Red, black, silverish blue, and even golden, all shades of lights surged around Alnea, as he danced through the fire raging around him, riding the earthen tsunamis, finding nigh impossible angles between the furiously sharp winds to squeeze himself through. Sometimes, the winds came so close, that it became truly impossible to find a gap between their blades. Especially when he also had some beasts of Earthen and Lightning origin hounding him from all sides, with Fire raining down upon his head.

  The only Mysteries that left him alone were those of Water. Ironically enough, Water was the most suitable element to be used in the forest. But that was when the forest was still in good shape, with plenty of fog to take advantage of. Or when fighting next to some lakes or rivers. In the ruins they were, with not an inch of ground that was left unscorched, neither any trees that were not charred, Mysteries of Water were indeed not the ideal choice.

  Though, it did not matter what Mysteries his enemies used. They were all the same to him. Weak and vulnerable. Just a touch from his sword, covered with silverish blue and golden lights, with a golden lightning flickering around its edge, was enough to dissolve most Mysteries heading his way. And what could not be solved in a touch was not fast enough to keep up with his steps.

  Then again, his enemies did not seem to have any intentions of stopping him anyway. They just kept doing as they were told, releasing waves after waves of Glyphs and Arcanas, until they finally ran out of Spirit Power. But Alnea still did not rush towards his enemies right away. Instead, he kept circling around them, growing closer ever so slowly, while observing their actions.

  The Fire Servant, as usual, did not make any moves, except to ensure that none of his followers ran away. And that they obeyed all his orders. So, when he noticed that some people were beginning to slack off, he did not waste time in teaching them a lesson. By burning them to ashes. Only such a punishment could motivate the rest. And it did motivate them, but only till they had Spirit Power. Once they were completely exhausted, not even the fear of death could help them summon their Mysteries.

  Instead, as those Wanderers struggled to go beyond their limits, they began dropping to the ground one by one, losing their consciousness, until only a dozen or so of them were left. Then, and only then, did the Fire Servant asked his followers to stop, before glancing at the Wanderers lying on the ground. And after a moment of thought, burnt them to ashes.

  “…Do not blame me,” the Fire Servant said, as a blood red fire danced around him, scattering the remains of his followers in the wind. “I gave you a chance. You were the ones who failed to grasp it.”

  “…We did as you asked, Mathias,” the pink robed Wanderer said in a hoarse voice, trying not to show any expression on his pale and tired face. No matter how he tried to hide though, the moment he saw the Whitebud Wanderer turn towards him, the man could not stop his hands from shaking.

  “Can we go now?”

  “Go?” the Fire Servant said, raising his right hand, before conjuring a flame above his palm. “Go where?”

  “…Back to the Lost City.”

  “Without completing our mission?”

  “…We trust you. I am sure that you will be able to complete this mission on your own.”

  “Although I am honoured by your trust, I still need your help in one thing,” the Fire Servant said, manipulating the flame to split into three parts, before shaping them into the form of birds, all of a different kind. “You would not refuse to help me in completing our mission, right?”

  “…Of course, not. We are companions. It is our duty to help each other. Not to mention that capturing him is not just your mission. It is also the mission given to us by our clans. You should not even need to ask for our help. Unfortunately, we have already used up most of our Spirit Power. And what little Spirit Power we have left is not enough to even urge our Aspects, let alone cast Glyphs and Arcanas. Even if we want to help you, I do not think we will be of any help.”

  “You do make a point,” the Fire Servant said, as the birds dancing above his palms let out a cry, before rushing towards the black robed boy circling around their conjurer, growing in size while they were at it. “But you can rest assured. The thing I want to ask your help for does not require you to fight. Or even use your Spirit Power. You just need to stay still, and I will do the rest of the work myself.”

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  “…Then is our help really necessary?”

  “Of course, it is. Why else would I keep you from leaving?”

  “…Since you insist…”

  “You sound reluctant to help.”

