[ Vin's POV ]

"What do we do now? That Guardian that we've been stalking after buying my weapon seems to be talking to the guards in front of that supply store," Leo remarked as we watched the mage from afar, hiding to the best of our abilities. "Should we intercept him now or wait some more? After all, he hasn't done anything suspicious at all yet but..."

"It might be too risky to wait for him to do something but then again, we could say the same to recklessly intervening," I commented, frowning. "We have no idea what kind of tricks he has up his sleeve, especially since he's a mage of sorts. However, we can't stand by and do nothing. At this rate, we might just have to gamble and take a risk."

The angel stared at them for a bit in silence, scrutinizing them as he tried to figure out what to do. "I say we go in and confront the dude," he answered, his expression serious. "Just in case, we should probably be ready for a fight. Hopefully I'll be able to do what you taught me while we looked around in the shop earlier ago. Otherwise, it'd be kinda awkward for me..."

"As long as you don't panic, you'll probably be fine," I said as I tapped one of the guns in the holster with a finger, linking myself to it so I could swiftly summon it. "That said, if it gets bad enough, you can use that other weapon instead if need be. The one we got from the store is just to hide your identity really."

Leo nodded his head, then got out of his hiding position and walked toward the group. I silently trailed behind, checking out our surroundings in case someone was observing us or keeping an eye out for the redhead. However, I found nothing of the sort, just like how my familiars didn't spot anything earlier ago other than the person we're now confronting. Either the mastermind is confident in their abilities or this guy really is innocent... With a sigh, I mentally commanded my summons to encircle our target, prepared to intercept and ambush him if deemed necessary.

"Hey! Care to tell me what you guys are talking about?" Leo exclaimed as I turned my attention back to the group we were watching, both of us keeping our distance from them. "Your discussion seemed a little heated so as an adventurer, maybe I can pitch in and help out?"

"Oh? If that's the case, could you perhaps convince these two guards to let me in this building then?" the mage requested with a smile as he glanced at us, his blue eyes sparkling. "I understand that due to current circumstances, they have to restrict people from entering stores like these that offer magical supplies but my stock has all but depleted. I need them to ensure the safety of the people, especially my students. Without them, I can't exactly do much, you know?"

One of the guards snorted in response, clearly annoyed. "Sorry, but we're not letting you in, Caleo, even if you're one of the head guardians," the brunet stated, crossing his arms over his chest as he glared at the mage. "Until you get the approval of the royal family, my answer will never change. Sorry but we have to make sure we're not aiding an enemy. I recommend giving up and going back to doing whatever it is that you were doing. If you don't, we have the right to resort to force."

I frowned at that newfound info while Leo, on the other hand, gave him a look of confusion. "One of the head guardians? Is that an important position or something?" he asked, earning a nod from them. "What are they responsible for doing? Sorry but I'm not from here so..."

"We're the bridge between the Guardians and the Academy," Caleo explained. "As stated by our contract, we have to keep an eye out regarding anything my comrades do and report back to that organization. Also have to deal with all these negotiations, discussions, and laws. It's a pain but it lets the others do their own thing without worry."

That means he's one of the people that plays an important role here. I thought to myself as I silently eyed him. This might be risky but let's ask him a question. The guy doesn't look geared for battle but looks can be deceiving. That's just how it is with mages.

"If that's the case, do you have any idea about who taught the Fire God's Phoenix group magecraft?" I asked, causing the male to look at me in surprise. "As far as I know, there's no way a mage from the Academy would do it unless they were defecting."

He closed his eyes for some reason as he put a hand on his forehead, clearly in pain, and after a long moment of silence, he finally responded. "So you're implying that a Guardian was responsible for it, correct?" Caleo answered, then opened his eyes, which have now turned blood red.

Without hesitation, I immediately commanded some of my familiars to attack him as fast as they can. In an instant, the mage was bombarded by them as they swoop in inhumanly fast, creating a dust cloud upon impact. I took out one of the unlinked handguns from their holster, took off the safety handle, and then pointed it at where he was, ready to shoot. Leo, on the other hand, got out his new spear from its sheath and readied himself for combat, his expression apprehensive. The guards also prepared themselves, strangely not surprised by this sudden turn of events.

"How annoying, you little—," the mage remarked as the smoke slowly disappeared but was quickly interrupted by me firing a shot at him.

As I expected, I heard the sound of a magical barrier breaking from the special ammo I loaded into the gun. However, instead of red blood being spilled onto the floor, it was black, indicating signs of corruption from the Dark element. Leo frowned at that and strengthened his body with a magic spell, then gathered energy around the tip of the spear's blade. As for the soldiers, those two backed away in shock upon seeing the dark liquid, their pale faces telling me that they knew what that meant.

A burst of dark and fiery magical energy appeared from where he was, causing the blonde to swing his weapon and send an arc of concentrated water at the Guardian in response. Unfortunately, it didn't land this time as Caleo dodged and it instead hit the building we were in front of. As the male landed on top of the supply store, I saw that he no longer looked fully human. He now had some of the characteristics of a demonic monster like black horns, black spiked legs, and a black blade replacing his hand and a part of his arm.

