I Picked Up the Abandoned Hero

27 – 27. When the Fire Dies

“What are you trying to do this time?!”

“I thought something like this would happen one day, so I prepared it, but I never thought I would be using it that day.”

The Fluctuating Spring.

Arsel felt that a myriad of things were about to pour out of the fountain.

“Sea of fire or sea of water, which one do you prefer? I hope you like the sea more.”

“You are full of energy! Let’s have fun covering the world!”

“Yes! It will turn the whole world into an ocean of water!”

Nymphs are those innumerable things.

Nymphs pour out of the fountain as soon as the words are finished.

Alfred was a little worried about the condition of the nymphs, but it really won’t cover the whole world with water.

Kwagwagwagwagwa!!!

This was the same as when Alfred drew the spring water from Hylas’s cave before.

This time, the scene of a volcanic eruption is reproduced once again.

Like a fountain exploding, a huge stream of water rose high into the sky.

“How do nymphs… Most of the nymphs I saw there were young individuals. But why are they all saints now?”

“Nymphs don’t grow simply with the passage of time, their bodies are made of pure water in the first place. They grow the more magic and water they come into contact with.”

“Maybe then.”

Alfred moved all the water that was filled in Hylas’ cave to the outside.

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Then the water level in the forest rose naturally and the nymphs also gathered in the gorge Alfred had made.

It was no wonder that all of the nymphs suddenly became adults.

“And coincidentally, the water they hold is the spring water of Hylas, which dissolves magic. That flame is a magical fire that never goes out, but it’s still magic after all.”

I can’t extinguish the fire, but I can dismantle the magic itself.

That certainly makes sense.

The nymphs bursting out of the spring spew out an enormous amount of water, turning the forest into a watery sea.

Of course, the flames did not go out even with the vast amount of water, but the magic began to dissipate when the water of Hylas came into contact.

The flame disappeared along with the magic.

“But if this is the case, won’t there be nothing we need to do? The fire will be extinguished by the nymphs anyway…”

“But there are still a lot of lives left in the forest, especially young monsters, and I don’t really care, but there are still some fallen demons here and there.”

As soon as Arcel heard that, he immediately looked around the forest.

As Alfred said, there were still people in the forest who were caught in the flames or lost and could not evacuate to the spring.

“Of course, if this happens, you won’t die by fire, but you will die by being swept away or drowned. Nymphs are a bit drunk right now, so they won’t control that.”

“…Is it because of the alcohol you gave me?”

“Yeah, but back then I didn’t think that nymphs could get drunk either. Maybe I can write a thesis with this.”

There was no guarantee that all the elves would not get lost in the chaos.

“Anyway, fly as freely as you want at this point, you definitely won’t leave them alone, right?”

“Of course.”

Quickly figure out the location of the fallen elves.

After Arcel adapted his body to flight magic to some extent, he headed straight for the fallen elves.

It’s not something you can get used to flying magic overnight, but I learned how to fly very quickly.

Alfred thought to herself what she would be like if she had learned her magic instead of holding her sword.

Perhaps, if not as good as his mother, he must have become a skilled wizard.

“Doesn’t this remind you of the old days? Even back then, you saved people trapped in the fire together.”

“Can’t you help too? There is a limit to how much I can move alone. I’m sure you’ll beg for a hand.”

“You shouldn’t do harsh things to such a delicate and weak child. Besides, I feel more pity for monsters than for dwarves.”

Where Alfred pointed her finger, the skeletons were driving the monsters to the high ground.

Nymphs will put out the fire, so there will be no problem, but the flood of water is a problem.

There is still a place that hasn’t caught fire, so we move there as soon as possible.

“I see, I don’t have to worry about spreading fire anymore, so I’d rather be like that…”

Arcel follows Alfred and carries the rescued elves to the high ground.

Although it was best for two people at a time to move it by holding hands, it was only necessary to move it to a highland area that was not swept away by the water without going to a distant spring.

