Chapter 138: Heroic Spirit Summoning
"Arrange it like this here, and for this position, do it this way. That Rune Magecraft needs to be carved there."
Scáthach had been busy for quite some time in a spacious underground chamber before finally constructing the massive Magecraft circle now positioned on the ground.
Compared to the ones Noah had seen in anime in his previous life, Scáthach's Magecraft circle was more intricate and carried a stronger personal style.
It bore numerous traces of Rune Magecraft and Nordic Magecraft.
Afterward, Noah watched as Scáthach placed that notebook at the center of the Magecraft circle. She then closed her eyes, and the entire circle lit up.
This was the difference between a Magecraft circle activated by Rune Magecraft and other types of Magecraft circles. Many runes were trigger-based rather than incantation-based, so they didn't require lengthy chants to activate.
Thus, as Scáthach infused her magical energy into it and connected the Alchemy equipment—crafted by Noah over the past few days using Alchemy to store vitality and convert it into magical energy—directly to the Magecraft circle, a blue light radiated from within. After all the Rune Magecraft took effect, three consecutive waves of magical energy spread outward.
Along with the beam of light rising from the center of the Magecraft circle, a black shadow gradually took shape within the glow.
"Hmph, let me see just who it is."
Having completed the infusion of magical energy, Scáthach now stared intently at the black shadow. At some point, her two spears had appeared in her hands, making it clear that she was already eager for action!
Meanwhile, Noah, like Marcus, was eagerly anticipating who the first summoned Heroic Spirit would be.
As for Lucius...
She had gone to sleep long before Scáthach began setting up the Magecraft circle.
After all, studying this Magecraft circle alone had taken considerable time, and setting it up was quite troublesome. That monkey couldn't wait around—she had been jumping up and down earlier, but after realizing no one was paying her any attention, she simply went to sleep.
"...I heard you can fulfill my wish?"
Before the light had fully dissipated, the shadow had already spoken.
"Well, never mind—even if you can't fulfill my wish, being summoned back is still more interesting than staying in that boring place."
"If I can find a few worthy opponents in this era and have a good, satisfying fight, that would be even better~"
"Anyway..."
As he spoke, the light gradually faded, and he stepped out from the dissipating glow.
By the time he finished speaking, he could almost clearly see Noah and the others, and they could see him as well.
Then this blue Lancer, wielding a blood-red spear, struck what he thought was a cool pose. Without even clearly seeing who his summoners were, he began his self-introduction.
"Lancer, Cú Chulainn, answering the summon to..."
Before he could finish, most of the light had dissipated.
And he finally saw his summoners clearly...
Noah and Marcus stood to the side, but the one who had truly activated this Magecraft circle was Scáthach!
So when Cú Chulainn emerged, he saw her immediately, and the second half of the self-introduction he had prepared was instantly scared out of him.
Under normal circumstances, Cú Chulainn wouldn't be this afraid upon seeing Scáthach.
But he could clearly see that the expression on Scáthach's face was off!
As Scáthach's disciple, he had been beaten by her countless times, which is why now, the moment he saw Scáthach like this, he knew it was the prelude to her taking action.
Thus, this great hero—who would still laugh heartily in the face of death and mock the crow perched on his shoulder—was now so frightened that he took two steps back, looking as if he intended to take advantage of the light not yet fully dissipating to hurry back and refuse this summoning.
But unfortunately, such a thing was impossible.
By now, the glow of the magecraft circle had completely vanished, and the room returned to its dim atmosphere, much like Cú Chulainn's current state of mind.
"W-wait... I don't remember doing anything to provoke you again, and besides, I've been dead for many years, right? Can't any grudges be settled once I'm gone?"
When a Heroic Spirit descends, they are granted knowledge of the era. This feature was added to the Heroic Spirit Summoning Ritual at Noah's suggestion.
Cú Chulainn was well aware that the current era was no longer the one he had lived in.
That's why he couldn't understand why Scáthach was acting this way now.
He had been dead for so many years—what could possibly still be unresolved!?
And... if he had known earlier that the one initiating this summoning was Scáthach, he would never have competed with his fellow disciples for this spot!
That's right.
Although Cú Chulainn appeared calm and composed after being summoned, that wasn't how he had been just moments before!
The notebook used this time only had a cover related to Cú Chulainn; the pages inside were actually written by various disciples of Scáthach.
And many of Scáthach's disciples possessed the qualifications to become Heroic Spirits.
So this summoning had almost simultaneously sent a summoning request to all of them.
There were many who wanted to accept this summoning request.
After all, everyone was bored over there, and they all wanted to come and take a look.
Cú Chulainn had stood out in that fierce competition, finally managing to seize this opportunity!
And what he had fought so hard for... turned out to be a beating?
He couldn't accept it!
Cú Chulainn roared inwardly, but when the words reached his lips, perhaps because times had changed, the firmness in his heart softened the moment it met the air.
"I... I at least deserve to know why, right..."
"Why?"
Scáthach put away the spear in one hand, raising her other hand toward Cú Chulainn. Then, the 'Holy Relic' notebook that had been placed on the ground earlier
flew directly into Scáthach's hand as a Rune Magecraft symbol lit up beneath Cú Chulainn's feet.
"This looks familiar, doesn't it?"
Hearing Scáthach say this, Cú Chulainn knew it must be a key item. He focused all his attention and looked over.
And then...
Even though the Age of Gods techniques depicted on the book cover had vanished with the passage of time and the end of that era, Cú Chulainn stubbornly managed to recognize it based on some details on the cover alone!
It could be called a powerful manifestation of the will to survive, an extension of Battle Continuation!
After recognizing it, Cú Chulainn seemed to understand why Scáthach was acting this way.
Strictly speaking, this book was written by him and two other sages. He compiled the Rune Magecraft he had learned from Scáthach and combined it with the two sages' research on Rune Magecraft, intending to leave behind a manual for future generations!
So this old woman is blaming me for passing down the knowledge she taught me without telling her?
No, she isn't that shallow...
Then it must be that the manual I left behind has caused major problems in this era?
The more Cú Chulainn thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed.
But...
At this moment, he slightly furrowed his brow and spoke to Scáthach with great seriousness.
"Ah, I do recognize this thing, but if you're blaming me because of it, I won't accept it."
"Even now, I don't believe that writing it back then was wrong! If I had to do it again, I would still choose to write it!"
"This is a gift I left for future generations, and also a warning to them! Using—"
At this point, Cú Chulainn had already walked back the few steps he had retreated earlier, and he pointed at Scáthach with righteous indignation.
"I'm not wrong!"