Celeste

It has been three weeks since Alex acquired his workshop, during which he diligently studied magi-tech while honing his magical skills. His efforts finally paid off, as Lexi ranked him among the veterans.

For the past three weeks, Alex had holed himself up in his workshop, creating magi-tech for personal use and recreating some items from his previous world. At the moment, he stood in front of a board he had created using modeling. The board displayed a world map with several areas highlighted, resembling a detective board.

"Master, the preparations are all done," Erica's voice interrupted his thoughts through their telepathic link.

"Okay, wait for a bit, I'm coming," Alex replied, quickly casting an invisible spell on the board and creating a gate to where Erica was waiting for him.

He appeared in the middle of a desert a few miles away from the city, where Erica and old man Garrick were present.

"Are all preparations done?" Alex asked.

"Yes, leader," Garrick replied.

"Very well, let's begin," Alex said, making his way towards the magic circle similar to the one he used to summon Erica.

Today, he decided to form a contract with all four heavenly beasts, which originally submitted to Touya.

After Alex summoned Erica, old man Garrick fell ill from the shock of seeing the scene of Alex forming a pact with Erica. Alex wanted to form a contract with all the heavenly beasts, but he had to postpone his plans since the old man had not taught him how to conjure a magic circle. He thought of asking another dark magician for help, but he learned that they were rare, and the ones present in the camp were unable to conjure a magic circle.

Disheartened, Alex could only wait until old man Garrick recovered to help him with summoning.

{A/N: Sorry, I can't come up with any better excuse for forgetting about the heavenly beasts.}

He could only hope that Touya had yet to make a contract with White Monarch.

***

Meanwhile, Touya had finished copying the murals from the ruins and requested an audience with Duke Ortlinde. Now he was inside the Duke's carriage, heading towards the royal castle after he received an emergency summon from the royal family telling him that the king was poisoned

***

Alex stood in front of the circle and sent forth his magic power while Erica sent her own spirit power to call for the heavenly beasts.

"The ruler of spring, of trees, of the eastern domain, and the wide-berth rivers... Heed my call. Appear before me!" Alex spoke the incantation that Erica had taught him and invoked the magic circle.

In response, black fog began to swell off the magic circle before dispersing, revealing a large western dragon with beautiful blue scales.

"Hmhm. I did think I felt a sudden burst of nostalgia washing over me. To think it was you... Why have you called me here, child?" The Azure Dragon spoke in a calm and serene tone, resembling that of a gentle teacher or a woman in a position of power.

"Azure Monarch! It's a pleasure to see you again." Erica greeted the Azure Monarch with great enthusiasm.

During her stay with Alex, she had mentioned how Azure Monarch had taken care of her during her infancy and childhood. She was like a parent figure for Erica, whom she respected a lot.

"It's also my pleasure to meet you again, Golden Monarch."

"It's Erica now.."

"Huh?"

"My name is Erica now, which my master provided. Please do not refer to me by my previous title."

"Excuse me?"

Azure Monarch's eyes widened when Erica mentioned her name and that she now had a master whom she served. The Azure Monarch shifted her gaze towards Alex, looking deeply at him

Azure Monarch's eyes widened as Erica mentioned her name and that she now has a master. The Azure Monarch then shifted her gaze towards Alex and studied him deeply while increasing her spiritual pressure on him, which had no effect on Alex.

"Are you the one who summoned me here? To resist my spiritual pressure to such an extent... Just what are you, young man?" Azure Monarch asked seriously.

"I am Alexander Crown. My greetings to you, Azure Monarch. I have successfully made a pact with Erica, and now I wanted to make one with you too."

"To make one with me too? Do you know how foolish it sounds... But then also, you are the one that Golden... I mean Erica herself has acknowledged. Very well, I shall test your abilities, human. So shall we begin?"

"Yes, you may," Alex replied.

After getting permission to attack from the Azure Monarch, Alex wasted no time and invoked his first spell.

"Teleport."

Teleporting to the back of Azure Monarch in the same way he did with Erica, Alex stood atop her and stomped upon her invoking [Gravity], increasing the force of gravity that acted upon her.

"Aargh!"

Ignoring her scream, Alex kept on increasing the force of gravity until the point where the Azure Monarch finally couldn't handle it and gave up.

"I g-give up, human Urgh."

Azure Monarch admitted her defeat, and Alex also lessened the effect of gravity and freed her from the spell.

"It was my mistake to underestimate you. Let us form a contract, human. "

"Alexander Crown, please bestow me with a name, and I shall be bound to your service."

"Welcome to our camp, Azure Monarch. As for your name, how about Celeste? It means 'heavenly blue' and is often associated with beauty, purity, and grace."

"Celeste?... Hmm, very well. I will be called Celeste from now onwards."

"Once again, welcome to our camp, Celeste," Alex said with a grin on his face as he welcomed another monarch to his team.

Alex and Erica then explained to her how she could remain in the mortal realm since Alex's magic power reserves were vast and restored magic power quickly, making it possible to permanently live in the mortal realm.

Celeste then changed her size to match Erica's, and Erica welcomed her with enthusiasm.

"So let us start with another summoning..."

"Another summoning? By any chance, do you want to summon another beast for getting contracted, my lord?" Celeste asked after hearing Alex.

"Yes, I wish to contract more beasts, specifically other heavenly beasts."

"Wait, WHAT?"

"You heard, master, right Celeste? I plan to summon all other heavenly beasts and form a contract with them too."

"That's crazy."

"It is but it isn't impossible, Celeste. Now let us begin, come on, Erica."

"Aye Aye, Master," Erica responded with enthusiasm and repeated the process to summon another monarch.

"O Beast who governs the winter, the waters, the north, and the mountains. Heed my call. Heed my summons, present your form before me."

Similar to before, the black mist swelled up and when dispersed, two creatures, a green-colored large turtle with large teeth and a giant black-colored snake coiled around the tortoise's shell, looked at Alex, Erica, and Celeste.