Chapter Seventeen: The Summer Pavilion and the Sword of Eddie

Ratatoskr!

Su Mo and Tohka had already been retrieved by Kotori and brought back here, and at this moment, he was enduring Kotori’s merciless denunciation.

“Idiot brother, what is going on in your head? Even a single-celled organism can think better than you! Using a Spirit’s power so brazenly in public, causing such a commotion—do you want the whole world to know Spirits exist?” Kotori scolded Su Mo without reservation, clearly in her commanding officer mode.

“I was wrong, I really was wrong!”

Su Mo wanted to weep but had no tears, nodding his head furiously in repentance. Perhaps it was the heady rush of his newfound power that had made him careless—he hadn’t given a thought to the situation and had recklessly tested the Angel’s abilities. Fortunately, it was already dusk at the time, and that hilltop had long since been abandoned. Moreover, when he and Tohka arrived, Ratatoskr had already evacuated the nearby area, so there were no casualties.

Seeing Su Mo’s pitiful state, Kotori fished a precious candy from her pocket and popped it into her mouth, then turned her sharp gaze to Tohka, who was standing restlessly beside Su Mo. “Still, it seems you managed to complete the mission perfectly this time, brother.”

“Our instruments show that there’s no longer any spiritual fluctuation coming from Tohka,” reported Reine Murasame, barely able to keep her drowsy eyes open as she replied listlessly from the control panel in Ratatoskr’s command hall.

“Is that so? Then I suppose you’re not completely useless after all!” Kotori nodded. “In that case, I’ll let your blunder slide this time.”

With Ratatoskr’s resources, handling this incident was no trouble at all. Besides, the island nation had its own mysterious Natural Disaster Recovery Unit, and by tomorrow morning, the mountain Su Mo had split with a single strike would surely be restored to its original state.

Su Mo breathed a sigh of relief and wiped imaginary sweat from his brow.

When Kotori was in commander mode, her aura was overwhelming; even in front of Tohka and the others, she never lost her edge, and Su Mo felt the pressure keenly. Still, learning that Tohka’s Spirit power had been perfectly sealed brought a smile to his face. He owed it all to the Contract—after signing it with Tohka, he gained control over her spiritual energy and could seal it completely.

Unlike Shido Itsuka in the original story, who could seal a Spirit’s power with a kiss but suffered a major flaw—if the Spirit was agitated or experienced extreme emotions, the sealed power could flow back and cause her to go berserk—Su Mo’s Contract was far more absolute. The Spirit power within Tohka remained sealed unless he permitted its release, and not even Tohka herself could break free. This was far more domineering and secure than Shido’s ability.

Moreover, a Spirit’s power was immense. One or two might just be manageable, but if too many Spirits’ powers were sealed within a single person, it risked overwhelming them entirely. In the source material, Shido himself lost control after absorbing too much power, resulting in a drastic change of personality. While that might have been fanservice for the audience, it underscored the danger as well.

But with Su Mo’s Contract, there was no such risk. Without his consent, the power in Tohka remained sealed, and not even she could break it. It was a far more absolute and secure safeguard.

“Su Mo!”

Tohka, suddenly finding herself in such an unfamiliar place—especially with so many people secretly observing her—felt deeply uneasy. If Su Mo hadn’t been by her side, she would likely have gone berserk already. Of course, even if she did now, she posed no threat. With her power sealed, Tohka was just an ordinary girl.

“Now that Tohka’s Spirit power has been sealed, does that mean the AST anti-Spirit force won’t trouble her anymore? Can she live a normal life with us?” Su Mo squeezed Tohka’s hand, as though to comfort her, then addressed Kotori.

Kotori glanced at their interlocked hands, her gaze sharp, as if the sight bothered her greatly. Still, she replied, “Of course. The AST can’t just act on a whim; they need to go through a complicated process. Without any sign of Spirit activity, they won’t make a move, and Ratatoskr will do everything possible to help. Tohka can live a normal life here from now on—there’s nothing to worry about.”

“Really? I can really live here like everyone else?” Tohka immediately looked up, her eyes filled with hope as she gazed at Kotori.

“Of course. But before that, we’ll need to give you a full check-up to make sure there’s no risk of you losing control. Once that’s done, you’ll be free to go. So don’t worry—Su Mo will stay by your side the whole time.” When addressing Tohka, Kotori’s tone was gentle and kind, a far cry from the sharpness she reserved for Su Mo.

“Yay!”

Tohka cheered, whether from joy at the prospect of a normal life or at being able to stay with Su Mo, or perhaps both.

…

After sealing Tohka’s power, Su Mo left her at Ratatoskr for a thorough examination while he and Kotori returned to the Itsuka household.

If it were just him and Kotori, it wouldn’t really matter whether they went home or not. But with Shiori there, as younger siblings, it simply wouldn’t do for them to stay out all night.

In the days that followed, life seemed to return to normal. Su Mo attended school with Shiori every day, endured Origami Tobiichi’s murderous glares, visited Ratatoskr after school to spend time with Tohka, and experimented with the powers he’d gained from her.

From Tohka, he had acquired the power of an Angel.

It took the form of a jet-black throne, with a sword embedded in its backrest.

He had already tested the sword’s power—it could cleave a mountain in two with ease. As for the throne, it currently had two functions: first, it enabled flight, allowing Su Mo to soar freely wherever he wished; second, it provided significant defense. He even had Ratatoskr run some tests: not even a missile could shatter the throne, a most pleasing result.

While it didn’t match the defensive might of Tohka’s Astral Dress, it could be summoned in a crisis to shield him from harm or to whisk him away to safety. Its practicality was undeniable.

But the throne’s greatest attribute was its ability to merge with the sword, unleashing a final, devastating blow.

Tohka had once said that this Angel was born from the depths of her own imagination. It seemed only right to give it a name.

Clutching the sword, Su Mo considered for a moment, then decided.

“From today on, you shall be called Xage Edict Sword!”