Spirit fairy tale is when a spirit master surrounds their body with the power of a spirit to maximize that power.
In Vierano's case, he surrounds himself with the wind spirit, receiving tremendous speed correction when moving, ignoring air resistance, and increasing the power by surrounding the current around his fist.
In some ways, it might seem like the spirit master who only summoned and commanded spirits is now stepping onto the front line to fight, so you might wonder if they can engage in a proper battle.
A spirit master who has achieved spirit fairy tale has a basic physical ability that is ridiculously high.
Moreover, because they can use the spirit's power to the extreme, it would not be an exaggeration to say that they become a living quasi-avatar of nature.
'That, Teacher Selina?'
In Vierano's memory, spirit masters who could use spirit fairy tale were extremely few.
In terms of the wizard hierarchy, spirit fairy tale is almost similar to the 6th hierarchy [Lexer] level.
It's impossible without considerable effort and talent.
Beyond that, what is needed is empathy with the spirit.'Spirits are products of nature. No matter how human they are, they cannot properly empathize with spirits, which are the embodiment of nature's will.'
It's not because spirits are lacking, but because human ability is insufficient.
Would a pet dog that you raised understand all of your owner's thoughts, worries, and concerns, and be able to empathize with them?
Spirit masters are the same.
Spirits, the avatars of great nature, are difficult to understand with human consciousness.
That was why other spirit study teachers at Theon couldn't achieve spirit fairy tale.
'No. For humans with short lifespans, it was impossible for the majority.'
Even Vierano, who was capable of spirit fairy tale, had barely reached that level because he was an elf who had lived for a very long time.
But Selina had succeeded in spirit fairy tale at such a young age.
Vierano didn't know that Selina was a special case.
That she was not an ordinary human but an artificial spirit, and that the dark spirit that had merged with Selina was not an ordinary spirit either.
Both humans and spirits are incomplete.
But because of that, the two incomplete entities came together to transform into a complete being.
Selina, merged with Esmeralda, stretched out her hand.
A black sphere formed at her fingertips. The slowly fired sphere reached the hole in the gradually narrowing barrier.
"Everyone, please avoid it."
It was a warning delivered in a low voice, but everyone present could hear it clearly.
People who were struggling with the entrance unconsciously stepped back.
The instinct that they must back away led their bodies involuntarily.
The fist-sized darkness that Selina shot touched the hole in the barrier, and then greedily expanded its size.
The darkness expanded to a radius of about 5m, and then rotated like a whirlpool.
And in the place where the darkness disappeared like a mirage, only a large, cleanly pierced passage remained.
"Wh-what...?"
"Could that be pierced so easily?"
People opened their mouths wide in disbelief at the scene Selina had shown.
Rudger was also surprised.
After all, Selina's appearance, merged with the dark spirit, was a complete copy of Esmeralda.
Wondering if it could be, Rudger looked at Selina, and Selina also turned to look at Rudger, their eyes meeting.
Selina gave Rudger a ‘hehe’ smile.
Seeing that sloppy and innocent smile that couldn't be hidden even in this urgent moment, Rudger realized that she was still Selina.
Rudger nodded once to Selina and then gazed at the wide-open barrier.
Until now, the barrier had tried to repair itself whenever a hole appeared, but now it was doing nothing.
This was because the dark power that Selina had used had completely swallowed that space itself.
Although the barrier repelled the intense power applied from the outside, the power of the dark spirit was completely different.
It neither applied shock from the outside, nor did it seep into the interior to destroy from the inside.
It simply swallowed the space itself.
'The dark attribute magic I use is ultimately nothing more than imitating the attribute with magical power. But that's not an imitation of magical power. That is real [darkness].'
If the spirit study community saw this right now, they would be flipping their eyes and foaming at the mouth.
Of course, that would be possible assuming they could safely escape from this place.
That's how overwhelming and difficult to understand rationally the power Selina was showing was.
Whatever the case, the opening of the barrier that had blocked their path was a ray of light falling into despair.
"It's open! If we just widen the hole and go inside..."
However, Seridan's shout from the bridge was not properly finished.
With a thud, something hit the airship hard, shaking it greatly.
"What was that just now?!"
What collided with the warship was just a single creature.
Unlike other creatures, it was not an ordinary one.
It was much stronger and much faster.
If other creatures were like crows, it was an eagle shining with splendid golden light.
"No way..."
Franz, feeling that familiar energy, widened his eyes.
The golden creature that shook the warship once and then distanced itself burst into laughter.
"Kuhahaha!"
The creature with the body of a bird but the head of an old hook-nosed man was Nirva, who had died and disappeared.
"I should thank the goddess! Although it's not the complete form I had before, I'm able to fight again like this!"
Nirva's speed as he circled through the void was so fast that it was difficult to follow with the eyes.
Shining golden among the pitch-black creatures, Nirva was impossible not to notice, but he had a speed that made that insignificant.
Nirva's figure blurred, and a golden line was drawn in the void.
By the time they realized that it was the trajectory Nirva had passed through, and that the trajectory had pierced the warship's main engine, it was already too late.
-Boom!
The rear of the warship exploded, sending fragments flying in all directions.
"This is bad! The main engine has exploded!"
Seridan, who was checking the situation from the bridge, screamed.
The warship lost its thrust and slowly began to tilt to one side.
The Dream Walkers tried to hold on by blowing their dream results, but with the engine itself gone, it was like pouring water into a bottomless jar.
Moreover, Nirva wasn't going to just stand by and watch.
"Crash down there like that! You insects!"
"Eek! What an ugly thing!"
Seridan moved the remaining main guns to aim at Nirva, but Nirva's movement was so fast that it was difficult to aim properly.
The moment the heavy main gun aimed at Nirva, Nirva had already disappeared, leaving a trail of gold.
