After ten minutes—
Tendōkyū shook with one massive explosion after another. The black-haired girl stared around in panic as the white skeleton in the sky fired beams of light indiscriminately, smashing through Tendōkyū's protective barriers one by one. Even her beloved tree had been blasted to pieces.
Amid the girl's frantic cries, Wilhelmina finally descended from the sky.
Wilhelmina surveyed the scene. After thinking for a moment, she still hadn't expected that the one destroying the barriers would turn out to be one of their own.
At that moment, the nameless girl rushed over and gave a hurried but surprisingly coherent explanation.
"Because of one of my pranks, Shiro suddenly went berserk and broke through the Hidden Sanctuary. Wilhelmina, hurry and stop him!"
"Understood." Wilhelmina finally grasped the situation and calmly said, "Merihim, Tendōkyū has been exposed. I need you to calm down and intercept the assassins who will be arriving shortly."
"Merihim?" The girl blinked. She had never heard the white skeleton's real name before.
Just then, the crazed skeleton in the sky suddenly stopped moving. Its jaw clicked and trembled violently, clearly showing that it had regained its senses.
Seeing this, Wilhelmina didn't hesitate. She grabbed the nameless girl's hand and ran toward the depths of the palace.
"Wilhelmina?" the girl called out in confusion, having no idea what was going on.
"Situation urgent." Wilhelmina explained calmly, "Tendōkyū has been discovered. Pursuers will arrive soon."
Tiamat, whose will resides in the headband, added, "And Tenmoku Ikko."
During their retreat, she and Wilhelmina had seen Orgon, wounded by Tenmoku's blade. They both knew that what came next would very likely be a joint attack by the Bal Masqué and Tenmoku.
"What was that voice?" The nameless girl froze when she heard Tiamat speak.
"Contracted Crimson Lord," Wilhelmina answered briefly.
"Wilhelmina, you're a Flame Haze too?" The girl was stunned by this revelation. "Why didn't you tell me...?"
"Worried you would choose the wrong path because of your emotions." There was something strangely complicated in Wilhelmina's tone.
As the girl's caretaker and mentor, Wilhelmina had never wanted her to walk the endless, blood-soaked path of a Flame Haze simply because she admired Wilhelmina.
Wilhelmina had seen plenty of Flame Hazes who had embarked on that path out of nothing more than admiration.
Not one of them had met a good end.
That was why she had kept it hidden.
"The wrong path..." The girl quietly turned those words over in her mind before asking, "We're heading deeper into Tendōkyū, aren't we? Are we going to make an emergency transfer and move the palace?"
She understood the situation perfectly well. Once Tendōkyū had been discovered, the best course of action would be to relocate immediately, disappear once more, and continue training her as the successor. Naturally, that was the first possibility that came to mind.
"Negative." Wilhelmina, as always, communicated in the most concise and technical terms possible. "There is no longer any point in continuing to hide."
"What do you mean?" the girl asked in shock.
"Unexpected development." Tiamat's voice carried a note of regret, as though lamenting the situation.
"Last resort." Wilhelmina shook her head. Still holding the girl's hand, she continued running as she spoke. "What comes next will be the last period of your life as a human. Cherish it."
The girl understood Wilhelmina's meaning instantly.
Six years ahead of schedule, she was about to inherit the title of the Flame-Haired Blazing-Eyed Hunter and become the contractor of Alastor.
"This..."
The goal she had worked toward day and night was suddenly within reach, and she didn't know how to react.
By then, Wilhelmina had already led her into the deepest sanctuary.
The temple trembled faintly, and enormous explosions echoed from time to time.
Clearly, Merihim had already engaged the Crimson Denizens who had come to attack them.
"Time is limited."
Wilhelmina pulled the girl into the sanctuary.
Inside was a vast, empty hall. And in the silence of that temple, a huge red flame burned quietly above an enormous silver disk.
As soon as the two entered, a deep male voice, as heavy as rolling thunder, came from within the gigantic red blaze. "How stands the situation?"
Wilhelmina quickly explained what had happened. "Orgon, the Commander of Thousand Conquests, is in pursuit. Tenmoku Ikko has also been sighted. Merihim has gone to hold off the enemy."
"I see. This is indeed a grave situation." Alastor immediately understood their predicament.
Because his very existence affected reality, the God of Retribution was confined to the sanctuary, maintaining only the bare minimum of presence.
Within Tendōkyū, their only combat forces were Merihim and Wilhelmina, both of whom had gone years without replenishing their Power of Existence.
Against pursuit by the Bal Masqué and an assault by Tenmoku Ikko, the two of them simply had no way to escape while protecting the girl from both Orgon and Tenmoku.
