Chapter 130: Wildfire

Chapter 130: Wildfire

As he was walking down the streets of Kruxol, Crucis suddenly heard a loud, feminine scream behind him.

"Everyone, get away! Stay away from me!"

Turning around, he saw a frail, white shape vanishing into an alley beside the road, seemingly hiding from some confused passers-by.

Not one to let people have their way, Crucis used [Stealth Cloak] and ducked into the alley after her, using [Sound Sign] to pinpoint her location from the sound of her running.

Besides, he had just read a Light Novel named [The Pet Goat], looted from GEORGEW, and it had inspired him to practice surveillance and thwart all attempts at personal privacy among the wider populace.

After a few steep turns, he found a slender, long-legged figure kneeling to the ground at the end of a long alley, with a dead end right behind her.

It was a girl with long, black hair reaching up to her hips. In the night, her hair's glossy sheen almost appeared a dark purple sometimes from a distance. She was leaning down carefully over a large bow, her red skirt perking up as she inspected it.

"Keep your distance," she growled quietly. "I won't put up with ghosts and demons in my presence."

"That's why you ran over here?" Crucis enquired.

"Yes! And when my weapon is ready... I promise you'll feel its wrath! Godless and wicked beasts!"

"No need to be so hostile! You should look out. This isn't even my final form!"

She turned her head, startled. Her hair circled silently through the air. "So you're going to transform into a monster now? I... I'll have to fight you, then!"

"Nah, April Fools'. Sorry if I scared you. I'm not a ghost or demon, but to be honest it would be helpful in trying to survive here."

"Hm. I did think you sounded too civilised. Tell you what, don't let people here recruit you into an evil creature like them. It's our duty to stand up for good, against evil, always."

"Lots of people say that. But you look like you take it seriously." He walked up until he was standing over her.

She stared at him pensively before replying.

"Look, I'm sorry for calling you a ghost and demon. I'm a bit out of it. It's just, I appeared here all of a sudden, and not only that, but..."

"Yes?"

"So many of you have some sort of powers. Where I come from, it was only me and a few others. I feel... I don't know, weak. Ordinary."

"If you were ordinary, we wouldn't be talking here." Crucis' voice was soft, almost a whisper. "What kind of powers did you have?"

"Why should I tell you? I don't know you're not wicked."

Crucis smiled. "True, you don't. Do you think I am?"

"Well... I may have been hasty earlier. When I called you that. Please forgive me! Maybe I'll tell you soon, okay?" she paused. "Would you mind kneeling down to, um, maybe help me with the bow?"

"Sure." He crouched down calmly. "What kind of help do you need?"

"Oh, just do what I'm doing. Polishing it, getting it prepared. I might need a better string."

She was busily polishing the bow with a soft cloth, producing a few flickering sparks as she went.

The occasional hint of light flickered into the alley, and Crucis noticed that the bow's wood seemed to glow with a flame-like, dancing pattern of red and yellow wherever the light hit. It didn't seem to be ordinary bow.

He leaned down and took out a looted [Bowstring]. "Does this look alright?"

"Yeah! Can you start putting that on? I'll help."

As she busily begun unstringing the bow, she went silent and her eyes narrowed with focus.

"Alright, it's ready," she said. "Let's try this string, now."

Crucis spread the bowstring across the length of the bow, and she leaned in to carefully string it. Her bow seemed to be quite different from others, and her hands wove in a complex, unconventional motion to tie the string in. However, she seemed used to this, and was more chatty this time.

"You know, it's lonely here. I hate this place so much. I don't know most people here, and even you don't call me by name. You must think I'm a freak."

"You never told me your name," Crucis replied.

She giggled. "Oh, whoops! I thought I had introduced myself! But... I hope you understand, I don't trust anyone here."

Her back curved under him, as if it were itself a bow, as she leaned over to fasten the string on the far side of the bow.

"Alright, what should we call you?"

"Um..." Paranoid, she tried to come up with a fake name. "Remika. I'd like you to call me that."

"Your real name is a secret?"

"Yes. You know how this works by now." Her voice was more frail than her tears.

"Alright. I guess I have nothing else to call you except Remika." He sat down on the wall across from her. "Why do you think that people here are ghosts and demons?"

She blushed and looked down nervously, seemingly thinking that her answer would freak him out. "Um, it's a long story... Before I answer, can you tell me what you thought when you first saw me? I'm, um, curious."

"You looked like a ghost, honestly. A white mist disappearing through the alleys."

