Chapter 4 - Elementals

As the smoky substances solidified, three distinct figures appeared.

The red smoke took the form of a large bird with crimson feathers. It had the face of a golden pheasant, the body of a mandarin duck, wings of a crane, and the tail of a peacock. Despite the blend of different bird features, they harmonized well, and the red aura surrounding it gave the impression of a royal being.

The blue smoke elongated and solidified into the outline of a long, snake-like figure covered in azure scales. A white mustache flowed from its large jaws, and its dark blue eyes radiated intelligence. The creature floated in the air with four limbs hanging down, each ending in sharp claws that looked capable of slicing through steel. The blue aura it emitted was calm and serene.

The final smoky substance condensed into the outline of a black crow. Its dark feathers exuded a majestic aura, absorbing the small amount of light in the room. Unusually, the crow had three legs instead of two and piercing golden eyes. Despite being much smaller than the bird and the dragon, it held a commanding presence, as if the other two were deferring to it.

Azrael was stunned by the appearance of these creatures. Each radiated such immense power that even he, who had been known as the devil in his past life, felt a deep instinct to bow. While he grappled with what to do, the voice he had heard earlier spoke again from the three-legged crow.

“Master, the three of us greet thee.”

“…..What are you beings?”

“Allow us to introduce ourselves, Master. The humans in this world call us elementals. Bonghwang is a fire elemental and the queen of all birds. Chunryong is a water elemental and the lord of the east seas. This servant is Samjoko, a darkness elemental. We three have come to finally introduce ourselves.”

…Three elementals, huh? All three seemed to be high-level entities. Even though Samjoko hadn’t given a title for itself, the deference shown by the queen of all birds and the lord of the east seas suggested that the crow must be an even higher-level elemental…. As Azrael’s mind quickly processed this shocking revelation, the azure dragon spoke.

“Master, it has been thousands of years since any of us have found a human worthy to rule over us. It brings us great joy that we have finally found you.”

“…. What makes me qualified to be the master of you three majestic beings?”

Despite his excitement, Azrael couldn’t understand why he was deemed worthy to rule them. Samjoko’s response, however, shocked him.

“Master, when we were searching for a new master, your mana’s aura drew us to you. Although I was initially hesitant about whether you were destined to be my master, when I touched a strand of your mana, I glimpsed your past life. To grow to such strength as a mortal! Seeing that convinced me you were destined to be this one’s master, Azuel the Devil. I believe I speak for Bonghwang and Chunryong?”

At Samjoko’s question, both the bird and azure dragon nodded in agreement. Azrael, however, was preoccupied with the mention of his previous life.

'Azuel the Devil, huh? It’s been a while since I heard that title. Though I hoped to leave it behind, it seems the saying that you can’t escape your past is true. Still, these three elementals will help me grow stronger so I can protect those I love in this life…'

Coming to terms with everything, he decided to accept the situation.

“Alright then. Bonghwang, Chunryong, Samjoko! Please treat me well.”

“””We pledge ourselves to you, Master!”””

The three elementals bowed their heads. Seeing such majestic beings bow toward him stirred complex emotions within Azrael. He shook off his feelings and decided to learn more about these elementals.

“Samjoko, since I haven’t been in this world long, I don’t know much about elementals. Could you explain more about them to me?”

“Of course, Master. Elementals are beings created by the deities to rule over the elements. We were once supreme beings who ruled the world. No human or beast dared to defy us. However, two hundred thousand years ago, a foolish light elemental challenged one of the deities, believing himself to be supreme. Leading his followers, he attempted to overthrow the deity.

The deities, infuriated by this challenge, destroyed them. The deity who was challenged gathered the other deities and demanded the elimination of all elementals. After a century of argument, the deities agreed that, while elementals would not be killed, they would lose their ability to generate mana.

Though we were not killed outright, this was a severe blow. Mana was everything to us. Without it, many weaker elementals began to perish, and beasts preyed upon us since we could no longer defend ourselves. Humans, struggling to protect themselves from stronger beasts, offered mana to elementals in exchange for borrowing their powers. The elemental lords, despite their pride, realized that without human-provided mana, we would become extinct. Thus, a pact was made.

Even though elementals no longer create mana within themselves, we are highly sensitive to the auras of newborns. When an elemental finds a newborn with compatible mana, they merge with the child, assimilating with their body and mana. In return, the human can use magic through the elemental. Initially, the human will not be aware of the elemental’s existence or be able to use magic, as assimilation takes time. By the age of six, the assimilation should be complete, allowing the host to channel mana into the elemental and use magic. Elementals can then take ethereal forms. Through this agreement, elementals ensured their survival, and humans gained the power to fend off beasts.”

Azrael listened in silence, processing the information. He had always wondered why elementals bound themselves to humans despite their ability to manipulate elements. The history Samjoko provided clarified many things.

“So the reason I couldn’t use mana was that you three were assimilating with it?”

“Correct, Master.”

“I always thought it didn’t make sense that I couldn’t use my mana until the elementals appeared, but now it makes sense… Also, I learned that elementals have different ranks. What determines this?”

Bonghwang, with her feminine voice, answered.

“Master, not all elementals possess the same strength. The age of an elemental and their affinity with their element determine their strength. Although I am not familiar with the human rank system, you cannot compare the strength of a spell cast by a human with a middle-rank elemental to one cast by a human with a high-rank elemental. The stronger an elemental, the faster and more powerful the spells they can cast. Additionally, higher-ranked elementals know more spells, which allows their human host to use them.”

“Hm… that makes sense… Is there anything else I should know?”

“Master, at your current level of strength, we can only assist you in casting spells. As your mana grows larger and more pure, we will be able to materialize in our original and even humanoid forms.”

As the conversation continued, Azrael began to feel the weight of fatigue from the depletion of his mana.

'So allowing these three to take ethereal form uses up a lot of mana, huh?'

He asked one final question.

“Now that you three have finished assimilating with my mana, do I need to summon you in ethereal form to speak with you?”

“No, Master. Now that we have finished assimilating, you can communicate with us mentally.”

“Okay then. It seems my mana is almost depleted. Dismiss yourselves for now. I will call upon you when needed.”

“””Yes, Master.”””

With that, Bonghwang, Chunryong, and Samjoko’s forms began to shimmer and slowly faded. As they disappeared, the strain on Azrael’s body also dissipated. Sighing, he stood up and headed to bed. As he lay down, he reflected on what he had learned that night.

'Hmmm… Now that I can use magic, I should see if any spells from my old world work here. I can also start channeling mana into my muscles to strengthen them.'

As he planned for the future, fatigue overtook him, and he fell asleep.

The next morning, Azrael went outside with his father to create a wooden training sword. At the weapon store, after checking the length and size, the owner presented a wooden sword that was perfect in length, though a bit light. Byrael, satisfied after making Azrael swing it a few times, paid for it, and they returned home.

Currently, they were outside in the backyard. Before beginning, Byrael gave his son a speech about swordsmanship.

“Alright, Azrael, as you wished, I will begin teaching you the way of the sword. Let me first give you this warning: The path of the sword is not an easy one. You will need to spend countless months mastering the basics. There will be times when you’re so tired you’ll want to quit, but remember this! You are the eldest son of the Celeste family! The men of the Celeste family never give up! If you put in your best effort and stay true to your sword, it will always stay true to you. Understand?”

“Yes, Father!”

Hearing his determined response, Byrael nodded in approval and continued.

“Alright, we will start with the basics. Without a solid foundation, no matter how much effort you put in, you will never advance. Watch me as I demonstrate.”