The moment I felt the place, I looked around to see what was happening around me.
No matter how planned they were, in order for help to arrive this late meant one simple thing. 𝐕𝐥xt.𝑐𝞸𝔪
‘The monsters ran rampant.’
And the signs were evident.
SWOOSH CLANK
I could still see some Hunters fighting with monsters scattered around the city. It was evident that the scale of the monster attack was nothing but normal.
‘I don’t understand. How come such a thing never reached my ears?’ I asked myself, seeing the hunters dealing with others. Since I didn’t reveal that I had my weapon with me, I did not participate in the hunt.
But things were slightly different from what I thought.
‘Even Kaya Hartley will have a hard time if she wants to hide what happened here.’ It was an attack that was impossible to reach one’s eyes, especially Ethan’s.
‘Either the game’s contents have changed, or there is something I am missing.’ I thought and racked my brain. But in the end, I couldn’t come up with an answer aside from the Hartley family’s power being higher than I expected.
SWOOSH BOOM BOOM
Suddenly I felt something hot around me.
No, saying around me was rather wrong. It was fire aimed at the monsters around.
“GET BACK! THIS LADY WILL HELP YOU!” It was an excited voice of a young girl whose hands were ignited with fire.
Her short, braided red hair fluttered as she moved in the middle of the battlefield, and her yellow eyes were burning like the sun.
SWOOSH BOOM SWOOSH BOOM
A group of monsters lunged at her from all sides, their snarls and roars a cacophony of chaos. But the girl met their attack head-on, her laughter ringing out like a battle cry. “Come on, you ugly creatures! Let’s see who’s the hottest in this fight!”
Her words were punctuated by bursts of flames, each strike calculated to take down her adversaries. The way she used mana was befitting of a mage I knew, and her personality shone through the battlefield.
As the monsters closed in, she twirled and spun, flames trailing in her wake like a fiery dance.
SWOOSH BOOM SWOOSH BOOM
The battle continued, each wave of her hand sending forth torrents of fire that incinerated the monsters in their path. Her laughter remained a constant, a testament to her enjoyment of the fight. “Burn, baby, burn!” she exclaimed, her enthusiasm infectious as she fought with an unwavering smile.
SWOOSH ROAR
Just as a monster lunged at her from her behind, she molded the flames into intricate shapes, creating a wall of fire to shield herself from a particularly ferocious monster’s attack.
With a confident grin, she quipped, “Keke…Did you think I would not notice? NOW BURN!”
SWOOSH BOOM
Her movements were a blur as she darted between monsters, her fire leaving trails of destruction in its wake.
And just like that, in a matter of seconds, all the monsters here were slaughtered, leaving none of them alive.
“Huff….It was hot…” As she raised her hand and swept her sweat away with a cool motion, she looked around. “But, it was for sure fun.”
I could see the grin stemmed from her addiction to the thrill of the fight as she stepped on top of the corpses.
However, the aftermath of her fiery assault left its mark. The buildings and environment bore the scars of her magic, and the other hunters around her regarded her with squinting gazes. The destruction she had inadvertently caused was hard to ignore.
“HEY! Who are you?” A voice among the crowd broke through, drawing the attention of those around her. The onlookers were wary, their expressions mixed with curiosity and caution.
The reason was simple. She was the girl that came for help but did more damage to the properties in the process. That was something everyone here could do, but they didn’t do it.
“Does it matter who I am? Besides, why are you asking me anyway? Didn’t I just save you?” The girl answered with a scowl, clearly annoyed by the tone of the question.
‘As expected. She is just a little brat.’ I thought, looking at her banter. She was a little brat who liked to be the center of attention while doing. However, she wanted and not taking any responsibility for her actions.
Simple as that.
The hunter in charge was clearly unimpressed by her response; his arms crossed as he approached her. “Saving us doesn’t give you a free pass to wreak havoc and cause destruction. We could have dealt with those monsters without turning this place into a disaster zone.”
Irina’s fiery demeanor only seemed to intensify as she shot back, “Oh, please! Like you would’ve done any better? I saw you guys struggling out here.”
The hunter’s expression remained stern, his voice laced with authority. “Our job is to protect the city while minimizing collateral damage. What you did here was reckless.”
Irina’s hands ignited with flames, her frustration evident in the way she clenched her fists. “Look, I don’t need a lecture from you. I’m not some rookie mage who can’t control her powers. I took care of those monsters, and if a few buildings got scorched in the process, tough luck.”
A murmur of agreement seemed to ripple through the crowd, some hunters nodding in reluctant understanding. Others, however, continued to eye Irina with skepticism and disapproval.
Just as the argument seemed to escalate further, another voice cut through the tension. “Hold on a second, everyone.”
All eyes turned toward the person who had spoken up. A newcomer stepped forward, a thoughtful expression on their face as they observed Irina. The newcomer’s gaze seemed to hold a mixture of recognition and understanding.
“I think I know who she is,” the person said, their tone calm yet carrying a sense of certainty.
The crowd’s attention shifted, curiosity evident in their expressions. The atmosphere seemed to change as everyone awaited an explanation from the person who had spoken.
