Helmut: The Forsaken Child - H.F.C Chapter 70 (Part 1):

The final wait had begun. Alea comfortably sat down on the floor. Maintaining the magic didn’t require much effort. Alea was accustomed to the kind of magic that concealed her presence. Helmut also took a seat following her. He stared into space without moving a muscle, maintaining tension was something he was familiar with.

It was a deep, ambitious night with only the sound of the wind occasionally breaking the silence. Greta Academy was still lit up even until dawn. Neither of them felt like making conversation, so they both remained silent. After all, he could appear at any moment.

About two hours had passed, nearly midnight, when Alea, blinking and yawning, finally noticed some change in the center of the training ground. Like ink spreading in water, a certain energy slowly stained the area. Black smoke spread out, and within it, an indistinct mass wriggled. It coalesced into a round shape before stretching out like it was poking its head out, then rounded up again. It varied in shape but did not settle into any fixed form. It was different from the light spirits Sian controlled, but the energy it emitted felt similar.

Helmut reached for his sword. Alea murmured lowly,

“As soon as we release the barrier, we’ll seal the space so it can’t escape. It would have been better to prepare in advance, but we didn’t touch the training ground fearing it would notice. I won’t be able to move for a moment when I cast the sealing magic hastily.”

“Then it will target you. I’ll just have to block it then.”

Helmut had confidence in facing it. Vis could cut through spirits.

“Just enough. Don’t annihilate it. Drain its strength by inflicting wounds.”

Alea added,

“And be careful. It’s a cautious creature, it may become aggressively unpredictable in unexpected situations. I don’t know much about spirits. But if it’s sneaking around avoiding mages, it’s not weak.”

Intelligence correlates with strength. This was true for both spirits and beasts. Helmut and Alea exchanged glances. Alea moved her lips. One, two, three!

“Barrier release! Spatial seal!”

As soon as Alea chanted, magical waves centered around it spread out. The training ground was temporarily isolated from the outside by Alea’s magic.

-Kee?
The creature, startled, straightened up and finally noticed Alea and Helmut.

-Keeek!
It puffed up its body and made a noisy sound like a cat with its fur standing on end.

‘Excited, huh.’

Helmut calmly drew his sword. Sensing the magic emanating from Alea, the creature bounced like a ball toward her. If it collided, the magic would break, and Alea would suffer internal injuries. Helmut, without hesitation, sent his sword flying, charged with Vis. The gray Vis-containing sword flew with enough force to split the creature in two. But he deliberately slowed it down. The creature flinched and changed direction. It fell to the ground and flattened like a liquid. The body spread on the ground split into several strands, flying toward Alea.

‘Changing tactics, huh.’

Being partially cut wouldn’t kill it. Judging that this would reduce the creature’s power, Helmut sent his sword flying again, charged with Vis strong enough to slaughter two second-rank mercenaries. The strands the creature extended were effortlessly cut and dispersed into the air like dust.

-Kieeeek!

It screamed in agony, significantly weakened and shrinking in size. It wriggled weakly, unable to reach Alea. Alea, who had hurriedly completed the magic, lowered her hands with a notably paler face.

“I can hold it for about ten minutes. We need to seal it before then.”

However, at that moment, a shout came from somewhere.

“Stop it! What are you doing!”

Helmut narrowed his eyes at the figure who burst into the training ground.

‘Sian?’

Alea’s magic did not exclude outsiders. He expected their appearance, but the timing was uncanny. Sian looked furious. It was hard to imagine such an expression on his usually gentle face.

“Why are you tormenting it! What has it done!”

But both Alea and Helmut were too composed to flinch at Sian’s sudden appearance. Helmut asked,

“What are you doing here?”

“Spirits are delicate! If you attack them so violently, they’ll be scared!”

His voice sounded like he was siding entirely with the spirit. Alea decided to finish what she started.

“Vine snare!”

-Kieek!

The bound spirit flailed pitifully, and thick smoke poured from its body. Sian, possibly empathizing with the spirit, rushed at Alea with a pale face, shouting,

“Stop! Can’t you see it’s suffering?”

“How did you show up here?”

Helmut asked coldly, blocking his path.

“You knew, didn’t you? That a spirit was haunting the academy.”

“I was going to tell you! But you seemed so eager to wrap up the request… I needed time. Such a creature requires a careful approach.”

Sian bit his lip hard. His agitated face slowly calmed down.

“This is a dark spirit. Like my light spirit, it’s not a creature that harms anyone. It hasn’t hurt anyone so far.”

Alea, who had firmly captured the spirit, replied,

“But we can’t just ignore it playing tricks in the academy, can we? We just did what we had to do. You’re too late.”

“I was trying to approach it slowly because it’s shy. Helmut, your request had a two-week timeframe! I was doing my best to resolve it within that.”

He didn’t seem to be lying. But Sian had a face that could make lies seem like the truth. His words lacked credibility. Alea scoffed,

“Come on, that doesn’t make sense. A shy creature goes around scaring students at night?”

“But spirits are mischievous. Being shy doesn’t mean it can’t be playful.”

Sian said this with a serious face. Alea looked incredulous.

“Well, that’s…”

“And Alea, it’s been a while since you’ve dealt with me directly? You’ve been ignoring me all this time.”

Sian laughed heartily, suddenly trying to be friendly again, then turned serious.

“Hand it over to me. Only a spirit mage can handle spirits.”

“Alea.”

Helmut called her name. Now that they had successfully restrained the spirit, his request was nearly fulfilled. It was up to Alea to decide what to do with the spirit. And naturally, Alea had no intention of giving it up. She coldly stated,

“It’s my catch. And I have no interest in handling it. It’s enough for my research.”

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