Book 1 Chapter 625

625.

Whoosh-!

As Raina swung her sword, a blade of flames stretched out long.

The long, extended blade of flames gracefully wove through the air like a whip.

Seeing that, Zora suddenly disappeared.

Raina's red eyes instantly tracked Zora.

"Is that where you are!!!"

The flame spear blazing in her left hand roared fiercely for a moment.

Kwagagagagaga-!

The thrown spear flew straight towards Zora, who had revealed himself.

Blue flames drew a trajectory in the air.

Piiiiing-! Pubububububung!

Fragments of blue flames scattered in all directions.

Intense heat caused a shimmer, and the surrounding area appeared distorted because of it.

Raina narrowed her eyes.

'That spatial movement, it's not magic.'

The advantage of spatial movement magic in close combat is significant.

No matter how fast one moves, movement is ultimately a connection of lines.

One can predict the movement.

That's why many battle mages utilized short-range spatial movement in close combat.

Because even if movement speed is enhanced with magic, there are limits to facing knights who use aura.

However, when facing a knight class that has reached a certain level, close combat using spatial movement can actually be poison.

Because the location of movement can be predicted by the mana wave.

The biggest disadvantage of spatial movement is that for the fleeting moment of spatial travel, one cannot know what the opponent is doing.

For a knight close to hero status, that fleeting moment is enough time to inflict a fatal blow.

But the spatial movement Zora used now had no waves used in magic.

'It was the same earlier.'

Even when he kidnapped her and came here, there were no mana waves.

He literally appeared and disappeared.

While the very nature of mana could be stealthy, it wasn't at that level.

The moment Raina was about to attack Zora again.

Zora disappeared again.

Seeing that, Raina curled up the corners of her mouth.

'It's aura.'

Instantly discerning the opponent's ability, Raina swung her sword upwards.

Kwagagagagak-!

Red flames and blue flames clashed, creating a giant shimmering of fire.

Raina's eyes flashed as she looked at Zora, who resembled her younger self.

"That appearance is unpleasant."

"Then what will you do? You know the characteristics of your own flame, don't you?"

Zora's flame devoured Raina's flame.

"I don't know how you use the flame of the Great Spirit of Fire. At best, it's just a flame of that level from back then."

Zora smiled coldly.

"What changes with just that much?"

At Zora's question, Raina smiled faintly and then spewed out an enormous amount of flames as if exploding them.

Whirrr-!

"It's useless! I'll devour all those flames…"

The moment Zora scoffed.

Kwaang-!

"Ugh?!"

Raina kicked Zora directly in the abdomen.

Wheeeing! Kwagagagang-!

As the incredibly powerful kick exploded, Zora was sent flying straight to the ground and embedded there.

Raina landed lightly on the ground and then spoke.

"As you said, since it was my flame, I know its characteristics well. That means I also know its weaknesses well."

Raina's flame devours the opponent's flame and generates even more powerful firepower.

At first glance, it seems that anyone who uses flames would inevitably be devoured by Raina.

However, Raina's flame requires digestion time when devouring an opponent's flame.

And in that moment, she becomes defenseless.

That's why Raina didn't try to indiscriminately devour the opponent's flame.

"You didn't even know that?"

"Agh!"

Seeing Raina looking down at him with a pathetic expression, Zora sprang to his feet.

He clearly held the superior power.

"Auntie!"

"Oh? Celia!"

At the voice from the sky, Raina smiled brightly and waved her hand towards the sky.

At that moment.

Zora's form disappeared.

Zora, who had vanished without a trace, suddenly appeared behind Raina.

Celia, seeing that from the sky, her eyes widened.

"Auntie! Behind you…!"

Thwack-!

But before Celia could warn her, Raina was already swinging her sword towards where Zora had appeared.

Zora's cleanly severed head flew into the sky.

For a moment, Zora's eyes, now returned to a skull's form, contorted in horror.

"How in the world…!"

"Indeed, that spatial movement isn't magic; it's an ability using aura, so it's hard to know the movement location."

It was as Raina said.

Zora's current technique is to cut space using aura.

Since he cuts between spaces to move to that location, it's almost impossible to predict.

Reacting to a sensed killing intent would inevitably be too slow.

But Raina accurately discerned where Zora was moving.

Raina's red eyes sparkled.

'Temperature.'

Users of flames were sensitive to temperature.

And Raina's sense for detecting that temperature was exceptionally superior to others.

Like a snake detecting its prey.

She could check the subtle temperatures of people.

Even if there was no mana movement, since a specific temperature would disappear and reappear within her senses, she could react quickly.

-He's crazy!

Ista, who had lent her power to Raina, exclaimed in shock.

-No matter what, how can a human be so accustomed to heat! No, from the start!

-How can she wield my power so freely to this extent!

The flame power lent by Ista far surpassed Raina's power in her prime.

Yet, Raina was handling Ista's power with complete freedom.

'It's not impossible. There are sometimes such individuals. Those whose vessels are already complete!'

When ordinary people cultivate power, they grow along with their vessel.

But sometimes there are those who possess an overwhelmingly large vessel compared to the power they currently hold.

