20 - Fire

"Y-you... Bastard...!!" she cried, a tear escaping her eye as she curled up, recoiling from him.

"Hehe... What, are you crying...!? Going to tell your DAD!!? Ah, right, I forgot; he's de—"

"What, it's just a couple of kids..." Van sighed in resignation as he approached from behind. With a swift motion, he grabbed the assailant by the shirt collar and flung him backward, sending him several meters behind them, tumbling across the ground.

"Hey," Van called casually as the girl, still reeling from the encounter, cautiously sat down.

"Can you stand?" He asked, extending his armored hand toward her.

Hesitant, she reached out but paused, sensing an uneasy aura around Van.

'Haah... The passive. Of course,' he sighed inwardly, grasping her arm and gently pulling her to her feet.

"A-ah!!" She gasped, surprised by the sudden motion.

"Are you lost? Where's your parents, girl?" Van inquired, trying to ease her evident distress.

"M-my mom..!! S-she should be—" she started, her eyes darting nervously as she gauged Van's every move.

Her reply was abruptly interrupted by a surge of magic energy behind Van.

"M-mister..!! Look out..!!" she cried out, warning him of the impending danger from the hoodlum he had tossed aside earlier.

"Hey... Older Mister... Do you even know who the fuck I am...!? I am the son of the Duke!!" the hoodlum spat out, his voice thick with manic pride as he gathered his stolen magical energy.

'This energy...!! Is he using his own and the portion he stole from me...!! Damn it...!! If only I could use my magic...!! This guy is in trouble!!'

"Yeah?" Van responded nonchalantly as he turned to face the threat.

"Because to me, you just seem like a brute with absolutely no class, nor a plan in that empty head of yours. Now, while I might not have a plan most of the time, and tend to be a brute myself... And I could use some lessons about having class..." Van continued, slowly approaching the fuming young man.

Both Mel and the hoodlum listened, expecting something profound.

Mel: "...."

Van: "...."

Hoodlum: "...."

Van, finding himself at a loss for words, fell silent.

'W-WHAT!? THAT'S IT!!? I THOUGHT HE WAS GOING TO SPEW SOMETHING SUPER INSIGHTFUL!! SO, YOU'RE JUST THE SAME AS HIM!!?' Mel thought, shocked and slightly disappointed as she stared at the speechless Van.

'Ahh... I'm not good with speeches... That was more Magus's thing...' Van admitted to himself.

"MAKING A FOOL OUT OF ME, ARE YOU!!!? YOU FUCKING BASTARD!!! YOU'LL REGRET THE DAY YOU DARED TO LAY YOUR HAND ON ME, BERNARD VON BRAYLE!!!" the young duke's son screamed, his body overflowing with magical power.

'Brayle... Hah. The kid is as blind as they come, huh?' Van chuckled to himself, unfazed by the outburst.

"CHRCH... YOU FUCKING BASTARD!!!!!!" Bernard roared, his voice reverberating as a fiery whirlwind began to envelop him.

"Whoa... You can make 'em pretty tall, eh, juvenile sex offender?" Van quipped casually, observing the spectacle with a raised eyebrow.

'What's wrong with this mister...!!? We need to call the Royal Knights...!!! Bernard's mind must have gone berserk from trying to control so much magic power all at once..!!!' Mel thought frantically, her eyes wide with alarm.

"Hey. Girl." Van's voice cut through the chaos, calm and authoritative as he positioned himself firmly in front of the swirling inferno.

She immediately snapped her attention to him.

"...I get that you don't trust me. Not many people do. But stay behind me. Those flames seem pretty hot," he instructed, his tone leaving no room for doubt. He then slightly turned his head towards Mel as he added, "You understand me?"

Caught in the urgency of the moment and with no other options, she simply nodded, her actions driven by the instinct to survive the impending onslaught.

Van then sighed internally, 'That was quick... Good. Is it me, or people have been much more reasonable during the night..?' He thought to himself as he turned back to Bernard.

'Alright... I guess this will sting...? Nah,' He thought as Bernard morphed into a firey demon of some sort.

Mel grimaced at the sight, 'That crazy bastard!! He summoned Amurah, the fire celestial!!? That's a C-Ranked Fire Spirit!!! He's nowhere near enough talented to control it... He'll get burned inside it!! And... That mister, he's going to die if that thing as much as grazes him!!'

"HA, HA, HA!!! THANKS TO THIS WEAK HUMAN, I, THE GREATEST FIRE USER AMURAH, AM FINALLY FREE TO WREAK AS MUCH HAVOC AS I WANT...!! I SHALL USE THIS FLEETING FREEDOM TO KILL AS MUCH AS I CAN IN THIS BLASTED REALM!!" Bernard's voice boomed, no longer his own as the fire spirit Amurah spoke through him, his laughter echoing maniacally.

"Well, aren't you frantic, you cute little candle spirit. Come here, boy!" Van retorted, his tone cheerfully mocking as he clapped softly, taunting the fire spirit.

"YOU... YOU INSOLENT FOOL!!!!" Amurah roared, its fury palpable as the flames around it intensified and it raised its fiery palm.

"MISTER, RUN AWAY!!!" Mel screamed in terror as Amurah slammed his palm down, a massive wave of fire enveloping Van entirely.

"NO!!!!" Mel's scream pierced the air, her face drained of color as she dropped to her knees, watching in horror as Van's form disappeared into the inferno. Despair gripped her heart, her mind reeling at the sight of the consuming flames.