(Heartfelt thanks to 'Wufeng Haotian', 'World's End Ballad', 'Xianyu Laike', 'You Bi Ji Yue', 'Yan Ye Shen Yue', 'Invincible Origin', and 'Black Rock★Feather' for their rewards!)
Night had fallen.
In a clearing within the increasingly eerie Elf Forest, Noah held a sharp longsword and slowly carved a pattern into the ground.
It was a simple magic circle.
More precisely, it was a simple magical formation that was not particularly complex, yet exceptionally delicate and intricate.
After directly carving the magical formation into the ground with his sword, Noah casually tossed aside the sharp blade, allowing it to be swallowed by suddenly rippling golden waves. Then he stepped into the center of the formation.
Taking a deep breath, Noah closed his eyes and held out the hand bearing the Spirit Crest.
"—O cold Queen of Steel, holy sword that slays evil and banishes demons, become a sword of steel here and grant me Divine Power—"
—The contract chant.
The spirit incantation an Elf User needed when summoning their contracted spirit.
Just as humans might all be called human, yet no two people could ever be exactly the same, every spirit was a different existence as well.
Therefore, once a contract had been formed with a spirit, the spirit incantation—namely, the contract chant—needed to summon each contracted spirit was different.
What Noah was reciting now was the contract chant for his own contracted spirit.
"Clang—!"
Just like during the day, the instant Noah finished his contract chant, the Spirit Crest branded onto his left hand burst into dazzling light.
"Buzz—!"
At the same time, the magical formation carved into the ground lit up in its entirety, illuminating the pitch-black surroundings.
Among the surrounding trees and bushes, the evil spirits hiding within, who had been preparing to do something unpleasant to Noah, were