89 – 17 – I Am the Boss – 4

Scintilla shuddered, imagining the scene of over a hundred ogres surrounding Jun.

It was a truly horrific sight.

She had thought it was strange since the moment ogres appeared in the faction war, but to think this was all a trap to capture Jun!

No matter how rare Flame Humans were, how could they pull off a stunt that even dragged in the Dark Faction right in front of so many people?

“To gather ogres in hordes, those damn bastards…”

She had thought it was a suspicious request from the start.

She should have told Jun to be more on guard!

However, being with Jun made her feel strangely comfortable, making her reluctant to speak up and ruin the atmosphere of the place.

Exchanging smiles, clinking glasses.

It made her want to talk only about bright possibilities rather than a dark future, causing her to hold her tongue.

So, if he had let his guard down, the responsibility lay with her.

“You must be safe, Jun…!”

Although she had known that such a moment would come someday ever since Jun started proudly walking around revealing his identity as a Flame Human.

She could not let him be left in danger alone.

She had to help him.

No, she was the only one who could help him.

—Koong, koong!

At the pitiful voice of her partner, Rodim, Scintilla’s steps toward the ruins’ entrance quickened even more.

Foolish bastards—exposing the entrance of the ruins not just to Jun but to her as well was foolish beyond belief.

“It’s alright, Rodim. He’s a fellow clansman I finally found… I will save him no matter what. Don’t worry.”

—Koooo…

Rodim hung its head with a dejected expression.

She was deeply moved, wondering if Rodim was also worrying about him this much.

“It’s alright, Rodim. It’s alright.”

However, Rodim said no more and only caressed Scintilla’s cheek with its tail covered in flames.

Scintilla nodded firmly as if she understood Rodim’s feelings, and kicked off the ground.

The flames wrapping around her feet erupted fiercely, pushing her body forward with great force.

“It’s there!”

The entrance of the ruins was close.

She could see members of the Species Guild Alliance holding up their respective weapons, as if wary of her approaching the gate.

Even though it should be a very important place—for some reason, the number of those standing guard was not that large.

Of course, Scintilla did not have the leeway to think about such things calmly.

‘Even if we are of different races.’

It was right then that Jun’s voice flashed through her mind.

Suddenly, her feet stopped in place.

‘You are already my companion.’

A companion.

She looked back, but of course, there was no one behind her.

Come to think of it, why did I come all the way here alone?

Among those who were watching the monitor together, there should have been his companions—namely, the other members of Jun’s party, so why?

‘No, now is not the time to hesitate over useless thoughts. If I don’t hurry, Jun will die.’

The Species Guild Alliance was hell-bent on killing the Flame Human species representative to acquire massive points.

Perhaps all three races fighting the faction war were actually just trying to kill Jun.

Yes, they must have pulled some kind of scam on the magic contract as well.

Foolish and stupid bastards.

There was only one Flame Human representative left.

And she was right here!

“Everyone, out of the way!”

“Whoa!”

“She really came here?”

“We can’t catch her, avoid her!”

As she reached out and swung a whip fashioned from fire, those guarding the gate scattered in all directions as if they had no intention of stopping her in the first place.

She threw herself into the gate without hesitation—and beyond it was a very dark forest.

It seemed to lead to a different location than the one Jun had entered.

‘Now is not the time to look around, if I don’t hurry to help Jun…!’

“So the rumors were true.”

At that exact moment, Scintilla’s movements froze at the voice echoing from above her head.

When she looked up, a bat hanging from a thick branch…

No, a vampire was in sight.

Of course, she also knew that vampires were secretly active in Gratia.

But why was that guy here right now?

Could it be that the Species Guild Alliance had dragged in not only ogres but vampires as well!

“Scintilla, presumed to be the last survivor of the Flame Humans. Lost all companions, lost part of memory due to extreme trauma, and possibly obtained a permanent debuff making her vulnerable to mental magic… Fufu, hallucinations are the specialty of us Kudlaks (vampires).”

Listening to the bat’s sluggishly continuing words, she reflexively touched her head, but her disguise had not been undone.