If there was a tall tree with strong roots nearby, that would be fine too.

“Persimmon, thank you! Thanks to you, I live!”

“Thank you wonderful human! I will never forget this grace!”

All rescued elves expressed their gratitude.

Even though they suffered such disasters caused by humans, they didn’t seem to have any resentment towards all humans.

Perhaps, regardless of what the humans did to him, it was undoubtedly true that Arcel saved him in the end, so he thought it was right to express his gratitude.

“…”

“Are you feeling better? When he struck the elves with a blow, he looked like he was about to go mad at any moment.”

“Because I can help them even like this.”

Arsel said with a relieved face.

“Besides, this time… I don’t know the details, but the human side is too extreme. I can’t call this an atonement, but I hope the elves don’t hate humans because of this.”

Even though I know it’s difficult, I hoped it would.

We need to find out the details, but humans probably didn’t want to deal with the elves unconditionally.

There must have been some misunderstanding.

So, in order to resolve each other’s misunderstandings, we will have to restore trust little by little like this.

“I see, you seem to be very frighteningly for humans. Don’t you really hate humans? Everyone treats you like a murderer without listening to your story properly.”

“…And that too.”

Arsel shook his head.

“At that time, even I doubted myself, it will be revealed when I face the truth someday. Until then, I won’t have feelings for anyone else over it.”

It must have been a terrible nightmare, but Arcel did not lose his smile.

Compared to before, his eyes are much more lively.

Her Although it wasn’t as good as the days when she stood at the forefront and led them forward, the image of the chosen one was still reflected in her.

“…Until you face the truth.”

Alfred looked at Arcel with satisfaction.

There was also a degree of positive people.

I felt that Arcel, considering her worst yet holding out her hopes, was just amazing.

She may have been chosen as a hero because she did not lose her light even in the abyss.

After all, she was a warrior in any situation.

Her world may call her a witch, but she has never ceased to be her hero.

‘But on the contrary…’

Alfred looked elsewhere.

It seems that the work has been completed over there.

I don’t know how it ended, but I can guarantee at least one thing.

‘Some people can’t get out of the pit once they fall into it.’

Never, you will never see anything good over there.

Because she was herself, she was more confident than anyone else.

On top of that, it’s fortunate that Arcel didn’t notice himself there.

She didn’t want Arcel to see herself talking.

It’s because the conversation always turned out badly, even though the person himself was trying to end the conversation peacefully.

She could openly show anything Arcel wanted, but no matter how much she wanted to, sometimes there were things she didn’t want to show.

†††

The flames died out.

It wasn’t quenched by the warrior’s holy sword or by the spring water of Hylas’ wish.

There’s nothing more to burn, so it’s over.

The witch’s ember served its well-formed purpose and fell silent forever.

“How are you feeling now?”

There, a demon smiled and whispered.

“…Ha ha ha! Whoa, what?!”

The sound of heavy breathing belatedly.

It was because he lost consciousness, forgetting even to breathe.

The shrunken lungs wildly demand a large amount of air, and the belated body organs urgently resume breathing.

‘What happened?’

It wasn’t that long that I was unconscious.

About 30 minutes at the most.

But in that moment, everything was over.

“?!”

Poulus choked again at the scenery in his field of vision.

The whole area was filled with the stench of burning flesh and grease.

But nothing was left.

The magic circle created to burn the demon Alfred and the 100 wizards who maintained the magic circle could not be found.

“Ah, the guys you seek are still here. Even if the appearance has changed slightly.”

It is because all of them have been burnt to ashes.

“Ugh, ugh…”

Poulus recalled the sight of her before she lost consciousness.

Even when I put Alfred in prison, things went very smoothly.

Even if a dragon came, he was swallowed up by a solid prison that could not be freed, and a witch’s ash that would never be extinguished.

Ashes seemed to consume him.

‘It can’t be.’

But that was the biggest mistake.

