Editor : Amethyst00



'The Elemental Lord of Fire?'

["That's right. You have the blood of the Tonkan royal family in you, don't you? In that case, I can save you from this crisis!"]

Ishtar said confidently.

["I have studied your bloodline for many years! If you're of Tonkan descent, I can lend you my power without a contract!"]

The reason Ishtar decided to save Reina was simple.

['I'm screwed!']

Ishtar immediately realized that his life as an elemental lord had gone completely off track due to his encounter with Leo.

The domain he had built with so much effort over the years had been utterly destroyed.

To make matters worse, his subordinate elementals had all been taken by Elsie.

And the subordinate elementals who had gone over to Elsie now harbored immense hostility toward him.

In that situation, Ishtar couldn't help but recall his past deeds.

['I told them to gather the dew that received the earliest sunlight!']

['I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!']

The first elemental to break free from Ishtar's control was Althea, who had served him the longest.

Even to Althea, Ishtar had frequently committed such acts of tyranny.

['I might end up being bullied by those guys for the rest of my life!']

He even thought about running away from Leo.

Though he had lost his base and his subordinate elementals, it didn't change the fact that he was an Elemental Lord.

But he quickly had to abandon the thought of escape.

['The fire elementals are relatively kind. At least they won't try to kill me. But the other Elemental Lord are different.']

Ishtar had extremely bad relationships with the other Elemental Lord.

['Especially the Elemental Lord of Deep Sea, Undine! That one would definitely try to kill me!']

Long ago, Ishtar had destroyed Undine's base.

Since then, Undine had harbored a deep grudge against him.

If Undine found out that Ishtar had lost not only his base but also his subordinate elementals, she would surely take the opportunity to get revenge.

Ishtar shivered.

['In the end, to ensure my safety now, a contract with Leo Plov is essential!']

Any other summoner would be desperate to form a contract with an Elemental Lord like Ishtar.

An Elemental Lord is a being to be revered just by existence.

['But to Leo Plov, I'm not that valuable!']

He knew he wouldn't be treated like a mere pebble on the roadside just because he was an Elemental Lord.

Still, he didn't think he'd be treated with any particular importance.

The very reason he had initially refused to form a contract with Leo was because he couldn't accept that he didn't value him highly.

['He already has the Elemental Lord of Light, Laruel, and even that mysterious spirit as his pact partners.']

Not to mention the Three Great Mythical Beasts.

In Ishtar's memory, the only summoner who could compare with the current Leo Plov was the Wise Queen, Lysinas.

['If I'm going to form a pact, I want to be treated properly!']

So, desperately calculating how to gain that respect, Ishtar's eyes landed on Reina, who was in danger.

Ishtar also knew that Leo had come here to save his mother.

Reina was of Tonkan blood.

['If I lend her my power and help rescue her, he'll surely treat me better!']

At the very least, he might avoid being harassed by the subordinate elementals who once served him.

["This is a deal. Reina Plov!"]

'A deal?'

["Yes! If you survive this crisis with my power, then later, just speak well of me to Leo Plov!"]

'What?'

["Please! Let me help you! My future life as an elemental depends on this!"]

Reina also knew that the Tonkan royal family had long been blessed by the Elemental Lord of Purification.

And Leo was about to inherit the legacy of Tonkan.

So there was nothing strange about forming a pact with the Elemental Lord of Purification.

But for the spirit to beg to help?

'Why are all the summoned beings tied to Leo so weird?'

Shaking off her momentary doubts, Reina spoke to Ishtar.

'You're saying… you can lend me power, right?'

["Yes! Then you can escape from this crisis!"]

'Then can you give me the strength to fight this guy?'

["You want to fight him? That man?"]

'Yeah. Give me your power.'

["You know what that means, don't you? Are you prepared to risk your life?"]

For a moment, Ishtar's voice turned cold.

Leo was a monster beyond measure, someone who had thoroughly toyed with Zorua.

There was no changing the fact that he possessed great power that had slain countless heroes.

To stand against such a being, risking one's life was a given.

But the resolve Ishtar spoke of was not just about fighting a powerful enemy.

The power he had initially offered was only enough to help Reina escape from Zorua.

But what Reina wanted was something greater.

Among all the elements, fire was especially fierce and dangerous.

