Flames of Damnation 

Chapter 19: Flames of Damnation

"This is the second time and hopefully the last time I will invoke these flames.."

― Lucian Franzer (LS 1232)

-------------------------------------------------------

<Fire: Flames of Redemption>

A massive ball of golden flame was created above the sky of the village and fell down creating a deluge of fire that covered the whole village.

But miraculously not a single thing was burned. Only the bodies of the villagers were purified and dissipated. Their souls freed and cleansed as they made way to their new journey.

There was no longer any blood present on the scene. All that was blood and filth, was now cleansed…

----------------------------------------------------

Year 1212, 28th day of the 4th month- Village in the mountains~

[General POV]

.

Three people on horses were making haste through a mountain road. Their destination is the little village in the mountain.

They came to an abrupt stop when they reached a certain hill foot. It was too narrow to travel by horses so they set of on their feet.

Leading the group was an anxious old man with lather armor and a worn out grey cloak wrapped around it.

"Master, I think the village should be right after that turn ahead. That's what the innkeeper told me before." The young man with silver white hair and crimson eyes remarked.

He only got a nod as an answer from the anxious elder.

"Do not worry young Axel. Our liege would not lose control so easily. He does become cold when such unsightly things happen but he never lost control over his powers." Said the blond man with a hood over his head.

The young boy nodded and still looked at the middle aged man. 'He really doesn't like his head exposed… Celine calling him 'hat guy' really fits …'

"Young Axel, Why do I feel like you are thinking something rude." The man looked at Axel with a smile and Axel just looked away sweating.

"Gentlemen, I request you to focus. Last thing we need is to fail by letting that fiend kill more people…" The elder remarked.

They nodded and made haste.

.

.

When they arrived at the village~

It seemed quiet…

They all became really anxious but then they saw a woman coming out of the house and felt a bit relived. The elder gestured the middle aged man and he went to converse with the woman.

He returned shortly with a serious expression.

"There are so little people in the village is because everyone went to watch the coming of age ceremony of the village teens. And there has been no sightings of any butcher…."

He informed with a serious face. The elder became serious too while Axel breathed a sigh of relief.

"Why is everyone watching the coming of age ceremony though?" Asked Axel.

"It appears they have produced a prodigy among this village named Gikko. The boy seems to be rather gifted with the bow."

Answered the middle aged man.

"Mavis, if that fiend hasn't come for this village… that means..��

"That was my thoughts exactly Sir Julian and we need to hurry…" Replied Mavis and started going down from the mountain the way they came.

Axel seemed confused and wanted to ask something. But Julian beat him to it by answering.

"If the fiend hasn't come here that means he is still in that village or nearby. Waiting for people to come to him instead of going to other village.

He had three options to start with.

Stay in that village and wait for the rescuers to arrive and kill them.

Come to this peasant village and kill.

Or go back the path he used to get to the village he massacred. So he chose to be patient and wait for the pray to get to him.

He probably let that man leave on purpose…."

"WHAT? THEN LUCIAN WILL MEET HIM?" Axel shouted.

"Calm down boy!" Julian waved disapprovingly.

"Lucian will be fine. You of all people know, about his strength."

Axel just nodded then asked after a pause, "Why wasn't going to Evergrey an option?"

"Let me answer that young Axel. You see when we arrived in the village our lord and Sir Julian felt an enormous amount of aura hidden in the village. It checked all of us when we entered but as we had no hostility it just died down.

My lord did not mention this to others because he already knew about that person it seems. While he told Sir Julian to calm down before explaining the circumstances.

So If anyone who has expert level senses, they can sense that aura."

"I-I see…" Axel replied weakly.

He had no idea that something like that actually happened.

He was sure if Lucian told them before then all of them would panic.

'Please be okay Lucian, don't let that bastard hurt you.'

---------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, outside the main village entrance~

[Axel's POV]

.

We made as much haste as possible after realizing that fiend might have gone to that village where Lucian was at.

We arrived there in half an hour and were stunned. We could see a monochrome fire burning in top of one for the small hills and muffled cries of agony coming from it.

It sent shivers looking at the flames and it was visible from a great distance away.

We then saw the Evergrey villagers kneeling a bit away and crying. Celine was also there, Her eyes were fixed on a person with long golden hair. She was shivering.

Watching her shivering made my heart squeeze. I then turned my gaze at the long haired man who was covered in monochromatic fire around him.

He was looking at the hill top with cold eyes. I felt primal fear when I looked at him and my legs were weak…

The horses already fell and kneeled.

Sir Julian looked in deep thought as he eyed the hilltop.

Only Mavis was shivering. Not from fear but excitement.

Mavis went near the man who just gazed at him with his peripheral vision.

"I congratulate his majesty, for integrating with the Silent Stalker. I only heard about these flames in myth but I never thought I would see the flames of hell with my own eyes while still breathing."

We all gasped in shock. So that's what these flames were… The flames from hell, the eternal flames of damnation.

'But how….

The cat! That's right Mavis said it was a demonic being to begin with…'

Lucian kept looking at the hilltop for a while then closed his eyes and the fire around him disappeared. His hair that grew long started greying and then falling off. Which confused everyone.

Then from his body the black blob came out and transformed into it's cat form and went into his shadow.

A golden flame evoked itself and covered his now naked body and acted like clothes. It felt like the fire was some servant that would not let their master's dignity down.

He again looked at the hill top and declared, "I condemn you to burn in the eternal flames of damnation here on the material plane. These flames will never burn out and you will never die.

I used my Sagacity Art to contain the flames to only that spot. It shall not spread. And I give the Evergrey's to monitor this hilltop. Let it forever remind those that are evil at heart….

None can escape from Damnation."

