CHAPTER 14

SURROUNDED BY hundreds of human armies and demi-human warriors, a flame sorcerer at the front and a water sorcerer at the back, Sollel, Cira, and Hakken were fully trapped in the center. In the enemy's perspective, with their numbers and strength, they could already foresee their victory. Who could rival a flame and a water sorcerer? One sorcerer could take on hundreds of soldiers in a war. That's how different their strengths were from normal soldiers.

But to the three at the center, at least to Sollel, numbers meant nothing, and the sorcerers were nothing but a decoration.

"Cira," Sollel ordered, flames erupting from her hands as she clenched her fists, "control the movements of the demi-humans, even just for a few seconds. They are moving against their will. Hakken, I will leave the soldiers to you. I will take care of the sorcerers."

Cira nodded and readied five arrows from her quiver that was strapped on her back, while Hakken gripped his war blades tightly with a small smile on his face.

"Go." One simple word from Sollel and Hakken immediately sprinted toward the human armies while Cira effortlessly climbed to the highest peak of the fountain statue where she released her arrows.

Hakken was a force to be reckoned with as he wielded his war blades. No soldier could touch him. He could easily block and repel any attacks with his blades. He was lethal on the battlefield. His movements and his war blades were too sharp and destructive that the enemy soldiers were having a hard time pinning Hakken down. They couldn't even land a fatal blow against him. Forget about pinning him down—it was a brutal task.

On the other hand, Cira was the complete opposite of Hakken's brutal strength. She was calmly standing at the highest peak of the fountain statue, looking at the demi-humans waiting for their master's will. With five arrows in between her fingers, she aimed and covered her arrows with her essence.

"Attack!" Lord Tane Duves, the head of the Duves family, shouted in rage from the top of his lungs, ordering his enslaved demi-humans. "Kill them all! Kill them for my son! Avenge my son!"

A demi-human warrior was much stronger than a soldier, but Cira was ready. The moment the order was given, she simultaneously released the five arrows in between her fingers and then another volley of arrows and another. Each arrow landed fiercely on the ground, a meter from each other, digging into the cement surface, forming a blockade.

The demi-humans who were sprinting toward the center discarded the harmless arrows on the ground and were all ready to attack when they slammed against an invisible wall, forcing them back and stopping their pursuit.

Cira didn't waste her time. In a split second, she jumped high into the air, and with precision that only an elven warrior would possess, she used her remaining arrows filled with her essence to form a barricade around the demi-humans to block them.

The demi-humans continued to struggle inside the barricade Cira made. The arrows looked harmless, but every time the demi-humans tried to pass them, they would slam into an invisible wall. Unbeknownst to the demi-humans and to Lord Tane, the invisible wall was made from Cira's essence, and the arrows were just a medium to materialize it.

But it won't last long. "Your Highness!" Cira bellowed when she landed on the ground after jumping high into the air.

Hearing Cira calling for her, Sollel tossed a small ball of flame at the water sorcerer she was fighting, and when her flame landed against the water shield the water sorcerer conjured to protect himself, the small flame exploded, blasting the water sorcerer away.

Maybe if it was Aenwyn's aqua shield, her flames would have a hard time penetrating it. But it was just a shield of a water sorcerer, a far cry from Aenwyn's aqua shield.

"Your Highness!" Cira bellowed again. The blockade she made was starting to wane; her essence had been exhausted.

Without casting a glance at the demi-humans, Sollel dropped two flames on the ground, which skated and left a path as they traveled toward the demi-humans. The two small flames joined together in front of the barricade and then split again, moving in the opposite direction, forming a circle of flame around the demi-humans, following the formation Cira made with her arrows. When the flames joined together once again, the three-inch circle of flame soared up to a few feet high, trapping the demi-humans inside.

At the same time Sollel's flame soared, the effect of Cira's essence in her arrows disappeared.

The demi-humans inside the flame started panicking, only to realize that the flame was not scorching hot; rather, it was just warm. But if they tried to cross the circle of flame, they'd be burned to death for sure.

"Cira!" Sollel only had to call Cira once, and Cira immediately understood and pulled herself together. Getting arrows from her satchel, she put all of them in her quiver. From a safe distance, Cira aimed her bow and arrow at the head of the Duves family, waiting for the perfect moment to shoot.

If they wanted to save the demi-humans, they had to take down the head first. That was Sollel's plan—gather all the powerful members of the Duves family in one place, trap the demi-humans, kill the head of the Duves family, and deal with the rest. Such a simple and easy plan.

Sollel clicked her tongue when she saw water spears coming her way again, but they were weaker than the previous ones. The water sorcerer must be exhausted.

Sollel easily repelled the water spears with a thin firewall. With her current strength, she could only conjure a solid firewall measuring five feet high and one meter wide. It was weak and miniscule compared to the firewall she could create with her full power, which was fifty feet high and a hundred meters wide.

