Unfortunately, under the firm insistence of everyone else, Ryuya had no choice but to abandon his plan of using a slime as his familiar.
And along with that, all the brilliant "combat strategies" he'd come up with for it went up in smoke.
He had already imagined it so clearly—sending the slime in first during a fight to shred the enemy's clothes, instantly dropping their will to fight by a clean minus one thousand.
Even if he ran into those shameless types, he could just rely on verbal harassment to throw them off balance, then seize the perfect opportunity to pin them down and—well, win the battle.
…Yeah, perhaps that tactic was a little too indecent.
He could practically see the hordes of angry women hunting him down across the realms.
Alright, fine. Guess that idea's dead.
Meanwhile, the Baby Blue Thunder Dragon had successfully bonded with Asia.
The tiny creature perched on her shoulder, affectionately nuzzling the blonde girl's cheek, clearly fond of its new master.
"Quite the lucky girl," Zatouji said with a hearty laugh. "The Sprite Dragon is an extremely rare species. This little hatchling might be the only one in the entire Familiar Forest."
Everyone couldn't help but feel happy for Asia.
The small dragon could command blue lightning to strike its foes—having such a companion meant Asia now possessed real offensive power of her own.
After quickly overseeing the familiar contract between Asia and the Sprite Dragon, the group pressed onward.
"Mr. Zatouji," Asia asked softly, cradling the little dragon in her arms, "are there many powerful familiars in this forest?"
The tiny creature seemed perfectly content resting in her arms—its tiny claws, however, were a bit too lively, resting boldly on her chest.
Ryuya glanced at the dragon with narrowed eyes.
"…Don't tell me this thing's male."
Zatouji, clearly charmed by Asia's innocent sweetness, replied cheerfully,
"Oh, there are plenty of strong familiars in this forest! But it's hard to say which ones are the strongest. Some can mutate, after all—you never know what they'll become until they've fully grown."
He patted his chest with confidence. "But don't worry! If we come across a familiar with real potential, I'll recognize it instantly. You have my word—you won't miss out on a single good one!"
"That's wonderful! Thank you so much, Mr. Zatouji!" Asia smiled brightly and turned to Ryuya with an expression sweet enough to melt anyone.
Ryuya's gaze softened, and he gave her a gentle smile in return.
"Thank you, Asia… for caring about me."
"N-No, it's only natural to care!" she said, flustered and shy.
The group continued deeper into the forest. Under Zatouji's guidance, they encountered a variety of potential familiars along the way—but none caught Ryuya's interest.
Every one of them felt far too ordinary.
None of them even came close to that slime's… unique appeal.
At least the slime had an ability that directly affected female magic power—that was something special.
Just when Ryuya began thinking he'd have to give up for the night, Rias suddenly let out a quiet gasp.
Everyone halted immediately and followed her gaze toward a canyon not far ahead.
"What's that…?"
Asia covered her mouth in astonishment, her eyes wide.
Floating in the air above the canyon were countless colorful figures—each radiating a distinct aura of magic. There were at least a thousand of them!
"Those are all familiars?" Rias breathed in shock.
Zatouji's expression shifted as his brows furrowed in thought.
"These appear to be… elemental spirit-type familiars," he murmured.
"Ara ara~ they look like they're worshipping something…" Akeno said softly, gazing toward the far end of the canyon.
Zatouji suddenly clapped his hands excitedly. "That's it! This can only mean one thing—the birth of a Spirit King!!"
"Spirit King…" Ryuya muttered, his tone calm. "Don't tell me it's another one like that water spirit, Undine, we saw earlier."
If it was, he'd turn around and leave on the spot.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk… That's exactly why amateurs are amateurs."
Unlike his kind tone toward the lovely Asia, Zatouji didn't bother hiding his arrogance when talking to Ryuya. "Spirits come in many elemental types, you know—their abilities and appearances vary greatly depending on their attribute."
"Is that so? Then let's go see what kind of element this Spirit King commands."
With an elegant motion, Rias brushed her crimson hair behind her shoulder, smiling softly.
They approached from another direction, soon getting a full view of the canyon below.
At the forefront of the countless elemental spirits floated a single metallic, silvery orb radiating with faint light—nothing else surrounded it.
That's the Spirit King?
"What? A Spirit King with a metal element?!" Zatouji exclaimed in shock. "Even among Spirit Kings, that's an extremely rare attribute!"
At those words, Ryuya's heart stirred. His instincts screamed that this Spirit King possessed extraordinary combat potential.
Perfect. That was exactly the kind of familiar he wanted.
"I'll take it," he said without hesitation.
Letting such a rare familiar slip away would be pure idiocy.
Zatouji laughed heartily. "Then come with me!"
Without another word, he charged forward, and Ryuya followed right on his heels.
The moment the two of them approached, a strange pulse of energy erupted from the Spirit King's location, washing over everyone nearby.
A crushing pressure pressed down on them, and suddenly—everyone's magic stopped flowing smoothly.
"Anti-magic!?"
Rias's eyes widened, excitement flashing across her face. "Ryuya! You have to capture it!!"
Not that Ryuya needed the reminder—he understood instantly.
A Spirit King with anti-magic properties… that kind of ability would be unbelievably powerful in combat.
It was basically the upgraded version of the slime!
"Be careful, lad! It's about to attack us!" Zatouji warned.
No sooner had he spoken than countless metallic objects materialized in midair, shaping themselves into razor-sharp blades that shot toward them like a storm.
Ryuya could feel his magic sluggish, but he remained calm.
Unlike Rias or Akeno, he wasn't overly dependent on magic—so anti-magic fields didn't slow him down much.
Shing!
The Kings' Shield manifested before him, its invisible barrier spreading wide to protect both him and Zatouji.
The torrent of flying blades struck the barrier—and bounced harmlessly away.
"Oh? Not bad at all," Zatouji said with a hearty laugh. "Then I suppose it's time for me to show a bit of what I can do!"
With a low shout, he released a wave of power that rippled through the canyon. In the next instant, every elemental spirit in the area froze midair—then dropped like stones to the ground.
"Hurry! I can't hold this for long! Its core is inside that light sphere—grab it!" he shouted.
Ryuya didn't waste a second. He dashed forward at full speed.
The Spirit King, sensing danger, panicked and summoned a torrent of metallic swords, which rained down upon him from every direction.
But none of them could pierce Ryuya's sacred gear.
The Kings's Shield was simply too powerful.
With a single motion, Ryuya reached out and drove his fist straight into the metallic orb of light—
and from within it, he pulled out a mass of shimmering liquid silver.
-----
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