The moment the witch’s embers engulfed Alfred, strangely, the flames did not come close to him.

As if the fire was scared of Alfred.

Even though it was only a fleeting spark that could not even exist as a consciousness, the ashes refused to approach him.

In the end, it suddenly spread around like an explosion of ashes, and everyone was caught up in it.

That’s why not a single wizard remains.

In my head, I could still hear the screams of pain and the voices of those who begged me to save them.

“I have heard that dozens of times. The same goes for your master.”

“This filthy devil dares to insult Master!”

Alfred looked down at Puluth as if laughing.

In his hand was the skull of an unknown person who hadn’t been completely burned yet.

I looked around as if I were looking at a work of art.

“A rough tidyer…”

After watching, he crushes the skull with his hands and blows the pieces away in the wind.

“You’re about 50 points out of 100. If it’s a proper ash, there shouldn’t be any residue like this left… Well, this is probably the limit for stealing just the shape.”

“What are you saying…?”

Pulus was taken aback by Alfred’s words.

It’s as if Alfred knew about her witch’s ash.

But it hasn’t been that long since Alfred made a direct appearance on the outside.

It is unlikely that he lived in the same era as the witch.

In addition, this was the first time that Puluth used this ember in practice other than magic research.

Polus wondered how Alfred knew about this magic.

“You don’t have to worry about it, it’s not particularly important.”

“Ugh, ugh!”

Alfred laughs and heads to the collapsed Puluth.

I already consumed most of my mana just because I used the witch’s magic.

In addition, he lost all of the subordinate mages he brought with him, so the only option was to run away.

‘?’

But strangely enough, I stretched out my hand to use magic, but there was no sensation.

I stretched his arm out in front of me, but nothing came into my field of vision.

“…? My arm? Where did you go?”

The reason is simple.

It was because he had no arms of his own.

Except for about 10cm from his shoulder, the tip had disappeared leaving only a slight burnt mark.

“Ah, your hand was on fire and I had no choice but to cut it off. You know? The fire won’t go out no matter what you do. As long as it does not purify the magic itself or dissipate the magic.”

Alfred smiled and showed a bloodstained sword.

It was a ceremonial sword worn by one of the burnt to ashes.

“Ah.”

Puluth looked at the sword with a devastated expression, and if she couldn’t use magic, she would run away.

“Of course, the legs were the same. Because you were looking down at me from above.”

“…Ah?”

But there were no legs either.

I didn’t feel any sensation below the knee.

From the beginning, with his body leaning against the rock, he was only allowed to look at it.

Thanks to that, I also remembered memories that I had forgotten.

– My, my hand…! Aagh! Help me! Please someone give me this fire! Everything, even on the legs?!-

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It was the same with Puluth that was burning in the fire.

My hands and feet were burned by the flames that suddenly exploded, and I fell down and suffered the pain of being burned alive.

-Do you want to live? Then will I save you?

– No, please…! Please save me! Please save me!-

Then the voice of salvation came.

Before I could identify the owner of the voice, I begged for help.

What happened after that?

-Unfortunately, this is the only way for you to live.-

-Uh…? Why the sword?-

The reason I lost consciousness was that I couldn’t stand the pain of being saved and passed out.

Poulus recalled that fact and began to appreciate the emotions and fear he felt then.

“You don’t have to say thank you, I learned how to groom a human from the orcs, so I know it well. Thanks to you, you won’t feel any pain now.”

And then Alfred came right in front of him.

He smiled as usual and lowered himself.

She was eye-level with Puluth, who leaned her body against her rock, and stretched out her hand as if feeling sorry for her.

“Ah, ah, ah…!”

Polus screamed.

He was afraid because he could no longer resist him.

“?”

But Alfred didn’t really do anything.

“I’ll give you a compliment, though, because it made me think of my mother and it was nice. It’s a stolen magic, but it must have taken quite a bit of effort to imitate it this much.”

Rather, I stroked his head as if I was proud of him.

