"Maly, stay here. I need to deal with these troublesome kids," Nero said as he gently helped Maly sit under a tree near the side of a building.
Maly nodded while keeping hee eyes closed, enveloping herself in a red, smoke-like aura that gradually closed her wounds. Perhaps if she had obtained hr final piece, she could heal herself more easily.
Nero smirked and turned his attention to the three children. One was engulfed in flames, another, Friyon, levitated sharp ice around him, and Tharia stood behind, staring at Maly.
"Tharia, stay here. You have some explaining to do later," Friyon said, quickly stepping toward Nero.
Spai-n silently approached the enemy from another direction.
"Even if you attack together, you can't defeat me!" Nero laughed as blue flames engulfed him, instantly turning nearby plants to ash. Maly, however, was unaffected due to her ability to nullify others' powers.
Friyon tried to freeze the flames, but they were too hot, forcing him to retreat as the fire's range expanded. His breathing grew labored, and he felt the rising temperature. "This is bad."
"Damn! What kind of fire is this? It's different from my blue flames." Spai-n stepped back after his left arm was scorched, wincing in pain as his skin burned, causing him to fall to his knees.
"Spai-n," Tharia yelled, sending healing flowers, but they caught fire before reaching him. She glared at Maly, who was grinning at them. "How hot is that fire?"
The fire of a Kaihen could affect another Kaihen, and Spai-n's vision blurred with tears from the pain.
"You come from a prominent Kaihen family, yet look at you, Spai-n. You're weak! I can't believe you two are related to such skilled knights."
Friyon clenched his fist tightly, manipulating more ice—three times his usual amount—which grew behind him, melting in the heat but continuously replenishing.
Nero's words stirred Spai-n, causing his entire body to ignite in flames. Together, they attacked Nero, who detonated his blue fire, shattering and melting Friyon's ice. Friyon was thrown into a building, feeling his bones separate.
"Friyon!" Tharia screamed, using her vines to pull Friyon, who was unconscious and coughing up blood. His body was covered in cuts and bruises from just one attack.
Spai-n was thrown into the trees but his flames turned white, and he landed unscathed. He had manipulated a strange fire he had never seen before.
"Spai-n!" He looked toward the head knight, bound by Obsidian's burning chains. "Manipulate black fire! The fire that doesn't burn!"
Spai-n turned to the enemy, running towards Tharia and Friyon, but his legs froze despite his uninjured body. He had no idea about the different colors of fire, only familiar with blue and yellow.
The enemy's wide grin grew as he prepared to strike Friyon and Tharia with a sword made of blue flames, eager to see their blood. Tharia began to tremble, but swords floated around her. "You'll see the iron hand of the Kingdom of Mirasol!"
Her swords met Nero but he dodged them, and the rest melted. Tharia then manipulated countless vines, constantly blocking Nero's path despite burning.
"Are you scared now?! Foreigner?" Nero laughed.
"Friyon! Spai-n! Help me!" Tharia cried, glancing at Friyon surrounded by healing flowers. "Friyon, wake up! I have so many dreams left."
"Say goodbye!" Nero laughed, but his run halted as his blue flames vanished, even his sword. Ice covered his feet, rooting him in place.
He glared at Maly with fiery eyes. "What the hell?! I'm your ally, why did you remove my power?"
"It wasn't him, traitorous Kaihen!" The air grew cold as Spai-n spoke. "Manipulate. We Kaihen are blessed with the ability to manipulate fire. Do you understand?"
Nero struggled to produce flames, as if someone had stripped his power. But only Maly had such an ability, so how could Spai-n use it? They weren't related by blood.
"You must be confused," Friyon added, carrying Tharia to a safe distance.
"I manipulated your fire, so you can't use it while I'm here," Spai-n explained, but Nero's furious scream echoed around them.
"You're weak without your power to manipulate. You're too greedy, Nero Kaihen, even dragging Teron into your schemes. You were so greedy you aimed to wipe out our entire clan?" Spai-n continued.
"Greedy?! If everyone were equal, do you think I'd betray? You're too young to understand!"
"Shut up! Do you think what you did to my father was fair?" Friyon shouted. "You're the reason he's gone."
Nero looked back at Maly, now standing and seemingly healed. Tharia noticed and immediately manipulated vines towards him. "Try to move! I won't spare you next time!"
"You act so righteous, Rosvill brat! You’re the reason Herica turned out that way," Maly said bitterly.
Tharia nodded. "You're right. But everything has changed, which is why I was sent here. But I didn't expect to find things like this. We're your enemies, so why involve the innocent? Now tell me, how is what you're doing different from what my ancestors did?"
"It will end only when everyone loses their powers!" Maly replied.
Friyon shook his head. "You're wrong, Maly! You know this is wrong. Just like when you helped Astrantia stop the Voice of the Moon."
"You were with us back then," Spai-n added, tears in his eyes.
"We want the Maly we first met!" they both shouted, silencing Maly, whose memories didn't match what his enemies said.
"You're too noisy!" Nero was engulfed in black flames that didn't burn Tharia's vines despite touching them.
"Nero Kaihen," Maly muttered.
"What kind of fire is that?" Spai-n remembered the head knight's shout and glanced at him, still fighting Obsidian. There was no time for questions.
"Fire that doesn't burn? He has such an ability?" Friyon retreated.
Everyone turned to Tharia as she fell to the ground, scratching herself as if itching. But no, it wasn't like that. The black fire of the Kaihen didn't burn physically but heated a person's insides, making them feel as if they were burning.
As the black fire touched Tharia's vines, it flowed into her without anyone realizing. "Tharia!"
"What did you do to her?!"