Rise of the Weakest Summoner

“How are we going to get there, then?” Miria tilted her head while looking all over the black floor, which contrasted greatly with all the white around them. “Can Abyss make another tunnel for us to descend into or would that count as ruining Umbra’s home?”

“If that’s what will be necessary, I don’t think I’ll mind a little hole in this structure,” the Duke responded thoughtfully. “I’ve seen the spire get damaged a few times and it didn’t seem like a problem. I do share some connection with it, but even its complete destruction shouldn’t affect me too much.”

“Save for the pain of losing your birthplace,” Althea added. “Perhaps you don’t share too many great memories with it, but it’s always sad knowing that your home is gone forever.”

“Even if we have your permission, Little Shadow, I would rather not employ the help of that technique in this place,” Abyss said, capturing everyone’s attention. “For mana to make it to the surface in such an amount that allows it to spark a new existence and continuously help it grow, we have to be dealing with a considerable leak, and thus a breach of containment.”

“I see.” Asterios nodded to himself. “It might be risky to further damage the structure, isn’t that right?”

“Correct,” she confirmed. “Considering the story behind this pocket space, I dare assume that the titan’s ability hadn’t encompassed the entirety of the underground facility. It might be unstable compared to the one we visited earlier.”

“And if an emptied spiritual cluster can cause so much chaos, just imagine what a fully functioning one can do if it goes out of control,” Silvia pointed out.

“An unrivaled explosion of mana.” Tina shuddered. “But, hey. If it blows up, at least it will be inside the titan’s blood, sparing everything outside.”

“I hate to tell you, but we are and will be inside if that happens.” Selene smirked teasingly.

“Let’s make it quick, then,” Asterios said. “I don’t like putting you all in unnecessary danger. Technically, if it blows up, the problem fixes itself as one of the clusters gets removed from the connection. But, I don’t think we are willing to simply wait it out like with the previous one.”

“Without interfering, that might take us just as long.” The Summoner girl giggled softly. “It will be fine. We have you, Abyss and Umbra with us. If the three of you can’t keep us safe, no one can.”

He smiled warmly and met her charming eyes. Unable to resist the sweet affection flowing into him through their bond, he brushed her cheek lovingly with his thumb and placed a chaste kiss on Tina’s plump lips.

“As if you girls can’t keep yourselves safe with how strong and smart you are,” Asterios replied.

She flushed a little at the compliment and reciprocated the kiss with a cute peck of her own. Drawing back, they turned to the others. Miria was pouting at them, clearly jealous of the moment they had shared while Selene wore her usual mischievous grin. Silvia looked simply happy to see them happy, with Althea by her side, Ast’s mentor directing an approving look his way.

“A tunnel straight down is out of the question, then.” He cleared his throat. “Any other ideas? Does this tower have any entrances, Umbra? Or is this just a natural landmark created by your genesis?”

“I’ve never been inside if that’s what you are asking, Master,” the shadowy butler answered. “I can tell that it’s not completely solid in there, but something always prevented me from slipping in through any possible cracks. I gave up after a few decades, concluding that maybe because I was born out of it, it can resist my abilities.”

“That’s unfortunate.” Miria frowned while rubbing her chin.

She then proceeded to offer her own suggestion, but Asterios didn’t fully register the conversation that started with it. Something else demanded his attention. He felt warmth tickling his skin somewhere at the level of his waist. Taking a peek there, he spotted a faint golden glow escaping from one of the pouches attached to his belt. It didn’t take him long to connect that light to the item currently stored in that small container.

Reaching into the pouch, he pulled out the broken artifact that had caught Umbra’s eye back in the Darkling settlement. The palm-sized disc shattered in half was the source of the shine. Squinting his eyes, Asterios observed it in confusion. Not only did the golden paths shimmer with some energy, but the yellowish mana extended past the token’s edge. It currently wasn’t much, but it looked like the radiance artificially shaped up a tiny section of the lost material.

“Ast?” Tina noticed him spacing out and brought the other’s closer so that they could observe too.

“Sorry, just trying to figure this one out.” He offered her a wry smile. “It lit up again.”

“It must be reacting to the facility,” Abyss commented. “Whatever it is, there is no doubt that it’s part of the whole. And it seems like the excessive energy you absorbed has reconstructed some of its form.”

“Then we need to feed it more,” Selene pointed out. “Maybe it’s like a compass. And the stronger it gets, the bigger its range. It would certainly help, even with you being able to sense traces of that man’s spirituality.”

“Sounds interesting, but it doesn’t help us much when we are already standing atop the facility with no way forward.” The scarlet-haired princess let out a delicate sigh. “Maybe if it was complete, it would point us towards an entrance or something.”

Asterios rotated the artifact in his fingers. It still pulled on him even while in his hand. Deciding to trust that draw, he cleared his mind and let the spiritual energy guide him. He felt a hand on his shoulder and smiled, sensing Tia coming to his aid. She said nothing, offering her silent support as the person the most experienced with this particular affinity.

