Memoir (6): The White Flame's Fury
The spear of the snow flower froze the air in its trajectory, trailing white frost like a tail as it hurtled toward the intensely glowing crimson sphere with piercing momentum. Even the vicious heat pouring from the sphere couldn't halt Snow Flower - Berkana. It effortlessly vaporized the blocking flames, maintaining its initial speed and force, right up until it was about to impale the crimson orb.
Then, a flame the size of a candle flickered precisely along the spear's path. It seemed pathetically insignificant compared to the flame orbs the A-rank beast, the Colossal Flame Giant, had unleashed against my team earlier. But the moment that tiny spark bloomed, I instinctively knew my snow flower spear wouldn't reach the sphere.
Hiss!!! As expected, the instant it touched the small flame, the spear crumbled as if all its momentum had been a lie, evaporating into nothing. It was yet another reminder that the world isn't what it seems.
A finger-sized flame blocking my Snow Flower - Berkana? Impossible. Unless that flame wasn't like any I'd seen before.
The flame that stopped my snow flower spear was, of course, no ordinary fire. It was a superheated blaze concentrating all its thermal energy into a single point—something even the dungeon's colossal Flame Giant couldn't produce. Orbiting fiercely around the Dungeon Core like a satellite, its pure white hue proved it.
The Colossal Flame Giant had used blue flames earlier, but that was just mana-tinted flash—nothing special in terms of heat. My chill could suppress it easily. But that white flame... it was the real deal. Unlike the Giant's superficial blue water-fire imitation, this white flame had melted and evaporated my snow flower spear through sheer temperature—a natural white born of extreme heat.
The emergence of that white flame to guard the Dungeon Core meant the Dungeon Lord wielding it was about to appear.
A flame that melted the Julie family's Snow Flower in an instant, controlled freely by its master. Perfect.
"Now that's how you make a fight worth my time."
It was the ideal opening for the first page of Lapis Julie's S-rank legend.
Rumble... With an ominous surge of mana, every flame ravaging the Kingdom of Fire converged on the Dungeon Core. The spectacle of all the world's flames racing along their paths to defend their origin was so mesmerizing—even I, facing a life-or-death battle, stared in awe.
Flame clouds filled the sky, and an inverted storm of fire rained down, converging on the white flame at a single point. It didn't look like just two or three times the size of the Colossal Flame Giant. That thought hit me as the fire clouds blanketed my entire view of the sky.
The moment it did, Exy Train's words echoed: Nothing's impossible in an S-rank dungeon. But it was too late to heed her—I couldn't find the exit anymore, and having touched the Dungeon Core, I had to defeat the Dungeon Lord to leave.
No point regretting now. And it wasn't time for regrets yet.
"Lapis Julie! This is bad! We're screwed! No matter how strong you are, you're alone—you can't fight the whole world... Gah?!"
Exy Train's frantic voice came from behind, cut off mid-sentence—probably hit by a flame burst. I ignored it. She was focused on gathering mana, and unlike her weakling mindset, I felt this was winnable.
Clap. Silently, I pressed my mana-filled palms together and twisted them half a turn to form the seal. Simple in form, but infused with profound philosophy and mana—a secret art passed only to the rightful heirs of the Julie family.
Arcane Art - Snow Flower Chaos Dance.
Ten fingers splayed in all directions bloomed into snow flower petals, each in its place. True to its name, a chaotic dance of snow flowers. I etched that image in my heart, using mana like paint to manifest my inner vision in the real world.
Crack. Crackle. Crack.
Ten snow flowers bloomed. Each one could easily fell the S-rank dungeon's boss, the Colossal Flame Giant—a massive force. But instinct told me ten might not suffice against the world.
I wanted to bloom more for certainty, but...
"That would be too risky."
Ten was the max I could wield while moving. More would restrict my mobility and slow deployment. Standing still undisturbed, I could do more, faster—but in a dungeon, before a Dungeon Lord born from the world's flames? Suicide.
So, the best was to use these ten efficiently to take it down.
Whoosh! The world's flames, gathered to protect the Dungeon Core, had formed a massive sphere, radiating even brighter white. It looked like an egg wreathed in fire, white flames scorching its surface. Attacking now wouldn't land effectively.
Fine, then. Wait for it to hatch and strike.
No Dungeon Lord could withstand ten snow flowers' chill poured at once.
The mana from the sphere housing the Dungeon Lord felt far stronger than expected—but that only excited me more. The stronger the foe, the greater the thrill and reward of victory.
The dungeon's final warrior, forged from all the world's fire. Slaying such a monstrosity alone would elevate my status and honor immensely. Reason enough to fight, for a noble heir like me—for whom honor rivals life itself.
I gathered the ten snow flowers—my full moving force, uncertain even against my all-out assault—and wove them together. Merging ten mana-and-chill-laden flowers was taxing, but doable.
"Hoo... Done."
A colossal snow flower spear, rivaling all the world's flames. Its total chill dwarfed the single spear that melted futilely—ten times over, by simple math. This would critically wound the white-flame Dungeon Lord emerging from the egg.
