So damn annoying

The romance of magic revealed itself in that moment, and its power was plain for all to see.

Shabriri had never imagined it would be this devastating. The army he had painstakingly assembled had proved utterly helpless.

People who knew nothing about warfare always took too much for granted. If not for the Frenzied Flame holding them together, his cobbled-together rabble would have routed long ago. The Three Fingers had rotten luck, getting stuck with such a useless sack of shit. No wonder they had failed to accomplish anything for so many years.

Not only had he gotten a whole bunch of perfectly good, genuine believers-the Nomads-killed, he spent all day stirring up trouble without doing a single useful thing.

The Three Fingers had good reason to send him looking for a Lord of Frenzied Flame. Gathering a bunch of useless drunks who could not fight was a complete waste of time. That was how things worked in the Lands Between: one capable fighter could turn the world upside down, while any number of incompetents would only be dead weight.

The Three Fingers did not expect him to find someone who could slaughter his way through everything like Godfrey. After all, there was only one Godfrey in the entire Lands Between. But surely he could find someone who came close? At the very least, a knight who could actually fight.

As things stood, Shabriri was fucking useless beyond throwing his life away and yelling, "I'll be back!"

The Three Fingers were probably scratching the walls in fury underground, and they could not even pick someone else.

What a fucking disaster. An absolute goddamn disaster.

Shabriri was not merely the most loathsome person around. He was also the most annoying.

Watching the legendary sorceries roar toward him, Shabriri could only pin his hopes on the Frenzied Flame Ball and scream, "You have to hold them off!"

Whether the power of Incantations actually depended on how loudly one shouted remained unclear, but the Frenzied Flame certainly received Shabriri's plea.

Absorbing the humble prayers of everyone afflicted with the Frenzied Flame, the Frenzied Flame Ball swelled once more. It spewed a stream of Frenzied Flame that rivaled Comet Azur, while scattering Frenzied Flame balls to intercept the twelve comets.

Whoosh!

A violent collision erupted in midair. Starlight and fire filled everyone's vision, scattering in dazzling, colorful, and thoroughly dangerous showers. Then explosions swept across the battlefield, leaving their ears ringing and forcing them to cover them.

Even Shabriri could not stand it. He covered his ears and screamed, looking up at the Frenzied Flame Ball in the hope that it would remain unaffected.

The Frenzied Flame Ball had formed from the prayers of those afflicted with the flame. Extinguishing it required killing those praying. But even Shabriri could not say what would happen when two such extreme energies collided.

The Lands Between had far too many strange phenomena. No outcome would have been particularly surprising.

The sorceries vanished. After a brief silence, everyone discovered that the Frenzied Flame Ball was still there, though it had shrunk by a good two sizes.

The two masters collapsed from exhaustion, and Cuckoo soldiers carried them back into Sellen's care.

The Academy had played two trump cards in succession and still failed to defeat the Frenzied Flame. Morale plummeted. The sorcerers lost their spirit, and the Cuckoo Knights lost their strength.

Clinging to the window and watching the scene, Shrimp-Meat Boy said, "What now? Those masters you mentioned have both gone down."

Sweat beaded on Thops's forehead. "Don't worry, don't worry. The Cuckoos haven't fallen yet. If all else fails, we can seal the Academy of Magic and keep outsiders from entering."

While Thops and the others were at a loss, a sudden commotion broke out in the Frenzied Flame camp outside.

Shabriri had not even had time to celebrate surviving when he heard an uproar from the rear of his camp. He turned and barked, "What happened?"

"What happened?" The other people afflicted with the Frenzied Flame imitated Shabriri's tone as they questioned one another.

Amid the chorus of "What happened?" came a discordant cry: "We're under attack!"

Someone had flanked them from behind. There was only a single rider.

The rider charged on a Blindfolded Steed. Beside him, an absurdly large Executioner's Sword spun like a drill, flying from side to side and launching countless Frenzied Flame sufferers into the air before shredding them.

Shabriri and the newcomer locked eyes across the crowd and spoke in unison. "You again?"

"Why is it always you?" they both said next.

The moment Zhao Si saw the Frenzied Flame, he spurred his horse over. He had only recently dealt with it on the Weeping Peninsula. Why was he encountering it at the Academy too? This outbreak was even bigger.

He suspected Shabriri had come back for another round.

Without needing Zhao Si to tell her, Helena took the initiative to keep her distance and waited somewhere relatively safe. He had originally intended to have Malenia protect Helena, but Malenia insisted on heading into battle.