"Yeah, maybe I'm a bit like a ghost. Which type? Maybe the weeping ghosts." She tried to smile, and blushed slightly.

"What types of ghosts?"

"Oh, don't you know? There's so many kinds, I know them, but most people don't realise. The scariest ones are - well, usually it's the bloodthirsty ones with axes and swords. But the weeping ghosts can be scarier sometimes, because they will tear themselves apart in their sorrow, and become a black hole that swallows all life."

After saying this, she looked down with a shocked expression, as if regretting letting it slip.

"Have you seen them?" Crucis said soothingly.

"Yes, and been lucky to escape. If I wasn't powerful, maybe I wouldn't have... But I think that everyone is aware of them, on a deep, subconscious level."

"I see. So should I be running away from you right now, weeping ghost?"

"No! You're, um, a demon or something, did I say that? So then you wouldn't run away. You're of the same kind."

"Fair's fair! Well, I can't say I've seen these ghosts, but the way you describe them -"

"I'm not just being poetic, by the way. These things actually happen. Like, I really have powers... And I'm also stuck here. When you've seen the things I've seen, well... You realise that nothing is too far out there."

"I see." He ruffled her hair lightly. "You've had too much excitement during your time here. No wonder you're so pale."

~

Might Guy stood on a tall, sandy hill, holding Goku's heart crushed in his right fist.

A stylish, long, black car pulled up loudly, on the plains below.

"Ole, ole, ole, ole!" a dignified voice spoke from inside the car, rolling down the window slightly. "I did think that putting you in this universe would be quality entertainment."

"Yes, but what about your part of the deal, Batman?" Might Guy said, turning towards the car. "You said that killing Goku and his wife was my chance to leave here and return to my home universe."

"Ah, yes. Well, I have prepared you a portal to a new world. It's an interesting one, you will land in a kingdom named Invichokra that's inside a video game. I'm sending a bunch of people there, from across the multiverse. They will all duel for my pleasure, because I'm the God, Batman!"

"Wait, Batman is God?"

"Well, this is a PG universe. Half of the word was censored, so it came out as 'God.' It's just a coincidence that I happen to be omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent."

"Ah ha! But if you're omnipresent, why do you need a car?"

"It's not who I am inside that defines me, it's my cool ride. And I'm not gonna lie, it's pretty fancy."

"Wait. You said that killing Goku would take me back to my home universe. Now you're saying that you'll send me somewhere else? Don't break your promise!"

"I said it would open a portal, and was your only chance to get back home. Key word: chance. Actually, I decide where the portal leads by flipping a coin a few times."

"Come on, whatever happened to great power bringing great responsibility? Didn't your uncle tell you that? Quit playing games with my heart!"

"I don't know, my uncle never told me anything like that."

"What about your father?"

"No, you are my father. And you've never said anything remotely coherent in your life, so how am I supposed to know? Anyway, here's the portal."

Batman's arm stretched outside of the car, and a large, silver portal appeared.

He continued. "The portal imparts partial amnesia, so you won't remember all of this. Good luck! Believe in your own justice!"

The Batman drove away, laughing.

~

"So what's left?" Crucis asked.

"Well, all the bow needs now is... fire. Sounds weird, but listen! I need to set it on fire, trust me. Do you have anything that you can light it with? Maybe a match or something?"

Her hands began to press against the bow lightly, and he could feel it warming up as she imbued it with a soft fire summoned from her palms.

Crucis withdrew a fiery torch from his inventory. "So that's your power?"

"Yeah... I know, it must seem kinda pathetic over here," she said quietly.

"Not at all. It's hot enough that it makes night feel like a summer day. Anyway, would this torch work out?"

"Wait, how were you carrying that torch around? It's on fire," she said, glancing up.

"Yeah, I don't know. But here it is."

"Heh. Well, that actually looks really helpful, it should save me from burning out. Um, no pun intended." She made a puckish grin. "Give me a moment, then use it to set the bow on fire, it should help."

She gradually worked her hands across the bow, and it quietly sparked up in small flames. At the familiar feeling of the fire from her palms, she stopped shivering and seemed to be at ease.

Soon, she turned to Crucis. "Alright, now you can try the torch. Don't lean too close to it."

He lowered the torch onto the bow, which began to blaze violently upwards with a crazed fire. A few flames leapt up just next to Crucis. Giggling, she put her hand on the torch as well, in order to hold it steady.

While they set the bow on fire, she seemed more talkative, as if the fire had energised her.L1tLagoon witnessed the first publication of this chapter on Ñøv€l--B1n.

