Chapter 254 - Open World (3)

I'm running through the flames.

"Huff, huff."

Acrid smoke fills my nose.

THUD! THUD!

I'm sprinting flat out through the wreckage of buildings burned to the point of collapse.

Oh, there's a simple reason my footsteps sound like this. I activated [Gigantification] to raise my Fire Tolerance even a little.

'How far have I come now?'

I try to work out my exact position as I run, but I can't be sure. The royal palace, which always gave me a sense of distance whenever I visited this city, isn't even visible through the smoke.

For now, all I can do is keep running.

WHOOSH!

Anyway, after about an hour of this, I've learned two things.

First.

WHOOOOSH!

No matter how I look at it, the flames swirling around me aren't the result of an ordinary fire.

Flames that don't just spread, but keep exploding at regular intervals?

'It has to be mag—'

BOOOOM!

I break off my thoughts and swiftly swing my shield toward the explosion.

It's a red shield in an entirely different price bracket from the one I temporarily borrowed from the knights after hearing about the assassins.

「Lava Shield has absorbed the flames.」

「The character's Magic Power is restored in proportion to the amount absorbed.」

No. 4819, Lava Shield.

I brought it for its passive stat of +30 Fire Tolerance while in possession, but it's proving to be the most useful item I have right now.

'Ha. I'd have been in serious trouble if I'd just charged in.'

They say being prepared saves you from trouble.

Since the item only reacts to attack skills and magic, I thought I'd have no use for its Magic Power restoration effect.

Without it, I'd have held off on using [Gigantification].

Now, on to the second thing.

"..."

Everywhere I go, it's quiet.

The sounds of collapsing buildings and roaring flames burning the city fill my ears, but...

So far, I've encountered zero survivors.

I haven't heard so much as a scream, let alone a call for help.

'... Still, I suppose it's a relief there aren't that many bodies.'

Most of the bodies I've encountered, incidentally, lay facing away from me. They'd fled inward to escape the fire that started on the outskirts.

The royal palace is that way, too.

'I hope Raven made it there safely...'

Even as I prayed she'd managed to escape this disaster, I kept pushing through the flames.

Because she might not have.

According to the guard, all of southern Carnon was engulfed in flames. And Raven's lodgings were right in the heart of that area.

'I feel like I should be seeing it about now...'

TAP.

I stopped.

A stone structure was emerging from the thick smoke before me.

BOOOOM!

The ongoing explosions had left no part of it intact, but the building was so large that its shape was easy to recognize.

The Third Public Boarding Platform in the capital, Carnon.

I quickly scanned the surroundings, then froze in dismay.

'Fucking hell.'

The address Raven had given me was right near here.

Of course, I didn't know the exact location. But what difference did that make?

Nothing was intact, no matter which direction I looked.

"..."

I even held my breath for a moment and listened closely, but all I could hear was that damned fire.

Then what had happened to Raven?

Had she escaped in time, as I'd hoped?

"ALLUA RAVEN!!!"

Just in case, I shouted with all my might. She might be somewhere nearby, waiting to be rescued.

But even after several calls, there was no answer.

So I was just about to resume heading toward the royal palace when—

["... Mr. Jandel?"]

A voice rang inside my head.

Voice Transmission, a spell that essentially every mage knew how to use.

["What? Why are you here, Mr. Jandel?"]

... She really was nearby.

What if I'd simply left?

The thought made me dizzy, but I urgently shouted,

"WHERE ARE YOU?!"

["Take the street on the other side of the boarding platform and come a little farther. You'll see me."]

Following Raven's directions, I soon reached a plaza.

She was by the central fountain, along with fifteen or so survivors.

I slipped through the magical field keeping the flames at bay and saw her standing there, small but imposing.

"What on earth are you doing here, Mr. Jandel?"

Um, couldn't she at least act a little pleased to see me first?

Reality really is different from the movies. In a movie, this would be the part where she ran into my arms or something.

"Don't tell me... you came all this way for me? Through those flames?"

What was she talking about?

"I was out for a walk."

For some reason, I felt embarrassed and blurted that out.

I was so relieved she was safe.

* * *

"Anyway, why are you still here instead of somewhere near the palace? You should've run as soon as the fire started. Have you got any sense at all?"

After joining Raven, I first got her account of what had happened. Why was she still here near her home, rather than over by the palace?

The reason was quite simple.

"Well..."

Raven had been putting her newly acquired knowledge to use in the makeshift laboratory she'd set up at her lodgings.

That was why she hadn't heard the fire in time.

"Being near the boarding platform is convenient in some ways, but it's noisy. I normally keep the sound blocked out, so..."

By the time she noticed something was wrong, flames already surrounded her.

But it hadn't been hopelessly late, as it was now. She could have escaped if she'd tried.

However...

"If I'd just left then, they would all have died."

The moment Raven saw a woman collapsed in the street holding a child, she'd decided to stay.

Her judgment might be coolheaded, but she always tried to do the right thing as far as her abilities allowed.

She'd probably been complacent at the time, thinking the fire would soon be put out if she just held on a little longer.

She couldn't have expected things to grow this serious.

"... I'll apologize, at least. I never dreamed you'd come looking for me like this, Mr. Jandel."

I told you, I was out for a walk.

"What's there to apologize for?"

Look at her, so tiny and trying to act like a grown-up.

"You did well."

"... What?"

I spoke as I looked at the survivors watching us anxiously.

