Chapter 105

I didn’t have to see it to feel that the Wall of Fire had failed and Austin’s sword had melted.

He no longer smiled.

“Is the Yoshicho tasty?”

“…What?”

“If you eat a lot of that, you’ll become closer to a natural being than a human. If you’re absorbed by nature like that, you’re only doing a good thing for the spirits.”

“You’re funny.”

I sneered at him with a face as expressionless as Austin’s.

If you rely on that, you’ll lose your existence.

Don’t just gobble down Yoshicho powder even if you’re in a hurry.

If it were truly a good thing for Gabbie for me to lose my existence, he wouldn’t have nagged at me like that. So what Austin said wasn’t worth listening to at all.

Rumble!

But then, an ominous sound like thunder shook the ground.

‘The clock tower…!’

Perhaps it was because I had repeatedly poured in the Yoshicho, but Gabbie’s vision was momentarily shared with mine.

‘Ramande.’

Ramande was helping a person with an injured leg, along with his subordinate, evacuating from the rear.

It’s… impossible now…!

As Gabbie’s struggling voice echoed in my head, without a second thought, I absorbed all of Austin’s power and ran toward them. My stomach churned, and my head kept spinning, but I couldn’t stop.

‘Please, no. I have to move fast…!’

I panted, extending both hands toward the swaying clock tower, just like me. I thought I could melt it all with high heat. But not even a spark came from my palms.

“W-Why…”

The clock tower didn’t wait for me to find the reason. Its swaying motion no longer returned to the other side, and the clock face at the top plunged toward the ground.

“…mande.”

A warm trickle of blood ran down my nose. But I couldn’t even think of wiping it away and ran and flew toward that spot like a madman. I tumbled on the ground because my boots wouldn’t listen, but I didn’t stop.

“Ramande!!”

The only hope was the faint bluish light that shone through the cloud of dust that rose as the clock tower collapsed. The trace that appears when divine power is manifested. However, Ramande, a healing specialist, is clumsy at physically maintaining divine power like the holy shields used by holy knights.

“Quick, Gabbie! We have to get that out of the way… Ugh!”

A strong impact hit the side of my head. While I was completely disheveled, Austin, who had been waiting for the right moment, had suddenly slapped me on the cheek.

Smack!

His hands were so merciless that with just one hit, my body was sent flying and I was slammed into the floor. But since I knew another attack was coming, I kept my eyes wide open and watched him approach, looking for a moment to create an opening.

Honestly, I wasn’t confident. I wasn’t in good shape to begin with, and after being hit in the face, my vision wasn’t normal.

‘Even so, I have to do it.’

If I didn’t, I would die. I wasn’t speaking metaphorically; I meant it literally. I bit down hard on the tender flesh inside my mouth, which was already bleeding, trying to regain my senses.

‘Now!’

A pillar of fire shot up. But my timing was off due to my distorted sense of distance, and Austin calmly absorbed it.

It’s all or nothing now. Just as I had decided to make a last-ditch effort, a small light flashed behind Austin.

Thwack!

With a familiar tearing sound, the tip of a sword suddenly protruded from the center of Austin’s stomach.

“Esadien…”

Whew, the tension left my arms. I thought he had gotten out of the way since I couldn’t see him, but he appeared like this again. But honestly, this time, I was so grateful and happy.

‘How does he always appear whenever I need him?’

It was astonishing.

However, the moment of rest was short-lived. The even more persistent Austin had no intention of ending things here. As Austin trembled and took a red jewel from his pocket, Esadien immediately slashed his arm, but Austin was just a little bit faster in crushing it in his grasp.

And as soon as the jewel shattered, Austin’s body turned back into sand and disappeared.

“Where is he?”

Esadien gestured to me, who was looking around. The place where Austin reappeared was the remaining twin tower. With an ominous premonition, I pushed even Esadien, who was helping me up, and ran, almost stumbling.

“No, you jerk!”

Did he hear my shout? Even from a distance, I could see Austin’s sinister smile. With that unpleasant smile, he snapped his fingers, and this time, without Gabbie having a chance to stop it, the tower came crashing down.

Right on the very spot where Ramande’s divine power had shone.

“Call a magician!”

Amidst a high-pitched ringing in my ears, the knights’ shouts sounded as if they were speaking from a distance. My knees gave way. As I sat down there, Esadien ran to my side, giving firm commands to the knights.

“The priest will be holding out inside! We can save them if we clear it right away! Everyone, snap out of it!”

Why? As soon as he finished speaking, all the noises that had seemed far away suddenly rushed to my side. With my senses slightly returned, I glanced at the spot where Austin had been standing. No one was there.

‘He’s like a rat.’

Who knows where he’s hiding, waiting for an opening. But the more urgent matter now was to clear the debris. I focused on sharing my power with Gabbie so he could use his physical strength to move the stones.

In truth, clearing collapsed debris is a very dangerous task. If you remove a piece that looks safe, the part that was leaning on it could easily come crashing down.