"Alright, you asked why I think people here are demons and ghosts, right?" she asked. "Wow, I make great first impressions, huh."

"Yes and yes."

"I'm not just easily scared, if that's what you think! OK, so what happened... I appeared in the morning, I think it was morning, and there were all these people fighting nearby, using all kinds of powers." She pointed towards the East, where the war had taken place. "Some of them even chased me, but I got away... A friend of mine, Mina, was killed by someone, literally frozen in ice. Who would do that? I managed to make it back here, but I fainted after the frantic rush, stayed out for most of the day. Look, maybe you don't understand... I have to prepare to take on evil, whatever form it takes. So I'm only hiding here to get ready... And then I'll have to do it."

Her eyes sprung up a torrent of fresh tears as she mentioned 'Mina,' but it was obvious from the tone of her voice that she didn't feel comfortable with discussing the subject.

"That's a lot of responsibility to place on yourself."

"It's just my duty, okay? Some things in the world are just bad. Dangerous. But if I don't take them on, who will?"

"I see. So this bow is your way of fighting back."

By now, most of the bow had transformed into a scintillating line of fire, with an intense yellow-white running through the centre.

"Well, yes, and it's my last chance. Maybe, once it's ready, I can make my way back and find my friends. Find the others, and we could figure out what to do. Whatever supernatural force pulled me here must be up to no good."

Crucis sighed. Her planned return was unlikely to materialise.

He would have asked her if she knew the wae, but figured that reminding her of the hopelessness of her situation might make her less conversational. She'd just relapse into despair and anger again.

"It did pick a dangerous place to send you! I wouldn't trust it either."

"Yeah, exactly.

They were interrupted by Might Guy's booming voice. "Ah ha, this girl must have come from another anime world!"

Crucis was initially thrown by this left-field statement, but quickly recovered. "Well, it would certainly explain several things."

"Don't believe him!" she said, shivering. "It's nothing like that...! How absurd!"

"Your lies are in vain!" Might Guy responded. "I know how your kind behaves! You can't conceal a secret from me!"

He turned to Crucis. "Look into her eyes! You can see the corrupting fog of her dishonesty!"

"I see nothing in her eyes," Crucis said, after a casual glance.

"Why doesn't she tell us her true identity?" Might Guy asked. "The truth will set you free, young girl."

"Maybe I don't trust you," she said.

"See? She admits it! She has a true, hidden identity!"

"I have nothing of the s-"

"You said you wouldn't tell us, which means that you have one! Don't think that you can evade the inquisitive eyes of youth."

"Youth? I'm younger than both of you."

"Yes, but look at your stress and wrinkled forehead! You have not embraced the power of youth. In that way, you are less young than me."

"A hidden identity?" Crucis remarked casually. "As well as powers. What are you, like, a superhero or something?"

"Kind of," he replied.

"OK. I was just teleported here, I'm scared out of my wits," she said, forcing a timid smile.

"That's normal! At least you've been safe so far."

"Yeah, I guess... Terrifying place you have here, isn't it?" She stood up swiftly, her red skirt swishing across the walls with a sound like a breath.

"Glad you like it."

"Hm. Tell you what, at least it's cozy in here. Well, at least when I don't look at that statue. What's it up to, with that expression, and all those tongues sticking out?"

"It's a statue of a Frenchman at the Pont des Artes."

"No, really?"

"Alright, not really."

"Huh. Now that statue's one French kiss I could do without. Say... You don't sound French, you sound, I don't know, Bulgarian?"

"Belarusian. Not the most glamorous country, I know."

She excitedly grabbed him by the shoulder. "I learned about that last year, in university. It's near Russia, right?"

"Yeah! Honestly, I generally just tell people I'm Russian because it's simpler, but you seemed clever. Bulgaria's not that far off, besides."

"Hmph. Your flattery will get you nowhere," she said with a smile.

She leaned onto a table in the centre of the shrine, and her slender, pale body briefly stopped shivering. Her brown hair lit up with a ghostly shade of light as Remika opened the door and snuck in quietly.

The brunette continued speaking, barely noticing Remika. "Well. I was hoping to hide in here until the fights outside died down... That didn't quite happen, huh?"

Remika replied timidly. "Ah, you came here earlier? That's actually a good idea. The fighting outside was cray-cray."

"I mean, I didn't have much choice, right? I don't have any weird powers like those guys, the most that I can do is throw a kick or two... Well, it doesn't matter now, nobody can resist that massive thing."

"It's not that bad - oh, you mean the chicken?"

"Yeah, exactly! I never thought I'd die to a... chicken. What the hell?"

