The Summoner's Rebirth: Awaken, Milady

After Aria finished her story, although Xenos found it hard to trust the woman at first, the Serpent was considerably moved. Its opinion on Aria began to change.

[Do you.. promise that you would use my powers to its fullest extent? You won't waste my years, you say? You would take me to see great things..] Xenos murmured, trying out the waters.

Suddenly, it didn't feel like following Aria was an unpleasant thing.

"Naturally. Your power is something I desire. I believe that I would be able to satisfy you. Spread your wings in the world they way they should. Countless lives will perish before us, together."

[I don't like battling at all, to be honest. All this time, I was just trying to protect my home from clueless intruders who overstep their bounds.]

"That's because you were put in the passive position. You're not the one making the choice to attack, but rather the one being attacked. I enjoy battles, a large part of it is because I am the one to initiate it. I am the one to contest my enemy. Willingly so!"

[..I wouldn't understand that type of feeling.]

"I can make you understand it. Follow me, and I will present to you a thousand thrilling battles that you will prevail over. We will win every single battle, for I won't fall until my goals are fulfilled."

[Your goal is to..]

"Not to find Unity, sorry to disappoint you." Aria immediately cut the Serpent off, knowing that Xenos would bring up Unity. 

Unity was now not a priority for her, but rather a side quest that she harbored. 

[Huh? What about your past? You sounded so..]

Obsessed? Addicted? Correct. All of that was correct, for the past Aria. 

"Is it too late to change? To find a goal, to find a reason for existing other than the stupid prophecy that got me here in the first place? Is it illegal? I'm not saying this just for myself, but also for you. You, do you have that kind of thing? Or have you just been aimlessly wandering without any purpose to fulfill?"

[Your words. Be careful.] Xenos' displeasure spiked yet again.

"What, your pissed because I'm right?"

[It might be so.]

"You're honest."

[You're even more honest, correct me if I'm wrong?]

"You're absolutely right, to a certain point."

A bit of back and forth banter was what sold the deal for Xenos.

It accepted its pitiful fate, and saw Aria's hand as an opportunity to possibly create the biggest change in its lifetime.

"Alright, this is going to be a bit painful for you, since your spirit isn't in the best condition ever. But the longer we wait, the lower the chance of success will be. Please bear through it." Aria chuckled right after receiving permission to lay her hands on Xenos.

[Huh? Wait, it can fail? If that's the case, then why didn't you do it from the start??]

"Because the only contract you can do right now is the contract of submission, and the other party has to be willing to do it."

[Submission-! Haa. I don't care, just get it done. I want to live.]

The term that Aria brought made it feel a bit hesitant, but It had made its decision. Solidified it.

It must live to see the light of day now that everything had gone to this point.

Aria smiled, as she channeled up her mana in hopes that all the correct points would work.

And it did. With the correct procedure, Xenos' and her soul were tightly bound by strings of energy. Their energies melted together and formed a bond, which was the climax of their contractual relationship.

Within a minute or two, Xenos was accepted into one of her own. Resting along with her other summons, the weakened Serpent had passed out and would have to spend some time before it could wake up.

Right as she finished that deed, a notification rang.

From the System, signifying that the quest she received when she entered the dungeon was finished.

'So it was really like this.'

The quest wanted her to sign Xenos.

The thought of her connection with Xenos being the result of the System's meddling crossed her mind. Everything being a setup.

With a long sigh, she quickly threw away that mindset and looked for a way to get home.

It was rather easy, easier than getting inside since she had already cracked the code to the spell's fortification. She used whatever mana she had left to create a rupture in the region and get out in peace.

As she jumped back into reality, the first thing she heard was a pained scream, one that had the same sound signature as Reina's.

Aria's brows knitted, as she recalled the tragic state she left Reina in. She rushed to the woman's side.

The box that once housed the Serpent disappeared without a trace, only Aria was left. This fact ingrained itself in the minds of all the people involved, who were left to wonder what Aria did to be absorbed inside the box and get out without any injury.

"Reina, I'm here. It's all over now. The dungeon is cleared. You did well, you really did. Thank you." Aria sighed, gently swiping Reina's sweat-drenched hair to the side and letting Dianthe nurse her once again.

Upon Aria's return, the pain that had been constricting Reina and making her uncomfortable slowly went away in addition to receiving Dianthe's care.

The woman finally fell asleep for good. She didn't respond even after she was shaken multiple times. Her breath was weak, and made Aria want to rush her to safety.

'After this event, Reina is bound to be bedridden for a couple days. The others too, won't be that far off.'

Aria gripped her fists tightly. The remaining strength invested in her was very weak, and her mana circuits were stressed out. She had to go back quickly, along with Reina.

Before that, however..

"How is your friend doing?" A voice entered her ears from the side.

'Just as I was about to speak about them.'

There were not one, not two, but three snakes on top of Xenos. 

Blythe, and his sister Cha Seol-hyun who abandoned her protection over the members after the problems were solved. They came to approach her.

"She's doing fine, thank you for asking. Are you sure you don't want to be paying attention to your.. proud members? They are your rising stars, right?"

"If they can't survive through this ordeal, then our eyes were blurred and we couldn't separate talents from trash. Rather than them, we are much more interested in you and Miss Reina." Blythe frankly said. "Right, Seol-hyun?"

Cha Seol-hyun merely nodded, but it was clear that she wasn't entirely supportive of her brother's decision. 

"Reina.. is under the Association too, right?"

Lichte, the group Reina belonged to didn't garner any special treatment from the Association, but it was one of the few Hunter squads that were officially recognized to be under them.

Reina should be a lot more famous than she is right now, but due to the Association not giving them the spotlight that they deserved, Lichte wasn't as well known by the people.

Aria would make sure that this event causes a huge sensation in the Hunter world, though.

She deserved the recognition. 

"Yes, she is indeed. Why, are you curious about joining us just like her?" Cha Seol-hyun sneered.

"Mind you, your brother was the one who asked me to join. I personally don't have any plans on doing so, though." Aria lightly sighed as she stood up from her crouching position.

"And you rejected me right away. The pain still lingers, Miss." Blythe shrugged with a gleeful smile.

"Well, let's set that aside for now. We need to settle about something much more important. The dungeon's affairs, let's take care of that first." Aria grinned.

"Just a heads up, I will not be giving you any leniency, and will take full credit for what I know we did. The contribution should be equal to the rewards we receive, right? I'm sure that the respected hero won't scam us, hm?"

"Please don't think that you can fool me. Because you two are a thousand years too early to do that."

Aria's smile was as blinding as the sun, but the intentions behind it were the complete opposite of a sun's warmth.

Only coldness existed in her heart when she dealt with these two troublesome, influential people whose expression soured as she declared her rightful wishes.