After he declared he fainted. Mavis rushed to catch him and diagnosed his body.

He declared mana deprivation. It seems Lucian used all the mana in his body to evoke the flames of damnation.

'So those golden flames can invoke themselves.'

I then looked at Celine and she seemed to calm down more but she was still shaken. I really wanted to hug and comfort her but I held myself back.

I went near her and said some comforting words. I then inquired about how things unfolded.

-----------------------------------------------

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*FLASH BACK*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Celine's POV]

.

When we saw the massive ball of fire in the sky we thought Lucian wanted to purge the whole village and burn everything to relieve this horrible sight.

But we were wrong he only purged the bodies and the blood. I have seen these flames before and that time I was so scared.

But hat guy told me that those golden flames were the purest flames that cleansed everything it touched.

It cleanses soul of any evil or resentment. Letting them rest in peace.

I always believed in Lucian. He is the kindest man I know.

He does get annoyed sometimes but he always treated me like his little sister. He really is more of a family to me than my real family…

And now I felt ashamed that a member of my family is doing such evil…

Yes we are all battle hungry but… Even if I want to kill I would never want to kill innocents and of course not infants!

I almost had tears coming down my cheeks. I felt so sad and so scared.

Lucian was quiet as he kept looking at the sky.

His back felt so lonely.

'I want to be there with him but but… I don't know what to do.'

The innkeeper came near me and patted my shoulder and said, "It's alright to feel scared young miss but don't be afraid of your friends…"

I nodded at him. These villagers were very weird and did never smile but they were really kind people.

A stoic and angry looking grandma pulled my cheeks before and then gave me lots of candy.

I think they just don't know how to smile. So I wanted to smile more for them but but…

I suddenly noticed Lucian looking towards a hilltop outside the village and his eyes turned cold.

There stood a man with crimson hair much more red than mine and blood thirsty eyes.

He had a maniacal grin on his face and eyed everyone present.

He seemed to ponder and smiled again.

"21 people not bad, not bad. I will enjoy killing you all. Letting that trash run and get me more trash really saved my energy."

Lucian walked towards him slowly and the temperature around him was unstable.

The kitty started walking with him and kept looking at Lucian with a narrow eye and few meows. It felt like it was communication with Lucian.

I didn't know Lucian could talk with kitty.

"Excellent the first one coming to me on his own.

I watched you use that purifying bullshit earlier. Color me impressed it was a grand display of mercy. And it made me sick.

Here I decorated this filthy village so beautifully in red. Your golden color is just filth." He kept laughing loud after that.

Lucian didn't seem fazed at all and kept walking up the hill.

"Tell me, do you really kill for only the thrill? Does morality mean nothing to you?" Lucian asked him something.

To the question the fiend kept laughing.

"Morality? Never heard of the word. And I know you are strong and all but you must have used most of your mana on that last purification. And I an Expert rank Sword-master will have my fun gutting y-"

The fiend wanted to keep talking but he felt something wrong and looked towards his right hand.

We all looked there.

It was missing and the stump was cauterized and charred black. No blood flowed from the wound.

The fiend was shocked and tried to jump back only lose both his feet and fell down on his back.

He was shocked beyond belief and kept huffing and groaning. His eyes were peeled open and he could only stare at one person who was standing in front of him with cold eyes and red flames circling around him.

It was of course Lucian. He was using the fire that battle mages normally use the base fire for attacking.

I have never seen Lucian using any attack spells other than his runes and his illusion magic to divert his enemies but never directly attack.

He was always too kind to attack. But things changed for this fiend…

I was really scared looking at this Lucian.

He felt too distant.

But this was not the end of it no far from it…

Lucian commanded his flames to turn in to tiny needles and impaled all of them into the fiend burning little bits of his skin and burning the exposed flesh earning soul curdling shouts.

The fiend's eyes held horror as his gut slowly cut open by the flames and the fire kept cutting him but no blood came out. The wounds would cauterize as soon as they open up the man was totally charred black.

When we all thought it was over… Lucian invoked his golden flames and healed the man from burns. Only to repeat…

.

.

"KILL ME ALREADY YOU MOTHER FUCKER. KILL ME IF YOU DARE.AAGGGGGGGGGAAAGGGGGG"

.

.

The process continued for a while and everyone present was on their knees and crying I was crying and shocked but I didn't feel it was anything wrong for Lucian to do this.

The man was no Saint he was a fiend that gutted infants.

We do not know whether hell exists or not but he will be punished on the material plane by Lucian. That was for sure.

The torture process came to a stop with a sound of Meow.

Lucian turned to kitty and they seemed to converse.

Lucian seemed surprised and then closed his eyes for a while and so did kitty.

Then Rune words materialized around them covering both of them till they merged in to one being. Lucian's hair grew out and his body was covered in black and white fires.

I didn't know what these fires were but they felt… Hot and cold and felt like despair and all negative emotions combined.

'I don't like these flames on Lucian…'

Then Lucian started speaking in a different Language which sounded like Runic ancient words. The words manifested runes and they seemed to create a spell…

|| Ey Ag un Jen o Kok Hono Shes hha Na Hoi

Chi ro ast thito Ag un Chi ro Bin asH ||

These runic words covered the fiend who was once my cousin and locked him with burning black and white fire where he kept on burning and regenerating.

His screams could be heard loud and clear.

Then Lucian finished his spell

<Sagacity Art of Fire: Eternal Damnation>

.

.

Time seemed to have stopped but…

We all could feel how small we were…

Lucian for the first time used a Sage Art.

A magic that is considered beyond mortals.

'So Lucian was a Sage?'

*Clip Clop*

I heard some horses running. So they have arrived it seems.

~~~~~~~~~~*END OF FLASHBACK*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~