The newcomer turned to face Irina, a faint smile playing on their lips. “You’re Irina Emberheart, aren’t you? I’ve heard of your family’s reputation for powerful fire magic.”
The moment his word sank, everyone’s eyes were wide open. Looking at the girl, it made sense that she was from that family. She also resembled that woman as well.
‘I am fucked, aren’t I?’ I could see that expression on the face of the hunter who had just gone against the little heir of the Emberheart Family.
He, too, noticed something was amiss, but when he noticed that, things had already gotten out of his control.
He was a sad individual. He was right, but the opponent he was against didn’t only require him to be right but also required him to have the strength to back his beliefs up.
This was such a world we were living in.
The right and wrong was defined by the strong.
At that moment, seeing the crowd’s reaction, a smile unnaturally bloomed on Irina’s face. She seemed genuinely happy that now she was getting the reactions she deserved.
“Tsk. What a brat.” I mumbled in annoyance. If the world was going to be in the hands of such a girl, then the future was bleak, not that I cared too much.
Though, for some reason, seeing her smiling like that made me annoyed.
Turning my head, I was about to leave, but suddenly I heard another voice coming from the sides.
“What is happening here?”
It was a voice I knew from the game, which would bring the tamer of this fiery girl right here, right now.
Her short white hair was fluttering as the sword in her hand was filled with blood.
“I thought the monsters were running rampart here and hurried, but it seems we are not needed?” As she mumbled with a small tone, a smile was on her face. It was a smile that would make everyone would relax normally, but nobody here could do it.
Since everyone here knew who this girl was since she also came from a renowned family. Her white hair and blue eyes, coupled with her indescribable beauty, were enough to make everyone know where she was from.
“Julia Middleton.”
Different from Irina’s Emberheart family, who mostly dealt with magic, the Middleton family was a hunter family that raised the best hunters of each generation; thus, their reputation was a lot wider in the field of Monster Subjugation.
“Oh! Irina? You are here too?” Julia approached Irina with her usual amicable smile as she splashed the blood on her sword onto the road, getting rid of it.
Irina’s own scowl seemed to ease slightly as she replied, “Yeah, well, I was bored wandering around. This city doesn’t have anything entertaining. But thanks to these guys, I had some fun.” As Irina spoke with a grin, the hunter’s around her had their furrows burrowed.
After all, they were the ones that were struggling to fight with those monsters, but now this girl was here saying it was fun for her.
This damaged their pride, though the girl on the subject didn’t care.
Julia chuckled softly, her smile unwavering. “Well, I can see that. Looks like you handled the situation quite well.”
Irina shrugged nonchalantly, her flames flickering as she gestured to the defeated monsters. “Eh, it was a piece of cake. These creatures are nothing compared to what I usually deal with.”
Julia’s attention turned to the hunter in charge, and she offered a polite nod. “I apologize for the commotion. My friend here tends to have a flair for the dramatic.”
The hunter’s stern expression softened slightly under Julia’s amiable demeanor. “No harm done. We appreciate the assistance, even if it came with a bit of…extra flair.”
Irina rolled her eyes playfully. “Hey, if you want boring, go hire some stuffy mercenaries. But if you want a show, you call the Emberhearts. I even tried a new spell, was it to your liking?” her smile was still there, but I could see the small annoyance in the eyes of Hunter.
‘This girl certainly has the perk of annoying people.’ I thought.
Julia’s laughter mingled with the murmurs of those around them. Her presence seemed to diffuse the tension even further, her reputation and charm working in her favor.
Julia chuckled softly. “A new spell, you say? It seems you’re as spirited as ever. Here I thought there would be some fries left for me.”
Irina’s eyes sparkled with a mix of pride and mischief. “Don’t you know, this lady here is known as Monster Frier?”
“Yes, yes. You are the monster frier, okay?” Julia answered, but Irina looked rather bored at the talk. It seems she had enough fun.
She just wanted to change the subject, as she looked around to see where this girl’s partner was.
“Hey? Where is Victor?” She asked Julia. Since she and Victor were both partners, she thought they would be together. She even searched for them for a while, but she couldn’t find them. “And, I called you. Why didn’t you answer?” Irina looked at Julia with a squinting gaze.
“You did? I didn’t even hear it.” Julia answered while she was checking her watch. “Look, there aren’t any calls here.”
The moment Irina heard about this, she understood why it was; I could see her annoyance.
‘It was for sure Victor’s doing. He probably knew Irina would call them, so he put a jammer around them.’
It was something that the guy would do since he was strangely obsessed with Julia. But that was for another day.
Since the commotion here was calmed down, I was about to leave I heard something interesting.
“Victor left after he got a call just now.”
“He left?” Irina looked really surprised. There was just no way Victor would leave the chance to wander together with Julia. It was something no one would do.
“Yes. He suddenly said something urgent came up and left. He looked troubled.”
The moment I heard what Julia said, suddenly, I thought of something rather insolent.
‘What if….’
It was a what-if theory that made everything set in stone, though I had no proof…