Objective accomplished

The fiery aura around the wizard grew so hot that it instantly incinerated the nearby vegetation. An entire tree turned to ashes in a matter of seconds.

At that moment, Naige had a foreboding feeling. She sensed that the distance between the wizard and herself wouldn't be enough to avoid a fate similar to that of the tree. However, she was so close to putting an end to it that she refused to flee. On the contrary, she chose to confront the wizard with swift steps, knowing she needed to stop him at all costs before his magic destroyed everyone.

"What incredible power!" shouted the wizard. "I can feel this power coursing through every part of my body. It's as if I'm truly alive."

The flames around him surged and spun at high speed. Yet Naige continued her advance, unafraid of the swirling, furious inferno. Before deciding to do this, she had gathered a bit of wind mana around her body, using her 'conductivity'—it would shield her from the magic, if only for a short period. But perhaps it would be enough, she mused.

"You're brave," continued the wizard, "but you will be consumed by my power!"

'That's what you think,' thought Naige.

The wizard wasn't surprised to see her approach. Instead, his lips curled into a satisfied smile. Among all the elements he could manipulate, his favorite was fire, precisely because it was a pure and destructive power, worthy of being used to purge all injustices from this world. For this reason, he invoked the magic with a certain eagerness, confident that he would have enough time to halt the princess. He wanted to see her burn until there was nothing left of that arrogant look on her noble face.

"Don't be too happy yet!" shouted Naige, breaking through the whirlwind of flames.

Suddenly, a large magic circle appeared beneath the wizard, and another hovered above his head. At the same time, four larger circles emerged around him, forming a kind of magical prison.

Only Ran and the coachman were outside that prison. But that didn't mean they were safe.

Jiro tried to reach the princess, but the fire stopped him. He could only watch as she risked herself in a veritable inferno of flames.

Lince looked back. It was as if a sea of flames had suddenly risen, its fiery waves heading toward him, ready to engulf him. He quickened his pace, almost reaching the girl and the old man, but a magic circle appeared in front of him. He felt a wave of heat crash against his body; his clothes seemed like embers against his skin.

Suddenly, a flaming head emerged before him. In no time, it grew into a humanoid creature with fiery arms and legs. In front of him now stood a being that seemed to have sprung from a cruel nightmare.

"What? What is this thing?" he said, surprised and scared.

He looked around and noticed other creatures like it emerging from the magic circles. There were five gigantic beings of pure devastating flames, with red eyes and an obvious intent to annihilate any existence. And almost all the creatures headed towards the princess.

But the creature before him took two steps forward and raised one of its feet. Lince felt like an insect about to be crushed.

'I can't move…' Then he realized his body was surrounded by flames, yet he froze again. 'Why? Why can't I move?'

Lince knew he would die if he didn't get away from the creature as soon as possible. Still, his body wouldn't budge; it just trembled from top to bottom. Then, his strength vanished at once, and he fell to the ground.

'I can save him. Accept my power.'

Lince heard a faint voice speaking in the depths of his mind. He felt something on his left arm; there was a golden rune on his skin, and a small magic circle floated above his palm.

'What is this?'

'Use my power. Save your life', the voice continued.

"Get out of there!

Lince heard the girl's voice, which interrupted that strange voice, making it vanish along with the golden rune and the circle in his hand. When he looked up, the creature's foot was already coming toward him. It was too late to escape, he pondered. Once again, his only action was to close his eyes and brace for the worst.

Naige found herself surrounded by four fire creatures. She deeply cursed the existence of mages. Once again, she thought about how unfair magic was.

With no other choice, Naige ignored the creatures and headed toward the wizard. She struck, causing the blade of her saber to aim for his neck. She was convinced she would hit him before his creatures could react.

"This is your end!" she shouted.

"Destroy her, my warriors..." However, before he finished speaking, the wizard was struck by a knee to the face, and his body was thrown away amidst his own flames.

As he nearly lost consciousness, the wizard became weak enough to lose control of his magic, and the circles disappeared immediately, taking all those beings with them. And gradually, the larger flames vanished from the road.

A confused expression appeared on the wizard's face as he got up from the ground. Without wasting time, he looked ahead and saw the figure of someone familiar.

"Ringel?" He expressed anger and surprise after noticing who had interrupted his magic. "You despicable..."

On the other hand, Naige felt as if she had struck her saber against a steel wall. She looked in astonishment at the dark blade that had suddenly appeared, blocking her attack as if stopping a feather in the air. She still saw the swordsman smile in her direction before spinning within the whirlwind of flames and delivering a kick to his own partner's face.

Promptly, Naige moved back to what she deemed a safe distance. She then took a brief look to the side and saw Jiro. He seemed fine, although pale and with a lost look, for some reason. After that, she positioned herself for battle, just as a precaution. After all, the swordsman in front of her was truly not an ordinary person. If even Jiro couldn't defeat him, what chance would she have?

After sensing the princess's apprehension, the swordsman smiled at her and sheathed his sword on his back, showing no intention of wanting to fight.

Meanwhile, the wizard was still angry. In fact, he seemed furious as he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and approached his partner. He grabbed him by the shirt and lifted him off the ground.

"You despicable," he snarled through gritted teeth. "Why did you interrupt me, Ringel?"

"I did that?" said the black-clad swordsman, pretending ignorance.

"Damn it! Don't mess with me!" The wizard yelled with furious red veins popping in his eyes, shaking his partner forcefully as he continued, "You thought I was going to lose to her, didn't you? I was close to using that..."

"That's why I stopped you, you idiot," interrupted the swordsman, raising his voice. "You were so desperate that you didn't realize what you were doing..."

"You're mistaken! I had control…" He looked around, noticing the destruction his flames had caused. He still couldn't calm down, continuing to stare at his partner with a certain indignation. He gritted his teeth but said no more. Finally, the wizard let go of the swordsman, not very delicately.

Suddenly, all the fire disappeared at the same time, leaving only its destruction behind.

Then, the swordsman took the cigarette out of his mouth, extended it towards the wizard, and said:

"If you want to burn something so badly, light this for me."

"Huh? What am I to you?"

Despite showing dissatisfaction with his partner's behavior, the wizard clicked his tongue, making a nervous sound as he reached for the cigarette. A small flame appeared at the tip of the cigarette.