Chapter 396: Spirits
Standing amidst the lingering magical residue of their clash, Ren processed the dark rumors he had heard regarding the Diabolos Guild. It was a dark guild comprised entirely of Fifth-Generation Dragon Slayers who gained their immense power through a sickeningly visceral method: by eating the flesh and drinking the blood of actual dragons.
They weaponized that stolen power to hunt down, kill, and devour even more of the ancient beasts. Ren found himself deeply repulsed by this cannibalistic behavior. Dragons were highly intelligent, ancient beings with their own cultures and profound wisdom.
Even if they stood as enemies on the battlefield, he vehemently opposed the idea of them being butchered and consumed like mere livestock. Furthermore, due to the inherent side effects of his own unique Dragon Slayer Magic, Ren had practically become an existence synonymous with a dragon himself.
There was a very real possibility that the ravenous members of Diabolos would eventually lock their sights on him as a prime target. He needed to be prepared for the day those Dragon Eaters came knocking.
"Then what do you propose we do?" Elefseria's gruff voice broke through Ren's thoughts.
The ancient Law Dragon looked intently at the young mage. Since Ren had been the one to speak up against killing the God Dragon, he was expected to provide a viable solution. If the Water God Dragon was simply left to his own devices, entirely unsealed and constantly teetering on the edge of a magical rampage, Elefseria certainly wouldn't feel at ease returning to his guildhall.
Ren shifted his gaze back to the massive, weary form of the Water God Dragon. "Mercphobia, I have a proposal that can solve this problem without requiring your death. It will also permanently resolve the longstanding conflict between you and Elefseria."
The young mage paused, letting the weight of his words settle over the churning coastal waters. "I wonder if you would be willing to agree to my terms."
"What is the proposal?" Mercphobia asked, his deep voice rumbling with genuine curiosity.
The corners of Ren's mouth curled into a slight, confident smile. "It's actually quite simple. You sign a binding contract with me and become my contracted Spirit."
"A Spirit?"
Both Elefseria and Mercphobia blinked in synchronized confusion. While Celestial Spirits were a well-known concept in Earth Land, applying such a term to a walking natural disaster of flesh and blood was entirely unheard of.
"Are you trying to say something akin to a Summoned Beast?" Mercphobia asked, his eyes narrowing thoughtfully.
In the ancient eras of the world, long before modern guilds standardized magic, there existed a unique class of mages known as Summoners. These ancient practitioners could summon magical beasts from across the land to fight alongside them, commanding formidable demonic creatures in the heat of battle.
"A Summoned Beast? Yes, something exactly like that," Ren nodded in confirmation.
The mechanics of the summoning contracts he intended to use were fundamentally identical to those used for ancient beasts of burden.
"You... you insolent kid, you actually dare..." Elefseria sputtered, his jaw dropping in absolute disbelief.
The Magia Dragon Guild Master hadn't expected Ren to suggest something so utterly preposterous. He was actively trying to force the Water God Dragon—a mythological calamity whose very existence shook the Guiltina Continent—to become his personal pet. This kid possessed a level of nerve that bordered on sheer insanity.
Mercphobia, however, remained entirely silent. Surprisingly, the ancient dragon didn't feel the slightest bit offended by Ren's audacious demand.
Contracts between powerful beasts and summoners were a staple of the ancient world. In those forgotten times, it wasn't completely unheard of for a mage to be capable of summoning a dragon to their side. Dragons occasionally signed magical pacts with extraordinary humans, answering their call across vast distances.
It was just that such cases were exceedingly rare. As the apex predators of that era, very few dragons possessed the humility to serve as a mere human's summoned asset.
Yet, Mercphobia had just experienced a grueling battle against Ren firsthand, and he had been thoroughly outmatched by the young man's overwhelming strength. Yielding to become a Summoned Beast was actually a reasonable outcome under the laws of nature: the winner takes all.
"Are you absolutely sure you can seal my power?" Mercphobia finally asked, his tone shifting to one of heavy responsibility. "Can you guarantee it will no longer spiral out of control and drown Elmina, or the surrounding coastal cities?"
"Of course. I can guarantee that much with absolute certainty," Ren replied firmly.
"In that case, I accept your terms. I agree to become your Spirit," Mercphobia declared, bowing his massive head toward the human who had bested him.
"What in the world?!" Elefseria shrieked, his eyes practically bulging out of their sockets.
He hadn't expected Mercphobia, a being of immense pride and divine power, to actually agree to become Ren's subordinate. That was the Water God Dragon, for crying out loud!
Hearing Mercphobia's resolute agreement, Ren couldn't help but let a look of profound joy wash over his face. The Water God Dragon's raw strength was absolutely staggering.
Although Ren possessed the firepower to gravely wound the beast, actually killing a God Dragon of this caliber would be an agonizing, drawn-out endeavor. He could always rely on the System's lottery to draw new abilities, but securing a God Dragon as a permanent, reliable summon would be an unfathomably powerful trump card.
"Good! Then I'll begin by sealing your overflowing power right now," Ren announced, stepping forward.
[Full Body Take Over: Minato Namikaze!]
A brilliant flash of golden light completely enveloped Ren's body. As the light faded, his appearance had drastically altered to match the legendary Fourth Hokage. As the husband of Uzumaki Kushina, Minato Namikaze was intimately proficient in the various ultra-powerful, complex sealing techniques of the Uzumaki Clan.