"Ain't life a mystery?" Crucis said. "Hi, Remika."

Remika smiled at the name. "Hi, there. Figures you'd lead me into a place with a demon statue. A demon like you."

"Absolutely. Can't get anything past you, I guess."

Outside, there was a loud noise the chicken reached Kruxol, and began using [Chicken Ray] to devastate the buildings at on its West end, as it headed towards the town centre. A large group of players was putting up a last-ditch resistance, but it wasn't enough to fend off the mighty chicken. The players were dying in droves, and the chicken's cruelty and malice were evident as it picked apart their bodies carefully with its beak, painfully cutting into their organs. A few of them were eaten with pleasure.

The brunette squealed. "Oh my God! Did you see that thing? It's... Oh my God. Pecking them apart. That'll happen to us, right?"

Her eyes were wide, and frozen in a traumatised expression, as her teeth chattered.

"Oh no! We can't let that happen! We can't!" cried a girl from the back.

"You have to help me!" the brunette cried, grabbing Crucis' shoulder again. "I don't want my body to become chicken fodder!"

"A waste of perfectly good make-up," Crucis replied, as he held her arm still and tried to help her calm down.

"...That's a deadly insult. I'll have my revenge! Kidding, I probably won't live long enough. But dying to that cruel chicken, wouldn't it be the worst way to die?"

"It would be a fate worse than death," Crucis said, matter-of-factly.

"So how can we avoid that?" she whimpered. "We need to find some other way!"

"We have no way out. The only way we'll avoid the chicken's wrath is to die first."

"Really? Well, this is it, then. What can save us from this chicken?."

Crucis turned to Remika. "Maybe you'll save us. Can you use your powers to set this shrine on fire? It's wooden, so it should catch fire easily."

"But then... I'd kill you! And all the others... I can't use my powers like this."

"There's no other choice."

"But I'm supposed to fight evil, not... give in to it! There must be another way!"

"You've tried that." He placed a comforting arm around her. "It's alright. You don't have to keep straining yourself. Fight no more."

"I know, but how can I do this?"

"Just like you always have. Isn't casting fire as easy as breathing for you?"

Crying, she embraced him warmly, and remained silent for a few seconds. "Fine... fine!" she whimpered. "I'll do this. Just know that I'll feel guilty, and it's your fault... Are you sure you're alright with this happening to you?"

"There's no need for you to worry about me. Go on."

"Alright, but what if I'm the one doing it? Won't you start hating me?"

"It won't change how I feel about you, only strengthen it... For you are a consuming fire."

She walked up to the wooden walls, glanced at Crucis, then stared emptily at the wall as a fire glowed from her palms. She felt the fire burn from her as it had done many times before, and held it with a practiced calm. She pressed it to the walls, and they began to flare up.

The brunette girl ran over to comfort her. "We had no choice. That was brave."

They stepped towards the middle of the building, as the flames spread across it. At first, it sounded like a harsh drizzle of rain, but soon it roared as it spread virus-like across the walls.

The heat began to reach them, and Crucis relaxed as he felt the comfortable, energetic warmth of the young fire.

"We might die, but... Don't these flames make you feel alive, too?" he said quietly to Remika.

"Heh. I've always felt like that about it, I understand," came the reply.

Suddenly, they heard a loud, murmuring voice from the corner of the building, saying, "What did that crazy girl do? Oh God, she's going to get us all killed."

One man hiding in the corner suddenly barged out from his hiding-place, on seeing the flames. He frantically grabbed a trident from the statue, and held it out threateningly. "Don't you dare! You can't trap us here, let me out! Or else!"

Remika's face twisted with disgust as she saw this.

The brunette ran up to him. "No, dear, we don't have a choice. Come on, don't wave that thing around."

"I said that nobody could stop me!"

Crazed, the man lifted the trident to stab into her, but Crucis' hand suddenly materialised holding the trident firmly.

"Let it go," Crucis said.

"No! You have no right!"

The man swung his fist - indeed, his whole shoulder, since he was off-balance - towards Crucis, but Crucis dodged easily to the right with [Drift]. As the man staggered in the aftermath, Crucis easily tripped him up and then dispossessed him after a knee to the neck.

"Please forgive him! He didn't mean it!" the brunette cried.

Crucis shrugged, then held the trident towards the nearby flames to heat it up. A few parts of it caught fire, like a candelabra.

He stabbed it firmly into the man's throat.

"I'm burning in the hellfire!" the man cried, before dropping dead.

