A Mere Frenzied Flame

"Roar!"

Milos threw back his head and howled, "Kill everyone! Defile this world!"

Rage, curses upon the world, venting his resentment toward the Erdtree-these were the thoughts in Milos's heart. As long as everyone's Grace became a "curse," he would no longer be an outcast. Surely everyone would be able to live "happily" then.

The malice suppressed by the Two Fingers spilled out in full, seduced by the Frenzied Flame.

Earlier, he had heard that an incurable illness had appeared in the Weeping Peninsula, so he had come to investigate, hoping it might help provide a seedbed for his curse.

They were sick anyway. Based on Milos's past experience, all he needed to do was kill everyone who had fallen ill. So after learning the afflicted village's location from Edgar, the lord of Castle Morne, he hurried straight there.

He made no attempt to investigate and simply charged in, killing. The soldiers from Castle Morne tried to stop him, only to be killed themselves. Tormented by the Frenzied Flame, the villagers offered no resistance to this murderous monster and let him slaughter them.

That played right into the Frenzied Flame's hands. The moment a person lost their life was precisely when the Frenzied Flame seized their body. Milos discovered that the people he had just killed had risen again. This time, yellow flames spewed from their eyes as they surrounded him.

An overwhelming tide of Frenzied Flame engulfed Milos. He howled in agony, feeling it invade his mind. Even his curse could barely withstand it.

"Will you be the Lord of Frenzied Flame? Do you have what it takes to become a lord?" a man asked behind Milos. An ingratiating smile hung on his face, and Frenzied Flame darted wildly through his eye sockets-Shabriri.

Shabriri watched Milos kneeling on the ground, overwhelmed by the Frenzied Flame. After a long while, he silently shook his head. "No, no. You reeking wretch, you have no right to become a lord."

"You are unworthy, unworthy, and therefore unworthy."

"Still, perhaps you can serve as a touchstone for the lord. Wait with me for someone who can become the Lord of Frenzied Flame. I will guide him to open that sealed place, embrace the Frenzied Flame, and burn everything."

Milos gradually fell silent, leaving only heavy, labored breaths. Beneath his heavy helmet, his face was hidden, and no one could tell what expression he wore.

After that, he was locked inside the church to await the arrival of others.

Back to Zhao Si.

He went flying and crashed into the villagers' corpses, blood staining his clothes red. Milos rested his sword on his shoulder and panted. His earlier roar had left him needing a moment to recover his strength.

Milos's swordplay amounted to just a few crude moves: swings, slashes, and chops. He needed no finesse, winning through sheer strength-a true case of brute force overcoming all technique.

Add a full suit of plate armor, and he was downright terrifying.

Right, wasn't Milos supposed to be a giant? A tiny giant? Some kind of deformity or congenital deficiency, probably, but that monstrous strength was absolutely ridiculous.

Gritting through the pain, Zhao Si sprang up from the ground, a short sword appearing in his right hand.

Milos had also caught his breath. Gripping his sword in both hands, he began spinning. This could be considered the ultimate greatsword technique-the windmill.

The greatsword whirled above his head and around his waist as Milos advanced on Zhao Si, looking ready to saw him to death.

Seeing Milos approach, Zhao Si took out an oil pot with his left hand and threw it at Milos's feet. Milos stepped on it and promptly slipped. Zhao Si immediately followed up with a fire pot. Thank goodness the armory at Roundtable Hold had supplied him with such useful things.

The fire pot smashed against Milos's head, instantly setting him ablaze. Milos howled and rolled across the ground until he smothered the flames.

Seizing the opening, Zhao Si thrust his sword into a gap at the shoulder of Milos's armor. Blood flowed from the wound.

Zhao Si grappled with Milos, struggling with all his might to pin him down. Even so, Milos's monstrous strength was more than he could match.

Fortunately, the flames and short sword had already drained some of Milos's stamina. With the blade lodged in his shoulder, the more Milos struggled, the worse his wound became. As more blood escaped, so did more of his strength.