It was Minato who had once relied on these very sealing techniques to bind the Nine-Tailed Fox. That had been the complete, undivided manifestation of Kurama—an entity whose sheer, apocalyptic chakra rivaled, if not exceeded, the raw magical output of the Water God Dragon.
Ren's hands blurred as he rapidly formed a complex sequence of hand seals. Channeling a dense concentration of chakra into his fingertips, he stepped forward and firmly pressed his palm directly against Mercphobia's abdomen.
"Four Symbols Seal!"
The intricate technique originated from the most closely guarded secrets of the Uzumaki Clan. Minato Namikaze had further refined and perfected the formula, ensuring the resulting seal was practically unbreakable.
Instantly, a sprawling, intricate spiral pattern of pitch-black kanji erupted from Ren's fingertips. The ink-like formulas crawled rapidly across Mercphobia's scales, burning themselves deep into the dragon's flesh before locking together in a flawless, circular matrix.
Mercphobia gasped as he immediately felt his violently turbulent power being forcefully restricted. The raging storm of magic that had constantly threatened to tear his mind and body apart was rapidly suppressed.
Within seconds, the agonizing, ever-present pressure that had plagued him for years completely vanished. He could breathe easily again. He could finally govern his own colossal magical reserves without the constant terror of an impending catastrophe.
"This... my magic is really sealed?!" Mercphobia murmured in awe, testing the flow of his energy.
He could vividly feel the absolute barrier wrapping around his magical core. Surprisingly, his overall strength hadn't significantly decreased. While his previously berserk, uncontrollable state possessed a chaotic, destructive edge, it lacked precision.
Now, he felt an overwhelming sense of relaxation wash over his massive frame. He no longer needed to spend every waking moment agonizing over his power going out of control. He didn't have to desperately suppress his own existence just to protect the humans he loved.
"Yes, it is merely sealed away," Ren explained, stepping back as the black kanji faded into Mercphobia's skin. "When your base power is heavily consumed and you require more, you can willfully draw upon the sealed reserves. This method ensures you won't lose control, while perfectly preserving your maximum combat potential."
The principle was practically identical to that of a Jinchuriki. The only difference was that a Jinchuriki used the seal to contain a separate, foreign entity like a Tailed Beast, whereas Ren had utilized the seal to perfectly regulate the Water God Dragon's own native magic.
"It truly won't go out of control anymore... That is wonderful. That is truly wonderful," Mercphobia whispered, his eyes softening.
He didn't care much about retaining his god-like status or absolute power; his only true concern was ensuring his devastating magic would never again threaten Elmina or the surrounding territories.
"Ren, are we to sign the binding contract now? Let us proceed," Mercphobia offered, eager to fulfill his end of the bargain.
Since the young mage had miraculously delivered on his promise to save the city, the God Dragon would naturally honor his word with unwavering loyalty.
"No, wait just a moment. I need to switch accounts first," Ren replied casually.
"What?" Mercphobia blinked, entirely unfamiliar with the strange terminology.
"I mean, I need to change my transformation before I can actually sign the contract with you," Ren clarified, scratching the back of his golden hair.
"Is there truly any difference?" Elefseria chimed in, equally bewildered by the young man's magical mechanics.
"There is a massive difference," Ren nodded. "I don't actually know any summoning-type magic myself. Only the specific characters I Take Over possess the corresponding skills required for a blood pact."
Ren gestured to his current attire. "Although this specific character is exceptionally fast and a master of sealing, he doesn't possess the specific summoning affinity required to bring out the Water God Dragon's full potential."
"Ren, are you implying you have an even stronger transformation than this?!" Mercphobia asked, immediately catching the underlying implication in Ren's words.
Ren simply nodded, a dangerous glint flashing in his eyes.
Mercphobia was genuinely stunned now. He had fought a grueling battle against Ren in his previous state, and the opponent's raw destructive capability was undoubtedly on par with the Five God Dragons.
The Water God Dragon had firmly believed that previous form was Ren's absolute limit. To hear that this human possessed an even more devastating transformation was almost incomprehensible. Was this guy really just a human mage?
[Full Body Take Over: Uchiha Madara!!]
A terrifying surge of crimson energy violently erupted from Ren's core as he initiated the Take Over for the Ghost of the Uchiha. His originally short blonde hair darkened instantly, growing rapidly until a wild, untamed mane of spiky black hair cascaded down his back.
The bright, heroic cloak of the Hokage dissolved, replaced by a set of crimson, segmented samurai armor worn over a high-collared black mantle. Finally, his facial features sharpened into a visage of pure, unadulterated arrogance, and his eyes snapped open to reveal a pair of glowing, crimson Sharingan.
As Ren completed the transformation, the surrounding atmosphere seemed to literally freeze. The ambient temperature plummeted.
The Law Dragon Elefseria and the Water God Dragon Mercphobia both stiffened simultaneously, their massive bodies instinctively tensing up as every alarm bell in their ancient minds began to scream.
Unlike the warm, protective aura emitted by Minato Namikaze, Ren's Uchiha Madara state radiated an aura of pure, suffocating malice. Just by standing there in silence, he projected a tyrannical pressure that felt heavy enough to crush the very air out of their lungs.
Both Elefseria and Mercphobia stared at the glowing crimson eyes of the armored warrior. For the first time in centuries, the two mythological dragons felt a terrifying, primal dread gripping their hearts—an extreme, undeniable danger that could truly threaten their immortal lives.
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