The Flame of Gawain
That bastard Gawain was spewing fire like he was vomiting it out. Of course, the water pillar Lorsha launched immediately suppressed the flames.
Not really planning on that, though. The fact that he was already spinning such wild delusions before anything even happened meant he was clearly suffering from iron deficiency. Since I had contracted with the Iron Spirit King, it was only right that I help him out. Even if he was a villain, helping the sick was part of the Hongik Ingan ideal.
"Scales of the Iron Dragon, pierce the enemy."
I hurled thin steel scales at Gawain. Of course, they could slice through human bones like cutting tofu... but only if they actually hit. The steel melted before it could even touch his body.
The entire iron mine had been heating up like a steam sauna for a while now. The fact that even the air he exhaled was hot suggested that if this continued, we'd be at a disadvantage from respiratory burns. Lorsha seemed to have the same thought as she launched a fairly high-tier spell.
"Horn of the Water Dragon, impale and kill."
Cone-shaped water pillars erupted from the ground. But Gawain dodged our attacks with acrobatic movements that seemed almost impossible.
Lorsha ground her teeth. It was true that contracting with the Water Spirit King had dramatically increased the power of her magic. But using true high-tier water attribute spells here would be problematic. Most of them weren't suitable for use inside an iron mine. Water attribute magic tended to have massive scale, and one wrong move could end up drowning both me and Lorsha inside the mine.
My roasts had been savage from the start. Even back when I moderated communities in my previous life, I'd never seen anyone dish out this level of mother-related trash talk. Was this the eloquence of someone who'd suffered through twelve years of brutal labor?
Did the word "tact" not exist in her dictionary? Gawain was laughing like he was having the time of his life while his body burned. The prominent veins on his body blazed like flames, and his eyes glowed with blue fire.
Gawain spat out blue flames as he said that. Both Lorsha and I immediately judged this as dangerous.
"Water Dragon, coil around us!"
"Iron Dragon, spread your wings!"
A massive dragon-shaped mass of water enveloped Lorsha, and a wing-shaped iron wall appeared before me. Yeah, this should be enough to block the flames.
The water dragon surrounding Lorsha was gradually evaporating, and the iron dragon wings protecting me wouldn't hold out for long either. It didn't make sense. Gawain was pouring out flames hot enough to melt steel like a tidal wave. Yet I couldn't sense even the slightest trace of mana from him. That meant this was purely his physical ability.
He could spew flames of this level without any mana? And it was his physical ability? I couldn't understand it. I'd read some medical books in my previous life for work, but I'd never heard of a constitution that let someone breathe fire. Logically speaking, how could a human pull off this kind of bullshit? He wasn't a freaking Charizard.
Fuck, this bastard had been saving up the mother roasts. Why did Lorsha throw such vicious trash talk at such a fragile idiot?
It was already hard enough to endure this. He was going to raise the temperature even more? We'd end up like some tribe leader somewhere—crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. That meant we had to use the Spirit King's power to block it... The problem was that I could only use a limited number of the Spirit King's spells right now. And the defensive ones could only protect one person at a time.
"Iron Spirit King..."
"Water Spirit King..."
It seemed Lorsha was in a similar situation. Since I had only recently formed the contract, even the Spirit King's magic was unstable. That probably meant the same for Lorsha, who had just finished her contract as well.
"Protect my companion."
I wasn't into noble sacrifices like protecting a friend at the cost of my own life... but I couldn't let the person who'd suffered for twelve years because of me get burned. However, the words that came out of Lorsha's mouth were quite shocking.
"Protect my precious companion."
We both gaped at the spells we had cast. What the hell? The magic was already unstable, so why the unnecessary meddling to protect someone else? She should have just protected herself. Even with the instability, overlapping two Spirit King spells would have easily blocked an attack like this flame. I couldn't understand why she had broken a perfect single defense to create two imperfect shields.
Before I could even protest, a whale-shaped droplet of water enveloped my body. And thanks to the spell I had cast, a massive iron dome covered in spikes protected Lorsha. Then the blue flames Gawain spewed engulfed us both.
Fortunately, since water attribute magic was perfect for blocking flames, I didn't suffer any major injuries. Though I did get hit with hot steam as Lorsha's magic evaporated. But I was worried about Lorsha's condition. Steel tended to get extremely hot when heated. Could she really be safe inside that blazing hot iron dome?
Gawain seemed exhausted after spewing that massive inferno as he was breathing heavily. Every ability had its limits, after all. I hurriedly ran over to Lorsha, quickly dispelled the magic, and checked on her condition.
Lorsha deliberately swept her hair back to show that she was perfectly fine. Seeing that she was unharmed, the anger I'd been suppressing surged all the way to the top of my head.
We couldn't find any common ground. We had both done something stupid, and we had both saved each other's lives. We both knew that fact better than anyone, but all we could do was get angry. Both her and me. Because the other person had almost died. Because the companion we cherished enough to give our lives for had almost died. The anger that the other person had almost died was greater than the relief that our own lives were safe.
It was simple. If he could have spewed flames like that from the beginning, we would have died instantly on the spot. But he started with weak flames and gradually increased the temperature. No idiot would adjust their power output like that in a fight. In real battles—unlike games—the best strategy was to start with your ultimate move.
That left only one answer. This bastard couldn't spew strong flames from the start. He had to gradually heat up his body by releasing fire little by little. Only after continuously raising his body's temperature like that could he produce flames as strong as the ones from earlier. And since even he had limits, once he reached that limit, he'd have to cool his body down like he was doing now. After cooling down, the flame temperature would reset from the beginning.
Of course, even the flames he spewed in the early stages would be enough to burn most demonic beasts or knights to death... but facing two archmages contracted with Spirit Kings would be too much for him.
Fuck, did he have another trick up his sleeve? The moment I hurriedly tried to protect Lorsha—
Gawain said that and detonated a smoke bomb. If he thought something like a mere smoke bomb could block our vision, he was sorely mistaken... Fuck, now that I smelled it, this was paralysis poison.
There was a chance the poison could seep in through the mucous membranes of the eyes as well as the respiratory system. That bastard Gawain took the opportunity to run away. After our vision cleared somewhat, we chased after him, but we didn't gain anything from it. When we got outside the iron mine, he was nowhere to be seen. Only the heavily wounded Glacia and Airi, whose clothes were torn in several places, were there to greet us.
Just as my anxiety was growing stronger, the worst possible scenario flashed through my mind.