Flame Demon and Flame Demon

Darkness... Agony.

With great difficulty, Saria's consciousness gathered again. She coughed up several mouthfuls of clotted blood mixed with dust and struggled to sense her surroundings.

She was lying in a cracked Calcification crystal hollow barely large enough to contain her body—

It was the last shelter she had instinctively constructed with her Arts before completely losing consciousness.

She was a horrific sight.

Her usually neat white hair was now utterly disheveled, caked with dust and dried blood.

Blood still continuously spilled from her mouth and nose, dripping down her chin onto her ruined uniform.

Worst of all was her right hand. Her already withered arm had been completely twisted into a "Z" shape by the final impact, and she could no longer feel even the slightest sensation in it.

That devastating blow had robbed her of all ability to move.

The emptiness brought on by overextending her Arts and the many severe injuries across her body made even moving a finger incredibly difficult.

She could only lie within the nearly shattered crystal remains, like an insect trapped in amber, gasping futilely.

Barely moving her eyes, Saria observed the outside through the cracks in the crystal wall.

She seemed to have fallen into a massive underground fault. Collapsed rock walls and fallen building debris surrounded her, forming an enormous subterranean space.

Fortunately, this appeared to be an undeveloped rock stratum, with no innocent civilians nearby.

Not far away, that lava giant had fallen here as well.

Having lost a clear target, it turned its rage upon the surrounding rock walls. Its four arms smashed wildly about, making the entire underground space tremble.

But Saria keenly noticed that as it vented its rage without restraint, the alarming glow on its body was gradually dimming.

[Mind Chat Group]

[Second: Boss! Boss, how are things over there?]

[Third: Boss, are you okay? If you really can't manage, come back first!]

[Fourth: Yeah, Boss! At worst, Second can suffer a little and stack a few more buffs on her.]

The boss's consciousness drifted amid chaos. His brothers' calls brought him back a measure of clarity.

He remained silent, not immediately responding to the suggestion that he return home.

He had selfish reasons of his own. The power this body had unleashed was far too terrifying, beyond even his full control.

If he returned to the hall now, he could not guarantee that, before the energy settled, he would not lose control and hurt the brothers standing so close by.

Compared to Terra's strangers, he was far more afraid of hurting the companions who had relied on one another to survive.

[Boss: ...I'm fine.]

Enduring the still-turbulent agony within him, he reassured them through the link.

[The energy is slowly settling... I can already... gradually control a little of it...]

As if to prove his words, the enormous lava giant stopped its meaningless smashing in reality.

Its massive chest heaved violently, and the flames across its body surged and receded. Though still unstable, its restlessness was indeed weakening.

Saria stared intently at the giant's changes. Seeing it finally stop its destruction, she felt a slight measure of relief.

This confirmed her guess. Its rampage was not permanent; after venting its power, there would be a period of weakness.

She tried to gather her strength, wanting to take advantage of this chance to do something.

But the instant she exerted herself, blinding pain darkened her vision again. With a muffled groan, she fell back into the crystal hollow.

"Ghh..."

Saria closed her eyes weakly.

There was no way... Now she could only hope no one else came to provoke it, so it could calm down naturally...

Yet fate always seemed to enjoy playing jokes at the worst possible moment.

Just as these underground ruins had fallen quiet, a girl's cry, full of panic and worry, drifted down from a distant crack overhead:

"Saria...! Saria—! Are you down there?!"

Saria's eyes snapped open, her pale face filled with shock.

"Ifrit!? Why is she here?!"

The perspective shifted to Ifrit—

A little earlier, when the first violent tremor came, Ifrit had been in her lounge as usual.

She listlessly flipped through the picture book Silence had left for her, her little feet swinging through the air.

"So boring..."

She muttered as her amber eyes rolled, wondering whether she should sneak out and secretly practice her Arts.

Or perhaps she could simply go act spoiled with Silence—though Silence was always busy, she would occasionally pat her on the head.

Just as she was making her little plans—

"Rumble!!!"

The sudden violent tremor launched her straight off the bed. A cup on the table crashed to the floor with a clatter, shattering into pieces.

"Wah! What happened?"

Then the piercing alarm blared throughout the entire area.

The corridor outside instantly erupted into chaos. She could hear the panicked cries of the other children being housed or monitored there.

Ifrit instinctively rushed to the lounge's only window, standing on tiptoe to look outside.

People ran through the corridor, terror written across their faces.

In contrast, large numbers of fully armed security personnel were rapidly gathering in a certain direction with grave expressions.

Amid the noisy voices, scattered words drifted into her ears:

"Monster..."

"Attack..."

"...It's the Flame Demon!"

"Flame Demon?" Ifrit froze, tilting her head.

"What does that have to do with me?"

At that moment, a researcher hurrying past spotted her pressed against the window. His face immediately darkened as he barked sternly:

"Get back! Stay in your room!"

Ifrit pouted and reluctantly left the window, plopping back down onto her bed.

"Tch, what's with being so mean..." she muttered under her breath.

"Whatever. None of my damn business."

She picked up the picture book, about to force herself to keep reading and try to ignore the chaos outside—

"BOOM!!!!"

A shock violent enough to overturn the entire world suddenly struck, and the whole room shook madly.

"Wah!" Ifrit flung away the book in fright and tightly gripped the edge of the bed with both hands.

