I think I whispered very softly, but before the captain could give the order, he stopped.
The scout leader got off his horse as if enchanted.
The flames in front of me made it difficult to see Caliph.
I just walked slowly in the direction of the noise, and I heard Caliph howling.
"Liana! Don't come this way! What are you all doing? Hold on to the child!"
However, everyone knows it instinctively.
It shouldn't reach me.
Because I...
Growl!
Finally, a pair of yellow eyes came close.
'Oh, there you were.'
I didn't know I missed this feeling.
I slowly stretched out one hand and snapped my fingers.
My fingers were so short that I didn't care about the sound I always heard in my previous life.
Because the flame of Meridy is within me anyway
A spark erupted from my fingertips, and the beast took a step back.
Even so, my anger surged even more.
'That dirty thing hurt my family.'
I spread my palms wide and blew on my breath.
- Crack! Gang!
The burning dire wolf rolled around and went on a rampage like crazy.
'It won't turn off, it's hard.'
I looked away in search of the next yellow eye.
They hesitated as if they were about to retreat, but they couldn't find a reason to stop.
I'm already angry, the soldiers are hurt, and my eldest brother is exhausted.
When I snapped my finger again, a flame burned.
When the second dire wolf became a fireball, I think I laughed without realizing it.
I wondered how I could have forgotten this joy and lived, and I thought I could burn down this mountain.
There was no need to raise my eyes to find the target anymore.
Fireballs flew in the direction of my fingers.
The third and fourth Direwolves were struck by lightning while fleeing far away.
The yellow haze shimmering above the flames seemed to attract my feet.
As I moved my feet as if enchanted, someone whispered in my ear.
"Liana Halias."
It was only after I turned my anger on him that I realized that it was my name that he was calling.
My hair, which Dorian was pampering, scorched and scattered in the flames, obstructing my view.
I saw it when I finally faced Caliph..
Silver hair that looks as cold as ice, dark gray snow, and the flames that burn in it.
"Stop, youngest. They all ran away."
When I turned around again, there was nothing like the demon's spirit left.
I turned my gaze to Caliph and complained.
"...I could have burned them all."
"I know."
He quietly retorted and reached out to me.
"It was hard, baby? Will you hug me?"
I cried and felt an unknown excitement.
I entered Caliph's arms and shed sad tears.
I don't remember the next one.
***
For a moment, Liana seemed to be consumed by rage.
She didn't seem to know that the heat was moving to the hem of her dress and the flames in her hair, so when he reached out to her, she hugged him easily.
Then, as her aged, she cried and lost consciousness.
When Caliph stood up quietly with Liana in his arms, someone found the horse that had run away and dragged it away.
"Are you okay, my lord?"
When he looked back, everything was a mess.
Half of the remaining soldiers were injured, and some could not find their lost horses.
There were also dire wolves that were wounded, groaning, or dying, but he had no intention of taking the spoils.
He had lost too much to do so, and his heart still felt heavy when he looked at the black ashes.
Shion came closer, tears streaming down his face, and looked up at Liana.
"Brother..."
"Let's go back, Shion."
It was different from last year's when she protected their underground hideout.
None of the wounded and exhausted soldiers dared to praise Liana.
The adorable flame fairy of Halias Castle manifested as a pyromancer in front of everyone, and the anger and madness emanating from her small body were indescribable.
Caliph was afraid.
Because the terrifying Meridy's flame seems to eat the youngest.
Perhaps everyone felt the same way.
With young Shion tightly shut, the group returned to Halias Castle.
When they arrived, Alseid was in the garden like never before, pacing and waiting for the children.
For a moment, he was saddened by the sight of the tattered soldiers, but Alseid's gaze soon shifted to Liana in Caliph's arms.
"What happened?"
Even if the children followed Caliph on their own, he couldn't help but blame himself for not noticing it.
Caliph bowed his head, holding Liana as she boiled like a ball of fire.
"I'm sorry for the inconvenience, Father."
Alseid looked at the back of his hand on Liana's red cheeks.
It was as hot as it was burning.
"...What happened?"
