Flames Devour Flames
Fire devoured fire. That was the only way to put it.
The golden flames swept over the blood flowers like a tidal wave. The crimson reapers, flames themselves, flailed as if swept into lava before being swallowed whole. The man couldn't escape the golden blaze either. It engulfed him, the source of the blood flowers, and then died down.
But the man wasn't hurt. He simply couldn't summon any more blood flowers. He clenched and unclenched his hand. Occasionally, dark red sparks flickered up, but they wavered unsteadily and went out.
It wasn't a seal or a dispel. He was simply out of mana. Those golden flames had burned away every last drop of his magic power.
"...Hah."
The man let out a hollow laugh without realizing it. Twenty years since he'd forged his fifth circle in his heart. In this brief moment, he'd grasped everything that had happened—and how utterly absurd, almost miraculous, it all was.
"...What... is this."
The woman had perfectly reversed his blood flower spell to overpower his magic. The lack of any physical backlash proved it. And that was just the start. She'd infiltrated his body with mana in an instant, no chance to react, and burned only his mana reserves. In the process, she'd even layered a localized barrier over his mana circuits. His circles were drained empty, but there was no mana exhaustion or poisoning.
Utter domination.
The man thought: Could a mage just one circle higher pull off a miracle like this? No. At least two circles above. Which meant...
"Ah."
Only then did he realize who—or what—he stood before.
He looked at her. There she was, the beautiful woman with her youthful gaze. For some reason, it felt like she wasn't looking at him, her sparring opponent, but somewhere else... but whatever, it didn't matter.
Mages pursued truth like knights revered their swords. He knew, as a fellow mage, how foolish and lonely it was to cling to that truth one's whole life, perhaps never grasping it even at the moment of death.
Yet those who pushed forward and finally broke through the wall did exist. They became beacons for their slower successors, occasionally scattering insights to guide them along. Some were stingy, but from the lobby conversation yesterday, Seiren had given advice freely.
So the man bowed deeply at the waist. It was the utmost respect he could show for realizing so late.
"I greet the archmage."
He finally offered the proper reverence he should have given from the start. And then,
"I concede defeat."
He admitted his loss.
Seiren's cat-like "hyaaack!" had snapped Lee Hyun's reason back just in time—right before that line. Thanks to her, he'd managed to cut the cam before the "archmage" declaration hit.
"Thought we were fucked."
Official confirmation from the battle mage rep that she was an archmage? It'd come out eventually, but Lee Hyun didn't want today, with zero prep, to be that day. Clutching his pounding heart, he checked the chat.
The chat was in chaos. Half freaking out over the rampaging Severing Demon Art backlash, half stunned by Seiren's magic. Soon the first group joined the second, so it was all Seiren talk. If that line had aired, it'd be even worse, right?
While Lee Hyun was inwardly praising his judgment, he noticed people slinking toward him and ended the stream.
"Excuse me, Seiren oppa?"
"Yes. What is it?"
"Well, it's just..."
They were theory mages. They handed him a yellow envelope—somehow already stuffed with multiple contracts. Perks from the Magic Tower, roughly...
This is it. Scouting.
He'd never been scouted before, so he froze for a sec.
"I'll contact you later."
"The Magic Tower's doors are always open."
"Yes. Thanks for the offer."
"No, no. You stepped up for us theory mages—we're the grateful ones. Haha!"
Hmm, not quite. There seemed to be a slight misunderstanding.
"We'll be waiting!"
"Y-yeah..."
They wandered off, chatting about how he'd call by next week. They figured since she'd fought the battle mage, she'd join the Tower, huh? Whatever, imaginations free.
Then Seiren came down from the arena. Lee Hyun walked over.
"Good work."
"Hmph."
But she blew right past him. He chased and grabbed her arm.
"I-Iren?"
"Who are you?"
Only coldness in return. That's when Lee Hyun realized: Seiren was pissed.
In the end, the theory mages won, and Seiren and Lee Hyun headed home. The community was, predictably, on fire—Lee Sun's attention and the battle mage duel even hit the news. Aggro several times the Villain Decapitator drama.
Strike while the iron's hot, sure, but the heat was too much. He declared another week off-stream.
...That was the surface reason. The real one was different.
"Who are you?"
"Iren, how can I make it up to you?"
"Who're you?"
Seiren was sulking and refusing to do anything. It felt like his fault, but he had no clue why. Ask directly? "Dunno." Ask again? "Don't talk to me."
How to fix this? With zero girl experience, Lee Hyun was stumped. No female friends to ask, so he turned to AI.
He tried it. Scooped up Seiren...
"Put me down."
"...Okay."
Her glare was murderous; no choice.
Tried that. First time ordering tteokbokki and mala tang—she devoured it, seemed to like it. Promising.
"Got something for you."
"...What."
"Ta-da! Bear plush!"
"..."
"Whaddya think? Seiren, it's a cute bear just like you, kyeee!"
"Do you think I'm a kid?"
...Seiren burned the bear plush.
Why? Half success though—keep trying.
"What kinda advice..."
Lee Hyun shook his head—AI still too immature. He'd figure it out solo. Then it hit him.
"Got it."
It was you, huh. He cackled like a villain and headed out. Destination: department store.
At the jewelry section, he shuffled like an alien on Earth, then spotted a bracelet that'd suit Seiren.
"That one on the mannequin."
"Sorry, customer. That's sold out."
"Gimme the display one then."
"That's for DP, hard to sell~"
"?"
Then why the fuck display it like it's for sale? The words rose in his throat, but the clerk offered a necklace instead.
"Ooh."
A subtle golden chain with a heart pendant—perfect for Seiren.
"Like it~?"
"Ring it up."
"Great."
Smooth checkout. Lee Hyun called Seiren.
"What. Why. What do you want."
"Got something for you."
She came despite the attitude. He reached to pat her head, but she whipped away with a "hyaaack!"
He'd predicted that far. He opened his fist.
Ching— A pretty necklace gleamed.
"Ta-da!"
"...What."
"Gift."
"..."
"Forgive me now?"
"...Hmph."
Seiren bowed her head, baring her neck. He clasped it on. She fiddled with it, then suddenly hugged him tight.
"What. You ignored me completely before."
"Bad. Bad. Bad. You're bad..."
And just like that, Seiren was over it.
While Seiren and Lee Hyun filmed annoying romcom crap, the community burned.
Someone in the femcam gallery doxxed the cameraman, proving Magic Tower ties.
The post got deleted fast, but too many saw it. Reactions split two ways:
1. Betrayed by Seiren.
2. Must have circumstances. Don't overinvest.
Mostly the first. Her magical girl purity and innocence vibe felt like a ploy to pander, souring opinions. Her channel notices got hate comments; platform flooded with absurd complaints to dox her.
The "don't overinvest" side couldn't shout loud either—they felt the betrayal too. Not real bro? Then he's just some guy? What relation? No way...?
As division brewed, trolls piled in with nonsense to mislead on Seiren. Opinion tanked fast. Reporters sniffed the super rookie's dating drama with Lee Sun's interest. In black-and-white comms, minority views get attacked. Even Seiren defenders hesitated.
Trolls wailed, fake truths stuck like real. Straight to the abyss.
Into that storm, one person appeared.