章 15: 15. The Rise of the Unicorn Spirit

The bull spirit's eyes flared with fury as it locked onto its enemy. Without hesitation, the massive beast charged, its sharp horns gleaming with lethal intent. The creature didn't flinch as its giant foe greeted it with a crushing slam, sending the bull crashing into the cold, rocky cliff.

Growl!

Bang!!!

The sound of shattering boulders echoed as the cliff gave way, burying the bull spirit under a cascade of rubble. Half its body was trapped beneath the stones, and a bellow of rage erupted from the spirit.

Bellow!!!

Kairav watched, dumbfounded. "Why so pathetic? I thought animal spirits were supposed to be impressive…"

Casildo shot him a venomous glare. "Are you an idiot?! Didn't you say the only way to beat it is to vaporize or freeze it? My bull can't even touch the thing—"

His words cut off as a sharp pain stabbed his chest. Casildo crumpled to the ground, wracked by violent coughing, and blood gushed from his mouth.

"Casildo! What's happening?!" Kairav dropped to his knees, panic rising.

Casildo struggled to breathe as the words tumbled out. "Animal spirits are like second lives… for Astral Conjurers…" He glanced weakly at the bull spirit, now locked in a brutal fight with the Euntei Iek. "If it dies… I die…"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The battle raged on, with the bull spirit on the losing end. Euntei Iek, the water monster, relentlessly pummeled it, giant fists slamming into the bull's body before it could rise to counterattack.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The bull bellowed in agony, pinned by the sea monster's crushing hands as they tried to squeeze the life out of it.

Kairav paled at the sight. "You're not going to die now, right?"

Casildo, blood still dripping from his mouth, let out a dry laugh. "Why? You'll be joining me soon enough…"

"Damn it! I have a future! I just started college!" Kairav snapped, his eyes wide with fury.

Casildo chuckled. "Alright, alright. I'll give you a few more minutes to live…" With that, he forced himself to his feet, wincing from the pain that wracked his body. His eyes burned with determination as he glared at the Euntei Iek, still locked in combat with his animal spirit.

Kairav frowned, sensing something reckless about to happen. "What are you planning?"

"You were lucky! I didn't hit you with my hammer, you ugly amphibious ghost!"

"What?! Are you insane?!"

But Casildo was already sprinting toward the monster, determined to strike back. Euntei Iek sensed his approach, and Casildo responded with the Terra Tombstrike.

He leaped high into the air, his fist clenched tight. As he descended, his strike hit the ground with immense force, sending a tremor through the beach.

Crack! Crack!

The cracks in the sand continued to spread, their rapid progression forming a network resembling the roots of a massive plant. They snaked toward the monster with speed and precision, until...

Thump!

Growl!

A massive crater opened beneath the sea monster, swallowing it whole in an instant. Euntei Iek plummeted into the pit, temporarily entombed, granting the bull spirit a moment of freedom. The animal spirit broke free from the creature's grip and quickly returned to Casildo's body as the sand poured down, burying the water beast in its sandy prison.

"Hurry! Before that thing breaks out again!" Casildo yanked Kairav to his feet, urging him to run toward the forest's edge, where safety seemed just within reach.

"I thought you were determined to finish it!" Kairav shouted as they bolted.

"I'm not that desperate to commit suicide!" Casildo shot back, sprinting toward the tree line, illuminated by the growing reddish glow of dawn. "Just a little further!" he gasped, his eyes fixed on the trees ahead, his hope flickering like the rising sun's rays. But fate had other plans.

Without warning, tendrils of water, silent and swift, emerged from the pit. They snaked after the fleeing youths, catching up with unnatural speed. Before they could react, the watery ropes coiled around their legs and yanked them violently back toward the sea monster.

Thud!

"Damn it!" Casildo cursed as they were dragged across the sand, flung directly into the menacing presence of Euntei Iek, now rising from the crater like a vengeful force of nature.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Growl!!!

The massive creature lumbered toward them, each step shaking the ground beneath their bodies. Casildo and Kairav lay helpless, too weakened to fight, staring death in the face.

With a grim smile, Casildo laughed bitterly. "Guess we were always destined to be turned into mush, huh, Failed Product?"

Kairav said nothing, his hollow eyes fixed on the looming, grotesque figure. He could only close his eyes tightly, arms raised in a futile attempt to shield himself from the giant water fist descending toward him.

And then the miracle happened.

Unseen by Kairav, the dawn horizon suddenly lit up with waves of brilliant color as the red star Luminous Remnants in the unicorn constellation pulsed, surrounded by a radiant spectrum of hues. The sky was filled with an ethereal light, and in that moment, a blinding white rain of Cosmic Resonance Radiation descended upon Kairav's body.

"Failed Product! You're using Radiant Soulforge Awakening!" Casildo's voice was thick with shock.

Kairav's eyes snapped open, just in time to see the sea monster recoil, roaring in fear of the radiant light now enveloping him. He could only stand frozen in disbelief as a soft golden mist wrapped around his body, and slowly, a golden-horned unicorn totem began to etch itself into his back.

The unicorn spirit totem stomped its hooves, glowing with a majestic power, before bursting free from Kairav's body. The golden-horned white unicorn spirit stood before them, shimmering in the dawn light, its presence overwhelming. Kairav could only stare in awe, seeing the magnificent creature take form once again.

"It turns out my bull spirit wasn't lying! Your unicorn spirit really does have a golden horn!" Casildo exclaimed excitedly, shaking Kairav's shoulders with enthusiasm, as if all the pain had disappeared.

Kairav stood frozen, his mind going blank, as he watched the white unicorn spirit gracefully move toward the sea monster. Each light step it took left a trail of delicate ice flowers, slowly blooming on the beach's cold-blanketed sand.

More and more of these flowers appeared, as if seeds had long been buried beneath the surface, waiting for the right moment to blossom all at once. The chilling beauty of the flowers spread until they reached the sea monster, which let out a deafening roar.

It struggled as its legs, once fluid and unstoppable, began to harden. The creature's watery form froze solid, locked in place by the extreme cold.

Growl! Growl! Growl!