"I need to lay Liana down, so I'll go in and tell you."
After answering briefly, Caliph ordered the division commander.
"Call the doctors and treat them appropriately. We will recruit new people to go to the north wall, so make sure everyone has a good rest."
The division commander looked down worriedly at Liana, who was groaning.
"Call me whenever you need it."
"...Thank you for your hard work. I want you to pay attention to the soldiers' enforcement."
"Don't worry."
Shion, who had ridden the same horse as the scout leader, went to Alseid and bowed his head.
"I...This happened because I made a mistake. Please punish me, Father."
However, his small face, soaked with tears, looked like he had already been punished excessively.
Alseid reached out and patted Shion on the shoulder.
"Wash and rest. I'll hear about it later."
***
"...Dozens of direwolves appeared at the campsite last night."
He had come with him to see Dorian half-fry and put an ice pack on Liana's body.
At Caliph's words, Alseid seemed surprised.
"What?"
"At first, there were only one or two, but when I came to my senses, they came in endlessly. Even though I abandoned the barracks and fled, I couldn't get rid of it."
"So?"
"They came with the children in front and guarded the rear, but they were actually on the defensive. There are so many of them, and it's not easy to catch your breath all at once."
Alseid's serious gaze met his son.
Caliph pursed his lips as if to say something difficult, and barely opened them.
"At some point, I saw Liana standing by my side. But something... It was different. It's a pitch black night, but the child's eyes are finished... It flashed like a night beast..."
"Caliph."
Caliph, who was in a daze, remembering Liana at that time, shook his head and continued.
"She didn't even hear me tell her to stay away, so she reached out to the beasts. Flames were terrifying from the tips of those little fingers. It's just, on its own..."
Alseid recalled.
"Do you mean manifested? At only four years old?"
"...Yes, father."
Alseid was speechless for a moment.
It was Caliph who opened his lips again.
"She blew the wind lightly as if it were a joke, and a fireball flew away and hit exactly one of the dire wolves. The beast rolled frantically on the wet ground and tried to put out the fire, but it wouldn't go out. Until it turns to ashes. And Liana..."
"Liana?"
"...She laughed as if she was satisfied."
Alseid couldn't answer quickly, but Caliph's story continued.
"I was able to watch her. The beasts were also frightened and ran away, and the second and third flames burst out at the child's fingertips. A dire wolf that was running away turned into a fireball again. I approached to stop her, but she didn't even know I was approaching. She didn't even know that her clothes were burning and her hair was burning."
"...What happened?"
"When I tried to dissuade her from quitting, she resented me. She said confidently and boldly that she could have burned them all. It was true in my opinion."
"Did you quit yet?"
"...For now, Direwolf also ran away."
Alseid sighed faintly
"Then she fainted?"
"That..."
Caliph retorted with a little hesitation.
"I said I would hug her to try to soothe her somehow, but her red eyes that seemed to be burning lost their light. It was like blowing the wind to blow out a candle. Then she came back to my original Liana and cried for a long time. She cried so sadly in my arms. You know. Until she loses her mind."
When Alseid fell silent. Caliph asked again..
"That's why I want to ask, Father. Was Cecilia Le Meridy's flame also so precarious and dangerous? I think that spark... Liana"
He thought he was taking it away.
Caliph couldn't bear to say that fearful assumption.
Alseid shook his head in confusion.
"Not at all. Cecilia would warm the kettle with her palm to entertain her classmates. She once baked sweet potatoes for fun. Of course, she used her abilities when she needed them..."
Alseid said in a pained voice.
"Because pyromancy is so extensive and difficult to control, there were many Inevitable damages, and Cecilia was very distressed by it. She was afraid of making mistakes as much as she could. I can't even imagine Cecilia laughing as she uses pyromance to chase beasts. She didn't want the flames to fly and the innocent grass to burn."
Caliph retorted as if comforting himself.
"I guess it's because Liana is too young. If I hadn't been in danger, she wouldn't have manifested so early, and it's my fault."
Alseid asked cautiously.
"Does meeting Dierwolf have anything to do with Theodore?"
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