The man in blue stood with his arms spread inside the blood-colored storm, a circular space around him swept clear. The galaxy patterns on his body shone with dazzling brilliance.
His face gradually paled, but the blood-colored storm continued to rage, fiercer and longer-lasting than the last.
Before long, the flecks of flesh within the storm began to change. Pitch-black flames rose from them, sending the temperature soaring and rapidly shrinking the clear space in front of the man in blue.
After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the storm dispersed. The man in blue held up his arms, but both forearms were gone. His wounds were charred black and trailing wisps of smoke, and the patterns on his body had long since dimmed.
He let out a long sigh, closed his eyes, and toppled headfirst into the ashes.
Seeing this, the onlookers nearby hurried over. The man leading them held an iron box in his hands.
"Lord Retainer! Are you all right?"
They rushed forward, calling out anxiously as they looked at the man in blue lying motionless on the ground.
One of them, a healing-type Soul Master, approached to treat him, green light glowing in his hands.
A moment later, the man in blue slowly opened his eyes, though they were vacant. In a barely audible voice, he said, "Don't pursue them. Even if you go, it'll be futile."
The others fell silent.
The man holding the iron box stepped forward and asked quietly, "Lord Retainer, what about the Lord Knight's Soul Ring?"
The man in blue sighed helplessly. "There's nothing we can do. Even with the help of 'Slumber,' you're no match for that ten-thousand-year Thunder Wyrm. Besides, lightning runs rampant inside Thunder Mountain. Without my help, ordinary Soul Masters can't enter."
With