So the best solution was to turn the girl into a dependable fighting force and have the three of them face the enemy together.
Like the old barrel principle, the strength they could bring to bear depended on their weakest member.
And that weakest link was the nameless girl.
"I understand the situation now. We are still far from the point envisioned in our plan, but circumstances leave us no choice." There was regret in Alastor's voice, and no small amount of disappointment.
According to their original plan, the ideal time for the girl to form a contract was six years later.
By then, she would have reached adulthood, developed a complete and stable personality, and undergone sufficient training. Combined with her extraordinary talent, she would likely become a first-rate powerhouse the very moment she became a Flame Haze.
That was the future Alastor, Wilhelmina, and Merihim had all hoped for.
But now, with their enemies closing in, they no longer had a choice.
"It is acceptable. The situation remains close to optimal." Wilhelmina's voice was calm.
Twelve years ago, she had found the girl as an abandoned infant and, in a rare moment of softness, brought her home.
Originally, she hadn't expected much.
Yet the girl's performance had surpassed that of every carefully selected prodigy Wilhelmina had encountered over the past several centuries.
In a sense, the girl might well have been Wilhelmina's finest creation.
Though, if one spoke of what Wilhelmina truly felt in her heart, she regarded the girl more as the perfect daughter.
And now, her daughter was facing the most important turning point of her life.
Suddenly, a ripple of Power of Existence flashed through the air.
It was extremely close. The intruder had already reached the deepest part of the palace.
"Emergency situation," Tiamat immediately warned.
"Engaging." Wilhelmina's pupils contracted. She spun around and dashed toward the exit of the sanctuary.
"Wilhelmina!" The girl cried out, clearly unwilling to be separated from Wilhelmina at such a critical moment.
But Alastor explained in the manner of a stern, dignified elder, "You need not worry. Whatever choice you make, Wilhelmina will accept it."
Flame Hazes were, in many ways, weapons used to hunt down monsters, and the girl had been raised from childhood with the mission of becoming one.
But Alastor had never regarded her as a mere tool. He saw her as something closer to his own child.
Perhaps, in the beginning, they had understood that familial affection was partly being used to bind the girl's future to this path. But as the years passed, the boundary between what was real and what had begun as pretense naturally grew blurred.
At the end of the day, although Crimson Beings could be mad, their minds were fundamentally no different from those of humans.
When emotions were meant to arise, they arose naturally.
So even at this critical moment, Alastor spoke without rushing. "You have surely come to understand the situation. Although this is how we have raised and educated you all these years, now that the moment has come, I, Wilhelmina, and even Merihim all hope that you will make your own choice."
"Whether you choose to accept the fate of a Flame Haze or choose to walk away, as long as it is what you truly desire, you may choose it. Your life does not have to contain only the path of a Flame Haze. So listen to your heart and make the choice that is truly yours."
The girl nodded. Then she wiped away the tears gathering at the corners of her eyes and clenched her teeth. "I know. All this time, you've taught me and raised me with the idea of 'becoming a Flame Haze and maintaining the balance of the world.' I've always understood that."
"But I still don't truly understand what it means to be a Flame Haze. I admire Flame Hazes and have always wanted to become one, but sometimes, I'm afraid of that unknown future too."
"Still, if I really have to choose, then I'll choose to become a Flame Haze."
"As for why Flame Hazes have to maintain the balance of the world, and what meaning there is in doing so... That's something I'll decide for myself."
"A perfect answer." Alastor's voice was filled with approval.
He was certain that the girl standing before him would become the most extraordinary Flame Haze in history.
Not driven by revenge. Not by a thirst for power or a desire to stand above others. Not by greed for a longer life.
She simply wanted to understand the meaning behind it all, and to use her own judgment to do what she believed she wanted to do.
'What a noble soul...'
Alastor sighed inwardly, then said, "Enter my flames. The moment we make contact, the contract shall be formed."
The girl nodded.
Then, calm and rational, she walked toward the red fire and stepped directly into it.
The young girl came into contact with the flames of retribution.
And then, at that very moment... blazing golden fire erupted.
Centered on the girl, a sacred flame burst forth like some kind of automatic failsafe.
[Warning! Warning! A forum member has been detected in mortal danger. Minimum-level protective measures activated!]
[Protective measures have been converted into a mechanism consistent with the natural laws of this world.]
[To prevent erroneous operation, counterattack authorization is now being delegated to the holder of the forum and all forum members...]
"What was that voice?"
The girl stared in astonishment at the sudden announcement.
At the same time, Alastor was equally shocked by the fire that had appeared out of nowhere.
"Golden flames of Existence... That color... could it be..."
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.
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