Facing the Black Flames
As I carefully observed Sherry standing motionless on the flat plain, Kanya—who stood beside me—asked in a puzzled voice, “How do you plan to draw her attention?” The way her hands trembled told me she was extremely nervous.
“Before we begin, Miss Kanya, please drink the potion Miss Risa gave you. There’s no need to suffer the consequences of taking it too late.”
“Ugh. Fine.”
At my words she brought the potion to her lips. Her level shot up sharply the moment she swallowed it.
The side effects later are going to be a bit of a problem, but…
Anything was better than dying to those flames.
“For now, I need you to draw her attention, Miss Kanya.”
“Me?”
“Would you rather the archer step forward instead?”
“……”
With no rebuttal left, she pressed her lips into a thin line. A shallow sigh escaped her.
“Haah… how on earth did I end up like this?”
Even after complaining, she still moved in front of Sherry. The moment Kanya appeared before her, Sherry’s expressionless face turned in her direction.
Gulp.
Kanya swallowed dryly at the sight.
This is completely different from before.
Unlike the aloof, noble demeanor she had always shown in the past, she now seemed utterly devoid of emotion. The instant Kanya tensed, wary of her—
Fwoosh!
Flames surged across Sherry’s body. She had clearly recognized Kanya as an enemy.
Hummm—!
A small sun-like orb formed above Sherry’s head. It was on an entirely different scale from anything she had displayed before. I briefly considered a counterattack, but I knew I absolutely could not try it. One strike from that orb and I would be reduced to charcoal before I could even retaliate.
Kanya activated high-speed movement and barely slipped past the rushing flames.
BOOM!
Her movement was far faster than before. Even so, I could tell—if she had been even a fraction slower, she would have burned alive.
Just like that person said, I can’t even dream of counterattacking.
Her only role was to hold Sherry’s attention for as long as possible. That was the single task I had given her.
While Kanya danced on a razor’s edge, I sent the rest of the subjugation party toward Jack’s location.
“Go now, before Miss Sherry fully adapts to Miss Kanya.”
“Yeah. All three of you—don’t you dare die.”
Luden gave a solemn nod. The subjugation party immediately set off toward Jack. With so many people moving together, they should have been noticed no matter how much aggro we pulled. But that was exactly why I had left Risa behind in the first place.
“Did you finish spreading them all?”
“Haa… haa… Yes.”
Risa’s sole job was to spray the recognition-inhibiting potion across the area. Only then could the subjugation party reach the shelter undetected.
“I still don’t understand how you knew I had a potion like that.”
Disciple. You’re not actually stalking her, are you?
Both Miroel and Risa narrowed their eyes suspiciously. I ignored their gazes and turned away.
Good. They still haven’t noticed.
The smoke rising from the forest prevented Sherry from sensing the subjugation party. At this rate they would reach the shelter safely. But the world rarely moves exactly as planned.
Swish!
Sherry’s gaze suddenly shifted toward the subjugation party. She tilted her head with that same blank expression, as if she had sensed something out of place.
Tsk. There were too many people to erase their presence completely.
I had expected as much. I looked straight ahead and spoke.
“Miss Risa, this could get dangerous, so please hide as best you can.”
“Yes! Don’t worry about me!”
She was already half-hidden behind a tree, peeking out nervously. I almost laughed at the absurdity, then focused mana beneath my feet.
Whoong!
In the blink of an eye I stood directly in front of Sherry. Her pupils shook violently at my sudden appearance, as if an earthquake had struck them.
She reacted to me instantly?
I had worried she might not respond at all, but she turned toward me far more readily than expected.
Maybe this will be easier than I thought?
The moment that hopeful thought crossed my mind—
Fwoooosh!
Sherry’s reaction grew even more intense. Kanya shrieked.
“You! You clearly said you’d come out later!”
“That’s because you couldn’t hold her attention properly—never mind that, dodge!”
While we argued, Sherry unleashed her attack. Without hesitation we both used high-speed movement. The ground we had just occupied erupted in roaring flames.
Disciple. You must never get hit by those flames.
Miroel’s warning came as she watched the blaze. It looked lethal at a glance, so I nodded.
“Then what should we do now?” Kanya asked from beside me.
I stared at Sherry and answered, “First we need to create an opening.”
“Against that?” Kanya pointed at Sherry with a look that said I had lost my mind. To refer to a duke’s daughter as “that” showed just how little composure she had left. Still, it was understandable. In her current state, Sherry showed no openings whatsoever.