Remika looked on, wide-eyed. "I didn't expect that!" she cried. "But wait, you also use fire weapons?"

"No. We can't all be special like you."

"But just this once, with me here?"

"Yes, a coincidence."

She felt along the trident's length. "It's funny, I never thought I'd die in a fire. I thought fire would always protect me. But the warmth is so familiar."

"At least it's like you're going home."

"Maybe. But it's a pity I can't take you with me."

"Why are you so sure?"

They were interrupted by the brunette, pressing herself desperately to the ground, screaming, "This fire! It sounds like a beast! A monster! I can't take it!"

Crucis crouched down beside her, and she immediately fired a question at him. "So when the flames reach us... it'll hurt, won't it? It'll burn right through the skin!"

"We might be dead before that," he replied. "Don't you feel the warmth growing stronger?"

He scooped some of her hair away from the flames.

"...Yeah. It stings, but... feels passionate? Like, my heart beats faster the hotter it gets."

"Doesn't passion also sting?"

"I guess so, yeah."

He warmed his hands in the growing fire, and she slowly joined in. She looked calmer, but her eyes were still wide with panic as she looked into his eyes.

"So this is it? We just let it all burn down?"

"It looks like it."

The chicken's bawk-bawk-bawk filled the night air outside, melding melodically with the crackling of the flames.

Suddenly, Remika cried out. "It's... stairs! Ghostly stairs! I see them next to the fireplace!"

"Then let's go," Crucis said.

"No! It's bad! It'll only lead to something evil!" she calmed down after a few seconds, trembling from the vision. "But you're right, maybe we don't have a choice. It's weird, usually when I panic like this, people say I'm seeing things."

"I don't see anything!" the brunette girl shouted.

Remika slowly walked towards the staircase that hung mistily and unstably in her vision, almost confident that it would prove to be as illusory as the ghost which she had seen before.

"I don't see it, either. But I'll follow you through, wherever it is," Crucis said.

She lifted a trembling foot towards the stairs.

~

As Might Guy lay, in his time of dying, he managed to struggle open his eyes. However, he was surprised to see that he was now in a large, grey building. Squinting exhaustedly, he saw that he was in a tomb commemorating someone named 'Thomas Wayne,' with a few pictures and inscriptions containing this name. A large coffin lay at the back.

Trying to get up, he saw a long shadow across his body.

It came from a man standing in the entryway of the tomb. His manic face was covered in white facepaint, and he wore a large, purple suit.

He cackled, and said, "Well, well, Mighty Guy! Looks like you've found yourself in quite the... *deadly* situation."

Might Guy gritted his teeth. "Joker, you may have trapped me in this tomb, but my spirit remains unbroken!"

"Oh, I admire your optimism! But, tell me, how do you plan to escape this time? Your precious "Youthful Springtime" won't save you now!"

The Joker slammed the door shut.

Might Guy smirked confidently. "You underestimate the power of youth, Joker! I've faced greater challenges than this!"

The Joker's voice turned maudlin. "Oh, I'm shaking in my boots! But seriously, I've rigged this tomb with explosives, and there's no way out. So, any last words?"

"You may have trapped my body, Joker, but you can't trap my spirit! The flames of youth will burn on, and I will find a way out!"

The Joker laughed, as he turned away to leave. "We'll see about that! Enjoy your eternal slumber, Mighty Guy!"

Might Guy yelled loudly, his voice resounding loudly even outside the thick tomb walls. "Remember, Joker! The power of youth is unstoppable! I will escape, and when I do, justice will prevail!"

"You're a stubborn one, aren't you? Good luck with that!"

The Joker shook his head, then walked away, his laughter drowning out the echoes of Might Guy's mighty voice.

~~

A few days later, Might Guy's corpse lay rotting in the tomb. All around it was silent.

Soon, two soft voices could be heard, coming from deep underground. They spoke, indifferent to Might Guy's miserable death, and their voices sounded like the crackling of far-off flames.

"I still can't believe my fire killed so many people... But it felt so warm here, I liked it... I feel so guilty," said a feminine voice.

"It will always warm you, Remika." came a male reply. "It's yours."

"Come on, I told you that Remika isn't my name. It's a false name."

"But is it untrue? Look, maybe you were never the warrior of light that you imagined. Maybe you were just scared. And now you're not."

"You're just saying that so I don't feel like a failure. But honestly, I like it here. It's scary, but calm, like you. Everywhere I look, there's fire..."

"It's like your eyes."

"Huh. Thanks. Maybe we both belong here. So where do we go from here? You seem to know your way around this place."