Earlier, Zhao Si had relied on the protection of Baldachin's Blessing to take a sword strike head-on. The pain had spurred him into motion, forcing him to leap backward. Only by sacrificing his shoulder had he saved his life.

At that moment, he felt deeply grateful to this body's previous owner. With such keen combat instincts, the man must have been someone extraordinary.

For someone without any fighting experience, being able to rely on something as mysterious as "combat memory" to react and save his own life in a crisis was a rare blessing.

It seemed the Erdtree Reincarnation System was not entirely without merit.

"Uploading and downloading consciousness does have its benefits," Zhao Si could not help remarking.

In a crisis, he could not worry about whether it was friend or foe. Neutralizing the threat as quickly as possible was what mattered.

Through gritted teeth, Zhao Si asked, "Is there-is there any way to calm him down?"

He was asking the burn mark on his wrist.

A cold sensation answered him. It rose from deep within Zhao Si and passed into Milos. Moments later, eerie flames ignited across Milos's body.

The flames were ice blue, wreathed in black vapor. Rather than giving off any heat, they were unnaturally cold. They burned for only a moment before vanishing. As the flames disappeared, Milos stopped resisting.

Only then did Blaidd? and the others reach him. They shifted Milos's heavy body aside and pulled Zhao Si out.

Helena hurriedly cast healing incantations to treat Zhao Si's wounds and restore his stamina.

Zhao Si sat up and saw more afflicted villagers closing in around them. The Frenzied Flame lingering in the air as mere embers suddenly threatened to flare up again.

"Kill the villagers, quickly! Watch out for the Frenzied Flame in their eyes. I'm going into the church. The source of the infection should be inside!" Zhao Si struggled to his feet and rushed into the church before Blaidd? could speak.

Blaidd? had not expected Zhao Si to take the initiative so readily. Even Alberich tried to stop him, but failed.

Zhao Si knew that, at present, he was the only one who did not fear the Frenzied Flame. Though he did not know why, he was the best person to handle it.

There was no telling what ambush Shabriri, the source of the infection, might have prepared. If Blaidd? rushed inside recklessly, he might fall into a trap and go mad as well. Zhao Si had no desire to face a Blaidd? controlled by the Frenzied Flame.

The instant Zhao Si entered the church, someone seized him in an embrace. A large, utterly unremarkable face appeared before him, Frenzied Flame burning wildly in its eyes.

The man let out a piercing howl and pressed his eyes toward Zhao Si's, attempting to transmit the Frenzied Flame directly into them.

"Whoosh."

The Frenzied Flame poured into Zhao Si's eyes. His delicate eyeballs endured the searing fire, and the pain was enough to drive anyone mad. Zhao Si howled as well and, despite the agony, reached out with both hands to seize his attacker's-

Wrists, trying to wrench him away, only to discover that the man's grip was astonishingly strong.

No, it was not that his grip was strong. Under the influence of the Frenzied Flame, Zhao Si had lost the strength he should have possessed and could not resist at all. Meanwhile, Blaidd? and the others were still outside the church, dealing with the villagers and their dogs as they closed in.

The large dogs, nicknamed the Lords of Cinder among dogs, had become even fiercer after being infected with the Frenzied Flame. Blaidd? and the others had to be doubly cautious when dealing with them.

In short, no one could help him. The incantation Inescapable Frenzy was extraordinarily effective when used in a surprise attack.

But there was no need to fear. He still had the burn mark. Zhao Si was taking an unconventional gamble. Ever since discovering that the burn mark could help him deal with the Frenzied Flame, he had been itching to take the risk.

Otherwise known as courting death.

There was another reason for his recklessness: he wanted to force the burn mark's true owner to reveal herself. Anyone capable of dealing with the Frenzied Flame had to be either on its level or a level above it.

"A mere Frenzied Flame." A melodious woman's voice carried a hint of contempt.

Ice-blue cold fire wreathed in black vapor burned back from Zhao Si's eye sockets, using the Frenzied Flame as fuel as it spread toward his attacker.

"Even the Frenzied Flame must die!"