"You waited till now before saying it to me?" Vale said, but he immediately shook his head.


    "No, it was my fault for not asking you…" He was a bit lost as he didn''t expect that this Dark Spirit could solve his problem just like that. He had been studying the Soul Bonding Method diligently, so he couldn''t help but feel disappointed in himself after realizing that it was all for naught.


    Yvaine just stared at him as she seemed unwilling to exin further.


    "Please help me, Yvaine." Vale requested. He still knew that he had to be polite whenever he asked for help.


    "Mhmm… This will be quite different from the method you''re trying to do with the Sword… I would have to integrate with the Sword and control it to form a bond with you." She replied.


    "W-wait… That''s not good. Will you be included in the Soul Bond? Isn''t that a bad thing for you? You can no longer return to the Spirit World once that happens, right?" Vale asked. He didn''t want Yvaine to be trapped with him forever.


    To be honest, once he became a bit stronger, he was nning to free her so she could do whatever she wanted. He could even help her return to the Spirit World if she wanted.


    It was to apologize to Lotus, who had ''passed away'' because of his failure to protect her.


    "Don''t think too much… I won''t be included with your Soul Bond. The Sword you have here is special, so it won''t respond through your normal method. The problem is that you have a unique connection to the Spirit World. I eliminated it briefly, so the Sword responded for a moment. However, it won''tst that long, so I have to enter the Sword."


    "Got it! Let''s do it!" Vale said, although he was still a bit confused.


    Anyway, he knows that he really had a faint connection with the Spirit World, which was slowly disappearing ording to the Messenger he had seen before.


    Perhaps, the Lightning Sword didn''t want to be bonded with a "Spirit," so it wasn''t reacting to his attempts.


    Soon, Yvaine forcefully ceased control of the Lightning Sword. Vale could easily tell the changes since the faint blue glow had now turned into a dark aura.


    Without waiting for Yvaine''s signal, Vale immediately began with the Soul Resonance Test.


    Vale pressed the Resonance Crystal, and indeed, it immediately showed a result!


    He got a 9 strand within the crystal! This wasn''t just his resonance with the Sword but also with Yvaine…


    After confirming thepatibility, he continued with the real Soul Bonding Process.


    He detected the Essence of the Sword or Yvaine within the Sword and created a link connecting him and the Sword.


    From here, everything went smoothly as the sword started feeling Vale''s presence.


    Before the ritual waspleted, the weakened Dark Spirit swiftly came out of the Sword, escaping the faith of being bound to Vale.


    ***


    Unbeknownst to Vale, a strange phenomenon urred as he bonded with the Lightning Sword.


    A loud thunderp echoed across the sky, followed by a bright sh of lightning.


    The sky turned dark as if a storm was brewing. The students and professors of the Arcane Academy looked up and saw the phenomenon with awe and fear.


    Chad and Aubrey, who were about to leave the Physical Training Field, saw the lightning strike…


    "Wow, did you see that? That was amazing!" Aubrey''s eyes lit up as soon as she saw the sudden lightning.


    "Yeah, I saw it. But I don''t think it was amazing. That was scary… Let''s go in!" Chad replied as he didn''t like the rumbling noise that followed the lightning.


    "Aren''t you curious? Is that a natural phenomenon? A sign from the gods? A prank from some mischievous Arcanist?"


    Chad shook his head… "I don''t know. Maybe it was a magic ritual. Ahh… Someone might be summoning a Lich! Was it the Gold Necromancer?"


    "Hmph… The Gold Necromancer was already too old. He didn''t even act when we were under attack by the Secret Organization. Furthermore, all the necromancers in this generation are too weak. The most they could summon, aside from Skeleton Warriors, are Phantom Knights! Phantom Knights! Can you imagine that?! None of them could summon a Death Knight, much less a Lich!" Aubrey said angrily as she seemed so disappointed with the Necromancers of today.


    Chad felt that it was quite funny, but he tried not tough. "I guess so…"


    "Interesting. Maybe this has something to do with the Order''s Alchemy Division. I heard that they were staying here to conduct an experiment. Maybe they''re making a top-grade potion." Suddenly, another student joined in their conversation. It was Leonore Rnd, their ssmate.


    Chad and Aubrey heard her clearly as they nodded gently.


    Their second-year ss had recently learned in their Alchemy ss that creating a top-grade potion could create certain phenomena that could affect the surroundings.


    Maybe this was actually the one mentioned by their Professor.


    Simr conversations around the Academy had urred as they looked above.


    None of them knew whether this was a natural urrence or triggered by something else.


    There was only one person inside the Academy who had a strange feeling about what was happening.


    Snap…


    Headmaster Jean snapped his fingers as he summoned Vale''s shadow in his collection.


    ''Another lightning… I don''t think this is just a coincidence. Is the Masked Devil here?'' He mused while observing Vale''s ripped shadow.


    It was moving strangely, like it was being stimted by something, so he couldn''t help but feel suspicious.


    He immediately tried looking for Vale using the shadow''s guidance, but to his surprise, he could only roughly sense Vale''s location and not feel his presence at all.


    He couldn''t even use his Telepathy to connect to him!


    ''Is he inside a strong formation circle?'' Headmaster Jean thought.


    As he considered visiting Vale in his room, everything suddenly turned normal. Vale''s shadow moved calmly, and he could now sense his presence again or use his Telepathy of him if he wanted to.


    ''Strange…''