I'll freeze and pierce it the moment it hatches.
Breath held, focused solely on that emergence—
Crack.
The white-flame sphere split, fierce flames erupting from the fissure. The intense heat and mana on my skin announced the Dungeon Lord's birth.
This heat, this mana, from so far away. Perfect opponent for my full power!
Spotting a spear-tip-sized gap in the crevice, I uttered the activation without hesitation.
"Freeze and pierce."
Snow Flower Chaos Dance - Dos Berkana.
The infused will—freeze and penetrate—activated the mana. The colossal spear became a streak of white light.
--------!!!!
Freezing and piercing even the sound of the air itself, it surged faster than sound could follow, threading perfectly through the sphere's glowing white fissure.
Boom!!!
Extreme cold clashed with extreme heat, but such resistance couldn't stop it. Unlike before, the snow flower spear retained form and chill—it was the one whose heat faded.
The sphere, forged from the world's flames, lost momentum instantly as the spear pierced through. It froze solid and shattered apart.
A decisive blow aimed at the pre-emergence gap. All as planned.
"Hoo. Easier than expected. Well, against me."
Even an S-rank Dungeon Lord from the Kingdom of Fire's every flame couldn't stand against the Julie secret art and my cool, precise judgment.
A prodigy awakener who froze and erased an above-average Dungeon Lord before it saw light. That was me, Lapis Julie.
With the strongest foe down, time to see Exy Train's stunned face.
Shoulders squared with pride, I turned from the shattered, frozen sphere that held the Dungeon Lord to look at Exy Train behind me.
During my Chaos Dance, she'd fended off flame attacks—her gray hair tips singed black. Still intact, though. Not comparable to me one-shotting the Dungeon Lord, but S-rank befitting.
As her standing barely held in my esteem, she hesitated, then spoke strainedly.
"...You really surpass common sense in every way, Lapis Julie."
As expected, Exy Train wore an incredulous expression. I smiled leisurely at her shock and shared a truth she must learn and heed in life.
"The bigger the imagination, the better. Wasn't Team Leader's just too small? Why not expand it starting now?"
"You're ridiculously arrogant. Shakes my sense of normalcy. But... you can afford to be. I did say S-rank dungeons always exceed imagination. So I must accept words from someone who surpassed that foe."
Exy Train accepted my advice with deflated momentum, like a lion defeated in a power struggle. It improved my mood slightly.
Thus, perfect victory over the Dungeon Lord and the team leader. Inevitable.
Inevitable, yes—but toppling my strongest foe yet so handily was mood-lifting. I handled the finale alone, after all. Satisfying.
Unable to hide my elation, I reminded the uncomfortable-looking Exy Train—still accepting but dissatisfied—of our duty.
"All done, then. Shall we smash the Dungeon Core?"
"Dungeon Core... Right, smash it. Yeah. Call back the retreated ones... and Paster outside..."
But Exy Train seemed off. Mumbling with trailing words, deep in thought—visibly abnormal.
"An S-rank Dungeon Lord falls this easily? That colossal flame mass? Impossible."
Then, words I couldn't ignore slipped out.
"Something's wrong. It can't end like this."
"What?"
"You see it too. No, first S-rank dungeon—you wouldn't know. S-rank Dungeon Lords always exceed imagination. Ska Rate's Glacier Dragon, the Red Titan the Guild Master and I barely felled together—all of them. They don't go down to a single spear throw. We need to figure out what's wrong and replan..."
"Team Leader—no, Exy Train. I can't listen anymore."
"What?"
Envy, jealousy, distrust. Faced with reality beyond her narrow worldview, her mask cracked, spilling hidden emotions.
She couldn't believe I'd one-shot a Dungeon Lord on par with one she and the Guild Master barely defeated at life's risk. Admitting it would diminish her own feat.
But whining like a child was pathetic. Almost pitying myself for briefly seeing her as a wise elder.
I knew her type from the start—no reason to heed her now.
With a cold glare, I forced her to face the reality she denied.
"No matter what you say, the result proves it. I defeated the Dungeon Lord alone. Deny it all you want in this situation, and you just look uglier."
"But it's really suspicious..."
Even then, she wouldn't accept it. I sighed deeply and delivered my final words, loud enough for her.
"Get a grip, Exy Train."
No more talk needed.
Ignoring her protests, I turned to the Dungeon Core. Smash it quick, clear the dungeon, become S-rank. Then no more time with pathetic types like her.
As I recalled the snow flower spear to hurl at the Dungeon Core—
Flicker.
A faint flame sound from the core's direction, barely audible without focus. Simultaneously—
"Huh?"
A long, world-splitting white flame plummeted toward my crown.
Trailing red fire that evaporated its path, the intense blaze was blindingly fast. Focused on manipulating the spear, I couldn't dodge.
Impossible.
My future—split in half without resistance—flashed vividly. Dying like this? Me? Heir to the Julies, renowned Lapis Julie?
Facing inevitable death, denial was all I could muster. Eyes squeezed shut against the horrific fate.
Hiss!!!
A piercingly vivid sound exploded in my ears.