Episode 10 The Woman Who Came Too Late

　In the scorching heat.

　In a corner of a small town embraced by roaring red flames.

　Setsuna was barely holding on to the consciousness that was about to be scattered. The flames that had burned his entire body had become an intense pain that was still raging madly inside and outside his body. It made him want to scratch his body all over.

　Yet, he is still standing.

(Why is that?)

　Setsuna lowered her gaze with a question to herself. All around her, a scene of hellish devastation was spreading. A park in a small town called Karan. Not to mention the vessels in the park, the buildings that stood in disarray on all sides were also enveloped in a crimson raging fire. I wondered how long the flames would continue to burn. The fire was so strong that he could not even begin to put it out.

　Below him, there was a man lying on the ground. He is tall and thin. At close range, I could clearly see that he had black hair. His uniform-like garments seemed to have a bluish tinge to them. Her staff, no longer adorned with the dragon's head, was still clutched tightly in her unconscious hand.

　The fire dragon girl Karyujo.

　Is it a man's summoning armament? I'm not sure what the difference is between a summoned armament and a common weapon, but am I correct in recognizing that something with incredible power is a summoned armament? I knew firsthand the power of that staff. It breathed fire, created explosions, and spread destruction - it was a terrifying thing.

　The wand's flames burned the city and scorched Setsuna's entire body.

　And it burned the city as if its momentum was unabated. Callan could be reduced to ashes tomorrow.

　At that time, Setsuna's life would also be burned to the ground. I am vaguely aware of this. But I have no regrets. I thought I had done all I could. I had done the best I could. I can be proud of that, I think to myself.

　I had defeated the vicious man who had burned the city to the ground. An amateur in this fight. Isn't that enough? I don't need anyone's praise. In fact, they might even curse me. They might even think I'm an idiot. I jumped into the flames and killed the criminal, but lost my life. It's really silly. Nonsense.

　But it is full of life.

　In the heat of the moment, a strange freshness was blowing through his mind.

　If there was one thing he regretted, it was....

(haha ...)

　In a daze of consciousness, Setsuna laughed at her own foolish thoughts. I'm not sure what to do with it. But, seeing the devastation, it was an honest feeling to want to do something about it.

　I wondered if it was possible to extinguish the flames that were burning the city. I want to extinguish the flames that have burned down this small town and taken away what was probably a peaceful life. By doing so, I would be able to bring back the smile of that little girl. The dreaming became a power.

　Setsuna looked into her hand. She was holding a black spear. A jet-black pike. She knew that it held a great deal of power, but she hadn't figured out everything about it.

(This can be found at ...)

　Setsuna grasped the spear in both hands and thrust the tip at her feet. I'm not sure what to make of this. He had summoned it only to strike down the unconscious man in front of him. That purpose has been accomplished.

　Still, it hasn't disappeared.

(You have unfinished business. ...!

　Maybe that's just Setsuna's assumption. Maybe her perception of summoning armaments is wrong from the start. She couldn't possibly know the principle of summoning and returning. Even if it was wrong, who could laugh at it?

　But for once, Setsuna was convinced that her assumption was not necessarily misplaced. There was a reaction of power in both hands gripping the hilt. Shouting.

"Extinguish!

　Instantly, the jewel embedded in the stone butt emitted a dazzling light. The dark blue flash seemed to pierce through Setsuna's consciousness as it vividly dyed her retinas.

　She felt as if she heard a voice.

(What's ...?)

　Setsuna felt a sense of discomfort, but it disappeared in an instant. It's a great way to get the most out of your life.

　The blue light emitted by the Contradiction Treasure instantly enveloped the entire park. But it didn't stop there. It was gaining strength at a furious pace. Out of the park. It swallowed the buildings standing in a row and spread throughout Callan.

　Setsuna grasped the fact that the light of the contraption had spread throughout Callan. The contraption would tell her. I feel as if I am looking down from above. And then I understand. I know what the light of the spear is trying to do.

　Setsuna ordered.

Do it.

　With that word, the light that had been diffusing throughout Callan began to flow back into the jewel. A dazzling flood of light began to roll in. The dark blue torrent that surged into the black pike brought with it a tremendous amount of heat.

　It was as if the flames that had set the whole of Callan ablaze were being swept away with the flood of light. The flames, which had no way to resist, were sucked into the jewel with the light.

　In the center of the multiple spirals of dark blue light and crimson flames, Setsuna was stunned. She understood. She knew what the contraption was trying to do. But when you see something that is far beyond your imagination, you can only open your mouth and gulp.

　The fierce fire that was embraced by the azure light could no longer maintain its heat, and could not inflict even a scratch on Setsuna, who was holding the pike. In a matter of seconds, the flames in the city were extinguished in the contraption. It all happened so fast. Setsuna herself wondered what had happened.

　The flames had disappeared from around Setsuna. The heat was gone, and the air was cooling rapidly. The blue sky above her head was restored, and the hellish scene that had unfolded just a few seconds before vanished as if it were a lie.

　Of course, it didn't mean that the building that had been burned by the flames was safe. Just because the flames were extinguished did not mean that everything would return to normal.

　What Setsuna saw was a town that had been burned to the ground and was now in ruins. A cluster of blackened and charred buildings stood silent like a funeral procession.

　The wind was blowing the ashes of the burned out trees up in the air. The city had been burned to the ground. It was too late to get rid of the flames. If I had come here sooner, maybe none of this would have happened.

