmly called out to Will.

"What is it, Hihira-san?"

The fragment of the wind sighed in exasperation at Will's inquisitive gaze.

"The gathered magical elements will explode if you don't cast the spell."

"Oh?"

Prompted by the fragment of the wind, Will looked up at the tip of his magic sword.

With the help of the phantom beasts, the spell had summoned the spirits themselves, continuously absorbing the wind elements that had been swirling around the broken ceiling, amplifying the magic power.

Will watched this with a blank expression.

An eerie silence filled the cottage.

"Will-sama...?"

Aika, feeling a bad premonition, cautiously called out to Will, who smiled sheepishly.

"What was it again?"

The atmosphere in the cottage froze.

Will had never seen wind magic.

He didn't know the incantation, and he couldn't reproduce the spell.

He had only managed to activate the spell because the flow of magic power for each element was not significantly different.

Normally, when a spell fails to activate, the magic power dissipates.

However, by summoning the spirits, which store strong magical elements, the magic power continued to absorb the elements, swelling like a balloon.

If this continued, the magic power would burst, unable to withstand the amplification.

If that happened, the cottage would likely be obliterated, along with everyone inside.

The predictable outcome—children crying, a few adults panicking, and even the phantom beasts trembling in fear.

"Whaaaan! Mommy!"

"We're going to dieeeeee!"

"Everyone, calm down!"

"Release me! Please release me, I won't do anything bad anymore!"

"The door won't open!? Why!?"

People were in a state of panic.

《Hahaha!》

《Oops.》

《Oh dear...》

The laughing spirit girl, the gentle spirit boy holding his head, and the active spirit boy with spiky hair shrugged.

"Can't you do something!? Eris-senpai!"

Aika, trying to save Will, turned to Eris.

Eris, who was watching Will with a worried expression, shook her head, mindful of Serena and Nina.

"If we try to demonstrate the spell to Will, using the same elemental magic in this state of swollen magical elements could trigger an explosion... The best option would be for someone who helped activate the magic to cast it, but..."

"I can't do it! I don't have the magic power, and I can't use my magic without drawing my sword!"

Aika and Eris looked at the magic sword Will was holding.

It was very dangerous for a three-year-old to draw the sword.

Even now, the tip of the sword was wobbling.

"This is a problem."

Will looked troubled, but the situation was much more serious for everyone else. It was a matter of life and death.

Meanwhile, the mass of magic power continued to swell, almost protruding from the ceiling.

"Spirits, can't you do something!? If this continues, the children will be caught in the blast!"

The gentle and active spirits looked at each other, responding to the plea of the higher-ranking phantom beast.

When they turned their gaze to Will, he was staring up at them intently.

《Well, what can we do...》

The active spirit scratched his short hair and met Will's eyes.

《Can you really not use wind magic?》

Will nodded vigorously in response to the spirit's question.

《You managed to call us pretty well...》

The spirit sighed in exasperation, and Will looked at him directly.

"Will... I wanted to be friends with the wind spirits."

《Oh, I see...》

The active spirit scratched his cheek, blushing under Will's innocent, sparkling gaze.

The spirit girl and the gentle spirit behind him giggled.

The active spirit glared at his companions and sighed in resignation.

《Alright, alright... I'll cast the spell for you.》

"Really!?"

Will cheered happily.

The spirit, who had moved behind Will, mounted the fragment of the wind's back and placed a hand on the magic sword.

"Bad guys, over there."

『Eeeek!?』

The men Will pointed at shrank back in terror.

Eris quickly stopped them.

"You can't do that, Will-sama!"

"Why not?"

Will asked curiously.

The men, who had been the targets of the attack just moments ago, were now being protected, and their eyes widened in surprise.

Their gaze changed to one of reverence, as if they were looking at a saint.

Eris hadn't intended to protect the men, but if such a massive spell hit them, they would surely die.

She couldn't burden a three-year-old with such a responsibility.

Moreover, she didn't know what kind of spell the spirit would cast, so it was best to aim it far away.

"Aim high, and try not to hit anyone."

《Alright, this way.》

The spirit, understanding Eris's intention, guided the tip of the magic sword above the men's heads.

The spirit whispered in Will's ear, and Will nodded.

The amplified magic power began to vibrate the air, producing a rumbling sound.

《Here we go!》

"Okay!"

With the spirit's signal, Will raised his voice.

The spirit stone on the hilt of the magic sword glowed intensely.

《"Spear of the Storm, pierce my enemy with the light blade of the wind!"》

The accumulated wind magic power was released as a beam of light, its powerful torrent slicing through the air and piercing the cottage wall.

The backlash of the swirling wind blew away the weakened walls of the cottage, which had already been damaged by the broken ceiling.

The wind torrent continued to surge, leaving a long trail.

That day, the sky of the capital Letis was pierced by the light of wind magic.