Spirit Blade Dance Festival.
It was the largest Kagura ritual dedicated to the Five Great Elemental Lords and held in Astral Zero. Elementalists gathered from across the continent and performed the Sword Dance, so to speak, it was a grand martial arts festival among elementalists. The country whose Elementalist or Elementalist Team won would be granted the protection of the Elemental Lords for several years, and this blessing would bring prosperity to the country. Additionally, one ◆wish◆ would be granted to the winner.
Those who participated in the Spirit Blade Dance Festival were the most elite Elementalists representing each country. The reason many countries trained Elementalists was for this purpose.
On the continent, there were six major countries that never missed participating in the Spirit Blade Dance Festival: the Quina Empire, the Rossvale Kingdom, the Ordesia Empire, the Holy Kingdom of Lugia, Drakonia, and the Theocracy of Alphas.
The Four Gods were a formidable team from the Quina Empire, a major country in the eastern part of the continent. The Quina Empire not only had a longer history than the Ordesia Empire but had also won the Spirit Blade Dance Festival more times.
The people of the Quina Empire believed that the Four Gods Team would win this year's Spirit Blade Dance Festival, which would be held next month.
However, a variable occurred.
Today, an uninvited guest visited each member of the Four Gods Team one by one.
*BOOM!*
The sound of an explosion echoed as a beautiful girl crashed into a large tree.
"Cough... Cough... So this is the power of a male Elementalist... You've only contracted one Spirit, yet you're this strong. I wonder how strong the Demon King Solomon, who controlled 72 Spirits, was..."
Bruised and battered, the girl clutched her stomach, which had been mercilessly punched by the man approaching her.
"I told you I wouldn't go easy on you just because you're a woman."
Standing a few meters away from the girl, Charlie felt no guilt whatsoever for hitting a woman.
Women always demanded gender equality. Now he was giving them what they wanted.
"White Tiger, surrender. Otherwise, I'll kill this girl. Believe me, I can do it."
It was a lie.
Charlie wouldn't actually kill the other party. He wouldn't kill someone without hostility, and he wasn't someone who enjoyed killing without reason.
He was merely issuing a threat to intimidate the White Tiger Spirit, which had now manifested as an Elemental Waffe in the form of gloves worn by the girl.
The girl's name was Shao Fu, one of the members of the Four Gods Team, whose reputation was well-known in the Quina Empire.
Terminus Est wasn't enough to satisfy Charlie. He wanted the Four Divine Beast—the White Tiger, the Black Tortoise, the Vermilion Bird, and the Azure Dragon—to become his contracted Spirits.
He spent an hour flying from the Ordesia Empire to the Quina Empire. If he hadn't needed to check the map a few times, he could have arrived sooner.
For a moment, he considered making Restia his contracted Spirit, though he knew the other party would likely refuse due to her feelings for the protagonist. However, Charlie gave up, considering he didn't know her location.
So, he shifted his target to the Four Divine Beasts. In his previous life, the White Tiger, Black Tortoise, Vermilion Bird, and Azure Dragon were the mythological Four Symbols of China, widely known and appearing in various forms of literature such as novels, manga, and anime.
Worried about facing Quests alone again, Charlie decided to find assistants who could lighten his workload. Undoubtedly, the Four Divine Beasts were perfect for filling that role. For the sake of his own survival, he didn't hesitate to use forceful methods.
"No way! I won't hand Byakko over to you! I won't let a second Demon King appear!"
Struggling to stand due to her injuries, Shao Fu glared sharply at the young man in front of her. She believed Charlie was gathering Spirits like Solomon to conquer the world.
*WHOOSH!*
Ignoring the pain from her wounds, Shao Fu lunged forward, the pair of gloves known as the Divine Tiger's Fangs unleashing a flurry of punches.
*BAM!* *BAM!* *BAM!*
Charlie stood still, the Armor Fafnir on his body serving as the best defense. The punches didn't even make him flinch.
"Had enough? Now it's my turn."
*WHOOSH!*
His speed was too fast. Before Shao Fu could react, Charlie had already grabbed her slender neck and lifted her into the air.
"Ugh..."
Shao Fu struggled but couldn't break free. Her face grew paler as she gasped for air.
"Last chance, or do you want to watch this girl die?"
As he spoke, Charlie tightened his grip.
"Ugh...!!!"
With no footing, Shao Fu kicked her legs wildly, the lack of oxygen to her brain causing her to lose control of her bladder. A pungent smell filled the air as yellow liquid flowed from under her skirt and down her legs.
"Release Shao Fu!"
The next moment, the gloves on Shao Fu's hands returned to their original form—a ten-meter-long White Tiger.
"Finally, you speak."
"You can understand what I'm saying?"
"Of course, I've mastered several languages, including animal language."
Charlie wasn't intimidated by the White Tiger, whose size far exceeded any tiger on Earth.
"..."
The White Tiger observed the young man in front of him. Even his Elementalist, Shao Fu, couldn't understand his words due to the language barrier.
"What's your decision? If you delay any longer, I'm afraid this girl will die." Charlie said with a slight smile.
"Release Shao Fu first."
Seeing Shao Fu's face turning blue, the White Tiger urged.
"Fine."
Not actually wanting to kill Shao Fu, Charlie released her.
"Cough... Cough... Cough..."
Falling into the puddle of her own urine, Shao Fu had no time to care about that. She coughed violently, gasping for air.
"From what I see, you've already contracted the Sacred Sword Severian. Why do you want to contract another Spirit? Do you know how heavy the burden is for an Elementalist to contract two Spirits?" The White Tiger probed.
"The Demon King could contract 72 Spirits at once, why can't I? Of course, I don't have enough time to replicate his feat. Contracting the Four Divine Beasts is more than enough."
"What do you mean—"
"Stop stalling. My patience has limits. What's your choice? Agree or not?"
"..."
The White Tiger fell silent. After a moment, he proposed a condition.
"Promise me you won't bring calamity to the world like Solomon did."
"Agreed!"
It was an easy condition. After all, Charlie didn't have time to cause trouble in this world; his stay was only three hours.
"I'm sorry, Shao Fu."
"No, Byakko, don't do it!"
Under her reluctant gaze, Shao Fu could only watch as the despicable young man easily formed a contract with the White Tiger.
At the same time, the Spirit Mark on her body disappeared.
"I hope you keep your promise, human."
The White Tiger's voice echoed in Charlie's mind.
"Of course."
Ignoring Shao Fu's hateful glare, Charlie turned and left, heading toward the other members of the Four Gods Team.