　Maybe it was pointless.

　Setsuna smiled to himself as he leaned against the pike. He no longer had enough strength left to support his body.

　All that was left was to collapse to the ground and lose consciousness. And maybe that would be the end of his life.

　The fire of the fire dragon girl burned Setsuna's entire body. Her whole body was scorched. Even the term "severe burns" is probably too mild. That's how much heat is smoldering under her skin. The black pike may have removed the flames, but it did not seem to extinguish Setsuna's burns.

　But.

(It's okay. This is it.

　For some reason, I felt that way.

　A very refreshing breeze blew through Setsuna's mind. It must have been the first time in her life that she had felt this way.

　I have no regrets.

　She wanted to live more, but she did not want to die. I don't want to die. I know that dying here would be nothing more than a waste of time.

　But still, the cool breeze blowing through her mind removes life and death from Setsuna's consciousness. The attachment to life fades away, and the fear of death disappears.

(This is what my life is like, right?)

　Maybe it's resignation.

　Setsuna suddenly felt like laughing. For some reason, she felt like laughing at everything that was going on. However, there was no way he could laugh out loud. He didn't have the energy or stamina left to do so.

　In the corner of his dazed mind, he heard the sound of many shoes. In a corner of his dazed mind, he heard the sound of shoes, their footsteps echoing strangely in the city where there was not a single noise.

"Hey you!

　Setsuna turned to look back at the man's startled voice, but fell over. She saw a young blond man at the edge of her drifting vision. The expression on the young man's face was one of stupefaction, but it must not matter now.

　He could hear the footsteps of the sleeper.

　For Faria-Belfaria, there was no such thing as an irreversible blunder. In her twenty-two years of life, she had never made such a mistake. Never. She had never made a mistake that could not be reversed.

　Of course, that was nothing to be proud of, and she wasn't so fragile or helpless as to base her confidence on something like that.

　But, she shook her head.

"Oh my God, ....

　She muttered, stunned.

　As she looked up at the wreckage of the east gate of the city of Callan, Faria couldn't help but think about her own negligence. It was a young woman. Her slightly bluish black hair was a little short, and she wore red-rimmed glasses, as if her eyesight was weak.

　Her eyebrows were thin, and the irises of her long, slit eyes were like green pillars. He had a well-groomed face, I guess you could say. Her face, which would normally give a somewhat cold impression, was now tinged with disappointment.

　Her body was slender and toned, but her supple lines insisted that she was a woman. This was probably due in part to the clothes she wore. The black and red tones of the outfit seemed to fit her limbs perfectly, emphasizing the unevenness of her chest and buttocks.

I couldn't make it ....

　She just looked up at the east gate in astonishment. It was no longer even a gate. There were two pillars that had been burned down, and the gate had collapsed around them.

　Not even a vestige of it could be found now, but the glory of the past, the majestic East Gate of Kallang, was famous throughout the country. The east gate was lost. It must have been a great loss for Karan and for Gandia.

　No, that wasn't all.

　Faria proceeded past the corpse of the East Gate and into the city of Callan. She entered the street that led from the east gate to the west gate. There again, she almost stopped immediately, but held her ground. There was no way she could stop moving forward.

　It was a burnt-out area. It was a desperate devastation. It could be said that it was the remains of a war that had passed.

　Faria finally came to a halt in the middle of the street. Around her, there were people with the same stunned expressions as her, wandering around as if possessed by something. They looked like soulless wrecks, like despair itself.

"This is ... such ...?

　Various thoughts flashed through her mind, and countless memories flashed through her mind. In less than half a day, the little chaos that had been created in the city of Karan by the houses lining the sides of the streets, the scattered stores and miscellaneous buildings, large and small, had been lost.

　I loved this hard to live in, hard to walk around, and hard to remember city. It wasn't the city I grew up in, and I hadn't been here for many years. I guess time doesn't matter that much when you like something.

　She put her hand on her trembling chest. She felt anger, sadness, and hostility towards herself for not being able to do anything about it. Cursing herself would not change the reality. Even she understood that. But the anger that had nowhere else to go turned inward.

"Faria!

What is it?

　Faria turned a somewhat sullen gaze at the loud voice of the man she knew from behind her. This was very unusual for her. She should never have taken out her anger on others.

　As she had expected, she looked back and saw Saris-Erion. He was a blond-haired, blue-eyed young man for whom the word "young man" suited him well. Faria was not the only one who knew the true nature of the young man, who was often seen as a hard man himself with his hair parted tightly to the side as prescribed. His pale skin and his military-style uniform were dark and sooty.

Thank you for arriving so late.

"You're still being sarcastic.

　I'm not sure if you've seen this before, but I've seen it before. She was disgusted with herself because Sarris's fresh smile seemed to be even more sarcastic than usual.

Not at all. Thanks to your quick response, we were able to avoid the worst of it.

"What?

　Faria immediately regretted her raw reply. I'm sure I must have looked incredibly stupid. It's not an expression that should be exposed in front of Saris, let alone any other person. I'm sure I'll end up being made into a boring story.

I'm sure you'll be happy to know that I'm not the only one.　Isn't that right?

　He should have understood the meaning of Sarris' words without the slightest mistake. However, Faria had no idea what he was talking about and could only make a dumb sound once again.

What?

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