Ch.341Chapter 341 – Great Fire? Immediate Normalization

Well, every problem always has a cause.

To solve a problem, you need to find the cause and address it.

So why am I just standing here?

I know that solving the cause will eliminate the problem, so why am I not trying to find and solve the root cause?

“How do I get in there?”

It’s because of the massive flames flickering with their bright red tongues beyond the protective barrier.

Even though I’ve mastered the Heavenly Demon Arts and have Eterna’s protection and blessing, plus all sorts of protective magic spells from Sister Regina plastered all over me…

‘Can I really pass through flames hot enough to scorch the earth and melt rocks into lava?’

Honestly, if I had physical abilities like Cheon Hyeryeong, I would have charged right in.

If I had known it would come to this, I should have asked to have my physical abilities developed to match a Heavenly Demon’s level.

“You seem quite nervous.”

The person who proposed this near-suicidal plan of going through the flames to fix the broken flame supply device came over and patted my shoulder.

“Are you really sure this is okay?”

I turned my head to look at Sister Regina.

She was looking at me with eyes that seemed to say, “Why are you worrying about such trivial matters?”

“Don’t you trust your sister’s magical abilities? I told you before, I made quite a name for myself as a great mage back in the day.”

“I do trust you, but we still need to prepare for the worst.”

It’s not that I don’t trust Sister Regina’s magical abilities.

But what if, by a one-in-ten-thousand chance, the magic loses its effectiveness as we get closer to the center?

Moreover, even though Regina’s barrier was blocking them, the size of the flames and their heat were melting the surrounding earth.

If someone were to go in there, wouldn’t they be completely incinerated in less than a minute?

Of course, exceptions do exist in this world.

“My lord. The flames are stronger than expected.”

The one who emerged through the hellish inferno was Cheon Hyeryeong.

Somehow, she appeared completely unscathed, without a single burn mark, just as she was when she went in.

Seeing her looking as calm as if she’d just gone for a stroll around the neighborhood makes me wonder if it really would be okay for me to go in there.

“What’s the situation inside?”

“As sister thought, flames are shooting up strongly from piles of stones. Judging by the damaged and tattered state of the mechanical device, the heat doesn’t seem as intense as one might think.”

Coming from someone who might be the physically strongest person not just among us, but perhaps in the entire world, her statement didn’t seem very credible.

For someone who could fight one-on-one with a Demon God, those flames probably wouldn’t pose any problem.

“Anyway, this one has cleared a path into that place. My lord just needs to go in and fix that stupid piece of metal back to its original state.”

“Hmm.”

Phew, I’m nervous. To think I have to enter those crimson flames that look ready to devour me and roast me to a crisp.

I find myself filled with gratitude and respect for firefighters who throw themselves into flames without hesitation to save people.

Thanks to Sister Regina’s magic, the area outside the barrier surrounding the flame supply facility is cooling down somewhat, but inside, the flames continue to burn.

And I have to go directly into those flames, covered in various protective spells, blessings, and divine protections.

But I’m not afraid. After all, I have to go.

We considered removing it by force, but that was rejected.

‘If you disturb the burning flame stones incorrectly, they’ll explode. The flame stones burning for a long time is practically a natural artifact. When the mana that makes up the flame stone reaches a high temperature due to external heat, it naturally ignites and uses the internal mana as fuel to burn. So using metal tongs or supplying additional flame stones isn’t a problem. But if you touch it while infused with mana, the balance between internal and external forces breaks, causing the internal mana to rush out all at once, resulting in an explosion. And that explosion disturbs nearby flame stones, causing an even bigger explosion. That’s why you should never carelessly use mana where flame stones are handled. The same goes for holy power or inner energy.’

In short, all the burning flame stones were essentially bombs. Bombs that would explode if eliminated with mana-infused attacks.

I thought Cheon Hyeryeong’s Heavenly Demon Divine Fist might be okay, but apparently, the mana created from exploding flame stones absorbs surrounding mana or similar powers, increasing its explosive force.

So what happens if Cheon Hyeryeong’s mountain-erasing Heavenly Demon Divine Fist touches burning flame stones?

That’s equivalent to saying part of the New Continent would be blown away.

