Chapter 5: Kind and Cruel

I am the worst.

But really, I had never intended to make this kind of scene.

I bit my lips. I was surprised by the sudden unfolding of events. I vaguely knew that there would be a difference between the peaceful capital and the northern front, but I had no idea that the disparity would be so great. The scene in front of me was so horrible. The fact that I was its creator made me feel utter disgust, even hate, towards myself. And this anger made my arms tremble unconsciously, it was as if the fury was so great it couldn’t be contained inside me.

Abel saw my arms trembling and mistook it as if I was feeling frightened. He then made an expression as if  he understood ‘my fear’. “Look at you. You can’t even move because you are so scared. If you have realized that you have been stubborn and let go of your ego, you may go back.”

“No.” I refused firmly. Even if I were too scared, I couldn’t sit still. All of this happened because of me. Since it was my fault, I had to take some responsibility for what was happening right in front of my eyes.

Abel was surprised by hearing my voice firm  in my refusal. He seemed even more shocked  when I stretched my hand forward. “From now on, I will start.”

In this world, magic allowed its users to control the elements, such as water, fire, air, earth, and light. Unlike other worlds, mages here didn’t need to memorize spells as often. The standard for measuring the greatness of a mage was ‘how much power they needed to utilize to cause a natural phenomenon’. A great mage was regarded as one who could cause a huge natural phenomenon while using only a small fraction of their power. The standard for measuring the skill of a mage was their efficiency. Or rather, those mages who could control the elements with minimal effort were the most talented.

So, as I stretched forward my hand, I felt a gentle breeze of air that I could control as I wanted. The light gust of air wrapped around my fingers, hugging my hand like a gossamer glove. However, I suddenly felt uneasy. I realized that this was the first time Fiona’s body was used to channel such a huge amount of power and the only thing I could trust was the talent that had been dormant so far.

I won’t hit our allies right?

Quickly, I got rid of the thought. I had to concentrate. If I were to lose focus for even a second, the flow of air would be scattered. Slowly, I closed my eyes to center my mind.

In the sky, far away, the air that I controlled converged in huge gusts and morphed into dark, writhing storm clouds that seemed to cover the entire sky.

Next to me, I could hear Abel’s small murmur. “Is that a storm?”

The dark clouds that I made mimicked a storm but were slightly different. Although it wasn’t exactly like the storm I had intended to make, it was similar enough to serve its purpose.

“Screech !!!”

There was a strange scream from the monsters. Perhaps, they too felt the sudden change of atmosphere…I could feel the electricity and energy crackling in the air all around me. The moment I could hear the hum of lightning as the dark clouds grew closer, I opened my eyes for accurate aim and unleashed the energy.

BANG!

The blindingly bright strike of lightning from the dark cloud hit the giant close by. Although it was a large and dangerous monster, it was a good target for me. Since that giant wasn’t the only one on the battlefield, I hit every giant I could see. If they did not fall from the initial strike, I hit them twice, thrice times, as much as necessary. Relentlessly, I kept attacking.

BOOM!

“Uwaaaah!!”

Every time a giant fell, the soldiers cheered and the monsters grew more terrified.

“Indeed.” I heard Abel murmur briefly from his place beside me. By the time most of the giants on the battlefield had fallen, Abel suddenly lifted me up. I quickly grasped onto his broad shoulder, frightened and disorientated at the sudden change in altitude. As I turned my head in his direction, I was met by his icy blue gaze.

 “Amazing. It’s like the punishment of God.” He muttered in an admiring tone.

I turned my sight to the battlefield again. Under the dark clouds, the lightning that appeared along with the thunderstorms struck down the battlefield towards the bay. Does it really look like that to Abel?

“This is the first time I’ve actually seen a mage use such a skill…kid, you are a human, aren’t you?”

“Of course.”

Well, I’m the final boss in the future. Haha.

“I suppose so.”

Abel seemed to be lost in thought. He strode forward while holding me, stopping at the corner where the wall ended. It was a precarious position where we could fall right away if he took just a few steps forward. Unbidden, an unrelenting fear grasped me tightly as I gazed at the dizzying scenery that was unfolding before my eyes. I grabbed Abel’s clothes instinctively.

He’s not going to throw me off this ledge because he isn’t satisfied, is he?

“Look, the monsters are retreating.”

I looked over the scene that Abel had pointed out. I must have been so busy using magic that I didn’t notice, but as Abel said, the rest of the monsters were running away. It was the best of a terrible situation. It was a magnificent sight to see the monsters run away but I couldn’t help but wish this situation hadn’t been created in the first place.

Wow…suddenly, I felt like finally I had done something significant for the first time since I had arrived in this world.

When I looked down, my eyes met with the soldiers who were staring blankly at me. I smiled awkwardly and waved my hand while still in Abel’s arms. Soon enough, I felt embarrassed. I looked like a child. Well, it couldn’t be helped, Fiona’s appearance was obviously childish since she was young.

Afterwards, as if it were all arranged, loud cheers erupted from every direction as if bidding farewell and victory to the soldiers leaving to protect their home. Some people had even begun to clap their hands in excitement. It dawned upon me as I looked over the crowd, this was all in my honor. I snuck a glance at Abel for a moment, audaciously waving my hand in front of his face, asking for a reward.

“I passed, right?”

Abel only smiled lightly when he met my eyes. Subsequently, he put me down with a very courteous attitude unlike his previous manner, before everything that happened today. Abel raised his hand and stroked my head lightly. Then, his low voice emanated above my head. “Welcome to Heilon, Fiona.”

I opened my eyes wide.

“It is an honour.” He remarked.

At that moment, my body relaxed, all the tension suddenly disappeared akin to a snapped rubber band. I could stay here. But, one second later, I realized something.

Abel had called my name.

 Kid. Kid. Kid. All the times he had called me ‘kid’ flashed through my mind. So all this time he knew my name all this time, but chose to call me kid repeatedly, on purpose!?

I was going to say something regarding this matter. But before I could open my mouth, Abel abruptly turned around and went down the stairs.

That was an extremely rude attitude, but I had no courage to argue with him, so I ended up staring at Abel’s back. The thick cloak wrapped around his wide back fluttered in the wind as his figure became a small dark silhouette in the distance.

See you later, you bast*rd.

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