Fire Magic

[Nora POV]

"Auntie, won't you play with me too?"

What's wrong with this kid?

In front of me stands a small child, looking at me with her innocent eyes. She has a doll-like face, honey golden pupils, black hair that falls to her shoulders, and she's not even a meter tall. That's Lynett, my brother's illegitimate child with that woman.

"Play with me?" she repeats, not getting an answer.

Is this child mentally challenged? Didn't she see her mother's condition? And yet, she comes here and asks to play? Kids are naturally stupid, most of them don't even understand the concept of death and danger. But this one must be the most idiotic of them all. Well, what can you expect from a half-breed? She has impure blood, after all.

"No way, get lost," I push her away.

"Eeeeeeh~? Auntie, you meanie! You'll play with mommy but not Lyni?" she whimpers.

I try to study her. I can't help but feel annoyed at her inhumanly adorable face. When she grows up, she'll become dangerous. She'll probably use that face of hers to manipulate people and get what she wants. Like mother, like daughter. Yet, there is not a trace of doubt or suspicion in her eyes. She simply smiles naively at me. Does she really have no idea?

"Did your mother not warn you about me?" I ask.

She shakes her head. "Auntie played a lot with mommy, so I'm a little jealous. That's why I came here! Play with me, Auntie! You know, I don't mind playing the same games that you did with mommy."

Ha, hahaha, hahaha! Your daughter is a retard, Azariah! Seriously, she begged me so much to let her return to her daughter's side, but look at this, that same daughter is here, asking for a beating. I wonder what kind of face she will make if her kid returns to her beaten up.

No, I can't. Jack told me not to mistreat the child.

But wait. Lynett is two, right? I heard that children do not remember anything that happened in their first three years when growing up.

A huge grin appears on my face.

"Sure, let's play!" I tell her.

For a second, I could have sworn that I saw her smirk mischievously.

"But there must be rules," Lynett adds, as she starts playing with her hair.

So she wants to impose rules. Well, of course. She's a brat after all. Brats like to play with rules that give them advantages. Especially after seeing her mother, she'll feel safer that way. Well, whatever. Not like a kid can come up with complicated rules.

"Fine, I'm listening. What kind of rules?" I ask.

"There are only two rules," she says after thinking for a while. Then, she smiles widely, raising one finger in front of her. "First, no matter what happens, you are not allowed to scream. If you do, you'll be punished."

What did she say? Is this kid being serious right now? What kind of game is she planning to play?

For a moment, I frown, looking at the child innocently smiling at me, full of doubt. But I quickly regain my composure. It can't be. I must have misunderstood it. She must simply be afraid to wake up the others, since it's late at night.

"Fine. What's the second rule?"

She raises a second finger. "Secondly, once the game begins, you absolutely can't withdraw. The game will end with your victory or mine, giving up is not allowed."

I narrow my eyes, trying to figure out why she came up with such rules. As she is a brat, I am convinced she'd ask for an advantage or something like this.

"Fine by me. How do I win?"

"You win if you manage to kill me before I kill you," she says, as all the innocence in her smile vanishes in an instant.

Does that brat even understand what she just said? Is she seriously thinking of playing a death game?

"Hey, are you crazy, brat? Are you even aware of what it means?"

"Heh? If you're scared, I can add another condition. You also win if you manage to get out of the room alive," she replies nonchalantly.

Irritated, I click my tongue as my eyes twitch. This kid is a retard after all. Not only does she want to play a death game, but she actually thinks that she can win. This is seriously getting on my nerves. I'm being underestimated by a brat, a half-breed on top of that. I'll make sure to give her a good lesson. Since she's the one who came up with such rules, she won't be able to complain later on.

Of course, I'm not planning on killing her. We might need her after all. But I'll make sure to make her understand her position and who she is dealing with. I'll scare her a little so she won't ever dare to disobey or talk back. And if she ends up too injured, I'll just have to heal her, so that Jack never finds out about this.

"So, are you okay with the rules?" Lynett asks.

"You're going to regret this, kid."

"I'll take that as a yes," she says, as a grin appears on her face.

Then, her smile slowly disappears. She stays silent for a while, seemingly thinking about something, before looking up at me. "I just want to ask one thing, auntie. Why did you do it? What did my mother ever do to you?"

I frown in surprise. So this is about revenge after all. The kid saw her mother injured, got pissed, and came to me. I thought it was weird for her to ask to play, especially since she never initiated any form of contact with me. She's such a fool. What does she think she can do? Did she ever see herself? Am I supposed to be impressed by a two-year-old child talking about killing games? I grin.

"Why, you say? Because I felt like it," I say, as I can clearly see her eyelids twitching. Well, that's cute. I like your annoyed face, child. "You see, that little bitch pissed me off. She dared to provoke me, so I punished her a little."