It was a force that could incinerate even the user in order to annihilate the enemy—that was the true nature of fire.

["You've already lost your aura long ago, haven't you? That means… you have no way to protect yourself from my flames. The moment you make the slightest mistake controlling them, my fire will consume you."]

'I know.'

Reina answered calmly.

'But I need the strength to fight this guy.'

Even if she accepted Ishtar's power and faced the danger, the odds of winning were slim.

But still…

'I can at least be of some help to the others.'

Reina thought of the aspiring heroes currently fighting for the Plov estate.

Last summer.

During the training camp held at the Plov estate, she had seen how Leo looked at those young heroes.

The look of someone hoping for their rapid growth.

It was fundamentally different, but still resembled the gaze of a parent looking at a child.

'He's been a strange kid since he was little.'

Leo had never cried as a baby and had always been oddly mature.

'Sometimes, he even looked at me—his own mother—with a condescending gaze, like I was the child. And sometimes, as if he genuinely thought I was pathetic.'

Reina grumbled.

'I don't even know if he's my son or my friend.'

Still.

'He's my son, so I can understand him.'

She knew Leo had a grand goal that she could never imagine.

'And to achieve that goal, he absolutely needs those kids.'

She couldn't just stand by and watch her son's chosen companions fall into danger.

'Besides, I'm their senior, aren't I?'

Though now she had lost her power and retired from the stage.

Though without Ishtar's power, she was just baggage.

She couldn't allow the next generation, who had once walked the same path as her, to be crushed.

Even if it meant sacrificing herself.

'The duty of an adult is helping the next generation move forward into the future.'

That's why, now, once again—

Even if she had to force herself, she would return to the stage she should have stepped down from long ago.

["The slightest mistake, and you'll die a dog's death. Even if you survive by some miracle, there might be side effects. Are you really sure you won't regret this?"]

'If that happens, I'll definitely regret it. But…'

Reina's eyes burned with intensity.

'If I run away here… this bastard will definitely attack our people.'

Zorua had already abandoned his false mask.

To vent even a little of his rage, he would massacre the people of Plov.

And the current hero candidates didn't have the power to stop him.

That was something that must never be allowed to happen.

In the end, if she didn't fight now, Reina would regret it forever.

In that case—

'I'll choose to fight and regret it later.'

Moved by Reina's firm resolve, Ishtar fell silent.

["Yes… your bloodline has always been that way. It doesn't change through generations. No matter how much your forms change, even if the name Tonkan disappears—you remain the same."]

The nobility to sacrifice oneself for others.

Such individuals had always emerged from the bloodline of Tonkan.

["Yes. That's why I chose your line."]

It wasn't because their blood was the most compatible with his purifying flames.

It was because of their beliefs that he had chosen Tonkan.

"You're still smiling? This wench…!"

At that moment, a murderous aura burst from Zorua's body.

"Let's see if you can keep smiling!"

As Zorua raised his hand with a wicked smile—

Grab!

"…?"

Reina caught his wrist as it reached to grab her neck.

"Pointless resistance."

Zorua scoffed as if it were laughable.

Fwoosh—!

"…!"

Blue flames surged from Reina's hand.

"No!"

Zorua screamed in shock as the purifying flames instantly turned his hand to ash.

Then, flame-forged sword energy erupted into the air.

Barely dodging it, Zorua looked up in disbelief at Reina, now floating in the air surrounded by blue fire.

Wings of flame rose from her heels.

Her whole body was clad in flames like light armor, and a sword and spear of fire burned in each of her hands.

The flames were undoubtedly Ishtar's.

But the one now controlling them freely—was Reina.

As Reina gripped the flaming weapons tightly, memories long lost returned to her.

The goal of being a hero—something she had given up on without even preparing her heart.

A self she had buried deep within.

'If this ends now, I'll never return again.'

That's why she had to give her all.

'Surpassing my limits… this might be the last time in my life.'

Fwoooosh—!

A blaze even greater than in her prime erupted from Reina's body.

Staring in disbelief, Zorua asked:

"What… what are you?"

"Me?"

Reina's lips curled up.

A mischievous, almost eerie, yet captivating smile.

It was, simply put—

"A witch."

A witch's smile—nothing more, nothing less.