"Let! Go! Of! Her!"
At that moment, Geno's magic power surged from her body as though it had taken physical form, making her raise the short staff she had been clutching in her other hand.
"Don't!"
Leaving Roxie and the others aside, Merika's expression changed drastically at the sight, and she let out her most panicked cry yet.
But it was already too late to stop her.
"Tinder!"
Geno's shrill cry rang out.
A blaze appeared out of nowhere atop the short staff she held high, shooting toward Shien like a streak of fire.
The fire streak was not large, merely a tiny flame, like a tongue of fire leaping from a torch. It was clear that Geno had restrained the spell's power and controlled her output of magic power.
Moreover, this was only one of the most basic and lowest-level spells in Fire Magic. In this world, its most it could do was give someone a slight burn, right?
Clearly, Geno might have been furious, but she had not completely lost her reason and attacked someone without restraint.
That streak of fire was aimed at the hand Shien was using to hold Merika. She obviously intended to burn his hand and make him let go.
But while imagination was beautiful, reality was cruel.
"Whoosh!"
Shien did not even shift his body. Facing the incoming fire streak, he simply swatted at it as though he were swatting a mosquito, stirring up a gust of wind.
"Bang!"
With an explosive sound, Shien violently slapped the incoming fire streak apart, causing it to burst into sparks.
"Huh?"
Geno froze.
Then, she met Shien's meaningful gaze.
"If you want me to let go, you'll need to show me something better than that."
There was a double meaning in Shien's voice. It was impossible