The flames rushed straight at him, as if a magma monster was tearing into his flesh. Before he could be roasted alive, Barrett snapped to his senses and quickly pulled a large square shield from his spatial ring, holding it up in front of him. Even so, the raging blast of hot air still shoved him toward the inferno.
As he stumbled into the flames, only one thought flashed through Barrett's mind: What kind of dumbass magic scroll is this... The burning effect is insane! I've got to get one for myself later!
Luckily, Barrett's fighting skills were top-notch. With one hand, he plunged his sword into the wooden floor, using the leverage to steady himself. He'd avoided getting burned to death for now, but his nostrils were already filling with the sickening smell of charred meat.
The poisoned people had been kept in a near-death state by the blessing magic, writhing and convulsing on the ground like shrimp about to be steamed alive. But now, with flames erupting everywhere in the dining hall, those "steamed shrimp" were turning into "grilled shrimp." A few flame-wrapped bodies rolled across the floor, squirming like firebugs, their agonized screams echoing one after another.
A string of complex, crisp syllables chanted behind Barrett, followed by a deep, commanding shout:
"Frost Seal Domain!"
SIZZLE~ It was like pouring rainwater onto red-hot iron—a burst of cold air slammed into Barrett's back, shoving the blazing flames aside. The flammable wooden floor was coated in a solid layer of frost.
Lakyus lived up to her reputation as an adamantite-level adventurer. While maintaining the blessing magic field, she unleashed a 3rd-tier ice spell. Barrett had just been stuck in an oven, but in the blink of an eye, he felt like he was standing on frozen tundra.
But he knew the spell wouldn't hold for long. Lakyus was a divine magic caster, and this kind of arcane magic wasn't her strong suit. It wouldn't be long before the alchemical fire elements, pushed into the corners and up against the ceiling, came roaring back, turning the place into a hellish sea of fire once more.
A golden holy light flared up as Lakyus cast another area healing spell. Warm magic spread out along the frosted floor in all directions, temporarily saving the poisoned victims.
An unconscious body lifted into the air, floating stiffly past Barrett and out of the dining hall.
He turned his head and saw that the cleric girl Stella had stood up at some point, using a 2nd Tier spell Mage Hand to laboriously haul out the "shrimp" that hadn't been burned to a crisp yet. Barrett had almost forgotten—even though she was only silver-level, she was still a divine magic caster.
Sean had gotten to his feet too, his hair and eyebrows singed yellow and curled up, looking like he'd been licked by flames all around. But he was propping up two worn-out knights, shuffling them step by step toward the exit. One of the knights was Wade, the guy they'd had that "pleasant" chat with earlier.
Barrett rushed over to help when he saw this. He was way stronger than Sean, tucking two people under each arm and sprinting out like he had wings on his feet. From inside the holy light domain, the adamantite-level adventurer Lakyus shot them a grateful look—after all, there was no way she could save every survivor in the dining hall on her own.
Lakyus was tight with Princess Renner on a personal level; this time, she'd been invited by the princess to secretly tag along with the knight squad and protect her. Sure enough, before they even reached their destination, a bunch of assassins launched a surprise attack.
The assassins were seasoned and ruthless—they'd snuck poison into the midday meal first, then whipped out this alchemical fire element scroll that packed a punch like a 4th Tier spell. If she hadn't cast the blessing magic domain in time, all the imperial knights tagging along would've bitten the dust right there.
The thought hit Lakyus like a bolt: her job was to protect the princess, but during this whole ambush, she'd been stuck healing the knights. So what about Princess Renner...?
Cold sweat beaded on Lakyus's forehead. Princess Renner was her employer and her closest friend—if she got killed, Lakyus would never forgive herself!
She was just about to yank out her magic sword and bolt out of the dining hall when she spotted two figures—one in a pink dress and the other in silver-white armor—stepping over the doorway where embers still smoldered, hurrying inside. It was Princess Renner and her personal bodyguard Climb, with blood still dripping from the sword in Climb's hand.
A third person leaped into the dining hall too—a black-haired girl with a giant sword strapped to her back. Lakyus remembered her: she was the orichalcum-level adventurer Princess Renner had just hired.
"Your Highness, please get out of here—it's too dangerous!" Lakyus called out anxiously. From the looks of it, Princess Renner was actually coming into the fire pit, barely held back by the ice magic, to help evacuate the poisoned victims who couldn't move on their own.
