Chapter 120: Snuffed Out Flames
Catherine was outside the mansion, standing in the barren training field that stretched across its enormous backyard. She wore her regular battle gear, a red robe covered in dark cloud patterns, with her iron staff held firmly in one hand. A round red crystal was attached to the top of it, reflecting the afternoon light. She had come outside to practice her magic, to sharpen her skills even further.
Whenever frustration or stress began to weigh on her, she had always found herself doing the same thing. She would come outside and practice until her mind became quiet again.
Using it as a way to pass the time, she focused on refining her techniques. She extended her palm forward and activated her skill, Fireball. A faint heat haze appeared in front of her, bending the air and distorting the ground beyond it.
The distortion twisted inward like a vortex as a tiny spark suddenly appeared at its center. Within an instant, the spark expanded into a growing sphere of flame.
Catherine continued feeding mana into it, raising her palm higher into the air. The ball of fire swelled larger with a deep, muffled groan, almost like a sound struggling to travel through water. Its surface churned and flickered violently as the flames grew denser, eventually reaching a diameter of nearly one and a half meters. Heat radiated outward from it, washing over Catherine's face and causing the air around her to ripple continuously.
Suddenly, her eyes glowed a faint golden-orange and she gasped.
Something flashed through her mind.
The fireball immediately collapsed, vanishing into thin air as if it had never existed. Her staff slipped from her hand and struck the ground, while her body began to tremble. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she struggled to steady her breathing.
Just now, she had seen an image.
It was blurry, almost impossible to make out, but she had seen a man with blue eyes and short black hair. She could barely distinguish his features, yet the sensation surrounding him had been unmistakable. His aura felt strange, foreign, like something that was never supposed to be there in the first place.
Then, through the Kindred Flame, she felt something else. Ben's presence appeared for the briefest moment, his face contorted in excruciating pain, before his life force suddenly snapped away. Catherine's body trembled as she realized what she had just felt. Ben's flame had been extinguished.
"I... I have to go tell them. I have to," Catherine stammered, already running back toward the mansion. Her body felt heavy with fear, the weight settling into her limbs until each stride came slow and labored, like running through deep water. Still, she forced herself forward, leaving the iron staff where it had fallen.
Inside the mansion, Gary stood in the meeting room where his father had summoned him. He kept his gaze fixed on the floor. Ever since returning from his trip, he had avoided his father's eyes. His father had just heard what had happened, and Gary knew he would never let something like this slip away quietly.
"Answer me, boy," his father demanded, his voice gravelly and commanding.
"Yes, I did, but it wasn't my fault. He was a false ranker, I swear—"
A slap landed across Gary's face just as he raised his head to meet his father's gaze. The force turned his head to the side, and he froze, his cheek burning where the blow had landed.
"How dare you," his father said, "tarnish our family's name like this? We are now connected to a noble bloodline thanks to your sister, and you dare do this to us?"
"I'm sorry, father. I..."
Another slap cracked across his cheek, harder than the first. The blow sent him stumbling backward. Blood ran from his nose, warm over his upper lip. He pressed a gloved hand over it, holding back the bleeding. His eyes watered, tears gathering at the edges but refusing to fall.
"Pathetic," his father said. "I don't remember raising a coward."
Without attering another word, his father left the room, heading into the hallway. Gary was left there, frustrated, his blood still running through his fingers, dropping onto the stone floor. But in the sadness, his anger just grew more. His revulsion towards Tyler grew even more.
*It's all because of him. It's all his fucking fault. He and that damn old man. I hope they die. I hope they kill him. I hope Ben makes him suffer a bit more before he—
His thought was suddenly cut as right in front of him, the air seemed to distort like a heat haze, and before he could even react to it, a body appeared out of thin air, slamming onto the ground in front of him. He yelped, jumping back out of fear, his back resting against the wall. He breathed heavily as he registered who she was.
It was Naomi. Her eyes were wide, and she was breathing heavily on the floor. She had just survived the kick that had landed on her chest that came from Tyler. The pain felt visceral. She felt liquid surging up her throat, and she coughed out blood, coloring her own face in a deep crimson. Naomi, Gary said, immediately crouching down for her. "How did this happen?" he said. He immediately picked her up and stormed out of the room.
Meanwhile, as Catherine opened the back door to the mansion, she suddenly froze again, another vision appearing, but this one was similar. But this time, the flash was familiar. It was that of the light-haired woman. "No, no, no", she said, shaking her head, tears streaming down her eyes. Another flame head just died, and it was Lucy's. Out of all people, Lucy was one of the few she had grown a little attached to. Why, she said, grabbing her head in frustration. She continued forward, going to report to the others.
Without another word, his father left the room and headed into the hallway. Gary remained there, frustration burning inside him as blood continued to run between his fingers, dripping onto the stone floor. Beneath his sadness, his anger only grew, and with it came an even deeper hatred for Tyler.