Of course, she had kept in mind the possibility of her identity being exposed ever since joining Jun, but still, this was as if they had, from the very beginning—

“Of course, you were our target from the start.”

The bat declared, as if reading her mind.

Flutter, along with the unpleasant sound of wings, a newly arrived bat next to the creature lightly folded its wings, perched on the branch, and added.

“We were aware of your existence ever since we commissioned the man.”

Flutter, the sound of wings echoed once more.

“Both were bothersome, but both were delicious.”

“However, the man’s side was receiving too much attention, making it dangerous to touch him, and there was also a suspicious corner as to whether he was truly a Flame Human.”

Flutter, flutter, the bats were gradually increasing in number.

Were all of these vampires…?

“But what about the woman who popped up later?”

“We had been suspicious before, but it became certain when she stuck close to the man calling himself a Flame Human.”

“The representative of the last Flame Humans. She has no backing, and as long as we separate her from the man, luring and disposing of her is not difficult.”

“Especially if hallucination magic even works well on her.”

Flutter, flutter, flutter, the unpleasant sound of wings filled her ears.

By the time Scintilla noticed, a massive horde of bats that she could not possibly count with both hands had already surrounded her.

“Then we must naturally target you, beautiful Flame Human lady!”

“Ugh—!”

Only when a chilly voice echoed right in front of her nose was Scintilla finally able to escape the hallucination and regain her senses.

More precisely, because a blade emitting an eerie light flew right in front of her eyes, her survival instinct had awakened her senses.

“You!”

Scintilla, who leapt backward to dodge the blade, identified the attacker’s face and shouted while grinding her teeth.

“Demander, the human representative!”

“It is ‘Union,’ the guild alliance of humans only, aiming to integrate all humans throughout Gratia centering on Cor. Please remember it.”

Retrieving his curved sword, which bent backward like a scimitar, the man, Christian, spoke shamelessly.

The vampires that had turned into bats landed around him one by one, revealing their true forms.

Scintilla unleashed the power she possessed as a Flame Human, her burning eyes flashing as she snorted.

“Human? There’s no way you are human!”

“I am still human. It is just that some of our alliance members willingly accepted the blessing of blood to deepen our friendship with the nobles of the night.”

“It was also them who cast the hallucination on you and brought you here,” Christian added.

Here? When she regained her senses and looked around, the place she was in was no longer a dark forest.

It was a massive cavern where no sunlight reached.

Only then did Scintilla realize that she had not even properly found the ruins where Jun was, and let out a hollow laugh.

“Where… is this?”

“It is a space prepared under the basement of a warehouse building owned by the alliance. It is suitable for having a secret conversation with a guest like now.”

“To secretly build an underground space on the land of the Letans, you are crazy. For this alone, you bastards are high traitors.”

And surely, the things happening inside here must be crimes fitting of high treason.

Why would vampires hold hands with humans?

To make them vampires? There was no way.

It was because the staple food of vampires was human blood.

It was clear that Christian, that ugly man, was selling out his own kind to receive rewards from the vampires!

As if confirming her thoughts, a despicable smile appeared on his lips.

“As it happens, this fact will not be known to the outside world today. To mention an even more coincidental point—about a year from now, high treason against the Gratia Royal Family will mean absolutely nothing.”

His eyes flashing sharply, the guy raised his curved sword once more.

As if assisting him, the vampires lined up on both sides also drew their weapons in unison and aimed at Scintilla.

If it had only been that, there might have been a chance of surviving, but Scintilla had been feeling a chill tightening around her from all directions since a moment ago.

It was a magic trap that they must have set in advance.

‘If they lured me knowing I was a Flame Human, then of course they would have prepared a trap.’

She let out a chuckle, finding it absurd even to herself.

Who was the one who had emphasized so much to Jun to be careful, yet foolishly fell for a vampire’s hallucination and walked into a trap of her own accord?

They had been targeting her from the beginning, and it was also ridiculous that they took advantage of the moment Jun was away from her.

She had intended to protect Jun, but in reality, wasn’t it the exact opposite?

