Dire and Fire

The world has been dyed in red. The light from the flare reveals threats from all around us. An orchestra of growls comes from the bushes.

The horse is growing noisy every second. It's also unsettled by this situation.

"Hide behind me!" I shout at Faye and Astra.

The two of them huddle close beside me.

The ogres haven't made a move, yet. They are still staring at us from the thickets. If they aren't going to strike first, then I will. I raise the gun up front.

I don't even need to aim my pistol. Anywhere I shoot will probably hit a target.

PEW! PEW! PEW!

I rapidly pull the trigger three times and spray bullets into the bushes. Snarls are heard from where the shots landed. I definitely got something, but the ogres seem to have been irritated even more from that. Two of them leap out of the bushes and lunge toward me on all fours.

PEW! PEW!

With a flick of my shoulders, two headshots, two dead.

"Kris! Behind us!" Faye calls out.

I spin around and see another pair coming from the opposite direction.

PEW! PEW!

Two more dead.

The flood gate has been opened. Ogres begin rushing us all at once. I spin in a circle as I continuously put bullets into these monsters. I feel like I'm dancing, but this is not entertainment. One wrong move could be the difference between life or death, probably, I don't actually know how lethal these ogres are. Currently, I've only seen the simple ones.

After a few flurries of bullets, the ogres finally notice the danger of the weapon I am holding in my hands. It took a lake of dead bodies for them to realize that blindly rushing me could mean nothing but certain, instant death.

They are beginning to hold off their charges, but I am not giving them any time to rest. I continue shooting into the bushes, each one catching an unseen enemy.

VRRR.

The pistol makes a powering down noise and the light on the side flashes red. I keep pulling the trigger, but nothing is coming out of the barrel.

"What's happening?" I ask.

"The pulse pistol charges by solar power," Cisca says, "You won't have any more shots left until the next morning."

"What? This is not a good time to run out of batteries!"

"There's nothing we can do about it."

"Shit!"

I put the pistol back into my belt. The ogres realize that something is wrong with my power output, and they are slowly advancing forward again. Fuck, I didn't think it was going to come down to this.

"Faye!" I call out to the elf beside me.

"Yes?" She responds, her face red from the flare and her voice trembling.

"Take Astra and get on the horse!"

She stares at me with wide-open eyes.

"Do it now! The ogres are still holding back! You won't have the chance if you keep waiting!"

"What about you?" Faye asks.

"I will be fine," I say and press the button on my Exosuit under my shirt. The helmet pops up and encases my head.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

I take out the multi-tools again. Back to the ax. Faye starts jogging toward the horse, but Astra grabs her arm and pulls her back.

"Go!" I shout.

"Kris, there's no need," Astra says calmly.

"What?"

RAWR!

As I ask that, I hear a deafening roar coming from above me, followed by wings flapping.

I look up, and something flies under the floating flare, casting a shadow over the entire forest. It's back to complete darkness, but not for long.

FOOM!

The area is once again illuminated, this time by streams of fire raining down around us.

The bushes are immediately set ablaze, and the ogres begin shrieking in pain. There is a circle of flames around us. Everything beyond the perimeter is incinerated in less than a second, and we and the carriage are completely untouched.

"T-The Inferno Dragon!" Faye yells.

"Yes," I say and fall onto my bottom. Thank God, oh well, I guess that phrase has got a new meaning in Eden. Thank the Dragon Queen instead.

Anything that hasn't been burnt to a crisp scurries away while screaming. In an instant, peace has fallen back onto the woods, except for the sea of fire around us, that's still going strong. Waves of heat wash over me. If this isn't what Inferno looks like, I don't know what is.

FLOOM! FLOOM! With a few slow flaps, the dragon descends onto the ground in front of us. This part of the forest has been burnt to ashes, and the proximity around us is unharmed.

"I-It's the Inferno Dragon," Faye says again.

The dragon becomes engulfed in white light, and a second later, Lohikaarmi is standing in front of us, naked, with her clothes beneath her feet. Huh, she's learned to take them off before transforming.

The light from the flare comes back and once again floods the area in red.

"What…" Faye mutters.

Lohikaarmi drops down on one knee and says, "I apologize, Master."

Oh, what is this feeling? Guilt?

I stand back up and walk over to her. I press the button on the Exosuit again, and the helmet retracts.

While trying to look at Lohikaarmi's face and nowhere else, I crouch down in front of her and pat her on the head.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I… am the one who should be sorry," I say.

She looks up at me. "But, I disobeyed Master's orders again."

"And I thank you for that," I say and wrap my hands around her in an embrace. It's very awkward. I can feel her breasts pressing up against me, but this is not a moment I want to ruin, at least not more than what Cisca's wicked grin is already doing.

"You were right, well, not completely. I never make bad judgments, but you sometimes can make better ones, only sometimes," I say and release her from my hug.

She stares at me, and a faint smile appears on her face. "Thank you, Master."

"You just called me 'you'."

"Does Master not like that?"

"No," I say with a smile, "call me what you like."

"Yes, Master."

I stand up and help Lohikaarmi up, as well.

"Come on, get dressed. I have quite a lot of explaining to do."

Lohikaarmi nods.

I turn back around to Faye and Astra. Faye's mouth is wide open. Her face is red, but not just from the flare like Astra. Faye's cheeks are rose-colored.

"Sit down, Faye," I say, "You probably have some questions you want answered."

"Y-Yes."