“Eat! Eat until your stomach bursts, glutton!” Volcanus yelled.

“Is there anything I can do?” Urie thought.

He could tell that Volcanus was having a hard time. He might have been smiling, but the strength of the flames he was letting out was fluctuating. The monster was also getting closer to him as one of its hind legs made its appearance. It had almost completely emerged.

“Doesn't it look like...?”

Now that its body was in full view, Urie alternated between the Nifyr and the fountain. He noticed how it bore a close resemblance to the statue.

“Horns, sharp claws, and wings. All that was left was...”

“Aaaagh!!!” Volcanus screamed.

A tail had emerged from behind the Nifyr and whipped through the flame pillars. Volcanus was caught off guard as it landed on his chest, knocking him down to the ground beside Urie.

“Volcanus!”

Urie tried to approach him but was stopped by a wave of Volcanus' hand.

“I'm alright, child.”

He quickly got up and resumed his attack on the Nifyr, opting to float around it and throw fireballs. Urie looked around for anything that could be of help to him.

He spotted the katana in Stella's hands, “If only she could get close enough to cut through the Nifyr.”

She was holding her arms up to cover her face from the intense heat coming from the conflict. She couldn't get close.

How about him? It wouldn't work. The heat won't bother Urie but Stella's weapon was too heavy for him to wield.

Urie dismissed the idea and focused his attention to the surroundings. He surveyed the battlefield carefully. The brigade members were barely managing.

Thanks to the minor spirits that Volcanus had summoned, the people who could no longer hold out and were about to be preyed upon by the Nifyr were protected by barriers of fire. Some of them started shooting fireballs up into the sky, signaling for reinforcements.

“How much longer can he keep this up?”

Volcanus was dealing with the giant Nifyr and at the same time, protecting the brigade members. Urie was getting frustrated. There was nothing he could do. Nothing but hate the fact that he was a child.

BOOM!

A sudden conflagration in the distance caught his attention. There was someone fighting by himself against a multitude of other Nifyr. His body was clad in fire, much like Volcanus' appearance. Except he was very much human. Urie could see his red hair between the swaying flames and the Nifyr. It was Luca.

“I almost forgot about him.”

He was fighting with his body, delivering powerful punches and kicks to the Nifyr.

“I see, you don't have to worry about being drained by the Nifyr if you coat yourself with your mana.” Urie thought.

He was using the same principle as Stella's mana sword. But just like Urie, he couldn't keep his flames from leaking out.

“If only I was capable of that, then I could... No, right now it doesn't have to be me.” He whispered.

“Aunt Stella!” He yelled. “We have to help Volcanus!”

“I know little Urie but I can't get close! And I can't leave you alone!” Stella cautioned.

“I'm fine!” Urie pointed towards Luca's position, “We need his help!”

Stella looked at the direction of his finger and understood but she was still reluctant to leave Urie by himself.

Urie was about to insist when they saw multiple fireballs shoot up into the sky. This time, however, it wasn't coming from the square.

From one of the entrances, people wearing the uniform coat of the Flame Brigade pierced through the ranks of the Nifyr and entered the square. Leading them right in front was Simone.

“Uncle Simone!” Urie ran towards him with Stella.

“Kid! You're still here? Thought you would have gone home by now!” He teased.

“I would have but that thing is blocking our way.” Urie replied.

Simone's eyes went wide as he spotted the massive Nifyr.

“What the hell is that!?” He blurted.

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“It's an extra-large Nifyr, the fire spirit is holding it at bay. We need to assist him but even getting close to his blaze is a challenge.” Stella explained.

“That won't be a problem for brother-in-law. Where's he at?”

“Over there.” Stella gestured to the Nifyr congregating towards a certain red-haired man.

“Holy— That's a lot of them.” Simone was taken aback.

“Alright listen up!” He called for the attention of the brigade members he brought with him. “Our captain's in a bit of a bind, he needs us to save his sorry ass!”

The members' faces lit up at Simone's words. They seemed to be delighted at the chance of rescuing their captain. They were enthusiastic as they ran to support Luca.

“Wait.” Just as Simone was about to join them, Stella held onto his shoulder.

“You stay here with little Urie, it'll be faster if I go there.”

She dashed towards the Nifyr surrounding Luca and started to make quick work of the ones on the edges. Some of them were already burning from Luca's attacks. She only needed to use mana with her weapon and cut them down.

“Luca, turn down the heat!” She shouted.

Luca saw the people coming to his aid and strafed past the Nifyr to meet them.