After thinking it over, he realized that the Frenzied Flame had no effect on her as an Empyrean. Even if she took a direct hit, it would probably just end up wrestling with her Scarlet Rot. Zhao Si agreed, though he still coated Malenia's straight sword in Ghostflame.

"My fire can counteract the Frenzied Flame. Be very careful, senior sister," Zhao Si warned.

Malenia nodded and charged into the Frenzied Flame camp from the flank. The two fellow disciples tore through the enemy unopposed. This worthless rabble was no match for them. Zhao Si reached Shabriri first.

Shabriri screamed, "Stop him!"

The Frenzied Flame Ball spewed fire at Zhao Si. Using Ghostflame: Ohega's Dancing Blade, he hurled the Executioner's Sword. The spiraling blade met the Frenzied Flame head-on, drilling into it with a sizzling hiss and scattering it in every direction.

The Ghostflame consumed the Frenzied Flame as the Executioner's Sword pushed upstream toward the Frenzied Flame Ball. Unexpectedly, the Frenzied Flame Ball seemed to realize it was outmatched. It changed shape, hollowing out its center and turning from a sphere into a ring. Imitating Comet of Destruction, it spat out twelve Frenzied Flame comets, which hurtled toward Zhao Si trailing fire.

Zhao Si hastily turned his horse around, controlling the Executioner's Sword as it spun behind him to form a barrier, and accelerated to evade the Frenzied Flame.

Masses of Frenzied Flame exploded behind him, sounding like twelve double-bang firecrackers going off in succession. While he drew the Frenzied Flame Ball's fire, Malenia charged into the formation on the other side.

The Valkyrie leaped from horseback and unleashed Waterfowl Dance with her Ghostflame-wreathed straight sword.

A sweeping storm of sword light and Ghostflame engulfed every Frenzied Flame sufferer praying on the ground. Like a gale sweeping away scattered clouds, her Ghostflame-enhanced Waterfowl Dance reaped life after life in flashes of icy blue.

Shabriri shook his hands frantically. "There's another one over here!"

Whatever governed the Frenzied Flame Ball's targeting, it remained fixed on Zhao Si. Even after everyone beneath it had died, it did not disappear. Malenia leaped again and swung her sword at the Frenzied Flame.

Icy-blue Ghostflame mingled with the orange-yellow Frenzied Flame, making it convulse and freeze before it was cut into countless pieces.

Seizing his chance, Zhao Si drew the dagger from his belt with a reverse grip and hurled it at Shabriri. Shabriri could not react in time. The dagger struck him square in the heart.

"This won't kill me. Young fellow, would you be interested..." Shabriri clutched his chest, still talking even as blood spurted from his mouth. "In learning about the Frenzied Flame, which seeks to unite all things as one and can burn away all life?"

"Not interested. Just looking at you pisses me off." Controlling the Executioner's Sword from a distance, Zhao Si cut off Shabri-

-ri's head.

"Once or twice was bad enough. You can't keep doing this over and over. You're too damn annoying." Zhao Si looked at Shabriri's corpse, thoroughly displeased. "Sooner or later, I'll kill you with Destined Death."

Without Shabriri and the Frenzied Flame Ball, the remaining sufferers were easy to clear out.

Malenia asked, "Is there any way that fire of yours could save them?"

"I'm not really sure." Zhao Si put away the Executioner's Sword and joined Malenia in killing the Frenzied Flame sufferers who could no longer resist.

Ghostflame had been used to treat the Frenzied Flame in Zhao Si and Milos, but that had probably been under the Gloam-Eyed Queen's control. Besides, Zhao Si's own Frenzied Flame had not been completely purged. Some lingering poison had remained, causing him to do something humiliatingly stupid. Now the mere sight of Frenzied Flame annoyed him.

"It would be nice if there were a cure." As Malenia spoke those compassionate words, she raised her sword and cut off a head. Her sympathy simply stemmed from being afflicted herself: her Scarlet Rot had resisted every attempt at a cure. For those tormented by the Frenzied Flame, death was a release if they could not be healed.

"We could do some research into it when we have time." Zhao Si cut off another head too.

Seeing the tide turn, the Cuckoos rushed out of their positions to slaughter the remaining Frenzied Flame sufferers. When they realized their reinforcements consisted of only two people, they froze for a moment, then raised their weapons and cheered.

"Looks like we ought to thank Shabriri for stirring up trouble," Zhao Si told Malenia. "He's helped us get off to a pretty solid start."

"It won't matter. Once we meet Sister Ranni, the situation will turn around." Malenia sighed.