Because I Am Surtr

--"You must have your revenge..."

--"Revenge..."

That voice was like a venomous snake crawling along her spine. Like a swarm of flies, it made her shoulders tremble instinctively.

She had nearly sunk into it as she had in every nightmare before, accepting those fragmented whispers in their entirety. But—

At that very moment.

Blazing fire erupted from within her, from her eyes, ears, mouth, and nose!

It burned away her skin, melted through her bones, and in an instant turned her into a flaming skeleton amid the inferno. Yet just as she was about to scream in sheer terror, she saw countless tiny maggots and poisonous flies writhing and convulsing in the flames within her body!

What was this!?

How could these things be inside my body!?

Her eyes flew wide open, only for her eyeballs to melt in the fire as well. And just before everything became a brilliant darkness, a familiar yet unfamiliar voice entered her ears.

"Righteousness and justice—Ludmila, you must learn them, and understand them."

"They are different. Sometimes, they are even completely opposed to one another. You must understand them before you can comprehend your true goals and desires."

"So that you will not be so easily deceived by others."

"Dad!"

The Lupo maiden opened her eyes and abruptly reached toward the sky. At the edge of her vision, the vague remnant of a tall figure still lingered. Yet in the next instant, it vanished like an illusion.

No, not like one. It had been an illusion.

Only now did she feel the searing pain spreading throughout her body... Flames and extreme heat should have been more than enough to take her life. Yet in the end, they had left her with nothing but pain—she looked around and saw that the city ruins melted by the fire had already cooled and solidified. Looking down at her hands and feet, she found them merely hot and red, without any actual injury.

But beyond that, she seemed to see streams of fire flowing beneath her skin, flickering like thin, elongated threads. Along with some vague, indescribable sensation, she felt currents of heat coursing through every limb and bone, eventually gathering in her lower abdomen.

Perhaps that had been an illusion too.

She shook her head. The clear sensation she had perceived only moments ago vanished without a trace. In its place were emotions and fervor boiling and burning within her body alongside her blood!

"Spared... because there was no need to crush an insect to death?"

Pressing a hand to her chest, she barely managed to force herself to her feet. She did not know why she had survived, but she knew she had been given the chance to continue her revenge against those who had betrayed and sold her out...

...Wait, revenge... Why was she so certain that those two were her "enemies"?

The evidence was insufficient, and the motives were lacking. Why had she once...

She shook her head sharply, utterly unable to understand why she was suddenly doubting the convictions that had guided her life. No, this was not the time to think about that. She had more important things to do.

"I have to tell the others about Frostnova... I have to tell them!"

Struggling onward, she began making her way toward where the Reunion Movement had gathered. At first, it was difficult, and she could only limp along with great effort. But soon, her steps became steady, and her movements grew nimble.

...I have to tell them.

...I have to tell everyone in the Reunion Movement. Tell them that disaster is coming.

...Tell them that the Ember Demon has set its sights on us Infected and is about to make its move!

She moved swiftly, her resolve firm. Yet she instinctively cast aside the rule that, as an officer, she ought to report uncertain intelligence to the leader first—perhaps out of fear, because this was the Ember Demon, capable of standing against an entire nation alone!

But perhaps it was also because loyalty and trust in Talulah were no longer foremost among the principles that guided her actions.

She hurried away, just as hurriedly as she had arrived.

And at the edge of the ruins behind her, atop a towering wreckage that was plainly right before her eyes yet had gone entirely unnoticed—

Miss Surtr silently watched the wolf girl she had marked disappear beyond the edge of her vision, idly toying with the dancing flame in her hand.

Charm—within the Dark Souls world, wielders of flame could use their own flames to influence the flames of life within others. This method had nothing whatsoever to do with appearance, words, reputation, or such things. The sole key to casting it was the strength of the flame one possessed.

Though this was not Lordran, the principles of power were not entirely without common ground. Living beings without the burning First Flame still had similar flames of life operating within them. With only a slight adjustment to the method of application, techniques from another land could be recreated in this world in a different form.

"How pitiful, Ludmila. Even before I made my move, someone had already put a 'collar' around your neck."

Her gaze shifted away from Crownslayer's retreating back and toward the west, toward Siracusa. That land was worth a glance from her—and worth setting aside some time in the future to visit at her leisure.

"I hope you can walk out of it on your own... I have already given you the chance and broken the old shackles around your neck. But the marks of taming will not disappear so easily, and something new may well cover over the old."

"Do your best, Ludmila. Otherwise... you'll have no choice but to become my dog."

Flames rose around her, and as the scent of sulfur drifted through the air, a new hunt was already taking shape.

The Purity of a Tool

Terrifying news spread like wildfire.

As the battered Crownslayer returned in full view of everyone, the precise intelligence she spoke of spread throughout the Reunion Movement's temporary camp.

--"Have you heard? The Ember Demon—that demon has set its sights on us! An officer has already been taken!"

--"That demon wiped out an entire squad! I saw it! When I woke up this morning, the sky over there had been dyed completely red by the blaze!"

--"We're in trouble! The really bad kind!"

--"Damn it! What is the leader doing? We shouldn't be sitting here waiting to die!"

--"It seemed Patriot had already headed over. Did no one care whether we lived or died anymore?"

Three people made a tiger; four brought disaster. Once rumors began to spread, they could no longer be easily snuffed out.

Before long, people noticed that Frostnova and her Yeti Squadron had not arrived at the camp on time. Before long, people noticed that Crownslayer was wounded, with Phantom and the Shieldbreakers' squad guarding her closely in the infirmary. Before long, people noticed the unusual movements of Patriot's forces, and attempts to restore order proved futile.

Yet the leader of the Reunion Movement took no action immediately.

And so chaos began to spread.

At first, it was the outer members—the nameless thugs and drifters—who had merely sought shelter here because of the Reunion Movement's strength. A large portion of them were Ursus locals, and they knew exactly what the words "Ember Demon" meant.

Under the Reunion Movement's protection, they had dared to make enemies of Ursus.

Yet they still feared Ursus making enemies of them.

And even Ursus, which they feared so deeply in their hearts, had suffered time and again when facing the Ember Demon.