“Wouldn’t it be better to just wait until the subjugation party kills the demon?”
“Even if they kill the demon, there is no guarantee Miss Sherry will return to normal. As far as I know, demons aren’t known for their kind personalities.”
My disciple sees clearly.
Miroel nodded in agreement.
“Ugh. The way you’re talking, you must have a plan, right?”
“Yes. We can use this.”
I pulled out the Arrow of Purification. Miroel flinched in surprise.
You actually kept that!
“What is it?” Kanya asked, a question mark practically hovering over her head while Miroel was still reacting.
I kept my eyes on Sherry and explained, “Simply put, it is an arrow that dispels abnormal status effects when it strikes the opponent’s heart.”
“Then let’s use it right away!”
“The problem is that it can only be used once. We must be extremely careful.”
“Ugh. We’ll definitely need an opening to land it.”
Kanya clutched her temples, clearly suffering from a headache. At that exact moment—
Fwoooosh!
The sun-like orb floating above Sherry suddenly turned pitch black. Kanya startled.
“Magi?!”
“That is not magi.”
It might look like it at first glance, but it was actually—
Be careful, disciple. That is the black flame used by the Patrick family. It is said to burn anything it touches. The moment it makes contact, the pain is so severe it feels like hell itself. It is not an undying flame like in some manga, but it is certainly far harder to extinguish than ordinary fire.
Swoooosh!
Black flames erupted from her orb. We barely avoided them with high-speed movement. But it wasn’t over.
Fwooooosh!
Multiple streams of black flame surged toward us. Dodging even one was difficult; now they came in several branching torrents.
“Tsk!”
I clicked my tongue and chained high-speed movement repeatedly. The black flames slammed into the ground, scorching everything they touched. If my concentration slipped even slightly, it would all be over.
As cold sweat ran down my back while I continued dodging her barrage—
BOOM!
A sudden explosion rang out. When I turned, I saw Kanya bouncing off a tree on the opposite side.
No way…!
I looked forward again. Her orb had somehow split into two.
This is insane.
At Kanya’s level she should have been able to dodge that last attack. Its power was high, but its speed hadn’t been particularly threatening. I never imagined Sherry would use the black flame as bait to create those smaller orbs.
The difficulty is truly hellish.
How had Sherry become this strong? She hadn’t even used black flame in the game.
While I pondered that, Sherry’s voice rang out.
“Finally, it’s just the two of us.”
What? A line that never existed in the game—why was it appearing now? As I stood stunned by the unexpected development, she continued.
“Do you know how much I longed to meet you, Baran?”
She wore a smile that sent chills down my spine. Just to be sure, I examined her with Mind’s Eye. As expected, she was still brainwashed.
It must be because her level increased.
Before I could finish that thought, she spoke again.
“I trained every single time while thinking of you and that girl. Harder than ever before.”
“……”
Sherry smiled seductively, her eyes filled with madness. Hearing those words, everything finally made sense. This was why Phase Two had become so much harder.
So that’s what happened.
In the original story there was no character named Baran. Even if there had been, he wouldn’t have shown the kind of ability I have now. But I had continuously displayed strength that surpassed even Luden. Because of that, Sherry had trained far harder than in the original work in order to earn my acknowledgment.
The result was that she had grown even stronger than her original counterpart. The advice I gave her last time might have contributed as well.
“I became this strong to be acknowledged by you, Baran.”
“Don’t say things you don’t mean.”
Without realizing it I had slipped into informal speech, completely ignoring the polite character settings I had once created. What Sherry truly wanted was to grow strong through her own effort and earn recognition—not this.
At least she’s only focused on me. That’s fortunate.
For some reason she was only looking at me. That meant I didn’t have to worry too much about the fallen Kanya.
Still, the situation is clearly unfavorable.
I calmly searched for any possible solution when Miroel’s serious voice reached me.
Disciple. Let us use Possession.
Her tone was far graver than last time. I asked doubtfully, “Didn’t it fail before?”
It did. But with the strengthened body the potion gave you, it should be possible now.
Unlike before, she looked completely confident. I nodded.
“I will save you right now, Miss Sherry.”
A single tear slid from the corner of Sherry’s eye. At the same time Miroel slowly embraced me.
Possession
Another ability of the Bow of the Beginning has been activated!
The player’s stats will temporarily increase!
My vision changed completely.