CHAPTER 18: FLAMES

Rosalia — POV

I couldn’t calm down after what happened with Cassel.

The way he’d pinned me against the wall earlier, his breath ghosting across my skin, his eyes dark and deep as he asked me to call him by his name...

Everything had been so real—so tangible, so fiery.

My heartbeat hadn’t returned to normal since.

I could still feel the phantom warmth of his body pressed against mine, the way his hand had trembled ever so slightly before he let go.

Ah... I’m going to lose my mind.

Cassel, you’re going to drive me insane sooner or later.

I forced myself to sit down with Liz and the others for dinner. My hands were still trembling as I picked up my spoon. From a distance, Cassel was talking to his subordinates, expression unreadable under the dim campfire light.

It’s fine... as long as that damned heroine doesn’t go near him.

When I thought our eyes met, panic surged through me. I quickly looked away, pretending to focus on Liz’s tired smile.

Her complexion looked pale, almost sickly, but when I asked, she laughed softly. "I’m fine. Don’t worry."

They were treating me kindly—not like some stranger they’d picked up off the roadside less than a day ago, but like a comrade who had already shared life and death with them.

Well, to be fair... we had faced life and death together. I’d even saved Robin from dying.

I’m not bragging, but I did help—and they’re not idiots. They know the difference between someone useful and someone who’s just dead weight.

Still, that fox Henry wouldn’t stop teasing me whenever he got the chance.

After he refused to give me the bag and toyed with me again, I was about to curse him for the hundredth time when—

—I felt something was wrong.

A strange vibration hummed through the air, prickling against my skin. The world seemed to be still for half a heartbeat.

I turned my head toward Liz—

—and my eyes widened in horror.

Flames.

Flames were spreading around her body.

No... no, damn it—this isn’t supposed to happen yet!

Liz’s tragedy wasn’t supposed to occur now!

We’re not even in the same place where it originally happened!

Cassel and his team haven’t even gone to that city yet!

This can’t be real.

I froze, every thought splintering apart as panic clawed at my chest.

The story had already veered off course so many times, I thought we’d escaped the same tragedies—escaped the deaths.

But fate... it was catching up.

A thunderous boom ripped through the air.

The camp exploded into chaos.

Crimson flames roared upward, devouring the place, twisting, bending—turning, in seconds, into a wild, dazzling blue.

It was breathtaking.

Terrifying.

Beautiful enough to make me forget to breathe.

But—wait.

Why didn’t I feel any heat?

I looked down.

I was standing in the middle of a sea of fire.

Superpowered flames should have been hundreds of times hotter than normal ones—

enough to melt steel, enough to turn flesh to ash.

Yet my skin was untouched. No pain. No burning. Nothing.

I raised my arm—no burns, no marks.

It didn’t make sense. None of it did.

Then realization hit me like a whip—

the others!

My gaze darted around frantically. Robin, Frederick, Henry...

My throat tightened.

I didn’t want anything to happen to them.

Not his people.

Not my friends.

I turned—

—and my lungs filled with a sharp, breathless relief.

"Thank the heavens..." I whispered.

They were all alive. Shaken, pale, but alive.

"Damn it, what’s going on? Did Liz awaken her power?" Frederick shouted, his voice trembling despite his effort to stay calm.

"Are you blind? The flames are literally coming from her body! Of course it’s her ability!" Robin snapped. "But it looks like she can’t control it!"

"Will she be okay?" someone asked.

"No, idiot—the power doesn’t harm the user! We should be worrying about ourselves!"

They were the top ten ability users in the novel for a reason.

Calm even in danger.

Rational under pressure.

Assessing the situation without losing their composure.

I turned my gaze to the silent third person standing tall, arms outstretched before him, as if defending against an unseen enemy—

And that was exactly what he was doing.

That’s when I saw him.

Henry.

Now I understood why we hadn’t been burned.

"Henry! Are you okay?". I ran toward him.

He stood between us and the fire, arms stretched wide, eyes glowing faintly azure.

Air spiraled around him, fierce and fast, like a living storm.

There was no teasing grin on his face now.

No sly remark.

Only blood trickling down from the corner of his lips.

He was the reason we were alive.

Of course... his power was Wind.

He could control air—slice with wind blades, create whirlwinds, defend, shield...

A power that could be both weapon and armor.

But at this stage of the apocalypse, no one’s power was that strong yet.

Henry had only recently awakened his ability; it wasn’t stable.

It wasn’t supposed to be this strong.

The fact that he had formed a barrier of wind around all of us—keeping out the inferno—

That was beyond human limits.

And judging from the sweat streaming down his temples, the way his knees shook, and the blood dripping from his chin... I knew he wouldn’t last long.

"Haah... huff... You little rabbit..." he rasped between breaths, forcing a crooked smile. "It’s fine. I can still... hold on."

His voice cracked midway, and the barrier wavered.

"Don’t talk! Save your strength!"

He was strong. Too strong for his own good.

He’d reacted faster than anyone—pure instinct and courage.

But his power wasn’t infinite.

The barrier shuddered again, the flames roaring higher, pressing closer, licking against the invisible dome of wind.

The blue fire reflected in his blue eyes, making them shine like shattered glass.

"Henry!" I shouted. "Stop—you’re going to die!"

He didn’t answer. His eyes fluttered shut for a heartbeat—then opened again, fierce and determined.

And that’s when I heard-

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Next Chapter:

Cassel finally arrived.

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