Lynett does not react any further. That's a shame, I really wanted to see her face distorted in anger. Instead, she just blankly looks at me without saying a word. After staying silent for a moment, she sighs.

"Is it funny? To bully people weaker than you? Do you enjoy it?"

I smile. "Sure, I love it. A brat like you wouldn't possibly understand. Tormenting all those worthless people, that is indeed a lot of fun!"

I try to provoke the small child in front of me, but once again, Lynett does not react. How boring.

"You know, there was this one boy that I really hated," she suddenly speaks up. "He used to bully me all the time. Because I was bedridden, he made fun of me. Even though I didn't ask for it, I really hated him. Actually, I hated him so much I wanted him dead." She looks up at me. "He was just like you, auntie. He enjoyed bullying people."

What is she talking about? Was she ever sick?

"But I got scolded," she continues, shrugging. "Mom and dad told me it was wrong to wish for the death of other people. They said that people could change. As long as they're alive, as long as we give them a chance, people could change. So they told me not to judge people for their past mistakes."

Is this kid seriously trying to discuss philosophy with me right now?

I've been wondering for a while now, but is the child in front of me really two years old? A child of this age should be whining whenever separated from their mother, yet here she is, talking about death as casually as if she was talking about her day. Speaking of which, since when could she talk so well?

A sudden shiver runs down my spine, realizing that this kid might have been acting up all along.

"My point is, Auntie, I gave you a chance. But you wasted it," she mutters. "I really didn't want to judge you, but you no longer give me the choice. I guess some people just can't change after all."

I try to comprehend what she just said, but my mind is unable to cope with the situation. The scene is quite unbelievable, shocking actually. Trying to regain my composure, I let out a nervous laugh.

"Ha! And what are you going to do about that? You want justice? There is no such thing as justice in this world, kid! The strong make the rules and people like you just have to shut up and comply. That's your own fault, you can only blame yourself for being weak and powerless! You want fairness and equity? Then go pray to the gods! Good luck in having them hear you!"

For a moment, Lynett's face washes blank with surprise. I had expected her to break down in tears out of frustration, but instead, a grin creeps onto her face, stretching from one side to the other. She starts laughing hysterically.

"Fu, fufufu, hahahahahaha!"

This brat is insane. She must have lost her mind.

"What's so funny?" I inquire.

"S-sorry, haha. It's just that... You just said something hilarious!" She takes a deep breath to retrieve her composure. "You see, auntie, there is no need to pray to the gods, I'm already here for you."

What is that supposed to mean? That damn kid is seriously starting to get on my nerves. She comes here in the middle of the night, and now she's lecturing me. A two-year-old brat is actually giving me a lecture, what kind of bad joke is this? Lynett probably sees the annoyance register on my face before I can hide it. A small smile plays on her lips as she speaks.

"Are you getting impatient? It's fine, let's start the game. Shall we?"

Damn brat. She's definitely looking down on me. A shitty half-breed is looking down on me!

I clench my fists, glaring at her with my eyes full of hatred, trying to intimidate her, but she doesn't even flinch. She just smiles.

I'm going to make that annoying smile of yours disappear. I start chanting an incantation.

"Come forth, dancing fire. Devour my magic. I command you. Using your deadly flames, destroy the enemy in front of me. [Fireball]"

A flame appears in front of me. Making sure I don't use too much mana, I make the flame the size of a tennis table ball. I don't want to hurt the kid too badly, so I'm holding back a little. Lynett doesn't move, she just widens her eyes. Humf. She's scared. But it's too late for you to back down. I aim the small fireball at her.

But nothing happens.

She doesn't even try to dodge and takes the blow directly in her face. It definitely hits her, yet here she is, absolutely unharmed. It's as if the flames suddenly vanished when they came in contact with her. What's going on?

I frown in surprise, trying to understand what has failed. Then I look at Lynett. She is just as surprised as me.

"Eh, Auntie, you can use fire magic?" she asks, breaking through the confusion.

"O-Of course I can! This much is nothing, who do you think I am? The Whitehearts aren't solely dedicated to Light Magic!"

"Is that so? I didn't check your status, so I didn't know."

Checking my... What? What is this brat talking about?

I bite my lips in frustration. For some reason, my magic has failed, and now the kid is not taking me seriously. I'll just have to try one more time. This time, I'll put more mana in the spell. But before I can pronounce another incantation, I am drawn from my thoughts as I feel something hot grazing my cheek.

Appearing out of nowhere, a fireball the size of a fist has been sent in my direction. Barely missing me by a few centimeters, it ends up hitting the wall behind me.

What just happened? Who did this?

"Huh? I missed."

My gaze turns in the direction of the small voice that just spoke up, as my eyes fall upon the little girl tilting her head in disappointment.

"No way, it can't be..."