Ch.961In the Flames

The sun of karmic fire burns and destroys all things in existence.

Trees, rivers, clouds, earth, steel. Even the air and sound—everything was swept away by crimson flames, vanishing as if erased.

Even vegetation untouched by the karmic fire ignited on its own, belching flames and smoke, unable to withstand the heat.

Literally, as if the sun had fallen to earth.

“GYEEEEEK!”

“KRAAACK! KYARRRRRK!!”

The monsters that had been pounding at the gates writhed in agony, spewing grotesque death throes as they were engulfed in flames. Part of the fortress wall glowed red, melting and flowing down from the heat.

The scene resembled the epicenter of a tactical nuclear strike. Though no explosion had occurred, so no mushroom cloud rose.

“What in the world is that…?!”

“Retreat! Fall back! You’ll die like dogs if you get caught in it!”

“Sacred barrier! Don’t spare any power, deploy it now!”

The knights and soldiers defending the wall… seemed to have barely escaped with their lives thanks to a hasty retreat behind sacred barriers.

…That’s fortunate. Honestly, I had a moment of concern.

I turned away from the glowing, melting wall and looked straight ahead again.

Within the massive hemispherical crater centered around me.

In the ruins where everything had evaporated into nothingness. The surrounding rocks, melted by residual heat, formed thin streams of lava filling the bottom of the enormous cavity.

Heat and flames remained, refusing to disappear.

The pastures, water sources, and farmlands outside the capital. All of them simultaneously burst into flames, flashing with scarlet light spreading like waves.

A disaster impossible to believe was caused by human hands. Literally, a sea of fire spread in all directions.

…Damn, this sucks. This is why I didn’t want to use it.

Even a cursory glance revealed collateral damage beyond imagination, exceeding even the rivers of lava created by dragon’s breath.

It was an inevitable outcome.

While I could extinguish the karmic fire since it was flame created by my power and I could cut off its supply, the fires that spread naturally due to the heat were just natural phenomena.

They weren’t flames I could control.

This ended with just this much damage only because I unleashed it far from the fortress walls. Had I used this technique in the middle of the royal palace, I would have destroyed the capital with my own hands.

‘And even after all this… I still let them escape. This really sucks.’

I sighed with irritation and exhaustion as I trudged out of the crater where lava was pooling.

Despite causing such massive destruction, I failed to completely incinerate my original targets—the three phantom knights—and ultimately let them escape.

That old man, who couldn’t hide his shock, raised a wave of black miasma that momentarily neutralized and blocked the flames of karmic fire.

In that gap, the red-haired spearman who quickly retreated behind the old man tucked both him and Astolfo under his arms and fled at full speed.

He ran away like lightning without even looking back.

Their willingness to attack together without hesitation, treating it as natural, and choosing to flee without hesitation when overwhelmingly disadvantaged.

Truly, they were far from the “exemplary” knight image commonly found in heroic tales.

…Well, I suppose it’s only natural.

Those creatures are heated imitations of the Great’s Twelve Knights. Their mindset must be aligned with that of eight hundred years ago.

Eight hundred years ago, each kingdom of different races was stronger than today’s empire, and humans were merely livestock or slaves.

Humans, overwhelmingly inferior in both power and influence, couldn’t afford to be picky about their methods.

Even Carlos the Great, instead of confronting the dwarves’ weapons head-on, forced their surrender through massacres by collapsing their underground cities.

By attacking without hesitation in groups, retreating when at a disadvantage, and sometimes employing cruel and vile methods—that’s how humans of that time finally achieved victory.

So from the perspective of phantom knights whose mindset remained unchanged from that era, fleeing the moment the sun of karmic fire appeared was only natural.

The original Twelve Knights probably would have done the same. Who wouldn’t flee when staying would reduce the Twelve Knights to Nine Knights?

They probably would have retreated even more actively than the phantom knights. Each of their lives held the fate of humanity at that time.

Of course, Rotholandus would likely have charged straight into the enemy’s midst rather than fleeing, trusting in his divine protection.

That’s probably why he placed a restriction on Durandal to prevent retreat even when at a disadvantage.

“I may flee easily, but you shall not flee”… the restriction wasn’t placed with such an intention.

He likely wished for his descendants to fight proudly against powerful enemies, just as he himself had always fought proudly. Probably.

…Well, anyway, the three phantom knights escaped like that. Leaving only a blazing plain behind.

Of course, they didn’t escape unscathed.

There was no way they could avoid injury while momentarily neutralizing and retreating from the sun of karmic fire that I had unleashed with all my power except for heroic deeds.

