"Whoosh."
The orange-red flames followed the torch Lumina had thrown, racing along the alchemical fire oil she had poured earlier like a writhing fire serpent.
This was clearly specially treated fire oil.
The flames spread at an astonishing speed. Fortunately, Lumina had thrown the torch from far away. If she'd been any closer, she probably wouldn't have had time to run.
In the blink of an eye, the two alleys before her were completely engulfed in bright flames. Their flickering light stretched the shadows of nearby obstacles into long shapes. But Lumina could also hear faint crackling sounds, like the screams of something catching fire.
Her eyes widened, and she raised her shotgun again.
Being attacked by the astral hounds earlier had reminded her of her real strength. She might be better suited to shooting from a distance than fighting up close. It was a shame about the elven swordsmanship she'd just learned. She wondered if there was a class that could handle both ranged and melee combat.
"Grrr!"
A shrill howl interrupted Lumina's thoughts. She immediately raised her gun and aimed at the flames. Then she saw the invisible manifestations of despair struggling through the burning smoke and spilling out of the firelight, as if trying to flee the scorching flames.
But they hadn't made it far before Lumina blew their forms apart with a single lead shot. They turned into wisps of black smoke, only to be swallowed up by the raging fire.
"It works!"
Lumina watched the astral shadows in the alley being steadily consumed by the flames. All that remained where the fire had passed was a patch of pale ash.
It seemed Lord Murphy's plan had a good chance of working. They only needed to spread this alchemical fire oil throughout the outer-city ruins, then