Before he even noticed, he was on one knee, brushing a layer of black dust away from the surface of the dark ground. His fingertips grazed over a more regular scratch, and soon, he uncovered a flat indent matching the pattern on the badge, if that was whole, of course. Without giving himself enough time to doubt his actions, he slotted the token into the niche and it flashed brightly.

The tower rumbled, throwing everyone off-balance. Asterios got ready to run before it came crashing down, but the tremors lessened as he was going to warn his mates. With a thud of heavy stone, something switched around him, and Miria yelped in surprise as the floor disappeared from under her feet, managing to catch onto Selene in time. Smooth spiraling stairs coiled around the middle of the spire.

“The leaking mana must have influenced this tower more than we thought,” Althea said.

“Do you think it goes into the ground?” the panthergirl asked.

“Hopefully.” Asterios picked the artifact up. “Otherwise we are simply up for a tour of Umbra’s house.”

“I’ve never had guests inside,” the Lord of Shadows admitted. “My deepest apologies if it’s dusty in there.”

The girls laughed openly and assured him that he didn’t need to worry. They formed pairs and got ready to delve into the mysterious structure. With one last glance at the Shades floating a distance away from them, they let Umbra’s devoted followers continue raining praises and prayers at him, now even more so as their idol was exploring his sanctum.

Expecting complete darkness inside, Ast’s team found lines of purple running through the walls, similar to what they had seen on Umbra’s form during the fight. They illuminated the stairs fairly evenly, allowing for a safe descent. But, the deeper they went, the fainter the glow became. Even the light from Silvia’s flaming figure seemed limited. At the same time, they didn’t stumble on anything of importance, no side rooms or chambers, just a narrow path down and down.

When the violet gleam was barely visible, they started experiencing something spooky. Images and scenes began appearing around their vision. Judging by how everyone glanced at each other in slight confusion, they had to be seeing them together. They might have walked into a massive illusion.

But, the notion that it was a malevolent trap was quickly dismissed.

The things they saw belonged to their shadowy friend. Memories of countless battles, challenges, bouts, wars, and running away floated around them as they kept walking. The pictures seemed to appear chronologically, starting with the young Umbra growing his might. It certainly hadn’t been easy, but he owed his current capabilities to all those experiences.

Gasps of shock, terror, and also joy filled the staircase as Asterios and the ladies witnessed the past. Umbra said nothing, seemingly unbothered by them following the events of his long life. He reminisced along with them, sometimes even clearing things up when one of them asked about some detail they had spotted.

They lost their sense of time during the viewing, not sure for how long had they been descending through this almost unchanging scenery. Finally, the stairs ended, leading them into a spacious cavern still gently illuminated by purplish pulses. But, the important thing was on the other side of the natural chamber.

An actual gate stood before them. Embedded in the characteristic white marble with carved golden paths, it was circular. Unfortunately, or fortunately, it wasn’t powered. The circuits weren’t functioning properly. They did shimmer here and there occasionally, but small sparks shot out of them during those times.

Abyss had been right. The facility clearly had suffered great harm during the move brought forth by the titan.

“So… That was your story, huh?” Tina glanced up at their butler companion. “So much fighting. I don’t know if I would be able to survive in such a hostile environment for so long.”

“As an outsider, it might have been difficult. But if you were born here, your chances would be significantly bigger,” Umbra replied. “I have to agree that it was rather monotonous, save for a few cases where I slipped out of the seal to respond to a temporary summoning attempt. At least until I met all of you. Everything changed on that day.”

“And I’m glad we’ve met,” Asterios shared honestly. “You are a great familiar and even greater friend, Umbra. I can’t wait to finally return all those favors by fully freeing you from this curse.”

“We all can’t,” Silvia added, evoking a wave of confirmations from the girls.

“Thank you.” The Duke bowed respectfully. “Let’s see how this broken facility can help with that.”

They approached the dysfunctional gate. It was slightly crooked, tilted out of its proper resting place. According to the marks, it was supposed to slide to the side and back, rolling in its carved rails. The forceful transfer had damaged the structure and locked the thick wheel of white marble in place. Asterios and Althea tried moving it, but it resisted their efforts without even budging.

“I don’t think it will be a good idea to try and destroy it,” Tina offered thoughtfully. “Even if not enhanced by these pathways, this thing should still be fairly durable. Anything else we can do?”

“The gap is wide enough for me to slip in,” Umbra suggested. “I should be able to carry you all inside in my shadows. If the power is out, we shouldn’t be interrupted like the last time.”

“I certainly hope not.” Miria giggled awkwardly. “Suddenly popping out in that tiny crack sounds like a horrible way to die.”

Asterios pulled her into a hug and kissed her rounded ear dearly. “We’ll be fine. I’ll go first to check if it works.”

“Master!” She directed her wide eyes at his face.

“No objections.” He bopped her on the nose. “Just let me do it.”

“Fine…” Miria sighed quietly, nuzzling into his body.

“Thank gods Asterios isn’t afraid of tight openings.” Tina smiled wolfishly. “It would have made our lives so much more troublesome.”