But fortunately, we were incredibly lucky, almost miraculously so. After a few minutes, we could see the people who were trapped underneath.

But the moment Ramande’s eyes met mine, a white line was drawn across his dust-covered face.

“Vice-Commander Viache… he’s gone.”

Viache…

‘Nicholas Viache.’

Yes, that was our vice-commander’s name.

‘I hope the young lady can finally be at ease now.’

‘I will be. So you should also put your mind at ease, Sir.’

I muttered blankly.

“Sir… Nicholas.”

I knew his name, but this was the first time I had ever said it. Because it had been natural since I was a child to refer to him as Sir or Vice-Commander. Why was that? Even though I was grateful. Even though there were times I felt the world was beautiful because of him.

“Sir Nicholas Viache… died.”

Saying it out loud again, the fact that hadn’t sunk in suddenly felt like it had become a reality rushing toward me. There was no need to ask why he had to die. Ramande’s face, which had been crying as soon as he saw me, already explained most of the situation.

Clap, clap, clap.

The sound of applause was heard amidst the somber atmosphere. I raised my head, and Austin, who had appeared out of nowhere, spoke with a shameless look on his face.

“Was he a cherished subordinate?”

I quietly tilted my head to the side. After hearing Austin’s applause, the surroundings became strangely quiet. It seemed like he was saying something, but his mouth was just moving. But it didn’t matter.

‘I have to kill him.’

This was the only thought that dominated me.

‘Yeah. I think I can offer flowers to Sir Nicholas if I kill that thing.’

I had never thought of fire as being hot since making the contract with Gabbie, but my whole body began to burn fiercely as if I had become a flame. My vision was completely filled with a bright, whitish-blue fire. This was the first time in my previous life or this one that I had ever so strongly wanted to kill someone like this. Along with this destructive urge, I felt my feet lift from the ground and float.

Minuelle!

“Minuelle!”

Gabbie and Ramande called out, but she flew upward, looking only at the sky, as if she couldn’t hear them at all. There were even some who involuntarily knelt at the sight of her, like a fiery angel. But Gabbie was too serious to scoff at such things.

That girl, she’s about to lose control. She’s even trying to take my power.

It was a huge surge of power, enough to shake even the contract that promised a 5:5 ratio.

“Then what will happen to Minuelle?”

Do you think a human body can handle it? She’s already overloaded. If it gets any worse, there won’t even be a handful of ashes left!

Gabbie, who had been contemplating something for a moment, let out a groan as Minuelle and Austin began to clash.

‘It’s impossible for me to go. The closer I get, the greater the chance I’ll be assimilated.’

A rampage with the Fire Spirit joining in. Ramande, who envisioned the entire Roquate turning into a sea of fire, hardened his face and volunteered.

“If I… use my divine power, I might still be able to hold Minuelle.”

– Maybe. But I think it’s better for El to go.

Esadien was staring intently at Austin, who was confronting Minuelle, as if he was analyzing him, not even blinking. Because he was so focused, he reacted a beat late to Gabbie’s call.

“Me?”

Yes. No matter how I think about it, there seems to be something mixed in your blood. You’ll be fine as long as you don’t stay in contact with that fire for too long.

“How long is ‘too long’?”

About 3 seconds?

Esadien, who usually respected Gabbie, had a look on his face as if he wanted to say something this time. But if he could save Minuelle, the time for such chatter was too precious, so he immediately leaped and disappeared among the rooftops.

‘What if she fails to control her power? What if she becomes a “Queen of Destruction”?’

He had said “Queen of Destruction” playfully, but based on the expression Minuelle had at the time, it was clear that she thought of herself as a monster.

But could someone who burns with so much rage that she’s willing to sacrifice herself after losing someone within her protective circle really be called a monster?

‘If I had been the one who was sacrificed, how would you have reacted?’

Esadien wondered for a moment, but it only left him with a bitter feeling. He remembered Minuelle’s face, which had turned white at the mention of obsession.

‘It’s a long way to go.’

It was a long road, but it was a straight one with no forks or side paths. He had no choice but to do his best to convey his feelings until they were accepted.

Esadien, who had been circling to get closer without being detected by Austin, suddenly leaped up with that thought.

Crraaaash!

As if they had planned it, a flame that shot from Minuelle’s hand, shaped like a gigantic claw, struck Austin. Staring entranced at the beautiful sky-blue eyes, which were distorted with murderous intent, Esadien pierced through Austin’s interior, the place he had thought the core was, a little while ago.

“Minuelle.”

Don’t you smell something burning?

Someone kept shaking me as I sniffed the air, feeling groggy as if I had just woken up.

“Minuelle!”

Hah. When I came to my senses, Esadien was holding my shoulders.

The problem was that I was ablaze like a human inferno. So the burning smell was coming from Esadien’s hands.

“Let… go…”

My head was still spinning. Because of that, the fire wouldn’t listen. I needed to extinguish the flames now. But it was just a thought.