“Stella, thanks!”

“I came to pick you up, dear. Your best friend needs help.”

Luca arrived in front of Stella and after hearing her words, looked behind her. The greater fire spirit was being repeatedly beaten down by a giant Nifyr with wings.

“Can that thing fly?” He asked.

“So far, it hasn't,” Stella replied. “Take this, you're gonna need it if you want to take down something that big.”

“Got it. I know just what to do with it.” Luca received Stella's katana and raced to the gigantic shadowy creature.

“Volcanus! Hold it down!” He yelled.

Volcanus saw Luca fast approaching. He didn't know what he was up to but followed his instructions nonetheless. He did the action of torching the Nifyr with flame pillars as he knew this could hold it in position for a moment.

Luca saw his chance. A crimson hue spread across his body, on his arms and legs, followed by self-immolation. The flames on his feet let him jump onto the Nifyr from its tail end and run up its body.

Once he reached a certain point on its back, he allowed the blaze on his arms to spill onto his blade and slashed sideways. He swiftly repeated the slash, not giving the creature a chance to even feel the cut. With a third swing, he managed to sever one of the wings of the Nifyr.

“With this, we can be sure it won't be flying any time soon.”

“Uncle, watch out!” Urie shouted.

Luca dodged to the side and almost fell off the Nifyr's back after hearing Urie's warning.

“Volcanus! Do something about its tail!”

“The head or the tail, you pick! I can only hold back one!” Volcanus bellowed.

Volcanus had already whittled the Nifyr's size down to the size of a rock drake and was almost at his limit. Urie ran forward, leaving Simone behind him,

“I'll hold back the head! Volcanus, take its tail!” He yelled.

“Child!” Volcanus heard Urie and decided not to argue, he didn't have the luxury.

He left the head and flew to the back end of the Nifyr. He pressed his body onto the tail and pulled, causing the creature to stumble onto the ground.

Its head in reach, Urie locked eyes with the Nifyr as he placed his arms in front of him and let loose a pillar of fire onto its face.

“Eat this you glutton!” He cried out.

It was lacking the size and intensity of Volcanus' assault but it got the job done as it managed to hold onto the Nifyr's attention.

With its head and tail incapacitated, and his footing stable, Luca jumped from its back towards the head. He poured his mana into his arms and extended the range of the flames on his weapon as he raised it above his head mid-air.

“Haaaaaaaaaa!!!”

He utilized the full strength of his muscles to perform a magnificent chop at the creature's thick neck, cleanly decapitating it . As he landed on the ground, he saw the ashen-haired boy, half on his knees. He was panting heavily as he continued to use every ounce of his mana to incinerate the Nifyr's head.

“The kid's tough.” Luca thought.

He turned to the rest of the Nifyr's body and continued to dismember it.

Feeling its struggling grow weaker, Volcanus' released the tail and made his way to Urie.

“Child, you've done enough. Leave the rest up to me.” He continued to speak, “I'll be falling asleep for a while so I might as well make the most of it.”

After leaving a wisp to watch over Urie, he flew around the square and started sweeping up the Nifyr engaged with the brigade members.

“Kid! You almost made my heart stop. My sister would have killed me if something had happened to you!”

Simone arrived beside Urie feeling relieved. As he finished checking that Urie was alright, he joined Luca with the disposal of the huge Nifyr's corpse.

Urie collapsed onto the warm pavement below, no energy left to move his body. He kept still and just stared at the wisp circling above him. He had done all he could. Was it enough? He didn't bother to dwell on it.

He knew that he required time to improve himself. All of the things that had happened the past few days had opened his eyes to the things he needed to learn.

Life in the academy the past year was comfortable, yes, but it was lacking. He made a decision.

“I'll have to convince mother to let me go to the wall.” He murmured.

He gazed at the night sky. It was pitch-black as the moon was missing. There were no stars and no clouds in sight.

"Does it ever rain here?" He thought.

How do they grow food? Do they even have plants? He didn't notice.

He spent most of his time here at Celeste's house.

“I'll have to ask aunt Stella about it before I leave.”

Urie closed his eyes and fell to the calling of the world of dreams.

He had gone back to the room at the central pillar and got rescued by his brothers. Returned home to his mother, and recounted his time with Stella, Luca, and Simone to Celeste.

There was a big smile on his face. In his dream, he was telling everyone the tale of how he banded together with the Fire Spirit and Celeste's father to slay a dragon.

- End of Volume 01 -