Chapter 57
“Prince! Please, come this way!”
“Your Highness! It’s dangerous!”
“You can’t stay there!”
Everyone shouted at Moren in alarm, but he simply dismounted from his horse and sent only the horse forward.
Once on the ground, he saw that the flames towering above were far taller than himself.
Moren stared quietly at the fire and then trudged forward.
The sight sent chills down everyone’s spines.
“Moren Miban Lornod! Do you want to die?!”
It was at that moment, when Duke Tellum shouted at the top of his lungs trying to stop Moren, that his breath caught in his throat.
“G-Good heavens…”
“How… how is that possible?”
“Is that even possible?”
Even the Duke wanted to ask.
Could this really happen?
A long, pale hand slowly brushed the burning wheat, unbothered even as the flames wrapped around it.
Everyone was left speechless, their sense of logic defied, while Moren quietly nodded.
‘As expected, it’s not hot.’
It was only warm—there was no pain of flesh burning.
His hand inside the fire was unharmed and moved normally.
‘The sleeve tips did burn a bit.’
But he had used magic to protect his clothes, so nothing else was burning.
Once he confirmed there was nothing wrong with his body, Moren dashed straight into the flames.
“Moren—!”
The Duke’s shout came from behind, but Moren couldn’t look back.
The rain clouds Moren had learned as an attribute from Hist had limits.
‘Even if I gather them here, I can’t put out all the fire.’
The scale was insufficient.
The endless wheat fields were being consumed by flames that the wind carried to the right.
It wasn’t a safe place at all; to suppress the fire, he had to gather the clouds right in the middle of it.
No, the fire had already spread so much that he doubted if the clouds he gathered would be enough.
He wasn’t even sure the clouds themselves would gather properly…
‘But…’
-
And let the Duke and the people of the territory remember. When the greatest danger struck, who reached out a hand to help.
Moren recalled those words and looked up at the sky.
Since Neroli had promised to help him, Moren had to cast aside fear and do his best in his role.
‘I have to succeed!’
Finally reaching the heart of the flames, Moren maximized the magic he had been controlling.
He completed the calculations he had been running through his mind.
‘Please! Please!’
He gazed at the sky with an unprecedented earnestness.
Perhaps the sky responded.
The flow of air and the entangled magic deep in the ground slowly began to weave together.
Boom—!
A massive surge of magic awakened.
The great entanglement that had been interfering with the mages’ powers began to untangle slowly, as if recognizing Moren as its master.
The only one to sense this sublime magical movement was Marin, the water spirit behind Moren.
“Oh my~, it was so tangled, but it’s moving~?”
Could it be because her master’s younger brother had dragon magic~?
The chaotic magic before them resembled dragon magic closely.
Of course, it was fundamentally different from the magic seen in the royal palace.
It was hard to explain, but Marin had taken a mirror of the dragon magic in her own body and replicated it.
She could clearly tell the difference between refined magic and this raw chaos.
“I’ll have to tell Master later~.”
Marin muttered this and released her energy.
The rain clouds spread throughout the empire by Moren’s magic were responding, but that alone was not enough.
Fortunately, as Moren moved the tangled magic, Marin could use her own power more effectively.
The worry was that Moren’s magic and spirits were incompatible, and a massive release of power was required to harmonize them…
“Hmm~, it might be a bit tough for Master this time~.”
But she couldn’t stop.
Helping this small human now meant helping her Master.
“Then it’s better to finish quickly~?”
Marin poured her energy into gathering the rain clouds.
More! Bigger!
Moren’s calculations, the moving dragon magic, and the immense power of water—all three forces combined, creating new clouds.
Finally.
Rumble—
The sound echoed across the land, like a beast roaring.
Something had appeared to suppress the black smoke that soared high, ignoring the fearful sky.
Moren, controlling the dragon magic that had enveloped him in a trance, opened his eyes with a flash.
Instinctively, he shouted:
“Now—!”
The cry, filled with magic, reached the ears of those anxiously calling for him beyond the flames.
As if waiting for his signal, a torrential downpour began.
Whoosh—!
The thick, heavy rain pounded down, and the inferno that had seemed hellish began to weaken.
The monster that no one could stop was dying.
“Rain! It’s raining!”
“Rain is coming down!”
The heavy rain washed even the charred wounds clean.
Feeling the heat of their bodies cool under the rain, people cheered.
“The fire’s going out!”
“My God! Divine mercy!”
“It’s a miracle! This is a miracle!”
Farmers, firefighters, knights, and soldiers—all embraced each other as the fire subsided.
Amid the cheers, the Duke quietly stared ahead.
“Duke?”
“Your Grace! Where are you going?”
Splash, splash!
The Duke, who had been walking, began to run.
Those who had been puzzled soon realized something and hurriedly followed.
The Duke gradually slowed as he ran through the extinguished fire.
Up ahead, a boy stood, looking up at the distant sky.
Mysteriously, he was completely dry.
Unlike everyone else who was soaked.
“Look over there, Duke.”
Despite the blazing fire and the pouring rain, the boy stood gracefully and slowly extended his hand.
He pointed to the sky he had been watching.
“The sun is rising.”
The boy turned his gaze to eyes resembling the rising sun.
“Since the work was done before the day ended, you should be safe now, Duke, right?”
The Duke and everyone else stared, dumbfounded.
As humans, they could never…
Never imitate such a transcendent being.
It was an overwhelming sense of awe. The Duke slowly knelt, unable to resist.
And, without realizing it, he gave the utmost respect.
“Great Lornod.”
Everyone who had followed the Duke instinctively knelt and paid respects.
The sky they had always resented—but in this moment, it was unbearable.
Raising his head, the Duke shed tears of gratitude that could not be hidden by the rain.
“Thank you for helping us. Truly, thank you.”
“Thank you, Lornod!”
Everyone expressed their gratitude to the being before them in unison.
The overwhelming awe they felt was hard to express in words, but all that could be said was this.
Moren found their reaction a little embarrassing but did not show it.
‘Sister…’
Instead, the boy thought of his sister.
Moren knew his own abilities objectively.
He couldn’t have created the rain alone that stopped the inferno and gradually faded across the vast clouds.
‘It was my sister who helped me, right?’
Moren smiled faintly at the sky.
Coincidentally or not, Marin, in that direction, gave a light wink in response.
“Of course~, if it weren’t for Master, it would have been impossible~.”
Thanks to Neroli holding out, Marin could raise her power this much even in adverse conditions.
With the added protection to keep Moren dry, Marin’s part was done.
“Now, I wonder if our Master is okay~.”
Having completed her mission, Marin hurried to Neroli.
She wanted to check on her Master’s safety and share what had just happened.
The apothecary in the Duke’s castle was as spacious and well-equipped as the one in the royal palace.
With doctors, assistants, and maids moving efficiently like extensions of her own hands, she could focus entirely on making burn medicines.
“Those herbs over there! Where’s the pre-ground batch?!”
“Here, Princess!”
“We’ve brought the extra required medicines as well!”
How long had she been engrossed in making medicine?
“!”
Something surged within her, and a metallic taste ran down her lips.
‘No!’
She quickly covered her mouth with a cloth on the table.
Lornod was vomiting blood!
This was absolutely impossible.
