Chapter 133:………………………………………………………..
Firestorm (2)
The state of the villa they arrived at was disastrous. Smoke rose from every corner, and it was harder to find a spot that wasn’t damaged. Temia started coughing instinctively at the acrid smell. Her legs, which had been rushing forward, came to a halt, and her eyes, staring blankly at the building, wandered without focus.
“…This fire was artificially created by a mage. I can feel the magical energy.”
Lowell quickly conjured an artificial barrier to block the dense smoke, enveloping the three of them. Only then, as Temia stopped coughing and tried to move again, did Lowell hold him back and point to a corner of the garden. Beneath the trees ablaze with spreading fire, countless white powders—too ambiguous to call ash—were scattered.
“Remember the powder that amplifies magic? The one we saw at the Academy.”
“You don’t mean they used that powder here to make the fire bigger?!”
“Yes. What I’m trying to say is…”
Time was critical, yet Lowell hesitated to speak.
‘I doubt Temia will listen to this…’
He thought there was almost no chance.
But it was something he had to say.
“Can you wait here? I’ll somehow save everyone and come back. I am a genius mage, yes, but even I might fail to protect you if something goes wrong.”
“Lowell.”
“Please. I want to remove all variables.”
As expected, Temia reacted immediately. Just as he had anticipated.
“But if Prometheus deliberately attacked the villa because of matters involving the Gold Dragon, then they’re after me. They’ll definitely target me when taking hostages!”
“That’s exactly why I’m telling you not to go. Do you think these people, who artificially amplified their magic using forbidden materials, would just risk harming someone now?”
If it weren’t for the protective barrier he had cast, it wouldn’t have been surprising if she had inhaled the smoke and collapsed immediately. Weak, non-magical, and inexperienced in combat, Temia would be completely vulnerable. Memories of the times when Prometheus had beaten and hurt her while he was absent still sent chills through Lowell’s body.
‘Back then, I arrived just in time to save Temia… but now?’
If the entire Prometheus group, including Rigma Zachary, had used magical amplifiers or drugs to enhance their bodies like werewolves, the outcome could not be guaranteed.
“No. Lowell, I won’t run away. I promised. I’ll save Kylie no matter what. If I don’t, it won’t mean anything. I’ve promised this for a very long time…”
Yet Temia was resolute. Her words became faint as tears streamed down, but the meaning was clear. Her fists trembled. Unable to resist her determination, Lowell wiped her tears and spoke.
“First and foremost, don’t overdo it. I’ll save everyone, so don’t leave my side.”
Temia nodded slightly and wiped away the rest of her tears.
This time, he would save Kylie—he wouldn’t let her collapse alone like before.
“Kylie—!!! Can you hear me?! Kylie!”
Temia shouted as she moved inside. Every step she took toward the villa alongside the man who had once burned her past life to ashes was full of resolve.
The suffocating heat made it feel like she could collapse at any moment. Tied up with ropes and unable to move, her body throbbed painfully. She wished she could faint and get a moment of rest.
Yet Kylie forced herself to stay conscious.
‘I can’t fall too. I need to make sure anyone who comes knows there’s someone here to rescue them.’
Kylie brushed her disheveled hair from her face and looked at the fallen.
There was Nanarun, much smaller than her, who had not fled in fear and had been struck unconscious while protecting her. Himol, who had charged at the mage in anger but was hit as well. Karp, who had tried to block anyone entering and collapsed from burns. They were all lying on the floor, injured and unconscious.
‘I have to stay alert until the very end.’
These were Temia’s most cherished attendants. Kylie had only occasionally glimpsed them during Temia’s childhood. But staying in the villa, feeling their kindness and care toward Temia, Kylie understood why Temia valued them beyond mere attendants. They stayed by her side, risking themselves, simply because they were her friends.
Breathing in and out to steady her wavering mind, Kylie bit her lip and finally called out to the man sitting squarely in front of her, observing the situation. She had said it many times before.
“What on earth is going on?! What do you want?!”
Apart from the ones moving around, overturning furniture, and even collapsing walls and pillars, the man simply stared quietly at the door. A person sitting calmly while everyone else was panicking—he had to be the mage in charge.
Kylie shouted again, but he gave no answer. No matter her protests or pleas, nothing seemed to affect him. Frustrated, she demanded once more.
“Why are you doing this?! At least tell me your reason. Did you come looking for me?! I’ve never done anything to deserve this kind of revenge in my life…”
“…”
“I was just… resting at a friend’s villa! That’s not wrong, is it? Who sent you?!”
“Ah, I already know you’re not Etval.”
Then, a sharp, unpleasant, chilling voice sounded in her ears.
It was the first answer she had received, yet instinctive disgust made Kylie frown. Soon, a vile, mocking laugh followed. As he shook his head, the hood of his robe fell back.
“Yes. You interfered, not Etval. Etval has other uses. I’m using you instead.”
“…!”
“By the way, it seems the time has come.”
His crimson eyes blazed like fire, madness flickering within them, fixed on Kylie. Overwhelmed, she couldn’t speak. Simultaneously, a familiar voice echoed from afar amid the collapsing debris.
“Kylie-!!! Can you hear me?! Kylie!”
“…Temia!”
At that moment, another hooded figure hurried over and whispered something to the man. He stood and looked at Kylie, twisting his lips into a smile.
“Seems your friend, the villa’s owner, has arrived. I’ll have to decide whether to give you as a ‘gift.’ Let’s get along, or I might kill you first.”
The man muttered something afterward. Kylie tried to protest, but realized her voice was gone. Only then did she understand that he had cast a spell to silence her.
“…!”
Above the shocked Kylie, a shadow appeared. Following it, the attendants and Rigma walked toward the space beyond the burned-out bookshelf. Disabling the protective magic at the entrance was easy for the chief court mage. Satisfied, they began descending to the floor below, where the dragon relic, carefully hidden by the Etval family, waited—a prison for Temia’s past that she desperately wanted to escape.
Compared to the burning villa and garden, surprisingly, the interior fire wasn’t as fierce. Normally, a firestorm would consume a building from the inside out, yet here the inner fire seemed deliberately restrained.
Lowell felt reassured. There was something inside the villa they were searching for. That was why it couldn’t be burned recklessly. The smoke inside was also much lighter than outside.
Meanwhile, Temia, knowing exactly what they were looking for, strode toward the study, calling desperately for Kylie.
“Kylie! Please respond! Say something!”
But it wasn’t Kylie who responded—it was the Prometheus members. Having discovered the stairs to the basement, they had hidden throughout, waiting for Temia and Lowell.
Though Rigma had ordered them to capture Temia, they wouldn’t kill her. But Lowell’s presence changed things—they had orders to separate Temia from him. Silently, they began moving toward the sounds, gradually encircling their targets.
“Suppress the mage first.”
“Yes.”
Some of them had physically overturned parts of the villa. Their brute force came from monstrous fur, long fangs, sharp claws, and bulging muscles—transformations like beasts.
As the two entered the room and the beastly figures swung massive arms, Lowell turned, facing them, compressing air and shooting it forward.
Boom—!!!
“Step aside. The person we’re looking for is elsewhere.”