The old man who blocked the karmic fire had his greatsword and limbs completely vaporized, while Astolfo’s entire right side had melted away, leaving only his head barely attached to half a body.

Even the red-haired knight who fled quickly with his acceleration ability—I clearly saw his entire body engulfed in flames and burning as he ran.

Each injury would have been fatal to ordinary knights, even heroes who had transcended their limits.

However, true to their nature as phantom knights created from the thoughts of the Twelve Knights, they endured with all their might even as their bodies melted in the karmic fire, disappearing beyond the horizon.

They probably all survived.

Since they cannot heal their injuries with divine miracles, they’ll likely need at least a couple of months to recover and restore their damaged bodies before they can rampage again.

—-

Clink, clank.

The creaking sound of metal rings in my ears. The death throes of overheated, crumbling scale armor.

Rurik’s hide had long since burned away completely.

With each step I took, the winter armor—now reduced to mere scale fragments—shed its cracked scales and continued to fall apart.

Fortunately, Asha had placed a piece of Rurik’s hide inside the dragon scale ornament for such emergencies. Otherwise, I would have had to return completely naked once again.

Swish.

As I opened the cover of the heated ornament, Rurik’s hide stored inside quickly regenerated and began covering my body.

Perhaps because it was a device meant for when I became naked?

Unlike the existing winter armor that wrapped around my shoulders and waist, the newly formed Rurik’s hide completely covered my entire body like a robe.

A naked body with just a leather cloak draped over it.

Honestly, it looked like some exhibitionist pervert’s outfit… but hey, it’s better than nothing.

I should be grateful for this much.

Since the large fur completely covered my entire body, if I kept it tightly closed to prevent it from flapping open, I actually looked more proper than usual.

Later, I should thank Asha again—

Whoosh!

“…Huh?”

Wait, wait a minute. This is catching fire?!

The dry animal fur created small sparks as it rubbed against itself, and soon the entire fur cloak began to burn from the hem upward.

Why is it burning…?!

Ah, right. The extreme heat that had just begun to subside was still hot enough to naturally ignite wood into ash. Of course it would burn!

Damn it.

Whoosh!

The fur cloak, repeatedly burning and regenerating, grew progressively shorter. I frantically beat out the flames on my clothes while running at full speed toward the fortress wall.

It was too late to chase after those who had escaped. Moreover, if I happened to encounter Fersen, I might even be subdued instead.

Having burned away all my karma, mana, and what appeared to be divine power with the karmic fire, the only strength I had left was less than a tenth of my usual heroic power.

Honestly, I was exhausted. I wanted to rest. Hadn’t I killed ten hero-class enemies and repelled three more in a single night?

With such accomplishments, honestly, no one could complain even if I spent the entire week just sleeping and lounging around.

I didn’t really intend to slack off for a whole week, but at this moment, I just wanted to collapse into bed and sleep deeply.

Of course, to do that, I’d first need to defeat all the monsters that might remain inside the fortress walls.

Additionally, I needed to check on Demian’s condition, who had darted toward the fortress walls with a flash of pure white light even before the sun of karmic fire was unleashed.

He escaped safely, right…?

If by some chance he failed to defend himself and lost an arm or leg, I would feel somewhat sorry.

He could recover with healing miracles, but it would still have been incredibly painful. Far beyond the dimension of regular training.

And what else should I do…?

Well…

Whoosh!

…First, let’s change clothes.

My footsteps grew even more hurried.

The fur was already becoming bare up to my knees, and at this rate, it wouldn’t take long for the hide to burn away completely.

—-

Fortunately, very fortunately, the flames that kept reigniting even after being extinguished finally died out completely as I approached the fortress wall.

Thanks to that, I was able to avoid becoming a naked queen in front of all my subjects.

Of course, I couldn’t say I was in a presentable state either.

“Lady Astika, are you unharmed!”

Before the knights who welcomed my return with brightened faces, I slightly blushed, kept my legs modestly together, and carefully nodded.

“Give me some clothes. Anything.”

I carefully held down the hem of the leather garment that had shortened like a towel after bathing, covering my groin that would be exposed the moment I took a step.

…That was really close.

A sigh of relief escaped me involuntarily.

The fur barely covered half my chest above and had shortened so much below that my pubic bone would be completely exposed if I didn’t pull it down.

If it had burned just a little more, I would have had to expose either one part or the other in front of all my subjects and subordinates.

“Ah, yes! I’ll prepare it right away! For now, please use this…!”

“What are you all doing! Bring curtains! Curtains! And spare clothing!”

The paladin who nodded hastily removed his cloak to cover my body. Other knights urgently brought curtains to create a temporary screen.

Their loyalty was touching. Truly.