So even Cheon Hyeryeong was quite surprised when she heard the explanation about flame stones.

“Truly, the world is vast. To think there are problems that even this one’s power cannot solve.”

Cheon Hyeryeong seemed quite disappointed.

“Well, it’s fine since I can solve it.”

In this situation, neither force, magic, nor holy power is of any use.

Only my ability can solve this problem.

“But how do people usually handle situations like this?”

“Situations like this don’t usually happen, but if they do, people typically just wait for the fire to go out naturally. However, this time the amount of flame stones is problematically large, far beyond what could be considered a normal situation.”

“I see.”

If it were a fire that would extinguish naturally, we would have just left it alone.

“Flame stones don’t burn well in their natural state, so they require special processing. But this case is quite serious. Normally, flame stones should burn up and disappear, but these are burning for too long, as if someone intended it.”

Sister Regina maintained her stance that something was strange about this situation.

Well, let’s move past that for now since it’s not the main issue. Suspicious aspects are the domain of experts like Sister Regina.

What I can do is ensure this fire is extinguished as quickly as possible so the New Continent can return to normal.

“Then, I’ll go in now.”

I took a deep breath, grabbed my hammer, and walked into the flames.

Despite having various protective spells, divine protections, and blessings, the sound of burning fire was truly terrifying.

I wonder where I got the courage to face a Demon God.

The flames were burning fiercely all around me, but fortunately, Sister Regina’s barrier was effectively blocking them, and Eterna’s protection and blessing were effectively shielding me from the heat.

“Alright. I need to quickly find the cause of this great fire and normalize it.”

I walked into the flame supply facility with the determination to find and eliminate the cause of the great fire.

Fortunately, the flame supply facility wasn’t that large, probably because it wasn’t fully constructed yet.

After walking about 100 steps within the protected area, I saw five finger-like pillars spewing flames.

‘Is that the flame supply device?’

It must be, since it’s installed inside the flame supply facility, right?

I looked at the piles of flame stones stacked under the flame supply device.

The flame stones piled where part of the flame supply device had fallen and broken were burning fiercely.

And dozens of piles of flame stones scattered around were also burning hot.

‘But something seems off?’

The flames from the flame stones themselves weren’t that large.

Rather, the flames spewing from the flame supply device seemed stronger—or was that just my imagination?

‘Is the problem not with the flame stones, but with the flame supply device?’

I carefully approached the flame supply device.

Suddenly, a massive flame shot up from beneath my feet.

“Whoa!”

I had to step back because of the sudden flames.

Even though I knew I was protected by the barrier, the flames appeared so suddenly.

As I stepped back, the flames that had appeared beneath my feet didn’t disappear but began to take form.

[Human. Step back. This is the domain of I, Inferno, the Fire Elemental King. Who dares to intrude upon my domain?]

What appeared was a handsome man with red hair.

Wait, what did he say?

“Fire Elemental King?”

[That’s right. I am Inferno, the Fire Elemental King. The ground you stand on is my land. So step back. You are an unauthorized presence! If you don’t step back, I’ll burn you to death.]

Hmm, is that so?

“More importantly, is this unquenchable fire your work?”

[It is not. Thanks to this unquenchable fire, I was able to declare this place as my domain. The current flames were not created by me.]

I see? That means…

“If this fire disappears, you’ll disappear too?”

[Exactly right. If this fire disappears, I’ll be reverse-summoned back to the elemental realm, you could say.]

“Oh, I see. Thanks for letting me know.”

I bypassed Inferno and swung my hammer at the flame supply device.

As three clear, pure sounds rang out, waves of light began to spread around, starting to return everything to ‘normal.’

[Wh-what is this power? Arghhhh!]

As the flame supply device and the surrounding area returned to normal, the Fire Elemental King Inferno was sucked into the ground and disappeared.

“What a strange fellow.”

After the strange being who had suddenly appeared vanished, the waves of light subsided, and I could see the flame supply facility and device returned to normal.

And so, the great fire that nearly ruined the New Continent was immediately ‘normalized’ before my ability, and we were able to return home after seeing the remaining personnel begin reconstruction work for the New Continent exploration facilities.