She immediately understood this was no ordinary attack or minor accident. Before even thinking of her own safety, she thought of others.

What about Silence? Where was Silence right now? Was she safe?

She vaguely heard people screaming outside.

"The headquarters... destroyed..."

"The Defense Department can't hold them off!" and similar cries.

Wasn't that where Silence and Saria worked?!

Her worry for Silence and Saria instantly overwhelmed her fear.

Silence was so small and frail. Saria was strong, but what if...

She did not dare think any further.

At that moment, her door opened from outside.

Several tense-looking security personnel rushed in and grabbed her without a word.

"Hurry! Take her away! Transfer her to the deep isolation zone!" the leader ordered urgently.

"Let go of me!" Ifrit struggled, forcefully shaking off the hand trying to grab her arm.

"Where's Silence? Where is Silence?! I want to see Saria! How is Saria?!"

She desperately wanted to know whether the two most important people to her were safe.

But what answered her was neither an explanation nor comfort.

One security officer, already on the verge of a mental breakdown, unleashed all his fear and pressure on her. His face twisted in fury as he cursed at her:

"It's all because of you! You damned Flame Demon! If it weren't for monsters like you, would this have happened?!"

"You brought that monster here! Rhine Lab ended up like this because of you! Director Saria—!"

He did not get to finish. The companion beside him clamped a hand tightly over his mouth, but his hate-filled eyes remained fixed on Ifrit.

Flame Demon... Monster...

Those two words were like icy daggers, stabbing fiercely into Ifrit's heart.

Her struggles instantly froze, and her amber pupils trembled slightly.

She wasn't a monster... She didn't want to be a monster...

But why... Why did everyone...

During that moment of distraction, she was half-forcibly dragged from the room and taken toward the deeper "safe zone."

Yet just as they reached the corridor, another violent tremor struck, forcing everyone to loosen their grip on Ifrit to keep their balance.

Shaken awake by the tremor, Ifrit ran desperately like a startled fawn through the violently swaying corridor, where chunks of debris kept falling.

Only one thought filled her mind—find Silence, find Saria!

"Stop! Come back!" A security officer saw her charge toward the dangerous area and tried to stop her.

But his companion immediately grabbed him tightly. "Are you crazy?! That's the core combat zone! Are you going there to die?!"

"But she..."

Another security officer, his face full of post-disaster fear and undisguised resentment, growled under his breath. Yet his words clearly reached Ifrit's ears:

"Since that monster is a Flame Demon too... let the two monsters tear each other apart!"

Those words were like icy needles, making Ifrit stumble mid-run.

She clenched her teeth and did not look back, instead running forward even harder, hoping to shake off the fear-filled, hateful gazes behind her.

Monster...

The passage shook violently. The overhead lights flickered, and fragments of ceiling and dust fell from time to time.

She fell countless times, scraping her knees and cutting her arms.

But every time, she immediately climbed back up, wiped away the tears blurring her vision, and continued racing toward the direction where the tremors were strongest.

The closer she got, the thicker the suffocating heat and aura of destruction became.

Finally, through a hole blasted through a wall, she saw—

Ifrit's breathing abruptly stopped, her amber pupils contracting in extreme shock.

"...Is this... the real Flame Demon?"

She clearly knew that what existed inside her was merely an unstable "Flame Demon fragment."

Yet even that fragment, when it lost control, could unleash enough power to cause enormous destruction.

And this colossal being before her, radiating an aura that made her very soul tremble... could this be the complete Flame Demon?

From what those people had shouted, Saria was fighting this monster!

The moment she thought of Saria facing something so terrifying alone, the fear in Ifrit's heart was instantly overwhelmed by even stronger worry.

She no longer hesitated. After getting her bearings, she continued rushing toward the giant.

"BOOM—!!!"

At that moment, a colossal crash far louder than the previous ones, as though heaven and earth were collapsing, came from ahead.

Along with it came the terrifying weightless sensation of the ground beneath her crazily collapsing downward.

Ifrit cried out and abruptly stopped, barely managing to halt at the edge of the collapsing pit.

She slumped to the ground, staring at the rolling dust and darkness below as she gasped for breath, her eyes full of fear at having narrowly survived.

Ifrit cautiously leaned over to look down.

Below seemed to be an enormous underground space, and that terrifying lava giant had fallen into it as well.

Somewhat reassuringly, it seemed to have quieted down after falling?

Its massive body rose and fell in the darkness, giving off a steady yet still horrifying red glow.

...Did it get knocked unconscious?

Ifrit was not sure. Her little mind could not understand something so complicated.

But no matter what, the destruction below seemed to have stopped.

Then... what about Saria? Was Saria down there too? Was she hurt?

Her worry for Saria overwhelmed her fear of the darkness and the unknown.

Gathering her courage, Ifrit cupped her hands around her mouth and called loudly downward:

"Saaaariaaa—!"

"Are you down there—?"

"Answer me—! It's Ifrit!"

The girl's clear voice echoed distinctly through the underground space.

But the one who answered Ifrit was not Saria. It was the giant suddenly raising its head.

Ifrit fell backward in fright, and as she did, the giant's hand reached toward her.

Saria's bloodied, hoarse shout rang out.

"Run! Ifrit! Get out of here!!!"