“Still… I can’t die like this.”

Whoosh, flames blazed up as if wrapping around her entire body.

As if detecting this, ice pillars surged from the ground, but Scintilla melted the ice in the nick of time.

A magic trap that increased the coldness every time a Flame Human created flames, eventually turning them into an immobile frozen statue.

How many Flame Humans had been turned into frozen statues by this trap, said to have been created by a black magician of the Dark Faction?

Deep anger and determination were added to Scintilla’s burning eyes.

“I will show you the reason I have survived until now… the reason I am called the last Flame Human.”

“I look forward to that. The stronger you are, the more achievement rewards and points we will obtain.”

As Scintilla gathered her energy, the cold lingering around her grew stronger, and ice pillars shot up randomly from the ground to attack her.

Perhaps the vampires intended to wait for her strength to drain, but—

—Boom!

Scintilla, who boldly charged forward by stepping on the newly rising ice pillars, threw a punch aiming at Christian.

The vampire blocking her path turned into a mist holding mass in an attempt to bind her, but the flames wrapped around her fist exploded in an instant, vaporizing him entirely along with the mist.

“First, one.”

“She’s strong! We can never win one-on-one, drain her strength slowly, tear more scrolls!”

As Christian backed away in fright and shouted, the vampires also scattered in all directions and tore up scrolls containing ice-attribute magic.

Each magic emitted a coldness that was fatal to a Flame Human.

Even as she felt her blood flow slowing down from the coldness overlapping in multiple layers to torment her, she smiled brightly.

“Aaargh!”

Ignoring her creaking body, the flames she shot out swallowed another vampire.

In return, her body had to be encroached upon by even greater coldness—but the Flame Human’s fire, which burned away all evil, surely incinerated the target and wiped it out.

“A monster—!”

“How much do you think we spent on this trap!”

“Disperse! Make that bitch waste as much energy as possible!”

The coldness added layer by layer every time she used her power was like iron chains binding Scintilla’s body.

However, the more it did, the more violently her flames burned.

‘Fire crafted from ice.’

It was the power of her own title, which had saved her even at the moment when the Flame Humans were wiped out in the past.

“Aaaaargh!”

“Chris! You never said she would be that strong!”

“Did you think hunting a civilization representative would be easy then! The more you hold back, the more casualties there will be, so just ambush her from all sides!”

The vampires summoned bats, threw blood-colored spears, and cast hallucination magic once again, testing her mental strength.

However, not a single thing worked on the current her.

Burning the guy who dared to try to cast hallucination on her again to death from the tips of his limbs, she thought.

‘I just didn’t want to face reality. That’s why I had no choice but to become vulnerable to hallucinations.’

There was no way she didn’t know the fact that Jun was not a Flame Human.

Would it even make sense not to realize his identity after seeing him disguise himself as a Flame Human by equipping gear rather than unequipping it?

But she had desperately pretended not to know and deceived herself.

Because after losing all of her own kind, nothing remained for her.

She thought that if she bound them under the name of the same kind even by force and clung blindly, perhaps he would still stay by her side.

Even though doing so would never make it real.

Like a fool.

‘Even if we are of different races—you are already my companion.’

Lies.

Looking at her breath freezing white as it contacted the cold outside, she muttered hollowly.

There was no way to trust another race.

She only had to look at the sight unfolding in the alliance made by different races gathering to harmonize.

Humans, vampires, goblins, ogres, Cait Siths—everyone only thought of themselves.

Unless they were of the same race, they cannot be trusted.

For people from different cultures, backgrounds, and worlds to harmonize, to become companions—

“She’s persistent… she doesn’t even seem to be weakening!”

“Weren’t Flame Humans originally terribly vulnerable to the cold! Leader, did you deceive us!”

“Pour on more! I said pour it—ugh!”

She burned away the cold flying from the floor, the ceiling, and the vampires, tearing them apart with a whip fashioned from flames.

Anger toward herself, resentment toward Jun, and murderous intent toward the enemy—many emotions tangled messily, forcing her utterly exhausted mind and body to be sustained and move.