"You should save the people you can."

No matter how I looked at them, I couldn't see them as mere NPCs.

They were people, just like me.

Even if they called people like me evil spirits.

'Anyway, it looks like there aren't any nobles here.'

Glancing around, I realized most of them looked like ordinary townsfolk.

That wasn't strange. Even in the capital, Carnon, ninety percent of the population were commoners, after all. People who lived and worked here for the nobles' convenience.

"By the way, where did you get all that equipment?"

Once things had settled down a little, Raven asked about my firefighter-edition gear, including the Lava Shield.

Was it because she was a mage? Even now, her curiosity came first.

I briefly explained where my equipment had come from, and she gave me a rather odd look.

"That's really surprising. I can understand my master doing it, but the others aren't the sort of people who would."

"You know who they are? I haven't even told you."

"More or less. The mage community seems big, but it's actually small. Everyone knows who's friends with whom."

Right, I see.

But we couldn't talk about this forever, so it was time to get to the point.

"So, what about this barrier? Can you use it while moving?"

As I turned to the matter at hand, Raven's expression changed, and she answered seriously.

"I can. Though it'll be much weaker."

"Then what do you think? Will it hold?"

"You're using the Orb of Fire right now, aren't you? If I add Ice Blood, I think we can manage somehow."

"And your mana?"

"... I think we'll have to try it to find out."

True to her nature as a mage, Raven wouldn't offer empty assurances.

In other words, it would be that close a call.

Still, neither of us suggested leaving these people behind.

"You all heard that, right? We're going to move now. If anyone objects, please speak up."

Raven explained the plan to the survivors again, and naturally, no one objected.

"Then let's go."

As soon as Raven finished converting the barrier into a mobile one, we stepped out into the flames.

"How is everyone? Are you all right?"

"W-we can bear it, mage."

The survivors were sweating profusely, but it didn't seem hot enough to burn them.

The smoke did seem to make breathing difficult, but Raven periodically used wind magic to push it away and replenish the oxygen.

"Keep up. Don't fall behind."

The Orb of Fire had a radius of fifteen meters.

I started jogging, adjusting my pace so none of the survivors fell outside its range.

BOOOOM!

I blocked the explosions ahead, while Raven took full responsibility for the rear.

"Your mana?"

"I've still got plenty. Don't worry about it."

Aside from the fact that her mana was being depleted by the second, our progress was reasonably steady.

How much time passed like that?

"The flames have definitely weakened."

"Does that mean we'll be out of here soon?"

"If my prediction is right."

Good news, for the first time in a while.

Even the survivors who'd reached their physical limits found hope and began digging deep to keep going.

But was it true that good news always came with bad?

"... Mana up ahead!"

Raven suddenly cried out urgently in the middle of our conversation.

I hastily looked forward, too.

It happened at that moment.

'Fucking hell.'

A gigantic fireball appeared before my eyes.

I reflexively raised my shield to block it, but...

「Single-Absorption Limit exceeded.」

「A large amount of Magic Power is consumed in proportion to the amount absorbed.」

Rather than recovering, I felt a huge amount of energy drain out of me.

'Shit.'

A fire-type attack the Lava Shield couldn't block?

'What bastard could possibly...'

I looked up.

The first thing I saw was the building debris floating around us.

RUMBLE.

The burning chunks of stone were clustering tightly together, taking the shape of a golem.

I heard Raven's stunned voice behind me.

"Mr. Jandel. This spell..."

"Enough. I know."

The rank-five summoning spell, Fire Giant.

I remembered seeing it once before.

'... No wonder the fire was so unnaturally hot.'

I tightened my grip on my mace and kept staring ahead.

An old man and another man following him emerged beyond the flames, walking toward us, though I couldn't hear their footsteps.

"I hadn't expected to see you here."

The elderly man stopped and spoke.

"How fortunate."

Right. It couldn't possibly have been this easy.

* * *

The Scholar of Destruction, Velvev Luingenes.

'To think I'd run into him here.'

My chest was already tightening, but at least I'd learned one thing.

'So it really was those Noark bastards.'

They were the ones responsible for this fire.

Well, it was obvious when I thought about it. Who else would wreak this kind of havoc in the city?

"Raven."

Putting everything else aside, I gave my orders first.

"Take the people and get out. You said we're almost there, so you can manage that much without me, right?"

"But..."

Oh, don't argue.

"Listen to me. When has listening to me ever steered you wrong?"

After a brief silence, an answer came.

Not aloud, but through Voice Transmission.

["... I'll bring help as quickly as I can."]

Then Raven used wind magic to push back the flames and open a path, disappearing down it with the survivors.

Surprisingly, the Scholar of Destruction watched and let them go.

I'd been ready to stop him immediately if he tried anything.

'Right. You figure I'll be easier to deal with without a mage on my side?'

I could roughly guess what he was thinking.

Something did feel off, but otherwise, I couldn't see any reason he'd let them leave so willingly...

"Since when?"

Huh?

"I heard you were at the royal palace. When exactly did you come here?"

What on earth was he talking about all of a sudden?

Before I could even tilt my head in confusion, the answer appeared before me.

"Just now."

A man in his twenties emerged from the flames as though he'd been standing there all along.

"Hey, geezer."

"... Geezer?"

"Who said you could set fires? Without my permission, no less."

Lee Baekho scowled at the Scholar of Destruction.