Of course, a large vessel doesn't necessarily mean rapid growth.

It merely means the vessel is large.

If power is borrowed from external sources, the permissible range is simply larger.

Even in Raina's case, if that were the situation, it wouldn't be strange.

'But Raina Flobe had been without her power for a long time!'

It was a situation where she borrowed the power of another being, not her own.

There was bound to be awkwardness in handling flames.

But Raina showed no such sign.

As if she had handled power for a long time.

She was perfectly handling the power she had accepted.

It wasn't a matter of mental strength.

Her technique for handling flames literally surpassed imagination.

"This wench! Ignoring me! Kraaaaaaaah!"

Kwagagagagagaga-!

Zora continued to lose his composure.

Leo had said.

That he was ruining the power he had stolen.

Zora had scoffed at those words, but now before his eyes, someone appeared who proved them.

And ironically, that being was none other than the mother of the one who had spoken those words.

Gooooooo-! Pajijijik! Pajik!

A tremendous amount of mana surged.

Zora, with intense killing intent in his eyes, prepared a grand magic.

"Go on, try to stop this!"

Celia, seeing that, said with a pale face.

"A-Auntie! We must avoid it…!"

"Celia."

"Yes?"

"Will you look behind you?"

"Behind…? Me?"

Celia unconsciously looked behind her.

And held her breath.

There, the castle walls of the Flobe territory were visible.

"If we flee, many people will die."

"……"

Celia gritted her teeth.

Raina smiled faintly, looking at such a Celia.

"Could you lend me Flame Storm?"

"Yes? Ah, yes…!"

Celia handed Flame Storm, the Jerdinger family heirloom she had received, to Raina.

It was the sword Raina had wielded long ago.

A sword that burns unyieldingly as long as its will lives.

"Of course, if we die with those people, it's nothing more or less than a dog's death. But if there's a chance, it's my creed to fight back."

Raina bowed her head deeply.

She felt ashamed of herself for thinking of running away without considering the consequences.

Raina stroked Celia's head, looking at her.

"There's no need to be ashamed. You're still a child, aren't you? And you don't have to be just like me."

"Auntie…"

Raina gently caressed the cheek of her niece, who was looking up at her.

'Sometimes, she feels more like my daughter than Leo.'

A niece who resembled her greatly.

"You will definitely become a much greater knight than I am. Create your own beliefs and choose your own path. And if I can be even a small guide on that path you must take… I would be truly happy."

Raina turned around and approached Zora.

Whoosh-!

Blue flames shimmered from Raina's body.

Step- step-

The surging flames concentrated at the tip of Flame Storm.

Celia, seeing that, unconsciously opened her mouth.

'How can she handle flames like that?'

Even for Celia, who had trained the Jerdinger aura her entire life, she wondered if it was possible to handle flames to that extent.

'No. It's not just me.'

Lis… and Lunia of the Lundar family.

Even Leo.

Even if it was the same flame, the flame Raina used was different.

It wasn't merely the level of freely handling flames.

The flames that touched Raina's fingertips burned even more intensely.

'Father. Why was Auntie called the Witch of Flame?'

'Because there was no more fitting nickname than that.'

A past conversation suddenly came to mind.

'Ah. I see.'

Seeing that back, she realized it at once.

'That's why she's a witch.'

Even the inherent characteristics of the Great Spirit of Fire's flame would transform into Raina's flame when it touched her fingertips.

Celia murmured, looking at the crimson flame that had, before she knew it, concentrated at the tip of the sword.

'The flame itself.'

That intense appearance captivated Celia's eyes.

***

"You said."

Raina said, gripping the crimson flame imbued in the sword with both hands.

"That after that day, I regretted it my whole life. Yes, that's true."

Raina's red eyes sparkled.

"I spent every single day in regret."

Regretting that choice.

She yearned for the lost version of herself.

"Because of that foolish lingering attachment, I couldn't stop training."

Even though she had already lost her flame, Raina did not stop honing herself.

It wasn't just swordsmanship.

She had cultivated flames in her imagination.

The ugliness of clinging to what was lost and gone.

-So that's how it was.

Listening to Raina's words, Ista clicked her tongue as if finally understanding.

Now she understood.

The reason why she could wield her flame so freely to this extent, despite having lost it for decades.

That foolish lingering attachment of decades.

Time that seemed meaningless, even pathetic.

Was compensated for in this brief moment.

-You… didn't give up.

Raina smiled at Ista's words.

"Prominence."

The essence of Jerdinger's flame was manifested at the tip of Raina's sword.

The flame, compressed and concentrated at the sword tip, pierced through the magic and cleanly bisected Zora.

"Kraaaaaaah! A foolish struggle!"

Zora, who had again died and lost his abilities, let out a furious roar.

"Why! Why don't you give up!"

"Why ask what's obvious?"

Raina replied with a look of pity, watching Zora babbling incoherently, having lost his reason.

"Because my son will be here soon."

Raina, pointing a finger at Zora, said with a growl.

"Then you're going to die. Until the moment I see you die, I will never give up."