The flames released by the elf girl directly hit Piyo.
“Piyo-chan!!”
Philiana’s scream could be heard from amidst the roaring flames. Piyo’s body was now engulfed in that fire. The power was clearly different from the practice session seen earlier. The fire blast, which had height as well as length, completely enveloped Piyo’s body. Despite the heat, cold sweat flowed down my back. My trembling hands wouldn’t stop.
I was scared. But Piyo was in there, and if I didn’t help now, it would be too late.
“Please stop, please stop the magic!”
My voice was swallowed by the heat, as if crushed. Or perhaps my throat was burning, and no sound was even coming out. My eyes hurt, I couldn’t look directly. Elana’s magic wasn’t this cruel.
The tip of the flames swirled, encircling Piyo. I could see a black figure moving within the flames, redder than the sunset. Even a magical barrier would be powerless against this intensity. Perhaps noticing the abnormality, a teacher was approaching in the distance. But something even more abnormal was happening right before my eyes. The flames surrounding Piyo gradually changed shape and began to swirl. It became like a tornado, sucking in the released fire as if rewinding thread.
“No way, I can’t believe it.”
I heard Evie’s friend mutter from behind. When I realized it, the roaring sound of the fire had disappeared. Instead, a large fiery tornado appeared. And Piyo, with wings spread, was spinning in its center. The elf girl, noticing this, stopped her attack.
“What in the world is this? What’s happening?”
As if answering that question, the tornado shook violently. Then, in the next moment, Piyo shot out from a gap with tremendous force. Or rather, it was more accurate to say she was ejected. She flew with a “viewn” sound and crashed directly into the girl. Even a genius mage couldn’t react to such unexpected an attack and was pushed down along with Piyo who flew at her.
“Piyo, Piyo! Are you okay?”
I scooped up Piyo who was covering the girl. Her whole body was scorched black, and her trademark orange feathers were tattered.
“Ugh, it’s sooooo hot. Water…”
She seemed to have regained consciousness somehow. I quickly searched for a nearby faucet and doused her with water. Next to me, Nina was laughing happily.
“Hahaha, nice one! As expected of magician Pillon-sama!”
“What do you mean ‘as expected’? I was almost dead!”
She looked away awkwardly. What in the world was she doing. The three Centaurs also approached, looking worried. Turning back, I saw the elf girl being reprimanded by a teacher. That was definitely overboard. Piyo shook off the water and looked up with a dazed expression. She stared at her opponent over my body, and then chuckled.
“Piyo wins!”
The genius mage hurriedly tried to say something in response but was led away by the teacher. I apologized profusely to the other staff who rushed over and quickly left the scene. By this time, the sun had completely set. I had gone out to find my companions, but ended up being the one who was searched for.
Later, after returning with the injured Piyo, we were severely scolded by Pauline in front of the inn.
