Published: August 15, 2025
Today, two chapters are posted simultaneously.
This is the second chapter.
Half a day and a little after Serge’s attack... night deepened, the day changed, and it was the time when most people were fast asleep.
The moon and stars were hidden behind thick clouds, and in Gimul Town, waiting for morning in the darkness of night, small lights began to appear here and there. Accompanied by a continuous thunderous sound like lightning, it announced an unusually early dawn to the people.
“W-what’s that!?”
A man was shaken awake by the thunderous noise and looked around in confusion. Then, spotting something outside the window, he was stunned, froze for a few seconds, and then bolted.
“Hey! Wake up! Everyone, wake up!!”
“What’s your problem, making noise in the middle of the night...?”
“That’s not the point! The house across the street is on fire!”
Hearing this, the wife hurried to the child rubbing sleepy eyes in bed, while the man rushed outside calling out to the neighbors. Panic and fear quickly spread among the residents, and the area around the blazing building was engulfed in the noisy chaos of people desperately evacuating and trying to extinguish the fire.
Such scenes were spreading throughout the town before dawn.
“Water! Open the reservoir! Hurry!”
“Is there anyone we haven’t seen? Wake anyone who’s still asleep!”
“Take the children to a safe place!”
“Someone contact the security team!”
“This is bad!”
“We know it’s bad just by looking! Move!”
“N-no, it’s not just the fire... well, it is a fire, but also the shops on that street are burning, and other buildings too. There’s more than one or two fires! We need people there too, but we can’t gather enough! The security team is running around, and help won’t come immediately!”
The man, out of breath from running, delivered this truth. The nearby residents, distracted by the fire in front of them, grew even more confused. Those living next to the burning building wore hopeless expressions, certain it was just a matter of time before the fire spread.
At that moment,
“Please make way!”
A boy’s voice, loud enough to cut through the surrounding noise, and the sound of water reached the ears of the gathered people. Looking toward the source, they saw a raging river flowing along the street from a distance, and a small boat running over it. On the boat were two people, one of whom was a boy wearing slightly unusual clothes.
With these clues, it was obvious who it was.
Before anyone could call out to the familiar figure, the raging river and Ryoma’s boat passed through the path opened by the people and slipped in front of the burning building. Instantly, the rushing river water soared high into the sky and poured down on the burning building like a waterfall... then wrapped the building together with the snow and mud piled on the ground.
It was as if a giant slime was trying to swallow up the building; the muddy water enveloped the building once, twice, writhing and thrashing. Each time, the fire weakened, and within about ten seconds, the fire was extinguished.
With the immediate threat gone, relief appeared on the faces of the gathered people. However, on the other hand—
“H-hey, you!”
One man called out anxiously to Ryoma on the boat. It was the same man who had earlier told the people about the town’s situation. With a desperate expression, he ran up to Ryoma’s boat and began shouting loudly.
“What’s going on!? I heard fires are breaking out all over town! You’re working with the security team, right!? If you know anything, tell us!
And thanks for putting out the fire, but what if there are still people inside—Hic!”
Suddenly, the man stepped back. His gaze landed on Ryoma’s emotionless eyes staring from the boat. It was dark now that the fire had died down, and only the man noticed those eyes. As the man fell silent, the people around also turned their attention.
“Boss, your eyes are scary. I get that magic control is tough.”