"This attack was aimed at me from the start, and it dragged all of you into it innocently. Now, to help everyone, I should pitch in too!" Renner said with an apologetic look on her face. She grabbed a fainted knight with her small hands and started dragging him out, not the least bit afraid of the occasional sparks falling from the ceiling, nor caring that the knight's soot-covered body was dirtying her dress.
Lakyus sighed. She'd heard whispers about Princess Renner's shady dealings behind the scenes, but as the incredibly noble princess of the Re-Estize, she always seemed to have the common folk's best interests at heart—even if it was just for show, it still lived up to her reputation as the "Golden Princess." That was why Lakyus had kept up their friendship for so long.
Working together, they finally managed to carry out all the remaining survivors from the dining hall. As Barrett hoisted the last one—a scribe whose face was as pale as a ghost—onto his back and hauled him out, the ice magic domain behind them gave out. The alchemically activated fire elements rampaged through the entire dining hall once more, flames ripping through the wooden windows and scorching the stone brick walls red-hot.
Lakyus cast another freezing spell, barely managing to suppress the raging inferno and keep the fire from spreading further.
Staring at the flame-ravaged dining hall, she felt pretty helpless. As a divine magic caster, this was as far as she could go. If her team's arcane magic caster, Evileye, were here, she'd probably wrap this up in no time flat.
At the same time, not far away, a two-story brick building—already bombed to hell by someone and teetering on the edge with only half standing—came crashing down! It turned into rubble amid the swirling dust.
...
Some of the accompanying knights and civilian staff had already been treated and were recovering, while others among the wounded remained unconscious. Then there were about ten more who were completely lost to the blaze. They'd have to wait until the embers died down before going into the ruins to collect their charred corpses.
Lakyus mixed a vitality potion into a jug of fruit wine, shook it up carefully, and took small sips. Casting all those healing and blessing spells earlier had left her drained.
"Are you th 'adamantite-level adventurer?"
An abrupt voice asked from behind her. Lakyus turned around and saw it was the black-haired girl with the giant sword strapped to her back.
Earlier, Lakyus had heard about this black-haired girl from Princess Renner herself—she knew her name was EeDechi, an orichalcum-level adventurer with a bit of natural brute strength.
"That's right, I'm Lakyus Alvein Dale Aindra, captain of the Blue Roses adventurer team."
Lakyus smiled and nodded in greeting, while taking a sip of her fruit wine. Truth be told, she didn't want to bother chatting with adventurers ranked lower than her.
Adamantite-level adventurers were the cream of the crop in the adventuring world, and the whole Re-Estize only had three such teams. They were rarer than hen's teeth, so there were always nosy busybodies sniffing around them. Nobles and regular folks alike idolized them as heroes, heaping on all sorts of unasked-for glory and duties that drove you up the wall.
But Lakyus never let it go to her head. She knew there was always someone stronger out there—whether it was her fellow adamantite-level adventurer Momon, or the demon god Ainz Ooal Gown who'd butchered tens of thousands from her homeland on the battlefield, or the demon king Jaldabaoth who'd wrecked the Roble Holy Kingdom. All of them were way out of her league.
"Can we head to a quieter spot for a private chat?" The black-haired girl in front of her blinked excitedly, her face lit up with a grin that mixed hype and mystery, like she was dying for something to happen.
"Sure." Lakyus took a swig of fruit wine and mumbled her agreement.
She had no clue what those potion-makers were thinking, always brewing vitality potions with such godawful flavors—as if the stuff wouldn't work unless it tasted like crap. Even mixed into sweet pear wine, it still couldn't hide that weird dead-moth tang.
She wandered absentmindedly after EeDechi into a secluded grove, surrounded by thick, green trees with no one else in sight.
Lakyus eyed the black-haired girl, holding a mouthful of fruit wine, and thought helplessly that this was probably just the same old drivel from starry-eyed fans.
Stuff like "Can I get your autograph?" "Is your magic sword really the weapon from the legendary Thirteen Heroes?" "Please, let me join your team," "Wanna team up and fight side by side?" ... and all that jazz—endlessly irritating!
EeDechi chummily slung her arm over Lakyus's shoulder, her face dead serious and earnest, and said:
"Wanna team up and fight side by side? Let's take down Ainz Ooal Gown!"
"Pfft!" Lakyus spewed out her mouthful of fruit wine, spraying it all over EeDechi's face. "WHAT DID YOU SAY?!!"