Scheme in the Flames
Vanessa slowly surveyed the theater interior. What came into view was the already ruined stage and audience seats, the city guards locked in confrontation with the elf amid the wreckage, and Mendes directing them.
“Grrr!!”
But the elf’s blazing gaze wasn’t fixed on the guards—it was on the two nobles huddled in the corner of the theater. Mendes shouted at them.
“We’ll handle things here. Please hurry and escape, my lords!”
“...But...”
Soon, as one of them hesitated and started to move, the elf cried out.
“You think I’ll let you get away?!”
At that instant, the flames enveloping her surged forward, hurtling toward the noble.
“Danger!”
“Eeeek!!!”
But just before the flames could reach the noble, whoosh, uwoook...! Sizzle!— a shimmering blue curtain of water rose up in front of them, blocking the inferno.
“...Huh?”
“Are you alright, Lord Raymond?”
The other noble addressed the one who’d nearly been struck. In her hand was an orb embedded with a sapphire, its tip still trailing wisps of magical afterglow.
A mage?
She was dressed in flashy finery like the nobles, dripping with lavish adornments that had disguised her at first glance. But now, Vanessa noticed the insignia of the mage tower etched amid the decorations—she was a mage from the Blue Mage Tower.
“...Ah, Professor Clementine... I really owe you my life.”
“I’d prefer repayment in coin, if you don’t mind.”
“Haha... Of course.”
The mage then shouted toward the guards charging her way.
“Sir Mendes! We’re fine—deal with the sorceress first!”
“Understood!”
At her words, Mendes and the guards pivoted sharply, lunging straight at the elf.
“!!”
The elf gripped her dagger, trying to hold her ground, but the guards seized the opening where her spirit’s protection had faltered, pressing her relentlessly. Exchanges flew back and forth... When Mendes’ sword grazed her shoulder by a hair’s breadth, she had no choice but to leap back and create distance. Yet the guards’ spear tips chased her without mercy, tightening the noose.
“Salist!”
In the end, the elf had no recourse but to summon her spirit once more. Crimson flames roared up around her body, forcing the guards to fall back a step, wary of the blaze.
“You’re surrounded! Give it up and surrender—you’ve got no chance of winning!”
Mendes thrust his sword forward in a menacing warning. He was right. Summoning a top-grade spirit and weathering the guards’ all-out assault alone, even briefly, with such agile footwork was impressive... But the odds were stacked against the elf. Exhausted from the prolonged battle, she was out of arrows and couldn’t wield her signature bow any longer. She was barely sustaining the top-grade spirit with her vast elven mana reserves, but even that had limits. She might have slipped away easily before Mendes arrived, but now escape seemed unlikely. No... Even in this dire spot, her eyes burned not with flight, but fixed on one man, alight with battle fury.
A grudge?
Vanessa’s gaze naturally drifted that way too. It was the noble the elf had targeted with her flames moments ago.
Raymond, right?
A face she didn’t recognize, but his name rang familiar—he was the brother of Dublin’s ruling lord, infamous as a wastrel playboy.
What the hell did that bastard do this time to earn that kind of hatred?
Then a small box clutched in Raymond’s arms caught Vanessa’s eye.
Or maybe that’s her real target.
Whatever the case, that obsession was strangling the elf’s own lifeline. Vanessa felt a fleeting urge to cheer her on, but she couldn’t exactly take the elf’s side here.
I came all this way, but no need to jump in myself.
With that thought, she stepped back to quietly observe... when—
“...”
A stone came flying at her from somewhere. Thud— She dodged it effortlessly and glared murderously at the source. There, atop the roof of a collapsed building, a suspicious man in a mask stared down at her. Their eyes met, and he quickly signaled with hand gestures.
...Help her?
Vanessa shot back a curt signal of her own: Why should I?
His reply: She absolutely cannot die. Followed by, I’ll explain everything later.
Even if you’re asking me to help... Tricky situation.
Vanessa couldn’t openly back the elf either.
“Hmm...”
She scanned the battlefield again, where the fierce clash raged on. A terrorist who’d ignited the blaze, slaughtering dozens, now gunning for the lord’s brother... The city guards upholding order, trying to subdue her, backed by a rising star from the mage tower... Anyone could see whose side justice lay on.
Tough call...
She didn’t know the full story or motives—context would come after capturing her. That’s when it hit.
“...Self-destruct.”
The elf’s low, guttural command dropped like a stone, freezing the air in an icy chill. Detonating a top-grade fire spirit... The sheer devastation was beyond imagining. Vanessa instinctively summoned her mace, bracing for the worst.
“Aqua Presidium! ...Arcanum Plus, Dis Defendo!—"
The mage channeled mana into a massive water barrier, while Vanessa prepped her own protective spells.
...No.
But she halted mid-cast. In the elf’s fleeting glance, Vanessa caught not despair, but a fierce resolve to seize control.
Not resignation—the glint of a razor-sharp scheme...
The answer was obvious.
It’s a feint.
Right then, an arrow pierced the towering water wall, slamming into the mage’s shoulder.
“Gah!!—"
“Professor Clementine!!”
As Mendes realized too late it was a ruse, the fire spirit blocked his path, and the elf bolted straight for Raymond.
Not good.
It might look advantageous at a glance. But it was fleeting... Her choice was a reckless, life-or-death gamble. The arrow had sidelined the mage temporarily, but not killed or crippled her. And the guards and mage hadn’t pressed her hard before—only because Raymond’s safety came first. Killing him now was like her untying their hands herself.
...Wait.
But in that instant, a plan sparked in Vanessa’s mind. She realized this was her one shot to help. Instinct took over—she plunged into the fray.
“Danger!”
Just as the elf’s blade kissed Raymond’s throat, Vanessa kicked him aside by a hair’s breadth, shoving him to safety. She intercepted the strike meant for him, locking eyes with the elf.
“Urk!?”
Blind to the aid, the elf channeled her fury at the missed kill into their clashing weapons.
“(Calm down. I’m here to help you.)”
“(You expect me to believe that!?)”
“(You don’t have a choice.)”
With those words, she slipped the box—snatched mid-kick from Raymond—into the elf’s grasp.
“(...This?!)”
“(Reinforcements are coming soon. Escape with him on my signal.)”
Finally grasping Vanessa’s allegiance, the elf gave a subtle nod.
“(...Oh, and... To throw off suspicion... Mind knocking me back a little?)”
“(You?)”
“(Yeah, just enough to sell it.)”
“(Ah, got it!)”
The elf’s full-force kick rocketed in.
“...Huh?”
Boom!— Vanessa sailed backward, slamming into the wall and playing possum with a feigned blackout. As if on cue, a masked man burst in amid a barrage of smoke bombs, scooping up the elf and vanishing.
Peeking through slitted eyes to confirm her safe escape, Vanessa belatedly clicked her tongue.
Aigoo... My back... Damn elf bitch. I said lightly... No need to fake it, she kicked me full throttle... Never helping her again...