The cold storming from all directions had still failed to violate her.

‘Ice, it’s full of ice. But how? Why am I not cold? I must have surpassed my limit long ago…’

How many more vampires did she kill since then?

At the moment she felt doubt about herself stubbornly holding out despite the cold covering the area.

“O Ishtar!”

At that moment, a girl’s clear voice echoed from beyond.

She saw a warm light coloring the underground space in golden hues fly in the shape of a cross, sweeping the vampires away.

“…You?”

“Isn’t it common sense to at least tell your party members when you go somewhere! I will tell Lord Jun about this and make sure you are severely punished! Actually, I already sent a message!”

Laura, who ran over while panting heavily, shot light again to crush a vampire approaching Scintilla, and stood in his place next to her while grinding her teeth.

Panting continuously, she must have run here so busily that her nun outfit was completely disheveled, and the veil she wore on her head was nowhere to be seen.

No, she had even torn the side of her nun outfit wide open to make it easier to run.

As Scintilla blinked blankly at the stockings and garter belt revealed through the gap, Laura shouted as if making an excuse.

“It’s because of performance! Performance!”

“No, why? Why did you come to help me? I was so…”

“What does that matter right now? A fellow party member—”

“Tsk, things have gotten troublesome.”

Just as Laura was about to reply with an absurd look at Scintilla’s question, Christian clicked his tongue and aimed his sword at Laura.

“We moved as carefully as possible and captured the best timing… How did you track us?”

Feeling the murderous intent, Laura turned toward him and pulled up her upper lip with her index finger.

When Christian’s eyes widened upon seeing her sharply flashing fangs, Laura spoke with a sneer on her lips that she could never show in front of Gi-jun.

“As it happens, I’ve become good at smelling blood. My companions are fighting your trash outside. The moment this space is exposed, you guys are completely finished.”

“With an intruder entering the workshop and all, quite a few annoying things are happening today. But there is no need to worry about us, beautiful lady.”

Christian gathered mana into his sword, fired a crescent-shaped wave, and shouted.

“Because you will all die here, and the incident will be buried!”

“Hup!”

Laura, who quickly drew the sword at her waist, barely blocked it and once again summoned Ishtar’s divine power.

Seeing the golden divine power mixing into the sword tinged with eerie blood-light, the vampires instinctively realized she was their adversary and grew tense.

Twisting the corner of her lips into a smile, Laura shouted fiercely.

“You think you can kill us and cover it up? Give it a try. Before that, Lord Jun will come and finish you all off!”

At those words, Scintilla’s eyes widened once again.

“Jun? Jun is coming?”

“Because I called him.”

“No, he can’t come. Not only is the faction war in full swing, but he… he…”

“He is coming.”

Replying in a firm tone that brooked no argument, Laura smiled faintly and added.

“So you hang in there until then too.”

“Ha…”

Scintilla slowly closed and opened her eyes.

The hallucination had been broken long ago.

She acknowledged and accepted the fact that Jun was not a Flame Human, that he was not of her own kind.

“Nonsense! No matter how outstanding he is, it’s impossible!”

But why was that?

At Laura’s words asserting that he was coming, Scintilla’s heart began to beat rapidly again.

Although Laura had not been able to answer her question about why she came to help.

Even without hearing the answer, she felt like she knew the reason now.

“Your companions outside must have already been captured as well! As soon as the faction war ends, he will be forced to kneel before the nobles and beg for his life! Because of none other than you bitches!”

She felt something emitting a warm energy deep within her body.

She finally realized how she had been able to endure in this horrific environment until now.

—The power of the moon dwells in your body; for the next month, cold will never invade your body.

—The power of the moon dwells in your body; for the next month, cold will never invade your body.

The food she was served for the first time upon meeting Jun.

The people who sat around the dining table.

Feeling the warmth she had not felt at the time, Scintilla let out a small laugh.

“Yeah, I’ll try to hold out.”

The ice covering her entire body turned into steam in an instant, coloring the surroundings in a hazy white.

Within it.

The fading fire of the Flame Human flared up once again, blazing a bright red.