  “No, I was just a little excited to know that I can help you even when I am so exhausted… and I am sure the rest as feeling the same way…”

  “You do not have to be so nervous, Onil,” the Fire Servant said, raising the edge of his lips in a smile, as he glanced at the Wanderers around him. “After all, by helping me, you will be helping yourselves.”

  “…What do you mean?”

  “Have you forgotten the things I promised you?”

  “…Those things…”

  “It is time for me to fulfil my promise.”

  “No,” said the green robed Wanderer, shaking his head, as he glanced at the scorch marks on the ground around them, before turning back to the Whitebud Wanderer. “There is no need.”

  “…No need?” the Fire Servant said, turning his gaze towards the green robed Wanderer. “If I do not fulfil my promise, how will anyone trust me in the future?”

  “…I meant, there is no need be in a hurry. We can wait for you to fulfil your promise after we return to the Lost City.”

  “How can that be?” the Fire Servant said, shaking his head. “Am I, Mathias of Fire, the kind of person who would go back on his word?”

  “No—

  “Then how can I let you leave before fulfilling my promise?”

  “…You can just give us those things later. We—

  “No, I must give them to you now,” the Fire Servant said, “Because only here can I find the ‘materials’ to fulfil my promise.”

  “You do not have to worry about the ‘materials’. We will find it for you.”

  “How? Do you know what the ‘materials’ are?”

  “No, but you can tell it to us.”

  “And reveal all my secrets?”

  “…That is not what I meant.”

  “Then what exactly did you mean?” the Fire Servant said, narrowing his eyes at the brown robed Wanderer. “Do you still remember the deal we made?”

  “…Yes.”

  “Did we not promise to not look into each other’s secrets?”

  “…We did.”

  “Then what were you trying to do just now?”

  “I…”

  “Are you trying to break our deal, Nomar?”

  “No! I… I was just thinking of helping you…”

  “The only thing you can help me with right now is to let me fulfil my promise.”

  “I…”

  “What Nomar meant to say is that we are all tired right now, Mathias,” the pink robed Wanderer said, stepping in before the brown robed Wanderer could make any more mistakes. “If possible, we would like to get some rest and talk about our promise when we have recovered our Spirit Power.”

  “It is alright,” the Fire Servant said, glancing towards the black robed boy, manipulating his birds to dodge his sword and harassing him, preventing him from approaching them. Though, from what the boy had shown until then, if he so wished, he could probably deal with the birds in just a few moments. But it seemed that the boy did not have any intention approaching them just yet. Fortunately, that worked in the Fire Servant’s favour.

  “You can go rest after I give you the things I promised. It will take just a few moments anyway.”

  “…But—

  “There are no buts. You… all of you have to stay until I fulfil my promise,” the Fire Servant said, conjuring another group of flames above his palms. “Now, does anyone still want to leave?”

  Everyone shook their heads.

  “I knew you would understand me,” the Fire Servant said, clenching his fist to snuff out the flame he had just conjured, as he glanced at the Wanderers around him with a grin. “Is everyone ready to receive their gifts?”

  Instead of answering the Fire Servant, everyone glanced at each other in silence, quickly reaching a consensus among themselves. And though the Fire Servant did not care about their actions, their silence still irked him a little, prompting him to withdraw his grin for a solemn face.

  “I said, is everyone ready to receive their gifts?”

  “…We are.”

  “Good,” the Fire Servant said, smiling once again, before glancing at the black robed boy. Just as before, he did not seem to be interested in rushing towards them. At least not right away. He seemed to be playing around with the birds. Though his movements seemed to have gotten better than before. As was his use of the golden lightning. Was he using the birds to hone himself?

  The Fire Servant raised the edge of his lips in a smirk, as he withdrew his gaze from the boy, and glanced at the Wanderers around him. They seemed to have finally given up on their greed and come to some sort of an agreement. Unfortunately for them, their agreement came a little too late. Maybe, if they had made up their mind before, if the boy had not wasted his time, then he would have faced some troubles taking them down. But after he had completed all his preparations… It was time for him to become truly invincible.