Brunhilde smiled brightly as she spoke.
"The trial is simple. Just survive my magic."
The old man nodded, his face filled with fear.
"All I have to do is survive?"
"Yes, if you succeed, I'll become your guardian spirit."
The old man was filled with mixed emotions.
He was thrilled by the prospect of gaining an extraordinary guardian spirit with immense powers, something an ordinary person could only dream of. However, the thought of dying if he failed brought a wave of immense fear.
Success and failure.
Caught between these extremes, the old man had no choice.
"I have to do it."
He had already promised to undergo the trial.
"I like that you keep your promises. It's a good look on you."
Brunhilde hugged him tightly, almost as a reward for his resolve.
The old man blushed and clenched his fists, letting out a strong breath.
"How should I proceed?"
"Run."
"...Run?"
"Yes, when I raise my hands above my head, this whole area will turn into purgatory. Don't die there."
The old man nodded involuntarily, as if entranced.
"I understand."
"Good, let's begin."
Brunhilde raised her hands above her head. At that moment, a deafening roar erupted from the ground.
Boom!
Sharp, ice-like mountains began to rise from all directions.
"Ahhhh!"
The old man, already terrified, started to run. That day, he regretted it more than anything in his life.
As soon as the trial began, he experienced such excruciating pain that he wished he had been killed outright.
Crunch, crunch, crunch!
Thousands of ice shards fell from the sky, striking his body.
"Aaagh!"
Each touch left his skin frozen, and the pain penetrated deeply, spreading wide.
"Please, save me!"
The old man screamed.
Brunhilde watched him, resting her chin on her hand and humming.
"Run quickly, or you'll die."
"P-Please. Please save me, save me!"
"I hope you survive too. So, run with all your might."
"Wh-what are you saying, you crazy! Stop this magic right now!"
"What? Did you just call me crazy?"
"Yes, you crazy witch!"
Brunhilde's eyes changed. Until now, she had been watching the old man leisurely.
Whoosh—!
The air around her shifted, and her eyes grew sharp.
"Crazy witch, huh? You just said my least favorite thing."
Boom!
Thunder roared in the sky.
The falling ice shards suddenly stopped, and snow began to fall. The old man hid behind a rising ice mountain and sighed in relief.
"Damn... Damn... How did I end up in this...?"
At that moment, a snowflake landed on his shoulder.
Sizzle.
"Huh?"
He turned his head, smelling something burning, and saw his leather armor melting.
Sizzle.
Everything touched by the falling snow began to melt. Not just objects, but even a person couldn't escape this magic.
Sizzle—
"Aaagh!"
The old man tried to wipe the melting skin with his hands, but his palms also began to peel off, causing immense pain.
"Aaagh!"
His screams continued. He had no time to voice complaints. The pain was too overwhelming, leaving him only able to struggle.
At that moment, a strong energy was felt from a distance. Brunhilde's lips curled up, as if she knew who was coming.
"So, you've come."
The one who appeared afterward made a strong entrance, almost as if in response to her.
"Burn."
A purple spherical orb flew through the air from the forest, entering the white clouds covering the sky and causing a massive explosion.
Boom!
The clouds shattered into pieces.
As a result, the snow pouring down stopped. Brunhilde looked at the faintly visible purple aura and tilted her head.
'What is this? I've never seen this ability before.'
She didn't know.
She didn't know what kind of abilities the person who had come to find her possessed.
All she knew was that they had brought her former pupil, Siegfried, along.
Tap, tap, tap—
A small blond boy, only about waist-high, ran up.
He rushed at Brunhilde fearlessly, swinging a sword made of aura.
"So, you're Brunhilde."
Shink—!
In response, Brunhilde used a mana sword created with magic to block the attack.
Clang!
"Yes, I'm Brunhilde."
They smiled at each other.
* * *
I ran through the pouring rain. There were traces of a carriage that had passed recently on the muddy ground.
'As expected.'
This wasn't Gunther's plan.
If he had taken action personally, it wouldn't have been this sloppy.
It was probably someone working under Gunther or a relative trying to gain his favor who orchestrated this.
The fact that Gunther hadn't acted directly meant he still didn't know the whereabouts of the soul stone.
If I could just catch the person who took this carriage, I could cleanly wrap up this matter.
Tap, tap, tap—
I followed the path the carriage had taken at full speed.
Before long, I found the soul stone.
Boom.
A loud noise came from the direction I was looking.
White, circular clouds spread widely in the sky, pouring down snow.
'There it is.'
"Aaagh!"
The old man's scream echoed.
There, ice mountains rising from the ground were tearing his flesh, and snowflakes were melting his skin.
'Is that woman Brunhilde?'