Smiles and speaks the truth without a single lie.

“Why…?”

Pulus feels curious about Alfred.

Obviously, just a moment ago, he thought he was going to kill himself, but now it seems as if he had no intention of doing so from the beginning.

“Why, did you think I was going to kill you?”

“But-“

“I don’t like fighting very much, I like to settle things through conversation. Besides, you reminded me of memories with my mother.”

I couldn’t understand what he was saying at all.

Why he didn’t try to kill himself, and why he recalled his memories with his mother in doing so, Puluth couldn’t understand anything.

“Think about it, have I ever hurt you? I didn’t even avoid the magic you guys use and welcomed it. Thanks to that, a little misfortune happened.”

Come to think of it, it was.

Alfred didn’t even attack first.

“Let’s just say it’s your own business.”

Come to think of it, he only chased after him, and he didn’t even attack using the magic he used to use.

I just got everything right.

Even the witch’s embers didn’t block the flames himself, the embers themselves refused to approach him and spread to the surroundings.

“Still, things seem to have worked out, don’t they? You didn’t even know how to control or put out that fire. Thanks to that, the whole world almost turned into a sea of fire.”

“How…”

Alfred sighed and sat down next to Puluth.

After leaning her body against her rock, she turned her head with her hand to look at the forest where all the fire had gone.

Not a single ember was left in the forest anymore.

“Originally, a hero can achieve the impossible, so he is a hero. You must be the chosen one.”

Alfred smiled heartily.

It was because I saw the hero flying through the sky and saving the elves.

Alfred was about to leave his post, leaving Puluus alone, saying that the time had become like this before he knew it.

Then she seemed to have forgotten something.

“Ah, come to think of it, should I tell you what is lacking in your witch’s ember? I know the complete formula and theory of that magic. Although I do not use it myself.”

He looked at Puluth and asked if he wanted to know about a proper witch’s ember.

“Really?”

At that question, Puluth asked back as if possessed.

Forgetting the loss of her arms and legs, he took precedence over his curiosity about the magic he hadn’t fully restored.

How does he know about the ash?

Not even knowing why he was telling it to himself.

“It’s a defective product, but if you’re curious, I’ll let you know. Perhaps if you make up for the missing parts, you can control the flames. You wouldn’t have lost an arm or a leg.”

“Please! Let me know please! I knew it was lacking! The part that was completely lost had no choice but to be filled with other magic!”

Pulus cheers like he’s lost his mind.

I heard that I can finally solve the unanswered question.

“…Okay, then I’ll let you know.”

Alfred whispers with a fishy smile.

“I see…! That’s why I couldn’t control the flames!”

Jureuk.

Then, blood flowed from Puluth’s nose.

“That was the reason for the excessive consumption of mana-“

This time, red blood formed around his eyes and flowed.

“Yes… Yes… Now, if only I knew a little more…”

In the end, the eyes loosened and saliva began to flow from the mouth.

“Eh, huh? To…??”

He couldn’t even tell what he was doing or who he was.

I can’t understand the words that come out of my mouth.

He didn’t even know what he was trying to say.

“This is where your magic was lacking. My mother threw it away, saying that this magic was too dangerous, and she was a rogue. Did she say that it is dangerous for anyone but herself to see the magic circle?”

After the explanation, Alfred shook off the dust and got up.

“I hope to see the completed magic next time we meet, because it is a magic that only mother can use, and I haven’t seen it since she passed away.”

And then, I said goodbye, sincerely hoping to see the finished magic one day.

“…What should I do for dinner tonight?”

One unfortunate thing is that Alfred didn’t see the monsters crowding around Puluth.

Most monsters are very intelligent even if they cannot speak.

Of course, there was no way they didn’t know the person who burned down their place of living, and they wouldn’t leave such a person alone.

Still, Puluth said he was very happy and continued to laugh until he drool.

I laughed until the end.

Until you can no longer laugh.