Philiana, driven to desperation, swung her sword towards Quetzal.
The flames that burst forth swirled around the Quetzal woman’s hands as if they were tamed snakes.
“This is bad, move!”
Elana stood in front of Philiana, who was dazed. In the next moment, the swirling flames left the woman’s hand, transforming into a dragon-like giant and coming towards them. Elana braced herself.
With a loud crackle, Elana repelled the raging flames. The scattering sparks brightly illuminated the surroundings. The deflected flames distorted their shape for a moment, then arced and attacked Elana once more.
“Ngh…!”
They whipped like a lash, striking her repeatedly. The sheer force of it forced her companions to step back. It was magic they had never seen before. While some could project flames in a straight line or shoot fireballs, those were one-way attacks. Once dodged, they would vanish.
At this rate, Elana’s stamina would eventually run out. Just then, the flames contorted, changing their shape. They smoothly encircled Elana’s feet and expanded into a circle.
“No way, what kind of attack is this!”
The ring of flames began to shrink as if to crush Elana. At the last moment, Elana countered by summoning a rotating ring of flames around herself. The high-speed sparks and the engulfing flames clashed. However, she was gradually being pushed back.
“Ugh, huff!!”
With a burst of heat, Elana managed to push back the opponent’s flames. She was breathing heavily, clearly having expended a lot of stamina. In contrast, the Quetzal woman showed no change in her expression and took new flames from a torch. Then, as if nothing had happened, she launched them towards Elana. Realizing she couldn’t block them all, Elana dodged to the side this time.
As if reading her movement, the flames writhed and changed shape like water, pursuing her. We could only watch, mesmerized by the technique. We knew we had to do something, but none of us had any knowledge of magic.
“Hmmph, alright, leave it to Piyo!”
Piyo entered, crossing paths with the fleeing Elana. She spread her wings as if dancing and spun around. Then, she began to spin vigorously as if scooping up the moving flames. Finally, she trapped them between her wings and detonated them with a pop.
“Phew, heh heh, that’s all there is to it. How’s this for a name… uh. Well, never mind, I’ve figured out your technique!”
Piyo proudly puffed out her chest, looking pleased. Honestly, it was surprising. Come to think of it, she had repelled flames in a similar way before. The Quetzal woman looked taken aback for a moment, then smiled faintly.
“You’re quite capable. Fighting fire with fire would only turn this area into a scorched wasteland. Have you understood our intentions?”
“Uhm, well. Then what should Piyo and the others do? If you don’t cooperate, Piyo’s companions will be killed.”
“Indeed. First, I suggest you reflect once more on where that anger and impatience are coming from.”
Piyo furrowed her brow even more. Then, the woman beckoned us to follow. We exchanged glances, unsure of what to do, but at this point, it was our only option.
We followed the woman, walking on the dark stone floor. It was unsettling that she would walk with her back to us, not knowing when we might be attacked. Philiana continued to wear a sullen expression. Perhaps it was amplified by the fact that most of her face was covered by cloth.
We descended stone steps and passed through houses. Every house was adorned with vibrant paintings and patterns in red, yellow, and orange paints. We arrived at a building that was exceptionally large compared to the others. The interior was spacious, with decorations made of feathers and flamboyant paintings adorning the walls.
“Please, make yourselves at home. It’s late, so please stay here tonight.”
“Huh? No, why are you… we’re enemies, you know? Do you understand that?”
“Yes, I am aware. I’ll prepare some tea, so please wait a moment.”
Like Nina, everyone was dumbfounded. And Lauren remained suspicious, still thinking it might be a trap. Amidst this atmosphere, the woman poured hot water from a pot with an unchanging expression.
“Oh, I forgot. My name is Pennax, please call me Penna.”
“Th-thank you. I am Hiroaki.”
“I see, Hiroaki. Shall we talk then?”
With her usual composed expression, Penna took a sip of tea.