But her current thin firewall was enough to shield her from the water sorcerer's attack. Good thing the water sorcerer was alone; if the Duves family had two or maybe three water sorcerers focused on attacking her, Sollel would've taken the fight seriously. She was still weak after all.

Sollel dropped two small flames on the ground again, and just as her thin firewall disappeared, she willed the two flames on the ground to crawl and surround the water sorcerer.

The water sorcerer cursed when the scorching flame surrounded him. What kind of flame is this?! I can't put it out easily! He pointed his staff at the flame around him, and in an instant, water poured out from it. The water sorcerer had high hopes that the water he conjured could extinguish the fire, only to be disappointed when the water couldn't even put out a part of the circle of flame.

The water sorcerer gritted his teeth and covered his whole body with a thin water shield to protect himself from the flame while he tried to put out the circle of flame again.

With the water sorcerer taken care of in the meantime, Sollel glanced at Hakken who was receiving fire attacks from the flame sorcerer and being attacked repeatedly by the soldiers. Sollel should feel bad since she promised Hakken she'd protect him from the sorcerer, but he was defending himself just fine. He was indeed a warrior to be reckoned with.

Smiling, Sollel stretched and raised her hand to the chest level and made an enormous ball of flame. It was massive, and it was the only attack she could do at the moment, honestly. With her current strength, she could only do a blood flame; a ball of flame; a weak, short, and thin firewall; and a little flame manipulation. That's how weak she was at present.

So to make a path toward Hakken who was in the middle of the battlefield, Sollel conjured the biggest ball of flame she could muster and released it toward Hakken's direction.

The ball of flame bulldozed and incinerated soldiers that blocked its path in an instant, and Hakken's eyes widened when he saw the ball of flame El released coming straight at him.

"What the!" Hakken used his war blades to block the massive ball of flame coming straight at him, but before it touched his sword, the ball of flame disappeared. Just like that.

The soldiers became silent after the massive ball of flame disappeared. Even the flame sorcerer readied himself for a destructive fight between him and the flame sorceress who easily defeated the water sorceress protecting Ishya.

Walking on the path that was scorched and cleared by her ball of flame, nobody moved in awe, and Sollel easily reached Hakken.

"Need help?" Sollel asked Hakken in a teasing tone.

Hakken straightened his body and flipped his war blades to hold it in reverse. "My lady, you could've burned me."

"Not my intention," Sollel replied.

"What are you standing there for?!" Lord Tane screamed at the soldiers. "Kill them!" Then he glared and ordered at the demi-humans who were trapped in the circle of flame. "I don't care if you die! Cross that flame and kill them all!"

Hearing that, demi-humans didn't have a choice but to cross the flame and perish. It was an order, and as long as they had a slave collar, their life was not their own. But Sollel would never let that happen. Hearing Lord Tane's order, she sent a gigantic ball of flame at the flame sorcerer to distract him.

Seeing how the sorcerer blocked Queen Sollel's flame with his own and how focused he was at defeating it, Cira—who was hiding from a safe distance—aimed and shot her arrow at Lord Tane.

It should have been a perfect shot, but Lord Tane was wearing an enchanted helmet, so Cira's arrow didn't penetrate Lord Tane's head; it only angered him even more.

Seeing that she failed and the demi-humans we're crossing the circle of flame, Cira gritted her teeth. No! We did this to save them! Cira pulled her sword from her satchel and ran toward Lord Tane. I will not let you hurt more halflings and demi-humans!

Cira lunged an attack against Lord Tane who blocked Cira's sword, and the two clashed with their weapons. Cira was fast and agile that Lord Tane couldn't keep up with her movements; his swords couldn't even graze the elf. Cira was like dancing in the air, and her sword was slashing Lord Tane with a critical blow after blow.

As Cira and Lord Tane fought to death, the water sorcerer was still putting out Sollel's flame but failing. He finally managed to block Sollel's flame in exchange for his arm, while the demi-humans were being burned as they forcefully crossed the circle of flame by Lord Tane's order.

Sollel immediately lessened the heat of the circle of flame to not hurt the demi-humans and then released two flames and ordered them to wrap themselves around Hakken's blades.

Hakken stilled when he saw his war blades wrapped in flame, his lips parted in surprise.

"It's not easy to wield a flaming sword at first," Sollel said to Hakken before facing the flame sorcerer. "But you can do it. You're my hunter after all."

The surprise on Hakken's face was replaced by a pleased smile. "By your will, my lady."

"I'll cover your back," Sollel promised. "Go."

With his lady watching his back, Hakken moved without hesitation, using the flames on his war blades to his advantage. Seeing Hakken fight, Sollel guessed that it was not Hakken's first time to wield a flaming sword. He knew the right angle to attack to maximize the flame's destructive strength, he knew where to position his blade for his own safety, and he knew how to take advantage of the flame when blocking and repelling the soldier's attacks.

I was worrying for nothing. Sollel turned her head to face the flame sorcerer who already summoned fireballs to attack her and Hakken.