The golden stem that had intricately webbed the void headed towards the warship again.
This time, the direction was towards the center of the warship.
Nirva intended to split the warship in half.
It was a simple body slam, but the destructive power shown when destroying the engine was already more than enough.
"I'll split you in half like this...!"
Nirva, who was shouting triumphantly, suddenly stopped moving.
Nirva's gaze remained fixed on a man with a gloomy expression on the deck.
"That guy is..."
Nirva could feel that he was his natural enemy who had given him the most humiliation after Rudger in the infinite prison.
That power was being felt from that human.
Come to think of it, Sedina Roschen had said so.
The Beast of Gevaudan is just a human who handles that power.
'That guy...'
Although he said he was revived thanks to Noxana, he did not lack his previous memories.
The nightmarish appearance shown by the Beast of Gevaudan instinctively stimulated Nirva's fear, creating a momentary gap in his movement.
A mass of black tentacles flew at Nirva, targeting that gap.
Nirva, who had regained his senses, flapped his wings widely, rotated his body, and demonstrated a right-angle flight that transcended the laws of physics, escaping from the black tentacles.
Selina, who had stretched out her hand towards Nirva from the deck, wiggled her extended hand as if in regret.
Nirva felt a chill down his spine despite having a bird's body at the sight of Selina.
Selina, who had merged with the dark spirit, exuded an unbelievable power in a different sense.
Clearly, until now, she had seemed like nothing more than a slightly guarded target for defeating one of the minions.
In the time between his death and resurrection, Selina had become the most vigilant person to watch out for.
What led to this sudden change was, of course, Rudger, who could be called the [Holy Grail].
Because he possessed the power to reverse fate, his very existence acted as an inflection point for the people around him.
"We can't hold on much longer! At this rate, we'll crash!"
At Bruno's cry, people who realized the seriousness of the situation turned their gaze towards the open gap in the barrier.
"Everyone run!"
"It's now or never!"
Nirva, seeing people hurriedly trying to move, distorted his face grotesquely.
Nirva, with a bird's body and an old man's face, issued a command to the creatures with a monstrous scream.
"What are you doing not stopping those bugs! Go! Go and protect the goddess' divine artifact! Throw away your miserable lives!"
-Roaaaar.
When the creatures gathered and moved, a sound like a thundercloud rumbled.
Thanks to the time Nirva had bought by destroying the engine, the creatures began to stick to the warship and tear at its exterior.
It was the moment when the precariously holding warship tilted completely and began to fall.
The deck of the warship, which had barely been holding up, shattered and broke into pieces with a cracking sound.
The people who had boarded it were also caught up in it.
"No!"
Selina spread a web of black tentacles and barely patched together the crumbling warship.
But the dark power she wielded was for absorbing and annihilating opponents, not for restoring things that were breaking like this.
"We can't all go. Someone has to stay here to protect people."
Elisa's gaze turned to Rudger.
Rudger nodded, realizing what Elisa was trying to say with her eyes.
I'll trust you with this.
Rudger ran towards the entrance of the barrier to live up to that expectation.
"Owens!"
All Owens members responded to Rudger's call.
Alex and Pantos stuck to his side, and Violetta, Arpa, and Hans did too.
Seridan, who jumped down from the bridge, and Bellaruna, who had been gazing at Chris Benimore longingly from a corner through her mask, were the same.
Rudger and Owens jumped into the barrier, and Franz followed them in.
"No!"
The Dream Walkers tried to follow immediately, but they had to stop because of the golden creature that was plunging down onto the deck.
"I can't let any more in!"
The Dream Walkers' expressions hardened at the sight of Nirva, whose eyes were streaming with killing intent.
"Right. We had a lot to pay you back for anyway."
"This is actually good. It would have been quite unsettling to just ignore you and go."
For the Dream Walkers, Nirva was the enemy they should rightfully hate the most.
He had killed many of their colleagues who were like family, and because of Nirva, Master Clara and Zantman had to sacrifice their lives.
Nirva, for his part, was irritated by the Dream Walkers who were not afraid of him.
"You who couldn't even put up a fight against me when I was complete dare to wag your tongues so freely?"
"That was before. Now, well, we might be able to handle it?"
"Did becoming a bird also make your brain a bird brain? This won't do. Guys, let's catch a chicken today."
"Let's boil it!"
"I prefer it fried!"
Nirva's face reddened at the taunting done with giggles.
"Fine! I'll show you that even in this state, I can tear you all to pieces and kill you!"
* * *
Rudger, who had entered beyond the barrier, was surprised that he could step on the floor.
He hadn't noticed from the outside, but once inside, a separate world had unfolded.
It was a tasteless world full of pure white octagonal tiles and in the center was a black bell.
[Nursery Rhyme]
Breaking that would end everything.
"Now is the time for me to..."
Rudger held back Franz, who was about to step forward with a dagger in his hand.
"You step in later. For now, you need to save that power."
"...Yes. I thought it wouldn't be easy anyway."
The divine artifact [Nursery Rhyme] recognized the presence of intruders who had entered its domain.
It's a tool, but it has intelligence and instinct.
That's why it's an object handled by gods.
The power emanating from [Nursery Rhyme] became a massive mental wave that struck Rudger and his group.
Not stopping there, it was trying to create a barrier again, sparking black sparks around it.
Before that was completed, they had to break it with overwhelming firepower.
"Seridan."
At this moment, Rudger uttered a completely unexpected name.
As everyone was wondering, Seridan walked forward with a confident smile.
"Are you ready?"
"Actually, since driving the warship, I've been itching to use this."
"Alright. I understand."
Rudger turned around and spoke to Owens and Franz.
"Everyone, step back if you don't want to get caught up in it."