I saw a beautiful woman in a tight blue robe.
"Run with all your might."
Siegfried trembled as he looked at her.
"Ugh..."
"Master, is that Brunhilde?"
"Yes."
"That's strange."
"What is?"
"How is that old man talking to Brunhilde? They haven't made a contract yet."
"Well, she's not just a guardian spirit."
"What do you mean?"
"There are such things. I'll explain when the time comes, but for now, just accept it as it is."
It must be too bothersome to answer.
I wanted to say, 'What is it?' but decided not to ask. Instead, it would be quicker to ask Brunhilde directly.
So, I hid behind a tree for a while, assessing the situation.
"Master, I'll be back."
I extended my hands towards the swirling white clouds in the blue sky.
"Burn."
Boom!
The clouds shattered into pieces.
I ran towards Brunhilde, shouting.
Tap, tap, tap—
"Are you Brunhilde?"
Brunhilde turned slightly to confirm my presence, then smiled brightly.
"Yes, I am Brunhilde."
Snowflakes poured down through the shattered clouds, swirling in front of me.
'As expected.'
So, this is the magic she uses.
Through my past life's memories, I already knew what techniques she used in trials.
That's why I learned the 'Dodge' technique through the three brothers beforehand.
With this, I could easily dodge everything even with my eyes closed.
As we gauged each other, we simultaneously swung our swords.
I used the Aura Blade I learned from Siegfried.
She used a Mana Blade in a form I had never seen before.
Clang!
The two forces clashed, creating a huge shockwave.
Boom!
I was pushed back by the impact, my body lifting off the ground.
'Amazing.'
I put all my strength into what I thought would be my first and last move, yet it didn't work.
'I can't underestimate her.'
"Wow, it's been a while since I've faced 'that sword'."
I created another Aura Blade and responded.
Sss—
"So you know this technique."
"Aura Blade is a technique that only talented direct descendants of the Strange family can manifest. You must be quite exceptional."
"Yes. My name is Verdin, and I will one day be the head of the Strange family."
"Oh, really?"
Brunhilde smiled and flew towards me in an instant.
Swoosh!
She extended her hands and grabbed my shoulders.
Thud.
"...!"
Fast. I was caught before I could react.
It looked like she was running, but it was closer to a spatial leap.
As I was about to push Aura into my shoulder and swing my sword, I heard her voice.
"Where is Siegfried?"
"...You knew?"
"Yes, I was watching you since you were with Galavant."
So, she could perceive the outside world even while sealed.
Before I could respond, she continued.
"You're accepted."
"...What?"
"I said you're accepted. I've seen your skills so far. I also know you can have two guardian spirits. Right?"
"That's correct."
"Coming this far means you intend to take me, right?"
"Yes."
Brunhilde turned to look at the nearly dead old man.
"Okay, then how about this? Let's each propose a condition we want."
"A condition?"
"Yes, if we agree, we make a contract. If not, then forget it."
What a windfall!
Brunhilde making the proposal first was beyond my expectation. Without any hesitation, I nodded.
"My contract condition is just one. I don't know if it's possible, but do your best to take me to the top of the tower."
I cheered inwardly.
Edward, the next head of Glazier, hadn't lied in my past life.
She wanted only one thing.
Conquering the tower.
We shared the same goal. How perfect was that? Her proposal was mine as well.
"Alright, let's do that."
"What's your condition?"
"I want to inherit all your abilities. I'll decide what, when, and how to inherit them."
"Simple, good. Let's do that."
As soon as the conversation ended, hundreds and thousands of pieces of paper flew in from behind her.
[The contract begins.]
Brunhilde's voice echoed in my mind.
Blue smoke enveloped my entire body, and with a rustling sound, an endless scroll unfurled in all directions.
Shaa!
A brilliant flash of light poured down from above.
[I, Brunhilde, shall inherit all knowledge and skills to Verdin as per the contract.]
[I swear to do my best to help the contractor reach the transcendental state beyond the divine chart.]
'Who decided on this contract declaration?'
As I watched Brunhilde, thinking the words were the same as what Siegfried had said during his contract, my consciousness started to blur.
'...Huh?'
I witnessed an unexpected scene. Suddenly, Siegfried appeared and pointed at Brunhilde, shouting something.
"Hey, you wench! You called me stupid first, that's why I left!"
"Wench? Did you just call me a wench?"
"Yes, you wench. If I knew I'd meet you like this again, I wouldn't have become a guardian spirit!"
"Fine, let's settle this today. You die, I die, both of us disappear."
'What kind of conversation is that?'
I don't remember what happened after that.
When I opened my eyes again, a familiar knight was raising his sword above his head to stab me.
Swish.
"…Young master, please forgive me."
'What?'