Everyone turned to her as silence descended onto the cavern. The jesting expression gradually faded off the Summoner girl’s face as she stared back at them, trying to figure out the sudden change of atmosphere. In just about a few seconds, she caught on, and in a blink, turned so red she could rival Ast’s scales in his crimson form.

“Grea would be so proud of you, shortie.” Selene snorted while patting her on the back, evoking a wave of chuckles from their sister-mates.

Tina mumbled something under her breath, actively avoiding Ast’s gaze. Asterios ruffled through her soft blue hair as he passed by, smirking to himself lightly. She was in a lot of trouble if these kinds of jokes were starting to come to her subconsciously now. Not that he minded, of course. It certainly was nice to relieve some of the tension from time to time.

Umbra joined him in front of the damaged gate and they shared a nod. Plunging into the shadows, they slipped through the narrow gap, appearing on the other side. Nothing disrupted Umbra’s technique this time and he released Asterios from his care without an issue. They stood together at the beginning of a hallway. It was in a much worse state than the ones in the other location.

“Looks like we might not be here alone,” his familiar warned.

“Agreed.” He nodded, also spotting claw marks and prints belonging to various possible creatures. “No surprise there, though. At the other spot, they could only get as close as to the outer shell, but it already attracted so many strong monsters. The good thing is, I don’t think any titans would fit in here.”

Umbra chuckled deeply. “Let’s hope so. Wait a moment, Master. I’ll bring everyone in.”

A moment later, the girls emerged from the shadows too, and Abyss manifested herself next to them. She examined their surroundings with great focus while the ladies checked on each other first. Tina was slowly losing the heat plaguing her face, offering Asterios a shy smile.

“Can’t believe we are going through an actual entrance for once,” Miria said mirthfully. “I thought we would need to break into every one of these hidden structures.”

“Be on guard,” Asterios warned her and the others. “Traps might not be our only worry today. If they even work in the first place.”

She was going to ask what he meant by that but stopped herself after noticing the evidence of previous visits alongside the organic scent in the air. “Got it, Master. I’m ready to tear your enemies to pieces.”

The transformed panthergirl flashed her sharp fangs and deadly claws. He had no doubts she would do just that, not needing her amazing weapons to fulfill the promise. Everyone else was ready to carry their own weight too. Silvia’s flaming figure wasn’t thwarted anymore so she provided more light for them.

Donning their weapons, they turned to Asterios.

“Can the artifact lead us to the cluster?” Althea asked.

“In case it can’t, I’m able to follow the spiritual traces now,” Abyss informed them.

“We’ll rely on that, then.” He nodded appreciatively. “I’m not sure how much we can trust this plate, even if it hasn’t given us a reason not to yet.”

So, she took the lead while they assumed one of their basic formations. The facility felt even more eerie than the previous one. Some circuits flashed to life now and then, spooking a person or two. It was hard to tell if they were under an attack, if a trap was triggered, or if it was just a damaged array sending out golden sparks. And no one wanted to fully ignore this characteristic sound and glow in case it proved to be a deadly notion.

They walked past numerous intersections and open spaces. The thick paths decorating all the surfaces hinted at similar protection as before, just disabled. It was both good and bad news. Good because they didn’t have to worry about stepping into an invisible wall of disintegration, and bad because they had to worry about monsters and creatures that had made it through.

“Is it me or is the air getting quite humid?” Silvia asked at one point.

“I agree.” Miria sniffed a few times in different directions. “I pick up the change too. And it also smells like… fish? How would fish even get here?”

No one knew the answer to that, but they certainly were curious, especially after taking the next turn and coming face to face with a… school of fish floating in the air inside the square chamber.

“Surely, they aren’t swimming in invisible acidic water, right?” Selene joked.

There were about two or three dozen of them. Different shapes and kinds, ranging from long and slimy eels to bulky and full-of-teeth sharks. They were all various shades of black and dark gray. The only other color was yellow, visible in their beady eyes. Regardless of the species they resembled, the monsters lived in relative harmony. Their life purpose was unknown, though.

“Hydran says there’s no liquids around,” Tina stated. “These are all just weird fish flying around like it’s nothing.”

“And I guess we have to go through here?” Asterios glanced at Abyss.

“Correct.” She nodded. “Will that be a problem for you?”

“I don’t know about others, but retreating from a battle with a bunch of sardines would considerably wound my draconic pride,” Althea stated with a delicate chuckle. “I can’t even imagine how a True Dragon would feel in that situation.”

A light growl escaped Ast’s throat and all the fish froze. 

“I know what you are doing.” He squinted at the sly woman. “Thankfully, I’m better than that. You’ll need to think of tougher tests.”

“Who said it was a test?” She raised a brow at him and glanced aside.

Following her gaze, Asterios saw all the monsters turning to them and sighed. These pathetic pests were trying to challenge him? Good thing he didn’t consider them worth his attention or he might have had a hard time stepping away from such disrespect. The deeper he delved into his draconic lineages, the harder it was to keep some urges in check, but his control was still something he prided himself—

“The one with the least kills is as useless as tits on a boar!” Miria shouted and lunged forward with a gleeful cackle.

Ah, shit.

Now, that was a problem.