Life Hunter

After leaving the Coliseum, Arima went straight to the eastern gate. He wanted to perform a certain magic. Something that every powerful people did in this world; the soul summoning.

It was summoning ritual that would create a soul beast from your own soul essence. The stronger you are, the stronger your soul beast would be. The two will also grow stronger together. Usually, they have the appearance of a magic beast and possess their own ego. But the summoning actually has a low chance of succeeding. The probability was around 0.1%. But Arima oddly knew that he was going to succeed, you could call it either arrogance or confidence, it didn't matter.

He arrived in a meadow then started drawing something in mid-air with his fingertip. After some time, a glowing, blue magic circle was drawn. It was floating and had approximately a two-meter diameter. When Arima finished drawing it, it moved on its own and placed itself on the ground before starting to expand. It became ten meters wide in a few seconds.

Arima observed it for a moment then pulled out a knife to cut his own wrist without hesitation. He extended his hand to let the blood fall on the circle. The magic formation began to glow with a red light. He placed his hand on the circle and sent a large quantity of mana into it.

Afterward, everything started. The runes and inner circles began to shift and spin. From the outline of the circle, blood spurted out as a whirlpool. It gathered in mid-air to form a small dark red sphere. That sphere was perfectly round and was surrounded by a crimson aura.

The process wasn't over. The red color of the sphere slowly turned into a pitch black one. The sphere then changed form.

It first swelled and twisted to create something resembling a torso. Then it was arms and legs, which could be called claws to be more accurate. Obviously, the last step was the head. It took shape while the neck was stretching out.

Red lines spread on the newly generated body, forming a pattern. Finally, an explosion occurred. A large black and red pillar of energy pierced the sky. Even Arima almost took a step back and had to cover his eyes.

When the situation calmed down and the dust dispersed, the sight was grand enough for Arima to exclaim, "Wow…"

A fearsome crater. In its middle stood a ten-meter-tall, bipedal black dragon. It had its wings fully deployed, and its dark red eyes were staring at Arima.

"Are you my master?" He asked gravely. He spoke in a male voice and it sounded remarkably composed and strangely wise.

"Master?" Arima frowned. "If you mean the person who summoned you, it's indeed me."

"I see," the dragon jumped out of the crater and landed lightly in front of Arima. The disparity in size was obvious but the dragon still kneeled on one leg and slammed his fist on the ground. "Then I'm at your service."

Arima scowled at his attitude and nodded. "As you wish. But remember, with me, there is no such thing as a master and servant, you'll be my partner. I won't accept anything else," he smiled and beckoned the dragon to stand up. "I'm Arimane Blade. Call me Arima."

The dragon deeply looked at Arima and complied without much hesitation. "I understand, Arima."

Arima looked up at him and mused. "Do you have a name?"

"No, it's you who should be giving me one."

"Fair enough. If it's alright for you, I'll call you 'Night' from now on. I'll also give you the surname of 'Bahamut', which suits you pretty well," Arima declared. When he saw his soul beast, he immediately thought of the legendary Bahamut, that's why he went for it.

'Night' was because of the double meaning it could have once pronounced. Loyal as a knight, and dark as the night. It wasn't that fancy or complex.

"I shall accept. I will be called Night Bahamut from now on."

Night took up his new name. It officially meant he had become Arima's soul beast and partner.

"Good. Now that it's done… I have a suggestion to know each other," Arima uttered and called Karma. The moment he drew the blade out of the sheath, his aura instantly filled the area.

Night wasn't surprised. He smirked, displaying his fangs. "My pleasure."

The two charged at each other with the same kind of silly smile on their face.

***

The next day, the valley had lost all of its verdure and the trees within a kilometer' radius had either been cut, destroyed, burned, or crushed.

Along with the crater from the summoning, the dark flames that were still burning, the scorched depressions caused by lightning, and the deep cracks spreading on the earth… This place looked like an actual battlefield swept by a natural catastrophe.

In the middle of that destruction, Arima sheathed his katana. His face and clothes were dirty and dripping in blood. In front of him, Night was lying on the ground, looking a lot worse. His wings had been pierced, some scales were destroyed, and he was bleeding from everywhere. He suddenly snorted and black flames escaped his nostrils.

"Arima."

"Hm?"

"You told me I am your partner. So, I'll assume you don't need courtesy. Let me tell you this," he paused and inhaled. "Although I'm quite literally an existence born yesterday, my personality was synthesized from yours, and I received knowledge of this world from the magic circuits. So, I can say this confidently," he turned his head to look at Arima. "You're a total freak."

Arima laughed. "Yeah, it seems so," he seemed to be perfectly aware of how strong he was. "I also have to thank you. Because thanks to you, I got an occasion to use my power to a higher degree, and test some magic."

"Higher degree? You were barely using half of your power. How much mana did you use anyway?"

"Maybe around 20%?"

Night sighed. "Can you heal me? I can't move at all."

Arima smiled, he approached Night and extended his palm, "[Sana Plena] (Full Heal)."

The effects were immediate. Night's wings recovered to their original state and the missing scales returned. Night trembled and slightly moved. But he fell on his back again.

On the other side, Arima cast a heal on himself. "[Sana] (Heal)."

He chuckled while looking at Night and laid down too. He pointed his hand at the sky, "[Aqua Pluvia] (Water Rain)."

The clouds quickly gathered in the sky and soon the rain began to clean the 'battlefield'.

"Feels good, right?"

"Indeed…" Night replied. The rain was washing away their blood and fatigue.

Arima yawned. "Well, I think I'll sleep here for a bit, I'm quite tired."

"If you are tired then I'm on the brink of mental collapsing," Night retorted.

Arima laughed. "[Obice Spatium] (Space Barrier)," he waved his hand and a transparent barrier encompassed them both.

"What is this?"

"A spatial barrier. The commotion here must have been felt until the capital at least. I'm sure there will soon be someone coming to check the area. This barrier is to give a peace of mind when I'm sleeping."

"Don't you fear someone would break it?"

"Nah," Arima shook his head and smiled. "This barrier is not something that can't be broken, but at the same time, it's not something that should be broken."

"It's a space barrier. Befitting of its name, a person walking and touching this barrier will automatically be displaced to the other side. There is also a bit of illusion magic to make things look natural. It only works on average people. But even if someone clever and strong enough can notice this barrier, I don't think someone like that will come. In any case, if someone tries to break it, I'll wake up. So, it's all good."

"I see," Night didn't even have the energy to retort about this outrageous barrier that was conjured with only a two-word chant. He actually had seen enough during the fight to be numb of it.

"Sleep well," Arima said and closed his eyes

"...Yeah."