Father And Son

It wasn't my imagination that made it feel like the air felt heavy. The maids and butlers in the dining room seemed to have trouble standing, if not breathing.

"Sir Haverend! You mustn't let your son look down on you!" [Medwin]

Medwin, the blonde fatty, urged Fina's father forward nervously.

("...I see what's happening here.") [Solace]

Medwin was pulling the oldest trick in the book. Seeing as how Relton had him on the ropes about his "shady deal", Medwin was trying to shut him up before it was ruined.

"Relton. I won't say it again. Stand. Down." [Haverend]

Fina's father warned Relton in a low voice, but he didn't budge.

"I refuse." [Relton]

Fina's father didn't take too kindly to that reply.

"|Stone Gyves!|" [Haverend]

His |Greater Spirit| lunged forward, unleashing numerous chains formed out of rock at Relton.

"Lacra, if you would." [Relton]

Relton's |Greater Spirit|, Lacra, began to move at his command.

("With pleasure.") [Lacra]

Extending a hand outwards, water collected at Lacra's fingertips. As the chains came closer, the collected water burst outwards.

"Ah!" [Medwin]

The droplets struck the chains, shattering them and sending the debris at Medwin.

("Such brittle chains… A pity.") [Lacra]

Lacra leaned in behind Relton, as if she was trying to give him a semi-hug.

("Wow, what a soothing voice…") [Solace]

Just like the time in the classroom and the colosseum, I could somehow hear the spirit's voice in my head.

"Sir Haverend! Please, contain your son!" [Medwin]

Fina's father glanced at Medwin with an annoyed look.

"Sir Medwin, have patience. Otherwise, I could ask you to bring out your spirit to assist me." [Haverend]

"A-ah… No need, no need. I'll stand by as you deal with it." [Medwin]

Medwin was being suspiciously passive. The only reason I could think of at the moment was that he might not have a spirit on par with Relton and his dad.

"Relton. You dare raise a hand against me?" [Haverend]

Hearing those words caused Relton to scoff at him.

"You dare raise a hand at your own child?" [Relton]

I had to agree with Relton. Back in my world, that was definitely child abuse. …Minus the abuse being magic, but you get the point.

"You don't want to force my hand." [Haverend]

"Neither do you." [Relton]

("Oooh, the sass!") [Solace]

Other than the fact that everyone in the room other than the people fighting and myself were hyperventilating from the pressure, this was pretty entertaining to watch.

"...Do not regret your actions later." [Haverend]

Placing a hand on his spirit, Fina's father let out a deep breath.

"|Invoke Armis|." [Haverend]

At that moment, his spirit went through a strange change. The chains that hovered around it vanished, replaced by two shields worn by each arm. It's body seemed to become more chiseled, like a man with rock hard muscles. …No pun intended.

("Huh. I could play the cool guy and say, as expected of an earth spirit, but… that's hella cool.") [Solace]

The spirit looked like a seasoned warrior. It wore nothing, but a loincloth made out of stone, and dual wielded shields that had a design similar to a blade. The shields were built like large serrated arrowheads, even though they were probably meant for defense.

"I see." [Relton]

As if he was mimicking his father, Relton placed a hand on his spirit.

"|Invoke Armis|." [Relton]

Just like his father's spirit, Lacra began to change. The muscle definition on her body toned up a bit, and a weapon entered her hands.

("...A spear? No… a… hook? What is that?") [Solace]

A long polearm appeared, similar to how a spear looked. One side had a spear tip, but the other side had a large hook on it.

("I would call it a scythe… but it doesn't feel like it is.") [Solace]

Other than the change in weapon and muscle definition, the clothing changed too. Unfortunately, she didn't copy the loincloth style. Instead, she wore something similar to what I would call a qipao from my previous world.

("Hm. Not as revealing as I'd hoped, but pleasing to the eyes indeed.") [Solace]

"Alert: The mana within your surroundings have elevated above a certain threshold. It is recommended to evacuate your master, or attempt to redirect the excess mana to a different location." [Spirit Guide]

Now that she mentioned it, Fina wasn't looking too hot. Her breathing was shallow and the color of her face was a bit pale.

("Oh. Oh crap! Fina!") [Solace]

I wanted to pop out and carry her, but I had a quick realization before doing so. First, my current form has no arms. Second, my original form isn't big enough to carry her. Third, mimicking a human form would give me lungs and organs back, which means I'll probably end up just like Fina as soon as I transform.

("You've gotta be kidding me. Are there no skills I can use?!") [Solace]

Then it hit me.

("Wait. The spirit guide said I can attempt to redirect the mana…") [Solace]

Which brought me to another realization.

("How the hell am I going to do that?") [Solace]

And then one last idea struck again.

("...I can see the mana. I can… touch… the mana? Then can I… eat… the mana…?") [Solace]

Not my brightest idea, but it was worth a try.

("Hope it works.") [Solace]

Appearing out of thin air, I tried intaking the mana through a way I could only describe as eat-breathing.

"You have absorbed mana through the air. You have acquired |Mana Breathing|." [Spirit Guide]

It appeared to be working. Fina was slowly regaining her breath, and so were the butlers and maids in the dining room.

("It's working!") [Solace]

Seeing that the effect was more than I had anticipated, there was only one thing for me to do.

("Oh yeah. It's vacuum time.") [Solace]