"Later, I will hold him off."
"You must not hesitate at all, immediately..."
The girl was about to continue her instructions, but she found that her voice, and even her body, seemed to have lost control, unable to move.
'What's going on?!'
'Cannot move...'
Izawa Shizue's pupils constricted; she had never encountered such a thing.
Amidst her panic, what she wanted more was to tell Ellen and the others to immediately abandon her and flee!
"Your vigilance is good."
"But, actually, it's unnecessary."
If Bai Luo wanted to attack them, a single thought could turn the four of them to dust.
No Ultimate Skill was needed; the sheer difference in magic essence alone was a chasm beyond their imagination.
"You three, go back to the Sorcery Dynasty, go back to the Adventurers Guild, go wherever you want."
"As for you..." "Zero Zero Three"
Bai Luo flashed, appearing directly beside Izawa Shizue. He leaned down and whispered into the girl's ear: "If you want to live, come with me."
"!!!"
A threat, this was absolutely a threat!
He was using Ellen and their lives to threaten her, to make her comply.
"Okay."
However, Izawa Shizue had no choice.
She could not stand by and watch Ellen and the other two be killed by Bai Luo.
"Please, spare them..."
But the girl had clearly misunderstood Bai Luo's meaning.
What Bai Luo meant by 'wanting to live' was not the trio, but herself.
Shizu's body was already on the verge of collapse.
If not dealt with, she would die within a month due to a magic essence rampage, just like in the original work.
Regarding the character Shizu, Bai Luo actually felt some regret when he watched the anime.
Now that he happened to encounter her, Bai Luo didn't mind helping her out.
And as a price, the girl would have to join Bai Luo's command and become his demon, that's not too much, is it?
"Well, you can understand it that way too."
Bai Luo had no intention of explaining. He simply waved his hand and teleported the trio out of the Jura Great Forest.
"This is?!"
"Don't worry, I've already sent them out of the Great Forest."
"Huh?!"
Izawa Shizue's eyes beneath her mask were filled with confusion: "Sent, sent out? How were they sent out?"
"Spatial magic, long-distance pinpoint teleportation."
"It's nothing major."
After speaking, Bai Luo continued walking towards the Sealed Cave: "Follow along, I'll solve the problem with you in a moment."
???
Izawa Shizue again showed a surprised expression: "You, what did you say?"
Soon, the girl reacted.
It turned out that what Bai Luo had just said about wanting to live referred to her, not Ellen and the other two.
"Then, how is such a thing possible?"
Seeing Bai Luo leave, Izawa Shizue quickly followed: "Can you really solve the problem with me?"
Izawa Shizue was a person from another world, once summoned to the Cardinal World by Demon Lord Leon.
However, her summoning was incomplete, an imperfect summoning.
An imperfect summoning refers to a summoned person who is too young and completely unable to control the magic essence that integrates into their soul during the summoning process.
This leads to the soul and body being corroded by magic essence, not only severely limiting their strength but also shortening their lifespan.
However, Izawa Shizue had the Fire Spirit within her.
This allowed her to initially solve the problem with her body, achieving a certain balance between her soul and magic essence.
However, this balance was not complete.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have rampaged in the original work due to damaged life force, leading to an inability to suppress the power of the Fire Demon.
"Your life force can probably suppress the Fire Demon's magic essence for about twenty-something days."
"Then, the Fire Spirit will break free from your body."
Bai Luo's words made Izawa Shizue feel as if she had fallen into an ice cave.
Her biggest secret had been directly pointed out by someone else, and Izawa Shizue's original suspicions immediately vanished for the most part.
"Please tell me!"
"I beg you!"
"No matter what the cost, I hope you will tell me the method to resolve an imperfect summoning!"
After speaking, the girl bowed deeply to Bai Luo.
The reason she was so emotional was not because Bai Luo could save her, but because Bai Luo had a way to solve similar problems.
Izawa Shizue had always been searching for Leon, wanting to learn from him the means to maintain balance.
The girl had several students, all children under 10 years old.
These children, like her, were all imperfect summoners.
However, they were not as lucky as she was, having their lives extended by Demon Lord Leon through an unknown method.
"You want to save those children, don't you?"
"This..."
Izawa Shizue was completely stunned. She realized that ever since she met Bai Luo, nothing could be hidden from his eyes.
Bai Luo seemed to be able to see through her, understanding the girl's thoughts with incredible clarity.
"Yes."
At this point, Izawa Shizue had no time to think about such things: "I want to save those children."
"So, please tell me, what price do I need to pay for you to help me?"
The character Izawa Shizue, in the original novel, could be said to be a beloved archetype.
Everyone who had ever interacted with her, except for Demon Lord Leon, never disliked her.
Gentle, kind, strong, and also a very excellent teacher.
"The price is simple."
"Follow me, become my subordinate, and never betray me."
Bai Luo walked ahead, stating his demands with his back to the girl.
"Huh?"
Izawa Shizue was stunned. She asked: "Just, that?"
"This is no small matter, Miss Shizu."
After speaking, Bai Luo handed Izawa Shizue a subordinate contract condensed from magic essence.
She reached out and took it, and the magic essence immediately melted into her palm.
The next moment, a large amount of information surfaced in the girl's mind, letting her know the essence of the subordinate contract and what she would have to pay after signing it.
"Become a subordinate, and from now on, follow you forever?"
Izawa Shizue didn't know who Bai Luo was, but if it was just such a condition, she didn't think it was much.
For the sake of those children, working for Bai Luo to repay him seemed quite reasonable.
He couldn't just help her for nothing, could he?
"If it's just that, I agree."
And with Izawa Shizue's affirmation, a special connection formed between the two.
The next moment, the Fire Spirit within Izawa Shizue was removed by Bai Luo.
He didn't kill it but threw it before the Snow Empress, to be disciplined by this newly appointed Spirit Empress.
Ifrit was the highest-ranking Fire Spirit.
But above him, there was also a Flame Spirit King.
And above that, were the Spirit Empress Lamilis and the Spirit Emperor 'Snow Empress'.
In other words, in front of Snow Empress, Ifrit couldn't even muster the courage to resist.