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"I can't let you kill me yet, outsiders," he commented as he glared down at us, his body radiating a dark aura. "I have yet to achieve my goal of setting Ignifera ablaze. That was the original plan I had for the Fire God's Phoenix when I made it, after all. However, some of my students who succumbed to the darkness and went insane had their desires altered to wanting the entire world to burn instead."

Hm, it might be too reckless to just kill him now. Perhaps we should try to glean information since he seems willing to talk. I thought as I stared up at him, assessing the situation. After all, Stella isn't here with us. If he ends up being a nuke that goes off upon dying, we'll have no way of removing the corrupting gas. Not only that, the people in this area haven't even been evacuated yet. Perhaps I can silently request the soldiers nearby to do that? I checked on the guards and noticed that they were no longer there. ...hm...

"Why? Why do you want to incinerate this kingdom so much?" Leo asked, his voice so full of emotion that I looked at him in surprise. "What did they do to deserve such treatment?"

Caleo was about to retort something but his eyes suddenly reverted to being blue. "...sorry but it's either that or let this place meet the same end that the Umbral kingdom experienced," he remarked with a sad smile. "Before I completely lose control over my own body, let me tell you something that very few people know. Each kingdom's land has its own unique 'laws'. For Ignifera, the concept of 'reincarnation' that a phoenix will experience rings true here for the people that dwell here. That's why I'm resorting to something so extreme."

Before Leo could say anything though, I immediately spoke up. "And how can we trust you and anything you say, especially since you've been corrupted?" I questioned as I pointed my gun at him. "Even if you managed to fight back against the corruption to some extent, I'm sure there's still some damage done. For example, your memories could've been tampered with. That way, when you do help someone out, you unintentionally have spread wrong information, causing the situation to worsen instead."

The redhead stayed silent for a while before nodding his head. "...I can't deny that. Perhaps you should doubt anything I say to you then," Caleo said. "Yet even so, please keep that in mind. The best lies tend to be the ones that are partially true, after all."

His body suddenly starts mutating even more as spikes come out of his body, earning cries of pain from the male. "How annoying, why is the mastermind accelerating the alteration now when I've met you lot? They never bothered doing this much back then," he grimaced as his eyes gradually started turning red, then summoned a magical circle underneath him and one above him.

Realizing what he was about to do, I quickly shot some bullets at him while Leo tried blasting the mage with water. While none of my attacks hit him because of the scorching flames that he engulfed himself in, the angel's attacks managed to douse it all. ...however, we soon realized that not only did he activate the spell high up in the sky, he committed suicide by burning himself alive. The only thing left of him was his ashes on the ground.

...I see. He chose to die instead of becoming a monster that kills indiscriminately. I thought to myself as I put down my gun. That certainly solves the corruption issue too, extreme as it may be. He might be considered a sinner by the people of Ignifera but...may he rest in peace. Now, the only thing left is... With a frown, I glanced up at the sky and enhanced my vision with a few spells. Despite the caster being dead, I can still see mana being gathered high up, meaning it's connected to other sources to sustain it.

"Leo, let's hurry and go inside the supply store," I ordered as I looked at the blonde, who was visibly upset by the mage's death and actions. "For now, try to calm down and focus on the task at hand. We'll need what we can get to fight back against the nuke he activated."

The angel breathed in and breathed out to calm himself, then nodded his head. "Right, there's people we need to save. No point in thinking about anything else," he stated, his expression serious. "Unlike him, we refuse to give in and accept that kind of outcome, no matter what. After all, I..."

He immediately shook his head, probably trying to get a grip on his own emotions, and ran over to the entrance of the shop. "Excuse me, if anyone is inside, please let us in!" Leo exclaimed as he frantically knocked on the door multiple times. "It's an emergency! Ignifera will be blown to smithereens if we don't do something!"

"The door is already unlocked, esteemed guest," an unfamiliar female voice answered, causing the boy to stop. "So, hurry up and get inside."

With a hesitant nod, the blonde opened the door and the two of us ran in. The instant we went in the store, I spotted a tanned, black-haired girl with blue eyes standing there in front of the checkout counter, wearing a black and white frilly dress with blue ribbons, black knee-high boots, and black gloves. ...is this girl royalty perchance? I haven't seen anyone else dress like this here...

She bowed dramatically to the two of us before I could ask her anything. "Welcome, I am Princess Cecilia," the lady greeted and stood straight back up. "There's some stuff I would like to say but let's leave it for later. I sorted out the resources and labeled them to the best of my abilities. Take what you need and make it quick. While you do so, please tell me if you have a plan to counteract the nuke or not."

As Leo hurriedly went to get as much as he can, I nodded my head. "I have an idea of what it needs to be done. The only thing left to do is figure out who does what."