Looking at the fireballs shooting at her, Sollel frowned. "So weak," she mumbled and clicked her tongue. "Is this what they did to my blessing? How disappointing." Sollel didn't even bother blocking the fireballs. Instead, she turned around and made a thin firewall to block the fireballs aimed at Hakken.

Hakken didn't stop moving even when fireballs were raining down on him. He thrusted and slashed his flaming war blades and left the defending to his lady. Hakken could only smile when he saw his lady's flame moving and changing shape to protect him. It made him feel excited; it felt exhilarating, maybe because of the familiar feeling it was giving him. And when his lady's flame enveloped him to protect him from the raining fire made by the sorcerer, Hakken closed his eyes for a couple of seconds to feel its warmth.

Yes. I know this feeling, he thought.

The flame sorcerer wanted to pull his hair out in frustration when his flames couldn't even burn the woman's cloak. It's like his flame lost its destructiveness when it neared her. He was losing his mind because all his attacks were useless, so he poured all his strength at the warrior fighting against the soldiers. But even that, his flame attacks were always blocked by the woman's flame. The one dying from his rain of fire were the soldiers, not the warrior.

And as the flame sorcerer kept attacking Hakken with his fire, his strength started to wane. So when Sollel tossed a small ball of flame at him, the flame sorcerer couldn't even defend himself, and he was blasted to the mansion's wall. The impact of the explosion sent him spiraling into the air.

At the same time the flame sorcerer was blasted to the wall, Cira's sword finally penetrated Lord Tane's body. And immediately, Cira jumped back, drew her bow, and shot Lord Tane's heart with five arrows simultaneously until he fell to the ground, lifeless.

Cira breathed in relief when Lord Tane finally died, but Ishya—who was hiding in the bushes—saw it all and screamed in grief.

"Father!"

But Ishya's grief was nothing compared to the joyous howls of demi-humans when Lord Tane dropped dead at the same time the circle of flame around them disappeared. The demi-humans were all ready to kneel in front of Cira, but the elf pointed the woman wearing a cloak—the powerful woman who wielded flames without any magic tools.

"She's your savior. I just helped," Cira informed them with a smile, and immediately, all the demi-humans present kneeled on one knee to show their respect and gratitude toward Sollel, making Cira grin in happiness. "That's more like it! Anyway," Cira added when she remembered Queen Sollel's words earlier. "The queen, her," Cira said, pointing at Sollel, "wants me to tell you that you can join the fight if you want. She will leave the soldier's fate in your hands."

All the demi-human's expression darkened. Every one of them had a grudge against the soldiers employed by the Duves family. These merciless soldiers toyed and beat them up for their entertainment. They violated their wives and daughters mercilessly while laughing at their misery. And now with the queen's permission, all the demi-humans leaped and sprinted toward the soldiers to rip them apart without mercy.

"Hakken!" Sollel made a path of flame for Hakken to escape while the soldiers were being beaten to death by the demi-humans.

Seeing the Duves family's destruction, the water sorcerer tried to run, but Sollel's flame effortlessly caught up to him and burned him. Sollel had no mercy for anyone who helped the Duves family enslave the halflings and demi-humans. She didn't care if their participation was big or small; if they lent their hands to the Duves family, they had to be burned.

Ishya witnessed her family being destroyed. She wanted nothing more but to grieve for her father, give him a good burial, and avenge him, but she chose her own survival. She chose to go back to the red-light district, take all the golds and the women, and relocate. But before her plan could even begin, Cira's arrow penetrated her heart, and she died before she could even flee.

"That's for all the women you traumatized, violated, and killed," said Cira before she turned to her highness and followed her.

Stopping in front of the flame sorcerer, Sollel raised her hand to the chest level and conjured a flame to finish the sorcerer in front of her when, suddenly, the sorcerer's body erupted with fire; however, it was not burning him. Sollel didn't do it, so she stepped back for precaution. The sorcerer's flame soared into the air, leaving the sorcerer's body, confusing Sollel.

What's happening with his flame? she asked herself. After leaving the sorcerer's body, the flame was now hovering in the air, turning into a ball of flame.

Sollel's confusion was soon answered when the ball of flame floated toward her and stopped in front of her chest. The ball of flame was emitting a familiar fire essence.

My essence! she thought. Sollel raised her hand to touch the ball of flame, and immediately, the ball of flame wrapped around her hand, greeting her as if it missed her, and then slowly blended with her own flame, helping her recover a small part of her strength.

That's when it dawned on Sollel. I blessed their lineage with my flame. That means all the flame sorcerers from every generation are carrying a miniscule amount of my essence. The stronger the flame sorcerer, the stronger my essence in his or her body.

Sollel chuckled at the realization, making her feel pleased and happy. She finally found a way to help her recover her full strength.

It's mine to begin with, she told herself. I just want it back.



CECELIB | C.C.