RATTLE! RATTLE!
Black clouds gathered in the sky, covering the bright moon. Complete darkness took over, only being brightened by the flames unnaturally rushing towards a man in a black slime body-fit suit.
"Suppermassive fireball barrage!" Kirin muttered under her breath. Out of thin air, ten giant sun-like fireballs manifested, forcing their way towards the man.
The man stayed calm, just waving his right hand, sighing.
Whoosh!
Every last fireball vanished, just like before.
She bit her lip but instantly gathered more pure mana into her hands.
"Fire storm!!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, her voice laced with frustration.
Hundreds of tornadoes, filled with despairingly hot red flames, swallowed everything and anything surrounding them, disintegrating rocks, grass, trees, black wood from the God Tree, etc.
There were too many tornadoes for the man to destroy them in one attack, but Kirin still carefully watched his every move, charging up raw mana mixed with the flame spirit's Aether.
Her plan was simple yet ruthless, leaving nothing to chance. Spread the flames through Fire Storm, turn them all into the eternal flames of darkness that would keep burning until they consumed the target.
Tham!
One of the massive flame storms directly hit the abdomen of the man, burning some of the black slime, which instantly regenerated back. It immediately sent him crashing to the ground.
"Oh Great Melodis, I call for your eternal flames, I call for your wrath, I call for your vengeance… Burn my enemies and make thy flames eternal," she roared through gritted teeth.
Her eyes remained locked on Johan's fading Aether. She needed to reach him as soon as possible.
Boom!
She released the spell, and in an instant, the dark red flame turned black, its temperature soaring to thousands of degrees, all rushing toward the man still struggling to rise from the ground.
"It seems like I am being underestimated…" the man spoke in a low whisper, his voice filled with suppressed rage, wiping the dust off his face.
She frowned but still replied with a mocking smile, "I said I will kill you, and I meant every single word of it!" She raised her right arm high in the air, then—
Whoosh!
With the elegance of falling rain, her arm descended, and hundreds of black flames surrounded the man, closing in on him, burning him to a crisp…
"Ha ha ha," she panted harshly, dropping to her knees from the toll on her body, clutching the wound on her ankle as crimson blood pooled out from her pale skin, covering her hands.
'When did he hit me?' she shuddered at the thought, trying to remember, but it wasn't that fatal. She had these levels of depletion of her reserves and injuries almost every day, so she was used to the pain.
"Huff…" she pushed herself up from the ground, still breathing roughly, her breath hot—so hot it would easily burn someone's skin to the bone. It made her tongue, nose, lungs, and throat burn as well—just one of the side effects of being a fire mage.
'I am still just as useless as ever…' she bit her lip, tightening her eyes before the tears escaped. 'Just a fire mage…' She took a deep breath.
Her eyes grew firm again. 'Johan…' Just as she gathered mana in her feet to jump to his location—
Shhhhk!
Her eyes widened. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out.
A dull, sickening heat bloomed in her chest—but it wasn't hers. Not her fire.
She slowly looked down.
Throb. Throb.
Her heart beat, but… she could see it beating. Her breath caught in her throat.
There it was. A hand.
Dark, muscular, dripping in her own blood.
It had pierced straight through her back and now jutted out of her chest. Right through her heart, holding it.
Her fire armor blinked out. Then every last black flame, red dimmed…
Not dimming—gone.
Just like that.
As if they'd never existed.
The world became colder.
Tap. Tap.
Drops of blood hit the ground beneath her. Loud. Louder than anything else in the world. She couldn't even feel her own magic anymore.
"No…" she whispered—but even her voice cracked like broken glass.
She turned her head slightly, slow, disoriented. Behind her—
She saw him.
That same man. That same smirk. His face now also covered in gooey smiles.
Too fast… Too fast.
He leaned in. She could feel his breath on her ear. "You were never a threat," he whispered coldly.
Crunch.
His hand twisted inside her chest. She gasped. Her whole body jerked.
Her legs failed her. She dropped to her knees, and the hand slid out from her chest with a wet, slippery sound.
Shhk—pah!
Blood flooded her throat. Her vision blurred.
Thump!
She fell forward, hands trembling against the burnt earth. She could barely hold herself up.
'Get up…' Her brain screamed.
'Stand! You still have mana—! Save Johan! Save your light! Save him!'
But nothing answered.
Her fingers clawed at the ground, but they couldn't grip anything. Only ash.
Her body was heavy. So heavy. Like it didn't belong to her anymore.
She looked up—Johan's Aether was still fading. Still flickering. He was still alive… Maybe.
She opened her mouth again. "Johan…" No voice came. Just blood. Warm, burning blood.
Even Melodis was gone.
Her Aether core was never that strong to begin with, and now it was abandoning her… again.
Just like before, when she couldn't awaken an ability—even as a Great Royal from the main house, just basic magic—like commoners.
She didn't have what made Nobles, nobles.
Once in a while, she also dreamt about a white knight on his white horse—a man she could rely on, marry, have children with, watch them grow.
But no man ever looked at her with love, only either lust, or how they could manipulate her, use her power, in any way—exploit her.
Besides her flames, she had nothing, always warming up the cold nights, the cold food she was served, the camping trips with Johan.
But now—
Her flames were also leaving. And, fortunately, so was she. At least she wasn't abandoned again.
The last thing she saw was the night sky swallowing her last bit of hope.
Then—
Black.
But—
She heard a voice. A voice that always cheered her up, that always told her, "You can do it." "You don't need Aether to be strong." "I will always protect you, sis."
The reason she even got her flames at all. Johan. The only person she could consider a brother, a friend, a father.
"Eternal Flames!" These were the last words she heard, as a golden warmth spread through her body, the same warmth after every beating from her father and mother, after every training session.
She closed her eyes, even after knowing how weak Johan was, she felt… she could rely on him, rely on someone who was always there, from her worst to best.
"Ahhhhhh… Ahhhh!" The man's wailing voice rang.
Her lips curled into a soft smile as she fell unconscious.