Yveta had been about to stop the Old Witch from taking the flame of the Thousand Year Fire. They had neither the means nor the resources to preserve it.
As the Long Princess had said, preserving the Thousand Year Fire required a powerful faction, the vast wealth that came with such power, and the tremendous resources that could only be acquired by spending that wealth.
That was beyond what they could manage right now.
But it was already too late.
The longsword began to hum, and then came a clang, like a boulder crashing down and smashing a concrete floor. The Hearthstone Great Witch had actually pried the Thousand Year Fire off the mural with the Sword in Fire.
The blood-red flame fell onto the Sword in Fire. It was only a tiny speck on the tip, yet in an instant, the entire sword, from hilt to blade, glowed red-hot.
"What's going on? It's so hot!"
"Even the Sword in Fire can't withstand the temperature of this flame." The Old Witch jolted in alarm. Her entire right arm burst into flames, and blood-red serpents of fire crawled from her shoulder toward her head and body.
Another wizard might have died right there.
But the Old Witch's first instinct was to sacrifice whatever she had to in order to save herself, and she reacted quickly.
She raised her left hand and, without a second thought, brought it down on her right shoulder, severing her entire right arm.
She simply threw the arm away.
"That was my favorite spare arm!"
The Hearthstone Great Witch's head was still buzzing.
As the arm flew through the air, Lolita hurriedly clutched her head and sat down, squeezing her eyes shut. She narrowly avoided the burning limb.
The arm's trajectory took it straight toward the pitiful