*It's all because of him. It's all his fucking fault. Him and that damn old man. I hope they die. I hope they kill him. I hope Naomi makes him suffer a bit more before...*
His thoughts were suddenly cut short when the air directly in front of him began to distort, rippling like a heat haze. Before he could even react, a body materialized from within the distortion and slammed hard onto the stone floor in front of him. Gary yelped and jumped backward, his back striking the wall as he stared at the figure, his breathing growing heavier while he tried to understand what had just happened. When he finally recognized her, his eyes widened.
It was Naomi.
She lay on the floor with her eyes wide, struggling to breathe as the pain from Tyler's kick continued to tear through her chest. The force of the impact had battered her body from the inside, and something hot surged up her throat. She coughed violently, blood spilling from her mouth and running across her face in deep crimson streaks.
"Naomi?" Gary said, immediately crouching beside her. "How did this happen?"
He slipped an arm beneath her and lifted her from the floor, carrying her as he stormed out of the room.
Meanwhile, Catherine reached the back door of the mansion before another vision suddenly seized her. She froze in place as the familiar sensation passed through the Kindred Flame again, and this time the image that appeared before her was that of the light-haired woman. Catherine's body trembled as she recognized the presence she had just felt disappear, and tears immediately began streaming down her face.
"No, no, no," she said, shaking her head as she struggled to accept what she was sensing.
Another flame had just been extinguished.
It was Lucy's.
Out of everyone connected to the Kindred Flame, Lucy was one of the few Catherine had begun to grow attached to. The realization hit her deeply, and she grabbed her head in frustration as tears continued to fall down her cheeks.
"Why?" she said, her voice trembling.
She forced herself to keep moving, leaving the back door behind as she headed toward the others to report what had happened.
As she headed there, Catherine saw a tall woman with short white hair approaching her. Linda frowned when she saw Catherine running toward her with tears streaming down her face. "Hey," she said, her soft, deep voice carrying concern as she suddenly grabbed Catherine by the shoulders, stopping her. "What's going on? Why are you crying?"
"The captain? Where's the captain?" Catherine asked, pulling Linda's hands away from her shoulders.
"He's not here right now."
"Then where's the vice captain?" Catherine yelled.
"I saw him in the guest room with Gary. Catherine, what is happening?" Linda asked, but Catherine weakly pushed past her and continued forward. Linda hesitated for a moment before turning and dashing after her, following her toward the guest room.
Meanwhile, back at the monster zone, Rebecca had just finished killing Lucy with her own dagger. The blade had pierced straight through the unconscious woman's heart.
Rebecca slowly straightened, staring down at Lucy with her cold, indifferent silver gaze before turning toward Tyler. The young man lay unconscious a short distance away, his body completely still after everything he had endured. Rebecca looked at him for a moment before sighing.
He saved me so many times now.
"I can't even pretend at this point," she muttered.
She crouched down beside him and, with a strained groan, managed to lift Tyler onto her back, carrying him in a piggyback position. She then squatted again and picked up her deformed bow before activating her skill, Archer's Flight.
The moment the skill took effect, she dashed forward. Her feet became a blur beneath her as she tore through the forest with Tyler clinging to her back, the trees rushing past her in streaks as she headed straight toward the base.
Yet even while running, her thoughts kept returning to Tyler and the strange abilities he had displayed.
He had been materializing barrels out of thin air, bringing them into the middle of a fight without any warning. Then there was that dark weapon he had been using before encountering the guild members. It seemed like he could change it into almost any weapon he wanted, and Rebecca couldn't understand why he hadn't used that ability against them. It would have given him a massive advantage. But then she remembered the weapon passing through the trees and the disappointed expression on his face when it happened.
The pieces slowly began to fit together.
*Was it going to happen with them as well?*
She continued running, Tyler's weight pressing against her back as her thoughts wandered deeper into the strange abilities she had witnessed.
*Just what kind of skills were those? He could teleport his swords and barrels back and forth. He even used his skill to take the dead Draco's skin without even touching them. Why didn't he just do that to the guild members? The fight could have gone so much easier.*
The more she thought about the ways he could have used those abilities, the more impressed she became by what he had accomplished with the options he actually had. His speed alone had been incredible, and his strength had been enough to overwhelm three guild members.
Lucy had called him a C-rank, yet he had managed to defeat all three of them without her help.
Rebecca's expression tightened.
She had barely contributed to the fight.
The realization irritated her enough that she clicked her tongue while continuing through the forest. Tyler had been the one protecting her, saving her again and again, while she had struggled to do anything once her bow was taken from her.
*How could I be so useless? Without a bow, I'm basically nothing.*
She had spent years pushing that weakness aside, always relying on the weapon in her hands to make up for what she lacked elsewhere. This time, however, she had seen exactly what happened when that weapon was taken away. She had become almost helpless.
A burning need began to grow in her, She needed to learn how to fight without her bow. She needed someone who could teach her.
And she already had someone in mind.