SAAE 21

Chapter 21

I hesitated for a moment before grabbing the second one’s arm.

Naturally, I expected my hand to pass right through it, but that wasn’t the case.

“…It’s actually holding on?”

It felt very strange.

It was clearly an arm made of black smoke, yet it felt as though I were holding a normal human arm.

However, I didn’t feel any warmth at all.

‘It feels like I’m gripping a solid, muscular arm.’

While I was confused by the unexpected situation, the second one knelt down and sat on the ground.

Without hesitation, he clenched his fist and started pounding the ground wildly.

It looked a bit… foolish… No, but he’s really strong.

Soon, the stone floor cracked, and space to pull out a box was created.

The second one quickly retrieved the box and placed it in front of me.

What’s with this guy? He’s surprisingly reliable.

“Thank you!”

I quickly opened the box.

Inside was a sword with an ambiguous length.

It was too long to be a dagger and too short to be a claymore.

What was unusual was that the sword’s hilt was engraved with a pattern resembling flickering flames.

‘A sword with flame patterns… This is an item that hasn’t appeared in any of the novels.’

Is it a random item?

I felt a bit disappointed.

I stood up from my seat with a disinterested expression.

Just then, a hand lightly tapped my shoulder.

When I turned around, the second one was patting his chest.

“…What does that mean?”

What is he trying to say?

Now that I think about it, unlike the first one, can he not speak?

As I looked at him with a puzzled expression, a voice echoed in my head.

It was the first one.

—Command, do, now, fly, fly, can.

…Can he fly?

I widened my eyes in surprise at the unexpected words and quickly turned to look at the second one.

At that moment, the second one turned into black smoke and was immediately absorbed into the sword I was holding.

“…Huh, what’s going on?”

What is happening all of a sudden?

‘What is going on here?’

The second’s large form was completely absorbed into the small sword.

I stared blankly at the sword as I muttered.

“Second…?”

Right then, I felt a small vibration coming from the sword.

The vibration grew stronger and rougher.

Eventually, the sword was thrown from my hand with a recoil, tumbling to the floor.

Just as I was about to pick it up again.

“—Ah!”

A black smoke shot out from the sword.

The smoke quickly took the form of a person again.

It was the second one, but now he looked different from before.

“…Huh?”

I stood there, mouth agape.

It was because…

“…Wings?”

The second had wings.

Not just one or two, but three pairs of them.

The six large wings, all black like his smoke body, were fully spread out.

They were truly enormous, fitting his large body.

“…Second!”

I couldn’t believe the second now had wings.

I shouted, filled with excitement.

“Did you evolve, Second?”

This was an unexpected gain.

I still had no idea how this happened, but…

The second proudly spread his wings, sticking out his chest.

It was as if he expected me to react this way upon seeing his new form.

“You look amazing!”

I rushed over and hugged the second.

Just then, I heard quick footsteps approaching from below.

It was followed by Israelle’s voice.

“What’s going on?”

“Israelle!”

The moment Israelle arrived, he looked rather urgent for some reason.

‘Maybe he was scared to be alone?’

So, that’s why he kept clinging to me earlier.

Anyway, that’s not what matters right now.

I turned to Israelle and smiled brightly.

“You came just in time. We’re done now. Completely done!”

“…Done with what?”

“No, suddenly our second has sprouted wings! Look, look!”

“Second?”

Israelle looked completely confused.

I pointed to the second.

More precisely, to the majestic, large wings on the second’s body.

Israelle furrowed his brow, then nodded as though he realized something.

“Oh. So that’s why. His appearance has changed a bit.”

Israelle didn’t look surprised at all.

In fact, he looked rather indifferent.

“It’s a bit… grotesque.”

At the sight of Israelle’s words, the second’s previously confident posture quickly collapsed.

The second pulled back the chest he had puffed out and even slightly shrank his body.

Hey, why are you deflating our second’s spirit?

“Can’t you see the wings?”

“Sigh… I was startled. I thought something happened to you.”

“It’s a good thing, though. The second got wings, you know?”

“Well, it’s a relief that nothing serious happened.”

“No, now we don’t have to fight through monsters to cross the islands. Don’t you realize how incredible that is?”

“Did you pack everything?”

“Yeah, I packed everything, but…”

What’s going on?

This conversation is so weird.

Both Israelle and I seem to just be saying whatever we want to.

“Well, then we should head down.”

“…You’re not happy? We can fly straight to the last island hanging onto the second now!”

Don’t you get it? Huh?

Flying through the sky with the second’s huge wings, and me hanging onto him as we cross the islands…

The thought alone was thrilling.

How much more time are we going to waste on this floor? I was feeling really lost, but now, we could quickly pass through the 5th floor and head to the 6th floor.

“Thanks to the second evolving, we can cut down so much time now.”

“Well, that might be true, but… I still have no idea what those things really are.”

Israelle muttered while closely observing the second.

He didn’t look as happy as I did. In fact, he seemed a bit uncomfortable.

“Did you really give them names like ‘first’ and ‘second’?”

Israelle frowned and muttered while glancing back and forth between the wraiths.

“…Come to think of it, you were calling them ‘first’ and ‘second’ earlier too.”

That’s when I heard a voice in my head.

It was the first one.

—Name, me, first, like.

I immediately turned to the first one and gave a thumbs-up.

Now that I think about it, our first one has always been very reliable, just like a leader.

It was the first one who first told me about the good things in this tower.

I was so impressed that I wanted to call the first one “Captain” instead of just “first.”

While Israelle was observing the wraiths, his gaze suddenly shifted to me.

“How many of these things can you summon and control? I still don’t get what kind of ability you have.”

“Hmm… I’m not sure.”

In response to Israelle’s question, I tilted my head.

“I don’t really know yet. Honestly, I summoned the second one by accident.”

In fact, it felt like the second just appeared on its own, rather than me summoning it.

And also…

‘I could actually touch the second.’

After thinking for a moment, I reached out to the first one.

And I grabbed it.

The black smoke felt tangible as I held onto it.

“…Israelle.”

“Yeah?”

“Try touching it here.”

I pointed to the first one’s arm and asked Israelle to give it a try.

Israelle frowned slightly, but he did as I said.

However, his hand passed right through the first one.

“…I guess I’m the only one who can touch them.”

“Seems like it.”

Israelle nodded, pulling his hand away.

“I’ve got another thing I want to check. Can you tell the first one to touch you this time?”

“Sure.”

“Thanks.”

I held onto the first one and told it to touch Israelle.

“How is it?”

“I can feel a definite pressure.”

Israelle furrowed his brow, describing the odd sensation.

I then removed my hand from the first one and asked the first to touch Israelle.

When the first one’s hand reached out, it passed straight through Israelle.

“…As expected.”

At that moment, I learned something new about my ability.

I could touch the wraiths, but no one else could.

And it seemed that the wraiths could only exert power over other living beings when in contact with me.